Open Question Podcast:
A Call to Inner Brilliance with Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel

In this episode, Elizabeth explores the idea and experience of lineage. Lineage is an important part of human existence and culture. What we know and how we see life, has something to do with a continuum of worldview and experience that has been passed down to us. In the context of Buddhism, lineage keeps us in the boundary of our intention to connect with our innate wisdom. “Interfacing with a lineage as a living experience,” as she puts it “keeps us on the edge of continuous discovery.”

In the opening episode of Season Two of the Open Question podcast, Unconditional Wellbeing, Elizabeth speaks with her teacher, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on the topic of the Buddhist training in patience as an extension of the practice of universal love. The unconditional wellbeing that the practice produces is based on developing confidence in yourself and your ability.

In this episode Elizabeth speaks with Fleet Maull, prison activist, Buddhist practitioner, and author of “Dharma in Hell” and “Radical Responsibility.” He has a fascinating story to tell about his 14 years of Buddhist practice in prison; starting the first prison hospice program; and the practice of bearing witness.

Part II of Elizabeth’s conversation with Lama Willa Miller.

The Buddha said: “You are the agent of your own awakening, there is no other agent than you.” This is an empowering statement, but it also implies that we need to take up the task of our own spiritual evolution.

In this episode. “Taming the Wild Horse: The Ritual of Wellbeing,” Elizabeth explores the value and potency of ritual in our personal lives, culture, and spiritual practice. She also shares a meaningful conversation she had with Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the head of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations, about the role of ritual and ceremony in indigenous culture.

Lyla June Johnston is an indigenous environmental scientist, doctoral student, educator, community organizer and musician of Diné (Navajo), Cheyenne, and European lineages. She is from Taos, NM.

In this episode, Elizabeth guides us through a process of inquiry and meditation grounded in the traditional, yet unconventional, teachings of the path of the bodhisattva. These teachings provide us with a clear and practical directive for cultivating a healthy relationship with others. We often look at the “ego” as a hindrance to spiritual liberation.

In this episode Elizabeth will be speaking with Lama Willa Miller. Lama Willa is a student and authorized dharma teacher in the Kagyud lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. In her 20’s she engaged in twelve years of monastic training, and did two consecutive traditional 3-year retreats. She is the founding teacher and spiritual director of Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, which has a spiritual retreat center in Springfield, NH.

In this episode, Elizabeth talks about purposes of meditation. She describes meditation in the context of her own practice lineage, the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, as a way to develop a healthy and enjoyable relationship with the natural activity of the mind. Elizabeth then invites us into a short guided meditation.

In this first episode of a two-part series with Anam Thubten Rinpoche, a teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana lineage, we discuss the purpose of spiritual practice; the importance of confronting uncomfortable and scary experiences; and the reason that spiritual practice can support us during these challenging times.

In this episode, Elizabeth speaks with her dear friend and teacher, Lorain Fox Davis, both a Cree and Blackfeet elder. They talk about the how to identify the tremendous possibilities in home sheltering; the difference between aloneness and feeling isolated; the unstoppable movement of life; and the nature of prayer.

How do we navigate our lives in the midst of uncertainty? How do we bring our deepest intentions together with our actions? What is the purpose of spirituality? How can we accommodate both the beauty and the pain of life?