The Spirit Underground Ep. 3 – The Dirty Work of Getting Free w/ Spring Washam & Lama Rod Owens

Getting down and dirty with liberation, Spring Washam and Lama Rod Owens explore joyfulness and the labor of freedom.

“I think Joy helps to smooth the edges of our anxiety around liberation work and it propels it at the same time.” – Lama Rod Owens

“If you are too much on the relative you become bitter. This is really what the “spirit underground” is about, how do we remember our true nature which is light, energy, emptiness, and also be effective here and now.” – Spring Washam

About Lama Rod Owens:

Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod is highly respected among his peers and the communities that he serves. From these intersections, he creates a platform that’s very natural, engaging, and inclusive.

For current offerings and programs, click here

About Spring Washam:

Spring Washam is a well-known teacher, author, and visionary leader based in Oakland, California. She is the author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage and Wisdom in Any Moment and her newest book, The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground. Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based meditation practices to diverse communities. She is one of the founding teachers at the East Bay Meditation Center, located in downtown Oakland, CA. She has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism since 1999. She is a member of the teacher’s council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California where she was trained for over a decade.

In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices since 2008. She is the founder of Lotus Vine Journeys, a one-of-a-kind organization that blends indigenous healing practices with Buddhist wisdom in South America. Her writings and dharma teachings have appeared in many online journals and publications. She currently teaches meditation retreats and leads workshops, and classes worldwide.

Spring currently teaches meditation retreats and leads workshops, and classes worldwide: springwasham.com

More podcasts from Spring and Lama Rod:
Guided benefactor practice and chanting of the Tibetan Buddhist mantra, ‘Om Mani Padme Hum.’ – Be Here Now Guest Podcast Ep. 130
Spring Washam joins Raghu Markus for a discussion on collective ancestry, divine destiny, and lighting the fire of change – Mindrolling Podcast Ep. 475 
Lama Rod Owens joins David Nichtern to discuss rethinking the traditional approach to the Dharma: CSM Podcast Ep. 37
Spring Washam applies wise metta to our daily lives—offering us the potential of recognizing our innate inner radiance – Be Here Now Guest Podcast Ep. 97