John Lockley returns with Raghu for a conversation on overcoming inner apartheid, learning from animals, dream tracking, and finding your edge.
John Lockley began his journey as a young medic drafted into the South African military. He then trained under Zen master Su Bong from South Korea, and returned to post-Apartheid South Africa to spend 10 years in apprenticeship with MaMngwevu, a medicine woman from the Xhosa tribe. John now splits his time teaching in South Africa, Ireland, Europe, and the US. Find out more about John’s work learn more about his retreats and offerings at JohnLockley.com.
Inner Apartheid & Tracking Animals
Welcoming returning friend John Lockley to Mindrolling, Raghu invites him to share on the apex of conservation, reWilding back to nature, and returning to our roots as humans one with the land. To begin, John explores the concept of apartheid (separation) from the spiritual vantage of humankind’s current disconnection from nature. Through this lens, he explains how tracking—following the signs of animals, other beings we love, or even our dreams—can help us tune into the true essence of who we are.
“We each harbor apartheid within ourselves because we are so separated from our true self.” – Raghu Markus
Raghu & John talk nature, dreams, & reWilding modern humans, on Ep. 304 of Mindrolling
Endangered Species // Dream Tracking (14:14)
Speaking to rate of extinction on the globe, Raghu invites John to share on the most endangered species in the world – Pangolins. From here, John offers methods and perspectives on how we can start our day in connection rather than discursive thought, simply by grounding ourselves and our awareness in nature, our fellow humans, and the world around us. Next, John reflects on how Sangoma dream tracking is similar to the vibrational state of devotional mantra chanting from Krishna Das.
“Tracking your dreams means being mindful of the dreams you have at night and then noticing how those dreams are informing your life.” – John Lockley
For more Raghu & John on decolonizing the mind, tune to Ep. 355 of Mindrolling
Learning From Animals // Finding Our Edge // Energy & Ancestor Meditation (35:35)
After sharing about a mystical octopus tracking adventure, John explains how the retreats he runs help support the bushmen and trackers indigenous to the lands being visited. Next, Raghu steers the conversation to how we can learn to live with discomfort by mindfully observing animals. John explains how we can tune to this flow by “finding our edge” – facing our discomfort, spiritual poverty, and disconnection from our humanity. To close, John leads a resonant meditation and chant.
“The lion finds its edge through facing its discomfort. And we have to find our edge as modern human beings through facing our spiritual poverty.” – John Lockley