Buddha At The Gas Pump

Bernardo Kastrup has a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering and has worked as a scientist in some of the world's foremost research laboratories, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the "Casimir Effect" of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has authored many scientific papers and four philosophy books: Rationalist Spirituality, Dreamed up Reality, Meaning in Absurdity, and Why Materialism Is Baloney. This latter book is a grand synthesis of his metaphysical views. Bernardo has also been an entrepreneur and founder of two high-tech businesses. Today, he holds a managerial position in the high-tech industry. In parallel, he maintains a philosophy blog, an audio/video podcast, and continues to develop his ideas about the nature of reality. Bernardo has lived and worked in four different countries across continents. Books: Why Materialism Is Baloney: How True Skeptics Know There Is No Death and Fathom Answers to life, the Universe, and Eve

Marlies Cocheret de la Morinière brings a potent invitation into the deep Silence that we are. She has been offering satsang and retreat since 2000 when her root teacher, Adyashanti, asked her to teach. Marlies is trained as a psychologist in The Netherlands and works as a certified Hakomi practitioner and a certified Tantric educator. She invites all seekers to live as the Divine in the body. She brings together Sensuality and the Silence of our Being.  With love, directness and humor Marlies creates a safe place for seekers to discover and deepen into the Stillness and Love that is our True Nature. She works internationally and lives in Santa Cruz, California. Marlies' website: marliescocheret.com Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 7/5/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Struggling with Pronunciation 00:04:51 - Discovering Osho and Going to India 00:08:44 - The Human Side of Gurus 00:12:52 - A Transformative Experience with Osho 00:16:20 - The Deep Silence of

Peter holds degrees in theoretical physics, experimental psychology, and computer science from the University of Cambridge, England, where he was a student of Stephen Hawking. Following university he went to India, to study meditation and Eastern philosophy. In the 1970s, he pioneered the introduction of personal growth programs to corporations, running courses for senior management on creativity, stress management and sustainable development. He coined the term "global brain" with his 1980s bestseller of the same name in which he predicted the Internet and the impact it would have on humanity. His other books, which include Waking Up in Time: Finding Inner Peace in Times of Accelerating Change, and From Science to God: A Physicist's Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness, and his visual presentations and videos have won international acclaim and awards. Peter's work integrates Eastern and Western understandings of the mind, exploring their relevance to the world today and to humanity's future. Peter'

Richard Lang first saw who he really was in a workshop in 1970 with the English philosopher Douglas Harding, author of ‘On Having No Head’. Since then he has devoted his life to Seeing, and to sharing the simple, accessible Headless Way. He has published two books, several videos, and a CD, and travels widely giving workshops. Books by Richard Lang: Seeing Who You Really Are Open to the Source: Selected Teachings of Douglas E. Harding Website: headless.org A free e-course in seeing Who we really are YouTube Channel Other books by Douglas Harding: Religions of the World (Liberal Studies) Look for Yourself: The Science and Art of Self-Realization The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth Head Off Stress The Little Book of Life and Death The Science of the 1st Person The Trial Of The Man Who Said He Was God The Spectre in the Lake Visible Gods Face to No-Face: Rediscovering Our Original Nature To Be And Not To Be, That Is The Answer Transcript of this interview. Interview recorde

After experiencing two, close, broad-daylight UFO sightings, Darryl’s path led him to become a channel for an extraterrestrial entity called Bashar. Darryl has channeled Bashar internationally for the past 30 years, providing powerful methods by which people can change their lives in positive ways. Bashar’s information has been published in over 20 books in the U.S. and Japan and hundreds of CDs and DVDs have been distributed worldwide by April Rochelle, CEO of Bashar Communications. In addition to his channeling career, Darryl also has over 30 years of experience in miniature effects, storyboards, sets, and designs on three Star Trek films, Iron Man, The Aviator, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End, I Robot, Live Free or Die Hard and Flags of our Fathers among several others. Darryl is now writing, directing, and producing his own films, including "Dearly Departed" - a fictional documentary shot as if the crew took a camera into the afterlife and interviewed the spirits of people who've passed on to

