Ep116: Occult of Personality - Greg Kaminsky
In this interview I am joined by Greg Kaminsky, host of the Occult of Personality podcast and author of ‘Pronaos: Reflections on the Preliminary Practices of Buddhist Tantra’.
In this episode, Greg details over twenty years of extensive occult studies, including his daily magickal practice regime, and reveals why an encounter with American born spiritual teacher Traktung Khepa Rinpoche, saw him leave the path of Western esotericism in favour of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Greg shares just why Traktung Rinpoche impressed him so much, and contrasts the view of magic and entity binding in the occult and Buddhist traditions.
Greg also discusses his new book on ngondro, so-called preliminary practices involving hundreds of thousands of repetitions of special prayers and prostrations, and recounts the profound spiritual transformations that occurred when he himself took up this practice.
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Topics include:
00:00 – Intro
00:59 – Greg’s book on ngondro
04:04 – Upbringing and early mystical experiences
06:36 – Exploring Western Esotericism, Freemasonry, & Tarot
09:01 – Transformative kundalini experience on salvia divinorum
11:48 – Greg’s daily magickal practice regime and its results
16:41 – Siddhis and working with angelic entities
19:51- Binding spirits in tantra vs occultism
21:58 – Meeting Traktung Khepa Rinpoche
24:55 – Who is Traktung Khepa Rinpoche?
26:55 – Assessing the teacher
32:45 – An inability to follow instruction
33:49 – Teaching in casual situations
36:52 – Does Traktung Rinpoche have any teachers?
38:09 – Unseen teachers
41:23 – Is Traktung Rinpoche’s biography known?
43:13 – Is Traktung Rinpoche connected with the wider Tibetan Buddhist community?
46:22 – What is ngondro practice?
52:24 – Intensity of practice a key ingredient for transformation
56:27 – Physical injury as spiritual purification
01:02:01 – Sarno back pain and learning by experience
01:03:56 – Managing lyme disease
01:07:10 – Changes to Greg’s life after ngondro
01:09:35 – Greg’s daily practice
01:13:04 – Working for his guru and upcoming publishing projects
01:14:20 – The Grail legends and the spiritual path
01:20:27 – The place of failure
To find our more about Greg, visit:
https://harvard-ext.academia.edu/GregKaminsky
http://occultofpersonality.net/
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James