Episode 70: Finding Peace through Meditation with John Welshons

Meditation. It has been around for centuries and yet we still have questions and misunderstandings about how and why to start meditation practice. This week’s podcast guest, Ramananda John Welshons, is here to help us untangle some of the basics of meditation and share why meditation can be so impactful. In his words, the overarching benefit of meditation is peace. John shares his own mystical moment that led him to meditation, the difference between meditation and mindfulness and how his studies with Ram Dass, Stephen Levine and Elizabeth Kubler Ross led him to make meditation his life’s work.

John also shares his personal healing journey from polio, his teenage struggle with suicide ideation and his difficult relationship with his father who suffered from alcohol abuse.

Some highlights include:

  •  What Ramanada means
  • Healing From Polio
  • A Mystical Moment
  • Meditation in the 70’s
  • Suffering
  • Unconditional Love
  • Creating Inner Peace

JOHN E. WELSHONS (“Ramananda”) is a contemporary spiritual teacher and meditation teacher whose teachings weave together the world’s great mystical and contemplative traditions. He lectures and leads workshops, classes, and retreats across North America. He was a close associate of Ram Dass and Stephen Levine, and trained – in 1976 – with Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. He has traveled and studied extensively in India – spending time at the ashrams of Meher Baba and Neem Karoli Baba, He holds a B.A. in Comparative Religions from the University of South Florida, and an M.A. in History of Religions from Florida State University. He is the author of three critically-acclaimed books: One Soul, One Love, One Heart; When Prayers Aren’t Answered; and Awakening From Grief (all published by New World Library). His website is: www.johnwelshons.com

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