Daniel Ingram is the author of Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book, is one of the founders of the Dharma Overground, has been a speaker and interviewee on Buddhist Geeks, and practices Emergency Medicine as a physician. He is highly influenced by the practices of Mahasi Sayadaw, but his interest in the dharma is much more pragmatic than dogmatic and draws on a wide range of sources. Longer, more tongue-in-cheek bio: Daniel is an extroverted Gen X intellectual. He is known for his pronounced enthusiasm, lip-flapping, grandiosity, eccentricity, and calling people on their stuff and shadow sides regardless of whether or not this is helpful or even accurate. He is an arahant and has a solid mastery of the basic concentration states from the first jhana to Nirodha Samapatti, including the Pure Land Jhanas. He also has a solid knowledge of Buddhist theory and the texts, and because of these three areas of expertise considers himself a qualified teacher. He was also authori

Karen Johnson is a co-founder of the Diamond Approach as it is taught in the Ridhwan School, a contemporary original spiritual understanding and path, expressing timeless wisdom on self-realization using the insights of our time. She is a colleague and friend of Hameed Ali (A.H. Almaas). Her life is dedicated to the discovery of inner freedom and sharing the treasures with humankind. In this interview, we discussed how the Diamond Approach is evolving, what differentiates it from other traditions, and the most recent developments of the past 15 years, about which Karen and Hameed have only recently begun to teach, speak and write. Neither the depths of spirit nor the surface of the mundane world can adequately express what reality is and what is possible for each of us. How can our human lives be both the arena for spiritual practice and enlightenment, and the occasion for our true being to express its infinite possibilities? When we realize that we are each the miracle of matter and spirit and at the same

The iconography and texts of most spiritual traditions depict and describe realms of existence more subtle than ordinary sensory perception reveals. The most commonly portrayed phenomena are halos in paintings of saints. But in addition to this evidence of the human “subtle body”, the traditions are abundant with paintings and stories of subtle beings such as angels, gods, devas, demons, etc. Is this mere mythology or does it suggest that subtle perception is part of spiritual development? So far, the non-dual community has not discussed this at all. The New Age community has, but often in a fanciful way that the non-dual community has, perhaps wisely, chosen to eschew. Yet many who have had abiding awakenings that non-dual traditions predict and respect discover, in time, that subtle perception begins to dawn. They begin to perceive auras, angels, devas, and the like as routinely as most of us see other human beings. This panel discussion included five such people:  Name Website Other Batgap Interviews

Roger Housden is the author of 20 books, including the New York Times bestseller Ten Poems to Change Your Life. Housden’s work has been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post. He lives in Sausalito, CA. For more, visit rogerhousden.com. Other books: Keeping the Faith Without a Religion (book) Keeping the Faith Without a Religion (audio download) For Lovers of God Everywhere: Poems of the Christian Mystics Seven Sins for a Life Worth Living Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation Ten Poems to Open Your Heart Ten Poems to Say Goodbye Ten Poems to Change Your Life Again and Again Dancing with Joy: 99 Poems Summary and Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 5/17/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Background 00:03:45 - Using Life's Circumstances for Growth and Reflection 00:07:14 - Visiting Karoli Baba's Ashram 00:10:39 - The Difference Between Faith and Belief 00:14:05 - Kno

Jeddah Mali is the Executive Director and founder of Global Paradigm Ltd, which delivers training programs for individuals and organizations seeking a completely new approach to the age-old dilemma of how to make life, business and society work effectively and harmoniously. Jeddah’s unique approach identifies and maps the cohesive design underlying every system, from an individual person to a solar system. It reveals the hidden patterns within every aspect of life that are responsible for how things turn out. Jeddah provides an in-depth examination into the nature and function of this design, and the mechanics that make it work. Our understanding and use of these mechanics determine the extent to which we can produce consistent and reliable results. Jeddah is sought after for her precise understanding of human beings, the contribution each person makes individually and collectively and the impact this has on the world in which we live. Her work examines the link between our design as human beings and our hard

