Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas) - 2nd Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview

[@unkdaved]

Another great interview. It's great fun having the opportunity to watch it live and catch the vibe.

[@gd705]

Thank you for another great interview with Hameed.

[@waterkingdavid]

Deepest gratitude to Rick and Almaas and all others who made this wonderful jewel of a talk possible. A billion thank yous. Would greatly appreciate it if those who didn't like it and are addicted to expressing their negativity not link to this comment but do so elsewhere. Thank you in advance for not doing so. The twelve step program which was originally founded to help those addicted to alcohol is now being used to deal with all kinds of addictions. Those who always feel compelled to comment negatively could do well to find out more about that program. Whatever joy they find in expressing their negativity must surely be short-lived and must surely merely add to their misery and stagnation. I strongly suggest that when they start resisting the urge they will begin to feel a sense of deep joy - the joy that we are all together in this journey.

[@aliceasaraswati869]

So David, if I understand correctly your comment anyone who has a negative comment should go somewhere else, get a mental rehabilitation program as if this person was sick, or even better just shut up. Do I need to explain you what kind of totalitarian system spreads this kind of ideas ? And after or before that you make big speech against Nazism, fascism, etc. And on top of it, you don't find anything else than to repress freedom of speech in order to express your own negativity to condemn the negativity of others. Am I dreaming ? Would you mind to read what KZbin proposes to you and everybody watching this interview : *"Share your thoughts"* It's not written : *"Share your positive thoughts or shut up."* I'm dreaming or it's just a nightmare !!!

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Brother David Watermeyer, Thank you for being the Knight of Light... ...in this world full of Negativity and Darkness! I know it is a Hard Job... Negatives can be be vicious, cunning, smart, scheming and intelligent... To counter them, one needs to be truly forgiving, loving, caring and compassionate! Thank you brother, David Watermeyer! When the world falls apart... the sky falls down... ...from the ashes of the destruction rises the King of the Light spreading the Glory of the Lord again! Thank you for being the Savior... ... You Truly Are@!

[@TransferOfAwakening]

He was a savior, a knight... ...in the darkness, he was like a burning candle... ...in the negativity, he was like forgiveness, kindness and compassion... ...in the world full of the smelly cow dung... ...he was like a fragrant Rose Flower... To some, he was a messiah... ...to others, he was just David Watermeyer

[@stella6516]

Great conversation!

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Compassion = I see you as a part of me. Compassion = I see you as a part of me. I know like me, you too are not perfect. Yet, like me you too are are fully deserving of existence. Like me, you too are fully deserving of love and kindness. Like me, you too need forgiveness and acceptance. Like me, you too deserve to be fully heard, like me, you deserve to be held softly with tenderness and care, like me you too are the part of wholeness of this moment. This moment couldn’t be complete without you, you are one of its fragrance and taste. By honoring, respecting your presence, I fully honor this Moment!

[@michaelleibman5189]

The most useful insight of quantum physics, beyond new agey stuff, is that the viewpoint from which you approach the most basic things brings differerent views of the ultimate nature. It's like there's the way of the meaning of manifestion and the meaning of the manifestion of the way, in a yin-yangish view.

[@bala4707]

Just remembered an aphorism from _Isha_ Upanishad: _Into blind darkness enter those who follow ignorance;_ _into even greater darkness go those who follow knowledge._

[@TransferOfAwakening]

At 1:13:30 : Now, Now, Now.... ...a very good example of how (some) people don't understand 'timelessness' and make all kind of occluding ideas about it.

[@brazfan]

A striking quote heard from a teacher at a (very expensive) DA large group meeting. 'We don't do that phony humility stuff around here'. Probably another reason H refuses to credit his sources and pay respect to his teachers and lineage.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

When the God speaks... ...where is the need to ask a BlowSpind God is the confirmation... God is the Perfection... ...God is the true Speech! His beauty shines... in the flower, in the mountains, in the lakes... ...tranquil and still. His glory sings... ...in the songs of the birds... ...in the blowing of the wind. His Love speaks... ...in the Sun rays kissing the skin! When the eyes truly open... ...you can see him outside... ....you can see him within. On the top of the mountain... ...in the bottom of the sink.

[@OnlyNewAgeMusic]

Subject and object arise mutually. Being and nonbeing are not two. Truth and illusion are known and unknown. I am the infinite and finite. All potential and the unfolding of potential. Emptiness and Fullness. The ever changeful in the unchanging. No drives are needed in the clarity of this mystery...

