In this episode I’m joined by Dean Sluyter: meditation teacher, best-selling author of several books including his most recent ‘The Dharma Bum’s Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics’.
Dean recounts his fortunate upbringing, how he began to realise he had an unusually fast mind, and the early mystical experiences that would change his life in profound ways.
Dean talk about his parent’s radical left activism, and how one event caused him to re-examine his family’s beliefs.
Dean shares the arc of his spiritual life, including his psychedelic sadhu period, his twenty years as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation while teaching English at the illustrious Pingry School, his studies in Buddhism and Dzogchen, and why he now considers himself to be a spiritual elder.
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Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/163-dharma-bums-guide-to-western-literature-dean-sluyter
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
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Topics Include:
00:00 - Intro
00:55 - Origins of the book
03:05 - Dean’s Moby Dick karma
04:02 - A literature primer
05:16 - Art comes through people
06:30 - Dean’s fortunate upbringing
07:55 - A special mind
09:01 - Spontaneous childhood mystical experiences
12:18 - The mystery of awakening experiences
16:13 - Is Dean spiritually talented?
17:48 - Teaching literature and enlightenment at the illustrious Pingry School
20:03 - Dean’s emotional and social development
21:51 - Radical left activism of Dean’s parents
24:40 - Being wrong is a precious opportunity
30:57 - The appeal of certainty
32:18 - How to examine one’s inherited views
36:59 - Dean’s psychedelic sadhu phase
42:35 - Encountering Transcendental Meditation
48:09 - Mood making enlightenment
52:09 - Making your day a practice
54:20 - Why Dean left TM
57:15 - True meditation is effortless
01:00:12 - Life after TM
01:05:17 - Interest in Buddhism and Dzogchen
01:06:39 - Studying with Ngakchang Rinpoche and Surya Dass.
01:07:45 - Umbanda explorations
01:09:31 - Becoming a spiritual elder
01:11:14 - Rupert Spira as a spiritual reality check
01:13:36 - Emily Dickinson’s pure nonduality
01:16:39 - Facing the impossible in art
01:17:44 - Dean’s writing routine
01:18:18 - Dean’s teaching activities
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To find out more about Dean Sluyter, visit:
- https://deansluyter.com/
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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
- www.guruviking.com
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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James