Joan Shivarpita Harrigan - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview

[@jasonk9639]

I recently spoke to a woman I know who has tried everything to get well from a serious mental condition with no success. She told me she saw Joan and experienced a full recovery. She looked like a new person all together. In her words "Joan is the real deal. She saved my life with her guidance." I just wanted to relay this message as the interview was a bit dense with a lot of conceptual commentary. I feel it would have been a better interview if Rick had let her speak without interrupting. Much love and Thank you Rick for bringing such amazing people to us in this fashion! Namaste

[@kmhanna1]

One of the best interviews on Batgap that I've seen, Rick. Thank you! She is so grounded and a wonderful example of what's involved in living a committed spiritual life.

[@christinaguimond1706]

Really great interview Rick! So much here, I want to re-listen a couple times. I appreciated Joan's wisdom, humility, and wealth of practical experience. ( 1:26, very touching ) I agree with your point Rick, that there is not enough emphasis in spiritual circles on the subtle body energies and it's role in awakening ( and maintaining awakening). Here is my experience; I did 8 years of vipassana meditation and intensive retreats, before adding a rigorous yoga practice. Six years after beginning yoga, at age 54, I began abiding in non-dual awareness. I'm not sure that would have happened ( in my case) without the yoga that seemed to have a powerful effect on clearing stuck energies. I had a fairly intense kundalini experience in April, during a meditation session. Still, I need to practise yoga and meditation ( and some enquiry + daily reading ) as a daily practice to maintain awakening.

[@searchsummit]

Christina Guimond Some would argue that if it's really established, nothing need be done to maintain it. That may be so, but for almost everyone, initial opening to it is not rock-solid establishment. Many sages, including Ramana, meditated or did other practices for years after their initial awakening. Some, such as the Buddha, continued meditation all their lives. Others continued yoga, etc. Sometimes I get the sense that these anti-practice people are either too lazy to do a regular practice, or haven't found one that works for them (and probably aren't looking for one, since they've convinced themselves that practices are unnecessary and even counterproductive).

[@TheSmooooth]

Mary Gwen Dungan Hi Mary! Yes our life becomes a practice.....for fully showing me this i give thanks to Michael Brown (the presence process). Thanks for sharing the info about these sound healing it is quite amazing and helping me a lot....never heard of it before. Thanks from my heart. with love Michael

[@christinaguimond1706]

Rick Archer Ironically, I did have a big awakening 14 years ago, after my first intensive vipassana retreat. It lasted for 4 months before it faded. I had no teacher / words to understand the experience. Then, I had a dark night experience, which resolved quickly with another 10 day meditation retreat. ( Rick I would love to see you do an interview that focuses on this phenomena, someone like Willoughby Britton perhaps?) I've come now to believe that if I knew then, what I do now, I would likely have had better success at maintaining that awakening. At this point, even though I do very much believe in the role of practice, I REALIZE that any concepts about awakening can quickly become another barrier - I had, what you could say, a deep and profound experience about this very issue. I like the Buddha's story of using the raft to cross to the other shore, then discard the raft when it is no longer needed. One shouldn't get hung up on the raft itself! I still need the raft, even though my experience of myself and the world have undergone profound change. I'll keep the raft until it's not needed, but not lose sight of the fact that it is simply a raft, nothing more.

[@searchsummit]

Christina Guimond We invited Willoughby Britton and I think she declined for now, but was open to it later. Will have to check. Quite a few interviews have discussed dark night. Andrew Harvey coming up. I'm sure he'll get into it.

[@thebeesknees1505]

Really enjoying this. Thank you Joan, Thank you Rick.

[@suraya4768]

Thank you so much for this interview...Rick and Joan. I found it one of the most informative,helpful and moving interviews ever. Thank you so much...Namaste.

[@chrysantus]

This is one of the best interviews I've listened to at Batgap, Rick. Joan has so much knowledge, but balanced by heart, unlike so many of the non-duality folk you interview. You need to bring here again. Please! :)

[@deolalmahabir8750]

My memory of you (Joan) goes all the way back to 1984 through 1987, as delightful as ever to listen to you.

