This Very Moment
This Very Moment, hosted by Ivan Bercholz, co-owner of Shambhala Publications, features in-depth conversations with influential authors, artists, and spiritual figures. Guests share the origins of their spiritual journeys, touching on formative childhood experiences, influential teachers, and life-changing books. Each episode reveals the personal stories—including times of despair and triumph—that shaped these individuals into the experts and creatives they are today. The podcast offers a intimate look at the experiences that opened their consciousness and defined their paths.
Episodes
You’re Not a Mess | Lodro Rinzler
In this candid conversation, Ivan welcomes Lodro Rinzler, Buddhist author and teacher, to the podcast. Friends for more than two decades, they bring an easy warmth to an exchange that moves naturally between humor, personal history, and Buddhist practice.Lodro reflects on growing up in a Buddhist household and the retreat experience that made meditation feel like a path of his own. He speaks about
Sam Bercholz x Sah D'Simone on Dharma, Death, and the Freedom of No-Self
Guest host Sah D’Simone sits down with Sam Bercholz for a candid, funny, and deeply moving conversation on awakening amid the messiness of ordinary life.Together, Sah and Sam explore deity practice, ecstatic dance, compassion without performance, basic goodness, and the foundations shared by Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism. Sam also shares stories of his teachers, the natural world, pol
Rude Awakenings: Devendra Banhart and Sam Bercholz in Conversation
Singer-songwriter Devendra Banhart is a guest host on this episode featuring publisher, author, and Buddhist teacher Sam Bercholz for a warm, searching, and frequently hilarious conversation about wakefulness, suffering, friendship, and the unruly business of being human. At the center of the episode is Sam’s new book, Rude Awakenings: An Unconventional Guide to the Buddhist Path, a book that res
Finding Your Way Home | Cuong Lu
In this episode of This Very Moment, we are joined by author and Zen teacher Cuong Lu for a deeply personal conversation about freedom, grief, spiritual practice, and finding one’s way home through it all.Born in Vietnam, Cuong moved to the Netherlands at age twelve. After his father died just two years later, he found himself grieving, disoriented, and searching for a way to live peacefully in an
Another Kind of Freedom: An Intimate Conversation with Pema Chödrön
In this warm and wide-ranging conversation, Pema Chödrön reflects on her life, practice, teaching, and making Buddhist wisdom accessible in everyday experience as the milestone of her 90th birthday approaches.Pema shares what “winding down” looks like for her, and why, at the urging of Anam Thubten Rinpoche, she continues to teach. At the heart of the conversation, Pema unpacks her new book’s (Ano
The Dance of Sound and Meaning | Larry Mermelstein
In this episode of This Very Moment we are joined with Larry Mermelstein, a longtime student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and a founding member of the Nalanda Translation Committee.Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Rochester, New York, Larry recalls growing up in a Jewish household with mixed religious observance. His father, raised Orthodox with a Hasidic grandfather, described himself as a “non-
Dream Yoga to Sleep Science | Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
In this episode of This Very Moment, we sit down with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, a revered master of the Bön tradition of Tibet. Rinpoche traces the distinctive qualities of Bön, from Dzogchen to astrology, cosmology, and elemental practices. Though often misunderstood and overshadowed, Bön’s core teachings share a common ground with Buddhist traditions, particularly the Nyingma tradition with Dzogc
From Hardship to Heart-Opening | Diane Musho Hamilton
Episode 7 of This Very Moment features Zen teacher, meditator, and author Diane Musho Hamilton in a rich conversation about learning to be with life as it is. Diane shares how early encounters with loss and grief left her existentially overwrought. Despite being raised in a family with strong spiritual roots in the Mormon tradition and surrounded by a nurturing natural landscape, she felt that li
Skepticism, Skateboarding, and Samadhi | Devendra Banhart
In this episode, musician and visual artist Devendra Banhart sits down with Ivan Bercholz for an intimate conversation about how Buddhist practice, books, and subculture have shaped his life and work, leading him to This Very Moment.From his early years of skateboarding (before it was cool) to his segue into indie-folk music, Devendra has always leaned into counterculture, providing the perfect fo
The Nomadic Life of the Lazy Lama | Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
In this intimate conversation, eminent Tibetan Buddhist master and scholar Ringu Tulku Rinpoche traces his extraordinary life shaped by exile, rigorous study, a lifetime of practice and teaching across cultures, leading him to this very moment.He describes his early years studying and practicing under Khenpo Tsöndrü, the Sixteenth Karmapa, and his main teacher Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, as well as a
The Intersection of Music and Spirituality | Pamela Ayo Yetunde
This episode features author, theologist, and Community Dharma Leader, Pamela Ayo Yetunde. Hear about Ayo’s upbringing and early roots in the church and Black Christian community, and how her love of music and poetry spawned a deep appreciation of the spiritual and symbolic elements hidden within artistic compositions. Ayo discusses influential figures, authors, and musicians from Gandhi, bell hoo
Spreading the Practice of Chöd Across the World | Garab Dorje Rinpoche
This episode features Dungzin Garab Dorje Rinpoche, the son and dharma heir of his father, Thinley Norbu Rinpoche. Learn about his upbringing and early introductions to the deepest layers of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. From his early studies to empowerments and teachings from some of the most revered Buddhist masters, Rinpoche shares stories about how the Buddhadharma took root in his heart, l
From ’60s Counterculture to Yoga Lineage | Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor
Join Ivan and Sara Bercholz (co-owners of Shambhala Publications) in conversation with the renowned yoga teaching couple Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor. From the ‘60s music scene to transcendental philosophy, Eastern thought, holistic psychology, and integrated health, through their first discoveries of yoga and meditation and travels to India and Iran, we get a glimpse into the early experiences
Doctor, Retreatant, Translator | John Canti (part 2)
In this inaugural episode, Ivan Bercholz (co-owner of Shambhala Publications) queries John Canti, a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, about the path that has led him to This Very Moment.We learn about John’s family lineage and childhood, his spiritual roots and early skepticism toward religion, as well as the pivotal moments that led him to embrace Buddhist teachings. He reflects
From Skeptic to Seeker | John Canti (part 1)
In this inaugural episode, Ivan Bercholz (co-owner of Shambhala Publications) queries John Canti, a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, about the path that has led him to This Very Moment.We learn about John’s family lineage and childhood, his spiritual roots and early skepticism toward religion, as well as the pivotal moments that led him to embrace Buddhist teachings. He reflects
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