How to Find a TRUE Spiritual Teacher | Mantra Meditation, Sikh Wisdom & Enlightenment - Pt 1- STP 64

In this episode Petr Lightbear interviews Flowing River, a poet, mystic, and spiritual seeker, as they explore a powerful journey from addiction and inner turmoil to sobriety, spiritual awakening, and sustainable living.

Flowing River shares her story of growing up in San Francisco, navigating addiction, and experiencing a profound awakening through music festivals, meditation, yoga, plant medicine, permaculture, and eco-village life. The conversation moves through her time working with Newmundo, living off-grid in Costa Rica, apprenticing in permaculture and sustainable food production, and ultimately discovering deep healing through nature, community, and humility.

This episode explores spiritual awakening, addiction recovery, sobriety, mysticism, permaculture living, sustainable spirituality, ayahuasca healing, indigenous wisdom, yoga, meditation, surrender, spiritual ego, humility, eco village life, off grid living, African spirituality, IFA foundation, spiritual teachers, Ascension Academy, healing through nature, poetic mantras, conscious living, and the modern path to enlightenment.

This episode dives into:

The difference between healthy vs unhealthy surrender

The dangers of spiritual ego

Why true awakening comes from inner work, not chasing experiences

Encounters with indigenous wisdom, African spirituality (IFA), yoga, mysticism, and poetry

Meeting her spiritual teacher Bahandur Singh after years of searching

The birth of Ascension Academy and modern spiritual teaching

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction & Podcast Overview
02:15 – Growing Up in San Francisco & Early Struggles
06:40 – Addiction, Sobriety & the Search for Meaning
11:30 – Festival Awakening & the “Joy Limiter” Realization
16:45 – Radical Surrender & Synchronicity
20:50 – Discovering Permaculture & Newmundo
25:10 – Trading Work for a Permaculture Retreat
29:30 – Off-Grid Life in Costa Rica (Think-O-Morpho)
35:40 – Apprenticeship in Sustainable Living & Food Production
41:20 – Healing Through Nature, Community & Love
46:10 – Receiving the Name “Flowing River” (Narayan)
49:55 – Ayahuasca, Indigenous Wisdom & Mysticism
55:30 – Poetry as Spiritual Reprogramming
59:45 – First Recognition of the Ego
1:03:40 – Healthy vs Unhealthy Surrender
1:09:30 – Spiritual Ego & the Trap of Extreme Practices
1:15:20 – Humility as the Path to True Awakening
1:20:10 – Ascension Academy & Modern Spiritual Teaching
1:25:40 – Mystical Encounters & Meeting Bahandur Singh
1:31:10 – Recognizing the True Spiritual Master
1:36:30 – Poetry Recap & Closing Chapter One
1:39:30 – What to Expect in Part Two

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