Zeitgeist with Zack Geist

In this episode Dr. Doug Brackmann and I go into what it means to be Driven. There are genetic differences among this population, which leaves them often, confused, successful, addicted or controlled by shame.    We go into the reasons that nature might have caused this expression in certain individuals in a tribe and how these tendencies can wreak havoc on personal relationships and on the body itself.    We go into why the Driven Person may be looked at as a sociopath or psychopath and why they are drawn to behaviors that are considered to be very antisocial or self serving to others and what to do about it.    We also go into what to do in a world that doesn't have much need for someone with this level of compulsive drive for survival, and what to do if you are driven to stay healthy and to cultivate deep relationships with those who don't share that same drive, and much more.   Dr. Doug has two PhDs in Psychology and has worked with high entrepreneurs and special forces and has written the book "Driven" w

It's been a long time since I have published an episode. Frankly, the long delay has been due to the fact that my life circumstances have changed so completely that the topics that I am most actively working appear so different than previous episodes. Although this topic and ones to come may appear disparate and unconnected at first glance, I think that they are in fact another aspect of living in the world in a more beautiful and holistic way.    In this episode I interview Hajjar Gibran and Steve Areen. Hajjar Gibran is the founder of Dome Gaia, an organization that helps people around the world build very inexpensive and beautiful homes that are sustainable, long lasting and can be duplicated in most any climate. These technologies harbor the opportunity to reduce or even eliminate homelessness and allow for people to build for much less than the absurd cost of lumber both economically and to the planet.    We talk about what can be built with aircrete and other materials and how people can learn how t

Dr. Clare Johnson received her PhD in Lucid Dreaming and the Creative Process. She has been lucid dreaming for over 40 years since the age of 3. She is the past president of the International Study of Sleep and Dreams, is a Yoga Teacher, Mother and an author of more books on lucid dreaming than any other author that I have been able to find.   Over the past 2 years I have been deeply committed to my lucid dream practice. Experiencing the Divine through real experiences, as real as waking life or even more real, has inspired me to dive deeper and deeper into accessing this numinous embodied presence. This eventually led me to discovering the work of Dr. Clare Johnson. Beginning to read her book almost a year ago, inspired lucid dreams 3 nights in a row, which at the time was a record for me. Since working with her through her books, in groups and personally, I have often told people that if I were to be trapped on a desert island, alone, with only one book, it would be her complete book on lucid dreaming. I

I discovered Jorge Conesa Sevilla from my reading and research around lucid dreaming. He was one of the first authors that I'm aware of to do extensive research into sleep paralysis and speaks about it in his book "Wrestling with Ghosts." Jorge has spent his lifetime in nature and exploring consciousness through spending considerable time in a primal state in the wild, living off the land as well as undergoing long fasts for spiritual insight and biological health.  In this episode we speak about the effects that modern urban and city living is having on the human psyche and we speak about how we can return to nature and dream for healing. Jorge Conesa-Sevilla PhD, has a triple degree in Biology, Philosophy and Psychology which gives him an evidence based perspective on states of being that are ignored and even viewed as uncanny to most of western mainstream science.  Topics of the Dialogue include: Shamanism, lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, vision quests, fasting as a spiritual practice, zazen meditation, a

On this episode I am joined by Luis Rodriguez whom I met at a men's retreat in Mendocino in 2019 with Michael Meade. Luis' bio is far too long and varied to cover fully here, but includes healing from addiction, working to help prisoners cry through their words, becoming the poet laureate of Los Angeles twice, working with gang members and at risk youth, running for green party governor of California and for vice president for the justice party.  Hearing some of Luis' stories at the Michael Meade retreat told a tale that sounded more uncanny than fiction. His wounding was long and deep and the discovering of his gifts came with much suffering as soul gifts tend to do. I wasn't sure exactly where the conversation would go and I had imagined that we may go into more of his stories, however, speaking with Luis evoked a lot of my past to pour into our dialogue. I have been hesitant to post this episode as I don't speak about these things publicly or much at all and I feel a bit embarrassed that I spoke so much. T

