About this episode
Roger Housden is the author of 20 books, including the New York Times bestseller Ten Poems to Change Your Life. Housden’s work has been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post. He lives in Sausalito, CA. For more, visit rogerhousden.com. Other books: Keeping the Faith Without a Religion (book) Keeping the Faith Without a Religion (audio download) For Lovers of God Everywhere: Poems of the Christian Mystics Seven Sins for a Life Worth Living Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation Ten Poems to Open Your Heart Ten Poems to Say Goodbye Ten Poems to Change Your Life Again and Again Dancing with Joy: 99 Poems Summary and Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 5/17/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Background 00:03:45 - Using Life's Circumstances for Growth and Reflection 00:07:14 - Visiting Karoli Baba's Ashram 00:10:39 - The Difference Between Faith and Belief 00:14:05 - Knowing Beyond Intellectual Belief 00:17:37 - The Voice in the Cave 00:21:36 - Functioning from a State beyond Mental Excitation 00:24:39 - The Benefits of Being with a Spiritual Teacher 00:28:13 - Resting in the Field of Awareness 00:31:40 - A Dimension of Awareness in Iran 00:34:40 - A Difficult Choice in a Vien Prison 00:37:48 - Clearing My Name and Debriefing 00:40:25 - The Intelligence in Randomness 00:43:05 - The Oneness of Everything 00:46:01 - Political Implications of Individualism vs Individuation 00:48:59 - The Narrow Gate of Hope and Despair 00:52:06 - Short-Term Thinking and Long-Term Vision 00:54:40 - Brutality and Imperfection in Organized Belief Systems 00:58:07 - Managing Imperfections and Organizational Clarity 01:00:34 - Trusting the Knowing 01:03:10 - Trust the Mystery and the Dark 01:06:31 - Remembering Something Larger 01:09:32 - Acknowledging Imperfection in the Aesthetics of Wabi-Sabi 01:12:23 - The Cathars and Perfection 01:15:48 - Moments of Beauty 01:18:44 - Kindness Towards Oneself 01:22:01 - The Difference between Materialist and Knowing Faith 01:25:43 - The Intelligence that Permeates the World 01:28:22 - The Pitfalls of Religious Beliefs 01:31:07 - Direct Experience and the Present Moment 01:33:05 - Website Features and Discussion Area