Black Beryl

I'm happy to share this rebroadcast of an interview I did with James Bae, the host of the "Buddhist Yoga" Youtube channel. In this deep-dive, we discuss my new book, Meditation Sickness, just out from University of Hawaii Press. This edited collection of translations by expert scholars lays out a range of Buddhist viewpoints about the potential side-effects of contemplative practice, and what happens when one crosses the line between expected challenges and true medical crises. Including ancient scriptures, writings by some of the most celebrated Buddhist meditation teachers of all time, as well as contemporary ethnographic reports from all over the Buddhist world, the book details the symptoms, causes, prevention, and treatment of "meditation sickness." Our conversation provides a detailed overview of the contents of the book, and illustrates why it is crucially important for Western meditators to be knowledgable about these phenomena. Enjoy! 
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Pierce Salguero, Meditation Sickness: A Sourcebook of the Dangers of Buddhist Practice (2026). 
Pierce Salguero, “Meditation Sickness” in Medieval Chinese Buddhism
and the Contemporary West (2023).
Pierce's previous appearances on Buddhist Yoga: Buddhist Medicine and Contemplative Pedagogy ; The Contemporary Landscape of Buddhist Healing
Pierce's resource website: BuddhistMedicine.Net
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PDF of the introduction to the 2026 book.

Today I sit down with Sanjay Manchanda, who is an Adjunct Professor at California Institute of Human Science and also teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Sanjay is an awakening facilitator, a practicing psychotherapist, and an inventor and technologist with a PhD in computer science. In this conversation, we talk about the importance of integration after awakening, psychedelics, shadow work, and a helmet that pulses infrared light into the brain to facilitate spiritual experiences. Along the way, we raise the important question of whether we will ever be able to create an enlightenment machine.
If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!
Resources related to this conversation:
Sanjay's Neuromatrix Headset: https://neuromatrix.health/
Ultrasound research by Jay Sanguinetti: https://www.jaysanguinetti.com/
Arnold Mindell, Dreambody: The Body's Role in Healing the Self (1982).
Les Fehmi, The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body (2008).
YouTube videos: Awareness Explorers, Neuroscience of Meditation Summit
For information about Sanjay's Monday morning group Multidimensional Fundamental Well-Being, personal coaching, and therapy sessions, contact [email protected]. 
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$500 discount on the Neuromatrix Headset

Today I sit down with Dr. Tawni Tidwell, a biocultural anthropologist and Tibetan medicine doctor at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Together we discuss how Tibetan medicine approaches the challenges that arise in the course of meditation. Along the way, we talk about reconnecting with indigenous knowledge, establishing a more intimate relationship with the body and the land, and the importance of social context in supporting spiritual practice.
If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!
Resources related to this conversation:
Tawni Tidwell, “Life in Suspension with Death: Biocultural Ontologies, Perceptual Cues, and Biomarkers for Tibetan Tukdam Postmortem Meditative State” (2024)
Tawni Tidwell et al, “Effect of Tibetan Herbal Formulas on Symptom Duration Among Ambulatory Patients with Native SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Retrospective Cohort Study” (2024)
Tawni Tidwell, “Tibetan Medical Paradigms for the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Understanding COVID-19, Microbiome Links, and Its Sowa Rigpa Nosology” (2021)
New open access book! Crafting Potency: Sowa Rigpa Artisanship Across the Himalayas
Tawni’s research profile at the Center for Healthy Minds
Please note that Tawni is not taking new patients at this time, but she recommends the American Tibetan Medical Association
Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloading:
Tawni Tidwell et al. “Chasing dön spirits in Tibetan medical encounters: Transcultural affordances and embodied psychiatry in Amdo, Qinghai” 2022.

Today I sit down with Marleen Thaler, a researcher at the University of Vienna and University of Graz. Together, we investigate the history of the transformation of Kundalini from a Hindu goddess resting at the base of the spine to her modern manifestation as a psychiatric syndrome. Along the way, we discuss the central importance of the Theosophical society, the anti-psychiatry movement of the 1970s, spiritual emergencies, and kundalini as a meeting point for religion and medicine.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Arthur Avalon, The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga
Gopi Krishna, Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man
Lee Sennella, The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence
Spiritual Emergence Network (USA | International)
Marleen's publications: Academia.edu
Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloading:
Full English translation of the Hathayoga Pradipika, which includes description of kundalini coiled at the base of the spine and structured practices to direct her energy toward enlightenment.

Today, I catch up with Brandt Stickley, Associate Professor at the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland. We discuss his practice of “Chinese medicine anti-psychiatry,” which involves exorcising spirits using acupuncture needles. Along the way, we talk about mass possession, spiritual shark bites, and how to properly unwind a wayward ghost. 
If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Brandt's website
Certificate in Chinese Medicine Psychiatry
Brandt's courses and mentorship
Blood, Fire, Light, & Time on Substack
Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloading:
Brandt Stickley, "Approaching the Origin: The Diaphanous Body and Classical Chinese Medicine" (2024)