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29 June 2006

This week's guest:
Acharya William McKeever
[30 minutes]

Online now

Acharya William McKeever

Julia Sagebien

As a dedicated student of Trungpa Rinpoche for over thirty years, William McKeever has (among other posts and responsibilities) served as director of Karmê Chöling, Vice President of Naropa University, faculty member of Naropa's graduate department of contemplative psychotherapy, Assistant Director of Education for Nalanda Foundation, and member of the Shambhala Board of Directors under Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

In this conversation he reflects on the choicelessness of service, the path of devotion, practicing with illness, and encountering real fear and uncertainty after many years of teaching on the notion of fearlessness.

We hope you enjoy this conversation. Please send your feedback to feedback@chroniclesradio.com.

Feedback from last week's dispatch

Yes, be yourself without falling prey to your own projections or those of others. Each path is different, each choice not pre-written by expectations particularly of others. The last words Trungpa said to me face to face in his delightfully high pitched voice was " individual, individual". It was 1986. A wonderful Dispatch.

Much Love,
Hildy Maze

I just listened to your program and am very refreshed by hearing it. Thanks for this connection back to the rich world of Shambhala.....We've all truly been blessed to have met such a remarkable being.....I'm enjoying the Chronicles Radio show. It's like our little Dharma Home Companion.

Best wishes and thank you,
Sakti Rose

Dear Julia and Walter:

After listening to the past few episodes I have to again thank you for the reminder of why I have spent so much of my productive life in the irritation of VTCR's shadow. Listening to Julia's inquisitive mind and incisive questions just brings out the essence of the students who are interviewed .... and what a bunch of interesting individuals we are!!

The disappointment of listing to the Wedding organizers has been more than made up for by the interviews with Rose Gimian and Ms. Rabin. The large difference in mike input between Julia and Ms. Gimian was irritating because Julia's questions were too much in the background to really appreciate the response. This is important because Julia's intuitive understanding of where her intreviewees fit into the Halifax and International evolving scene adds all the richness to the interview process. I would really appreciate If you can remix the Gimian interview to "bring out" Julia's voice from the shadows.

Julia and Ms. Rabin spoke about the Shambhala world view and how the Council of Warriors have remained working in the political shadows (of the VROT episode?) in our community's evolution. The thing that I find puzzling is what are the behavioural norms that we require of Shambhala Warriors, especially the "leaders". I seems to me that as individuals we are on our own karmic path but as an embrionic "society" we need to have some normative notion of what "acceptable" behaviour is tolerated. The last discussion of whether to participate in the Rigden Abisheka ... is indicative of this lack of clarity. I know that in small intimate communities we are always subject to subtle conforming pressures. The deep question is how we preserve the irritation that assists in ego's demise while not totally destroying the personality by conforming group pressure.

Could you use your contacts to research and publish what, if anything, the Druk Sakyong wrote on the topic of individual conformity and social norms in the Shambhala world?

Thank you for keeping me in contact with KOS.

In the GES manifest,

Trevor Moo
Toronto, ON
Canada