One of the most well known lucid dreamers and considered one of the pioneers of lucid dreaming in the western world, Robert Waggoner joins me to go "deep" into the world of lucid dreaming. This is not an episode speaking about techniques, but instead, speaking to the potential that becoming aware in dreaming holds for the future of humanity and our shared waking physical reality. Both Zack and Robert uncover that they were both brought to exploring of the dream world by early encounters with dreaming mixed with an anemic view of heaven. Robert shares about what has kept him exploring lucid dreaming all of these years and goes into deep "mystical or shamanic" experiences that have occurred in dreams and waking physical reality that defies our modern worldview.  He also speaks about feeling connected to past lives and to other worlds in the here and now, and a connection with intelligent beings that appear to live lives joined to ours, that can be touched by the intentional closing of our eyelids, and occasiona

"What is a caretaker of the cosmos?" One of the first questions posed to author Gary Lachman in this episode of Zeitgeist with Zack Geist. Among his 20+ books, Gary wrote ‘The Caretakers of the Cosmos: Living Responsibly in an Unfinished World.’ and joins Zack to explore the author's central tenet: that humans are entrusted with a daunting task of repairing creation itself. The theory positions us as mediators between dual realms, one of time & space versus our spiritual world that enfold one another. Each person's accountability is then two-fold, to care for our material world while simultaneously exploring the inner realm of pure spirit/imagination.Join Zack and Gary in exploring the lofty question, "Why are we here?"

In this episode I speak with the author and teacher on Lucid Dreaming, Charlie Morley. Charlie is a practitioner of Tibetan Dream Yoga and works with his his dreams for spiritual insight and healing. We speak about many topics related to dreaming and lucid dreaming, healing from trauma and practices during waking life that can help a dreamer become lucid in their dreams.  Charlie also gives us a sneak peak into his Lucid Dream Summit with guest teachers like Dr. Clare Johnson and Robert Waggoner, prolific lucid dreamers and shares lucid dream research that is at the cutting edge of this pioneering practice. Lucid dreaming is a vast open vista to states of consciousness that can help heal and transform humans and the living earth.  

Dr Ed Tick is a psychologist specializing in treating sufferers with PTSD and has worked with combat veterans since the 1970s. He discovered through his work that the most profound healing from the symptoms of PTSD were to be had through dream work and more specifically through the ancient Greek practice of Asklepion Dream Incubation. To my surprise, modern medicine in the west as it is known today is rooted in Asklepion sanctuaries where cures were sought in both the waking world by working with the laws of nature as well as the mythic world of dreams where the patient explored the numinous through radical ritual and dreams inviting the Asklepios to help them heal. This healing could occur through insight in how to work with the natural world to improve either physical or mental illness or could happen in the dream and carry over to waking life. You may be shocked as I was to discover that there were hundreds of these Asklepion temples and that the healing miracles which occurred there were etched into the w

Tricia Eastman is a medicine woman who works with the plant medicine Iboga. Tricia has spent time with the medicine people of Gabon Africa and the Bwiti Shamans in initiation through this extremely powerful and deeply healing medicine. Having lead thousands of healing journeys in the West, Tricia helps explorers of consciousness open up to the medicine and integrate the profound insights that are shared through the experience.  Zack and Tricia speak about Iboga's potential for helping heal addiction of all kinds and how through this healing expanding our states of being and our understanding around God and the sacred. Zack speaks about how it was through Iboga that he moved from white knuckling sobriety towards an understanding of what the root cause of his addictions were and what they were masking that Iboga helped reveal to him. Iboga is a messenger that cannot be ignored, you can't "do it wrong" if you have the right intention, Iboga will show you the truth about yourself. We also talk about lucid dreamin

Jennifer Dumpert is an "oneironaut", an explorer of dream consciousness, who has spent many decades working with the liminal dream space. Liminal Dreaming is the space that we often don't pay attention to and hence barrel through it from waking consciousness all the way to REM sleep. Jennifer teaches us that there is a whole world available in these spaces, a world full of insight, creativity and healing, and the same very real dimension where Salvadore Dali and Thomas Edison would use to create works of art and genius. Nicola Tesla would often inquire with his assistant to whether he was dreaming or not because he was so often in this liminal dream space. Zack explores with Jennifer some of the possibilities available to us in the Liminal Dream space and how it can help us with nightmares, creativity, healing and becoming comfortable with the unknown and even death. You'll become acquainted to the "Bardo" state referred to by the Tibetan Holy men and referred to by different names by other mystics. Jennifer

