39: Staying Human When the World Feels on Fire w/Daan Keiman
Tue Feb 03 2026
How do we stay human and compassionate when the world feels like it's on fire?
In this episode, we sit down with Daan Keiman, a Nectara collaborator, Buddhist practitioner, psychedelic care giver, and someone deeply committed to holding both grief and joy in these turbulent times. Daan brings the wisdom of years of spiritual practice, the honesty of someone still learning, and the courage to face the most difficult questions without pretending to have all the answers.
Together, we explore the tension between spiritual truth and lived experience, between rage and compassion, between the desire to change the world and the acceptance of what we cannot control. Daan shares what Buddhism teaches about responding versus reacting, the fierce energy of anger and how to transform it, and what it means to practice love amid suffering...even when that practice asks everything of us.
Whether you're navigating grief, anger, confusion, or simply trying to stay present in an increasingly turbulent world, this conversation will meet you where you are and invite you deeper into the questions that matter most.
Come join us as we explore what it means to go against the stream with an open heart.
This episode is for you if you're....Struggling to balance spiritual practice with activism and social engagementNavigating grief, anger, or despair about the state of the worldWondering how to stay compassionate without spiritually bypassing difficult emotionsCurious about Buddhist perspectives on suffering, impermanence, and compassionSeeking to integrate psychedelic insights into meaningful actionTrying to understand what it means to "live love" in times of injusticeExploring the relationship between personal healing and systemic changeLooking for guidance on working with fierce emotions like anger and rageKey themesFinding joy amid suffering: Buddhist practice in turbulent timesResponsibility vs. reactivity: creating space for compassionate responseThe tension between spiritual truth and lived human experienceWorking with anger as compassionate energy rather than spiritually bypassing itGoing against the stream: individual practice and cultural resistanceAcceptance and impermanence in the face of death and uncertaintyThe myth of individual problems: understanding systemic causes of sufferingIntegration as engagement with the world, not retreat from itSmall acts of love as meaningful resistanceDevotion to compassion while acknowledging our capacity for violenceThe role of community and relational practice in transformationNormalizing difficult emotions and violent impulses on the spiritual path
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How do we stay human and compassionate when the world feels like it's on fire? In this episode, we sit down with Daan Keiman, a Nectara collaborator, Buddhist practitioner, psychedelic care giver, and someone deeply committed to holding both grief and joy in these turbulent times. Daan brings the wisdom of years of spiritual practice, the honesty of someone still learning, and the courage to face the most difficult questions without pretending to have all the answers. Together, we explore the tension between spiritual truth and lived experience, between rage and compassion, between the desire to change the world and the acceptance of what we cannot control. Daan shares what Buddhism teaches about responding versus reacting, the fierce energy of anger and how to transform it, and what it means to practice love amid suffering...even when that practice asks everything of us. Whether you're navigating grief, anger, confusion, or simply trying to stay present in an increasingly turbulent world, this conversation will meet you where you are and invite you deeper into the questions that matter most. Come join us as we explore what it means to go against the stream with an open heart. This episode is for you if you're....Struggling to balance spiritual practice with activism and social engagementNavigating grief, anger, or despair about the state of the worldWondering how to stay compassionate without spiritually bypassing difficult emotionsCurious about Buddhist perspectives on suffering, impermanence, and compassionSeeking to integrate psychedelic insights into meaningful actionTrying to understand what it means to "live love" in times of injusticeExploring the relationship between personal healing and systemic changeLooking for guidance on working with fierce emotions like anger and rageKey themesFinding joy amid suffering: Buddhist practice in turbulent timesResponsibility vs. reactivity: creating space for compassionate responseThe tension between spiritual truth and lived human experienceWorking with anger as compassionate energy rather than spiritually bypassing itGoing against the stream: individual practice and cultural resistanceAcceptance and impermanence in the face of death and uncertaintyThe myth of individual problems: understanding systemic causes of sufferingIntegration as engagement with the world, not retreat from itSmall acts of love as meaningful resistanceDevotion to compassion while acknowledging our capacity for violenceThe role of community and relational practice in transformationNormalizing difficult emotions and violent impulses on the spiritual path