[@glenemma1]

We are all children when it comes to expressing this stuff....even the best of us,the most eloquent and insightful are but children. The only alternative would be to remain silent,but even kids in kindergarten do sometimes learn something.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

at 39:00 (paraphrased) If all there is... ...is consciousness... ...Reality... ...how can there any delusion? Does Consciousness preclude delusion? Does Consciousness preclude dreaming? Does screen preclude pictures? Does ocean preclude waves? ...isn't it "primarily" a way of "seeing"... ..."get lost" in waves... ...or "realize" the ocean... ..."get lost" in dreams... ...or realize the Deep Dreamless Sleep... ..."get lost" in the "TV serial" or "realize" the screen... ..."get lost" in the "mental drama" or "realize" the witness... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhyasa ... Adhyasa is the illusory appearance, in another place, of an object seen earlier elsewhere. It is similar in nature to recollection. For instance on seeing a rope in dim light and not recognizing it as a rope, a person mistakes it for a snake which he has seen elsewhere. The snake is not absolutely unreal, because it is actually experienced, and produces the same effect, such as fear and so on, as a real snake would. At the same time, it is not real, because it is no longer seen when the rope has been recognized. It is therefore described as Anirvachaneeya or what cannot be classified as either real or unreal

[@moonsod1113]

I will take the intellectualism of Hameed any time over Adya. At least Hameed does not talk about a silly Jesus as a real person. He talks from decades of experience so how is that just theory? I do find Hameed's books heavy going, but I like his talks, although I have only read 3 of his books including his latest. I have been on spiritual paths over 50 years and I want information, not emotion. I do not care for the Diamond Approach myself, having found enlightenment along a different path, but I find his observations interesting. He speaks from maturity.

[@DietrichLasa]

Any definition is, by definition, defined (limited). No need to define Hameed, he does it in every sentence. It puzzles me that he believes in definitions. Once this belief has exhausted itself, then the not-believed-in definitions can become useful pointers. I don't see these pointers in this interview and the non-defined presence stays beautifully obscured by this chatter.

[@aliceasaraswati869]

*The 6th BATJOKE of the week* *"Shri Andy Cohen’s Vajra"* My flea market at the corner of the street is more gorgeous than the Ali Baba's cave. Maybe that’s why it’s called “Ali Baba flea Market”; I don’t really know. Why not to call it “Donald Trump free market” ? It would be a lot funnier; I love Tex Avery. Anyway, last week I went there just for a stroll and the crazy old man with a long white beard who sold me the snow globe called me. I told him “Do you know I got serious problems with your snow globe ?” And he replied “Of course I know. Before to sell you this crazy stuff, I tried it on Sunset Boulevard in the middle of the night and when I saw all the windows of the buildings blowing up, I immediately ran away”. So I said “What do you have for me today ?” He replied “Just got the Shri Andy Cohen’s Vajra” “No kidding! This stuff is priceless.” “I know, but you can have it for very cheap.” “Where is it? I want to see it.” “Just in front of you !” “What... ? That’s the famous Shri Andy Cohen Vajra kept secret for centuries ?” “Yes, Madame ! That’s the most authentic and precious Vajra in the world including Atlantis and Mu.” I couldn't believe it; it looks like a blender from the 50s. I asked “How much ? And please, don’t start with a crazy price ?” “Okay ! For you, 50 000 US$ … only.” I said “Okay ! I give you 2 dollars; that’s all I got anyway.” And he replied “Done deal !” And I became the owner of the most precious Vajra of the world and the only one of Andy Cohen… who obviously now lost his Mojo. But I asked for a demonstration before to pay him…, just to make sure it’s still working - 2 dollars is not a tip nowadays. So I told him “What can I do with this crazy stuff ?” “Everything you want ! Mashed potatoes, orange juice, carrot soup, cappuccino…, everything you dream for. It’s kind of instant fulfilling desires device.” I said “Okay! Let’s try mashed potatoes; the next stall sells beautiful ones. But do you have the lid of this precious Vraja blender ?” “Totally useless, Madame ! It’s a lot funnier without it.” So we agree to put only one organic potato with the skin inside the special Cohen's device just for a test without provoking any incident, And as soon as the old man switched on, it was amazing. From a beautiful sunny day in summer time, it was the night and snowing. Everybody was stunned… and in pitch darkness…, perfect to run away before the police arrived with every squad team of the city. So now, I know how to renovate the whole building where I live. I always dreamed to see it in pink with a lot of glitters everywhere. With one liter of painting, it should be enough. And if it’s windy, I might paint the whole city in pink too. What a dream ! :-) _(If you enjoy this joke, give some dollars to a homeless person.)_ sites.google.com/site/smilingalicea/ Good laugh !

