Buddha At The Gas Pump

Why are we here? Is there a God? Can there be authentic mystical experience? Are Hindus and Buddhists correct that we can attain a state of enlightenment? Can psychedelic drugs give us a glimpse of it? Does religion have a viable place in the modern world? Is there a common core of values and insights among the world's religions? Huston Smith spent his career in a search for answers to these and other questions. Born in China in 1919, the son of Methodist missionaries, Smith followed a life-long spiritual quest that led him around the world many times. He studied the world's religions and mystical traditions directly with Aldous Huxley, D.T. Suzuki, J. Krishnamurti, Alan Watts, Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, the Dalai Lama, Joseph Campbell, Ram Dass, and a host of others. Huston, as a renowned philosopher of religion, helped shape the contemporary face of comparative religion, interfaith dialogue, and religious tolerance. As a seeker, he became a citizen of the world, plunging into its various spiritual tra

The Rev. Matthew Wright is an Episcopal priest, writer, and retreat leader working to renew the Christian Wisdom tradition within a wider interspiritual framework.  He writes a monthly column, Belonging, for Contemplative Journal and serves as priest-in-charge at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Woodstock, NY.  Matthew lives with his wife, Yanick, alongside the brothers of Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY.  You can learn more about his work through the Center for Spiritual Resources. Transcript of this interview. Interview conducted 3/12/2016 Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction of Matthew Wright 00:03:06 - The Second Axial Age 00:07:03 - Questioning Fundamentalist Worldview 00:10:48 - The Components of Traditional Spiritual Systems 00:14:53 - The Living Presence of Jesus and Buddha 00:19:14 - The Presence of Departed Loved Ones 00:23:01 - Spiritual Journey to India 00:27:07 - The Encounter with Pierre Te

Mary Reed is an “accidental” mystic who, following eleven years of profound, involuntary visions and insights into divine realms, surrendered her executive life in Washington, DC to explore her spiritual gifts in a remote Buddhist nunnery in India. She grew up without any interest in religion but with an innate knowing that humans had more ability to access greater wisdom than most seemed to realize. She is originally from the U.S. Southwest but spent most of her career directing global healthcare programs and creating nonprofit partnerships throughout America and Africa. Today she divides her time between Thosamling Nunnery in India, where she is often immersed in silence; Cambodia, where she works with Wide Open Wings (a small charity she co-founded); and traveling to speak with a variety of audiences to share her story as a way to illuminate the common ground of Love and precious Divinity in all of us, and to inspire joyful collective resurrection and remembrance with her unique view of our beautifully aw

Abdy was born in Iran in 1964 to the Electriciteh family. At an early age he realized that his realm of reality was beyond what he could share with others. As a child, his awareness of extraordinary abilities, such as putting light and sparkles on people, could only be rationalized as a dream. When, thirty years later, he realized those sparkles were being received by the people, healing them physically, emotionally and spiritually, he gave up his adapted reality to his child-hood reality. In 2002 he began working around the world anchoring light and spreading his wisdom. Abdy works with an ancient energy which dissipates our inabilities to relate to our self, higher self and the universe. His work is to bring about and support the transformation of humanity and the Earth to a higher consciousness. This is carried out by raising the vibration of people and places. He channels an energy that allows an individual to connect to their own divinity. He believes the truth cannot be learned and can only be conne

Della had the good fortune of a life that many would have wanted to live. She grew up in a loving environment. She went to college. She started a family. She became a doctor and worked in emergency. She wasn’t looking for anything. She didn’t have any spiritual beliefs. She was happy. Then, in 2005, during a hypnosis session, she had what could be described as a near-death experience. Her heart was deeply touched by oneness and its unconditional love. Her life was turned upside down by this experience. With this free and loving presence breathing inside of her, all of " her " identity was put into question. Gradually she had to surrender to the reality that we are One and that no label, belief or knowledge is needed for Being. Website: dellainvitation.com Article referred to during the interview: Breakdowns and ‘Shift-Ups’: The relationship between psychosis and spiritual awakening Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 2/20/2016 Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouT

