Video Clips
with Brother David Steindl-Rast

Please help others around the world enjoy these free videos with your donation to our work.

"A Good Day"
This video with narration by Br. David and music by award-winning composer Gary Malkin shows how today is not "just another day."

"Death & Spirituality"
Dr. Kenneth Kramer interviews Brother David at San Jose State University, March 1990.
Part 1: Br. David answers "What is missing in our perception of death that would transform our feelings about it?"
Part 2: Reincarnation, purgatory and finding fulfillment
Part 3: Br. David addresses the question "What is going to happen to you when you die?"

"Thawing the Life-giving Waters"
Br. David speaks about the ethics of inclusion and the elements of grateful living practice at the June 2010 International Transpersonal Conference in Moscow, Russia.

Spiritual Directors International Learns from Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB
Clip 1: Finding a spiritual guide (sometimes it's a challenge!).
Clip 2: How do I pray?  Where does spiritual guidance lead us?

"Spiritual Practices for Everyday Living"
A retreat with Br. David at Roy's Retreat in Adelaide, Australia, June 2009
Part 1: The meaning of "retreat"
Part 2: Contemplation: Bringing together vision and action
Part 3: Three aspects of "meaning": Word, Silence and Understanding.
Part 4: Accessing meaning through poetry.
Part 5: Manna: What is it?
Part 6: Some (unusual) words to live by
Part 7: In the present is our true self.

"Spirit, Soul, Mind, Body: A Universal Call to Contemplative"
Br. David speaking at a retreat held at Boulder Integral, in Boulder, Colorado, June 26-28, 2009
Part 1: Mysticism as a personal "peak" experience
Part 2: James Wright's "A Blessing" - feeling really human
Part 3: "God View" as an approach to the Divine

A Documentary on Br. David Steindl-Rast
Ryan and Warren Anderson composed this biographical film - much of it on location at Mount Saviour Monastery - from 2003 footage taken by Sam Rider and Aishwarya Kancharla, thanks to a generous financial gift by Candice Fuhrman.
Part 1: Early days at Mt. Saviour Monastery, Elmira, NY
Part 2: Br. David's years in Buddhist monasteries
Part 3: From dishwashing to lecturing to web-designing

"Giver of All Good Gifts"
This Thanksgiving prayer offered by Br. David, accompanied by Gary Malkin's inspired music, looks towards the possibility of our world uniting in an overflow of gratitude.

Talks during Greek Isles Cruise - October 2007
Video footage shot by Dutch Journalist Luc Sala
Part 1: Three ways we find the Divine
Part 2: Grace and finding the space between thoughts
Part 3: Buddhist and Christian traditions meet
Part 4: Understanding our religious traditions
Part 5: Interdependent Arising as Divine

"Gratefulness in the Now"
With Br. David and Joan Halifax Roshi
Upaya Zen Center, May 2, 2007
Part 1:   Introduction
Part 2:   Compassion fatigue
Part 3:   Grateful living practice
Part 4:   What is essential for gratefulness?
Part 5:   With gratitude, you are never not wealthy
Part 6:   Altruism
Part 7:   Complaint-free world organization
Part 8:   The opportunity to change
Part 9:   Complaining vs. statement of fact
Part 10:  Letting change guide you

What Good is the Church? - October 2006
Integral Christianity Seminar in Denver, Colorado
With extraordinary humor and grace, Br. David and Fr. Thomas Keating discuss the value and limitations of the institutional church.

Living Yoga (Excerpts) - 2006
In these two segments of a tribute to Br. David's friend Swami Satchidananda, Brother David discusses fundamentalism in the context of war and on a lighter note recalls a story with a surprising punch line. 

"The Monk and the Rabbi" - April 2005
Bokara Legendre talks with Br. David and Rabbi Lawrence Kushner about mysticism and religion on Lunch with Bokara.

Synthesis Dialogues interview - Rome, 2004
Part 1: Gratefulness as the heart of every spiritual tradition
Part 2: Opening ourselves to surprise
Part 3: Blessing is the cosmic bloodstream
Part 4: What keeps humans going in spite of ourselves?
Part 5: A new Godview
Part 6: The basis for a healthy self image
To learn more about the Synthesis Dialogues 2004 and order the entire DVD, which includes footage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and many other influential voices, please visit this page.

Thanks-Giving World Advisors Meeting - 1996
Br. David answers three questions:
1) How vital is thanksgiving to the life we lead?
2) How important is Thanks-giving Square for gratitude worldwide?, and
3) How vital is our support of the thanksgiving message?

Voices of Peace
In this clip from a film by Daniela Haskara, Br. David speaks of the connection between peace and gratefulness.

Many Paths, One Truth
In excerpts from this 1977 film by John D. Goodell, an ecumenical gathering led by Swami Satchidananda, Br. David Steindl-Rast, Rabbi Joseph Gelberman, Rev. Gesshin (Roshi Prabhasa Dharma), Father Robert Beh, and Mushida Taj Inayat explores how a universal vision can bring change into the world.

Interview in Melk (spoken in German)
In three video clips from a September 2007 visit to Waldzell Abbey in Melk, Austria, Br. David responds to questions about restoring spirituality to Christian practice.  (You will find the link to Br. David's interview on the right, in the "Weiterlesen" box.)