[@LaurenDelsackAstrologer]

Wonderful interview. Thank you

[@pjmoconnor]

excellent discourse, thankYou!

[@joetize]

One of those best video/interviews-THANX!!!

[@sawmill123456]

Good talk. I like all Ricks interviews what a smorgasbord of people and traditions.

[@jillw3111]

Love it!!!

[@liduse340]

I love you Joan ;-)

[@MichaelMaitri]

One thing I would like to point out is “ Rajas ” is ( The Divine Aspiration ) ~ It is the breathing in of Sattva and the breathing out of Tamas ~ The three drives that bring it about are ~ The thirst ( Out of need ) ~ The wish ( out of compassion ) or The yearning ( To relieve suffering ) ~

[@MichaelMaitri]

One thing I would like to point out is ~ The subtle energy of the universe gets “ Transformed “ into the gross energy of the manifest world ( Big Bang ! ) ~ The subtle energy of the universe is omni directional and it radiates ~ It also contains within it the limitless potential for transformation ~ The gross energy of the manifest world is directional and it vibrates ( Particles & Waves ) ~ Even though the qualities of the energy are different we are still talking about the same energy ~ Also I would like to point out that there is no separation between the divine and the divines energy ~ What we are saying is the subtle energy of the universe is pure and untainted ( By Manifestation ) and that is what makes it divine ! ~

[@jazzsnare]

Michael Maitri It seems to all come down to conscious energy, but just what is that? Why reduce ourselves to the lowest common denominator anyway, as if that would be an achievement. Here the conscious energy goes out of its way to develop into man, and what does man do, he turns around and tries to take the thing apart and reduce himself back to the constituents from which he came, as if to emulate a houseplant, simply there, aware only of the most minimal manifestation of awareness, and calling that a great realization. As creation has taken the time to manifest distinctly human beings, has it occurred to you all that maybe we should not hold as our highest goal the state of minimizing our humanity? We are more than what powers us and the parts tht compose us, not less.- Nietzsche

[@waterkingdavid]

jazzsnare NIcely expressed!

[@waterkingdavid]

jazzsnare Put in another way isn't the mystery of our uniqueness and individuality a mystery as much as any other? I mean each manifestation is unique. Why this constant effort to get rid of it? That said I am not suggesting we minimize others or humanity at the expense of our own separate sense of uniqueness. Rather I suggest through being open to what this means we then respect eachother's uniqueness for what it is - equally real as our own.

[@jazzsnare]

David Watermeyer You're the first guy to even comment, so thanks, I think it's a good question still. It's like those who answer every problem with "Just breathe," you know? I fear reductionism. We reject materialism in some areas, perhaps philosophically, then embrace the basest materialism when it comes to our soul, without noticing.

[@MichaelMaitri]

jazzsnare I think it all comes down to gaining a better understanding of Consciousness ~ At its most subtle level consciousness has an energetic quality ~ That needs to be better understood ~When a cook wants to figure out a recipe he brakes it down ( Reduces It ) to it’s component parts ~ He then mindfully puts all the parts back together ~ He does this in order to gain a deeper understand of what he is cooking ~In the same way we are breaking everything down and reassembling it to gain a better understanding ~ What Nietzsche meant was we are more then just power and parts ~ We are also the environment ( universe ) that sprang up to support us ~ We are not alone in isolation ~ We are part of a universal whole ~

[@TheSoteriologist]

