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The ZDoggMD Show

The ZDoggMD Show

597 episodes — Page 1 of 12

Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Why Poison Was Basically The Buddha)

May 2, 20261h 9m

The Mind Can Be A Real Bastard | Friday Zen, LIVE

Apr 26, 20261h 7m

All That Seeking Just To End Up HERE | Monday Zen, LIVE

Apr 21, 20261h 40m

Hogwarts vs. The Hard Knock Life? Our College Tour Story!

Apr 18, 20261h 0m

Everything Seems Fine, And Yet... | April Fools Zen, LIVE

From BTS documentaries to grieving your own college experience through your kid's eyes, life keeps surfacing exactly what needs to be seen. An April Fools live conversation that somehow landed on death, freedom, and the scrote-sichord 🤭 Topics: The Dr. Oz April Fools Prank — A Fond Memory BTS Documentary: Schmos, Celebrities, and the Cosmic Joke "Everything Seems Fine and Yet" — What's Been Coming Up Nina's College Stuff What I Actually Felt at 18 — Grieving the College Experience UC Berkeley: The Real Story Professor Fristrom and the Lab That Saved Me It's Never About Someone Else — It's Always About You Era Ending or Projection? The Party Degree I Never Got to Have Everything You Ever Learned Is Happening Now The 529 Account Question and the Opportunity Cost of College What If You Just Invested the Tuition Money Instead? Waking Up, Growing Up, Showing Up — Ken Wilber and the Story Models All Beliefs Are Provisional — Go Down the Rabbit Hole, Then Let Go The FIRE Movement and the Trap of Seeking Freedom Spiritual Bypassing: You Can't Actually Do It What's Your Biggest Fixation That's Left? The Trap of "Someday I'll Be Free" What Happens When You Die? Kids and the Double Arrow of Suffering Stage Models of Awakening — Useful Until They're Not How Long Do You Meditate? Zero. Everything Is a Meditation. A Medical School Musical Interlude ADHD, Psychiatric Labels, and Just Zubining Is Awakening Even Desirable? Awakening as Death Followed Immediately by Hilarity From the Outside It Looks Like Existential Crisis — And That's Exactly Right Is "We" Closer to Truth Than "I"? Religious Awakening vs. Non-Dual Awakening — Same Flavor, Different Tradition "How Is This Here the Same as This There?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 2, 20261h 27m

Crashing through every branch on the Tree of Belief | Saturday Zen, LIVE

This is just DUMB SIMPLE...so much so that the mind that always wants to know, always wants to make sense, simply won't believe it. From 3am despair during college admissions season to spontaneous tears on the leg press, life keeps showing up as exactly what it is. Original YouTube live video here. College admissions process and Nina's New York school visits Waking up at 3am — absorbing stress and feeling it fully Why meditation techniques eventually stop arising on their own Non-dumbality: reality as too simple and ordinary for any concept to touch The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path — why the Buddha gave instructions at all The "fake it till you make it" paradox of spiritual practice Crying at the gym and spontaneous emotional release Who or what is choosing what happens next? The tree of belief metaphor — falling through branches on the way down Nothing is hidden: object permanence as a functional lie Zen stink and the spiritual ego that thinks it woke up What awakening actually means (and why the story collapses) Angelo, gratitude, and why spiritual content no longer lands Ram Dass on other people's awakening being none of your business Gratitude roll call to those who "taught" me What's actually being transmitted in these live shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 30, 20261h 9m

The Imaginarium | Monday Zen, LIVE

Nothing arrives. Nothing persists. And you were never behind. Monday Zen Live, original YouTube conversation here. 0:00 Welcome & The Imaginarium — Why the World Is a Story 1:38 Krishnamurti's "Filthy Word" and Taking the Story Sincerely 4:05 When the Whole Thing Just Drops 6:13 Absolute Freefall — This Is Pure Unadulterated Chaos 7:49 Nothing Ever Arrives Before It's Gone 9:18 Descartes Got It Almost Right — But Not Quite 11:43 Staring at a Blue Sky: The Instability of Appearance 13:02 Emptiness Isn't Magical 14:43 Is This Too Extreme a Negation? 16:05 Love Is Real — But Not How You Think 18:10 Awareness Isn't Fundamental — A Bone to Pick 20:05 Dogs Don't Live in the Imaginarium 22:06 You Don't Have to Believe Me — Let Go of Belief Entirely 23:24 Whatever Is Arising Right Now? That's It. 25:27 Why Unknowing Gets Rejected — By Society and the Ego 27:13 Always Exactly Where We Need to Be 27:38 The 5-MeO-DMT Realization: Nowhere to Go, Nothing to Seek 29:04 Perfect Days — A Film About Total Liberation 29:36 When the Dream Character Wakes Up (and Gets a Spiritual Ego) 34:33 Appearance Noticing Itself as Appearance 35:52 Isness, Thusness, Beingness — Words Pointing at Nothing 44:43 Why Zubin Blocked All Spiritual Content 47:38 How AI Pointed Back to the Unknowable 49:34 The Spiritual Entertainment Industrial Complex 52:06 Does Zubin Want More Followers? 54:22 Why He Stopped Practicing Medicine 1:04:08 Spiritual Apologism and the Self-Deception of Influence 1:03:00 Mark and Sharon at Chemo — What Live Is Really For 1:10:13 When You Cringe at Your Own Words (And When You Don't) 1:12:09 Wrap-Up & Peace Out Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 24, 20261h 15m

No Thought or Belief Can Touch What IS | Wednesday Zen LIVE

Why every concept, belief, and story falls utterly short of what's actually HERE. From YouTube LIVE. 0:00 Welcome & The Imaginarium We Live In 0:48 No Thought or Belief Can Touch What Is 2:24 The 180° Inversion: Concepts Are the Abstraction 5:50 How the Separate Self Generates Suffering 13:02 Did the Past Actually Happen? 15:00 Who Designed the Dance? On Illusion and Creation 18:10 Is There Even a Witness? Appearance Without a Knower 21:03 Why Reality Is Boring (and That's the Point) 24:48 The Bahiya Sutta: Simply the Seen 26:10 Music, Tones, and What Sound Is Actually Showing You 28:05 Is There a Path to Awakening? 31:32 Is Enlightenment a Stable State? 33:58 Privilege, Poverty, and Who Gets to Wake Up 35:42 Dreams, Sleep, and the Continuity of Appearance 38:48 What If Someone Hates Life? 43:48 Am I a nihilist?? 45:37 Wrap-Up & Signing Off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 19, 202648 min