[@cranebrainmeadow]

Understandably, after writing as many books as this man has one would become adept in discerning subtleties but this is so heady I had difficulty seeing the relevance of any of it. The point is that great spiritual leaders (and it seems to me at least that Hameed is one) need to remember that leading means relating. That said, I can accept that those who needed to understand his insights did. For me though it reminded me of a gynecologist talking about sex, just completely sucked the life out of it. This interview needed to happen over a beer in a bass boat to offset the left brain hijacking. Then again, maybe its just a stylistic thing- Jan Frazier for example: Gentle, Straight Talk, Crystal Clarity. Jak o keefe: Passion, Disruption and Crystal Clarity. Gary Weber: Reason, Humility, Crystal Clarity, I could go on, Hameed: .... seems to have great clarity but when I try to tune into his message, the thought trains are so byzantine and obscure I cant grasp the relevance or the point... and its frustrating because I want to! Alas, maybe its better this way as it will force me to watch this one over till I can open myself to the message. But Rick- next time with Hameed: Bass boat... beer.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

......... .Do you agree? ........... I think we humans (myself included) are a species going through a great mental turmoil. Perhaps, Buddha, Jesus, Ramana are among exceptions... ...(when they are 'truly' Buddha, Jesus and Ramana... ...that we 'imagine'). We have brought this inner turmoil to other humans and to other creatures as well. The nature has tried two things with us humans: 1. Thinking 2. Living together. We have found both of these very challenging and it has become ever more challenging after the industrial revolution, once we are removed from our natural open environment close to nature, doing some physical work and are squeezed together into small boxes called cities, apartments and cubicles and are forced into doing the "mental work" all the time. Some (or many) of us have gotten sick because of living in this (yet)unnatural way and because of needing to be 'mental' almost all the time. The religion, spirituality, meditation, inquiry, philosophy, psychology are all ways to heal our troubled, tormented and at times, sick minds. Healing our mind is the way to healing humanity. Healing humanity is the way to save the planet from us humans... ...needing shark fins and cobra's venom as aphrodisiac, rhino's horns for long lasting beauty and crocodile skin for purses. Right now, the odds seem stacked against us.

[@brazfan]

"Real Enlightenment definitely is not on sale at the corner store, it doesn't contain preservatives, and isn't wrapped in plastic. Absolute surrender to God, or the Universe, is the greatest gift, the "pearl of great price," and it will never be cheap. That is why one should question the ersatz gems that pseudo-spiritualists so readily sell in their fancy packages. If one wants the real thing, one must learn about counterfeits; otherwise, one is showing off a rhinestone to God, convinced it is the Hope Diamond."---- Mariana Caplan, Halfway Up the Mountain (1999) ----

[@TransferOfAwakening]

At 51:00 (paraphrased) Why do realized masters continue to meditate? Stopping to mediate after realizing is... ...like... ...stopping to exercise after regaining health :-)

[@brazfan]

A post from the last A H Almaas interview.... Riz A 1 week ago · Shared publicly As a Muslim, familiar with Ibn Arabi, I can tell you that everything he says is 100% from Ibn Arabi, from 850 years ago, which is fine, but I wish he would acknowledge it. All of Ibn Arabi's, and by extension Almaas, ideas are Quranic, and I wish he would acknowledge it; Ibn Arabi does. The idea that Ultimate Reality has Aspects or Qualities that manifest in Creation, is the idea of Aspects or Names of God or Ultimate Realty if you prefer, as explained in the Quran, and elaborated by Ibn Arabi. The idea that there is no such thing as ultimate spiritual realization, but that it is a never ending journey, is Quranic, and elaborated by Ibn Arabi. "Creation happens every instance" anew is a Quranic idea, elaborated by Muslim philosophers, particularly the Ashari school, and also by Ibn Arabi. No doubt he has a particularly good grasp of this viewpoint, and is able to express it very well. The idea of "Being experiencing Itself in Creation" is the same as Ibn Arabi's idea of wahdat al wujud. The paradoxical nature of Truth is very well explained by Ibn Arabi. Radical non-locality is an idea, of Ibn Arabi; and on and on----

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Silence is neither Hindu nor Muslim nor Christian... (Wait... ...is it actually Buddhist? :-) ) Jokes apart... ...Silence is neither Hindu nor Muslim nor Christian... Silence is available... ...to ALL... ...because, it is your own innermost, core, real Nature... All that is required to KNOW... ...is to become Completely Silent... ...Few seconds is enough... All "real" answers are instantly revealed in the Silence... ...and, if for example... ...no answer... ...are "revealed" in the Complete Silence... ...you will KNOW... ...that you don't really know... ...and, all answers are "made up" answers... ...be it Hindu answers, Muslims answers or Christian answers... But, the "real" question always has been... ...Are ready to fully TRUST your own answers... ...even when the entire world is not bowing to you and calling you the next Messiah...? If you are... ...then... ...only learning that is required is to learn to become... ...completely Silent...