A *1.0 on the new -3 to +3 scale. Disclaimers at the end of the comment.* *Hindu traditionalist alarm !* ... and so Rick really feels at home. But this lady is much more in depth within that game so that she would indeed be interesting to hear again. Yet, at the same time, you get to wonder where exactly the line in what she is rendering is between what she knows directly and what she only interprets according to tradition because she has been taught such concepts and now maps her experience onto that language game. I mean, when she speaks of Makara for instance, what exactly did she experience there. I am sure there was no dolphin or crocodile to be seen there. Also, why do all the zen masters or Adyashanti or Eckhart Tolle not report makara ? Neither do they mention the nadi system. Pandit Gopi Krishna has had a full Kundalini unfolding that took years and years to balance, rendering him clairvyoant with respect to the subtle energies, but he reports that he has *never* encountered a chakra. I guess if you want to talk to someone with some critical distance to a traditon, you can't interview a staunch follower of that very dogmatic tradition. They can be very detailed and thereby falsely suggest a kind of pseudo-scientific wealth of knowlede that others seem to be lacking, when really, much of it is rather arbitrary complication and poetry around the naked facts which due to their faithfulness to tradition we still don't know because to make such a distinction goes against their vows. That said, I repeat that it is interesting to hear what she has to say if you bear the above in mind. A few places you have to wonder though, for instance: 1:51:24 There is no cultural relativity ? Wait a minute, so all the Tibetan farmers of the old days were hell bound because for reasons of scarcity they had to practice polyandry ? If you say such a thing, you'd better be able to exactly enumerate and define just what the moral universals are. Good luck ! 2:19:30 Suddenly they all have purushas, a totally dualistic and indissoluably, eternally individualistic concept ? Does she not notice that that contradicts the non-dualistic atman/brahman concept completely ? 2:24:20 There, the cat's out of the bag: we only accept rich people whose story (three histories) indicate that they are not really having much of a problem anyhow. In other words: we are really soliciting for rich donors and don't care about your problems. _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_ !

[@TheSoteriologist]

Mary Gwen Dungan I agree with everything you said, but I didn't want to give it a zero or lower because *with the caveats* enumerated here by both of us, I think the interview still is more useful than harmful. Regarding the details of the traditionalist kundalini take, it is indeed rather exceptional, and it is unlikely that you will hear more about it elsewhere because among the buddhist tantrics, for instance, all of this is totally secret. In fact the buddhist claim that hindu tantra is degenerate also because the secrecy was slackened centuries ago. Not sure if I agree with that but this is the background for my 1.0.

[@searchsummit]

Soteriologe Regarding the money point, keep in mind she's talking about a 2-5 person in-residence retreat. A few thousand dollars would be quite reasonable compared with what most spiritual teachers would charge for a shorter, much better-attended retreat.

[@TheSoteriologist]

Rick Archer Yes, Rick, but Jesus would have made it a point to prefer to embrace the spiritual emergencies among the beggars, in fact he did so, with no strings attached. Such is the "Kingdom of God" which the east has yet to hear from. Ammachi is pretty exceptional.

[@MichaelMaitri]

Personally I went through a “ Meditation Emergency “ ~ and I can tell you” Rest “ would not of helped me ~ Good nutrition would of helped me ~ Nor would “ Praying “ have helped me ~ What helped me was understanding and it took several years before I understood what was going on ~ Every morning I would go on a walking meditation ~ As I walked I would go through deeper and deeper states of meditation ~ At some point in my walk my body would start to tingle ~ This was followed by full body muscle quivering and then loss of feeling in my entire body ~ It felt like I was disembodied and floating in place ~ When this first started happening it freaked me out ~ So much that I thought about going to the hospital ~ After a while it went away so I decided not to go see a doctor ~ A couple of days later it happened again ~ This time when my body started to tingle I cut my walking meditation short and went home as fast as I could ~ On the way home the tingling stopped and then the full body quivering started ~ That was followed again by loss of feeling in my body and the sense of floating ~ This went on for a long time it would happen when I was in line at the bank, it would happen when I was at work ~ Then one day I started a new practice called lucid Dreaming ~ I made many attempts at it and then one night it happened ~ I was laying in bed relaxing with my eye lids closed and slowly rolling my eyes around ~ I then started to see what looked like sparkles and then my body started tingling, then it started to quiver after the quivering stopped my body went into ( Sleep Paralysis ) and I started lucid dreaming ~ This is when I figured it out ~ Those deep meditative states I was going into during the day ~ Would trigger my body to go into sleep paralysis ~

[@MichaelMaitri]