Daylight Saving, Seeking's End, Anus Meditation | Living Room Roundz LIVE

What happens when the seeking stops? We explore the paradox of the spiritual path, why role models don't make sense anymore, and how life just keeps life-ing — perfectly, with nobody doing it. A Monday live conversation on YouTube about nothing and everything. https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd for all the things. 0:00 Introduction: Post-Daylight Savings Monday 1:05 Why Time Changes Mess With Our Circadian Rhythms 4:28 Is There Meaning in Names? 5:24 Spirituality as Just Another Story 7:17 This Is Not a Popular Message 8:02 When Interest in TED Talks and Podcasts Dies 11:07 YouTube Is Actually Great (When You Stop Caring) 11:39 What Happens After Death? 13:14 You Can't Learn This — The Paradox of Seeking 17:03 Speaking to People Where They Are 19:25 Radical Honesty: There's Nothing to Do 21:01 There's No Continuity — Only Memory 23:05 Julia, the Rug Is Going to Be Pulled Out 24:04 How Do You Relate to Dream Characters? You Don't. 27:02 Presence Is Just Radical Acceptance 29:22 My Wife's Plant Obsession (House Tour Moment) 30:00 The Tragic Florida Prank Story 35:01 Humans Aren't Terrible or Good — Just This 36:17 Life Can Get Better (Paradoxically) 37:14 If People Had to Slaughter Their Own Animals 39:01 Revisiting the Past as Part of Realization 42:01 Dating Ads During the Live Stream? 43:00 Nothing Happens Outside What's Immediately Apparent 44:04 The Anus Meditation (Yes, Really) 45:00 Guilt About World Events 46:46 Does Seeking Energy Come Back? 50:02 Subjectification and the Fluxy State 51:04 Am I in the Epstein Files? 57:52 Better or Worse Than Seven Years Ago? 59:02 Getting Pulled Back Into the Story 1:00:22 Country Joe McDonald Has Passed 1:02:02 AMAs and the Dissolution of Questions 1:03:05 Should I Do a Daily Practice? 1:06:02 Why Would You Want to Be on a Podcast? 1:08:50 Would I Go on Joe Rogan? Nah. 1:10:50 Daniel Schmachtenberger 1:14:12 Closing: The Paradox of Talking to 100 People Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 13, 20261h 18m

The "Me" Is Never Enough

Another fun live conversation about the (un)reality of "me." YouTube video is here. All the links are here. 0:00 Introduction: The "Me" Will Never Be Enough 3:01 What Is the "Me"? The Illusion of the Separate Self 5:05 The Seeking Energy: Why We Never Feel Whole 7:24 Midlife Crisis and Spiritual Seeking as More of the Same 9:57 The Unsatisfaction Machine: Worthiness and Unworthiness 11:46 Hope and Hopelessness: The Self in Time 13:22 Pain vs. Suffering: What's the Difference? 15:08 The Spiritual Circus: Why Seeking Doesn't Work 17:03 Ego Extinction and Meditation: The Trap of Trying 19:26 The Paradox: Awakening Happened, Then the "Me" Claimed It 22:00 Surrender Is Impossible for the Self 23:00 Jim Newman and Radical Non-Duality 25:04 What Is Belief? The Self Trying to Know 27:05 Is Science Truth? Dreams Within Dreams 29:05 Real and Unreal: The Bear Chasing You 31:01 Nothing Is Wrong: Even Resistance Is This 33:05 It's Radically Simple 35:07 The Dream Logic Paradox: Why Teachers Say "Nothing to Do" 38:14 Your Journey Is Just an Appearance 39:48 There Is No Experience, Only Appearance 42:02 Questions That Stop Making Sense 44:09 This Is Not a Popular Message 45:58 What a Relief: When the "Me" Is Seen as Futile 48:36 Grief and Loss: The Emotional Process of Letting Go 51:06 Being Yourself: What Disney Actually Meant 53:01 Full Compassion Without Detachment 54:06 Negative Emotions: Felt Fully, Then Gone 57:00 Progressive Path vs. Radical Pathlessness 59:04 Awareness? I Can't Find It 1:01:31 Closing: The Ordinary and Extraordinary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 4, 20261h 6m

Back Into The Matrix Where Everything is Just Everything-ing | Friday Zen, LIVE

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Spiritual "influencers" may just be the Final Bosses in the game of delusion 🤮 Watch the YouTube video here. https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd for all the things. 00:00 - Introduction: Live Comments Make It Wondrous 01:46 - BAFTA Tourette's Incident and Nobody Wins 02:41 - Spiritual Influencers Are the Worst 06:14 - F**k all the gurus 09:05 - "Spirituality" isn't something I wanna talk about anymore 11:20 - The Deep Secret: Just What's Appearing 12:06 - Cipher in the Matrix: Wanting to Go Back In 15:01 - Coming All the Way Back to Sleep (Zero Fucks Given) 17:33 - The Seeking Stops Naturally (You Can't Make It Stop) 19:45 - Dentist Story: Not Witnessing, Just Everything Everything-ing 24:24 - Retreats, Poetry Rounds, and Narcissistic Bullshit 29:34 - Turning the Dharma Wheel: I Don't Know What That Means 32:04 - Buddhism's No-Self Gets Distorted Into Attainment 35:00 - Why Be Silent? It's Here in the Talking Too 37:13 - Ashley Selfie Moment: Breaking Retreat Rules 40:05 - Another's Experience Isn't Your Experience (Don't Replicate) 43:35 - Closing: Power Corrupts, Pure Luck of Conditioning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 27, 202647 min

Time Is Flickering Light On A Timeless Screen

Zero f***s given in this Facebook LIVE episode 🤭, we explore time, growth as illusion, spiritual mansplaining, why there isn't even consciousness, why nothing cannot stay nothing, the 10 Fetters Buddhist model from separate self to liberation, and more! Kevin Shanilec's interpretation and guide to the Fetters is here. Video archive, audio podcast, music, Supporter Tribe membership, email & more. Support us with a 1-time donation. 00:00 - Introduction: Zero Fucks Given, Social Security Disappointment 01:53 - Time as Flickering Light on a Timeless Screen 05:16 - How Is This Different Than a Dream? 08:00 - Fix the Fixer by Dissolving It 10:18 - Growth Is an Illusion: Nothing Takes Place 13:28 - Church Without the Priest: Feeling Christ Consciousness 16:32 - Spiritual Mansplaining to My Wife (Then She Woke Up) 24:37 - The Unborn: Everything Is Perfectly Managed 30:10 - Why Is Life Hard? (The Question Makes No Sense) 37:17 - Awareness Obsession: Then I Realized There Isn't Consciousness 43:25 - Nothing Cannot Stay Nothing (Why Appearance Exists) 48:13 - The 10 Fetters: Buddhist Model of Liberation 58:04 - How the Fetters Build Backwards from Delusion 1:06:12 - Total Wellness? The Question Falls Away 1:08:20 - Berkeley Meetup Plans, Jim Newman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 28, 20261h 12m

