Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 384 – Remarkable Stories with David Silver

OG Mindroller, David Silver, rejoins Raghu to share mind-blowing stories with exceptional individuals, giving insight into spiritual discernment, consciousness, psychedelics, compassion, & relationships.

The band is back together, as Mindrolling alumni, David Silver, returns with Raghu to share more remarkable stories and epiphanies from his rich, nuanced, deeply authentic, and synchronistic life. For part two of this autobiographical series, curating an assortment of handpicked stories inspired from his upcoming book, David illuminates his life through his relationship with remarkable individuals and extraordinary circumstances, gracefully offering firsthand lessons learned about spiritual discernment, consciousness, psychedelics, compassion, and relationships. From a wildly transformational breakthrough peyote ceremony at a convergence of some of the world’s highest shamans, to hilarious and meaningful run-ins with the likes of Phil Spector and Paul Newman, David Silver truly offers one-of-a-kind, holographic, intergenerational wisdom.

Viveka: Spiritual Discernment

Welcoming David Silver back, Raghu shares a passage on viveka—spiritual discernment/discrimination—to spark the conversation. Outlining it’s nuances through sharing a personal story highlighting working hands-on with deep-rooted mental fear, David exemplifies how discernment can help us move past illusions and delusions of the mind, and into the visceral truth of awareness, freedom, and love. Describing the potency of chanting practice for reminding us this, David shares what he’s been listening to.

“The viveka (spiritual discernment/discrimination) component of spiritual practice is possibly the most important thing, because you can all learn something and keep learning it, but can you see it in yourself when you need to see it? When the time comes, can you?” – David Silver

“Spiritual discrimination allows one to develop that awareness, which allows one to shine a light on the projections, preferences, and the way in which our motivations take over. If the light of viveka—spiritual discrimination—is turned on to that, things are completely different.” – Raghu Markus

Join David Silver sharing stories of remarkable encounters with John Lennon, Bob Marley, Gaddafi, and Malcolm X, on Ep. 364 of Mindrolling
Peyote Ceremony: Consciousness & Psychedelics (15:23)

Prompted by Raghu to share a story surrounding consciousness and psychedelics, David tells a tale of when—through divine happenstance and grace—he was invited to a once-in-a-lifetime shamanic ceremony, a wedding anniversary convergence which brought together some of the highest peyote masters from tribes around the world. David vulnerably and eloquently describes the existential and spiritual awe of the ceremony, before diving even deeper into his bag of epiphanies, insights, and revelations.

“They started to do all kinds of prayers, and then these siddhis (powers). The Fire Chief came forth and spoke, and then he started to blow through his hands. This enormous wave swept across the fire, and then a very large eagle made of fire appeared…” – David Silver

Take a digital Sangoma ceremonial journey with our friend, and South African Shaman, John Lockely, on Ep. 208 of Mindrolling
Relationships: Reflections & Epiphanies (46:26)

After touching on compassion, David Silver is invited by Raghu to share his vast wealth of insight pertaining to something we all deal with on a daily basis: human relationships. Offering savvy nuggets of wisdom surrounding our maturating into relationships through learning about oneself, as well as the holographic nature of relationships for reflecting the Divine; David illuminates how our inner life is expressed in our external world, before sharing mind-blowing stories involving Paul Sloman, Phil Spector, and Paul Newman.

“Maturation in dealing with relationships is certainly something that doesn’t come like a flash of light. It takes having experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly, in yourself and others… How do you tell people, ‘Relationships with people are just versions of the relationship with the Divine.’? How do you do that when you’re motived by someone’s looks, which always fades? It’s not a cynical statement, it’s just true. It doesn’t deserve to last, so it doesn’t last.” – David Silver

For Ram Dass’ take on the fierce and liberating path of relationships, as well as living impeccably in the moment, tune to Ep. 134 of Here & Now