In Season One, Episode 7 of Tales from the Truth Seekers I had the pleasure of connecting with Lydia, a former university art professor who is deep in the midst of her spiritual journey, and recently returned from an extended residency at a Zen Buddhist monastery. In this episode, she shares her initial spiritual experience with us which encompassed vast, never-ending lightness, as well as intense darkness and fear, and the incredible, continuously evolving insights that can come with an experience like this. We both share our stories of attempting to navigate the aftermath, the struggles of trying to find a teacher who is not dismissive but understanding (even in some Buddhist circles), and our shared experience of how funny, alive, and un-serious the beauty of the world really is.
Weightlessness & Wonder, with Lydia
A limitless expansion of no-self vs. the fear in ego-death while finding your way through Zen.
Feb 26, 2025

Tales from the Truth Seekers
In our society, real spiritual experiences are taboo and it’s tragic. The people who have seen or felt the truth are labeled insane by the secular, heretical by the religious, and are gaslit by the New Agers. Because it is a “here and now” experience that goes beyond identity, it innocently threatens any belief system that it meets by default. The result? The most beautiful part of ourselves, the truth of our existence, is forcefully banished to the margins and the experiencer themselves then suffers the consequences. On this podcast we will fearlessly dive into these margins, interviewing people from all walks of life who have felt the answers and seen the unseen. Our mission is to bring their stories out of the spiritual closet and into the open to gain precious insight and wisdom that go beyond ideals. In a society plagued with cultism, dogma, and nihilism, these stories serve as a healing elixir to both listener and experiencer alike, bringing truth, love, peace, and magic to an increasingly fearful and cynical world.
In our society, real spiritual experiences are taboo and it’s tragic. The people who have seen or felt the truth are labeled insane by the secular, heretical by the religious, and are gaslit by the New Agers. Because it is a “here and now” experience that goes beyond identity, it innocently threatens any belief system that it meets by default. The result? The most beautiful part of ourselves, the truth of our existence, is forcefully banished to the margins and the experiencer themselves then suffers the consequences. On this podcast we will fearlessly dive into these margins, interviewing people from all walks of life who have felt the answers and seen the unseen. Our mission is to bring their stories out of the spiritual closet and into the open to gain precious insight and wisdom that go beyond ideals. In a society plagued with cultism, dogma, and nihilism, these stories serve as a healing elixir to both listener and experiencer alike, bringing truth, love, peace, and magic to an increasingly fearful and cynical world.Listen on
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