Things Occur But Nothing Takes Place | Monday Zen LIVE

A beautifully spontaneous Monday Zen LIVE (YouTube video here) that I intended as members-only but accidentally went public—and the accident was perfect orchestration by nothing for no one 🤡 We dive deep into identifying as awareness, exploring why it's a beautiful trap that feels like spacious liberation but is still an experience that comes and goes (disappears under anesthesia), and how Nisargadatta used "rest as I Am" as universal solvent until awareness itself dissolved into the magic space of nothingness. Core teaching: nothing takes place, nothing becomes real—all kinds of stuff occurring but never arriving, never becoming solid. I share a painful 3am dream where dream-self was fully mind-identified, seeking validation and connection, feeling "I will never be okay"—and how waking up allowed full feeling without secondary resistance, showing deep unworthiness conditioning still arising but now without stickiness. We explore accommodating all views without ultimate belief (genocide, shootings, political polarization), trauma integration requiring full acceptance and love, and the 2026 heart opening that's matured into natural service without seeking return. Practical experiments: energetic availability on hiking trails where open-hearted presence makes strangers spontaneously smile and greet you (reproducible N-of-1 trial), eye gazing as intimacy practice that breaks down defenses (harder with intimates where stakes are high), horses reading human micro-expressions better than we read each other, chronic illness healing or arising with awakening (body-mind changes, sensitivity increases), discovering Gospel of Thomas as Christian Zen ("kingdom of God spread upon earth yet men do not see it"), free will question collapsing into nonsense, what is your true nature inquiry ("just keep looking"), rich man/camel/needle as rich with concepts and beliefs, and pain practice at dentist using Bankei's "everything is perfectly managed in the unborn" to dissolve second arrow. See all the things, become a member and more here! 00:00 - Introduction: Fear of a Black Hat and Snowed In America 03:35 - Responding to Reality vs. Created Environment 06:11 - Identifying as Awareness: The Beautiful Trap 10:46 - The Unborn: Nothing Takes Place, Nothing Becomes Real 15:07 - Guided Drop Into Pure Awakeness (Meditation) 18:06 - Dream of Mind Identification and Validation Seeking 24:37 - The Magic Space of Nothingness 30:10 - Genocide, Gaza, and Accommodating All Views 35:41 - Trauma Integration: Feeling It Fully to Release 42:12 - Heart Opening and Being of Service Without Return 48:00 - Energetic Availability: The Hiking Trail Experiment 57:23 - Eye Gazing: Breaking Down Defenses Through Intimacy 1:08:53 - Free Will Question Doesn't Make Sense 1:11:11 - What Is Your True Nature? Just Keep Looking 1:20:43 - Gospel of Thomas: Christian Zen and Kingdom of Heaven 1:25:09 - Pain Practice: Second Arrow and the Unborn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 27, 20261h 33m

What's Left When The Stories Stop? | Sunday Zen LIVE

What happens when the mind stops telling stories? We explore insomnia and radical acceptance, the trap of identifying as awareness, why "the world is waking up" is just another story, and my journey from Doc Vader to whatever the f**k this is 😂 All the things are here. Topics and Timecodes: 0:00 - Going Live & Technical Difficulties 1:26 - When You Can't Say Anything Anymore 2:31 - Karma Yoga: Life as Sacred Practice 4:14 - Sleep, Insomnia & Radical Acceptance 7:02 - Sleep During Awakening: My Experience 8:38 - Waking Up at Night: Working with Panic & Repressed Emotion 10:24 - No Distinction Between Waking, Dreaming & Deep Sleep 11:43 - The Mind Creates Reality: Manifestation & Reconditioning 13:29 - Free Will, Determinism & Letting Go 13:53 - Dreams, Vivid Experiences & Higher Planes 15:00 - When Desire & Attachment Start to Fall Away 16:03 - Meaning Is Created: An Existentialist View 17:01 - Watching Thoughts: The Mirage of the Mind 19:02 - Who Thought This Thought? The House of Cards Collapses 21:04 - The "I Want to Wake Up" Trap 21:52 - Who Is Awareness Appearing To? 22:17 - Getting Stuck at "I Am Awareness" 23:04 - What Is the Unborn? 25:00 - Wide Angle Camera Fun (Tech Break) 26:04 - The Universe Is Unfolding As It Should 26:31 - Absolute vs. Relative: There's No Distinction 27:25 - From Doc Vader to This: My Journey Since 2019 30:35 - Burning It All Down: Deleting Twitter, Losing Followers, Finding Joy 31:05 - Gratitude for Spiritual Friends: Angelo, Simon, Ishwar 32:03 - When Suffering Arises After Awakening 33:31 - Resilience Is a Story: Working with Negativity 34:06 - Processing Emotions About Iran & the Ayatollah 36:07 - Letting Things Be Unsticky Even When You Care Fully 36:36 - Talking to Conservative Christian Parents About Buddhism 37:28 - All Paths Point to the Same Thing 40:25 - Jesus Was Enlightened 41:13 - Identifying as Awareness vs. Non-Duality: What's Beyond? 43:05 - Resurrecting Jesus by Adyashanti (Book Recommendation) 43:42 - Is the World Waking Up? (Spoiler: It's a Story) 46:05 - What's My Meditation Practice? It Changes Daily 47:03 - When Seeking Falls Away 48:00 - Don't Force-Feed Awakening: Many Called, Few Chosen 49:00 - Energy Grounding & Chakra Work 51:03 - The Brutal Side of Awakening 51:26 - Apple Watches & Fitness (Curveball Question) 52:32 - What Is "The Story" vs. Reality? 54:53 - Closing: This Beautiful Satsang Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 19, 202659 min

Taking the Exquisite Risk (with Simon Brown)

A spontaneous conversation between two friends walking the path together. Why 'you're already awake' can be harmful, the impossibility of bypassing the hard painful work, K-Pop Demon Hunters as dharma transmission, and much more. Full video here. Simon Brown's YouTube channel is here and his free Substack is here. Here's our earlier podcast on trauma. And here's our prior talk on compassion. Video archive, audio podcast, music, Supporter Tribe membership, email & more. Support us with a 1-time donation. More about Zubin. 0:00 Introduction - Spiritual Friendship Across the Atlantic 2:22 "You're One of the Dearest People I Turn To" 4:00 The Mind Creates the Abyss, The Heart Crosses It 5:00 The Relational Intimacy That's More Than Its Parts 7:00 Hell Is Other People vs. Recognition of Non-Separation 10:00 Opening the Clown Chakra (Becoming Baba Z-Dogg) 12:00 Why Ram Dass Makes You Cry Instantly 16:00 Alan Watts AI Warnings 18:00 Ram Dass's Journey from Harvard to Surrender 20:00 "He Can See All of Me and Still Loves Me" 23:00 Ram Dass's Decades of Practice (Not Just Surrender) 25:00 "Everything's Already Awake" - Why This Message Can Make People Sick 28:00 Unbearable Compassion and Meeting People Where They Are 33:00 Delusion as Seeing Incorrectly What's Actually Here 35:00 The Problem with One-and-Done Awakening 38:00 "You're Going to Die. Everyone You Know Will Die" 41:00 Ram Dass Holding Hands of Strangers as They Die 44:00 Only Sensible Response Is Compassion 47:00 Turn Towards the Unconditioned/Deathless 52:00 Society's Duality and Taking Sides 57:00 The Pure Freedom Beyond Conditions 1:00:00 Play, Spontaneity, and Shame 1:03:40 The Goldfish Bowl Story - How Play Gets Beaten Out 1:07:00 "This Really Hurt and I Love You" 1:09:00 The Trance of Unworthiness We All Inherit 1:13:34 K-Pop Demon Hunters as Liberation Teaching 1:16:00 Barbie Movie and Repressed Emotion 1:18:00 Perfect Days - Liberation Through Cleaning Toilets 1:21:00 "It's a Wonderful Life" and the Universal Heart 1:24:00 What's Gone That You Don't Notice 1:27:00 Taking the Exquisite Risk of Vulnerability 1:28:40 "Pee Here Now" - The Non-Dual Amusement Park Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 11, 20261h 31m

