In Bad Form: A Subversive discussion on Spiritual Enlightenment, 
non-ordinary experiences and the suffering in our life.

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My name is Marc Leavitt, author of the “Reality Explained” trilogy, and I am developing this podcast to take the listener behind the scenes of a variety of subversive topics such as Spiritual Enlightenment, non-ordinary experiences, and the madness and sadness of life. Listen in for a spirited discussion of profound and relevant topics delivered in a casual format that is free from any rules or the expected trappings of tradition and conventional wisdom.  The purpose of this podcast is to advance the conversation of our times by exploring, examining and explaining Reality from the nondual perspective. You will not simply hear the parroting of traditional nondual schools such as Zen or Advaita, but rather the authentic and original experience of the nondual perspective itself.

The title of the podcast came to me after receiving many letters from China, Taiwan etc., where my work has been published and translated; and the readers who wrote letters of praise for my book would always comment on how my casual everyday language was helpful for them to understand the abstract concepts that alluded them while learning from their classical Asian nondual traditions. I explained to these readers that I had learned everything that I know from these classical Asian nondual teachers and that I was simply regurgitating, in my own language, that which I had experienced from these teachings and instructions from the East. It was only after years of reading these types of letters that I realized how evolution works so brilliantly. The nondual wisdom of the East has been absorbed and assimilated by the West; and now this processed and integrated wisdom is being reflected back to the East.

Enough cannot be said regarding the Easts contribution to the nondual wisdom but now we are seeing the Wests own contribution to the nondual teachings.  This contribution has nothing to do with the essence of Nonduality itself but rather an attitude or demeanor in how we conduct ourselves as students. The Western attitude is very individualistic and rebellious which causes a reluctance to follow rules or protect traditions. By taking an irreverent attitude towards the nondual teachings, the student is able to draw outside the lines and find his own way in the spaciousness of the teachings. 

By trusting yourself, you will learn from and value your failures as much as your fortunes. You will discover that there is no one way to spirituality and no particular path that must be followed. The path of Nonduality is a formless path that you forge ahead with your own compass. If you’re interested in leaving behind all beliefs and preconceptions about what history has to tell us about Nonduality and see for yourself by means of naked observation then you have already stepped on the path. 

However, to put the importance of the classical nondual teachings into perspective, it was only a couple weeks ago from the time of this writing that I opened up a proper classic Zen book and was struck by how direct the writing style was.  A good classic Zen book will only point;  they won’t say a god damned thing but instead relentlessly point and that is it. As I appreciated the directness and simplicity of Zen, I reflected back on how many words it takes me to express a single thought  while a Zen master would be able to convey the same idea with a mere sentence or perhaps even with a simple gesture.  But nature is varied and different times call for different needs.  

What I see in these unique times is a need for transparency so that the open secret is accessible to all regardless of our backgrounds. As a collective, we have already begun drawing outside the lines. If you are interested in doing so consciously, then join me as I speak “In Bad Form.”