[@moonsod1113]

Well, this maybe so, but that does not mean he has not cognised these things for himself, even if he started as a sufi because Truth is true for all time. When Enlightenment is realised all these things are revealed in one go although most people cannot articulate them. And I mean Enlightenment and not merely awakening where one realised one is formless and not the ego (Read the Kindle ebook The Great Way by Arthur Naylor) whereas in Enlightenment one realises one is infinite Being beyond time and space and everything is inside one; you are outside of everything including the head and nothing can touch you or taint you and you have no dwelling place within creation and everything is still and silent. But then, after some years, although you live in non-duality you start to live as the ego in creation and see the body as a precious thing and the personality as the instrument of experience on this level of action while the Self is apart from it all, totally free. Despite all the ramblings of non-duality, which is only a partial teaching and a half truth, you are not Consciousness in your essential nature because consciousness is still a trap, there being a seer and a seen. You are beyond consciousness as the divine, as God, as that which has no mind or will or needs. Nisargadatta saw this at the end of his life and it is the thing missing from all satsang teaching. God is forever unknown because when you become God you disappear as consciousness - consciousness can never enter there, just as the mind in meditation changes from mind to consciousness without any content or constructs and goes back to being mind and ago as you come out of meditation.

[@OnlyNewAgeMusic]

Isn't it the other way around? Awareness is the infinite Aware Being and individual limited consciousness or recognition arises in pure unlimited Awareness?

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Asking why there is so much suffering... ....is like asking... ...why the baby falls so many times before he/she learns to walk. ...humanity is that "baby"...

[@TransferOfAwakening]

...Elimination is the illumination... For the vision of the Reality to be illuminated... ...the person (belief in the 'existence' of the separate self) needs to be eliminated... The persistent belief in a separate, independent existence... ...is the filter that distorts the view of the Reality. It divides the view into me and the other, view and viewer, known and the knower, good and bad, pleasant and painful. When this filter of the belief in me (the separate, independent 'existing' person) is lifted... ...the view can be called the Enlightened View. Are you really ready to be enlightened is the same question as are you completely ready to die. It is about dying. Because, in order for this filter to be lifted, what you think as 'you' needs to completely die. It is about removing the self. It is about letting the self die. It is not about adding experiences, knowledge, grades and degrees to it. I think the stories of Mara and the dark night of soul are in reality the fear of death showing as various images. And, once one fully willingly accepts it (death), the previously presumed, but, "all consuming" self dies and one experiences the reality without the filter of the image of the self. The other name of the same "acceptance" of the death... ...is complete surrender... I think all enlightenments follow this pattern... Be it Buddha's "I will not will not rise from this place" vow and then facing mara and then getting 'eliminated' and 'illuminated'... Be it Jesus surrender on the cross and then getting 'eliminated' and 'illuminated'... Be it Ramana facing and accepting 'death' and then getting 'eliminated' and 'illuminated'... Or... ...be it many other stories of fully, willingly completely accepting 'death' through complete surrender or through a vow like... ...Buddha... ... of 'illumination' or 'elimination'*... (...often, without knowing that the elimination is the illumination...) So, the only real "spiritual" question at any point is... ...Are you truly, fully, really, completely willing to die* right at this time? Anytime, that answer is a complete, genuine, Real Yes... ...the Illumination can't be Far Away. ... **{And, remember, the body is not you. The belief is simply the belief in the reality of the separate 'thinker'... ...in the one who thinks 'he' knows, one that thinks... ...'It is I who think'... ...one that holds opinions, ideas and knowledge... ...and, of course..... ...'The one that thinks it 'wants' enlightenment'. Is that one really ready to die right now? Because, if IT is really ready to die... ...there is nothing left to seek... ...'what for?' 'for whom?'. The seeker is Sought... ...the difference is a Thought.}

[@TransferOfAwakening]

I suspect that the Separation might be physically false... Consider a fabric, a dress with fabric and some embroidery. In this dress, the fabric itself is completely transparent and thus completely invisible and undetectable and only the embroidery is visible. Thus, if you look at such a dress from outside, you will see that only the embroidery exists and there are large gaps, large separation between the points of embroidery. My hypothesis is that the SPACE is such a completely transparent, completely invisible, (yet) completely undetectable fabric of the universe and the embroidery, the energy points, the matters are the ones that are visible and giving an illusion of billon things separated by a 'non existing' (because, it is invisible to us) gap between them. However, I think that the SPACE 'exists' as much as the 'matter' or 'energy' does and the space is as 'real' as the matter is. The space and matter are simply the 'invisible', 'transparent', 'undetectable' and the 'visible', 'detectable' part of one whole. With this view, separation is physically false - it is only a matter of what part of the whole is completely transparent and what is not. I think the following video "shows" what I mean by SPACE being the "invisible" part of the Whole... ...and, thus creating an "illusion"... ...quite well... kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4PSpWyrlruCbtU

[@TransferOfAwakening]

The Trinity: SPACE is inside the body - the body is inside the SPACE - the Space IS the Body. Replace SPACE with Awareness. Awareness is inside the body - the body is inside the Awareness - the Awareness IS the Body.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

As long as you think... ..."you" "exist"... ...you think you exist as a "body"... ...even if that body is called a "subtle body"... ...a "spiritual body" or... ...a "soul"... ..,OTOH... ...if you already KNOW "you" don't exist... ...there can be no death for the one that is already non-existing...