You Really Can't Do This Wrong

We healthcare people love accomplishment, competition, clear instructions, and maps—which can make the awakening process feel like straight TORTURE 😂 From YouTube LIVE. 00:00 - Introduction: The Comparing Mind in Healthcare 01:37 - Bringing Your Own Folding Chair to Kiss God's Ass 03:06 - The Millisecond of Clarity vs. Macro Seconds of Ego 04:12 - You Can't Do Any of This Wrong 05:27 - 3 Levels: Gross Reality, Witness Consciousness, Absolute 08:22 - 3 Schools: Ram Das Work, Dogen Zen, Neo-Advaita 13:10 - All Three Approaches Have Their Place 16:08 - Nisargadatta: "I Am That" and the Absolute 19:07 - You Cannot Fuck This Up (The Perfection of Unfolding) 23:10 - Mind as Fabrication Machine: How Insights Recondition 29:50 - Spiritual Bypass: Go Ahead and Try It 36:47 - The Well of Grief: Drowning to Find Gold Coins 41:00 - Complex PTSD and Mismatched Jigsaw Mind 47:07 - Despair and Depression as a Stop Along the Way 53:23 - Extrasensory Powers, Dreams, and Karma 1:00:10 - Dreams Show You Have No Control 1:04:28 - The Paradox of Effort: Effortless vs. Mindfulness Practice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 8, 20261h 12m

The Kingdom of Heaven is Spread Upon the Earth (Christmas Eve Live)

An intimate Christmas Eve morning livestream exploring what we're really celebrating: heart-based amazement and love as the pervasive fabric of reality, not some Hallmark conception. We discuss sitting in the unknown without the constant churn of thought creating expectation, how an itch evolved from meditative deconstruction to just allowing what is, and why all religions—Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism—point at the same unsayable thing through different words. Includes reflections on Jesus's teachings about unconditional love and kingdom of heaven, Adyashanti's "Resurrecting Jesus," my grandfather's journey from atheism to experiencing God as absolute magic, and why free will versus determinism is neither/both/doesn't ultimately matter when you're here now. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Timecodes and topics: 00:00 - Introduction: Christmas Eve Live 00:36 - What We're Celebrating: Heart-Based Amazement 01:31 - Love: Human Conception vs. Pervasive Fabric of Reality 03:05 - Working Holidays as a Hospital Doctor 05:44 - Sitting in the Unknown Without Expectation 11:24 - How Do You Stay in the Unknown? 14:16 - Being Itchy: From Deconstruction to Just Allowing 17:04 - Societal Constructs: Taking Sincerely, Not Seriously 19:04 - Religions Pointing at the Same Thing 22:43 - Jesus: Unconditional Love and Kingdom of Heaven 25:49 - Resurrecting Jesus by Adyashanti 27:18 - My Grandfather in India: From Atheist to "God is Real" 29:43 - Free Will, Determinism, or Neither and Both 32:28 - Kingdom of Heaven Spread Upon the Earth 35:07 - Closing: Stay in the Presence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 27, 202537 min

The Bottomless Well of Shadow, Being of Service, Stage Fright and More (LIVE)

From our Saturday night YouTube live conversation. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 21, 20251h 5m

The Realest Fake Thing That Never Was (w/ Eshwar Segobind)

Live conversation with Eshwar Segobind. We talk about why love skeptics become love advocates, the trauma response that becomes 'you,' why babies cry at birth (cosmic joke alert), and the nature of the clown chakra. Plus: there's a lot of duality in non-duality 😉 Our previous conversation is here. https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd for all the things. 00:00 Opening - The Creator and Clown Chakras 02:05 "There's a Lot of Duality in Non-Duality" 04:10 The Love Skeptic's Journey 07:00 Emptying to Be Filled with Love 10:00 The Child and the Immune Response 14:00 Seeing Love Everywhere 17:00 The Realest Fake Thing That Never Was 21:00 Trauma Response as the Self 28:00 Why Zubin Became ZDoggMD (Protection Mechanism) 30:14 "We're Already Dead - Now What?" 33:00 Devotion and True Prostration 39:00 The Cosmic Joke of Rebirth (Baby's First Cry) 42:00 Best Birth Buddies and Spiritual Gurus 45:00 Shadow Work Can't Be Avoided 49:00 The Child Calling You Home 56:00 Kathy Nails It: "Zubin is the Original Child" 1:00:00 Grocery Store Analogy and Payment Due 1:05:00 Buddhism and the Seeker's Problem 1:11:00 Everything Points Back to Love 1:17:00 Nihilism to Fullness Journey 1:23:00 The Projection Game 1:30:00 Depersonalization 1:36:00 2D Vision and Sensory Experiences 1:42:00 Two Nuts in a Sack (Closing) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 15, 20251h 49m

The Spiritual Circus, YouTube Shorts, and Awakening's End (LIVE)

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A spontaneous live conversation about discovering an AI tool that pulls clips from long videos—creating decontextualized shorts that make me sound like an asshole, which is exactly what the algorithm wants. We explore why Buddhist stories ultimately don't matter, how the spiritual circus is just the next level of illusion, the whole "suffering is optional" nonsense, the raft metaphor and spiritual bypass, non-dual therapy and somatic experiencing, DMT as serious business that's also nothing, and the massive relief when awakening itself—the last belief—finally drops. 00:00 - Introduction: Going Live on a Whim 00:39 - "Asian Intelligence "and AI Discovery 01:23 - Discovering Vizard.ai for Clip Generation 02:04 - The Problem with Decontextualized Shorts 02:50 - Tich Nhat Hanh Quote and Dependent Origination 03:38 - Why These Shorts Make Me Sound Like an Asshole 04:24 - Feeding the Algorithm Beast 05:09 - Mental Masturbation and Going Live as Therapy 06:04 - Mountains Are Mountains: Why Stories Don't Matter 07:23 - The Spiritual Circus vs. The Regular Circus 08:43 - Psych Patients and Meaninglessness 09:49 - Suffering is Optional? Shut the Fuck Up 11:03 - Knowledge Acquisition and Adyashanti's Wall 12:03 - Psychedelics Discussion with Kids 12:52 - The Raft Metaphor and Spiritual Bypass 14:52 - Trust and Verify: Teachers Who Build Rafts 16:44 - DMT as Serious Business and Nothing 18:20 - How to Feel the Love Pouring from Awareness 20:33 - The Mystery of the Appearance 21:48 - Non-Dual Therapy: The Ultimate Paradox 24:30 - Somatic Experiencing and Bliss Sessions 25:22 - Radical Acceptance vs. Self-Love 27:04 - Watching Non-Duality Videos: "What's This Clown Saying?" 28:26 - The Orchestra Concert and Family Life 28:49 - Awakening: The Last Belief to Drop 29:41 - Closing: My Beloved, Peace Out, Only Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 6, 202532 min