Mary Gwen Dungan What happened next was ~ I needed to reevaluate the thinking that got me into this predicament in the first place ~ At that time I thought if meditative absorption is good ~ Then deeper levels of meditative absorption would be better ~ This is not the case those deeper levels of meditative absorption will start to interfere with your bodies natural processes ~ In my case it turned night time processes into day time processes ~ My conclusion was to limit my meditative absorption to “ Samadhi “ single pointed concentration ~ In this way I could avoid the pitfalls of deeper levels of meditative absorption ~ Single pointed concentration is all you need for discernment so there is no need to go any deeper ~ If anything you should expand the length of time you can maintain Samadhi ~ I’ve had other meditative emergency but this is by far the worst ~

[@MichaelMaitri]

Mary Gwen Dungan Yes ~ I prefer to do things on my own ~ A teacher can’t do the meditating for you ~ Also a teacher will tell you not to do something ~ But they will quite often not know the reason ~ Why you shouldn’t do it ~ A lot of teachers have knowledge ~ They don’t have experience ~ Also a lot of teachers form attachments ~ To their religion or lineage and this prevents them from expanding their perspective , Deepening their understanding , and attaining wisdom ~ I think it’s wrong to stop meditating when you develop a problem ~ You need to work your way through the problem ~ Not try to pull out of it ~ If you don’t fix it ~ It will keep raising its ugly head ~ Your entire life ! ~ The other medical emergency came about when I started meditating before bed time ~ I would meditate until I grow tired and then go to sleep ~ I would then wake up in the morning and feel tired all day long ~ After several days of this I then developed a problem concentrating ~ Without the ability to concentrate my mind also lost the ability to focus ~ Over time I developed anxiety and started hallucinating ~ I couldn’t understand what was wrong with me ~ I was sleeping 8 hours every night ~ I know this because I could recall all the dreams I was having ~ Here I was showing symtoms of sleep deprivation and narcolepsy ~ But I was getting plenty of sleep ~ After a long time I started to notice my sleep pattern ~ Every night I would wake up several times a night ~ Raise my head look around and then put my head back down and immediately go back into deep sleep ~ This went on every night until one night I woke up and decided to break this pattern ~ I sat up in bed and turned on the TV ~ Then when I grew really tired I turned off the TV and went to sleep ~ The next morning I felt a whole lot better ~ So the next night I did the same thing ~ This went on for several more nights every morning I would wake up and feel better then the last ~ At some point I started to realize that what I thought was sleep really was not sleep ~ The deep meditative absorption that I was doing before bed time ~ Was putting me into a “ Hypnagogic Trance “ during which time I would see visions ~ I was mistaking this “Hypnagogic Trace “ for sleep and mistaking visions for dreams ~ Also every night when I thought I was waking up ~ I was really snapping out of trance ~

[@stephennelson6116]

I wonder why Joan doesn't include Ida and Pingala as nadis of awakening. Perhaps they are secondary nadis which are cleared as the Shakti moves through the primary channels. I experienced a very soft, tender opening of the Lakshmi nadi some years after initial Kundalini awakening, which brought me to a deeper level of realisation; also a spiral of energy shooting from the base chakra in ever increasing circles up to the third eye, which seemed to reveal the truth of a particular situation I was in. It might be interesting to explore the nadis in the next interview, Rick, if at all possible - their function and position in relation to stages of awakening. On another note, I find the classical description of subtle and celestial realms interesting in relation to more contemporary metaphysical insights regarding dimension or densities, and wonder if the idea of never ending spiritual awakening might involve an exploration of these experientially, with a classical foundation as background. It's as if there might be infinite expressions of individuated Self or Atman, whose true nature is Sat-Cit-Ananda, within the multiverse, and that these expressions are every bit as much who we are as our human or divine aspects. Self Realisation seems like a good place from which to explore these realms.

[@stephennelson6116]

...It's like there are infinite, individuated expressions of Self or Atman, whose true nature is Sat-Cit-Ananda, which we can explore and which are as much part of us as the human or divine aspects. Self-realisation seems like a nice place from which to explore these expressions and how they might emerge from Shiva as ground, through Shakti, and deflect or fork into our incarnations here.

