Raghu is joined by singer and songwriter Kesha to talk about living authentically, finding happiness, and bringing spiritual practice into our busy lives.
Check out Kesha’s new record, Gag Order, featuring a heartful interlude from Ram Dass.
“You’re making enough space to serve yourself to get calm enough to be able to then give to others.” – Kesha
Kesha joins Raghu on Mindrolling to chat about:
- Her experiences with Ram Dass’s teachings and her inspiration to sample him on her track, Ram Dass Interlude from her new album, Gag Order
- The emptiness Kesha felt from outward seeking, the world of fame, and feeling unaligned with her truth
- Feeding people to transform from “me land” to “we land”
- Having the space to work from a state of authenticity
- Motivations in the record business
- The habitual patterns surrounding our spiritual practices
- Reincarnation and Ram Dass’ manifestations after death
- The surprising catalyst of Kesha’s spiritual awakening
- Humor as an essential quality of the spiritual path
“You’d rather be vulnerable and be hurt than living dead.” – Ram Dass
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Raghu’s book recommendation from this episode: Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
About Kesha:
A brash and driven, Grammy-nominated pop singer and songwriter, Kesha went straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009 with her breakthrough recording, a feature spot on Flo Rida‘s “Right Round.” Her own major-label debut, Animal, followed a year later and made her a bona fide star, showcasing her exuberant electro-pop sound and reaching number one in the U.S. and Canada behind the international party-time hit “TiK ToK.” The album spawned three more Top Ten singles as well as the Get Sleazy Tour, her first as a headliner. A second solo number one, “We R Who We R,” was included on the 2010 EP Cannibal, and she reached the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 for the third time straight with her second full-length, 2012’s Warrior. A more rock-influenced effort, it found space for prior collaborator Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, punk godfather Iggy Pop, and the indie pop band Fun. She had another Hot 100-topping single a year later with “Timber,” a collaboration with Pitbull. After a series of legal battles with her longtime producer, Dr. Luke, that involved claims of physical and emotional abuse and business-related mistreatment, Kesha returned with her third album, Rainbow, in 2017. Its themes of self-empowerment hit number one in the U.S., Canada, and across Europe. She again hit the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 with 2020’s upbeat High Road and collaborated with producer Rick Rubin on 2023’s Gag Order.
About Raghu Markus:
Raghu Markus spent 18 months in India with Neem Karoli Baba and Ram Dass. He has been involved in music and transformational media since the early 1970s when he was the program director of CKGM-FM in Montreal. In 1974, he collaborated with Ram Dass on the box set Love Serve Remember. In 1990, he launched Triloka Records, which established itself as a critical leader in the development of world music.
Raghu lives in Ojai, California, and is the Executive Director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation. In 2016, he co-founded the Be Here Now Network, where he hosts the Ram Dass Here & Now podcast, as well as his own Mindrolling podcast. He is the producer of Becoming Nobody, a Ram Dass documentary feature film that was released in 2019.
Check Out More From The Mindrolling Podcast:
Devotional Musician Jai Uttal joins Raghu to chat about his new album, which explores the deepest spiritual longings of the human psyche: Dust & Tears
Check out Ep. 335 of Mindrolling: Courage, Trust, and Love with Ram Dass and Duncan Trussell
Listen to Ep. 289 of Mindrolling featuring lessons from Tibetan teacher Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