Fax and Sharon Gilbert were among my first guests on BatGap (interview here). Recently, Fax has been interviewing a few people in Fairfield, Iowa under the auspices of Fairfield's Trillum Awakening group. In this interview, I neglected to adequately express my appreciation to the volunteers who make BatGap possible. Please see the Volunteers page for a list of some of them. Transcript of this interview Interview conducted 5/11/2014 Other talks by or interviews of Rick on BatGap: Interviewed by Angelo Dilullo SAND 2019 - Knowledge/Reality is Different in Different States of Consciousness 2018 SAND Conference Q&A and Interview by Shakti Caterina Maggi SAND 2017: "The Ethics of Enlightenment" Talk at Berkeley Open Circle Center SAND 2015: Science and Spirituality: Potential Allies in Discovering Truth Interviewed by Richard Miller YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to the Interview 00:03:50 - Awakening and Resistance 00:06:56 - From Fairfield to the World: Taking B

Neelam is a direct disciple of H. W. L. Poonja (Papaji), whose teacher was Sri Ramana Maharshi. Her unequivocal commitment to Truth helps us turn inward and release underlying patterns of conditioning which block the recognition of our True Nature. With the utmost tenderness while helping us to address all aspects of daily living, including past conditioning and trauma, she invites us into the same recognition of Truth that her teacher, Papaji, transmitted to her. Neelam’s website Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 5/3/2014 Her first Interview here YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Background 00:04:39 - Identity and Presence 00:08:59 - The Continuum of Presence 00:13:10 - The Experience of Consciousness 00:17:13 - The Ground of Knowing 00:21:14 - The Embodiment of Knowing 00:25:48 - Awakening vs Enlightenment 00:30:25 - The Role of Knowledge in Teaching and Living 00:34:20 - The Intelligence of Presence and Surrender 00:38:42 - Embracing Everything as I

As an independent scholar, speaker, radio show host, published author, sacred tour leader and social justice activist, Karen's work for three decades has been inspired by her interests and passion for travel, comparative religions, ancient cultures, women's her story and the resurging interest in the rise of the Feminine Consciousness. Her work combines feminism, spirituality, and uplifting women, all of which are highlighted in her projects. Her first book, Sacred Places of Goddess: 108 Destinations has garnered prestigious endorsements, while her second book, Walking An Ancient Path: Rebirthing Goddess on Planet Earth, was a finalist in the National Best Books of 2008 Awards. Her newest book, Goddess Calling: Inspirational Messages & Meditations of Sacred Feminine Liberation Thealogy, out in the Spring of 2014 is already getting rave reviews from her mentors and peers. Her fourth book, the anthology Voices of the Sacred Feminine: Conversations to Re-Shape Our World, includes the wisdom of noted visiona

Adam C. Hall achieved the American Dream in all its glory and then woke-up to the nightmare of his own life condition.  Once a financial power broker and real-estate developer, Adam undertook a life-changing metamorphosis that would ultimately alter his mind-set from Earth Conqueror to Earth-Keeper. To come this far, Adam had to come to terms with the misery that was at the center of his very privileged and comfortable life. He endured the loss of all that he treasured most. It was only then that he was finally able to open to discover the Creative Power of the Universe that is hidden within each of us. We have entered an era like none other in history. The economy of the Western world and the ecology of the entire planet are threatened with the possibility of imminent collapse.  In the midst of these dire circumstances, a dramatic shift is occurring within human consciousness. The ancient prophecies of the Hopi, Maya, and Inca (among others) all point to this moment as the time when humanity will undergo a

Prajna O'Hara (formerly Ginty), MA is the bestselling author of Edge of Grace: A Fierce Awakening to Love, (2014) and Resources for Living Awake (2016). Prajna embodies the “wisdom of no escape” and evokes through dialogue, inquiry, and presence the spirit of authenticity, courage, and kind acceptance while inspiring people to unleash core aliveness. Prajna carries a message that vividly charts the universal themes of “seeking” through the most humbling emotional ordeals to heartfelt satisfaction and stability. Her approach elicits a softening of the heart that allows struggle and false identity to relax into direct intrinsic knowing of who we are amidst laughter, tears, messiness, and beauty. As a teacher, therapist, and mother, she is known for her deep compassion and capacity to transmit powerful meditation experiences relevant to everyday life. Visit prajnaohara.com Prajna’s Journey: In 1986, after the death of her first teacher Eunice Zimmerman, Prajna was introduced to Satsang and Non-dual Wisdom Teac