[@brazfan]

Isaiah 56:10 "His WATCHMEN ARE BLIND: they are ALL IGNORANT, they are ALL DUMB DOGS, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. (11) Yes, THEY ARE GREEDY DOGS which can NEVER HAVE ENOUGH, and THEY ARE SHEPHERDS that CANNOT UNDERSTAND: THEY ALL LOOK TO THEIR OWN WAY, every one for HIS GAIN..."

[@xPhreaky]

I love how this guy feels the need to talk on behalf of others' experiences and make conclusions when he has no idea what anyone else is experiencing but himself. This guy also loves arguing semantics way too much which is why I can't stand his interviews and talks with others.

[@TheSoteriologist]

*Hi Rick*: would you (not anyone else here) have any objections to making the suicide question a standard for every interviewed person ? That is: what *really* happens as a consequence of suicide - not some myth or scripture and no straying into the why of the question. And if the teacher doesn't know, fine, done and next topic. I was late at the live show, and incidentally it was hilarious to observe how most of the people on the chat there were totally unfamiliar with the fact that this question has been central in philosophy for millennia and has been consistently evaded by most spiritual teachers (not the Buddha, BTW !). And so instead of giving me the simple courtesy of posting the question at your website for me (couldn't access the form somehow), most of them felt called to perform an immediate online psychotherapy on me, lmao. So in order to avoid this bizarre scenario in the future, I would like to use this place here to ask you this. Cheers !

[@TheSoteriologist]

Xa Le _[her comment seems to have been deleted]_ *It is very telling that when the new age crowd, especially from the US, encounters profound truth they tend to consider it a case in need of treatment.* I never said life is not precious, but first of all you have to distinguish between life and existence - the latter has traditionally been metaphorically identified as "death", and for good reasons. When Y'shua, for instance, wished upon people that they have life more fully, he most certainly did not wish upon them more existence - another traditional metaphor for which was *"Gehenna"* which was a Nekropolis outside Jerusalem and probably stood for the never ending torturous recycling process of life *forms* as a sacrifice to the false god of existence and perpetuation - later falsely identified with "hell". And *the Buddha clearly said that just like a small amount of shit already stinks, he would recommend no existence at all, not even a very short one*. Yeah, and people run to "Buddha at the gas pump" but the last thing they want to hear there is a truly awakened message. They want to hear new age feel good hopes and see fashionable pseudo teachers who sport their sexy fingernails so the crowd can think: "well I can be on the path and be just as addicted to existence as ever". Sorry, *nope*. *Even if you would offer me the happiest and most ecstatic existence that the universe has ever witnessed - for eternity, I would still prefer total and absolute non-existence*. Good luck to you !

[@Sutoraida1975]

"...not some myth or scripture" Well, what if someone did give an answer that matched a myth or scripture? Would that, in your opinion, immediately disqualify their answer? If so, why? OR, what could make one myth more right over another?

[@TheSoteriologist]

Sutoraida1975 I never rejected answers because they would *match* scripture in some sense. Please read carfeully. It would just have to be an answer that is not in the slightest motivated by the influence of scripture or religious correctness or even popular or therapeutic prudence. *The only valid answers are either "I don't know" or are factual and detailed answers based on completely independent cosmological competence.* If someone cannot describe the dying and afterlife process in detail exclusively based on one's own insight and cosmological competence, then most likely anything else than an honest "I don't know" would just be the usual drivel or some retelling of some book of the dead or someone else's NDE, and we certainly do not need any more _retelling_.

[@TheSoteriologist]

PL Finally a kindred mind, and *brilliantly worded. Welcome !* And while the torment with which we recognize the inescapability of the problem is not yet identical to insight into the first noble truth, it is an approximation of that recognition without which, methinks, any true liberation is impossible. Those people fascinated by existence cannot even want liberation, they can want only some sort of subtle or spiritual samsara. So your case has a good prognosis, especially if you are in physical health. And I can tell you that just before the end it will all appear as a big joke. My case is almost worse: I have already seen the "way out" and tasted freedom, which is the end of everything, but circumstances make it next to impossible to bring this insight to its final consequence, so I have to keep swimming along. At least we are not among those who mistake an inflated version of subjectivity - the ultimate drug - to be enlightenment and go off on an enthusiastic propaganda tour in favor of "evolution" as if that could make existence worth while. _" I feel that, to the extent that suicide is motivated by an urge to opt out of existence-essentially, to avoid the suffering inherent in it-the enterprise will somehow cosmically backfire, and one will find oneself gobsmacked by the folly of it, even if “only” at the penultimate moment of this life."_ That, BTW, relates to the Buddha's teaching of the three kinds of greed: greed for 1) lust, 2) for existence and *3) for non-existence*. All three will cause existence to be prolonged. So a suicide acting out of greed type 3) will _ipso facto_ sabotage his objective. The exception being, he taught, someone who has already uprooted the causes for greed and kills himself merely to avoid unecessary residual physical pain. That part, however, makes me wonder a bit, there seems to be a slight tension there. So basically we have the idea, which is really quite a solid protection from suicide, but I want to know from these teachers how their cosmological insights say it works in detail. As a useful side effect we could see by the answers if they even have any cosmological insight ☺.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