Unworthiness and Worthiness are BOTH Bulls*** | Friday Night Zen, LIVE

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Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, make dinner for your kids and have them complain about it 😉 From my Friday Night LIVE show on YouTube. Here's a link to all the things. 00:00 Why Friday Night Zen Live? 01:13 The Adolescent Phase of Selfing/Not-Selfing 02:27 Alternating Between Self and Empty Radiance 05:04 Suffering and Core Unworthiness 10:03 Why Therapy's "Reframing" Misses the Point 14:00 Living in Story Land (Trump, Veganism, and Meaning) 17:20 Everything Driven by Unworthiness 22:21 Time Is a Story - This Has Always Been 26:04 Attachment to Outcomes and the Separate Self 30:14 The Primary Human Operating System: Unworthiness 35:31 What About Love? 41:03 On Medicine and Health 3.0 49:33 The Compulsion to Make Videos for No One 52:02 "After Awakening" - The Mind's Favorite Story 57:13 The 5-MeO-DMT Revelation: "It's Just This" 1:01:02 Privilege, Causation, and Different Gates 1:05:12 The Weather Pattern of Seeking 1:09:24 Music as Pure Emotion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 15, 20251h 13m

The Costume Most Of Us Will Never Take Off

We spend our entire lives pretending to be something we think we really are—until one day the mask slips. In this live Facebook conversation we explore what happens when identity unravels, how negative self-talk might simply vanish, and how the body keeps the score even when the mind lets go. From Shakespeare's stage to the Bahiya Sutta, from catastrophic thinking to kundalini energy, we examine the deepest taboo in the human collective: that we might not be what we think we are. ALSO: f**k Halloween! 😭🎃 Video, blog post summary, and ways to join the Supporter Tribe here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Chapters and timecodes: 00:00 - Halloween Childhood Trauma 01:45 - The Human Costume: Living Behind the Mask 04:12 - When Identities Start to Unravel 07:18 - The Peace That Passes All Understanding 09:17 - Why Words Can't Capture "Reality" 10:52 - Shakespeare's Stage: All the World's a Play 13:43 - Belief in Thoughts as the Root of Suffering 16:48 - Beginnings and Endings Have No Middle 18:01 - Dread as a Self Knowing Texture 21:39 - Longchenpa: "One May Well Burst Out in Laughter" 23:05 - Catastrophic Thinking and Email Anxiety 25:29 - Can We Control Our Minds? The Illusion of Choice 28:28 - The Disappearance of Negative Self-Talk 31:00 - No Positive Self-Talk Either: Beyond Good and Bad 33:00 - Trauma, the Body Keeps the Score 35:27 - Kundalini Energy and Awakening Experiences 39:00 - Tai Chi in Flushing, Queens Botanical Gardens 42:00 - Yoga, Weight Loss, and Letting the Body Be 46:42 - We Are Everything: Control and Influence 48:10 - The Descriptive-Prescriptive Fallacy 52:04 - The Bahiya Sutta: "In the Seen, Merely the Seen" 57:16 - Thoughts Are Just Bird Songs 58:26 - Gratitude for Co-Creating This Space 01:00:12 - Two Types of Acceptance: Mind vs. Innate Reality 01:03:09 - Closing Thoughts and How To Support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 2, 20251h 8m

Dad's Birthday, Belief's Prison, and the Love That Holds It All

On what would have been my father’s 86th birthday, I found myself reflecting not just on loss, but on the nature of belief itself—and how our attachments to ideas can become the very weapons that tear us apart. Originally from a conversation I had on Facebook live. Watch the video and read a summary here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 16, 202546 min

The Absolute Free Fall of THIS (Previously LIVE)

This episode of The ZDoggMD Show was recorded in front of a live studio audience...on Facebook. Which is always a little bit of magic 🪄 What happens when the appearance that seems to construct our sense of self, our sense of the one who EXPERIENCES experience...just stops? A (previously) live interactive exploration of what's left when YOU leave (listen to find out what the hell that means 😂). Full video with a great AI summary of everything covered, click here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Topics and chapters: 00:00 - Introduction: What is Freefall? 01:47 - Pure Experience and Centerless Wonder 03:15 - Flow States and the Dropping of "Me" 04:50 - The Spirituality Story Problem 06:38 - Speaking from Silence 08:29 - The Illusion of Self and Awakening 10:03 - When the "Me" Starts to Crack 14:23 - The Impossibility of Words 16:05 - Direct Experience vs. Conceptual Knowledge 18:04 - Birds Birding, Trees Treeing 21:06 - Problems with "Aware Space" Concepts 24:42 - Criticizing Spiritual Teachers and Concepts 27:11 - The Perfection of What Is 28:25 - Questions About Existence and Determinism 30:14 - Aging and Letting Go 32:40 - The Jupiter Storm Metaphor 34:18 - The Great Defeat: Personal Story 39:04 - Free Will vs. Determinism Discussion 41:14 - Exhaustion as Your Best Friend 44:00 - Life Without "Me" 46:06 - The Spiritual Seeking Trap 49:33 - Rick and Morty References and Mr. MeSeeks 52:31 - Final Thoughts and Closing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 28, 202556 min

End-Stage Awakening: Braiding, Integration, & Release of the Threads (w/Dr. Pierce Salguero)

When the threads of awakening drop and spirituality itself falls away, what's left? Peep our earlier introduction interview on the Multidharma Threads model ⁠here on YouTube⁠ or ⁠here on Apple Podcasts⁠. And a deeper dive into each thread here. ⁠⁠Dr. Pierce Salguero⁠⁠ has studied spirituality through decades of practice and scholarship, specializing in hathayoga, meditation, shamanic rituals, spirit healing, Thai medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. He is now a professor researching Asian history, religions, and healing traditions. His Multidharma framework distills the lessons from a lifetime of exploration of spirituality, providing a novel framework for modern seekers. Here's a⁠⁠ deep dive into the Multidharma Threads model⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Pierce's books and more⁠⁠. ⁠Pierce's newsletter to get notified when his full-length Threads book drops.⁠ ⁠And here's a link to zoom meetups that discuss the Threads model. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 3, 20252h 45m

See Your Nature, And Be Free (w/Zen monk Kogen Czarnik)

Kogen is a Zen priest in the Soto tradition, in the lineage of Tangen Harada Roshi. Find his books, retreats, and more here and follow him on YouTube here. In this conversation we talk about Kogen's Japanese Zen monastic background, the intersection of traditional monasticism and modern spiritual practices, the differences between early Chinese and later Japanese Zen, the format of the student-teacher relationship in Zen, monk life in a Japanese monastery, interpersonal dynamics among monks, the difference between spirituality and dogmatic religion, a deep pointing to non-separation as a relief for human suffering, the need for multimodal modern support for issues such as trauma in spiritual settings, two fantastic books Kogen has translated/edited, and much more. Watch the video here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 27, 20251h 44m