Sharon is a gifted intuitive and a spiritual teacher in the lineage of Adyashanti. Sharon has a devotion and great love of the Truth. Adyashanti asked her to teach 2003 and guide those genuinely drawn to the path of Truth. Since then, Sharon continues to deepen into and embody this Truth herself. She invites you to “Come home…” to That which you’ve always been. In her presence you’ll taste a palpable expression of love and intimacy that allows you to feel safe dropping into the deep vulnerability required to know yourself as the All. Sharon offers support for the required shift of identity that is both direct and tailored to each person's journey. Her teachings are based on her deep realization of silence and the way silence expresses itself in form. She notes, “Often there is still a thread that says the ‘me is going to get it; the ‘me’ is going to wake up. And it just isn’t true. It actually wakes up out of the ‘me’. “ So in her teaching, Sharon emphasizes how silence wakes up in the body and how the embod

Robert E. Svoboda is the first white member of Kenya's Pokot tribe, and the first non-Indian ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India, where he lived for more than a decade. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra, and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. For a decade he was involved with thoroughbred horses as Vimalananda's Authorized Racing Agent. The author of more than a dozen books, since 1985 he divides his time between India and other lands. Website: drsvoboda.com Books: AGHORA, At the Left Hand of God (Aghora) (v. I) AGHORA II: Kundalini (Aghora) (Vol II) Aghora III: The Law of Karma The Greatness of Saturn: A Therapeutic Myth Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution Ayurveda: Life, Health, and Longevity Prakriti Vastu: Breathing Life into Space Ayurveda for Women: A Guide to Vitality and Health Tao and Dharma: Chinese Medicine and Ayurved

My family moved to Canada from Finland when I was five. I clearly remember an experience that started developing from this time, where I could see an unmoving sphere, or bubble, of comfortable light, or consciousness, that surrounded my body. If I moved my hand outside this safety net it looked somehow darker and I would draw it back to safety. In this space, I always felt that I could do no wrong since I was just flowing along without making any effort. As I grew older this experience expanded and remained abstract for many years. I, of course, thought nothing of it, even though it was obviously a very basic aspect of my existence. When I was about eight or nine years old, I started experiencing what can only be described as a mixture of intense energy and overwhelming happiness. Every day I would have to leave the house and run/walk around the block for several hours until it was manageable again. I would have long, grand insights that I felt completely unable to express out loud, along with apparently ext

Dr. Menas Kafatos is The Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Computational Physics and Director of Excellence at Chapman University. He received his B.A. in Physics from Cornell University in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972. After postdoctoral work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, he joined George Mason University and was University Professor of Interdisciplinary Sciences there from 1984-2008.  He has authored and co-authored numerous books including The Conscious Universe, The Non-local Universe, and Principles of Integrative Science.  He is a recipient of the Rustum Roy Award from the Chopra Foundation, which “honors individuals whose devotion and commitment to their passion for finding answers in their field is matched only by their commitment to humanity” and the IEEE Orange County Chapter - Outstanding Leadership and Professional Service Award.  He has been interviewed numerous times by national and international TV networks, newspapers and radio p

Jack Petranker is the founder and director of CCI and regularly offers programs and online courses. A student of Buddhism since 1973, he is also the director of the Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages and a faculty member at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute. He served as Dean of the Institute in Berkeley from 1988-1991 and as North American Vice-President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists from 1988-1992. He is the author of When It Rains Does Space Get Wet?: Learning to Live the Time-Space-Knowledge Vision (Perspectives on Tsk) (Dharma Publishing 2006), and has written numerous academic articles in consciousness studies, organizational change, political transformation, and the value of work as a spiritual practice. Jack holds a BA from Stanford in political science, an MA from the University of California at Berkeley in political theory, and a JD from Yale Law School. He has been a member of the California Bar since 1971. Other books: Light of Knowledge: Essays on the Interplay of Knowledge,