710. Viivi Jokela

 Viivi Jokela facilitates awakening in people who are inclined in that way. She had a spontaneous, deep awakening to true nature in 2022, followed by a strange and at times intense acclimation, which she refers to as no self realization or simply the natural state. Viivi communicates a direct approach to realization, grounded on experiential insight on the aspects of awakening. She invites you to inquire into and recognize the awe-striking immediate, inherently awake radiance of your own being and of all being. Website: sensingradiance.com In this interview, Viivi Jokela shares her journey of spiritual awakening and self-realization. She discusses her early life, her struggles with suffering and alienation, and her eventual deep awakening to her true nature in 2022. She describes the intense acclimation process she went through, which she refers to as no self-realization or the natural state. Viivi also talks about her experiences with a yoga school that turned out to be a cult, her powerful Kundalini awakening, and the subsequent purification process. Throughout the interview, she emphasizes the importance of understanding the nature of experience and the difference between direct experience and mental interpretation. Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group Summary and transcript of this interview Interview recorded June 29, 2024 YouTube Video Chapters:  00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump  00:03:37 - Early Suffering and Alienation  00:07:22 - Finding Yoga in the Hospital  00:10:22 - The Powerful Kundalini Awakening  00:13:16 - The Journey of Purification  00:16:27 - Challenges after Kundalini Awakening  00:19:46 - Recommendation for Kundalini awakening practitioners  00:23:23 - Finding the Right Meditation Practice  00:26:55 - Defining Enlightenment and Liberation  00:30:16 - The Experience of Self  00:33:57 - Multi-Dimensionality of Life  00:37:16 - The Personal and Impersonal within a Larger Wholeness  00:40:18 - The Dance of Relative and Absolute  00:43:30 - Holding Multiple Perspectives Amid Conflicting Views  00:46:24 - Appreciating Different Perspectives  00:49:52 - Understanding the "I got it, I lost it" syndrome  00:53:22 - Extracting Instructions for Awakening  00:56:35 - The Beginner's Mind and Approaching with Curiosity  01:00:16 - Different Types of Meditation  01:03:58 - The Collapse of Fundamental Structures of Reality  01:07:38 - The Teacher and the Experience of Death  01:11:20 - Moments of Transcendence and Nothingness  01:14:34 - The Reality of the Deep Homecoming and Healing Through Realization  01:18:22 - The Disappearance of God  01:21:34 - Kundalini: The Most Powerful Energy  01:24:54 - The Relationship between Trauma and Relational Healing  01:28:34 - Dismissive Attitudes and Lack of Empathy  01:31:58 - The Contradictory Nature of the Experience  01:34:44 - The Importance of Having a Broad Perspective  01:38:40 - Exploring Aggression and Self-Respect  01:42:37 - Closing Remarks and Next Interview Preview

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.