The Astral Hustle with Cory Allen

Charlie Ambler is the founder of DailyZen and online apparel brand Strike Gently Co. On his mindfulness blog, he writes about meditation, self-inquiry, and self-mastery. On this podcast, Charlie and I talk about finding inner balance, the power of boiling down huge ideas to their purest elements, what it would be like to pitch the Tao Te Ching to a modern-day publisher, and his new book The Daily Zen Journal: A Creative Companion for a Beginner's Mind.

Rev. angel Kyodo williams is an esteemed Zen priest, author, spiritual teacher, and activist. She is the founder of the Center for Transformative Change and the author of two potent books Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living With Fearlessness and Grace and Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. In this podcast, we discuss pathways for social evolution, personal liberation, and living with integrity—even when no one is watching.

Ramin Nazer is an artist, comedian, and host of The Rainbow Brainskull Hour podcast. He manifests his unique creative vision in the form of illustrations, books, games, and podcasts. In all of his work, Ramin deals with big themes like spirituality, being, artistic fear, and death, but always does so with a wondrous sense of levity. Ramin and I pulse between shallow and deep waters like spirituality, music, quantum laugh waves, and why there’s no reason to fear dying in your sleep.

Mark Coleman is a senior meditation teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, where he has taught for almost twenty years. Through Mark’s organization Awake in the Wild, he integrates nature and meditation by leading wilderness meditation retreats from Alaska to Peru. Mark has also authored three books on mindfulness, compassion, and self-discovery. On this podcast, Mark and I have a great time talking about taming the inner critic, the dignity of mindful presence, and the power of meditating in nature

Dr. James Doty is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. He’s also the author of the NYT's bestselling book, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart. On this podcast, James and I talk about the power of self-priming, building compassion, and how he uses mindfulness to manage the incredible pressure of being a brain surgeon.

Michael Phillip is the wonder-seeking host of the Third Eye Drops podcast. He melds minds with artists, authors, philosophers, shamans, and scientists in a quest for greater understanding of himself and our reality. On this podcast, Michael and I dive straight into classic Astral Hustle vibes. We talk about phony gurus, innate human knowledge, and using self-inquiry to discover what you actually know.

Lily Cushman is an author, teacher, and musician. In 2010, she co-founded the Brooklyn Yoga School and currently serves as chief of staff to Sharon Salzberg. Lily is an expert on sacred sounds and downloaded her wisdom into the excellent new book A Little Bit of Mantras. I had a blast talking with Lily on this podcast. We dive deep into music, the source of creative energy, and how sound can have profound effects on consciousness.

Emily Fletcher is the founder of Ziva and regarded as an expert in meditation for high performance. She’s been named one of the top 100 women in wellness to watch, has taught more than 15,000 students around the world and has spoken on meditation for performance at Google and Harvard. In this podcast, we talk about how stress can lead to insomnia, the productive power of flow state, and Emily’s new book Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance.

Colin Frangicetto is an artist and musician. Through his eye-catching psychedelic inspired paintings, he expresses themes of self-reflection, mind expansion and peacefulness. He also tours the world as a guitarist in the band Circa Survive. Talking with Colin instantly feels like I’m talking with an old friend. We drop straight into the flow on this podcast and talk about burning off negative energy, learning to conserve creative juices, and being a mindful consumer.

Jeff Warren is an author and meditation teacher. He co-authored Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics with Dan Harris and wrote his own deep book about consciousness called The Head Trip. Jeff teaches meditation to all walks of life, from Google execs to Army Cadets, in a realistic and accessible way. This podcast was a trip. We had fun and got into a deep talk about our paths and the far reaches of consciousness.

Matt Haig is a British author and mental health advocate. His internationally bestselling memoir Reasons to Stay Alive, How To Stop Time, and five other novels have been translated into thirty languages. Matt’s honest writing about his depression and anxiety have made him a leading figure on the wisdom of well-being. In this podcast, we talk about the absurdity of cultural body standards, mental health and Matt’s powerful new book Notes On A Nervous Planet. 

Buddhist teacher Josh Korda has been teaching at Dharmapunx NYC since 2005 and has a large spiritual counseling private practice. He has written for Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, Shambhala Sun and authored his own book, Unsubscribe. For the past ten years, Josh has also given talks at ZenCare.org, a hospice volunteer training organization. In this podcast, we talk about music, integrating the turbulence of your experience and attachment theory.

Carl Jung expert Erick Godsey is all about self-transformation. He’s a cognitive psychologist that studies Behavioral, Positive, Jungian, Transactional, Evolutionary, and Clinical Psychology in an effort to help others (and himself) transform from who they are into a greater form of themselves. In this podcast, Jung’s synchronicity was with us. We both happen to only be on a few hours of sleep, which led to a fun, spiraling conversation about self-development and boldly starring truth in the face.

Contemplative Psychotherapist Dr. Miles Neale is breaking new ground. He’s a leading Buddhist teacher, faculty member of Tibet House US, international speaker, and author. In his work, Miles has blended psychotherapy and Buddhism in order to create an integrative form of mental healing. We go deep in this podcast and talk about the real-life challenges that many of us face and why a path of gradual awakening is needed so badly in modern times.

Shiatsu Alchemist Brian Ramisch is a therapeutic bodyworker that focuses on bringing harmony to the body, mind, and spirit. Through his unique balancing approach, he relieves pressure from the nervous system and stimulates the body’s natural healing ability. He’s also one of my favorite human on Earth. In this podcast, we talk about the power of kindness, turning negative feelings into positive energy, and Brian’s exploration of medicinal herbs.