The Emptiness, Unity, Energy, and Psyche Threads of Awakening (w/Dr. Pierce Salguero)

A deep dive into the core experiential threads that might arise during spiritual awakening, ultimately unique to each human. Peep our earlier introduction interview on the Multidharma Threads model here on YouTube or here on Apple Podcasts. ⁠Dr. Pierce Salguero⁠ has studied spirituality through decades of practice and scholarship, specializing in hathayoga, meditation, shamanic rituals, spirit healing, Thai medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. He is now a professor researching Asian history, religions, and healing traditions. His Multidharma framework distills the lessons from a lifetime of exploration of spirituality, providing a novel framework for modern seekers. Here's a⁠ deep dive into the Multidharma Threads model⁠⁠. ⁠ ⁠Pierce's books and more⁠. Pierce's newsletter to get notified when his full-length Threads book drops. And here's a link to zoom meetups that discuss the Threads model. Two resources Pierce mentioned for spiritual emergencies/crises: Cheetah House Spiritual Emergence Network Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠⁠ Timecodes and Topics: 0:00 - Intro 0:05 - Recap of prior Threads discussion, psychiatric vs. spiritual crises 20:45 - The Emptiness Thread: Experiences, practices, pitfalls, integration & release 1:03:29 - The Unity Thread: Experiences, practices, integration & release 1:30:13 The non-dual endpoint of all the Threads 1:35:15 The Energy Thread: Experiences, practices, integration & release 2:09:36 - The Psyche Thread: Experiences, practices, pitfalls, integration & release 2:54:23 Integration and release of all the threads 3:04:46 Spiritual emergency or crisis vs. psychiatric & resources to help Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 29, 20253h 14m

What IS Awakening, Anyways? (From YouTube LIVE)

Here's the new Facebook "Awakening Stuff" channel. Here's the unlisted YouTube video for this show. Here's where you can join our Supporter Tribe to participate in Zoom meetings on this stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 25, 20251h 5m

Disillusionment Is A Gateway To Infinite Freedom

When our cherished beliefs painfully fall away, we're left squarely in the unknown and the unknowable...which is pure freedom itself 🔥 Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 16, 202526 min

Trust, Surrender, and the Threads of Awakening (Sunday Zen LIVE)

In this live episode of Sunday Zen, we dive deep into the themes of trust, surrender, and the Threads of Awakening model introduced by Dr. Pierce Salguero. I've been reflecting on how traditional spiritual models can leave us feeling lost, stuck, or even scared, and how Pierce's approach offers a more inclusive framework that resonates with my own experiences. We share insights on the different threads—emptiness, energy, unity, and psyche—and how they manifest in our lives. We discuss the challenges of spiritual ego, which I've grappled with myself, and discuss the role of psychedelics in opening new pathways of understanding. And we touch on the importance of embracing the unknown as the true entry point to the nature of reality. General topic list: Trust, surrender, and the Threads of Awakening model by Dr. Pierce Salguero Critique of traditional spiritual models and their limitations Overview of the Threads of Awakening: emptiness, energy, unity, and psyche Correlation of different practices with specific threads The concept of trust and surrender in spiritual awakening The illusion of control and the orchestration of life Personal reflections on spiritual ego and its challenges The role of psychedelics in spiritual experiences and awakening Embracing the unknown and the nature of reality The integration and release of spiritual threads Personal experiences with fear and health challenges Reflections on retirement and identity loss The impact of spiritual teachings and teachers The role of community and religious services in spiritual growth The significance of heart-centered practices and connecting with others The influence of spiritual traditions and identities, such as veganism Reflections on personal spiritual journey and insights The importance of radical honesty and self-awareness The concept of non-doership and its implications Personal anecdotes and experiences related to spiritual growth Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 12, 20251h 27m

Unraveling The Threads of Awakening (w/Prof. Pierce Salguero)

For many, traditional spiritual frameworks leave us feeling alienated and invalidated, firing up the engine of fear and seeking when our own experiences don't fit their mold. Multidharma is a new map that drops "stages of awakening" and instead recognizes multiple threads that might unfold—such as emptiness, oneness, energy, and psyche—providing a more inclusive space for the vast diversity of human experience. Dr. Pierce Salguero has studied spirituality through decades of practice and scholarship, specializing in hathayoga, meditation, shamanic rituals, spirit healing, Thai medicine, and Buddhist philosophy. He is now a professor researching Asian history, religions, and healing traditions. His Multidharma framework distills the lessons from a lifetime of exploration of spirituality, providing a novel framework for modern seekers. Here's a deep dive into the Multidharma Threads model. Pierce's books and more. Timecodes and topics: 0:00 Intro 0:55 Why Multidharma Threads awakening model was needed 22:21 What is awakening, intro to “emptiness” and “oneness” Threads 47:33 The “energy” Thread 1:00:31 The “psyche” Thread 1:23:33 The hero archetypes of each Thread and spiritual perfectionism 1:27:37 Guiding inquiry questions for each Thread 1:34:04 Braiding of the Threads 1:40:18 Integration of the Threads 1:50:56 Thread release and the Autopilot Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: ⁠https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd⁠ Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: ⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd⁠ More about Dr. Z: ⁠https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 8, 20252h 34m

The Ideal of Spiritual Perfection is Utter Nonsense

Humans are gonna human, bro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 15, 202516 min

Life's Textures Are Just What They Are (What A Relief!) - previously LIVE

Chop wood, carry water 😉 Full video here. Contact form, videos, Supporter Tribe and more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 30, 202543 min

Forever Seeking, But This Is It...There's Nowhere Else To Go

At what point does spirituality eat its own tail? Full video here. Contact form, videos, Supporter Tribe and more here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 27, 202545 min

The Truth About RFK Jr. (And Dr. Oz!) w/Dr. Paul Offit

Never underestimate the forces of delusion (on ALL sides). Vaccine co-inventor Paul Offit returns to spit some fire on RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz, pandemic mistakes, public health messaging, Nobel delusions, COVID vaccine science, and much more. Watch the video here. Video archive, audio podcast, music, Supporter Tribe membership, email & more: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email thank you from me: https://paypal.me/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z Timecodes: 1:15 Dr Oz 3:30 RFK Jr. & food safety 4:19 RFK's claim to fame: Mercury in vaccines (Thimerosal) 10:34 RFK’s conspiracy thinking & science denialism, why scientists (often) suck at communicating 18:46 Covid vaccines, the allure of conspiracy thinking, what went wrong during the pandemic, lessons learned 26:05 Omicron, does communicating transparently REALLY pay off? 32:09 RFK Jr’s role in the Samoan measles outbreak, our take on raw milk & water fluoridation 41:14 Zubin’s summary of The Atlantic article, ‘How the Ivy League Broke America’, by David Brooks, why it’s SO important to cultivate UNDERSTANDING 51:26 Paul’s take on FDA financial conflicts, why transparency & understanding go hand in hand 54:34 Malone, McCullough, & Ledeppo 59:34 “We’ve seen the enemy, and he is us,” emotion circling and the power of delusion 1:00:44 Paul’s MAJOR award, a walk down Paul & Zubin’s memory lane, what’s next for Paul 1:04:24 Is science losing its place as a source of truth? Closing remarks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 21, 20241h 14m

