312. Group Discussion at Sofia University, Part 2

While out in California for the Science and Nonduality Conference, I had some downtime before the conference started, so I decided to tape a long panel discussion with a rather large group of friends, most of them previous guests on Batgap. Sofia University in Palo Alto (where transpersonal psychology was founded by Abraham Maslow and others), generously provided a room and video equipment. I'm especially grateful to Dr. Jeffery Martin, who conducts research there, for offering and organizing this. It was an experiment, and some were skeptical that it would work, but it did! Participants included: Name Other Batgap Interview(s) Website(s) Canela Michelle Meyers 12/18/2011, 9/24/2015 canelamichelle.com Chuck Hillig 7/21/2010 chuckhillig.com Clare Blanchflower clareblanchflower.com Craig Holliday 1/3/2015, 12/19/2018*, 10/25/2019* craigholliday.com Dana Sawyer 9/29/2010, 2/9/2014*, 3/19/2016 dana-sawyer.com David Buckland 9/25/2015, 10/27/2017* davidya.ca David Ellzey 1/16/2016 davidellzey.com Francis Bennett 8/4/2012, 4/21/2013* 10/26/2013*, 5/24/2014*, 10/23/2014*, 10/21/2016, 10/25/2016* Jeffery Martin 1/25/2017 drjefferymartin.com nonsymbolic.org Kiran Trace 11/2/2013, 09/24/2015 kirantrace.com Kristin Kirk 2/16/2014, 5/24/2014* kristinkirk.com Laurie Moore 7/21/2012, 10/24/2013 counselingscottsvalley.us animiracles.com Mariana Caplan 2/3/2012, 1/6/2013, 10/25/2019* marianacaplan.com Rick Archer 6/5/2010, 3/16/2013, 5/11/2014, 10/23/2015, 10/24/2016, 10/21/2017, 12/19/2018*, 10/25/2019*, 10/27/2019 You're on it. Susanne Marie 7/7/2013, 10/24/2014*, 10/23/2016* susannemarie.org *In group discussion. Transcript of this discussion Recorded 10/22/2015 Part 1 of this discussion Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Silence and Self-Reflection 00:09:12 - The Sense of Expanded Living 00:16:29 - The Pitfalls of Spiritual Awakening 00:22:43 - The Value of Mainstream Context and Therapist Category 00:30:58 - The Beauty and Service of Pain 00:36:33 - The Blossoming of the Heart and Devotion 00:44:06 - The Importance of Growth and Honesty 00:50:19 - The Exploration of the Human Condition 00:55:50 - Surrender and Humility in the Awakening Process 01:03:34 - Opening to Multiple Worlds and Listening to God 01:09:38 - Channeling Angelic Guidance 01:15:58 - Accessing Universal Energy and True Nature 01:22:55 - Capturing the Fort and Exploring the Territory 01:28:38 - Different Dimensions and Spiritual Ego 01:32:55 - The Importance of Meaningful Conversations 01:39:00 - The Irrelevance of Truth and Reality 01:45:43 - Discussions on various spiritual phenomena and dangers of believing in them blindly 01:50:25 - Discriminating Subtle Beings  01:53:51 - The Variability of Awakening Experiences 01:56:40 - The Six Bhavas in Ayurveda 01:59:52 - The Healing Question and Awakening 02:02:59 - The Importance of Healing and Psychological Maturity after Awakening 02:06:33 - The Pressure of Awakening and Awakening Levels 02:10:22 - Surrendering through Pain, Healing and Awakening 02:13:54 - Awakening and Healing 02:17:12 - Awakening and Healing in the Journey 02:21:29 - Life as a Single Parent and the Shift in Functioning 02:26:33 - Living in a Beautiful Apartment 02:30:23 - Embracing the Human Experience 02:36:19 - Surrendering to the Unknown 02:41:50 - Updates on BatGap Save Save Save

Om Podcasten

The implication of the title - Buddha at the Gas Pump - is that ordinary people are experiencing higher states of consciousness once thought to be rare and difficult to attain. People everywhere are undergoing a shift or awakening to their true nature. For some, this shift has been abrupt and dramatic. For others, it has been so gradual that they may not have realized it has occurred. Such shifts, or awakenings, are not new: Christ spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven within, Buddhists speak of Nirvana, Zen masters of Satori, Hindus of Moksha, but these traditions generally regard these states as rare and difficult to attain. Many people are therefore skeptical of claims of higher states of consciousness. They find it hard to believe that apparently ordinary friends and neighbors might be experiencing something extraordinary. Maybe they expect Enlightenment to look as remarkable on the outside as it is reputed to be on the inside. This show will attempt to dispel skepticism and misconceptions by week after week, allowing otherwise ordinary people to relate their experience of spiritual awakening. The terminology is tricky, because there are no universally agreed upon definitions to describe this experience. So please forgive us if we use some unfamiliar terms. We will try to clarify our definitions as we go along. Perhaps, after a while, those listening will become convinced that genuine and permanent spiritual awakenings are not just a pipe dream, but are real and are becoming relatively commonplace. These podcasts are the audio track of a weekly interview show which may be seen as videos on our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/buddhaatthegaspump). Also see the main site: http://batgap.com. For search purposes, I will add the following to this description - batgap, Buddha at the Gaspump, Buddah at the Gas Pump.