[@stephennelson6116]

Yes, woo-woo bashing! Sorry, Mary, I didn't see your comment. I find a lot of contemporary metaphysical teachers have a lot more insight into the celestial realms and I like how they break it down into dimensions based on vibration and frequency, although there's not always agreement and the higher dimensions are difficult to understand from this earthly perspective. I have quite a bit of experience moving through densities from 4D astral through 5D to higher frequencies where I perceive two powerful and wonderful angelic beings watching over me. I also like the idea that there are beings in the universe occupying higher dimensional realities who can project consciousness into bodies here to assist in a planetary paradigm shift. I feel very much involved in this and know others close to me who are too. I believe it's been described as soul forking, though I'm not too sure of the terminology. There seems to be an ability to connect in 4th and 5th density in groups for certain cosmic and planetary functions and I don't think that this type of subtle or celestial perception is necessarily a distraction from the awakening process. Indeed it adds to the variety of expression that can rise from Source and gives Self Realisation or Unity Consciousness a particular flavour or texture. I prefer a kind of intersection between new age teaching and traditional wisdom via devotional practise. Certainly Tantric teaching is pretty foundational for me, as well as devotion to Jesus and Mary as Mother.

[@stephennelson6116]

The two are inseparable for me too, and it's primarily experiential and practical. I've been interested in Kashmir Shaivism lately, and have followed a couple of teachers who know something about that. Some of the Shaivite texts are brilliant, especially Spandakarika and Vijnanabhairava Tantra. And yes, I perceive a kind of shamanic element, though perhaps not technically shamanic, where I'm able to act in a healing capacity in my community. It's all very fascinating and happens spontaneously in meditation and dreams.

[@jeffblake9062]

soooo serioussss grace happens smile/./.

[@LaurenDelsackAstrologer]

The arrogant opining of Egos in the comments below this interview is just staggering. Not difficult to know who's awake and who isn't. Appreciate Rick and each interviewee's ANGLE of Perspective. Too bad humans are so biased, judgmental and arrogant, but that's what happens when the EGO runs the show (let alone, lacks wisdom and experience) ;-)

[@LaurenDelsackAstrologer]

Mary Gwen Dungan I don't know anything about the forum or it's participants. Never visited a forum. Only watch the interviews on KZbin and appreciate the interviews. The world is full of egos that love never better than to put others down who don't have the same opinions. That's all. Read the comments below this interview. Quite astounding! Anyone who has awakened and is willing to talk about it, doesn't need to be put down and berated by those who have not had like experiences ;-) Have a great day!

[@MichaelMaitri]

If you want depth of wisdom ~ Then you need to cultivate ~ Breadth of understanding ~ If you want depth of understanding ~ Then you need to cultivate ~ Breadth of knowledge ~ If you want depth of knowledge ~ Then you need to cultivate ~ Breadth of experience ~ You don’t get depth by cultivating depth ~ You get depth by cultivating its opposite ~

[@heavenscometoearth]