Joey Lott is not a spiritual teacher. He’s not offering enlightenment, awakening, liberation, or any such carrot to keep you searching for something else. Instead, he’s just a fellow person who had the fortune to discover that the willingness to stop seeking for answers, for solutions to all kinds of imagined spiritual problems, reveals the peace of just being whatever is happening - which is all that is ever happening anyway. It’s not a glorious attainment. It’s not morally or spiritually elevated. It’s very mundane, and often uncomfortable - exactly like your life now. Joey doesn’t do formal teaching. In an ever-changing manner, he does experiment with inviting others to join in a conversation and explore the assumptions that underlie suffering. Website: joeylott.com YouTube Channels: Joey Lott Completely Ordinary Books: The Best Thing That Never Happened You're Trying Too Hard: The Direct Path to What Already Is Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 2/13/2016 Video and audio bel

Once called by Norman Cousins, “An accomplished court jester to humanity,” David Ellzey is a transformative speaker, entertainer, author, and mentor – who has inspired a quarter of a million people worldwide to explore the oneness of humanity and of life. As mentor, coach, and teacher, David guides clients with unflinching self-inquiry, techniques like The Sedona Method for emotional well being, movement, and fundamentally pure investigation into what is real. Humor often joins the journey. His devotion to the mystery of life began at age fourteen when he had his first life-changing experience of sensing the infinite presence that permeates all of existence. At age seventeen he pursued the embodiment of this understanding through the performance art form of pantomime taught by his teacher using ancient principles of Kabbalah. He was guided by his dear teacher to create universes in the silence and emptiness on stage. But most importantly, David understood that, indeed, all of life is born of, and returns t

Salvadore Poe was a successful musician from New York, making records, touring, having videos on MTV, and doing film scores when in 1997 he had a life-changing experience that propelled him on a single-pointed inquiry in search of enlightenment. During the next seven years, he immersed himself in intensive retreats in USA, Europe, and India, met many teachers, including U.G. Krishnamurti, Douglas Harding, Toni Packer, among others, and eventually moved to India where he lived for two years in the ashram of Ajja, a recognized spiritual master, and then for a year in the ashram of another spiritual master, Siva Sakthi Ammaiyar. During all these years he meditated countless hours, had numerous mystical, transcendent experiences, and then finally, frustrated with it all, met his last teacher, Dolano in 2004, and his search was over. Eight years later, living an ordinary life making music in India, someone he met asked him to work one on one with a spiritual seeker. Since then Salvadore has been offering a means

Brief history of Norio: I always loved wheels ever since I was a small child. The first set of wheels was a bicycle, which by age nine, I was riding 40 miles at a time. Age 19, I drove a taxi in Boston for five years. I began driving a truck, as well as greyhound buses, at age 25. I began what I refer to as "true inquiry" while driving my truck in 2003, thereby being able to see the silence, from which "Norio brain" could see all that I thought I am is only an illusion. Website: demystifyenlightenment.org Transcript of this interview Interview conducted 1/30/2016 Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:03:03 - The Love for Wheels and Exploration 00:05:17 - True Inquiry and Spiritual Awakening 00:07:44 - Inquiring about the meaning of being human 00:11:21 - Living in the Present Moment 00:14:15 - Time and the Perception of Emotions 00:17:23 - The Nature of Consciousness and Emotions 00

Andrew Harvey is an author, speaker and founder/director of the Institute of Sacred Activism, an international organization focused on inviting concerned people to take up the challenge of our contemporary global crises by becoming inspired, effective and practical agents of institutional and systemic change, in order to create peace and sustainability. Andrew Harvey has taught at Oxford University, Cornell University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, The California Institute of Integral Studies, and the University of Creation Spirituality as well as at various spiritual centers throughout the U.S. He was the subject of the 1993 BBC film documentary The Making of a Modern Mystic and appears also in Rumi Turning Ecstatic and The Consciousness Of The Christ: Reclaiming Jesus for a New Humanity. He has also worked with the great Iranian Sufi dancer, Banafsheh Sayyad, in producing a film, In the Fire of Grace, which marries Sufi inspired dances to the stages of Rumi’s understanding of the path of Divine love.