This episode was recorded at the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic when uncertainty regarding the CARES act was even greater than it is now. Student Loans had been put in 6 month disaster forbearance with interest rates dropped to 0% on Direct Student Loans. The tax deadlines had been extended to July and memorandums to stop evictions had been rumored.  Now nearly 8 weeks have passed and we are only beginning to see and feel the economic implications of Covid19, with middle income citizens having some of the fears that the lower income citizens suffer with as a way of life.  In this episode Derek Tennant and Zack speak about debt, capitalism, gift economy, student loans and taxes. Derek is an enrolled IRS agent and has worked for many years with Lynn Twist's work, "The Soul of Money." Derek works helping tax payers pay less to the IRS and offers his services 100% in the Spirit of the Gift. 

In this episode Zack Geist holds a dialogue with depth psychologist and founder of the Jung Society of Utah and the Jung Platform Machiel Klerk. Zack and Machiel speak about the COVID19 virus and its effects on the the psyche both individually and collectively. They also dive into the realm of dream work, Jungian depth psychology, lucid dreaming, shamanic and ecstatic practices and how to integrate those experiences and share meaning with others.  Zack and Machiel talk about a course that begins April 2nd featuring mythologist and elder Michael Meade, and depth psychologists James Hollis and Robert Bosnak where they will be exploring the Corona Virus both mythically and psychologically.  If you'd like to participate in the Corona workshop with Michael Meade, James Hollis and Robert Bosnak, you can find it here at this link: https://www.jungplatform.com/partner/EcstaticDance

Ben Sessa is a medical doctor and child psychiatrist who specializes in treating PTSD arising from incidents of childhood trauma. In this episodes Zack and Madeleine speak about how the medicine MDMA may essentially be psychiatry’s antibiotic when taken in the medicine’s pure form, in a therepuetic setting, with proper intention and integration with a trained professional over a 12 week cycle. Zack shares of his healing journey that was catalyzed by this “miracle” medicine that he first discovered through one of Ben Sessa’s Ted Talks. Ben Sessa is one of the founders of the world’s first legal and licensed psychedelic therapy clinics located in the UK, which opens its doors in 2020.

Yaegon & Eve, better known as the prolific duo both electronic music producer Kalya Scintilla , founder of Merkaba music, with theatre director/storyteller Evoke founder of Evokation Sacred Art, join Zack and Madeleine to discuss their new album Gaian Code.Gaian Code invites the listener to feel deeply, to come alive to the fact that we are all connected and that there is no separation.

In the Yakut language, OLOX means life, and their mission is just this, to serve life and bridge the ancient wisdom with the troubles facing today by surrendering to the Ecstatic through music and dance, and connecting to nature through Ecstatic states of being.Zarina was born in a small village of 800 people in Yakut Siberia, the coldest place on earth where it gets -94 degrees in the winter. She was born and raised in a Shamanic culture and was initiated to share her music and culture with the world by her Tungus Shaman.Shamanism originated in her part of the world and still lives on today. In this episode Zarina and Andreas speak to tapping into the Shamanic in our nature and that a portal to the Ecstatic and Divine is always alive within us all, when we remember and understand how to look.

Zack and Madeleine speak with Tyler Blank Founder of EcstaticDance.Org and co-founder of the Ecstatic Dance Oakland which many refer to as the “Mothership,” of the current international Ecstatic Dance Movement. The history of Ecstatic Dance and the amazing transformation that can occur from dancing and experiencing ecstatic states of consciousness are discussed. If you love Ecstatic Dance, if you have no idea what Ecstatic Dance is Or if you are fearful of experiencing Ecstatic Dance, this episode can be illuminating, enjoyable and helpful to you.

Kathryn Dixon founded the Clarity Coaching Institute of Salt Lake City Utah in 2003. She did this to share and expand upon the beautiful work of Byron Katie. In this episode her and Zack go deep into what it means to be “living the gift”.

Robin McKenna is an award-winning director, producer and writer with over two decades of experience in documentary filmmaking. She is director, producer and writer of GIFT, a feature-length documentary inspired by Lewis Hyde's classic bestseller The Gift. In this episode Zack and Robin engage in a dialogue around the “Spirit of the Gift.”