sorry i am not a native speaker, so forgive the broken speech...... is there any value and virtue in refusing to help the most needy kundalini emergency cases if you hold the knowledge best of how to deal with their phenomenon? some of them only breathe to serve the Divine Beloved according to His Will- but not all are so privileged to have had a beautyful sattvic childhood or much money in their pocket (or a skilled and responsible acting master, having given them CONTROLLED shaktipat). Anyway- NOT all SINCERE seekers are prepared for a spontaneous rising. So their rising unfolds hard and wild. In the book of Kiu Eckstein ("Kundalini-Erfahrungen: Eine Meister-Schüler-Begegnung" , written by a Student of Swamiji, some very severe cases are mentioned, in which Swamiji could save a life that otherwise perhaps would have gone lost. Swamiji could (so the book tells on page 211) help for example a young boy who was seeking about 11 years for help and release - he had been visiting many famous yogis - but none of them could deal with his problems- perhaps he should have made a try with SEN or some transpersonal psychologists? i am joking a bit.. Kiu Eckstein hisself was trained by Stanislav Grof, but could not use this to understand his own hidden process (page 16) Well, I pray that the High Knowledge and Understanding of Kundalini Vidya and the Brain Center Functioning / Changes and Phenomenon which are going along with the transformative process of an individual will be given as a Divine Gift and Blessing to some little servants of the One which are prepared to serve the lost and refused ones instead of the stable ones- uah, perhaps my christian heritage is knocking on my heart, telling: "the ill (weak) ones need the doctor not the healthy ones." every master has his/her different purpose i guess. (i know many wild cases which could not find help in the realm of transpersonal psychologists or halftrained kundaliniguides.....they just are judged to suffer perhaps the rest of their lifetime although it could be so easy to offer them release and a way out of their blockade. Shivarpitas book about Kundalini-Vidya- the whole Vidya is about determine one kind of rising from another and that there is training in discerning kundalinisymptom from mental illness and kundalini from other braincenteropenings, overlaying occult phenomenon etc etc- as you cannot treat cancer with treatment for a cold or a broken leg and a birth is not an illness at all- so be sincere, Shivarpita- how many of the SEN-Staff or transpersonal psychology-realm are really skilled enough to give helpful advice) . and yes: the information has to come beyond mind and channeled halfwisdom to the skilled spiritual director- directly given by the Self.. so- i hope not many wild lost ones do hear how you let them down here in that interview and lose all hope afterwards- because help and understanding for the own process is just addressed to the privileged but not the real needy ones- it`s all about good carma, isn`t it? hu, i am glad to be christian mystic and not bound to let anyone down- for sure not the needy ones. By the way: Ramana and even Anandamayi Ma would have had extreme problems here in the west not to come into the grip of getting hospitalized. In India they were save to take the time they needed to adapt their awakening/realization to the physical body and brain- and ground it... make a research on it- no SEN or halftrained guide would have been able to give any solution to them....somebody told that Mas System was at times so extremly sensitive that she would react on a leaf falling to the ground outside of her room. And Irina Tweedie (daughter of fire) had to retreat for some months into the Himalayas to adapt her process). Poor people who have not a helpful nurishing environment to at least be valued as worthy a little assessment and help for their process by PKYC and afterwards a place to ground and be a guiding light to other seekers by themselves . ..

[@heavenscometoearth]

+Per-Philip Eriksson oh, yes i agree- its the nature of the Divine to express Itself in many different ways and through different- sometimes seemingly paradox -viewpoints. They are all part of the One. Well, the impulse to write my commentary was the viewpoint of few human beings of that mass with urgent risings or spiritual openings (unfortunately with difficult lifestories and not really nuturing environments), which were-without any preparation- thrown into such a strange, scary and sometimes very painful spiritual process, that they are really almost completely lost in the mass. You cannot imagine how many enlightened masters, spiritual teachers, healers, counselors and transpersonal working therapists were consulted in vain by few urgent cases (hidden in the mass) to receive support to balancing their process- and some of them have only one single longing- to serve the Divine and Its Beauty, Compassion and loving Will without any hinderance or separation. Even in spiritual groups and pathways - equal of which tradition- they are outsiders- as it is just impossible to communicate their spiritual perceptions and experiences. Perhaps does the Divine long to let also urgent kundalinicases be part of the diversity of spiritual mature human beings (you use the term: enlightened ones), who help to lift up the whole to oneness and a new, more ripen way to express creation, multiplicity and togetherness- perhaps the Divine wants to gather all kinds of people- from above and below- front and back, left and right- easy cases and difficult cases- all as One and as part of the evolutionary process and the task to save and heal the planet and the uplift of the whole....anyway: fact is, that some people with difficult risings cannot wait for the next step of evolutionary process, when more spiritually educated and mature people will be available to provide support in a hard spiritual process. So, why different points of view could not come together and one or two urgent cases could be integrated in a group of 6 or 8 people at once...as we are all one and if the Divine manifests Itself through a rising, so It obviously longs to use that being in which it manifests, or? But without skilled and Divine guided support offered to the being, it will not be possible for the Divine to pour out freely and be truely Itself through that individual... (besides: Swamiji did former help some urgent cases to that they could find back into life through balancing their process. Kiu Eckstein explains some of that cases in his book "Kundalini-Erfahrungen) ... The Divine has many faces- and emanates through Swamiji and PKYC in a very skilled and high evolved manner, which is currently rare on that plane.