Michael Roads: An ordinary man on an extraordinary journey . . . Michael Roads was born a farmer's son in Cambridgeshire, England, in 1937. From an early age he discovered that he had a natural ability to travel beyond linear time and space, and enter into deep communication with Nature. Since his spiritual enlightenment at age 49, Michael has written 19 books on his experiences and explorations of alternate realities and dimensions. His main focus and teachings are based on unconditional Love and emotional balance. 2016 marks his 25th year of traveling over five continents presenting inspirational and life-changing 5-Day Intensives in a clear, compelling, humorous and no-nonsense format, enabling many participants to experience amazing shifts in consciousness. Michael, an ordinary mystic, weaves his wealth of life experiences with the most extra-ordinary insights - insights that offer pathways to our deep spiritual relationship with Nature and with Self. He has the consciousness and ability to empower peopl

John Astin is the author of three collections of poetic and prose reflections on the non-dual nature of reality, Too Intimate for Words, (2005) This Is Always Enough(2007), and Searching for Rain in a Monsoon (2012). He is presently at work on a new book, It’s Not What You Think It Is: Reflections on the Inconceivable Nature of Reality. Along with his writing and teaching, John is also a singer, songwriter and recording artist who since 1987 has produced seven CDs of original spiritual/contemplative music including his most recent release, What We’ve Always Been. In addition to his writing and music, John also holds a PhD in health psychology and is an internationally acclaimed scholar in the field of mind-body medicine, his research focusing on the applications of meditative/contemplative practices in psychology and health care. For information about John’s work, visit www.johnastin.com. Music CDs: What We've Always Been Already Shining Clear Blue Mind Now Is the Time For more see johnastin.com

Stan Grof, M.D., Ph.D. is a psychiatrist with more than fifty years’ experience researching the healing and transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness. His groundbreaking theories influenced the integration of Western science with his brilliant mapping of the transpersonal dimension. He is one of the founders and chief theoreticians of Transpersonal Psychology and received an Honorary Award for major contributions to and development of the field of Transpersonal Psychology from the Association for Transpersonal Psychology in 1993. Dr. Grof is also the founder of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) and its past and current president. He has organized large international conferences throughout the world and continues to lecture and teach professional training programs in Holotropic Breathwork and transpersonal psychology. Currently, Dr. Grof is Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in the Department of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consci

Gail is a clinical psychologist and author in Santa Barbara, CA, who joyfully speaks from her own experience about the possibility of moving from common everyday problems to living in the deepest acceptance and peace. Problems are seen as opportunities; the illusion of the separate self as a doorway to enduring happiness. Stories are honored, while fierce and loving investigation invites their dissolution. She has special expertise working with older adults and their families, bringing clear seeing and compassion to the transitions of aging, death, and dying. She meets with people both individually and in groups and blogs at GailBrenner.com, where she invites readers to see through the confusion of separation and discover reality, which is true, alive, and undeniable. Her core offering is to bring non-dual understanding to the moments of suffering in everyday life. She is the author of “The End of Self-Help: Discovering Peace and Happiness Right at the Heart of Your Messy, Scary, Brilliant Life.” Sufferi

Adam Bucko is an activist, spiritual director to many of New York City’s homeless youth, and co-author of a new award-winning book called “Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation (Sacred Activism)". He grew up in Poland during the totalitarian regime and spent his early years exploring the anarchist youth movement as a force for social and political change. At the age of 17, Adam immigrated to America where his desire to find his path towards a meaningful life led him to monasteries in the US and India. His life-defining experience took place in India, where on his way to a Himalayan hermitage, he met a homeless child who lived on the streets of Delhi. This brief encounter led him to the “Ashram of the Poor” where he began his work with homeless youth. After returning to the US, he worked on the streets of various American cities with young people struggling against homelessness and prostitution. He eventually co-founded The Reciprocity Foundation, an award-winning nonprofit dedicated to t