Psychedelics For Non-Dual Integration (w/Mira Funk, LCSW)

Powerful medicines like 5-MeO DMT, N,N-DMT, and salvia divinorum can be used not simply to bypass our current experience, but rather to help us un-journey right back here and now...to the non-dual realization of JUST this infinite moment. Psychotherapist and psychedelic guide Mira Funk shows us how. Video version here. This video may be a bit intimidating, but luckily I decided to use these medicines myself under Mira's guidance so you might want to start with my post-journey integration session. Here's the meditation Mira used with me to prepare for my 5-Meo/N,N-DMT/Salvia experience. Mira Funk, LCSW, (she/her) is a queer, nonbinary psychotherapist, transformational coach, and psychedelic guide specialized in serving 5-MeO-DMT, N,N-DMT (including analog ayahuasca), and salvia divinorum. She studied comparative literature at Harvard, psychodynamic psychotherapy at Smith College School for Social Work, and psychedelic facilitation at InnerTrek. Based in Corvallis, Oregon, she is the founder of Unjourneying, a private therapy and coaching practice where she is passionately committed to optimizing her clients' psychedelic growth with a blend of somatic, mindfulness-based, and nondual integration approaches. Contact Mira to learn more about her approach on her Website, YouTube Channel, or Podcast, and follow her here. READ THIS: These medicines are NOT for everyone, and this video does not represent medical advice. Only use these medicines in locations where they are legal under the supervision of a professional guide. Consult with a psychedelically informed healthcare practitioner like Dr. Ben Malcolm to ensure you are medically cleared for your psychedelic retreat and that you won't have any dangerous interactions with your medications or supplements. Do not use psychedelics if you have heart problems, a seizure disorder, are pregnant or breastfeeding; or if you have a personal or family history of psychosis, or are experiencing suicidality or other acute mental health symptoms. Please seek the support of a mental health professional if you are facing a mental health crisis. Clinical research is showing that psychedelics can have anti-inflammatory effects. But note that when it comes to some chronic neuroinflammatory disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis or Lyme Disease, there is anecdotal evidence that psychedelics can be helpful; and also that they can trigger flare-ups. Mira has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease & Babesiosis, has experienced both healing and also inflammatory effects from psychedelic use, so if you have a neuroinflammatory disorder and want to explore psychedelics, it's best to proceed with caution in consultation with your doctor and to start with small doses or microdoses to see how you respond. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro/Disclaimer 02:10 Introduction, Mira’s awakening/seeking journey, time in a Korean monastery, learning to meditate, refining practice into letting go, the nature of thought, spiritual bypass 23:12 General discussion of psychedelic medicines, varying paths to awakening, Vipassana meditation, integrating non-duality, Zubin’s origin story 45:22 Mira’s Goenka retreat experience, synthesis of non-dual teachings AND medicines, associated risks, Mira’s approach as a guide, her protocol & best practices 1:08:11 Overview of different medicines: 5-MeO-DMT, N,N-DMT (in combination with Harmaline), Salvia divinorum, lion’s mane, what is UN-journeying? 2:10:44 Safety considerations, dosing summary, emotions reinforcing the importance of integration both before AND after, trauma-informed methods, using step-wise titration to safely customize experience 3:05:10 Difference between 5-MeO-DMT and N,N-DMT, more safety considerations 3:10:55 Routes of administration, specifically rectal administration of 5-Meo DMT 3:33:53 Gender identity and non-duality 4:10:47 Wrap up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 25, 20244h 17m

My Psychedelic UnJourney (w/Mira Funk, LCSW) | 5-MEO, N,N-DMT, Salvia Divinorum

I tried 3 of the most powerful psychedelics known: 5-MeO DMT, N,N-DMT, and salvia divinorum via vaporized, oral, and (*cough*) other routes...all over 3 days. We then filmed this one-of-a-kind post journey integration session with my guide Mira Funk. It's an epic unjourney right back to here, and now 🙏. Video version here. Here's our pre-journey 4 hour deep dive into these medicines and how they might point back to the non-dual nature of THIS. Here's a meditation Mira used with me to prepare for the un-journey. Mira Funk, LCSW, (she/her) is a queer, nonbinary psychotherapist, transformational coach, and psychedelic guide specialized in serving 5-MeO-DMT, N,N-DMT (including analog ayahuasca), and salvia divinorum. She studied comparative literature at Harvard, psychodynamic psychotherapy at Smith College School for Social Work, and psychedelic facilitation at InnerTrek. Based in Corvallis, Oregon, she is the founder of Unjourneying, a private therapy and coaching practice where she is passionately committed to optimizing her clients' psychedelic growth with a blend of somatic, mindfulness-based, and nondual integration approaches. Contact Mira to learn more about her approach on her Website, YouTube Channel, or Podcast, and follow her here. READ THIS: These medicines are NOT for everyone, and this video does not represent medical advice. Only use these medicines in locations where they are legal under the supervision of a professional guide. Consult with a psychedelically informed healthcare practitioner like Dr. Ben Malcolm to ensure you are medically cleared for your psychedelic retreat and that you won't have any dangerous interactions with your medications or supplements. Do not use psychedelics if you have heart problems, a seizure disorder, are pregnant or breastfeeding; or if you have a personal or family history of psychosis, or are experiencing suicidality or other acute mental health symptoms. Please seek the support of a mental health professional if you are facing a mental health crisis. Clinical research is showing that psychedelics can have anti-inflammatory effects. But note that when it comes to some chronic neuroinflammatory disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis or Lyme Disease, there is anecdotal evidence that psychedelics can be helpful; and also that they can trigger flare-ups. Mira has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease & Babesiosis, has experienced both healing and also inflammatory effects from psychedelic use, so if you have a neuroinflammatory disorder and want to explore psychedelics, it's best to proceed with caution in consultation with your doctor and to start with small doses or microdoses to see how you respond. Timecodes: 00:00 Intro 4:34 Beginning of the psychedelic medicine integration session 8:21 5-MeO-DMT via inhalation using a vape pen and the step-wise method 39:18 5-MeO-DMT via rectal administration, vulnerability, touching into trauma deep in the body 54:59 Order of medicine administration MATTERS, safety considerations 58:06 N,N-DMT (in combination with MAO-I Harmaline) aka. analog ayahuasca 1:10:58 Salvia divinorum, SURPRISE, it's just THIS! 1:25:32 What is UN-journeying, closing reflections Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 20241h 46m

Living In The Dream (Sunday Zen, LIVE)