[@jeffblake9062]

if you insist on riding the short bus please we all beg you both wear your helmets always your two are definitely excellent drivers you should sleep in your helmets

[@brazfan]

What is the 'inner eye', 'the heart', what does it mean to have 'the ears to hear'? Ratings and reviews are part of herd mentality and are totally useless in an area that is about developing a different way of orienting ourselves to life. Step outside of the whole -3 +3, good - bad, like - dislike, good - bad, right - wrong, up - down way of looking at things. Sense into something, breathe into it, let another deeper feeling, sensing part of yourself guide you, trust it and see what happens. Your or my thoughts about all of this have a place, right here on the screen, but that is as far as they will take us.

[@waterkingdavid]

brazfan Hi brazfan. Beautifully put To add my two cents worth to yours here goes : - All beings without exception are subjectively real. All beings are subjectively unique. This is the truth.

[@TheSoteriologist]

1:51:24 There is no cultural relativity ? Wait a minute, so all the Tibetan farmers of the old days were hell bound because for reasons of scarcity they had to practice polyandry ? If you say such a thing, you'd better be able to exactly enumerate and define just what the moral universals are. Good luck !

[@TheSoteriologist]

First. Might take me a while to listen through and rate though.

[@TheSoteriologist]

Kwistenbiebel200 Yeah, I can relate to that. Still, having had a taste of what I am, I am sandwiched between the truth and having to make my way through this awful world. Everything tends to become a path whether you like it or not. This one should be fun anyway because - at minute 23 right now - it appears to be sort of a retro visit of an eastern cosmology (which of course contradict each other left and right). Whenever the neo-realizers don't really dish out a cosmology, people come back to traditions which then seize the opportunity for a second, third and fourth wave eastern sell out. This whole merry go round is kind of fun to watch. I am waiting for the first realizer to be honest and say: nobody has any clue about anything !

[@Bangle9]

What I would love to see is a continual exchange of this information, but to drop the cultural specific trappings. Does a math teacher don special robes to teach about Pi? But also I know that kundalini awakening can be highly individual so one person's map might not suffice for another. Is there some aloof understanding/mapping of mind/consciousness awakening that is truly universal, or are these current maps deeply embedded in their cultures of origin and don't truly serve those of us from the West? What if she returned to her Christian roots and helped clear stagnant pathways in her own tradition instead of being a missionary for another tradition? The Indian lineage tradition is commendable in terms of keeping alive the knowledge and handing it down to different generations, but then again it can be very parochial and not welcoming of a collaborate spirit of healthy dialog and enquiry. (Well, East-West, that's a problem of all religious traditions.) My comments are not specific to Joan--they are what comes up when I watch the interview. I've just recently started watching these BAGP interviews. There are some real gems of insight/advice like in the John Prendergast interview towards the end, Bonnie Greenwell on kundalini, Svaboda really towards the end of his interview. It is pretty amazing how many of us are dealing with/investigating these things and sharing what we have experienced and problems along the way.

[@TransferOfAwakening]

... Breathing out Meditation ... Pay attention… ...each time… you breathe out… ...try to think… Do it for about three minutes… ...report back...

[@carlodelysid]

I don't much care about anything being said here with one exception. Man has had a benign relationship with marijuana for thousands of years. It wasn't until the 30's when it was demonized for economic reasons that it became something to fear. I would be inclined to fear dialog such as this far more. It's misleading. Becoming one with 'the one' ? Good luck.

[@jeffblake9062]

you two talk alot has something been said

[@jeffblake9062]

but shes not there amazing grace weve seen it all for sure go clare your definetely cow awakened

[@gregorylent]

the most depressing spiritual talk i have ever heard .. it just isn't ever going to end, and there are so many niches within it .. i quit spirituality forever ..

[@Batgap]

In my opinion you can't quit spirituality forever, because it is the ultimate purpose of life, and even of the universe. As the Eagles said, "you can check out, but you can never leave".

[@jeffblake9062]

and the green weenie goes to clare blancj flower with her thrreee hour tour shes gilligan the skipper too the millionare and his wife hell she came back for more blah blah blah unbelievable