To Say the God 'needs' creation... ...is like saying... ...that the light 'needs' to travel...

[@TheSoteriologist]

A *1.8 on the new -3 to +3 scale. Disclaimers at the end of the comment.* Good interview, authentic interviewee = 2.0. Even some original cosmological contributions = +0.2, yet also a bit boring and hard to listen to in expression, as well as one sidedly abstract = -0.4. Total: 1.8. _About the rating: anything below and including 0 means by and large a waste of time, and anything below 0 is not only worthless but damaging to the world. For comparison, on that scale, Francis Bennett would be a +2 or more and Harri Aalto would be roughly a tentative +2 to +2.5. Not coming up with original, independent cosmological insights bans any interviewee from > 2.0 ratings as a matter of principle._ *General Disclaimer:* the rating _pertains to an interview, not to the interviewee_. If the rating is high it means merely and exclusively that I consider the interview to be of high value relative to the stated purpose of the channel, and that it is therefore no waste of time to listen to the interview. It would _not_ imply that whatever the interviewee speaks is the truth (as if I was the arbiter over that) or that you should follow him/her or accept whatever that person offers. _That is particularly in need of emphasis if that would be an expensive enterprise_ !

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Really... ...everything is actually a search for "union" or "enlightenment"? "Whatever" one does is the enlightenment drive manifesting? At 35:00. Really? Are you too experts really sure? Was it the same thing that powered Uday Hussein's alleged rapes? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uday_Hussein ... Kidnapping young Iraqi women from the streets in order to rape them. Uday was known to intrude on parties and otherwise "discover" women whom he would later rape. Time published an article in 2003 detailing his sexual brutality.[2][18] ...

[@TransferOfAwakening]

At 1:27:40 How can you experience all other times at the same time? Forget that... ...how can you have two thoughts at exactly same moment? He seems to be in the the middle of a grand "dream" of "knowing it all" and is telling everyone that the "reality" is "his" dream. No wonder... ...this stuff sells... ...there are many buyers for better "dreams" :-) No wonder... ...Ramana and Nisargadatta Maharaj died poor men and Shankara probably had no belongings either. Sell "dreams" and people seem to flock like... ...flies flocking to the sh*t :-) No wonder Mahesh Yogi and Osho got so rich :-)

[@ThomasRomlin]

THE ABSOLUTE UNKNOWN, the ONLY "KNOWN" - The Black hole of Nowlessness, the event horizon without time. Only presence attention shades the TRUTH. I'm the timeless dreamer dreaming ... THE UNKNOWN DREAM "KNOWN" AS GOD.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Forget God... ...just describe your own True Reality... Once you are done with that... ...describe SPACE... ...and, remember the SPACE is about 99.99% of all there is outside and it is about 99.99% of all there is inside... Once, you truly and completely "know" the SPACE... ...knowing the rest 0.01% should be easy and it might not matter that much... ...I also suspect that talking about the 'God', 'what' "god' really IS and how to know 'God' will become Far Easier... ...once you truly understand SPACE...

[@brazfan]

Hosea 5:4

[@brazfan]

A false teacher “People with a little occult power gain such things as name and fame. Many of them want to follow the profession of guru, gain people’s recognition, and make disciples and devotees. Men say of such a guru: ‘Ah! He is having a wonderful time. How many people visit him! He has many disciples and followers. His house is overflowing with furniture and other things. People give him presents. He has such power that he can feed many people if he so desires.’ “The profession of a teacher is like that of a prostitute. It is the selling of oneself for the trifle of money, honour, and creature comforts. For such insignificant things it is not good to prostitute the body, mind, and soul, the means by which one can attain God. A man once said about a certain woman: ‘Ah! She is having a grand time now. She is so well off! She has rented a room and furnished it with a couch, a mat, pillows, and many other things. And how many people she controls! They are always visiting her.’ In other words, the woman has now become a prostitute. Therefore her happiness is unbounded. Formerly she was a maidservant in a gentleman’s house; now she is a prostitute. She has ruined herself for a mere trifle. -Sri Ramakrishna