Originally from the Netherlands, Prajnaparamita has been in search of her true nature all her life. Initially investigating and studying psychology, religion and philosophy, she eventually met a truly awakened soul and surrendered her heart, her mind and her life. Over several decades Prajnaparamita received a rich vista of non-dual teachings: Advaita Vedanta, Mahayana Buddhism, Zen and Ch’an. Once realized, she has dedicated her life to the self-realization of all. Through satsangs, retreats and interviews she continually directs the listener to their very wisdom heart. These days, Prajnaparamita spends most of her time at La Roseraie de Sacha: a centre of awakening and natural living deep in the countryside of central France. With meditation and satsang daily, opportunity is given for contemplation and self-enquiry interwoven with the participation in projects around the property - from gardening to cooking. People remember the transformative force of play, and remember what it is to live without purpose.

Science and Spirituality: Potential Allies in Discovering Truth My talk was accompanied by a multimedia presentation, which has been edited into this video. There were technical issues: the official camera wasn't there, so a friend recorded this on her camcorder and the sound quality isn't ideal. I ran out of time and had to cut some things that I added to this video, etc. But hopefully, you'll enjoy the content. I put a lot of thought into this over several months. Points include: Introduction by Deepak Chopra. We’re sense organs of the infinite; instruments of the Divine. Some of my personal history. If science and spirituality are both about understanding Reality, then they should be on the same team. Science, and a scientific approach, can help restore experience, rather than belief, as the foundation of religion and spirituality. If the ultimate reality is consciousness, then what instrument could be better suited to exploring it than the human nervous system? If everything is consciousn

Dorothy Hunt serves as Spiritual Director of Moon Mountain Sangha, teaching at the request of Adyashanti.  She is the founder of the San Francisco Center for Meditation and Psychotherapy and has practiced psychotherapy since 1967. She is the author of Leaves from Moon Mountain, Only This!, and Ending the Search: From Spiritual Ambition to the Heart of Awareness. A contributing author to The Sacred Mirror, and Listening from the Heart of Silence: Nondual Wisdom and Psychotherapy, Dorothy is also a featured spiritual teacher in the book, Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Wisdom: The Feminine Face of Awakening. Dorothy has a long and deep connection to the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and the path of Self-Inquiry, as well as the nondual teachings of Zen, Advaita, and the Christian mystics.  In meeting Adyashanti, she was invited beyond identification with either the absolute or relative, finding freedom in what is awake in each of us regardless of the changing faces of experience. Dorothy offers satsang, retreats,

Jane Anderson-Ross is a wife, mother, and grandmother currently living in Rochester, NY. Raised in a New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia, Jane always had the gifts of love and compassion, and even as a young child, felt that her life path was to help others heal. But in 1988, during the throes of her own trials and difficulties, Jane had a transformation that was prompted by a singular prayer. She surrendered to the Divine Creator and asked, “Let me be Your Eyes, Your Ears, Your Hands, and Your Heart.” From that prayer, came what she can only describe as a “Rebirth”; a profound transformation with a pure divine directive. However, still very much Jane, she continued on as a devoted wife and mother of 2 babies. What became extraordinary to her though, was the Divine events, healings, and transformations that touched not only her own life, but that of many others who came into contact with her. Nevertheless, Jane’s love, humility, and simplicity never wavered, and she decided to enter into the field of holis

A. Hameed Ali was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the USA to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him more and more into inquiring into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature. Hameed’s interest in the truth of human nature and the true nature of reality resulted in the creation and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach®: “The Diamond Approach is a path of wisdom, an approach to the investigation of Reality and work on oneself that leads to human maturity and liberation. Because of our particular vision of Reality it is not completely accurate to think of this approach as spiritual work, for this work does not separate the spiritual from the psychological, neither does it see these two as separate from the physical everyday life and scientific investigation of the content of perception. However, because we live in a society where the prevailing th