Everything was always here, waiting. Now that you see it, you can really live in the dream. Originally streamed LIVE to YouTube. Join our Supporter Tribe by clicking the Join button on my YouTube channel 🙏 or sign up on Facebook, Instagram or Locals here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 11, 202447 min

What If We're ALL Partially Right? (w/Stephanie Lepp)

Is it possible to synthesize & integrate opposing views while avoiding both-sides-ism or an anemic middle that is dependent on the extremes to define itself? Award winning producer and storyteller Stephanie Lepp shows us how to heal our most pernicious social divides. Watch the video version here. She's the former Executive Producer at the Center for Humane Technology, the organization at the heart of the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, which I analyzed in this video. Today, she leads Synthesis Media, an independent production studio devoted to accelerating the next enlightenment. Her latest production is Faces of X — a series of short videos that integrate different perspectives on divisive social issues. You can find Stephanie on Twitter @stephlepp. Links to some of Stephanie's projects: Faces of X — a series of short videos that integrate different perspectives on culture war issues, like gender, abortion and race. Deep Reckonings — a series of explicitly-marked deepfake videos that imagine morally courageous versions of our public figures. Start with Brett Kavanaugh, and explore from there. Reckonings — a podcast that told the stories of people who've expanded their political worldviews, transcended extremism, and made other kinds of transformative change. Start with these episodes, and explore from there: The architect of Facebook's business model The former protégé of Fox News chairman, Roger Ailes A perpetrator and survivor of sexual assault who managed to work through it using restorative justice (intense but amazing story) Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 11, 20242h 2m

Dive Into The Unconscious To Truly Be Free (Sunday Zen, LIVE)

Awakening isn’t just about meditating on emptiness—it's about peeling back the layers and facing the ugly, unconscious patterns we pretend aren’t there. Originally streamed LIVE to YouTube, watch the video here. And here's my earlier video on Pierce Salguero's Threads of Awakening model. Join our Supporter Tribe by clicking the Join button on my YouTube channel 🙏 or sign up on Facebook, Instagram or Locals here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 8, 20241h 3m

Drop From Head Into Heart and Truly Feel (Sunday Zen, LIVE)

What happens when you think less and feel more? Here’s how we might drop from our headspace into the infinity of sensation we call “body” and how that simple shift of attention just might change how we relate to everything. And here’s a video from my friend Simon Brown with more tips on this. Join our Supporter Tribe by clicking the Join button on my YouTube channel 🙏 or sign up on Facebook, Instagram or Locals here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 26, 20241h 16m

Covid, End-Of-Life, Psychedelics, & More

We chat about palliative care, psychedelics, my recent COVID experience, and all things alt-middle. Originally streamed to Instagram Live. Drop a like, comment (or both!) on the video version, it helps the algorithm spread the word 🙏 Also, check these previous episodes: I finally got COVID and The day my COVID got worse. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 15, 202437 min

The Day My COVID Got Worse...

I've talked about COVID for years, but FINALLY caught it and NEVER expected this twist. Video version here. And the OG "I Finally Got COVID" episode here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 9, 202428 min

COVID Finally Got Me (Storytime w/Dr. Z)

I dodged COVID for 4 years and then BOOM, hit by the 'rona train. Here’s my story, my symptoms, and what I've learned (so far). Plus check out the video with Dr. Paul Offit discussing fever's (important) role in fighting an infection in Don't Fight a Fever and why your body's immune response feels so terrible in That Second Shot. Video version here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 12, 202424 min

The Corporate Mindfulness Scam (w/Prof. Ron Purser)

Does management teach "mindfulness" to create compliance with a broken system that continues to inflict moral injury on frontline workers? Ron Purser is a professor of management at San Francisco State University and a student of Buddhism since 1981. He's an ordained Zen priest and a faculty member at Dharma College (check out their Illuminate TSK app with exercises). Learn more about Ron on his website, check out his book McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality, his podcast The Mindful Cranks and his Current Affairs article How the Life Coaching Industry Sells Pseudo-Solutions to Our Deepest Problems. And here's the book we mentioned Time, Space and Knowledge: A New Vision of Reality by Tarthang Tulku. Video version with topics and timecodes here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 1, 20241h 43m

Your Awakening Will Never Fit THEIR Mold, Here's Why

Frustrated that your experience doesn't align with what the books and gurus keep saying? Listen to this. Video version here. More from Dr. Pierce Salguero here. Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 26, 202429 min

Losing A Parent, Medical Board Cartels, Whole Body MRI (w/Dr. Vinay Prasad)

The most epic medical bromance in history is BACK and we've brought our A-game 🔥 Video version including timecodes here. Topics covered: Zubin's Dad's Passing Physician Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Chat GPT and Medicine Letting DOJ Know About MOC Monopoly Colon Cancer Screening Whole Body MRI Scans GI Jokes Masking In Hospitals Doctors' Attire and Behavior (Professionalism) What's Up With Braces? 👉 Ain't The Way To Die, including resources on end-of-life planning. 👉 Link to let DOJ know about MOC. 👉 Previous episode w/Dr. Paul Teirstein on MOC (Maintenence of Certification) Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 5, 20241h 39m

No-Nonsense Spirituality (w/Britt Hartley)

What happens when organized religion falls away but atheism feels like a long dark night of the nihilistic soul? Video version with topics & timecodes here. Brittney Hartley has a Masters Degree in Theology with a focus on the future of American religion. She works as an atheist Spiritual Director at No Nonsense Spirituality after a 2 year program at the Center for Non Religious Spirituality. Britt is an ordained Sufi, plant medicine guide, nihilist recovery coach, author, religious scholar, philosopher, and Weezer lover who lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband and four children. Connect with Britt: Website TikTok Britt's book - No Nonsense Spirituality: All the Tools No Belief Required Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 2, 20242h 6m

The Bald and the Beautiful: A Chat w/Dr. Abraham Verghese

The world-renowned physician/author returns to share some hard-won wisdom. Video version including topics & timecodes here. And check out our previous episodes together. Book References: The Covenant of Water The Road Back To You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery The Wisdom of the Enneagram The Master and His Emissary Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 6, 20241h 18m

Saving Healthcare, Waking Up & Radical Self-Acceptance (From Instagram LIVE)

We rap about Health 3.0, my advice to medical residents, collecting beliefs and MORE! Plus an unmasked cameo from the one and only Doc Vader 🔥 Originally streamed LIVE to Instagram. Full topic list: Will I make more music videos? What is health 3.0 and why waking up to our true nature is the only way to bring it about? Advice for entering medical residents What’s looking through your eyes? Doc Vader’s psychedelic journey What happens when we stop collecting beliefs? The shame and identity loss when you leave clinical practice How do we accept every single part of us, even the dark stuff? My favorite books on awakening and realization Awakening happens only in its right time If you're "into" this kind of content, subscribe & leave a review, it really helps spread the word 🙏 Video show archive, audio podcasts, music parodies, Supporter Tribe membership options, merch, social media, and email contact form: https://lnk.bio/zdoggmd Support us with a 1-time donation and get a personal email response from me: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zdoggmd More about Dr. Z: https://zdoggmd.com/about-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 22, 202451 min