[@TransferOfAwakening]

No one can "desire" "enlightenment"*... ...it is impossible to "desire" "it"... Enlightenment is the dropping of the belief in the reality of oneself. 'Who' can 'consciously' 'desire' it? (Most) (true) seekers only seek the end of their suffering without realizing that... ...they are the very 'cause' of their own suffering. Some seekers such as Buddha, Jesus, Ramana or Tolle or Katie... ...get so desperate, so fed up that they just 'surrender' and they just 'let go'... ...and, they realize 'the were the very suffering they were looking to end'... Other... ...(fake) seekers... ...keep looking for 'grades', 'levels', 'refinements, 'stages'... ...to add to them (the image of them) (the idea of them) like university degrees and Olympic medals... What is the difference between a person looking for material things like better cars, better TVs, more degrees, more medals... ...and, the person looking for greater 'degree' of enlightenment? Only difference is that the second one is said to be "spiritual". Otherwise, it is the feeding of the same basic accumulating, greedy mind. ... *Enlightenment is the "end of the entity" that can possibly "desire" it and that entity (mind) is cunning enough to know it. ... Because of the above... ..."suffering" can be a great blessing as it can take one to "surrender"...

[@TransferOfAwakening]

The God that 'needs'... ...would actually become like a 'human'... The God that 'needs to know'... ...would actually become like a 'human'... The 'God' that 'needs to know' is the God of human creation... All this 'need to know' and imagining 'God needing to know' is the part of the human invention... The Absolute is beyond all needs, beyond all perception, beyond all experiencing, beyond all definitions, beyond all qualities and beyond all knowledge...

[@brazfan]

TOA (Transmission of Awakening) I'm curious if this is your direct experience or knowledge, or, an idea or notion about the Absolute? God may have 'needed' this into creation....If God didn't need it, why? How could we know? Rumi says 'God is worshipping this into creation'. That's you, me.... everything. ;-) If this is God's body, it may reflect God's qualities, it may be God's qualities in this form.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

brazfan Rumi is free to "imagine", "believe" what he imagines or believes. Authors of the Old Testament and New Testament, Quran, Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vedas, Vedantas are free to imagine and believe what they do. BrazFan and TOA are free to imagine and believe what they do. Some of these imaginations and beliefs and their authors are hugely more popular than others. If the "truth" is really a popularity contest - we can go with the most popular ones - at the moment, these happen to be Christian and Muslim beliefs. However, when I become completely Silent... ...there is only Silence... ...any words that I use to describe it is false... When I become perfectly quiet... ...there is absolute silence... ...no answers, no words, no concepts... ...not even an idea of 'God' or 'I'... Therefore, I can't help but, think... ...that if other humans are like me... ...the concepts and ideas about the Ultimate, Absolute Reality... ...Nothingness... ...Silence... ...are very likely to be a part of their imagination and thinking only...

[@TransferOfAwakening]

brazfan -Infinite + +Infinite = 0 0 or absolute emptiness or complete nothingness includes all possibilities... You can go in one direction and it is limitless... and, you can go in another direction and it is limitless... It includes everything and its exact opposite and it all adds up to BIG Zero... ...Absolute Nothingness... ...Complete Lack of real things... Anything you can imagine... ...it is... Anything you imagine... ...it is not... ...because, it includes ALL possibilities... One that includes ALL possibilities is Unknowable by its very definition... ...Something can be known only in relation to something else... ...THIS includes ALL... ...and, that's why it adds up to the Absolute Zero... ...because it includes all possibilities in all directions... ...positive and negative... Of course, the above is just my thought and reason based 'theory'. No 'God' really told me this... :-)

[@TransferOfAwakening]

brazfan >>God may have 'needed' this into creation....If God didn't need it, why? If you are OK with the 'God' 'needing' Uday Hussein to rape Iraqi women... ...I might consider the theory that God 'needs'... OTOH... ...if you think the 'God' doesn't need Uday Hussein to rape... ...but, it 'needs' Mother Teresa to help sick and poor... ...I would like to understand that 'God' little better... ...because, to me this second 'God' (which 'needs' Mother Teresa to help and doesn't need Uday Hussein to rape)... ...seems to be made up of your (or mine) 'likes' and 'dislikes'... ...this second version of the 'God' ... ...seems to be more like an 'obedient' servant of ours... ...we seem to know 'better' than it... ...we tell us what is 'good' and what is 'bad'... ...it seems to just 'follow' our idea of 'good' and 'bad'... I would seriously question this second version of 'God'... OTOH... ...If your 'God' does 'need' Uday Hussein to rape... ...lets talk...

[@TransferOfAwakening]

brazfan Does the Sun 'need' Clouds to form and rain? Does the Sun 'think' about the children needing its light? Does the Sun 'worry' about people getting skin cancer? Does the Sun 'plan' to rise and set at certain time... ...Ok... ...does the Earth 'plan' it? If it does... ...that Sun is very much like a 'human'.

[@tim13354]

Haven't read his book, but: Jeez: is this guy one mixed-up kid? I love the way people in spiritual circles think they're somehow superior to the 'average Joe'.... But then: so do the people in your local Church! The fact that, if anything, the opposite is the case is one of the jokes of existence. I suggest that the ESSENCE of what constitutes 'realization' (if such a thing there be) is the realization that 'death is not the end'. Or if it is: doesn't matter, 'cos, at that point we achieve 'Closure'. (I know, I know...except for Me, 'cos I'm going to burn!) That this is the fundamental issue might be reflected by the fact that Anita Moorjani is 'top of the Pops' on Batgap. And long may she remain so! The 'drive for enlightenment' is in fact a particularly puerile (and needless to say, particularly unconscious) manifestation of a question, therefore, which the whole of Humanity is asking. This particular manifestation is the result of a 'spiritual' experience which, having had, the individual wants again, or permanently. And which he/she feels will answer their 'questions'. But, if it didn't answer them the first time around....? The Gurus/'Spiritual teachers' (and their running dogs) are of course delighted. It gives them a chance to practice, if not their Criminal Psychopathy: certainly their Parasitism. There are no 'Spiritual Practices'. If whatever you are doing doesn't work Immediately (or at least very quickly): it doesn't work! ( It also only works to the extent that it works Immediately (or at least, very quickly).) And 'Fundamentalists', being in denial of that fact, are actually advertising it. As are 'tired old Padres' like Rick. Sorry! :) "Truth is a Pathless Land", Mr. Almaas. Get it and get it straight.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

At 1:37:00 - you too are into that too :-) Really?

[@TransferOfAwakening]

There is no... ..."we" "are"... "I"s and "we"'s are part of the illusion... "Experiencing" is not "it"... Alcohol is an "experience"... Drug is an "experience"... Sex is an "experience"... "Dreaming" is an "experience"... "End of the dream" is the... ..."end of experience"... Any "experience" is not "it"...

[@dromycatcher]

hope this is not going to be one of those 'I'm such a goody goody 2 shoes and thats all that matters' chit chat interview instead of actually saying something substantial about enlightenment, cuz I have seen too many of these on here

[@dromycatcher]

because too many SPIRITUAL EGO'S like to believe that being all about that 'goody goody shit' IS enlightenment, when it is really not.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

The Absolute has no "qualities"... All "qualities" are part of the "relative"... All "qualities" are indicative of the separation - the known, the knower and the knowing... The absolute is not a "thing"... ...to try to "understand", know or find it as a "thing" as in terms of "experience" or "qualities"... ...is the part of "dream"... ...is the path of delusion...

[@TransferOfAwakening]

The Absolute is. All things are mere illusion. Absolute is all things. The dreamer is real. All dream character are unreal. Dream characters are nothing but, the dreamer. www.evangelicaloutreach.org/trinity.htm ... Are the the dream character absolutely real? Of course not. Are the the dream character absolutely unreal? Of course not. They are kind of "real" as long the dream is experienced and believed.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

At 58:30 : Just telling people that they are Self doesn't do anything. Of course. For one thing, it is unlikely to make any money for the teacher :-) Just joking.

[@T_from_U]

nah

[@TransferOfAwakening]

How do you 'see' 'God'? When you dream... ...do you say that the beautiful angels that you see in your dream is the consciousness... ...but, the dreadful monsters and the deadly snakes you see is not consciousness? When you watch a movie... ...do you say that the beautiful flowers that you see is the screen... ...but, the ugly, smelly, gross poop that you see is not the screen? How do you 'see' 'God'? In your view, are you OK with accepting that Uday Hussein, Hitler and Stalin were 'God' in action? Or, is your 'God' only Ramana Maharshi, Jesus, Tolle, Dali Lama, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Rumi... ...and, maybe, you?

[@TransferOfAwakening]

Once again, a "human" claims to have the 'God'... ...'all figured out' ... :-)

[@waterkingdavid]

He doesn't claim it. This seems to be your projection onto him.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

David Watermeyer Fair enough brother! It is all my projection anyway :-) What else have we got?

[@aliceasaraswati869]

David Watermeyer Here we have Toa in all his beauty, solipsism and dogmatism. Bravo ! And on top of it, he considers : "I don't care too much for this TOA dude. I don't care too much about what he says or writes. He is another blowing of wind." Clap clap clap ! As long as the wind makes noise, it's good I guess !

[@brazfan]

I give up....

[@aliceasaraswati869]

brazfan That's what makes the difference between ........ and ......... Please fill out the form :-)