Tom Crockett is an ordained minister and spiritual counselor. He is a teacher, lecturer, and student in the Pachakuti Mesa Shamanic tradition, as well as in Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, and Depth Psychology. He has worked as a spiritual counselor for over fifteen years.
Tom has worked with indigenous healers in Mexico and North America and studied core shamanism through the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. He is a Reiki practitioner and has studied bioenergetic healing with Mietek Wirkus. In 2001, he completed an apprenticeship in Paqo Wachu (Peruvian Shamanism) under the guidance of shaman and ceremonialist, Don Oscar Miro-Quesada. Tom has led and cofacilitated retreats in Oaxaca and Mexico City, Mexico, under the auspices of the Institute for Depth Psychology.
Tom has made an intensive study of dreamwork, especially as a tool for spiritual growth. He has been a featured presenter at the Association for the Study of Dreams International Conferences since 1998 and was an invited presenter to the Conference on Indigenous Healing Traditions of the Americas cosponsored by the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. in 2002. Tom has presented at the Science and Nonduality Conference (SAND) with co-panelists Scott Kiloby and Jeff Foster, and been a regular presenter at the Paradoxica Conference on Nonduality.
Tom currently serves as Executive Director of Together We Can Foundation, a non-profit organization serving at-risk teens in Southeastern Virginia. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine arts from Old Dominion University (summa cum laude) in Norfolk, Virginia, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, respectively. He lives in Newport News, Virginia with his wife, Kelly and is stepfather to three amazing children: Holly, Kasey, and Dylan.
Tom's books:
One Drop Awareness: Picturing Enlightenment and Nonduality
PillowBook: Deepening the Art of Sacred Sexual Play
Stone Age Wisdom: The Healing Principles of Shamanism
The Artist Inside: A Spiritual Guide to Cultivating Your Creative Self
Tom's website: coyoteenlightenment.com
Interview recorded 11/25/2012
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction with Rick Archer and Tom Crockett
00:02:55 - A Journey of Spiritual Exploration
00:06:28 - The Journey into Indigenous Wisdom and Plant Medicine
00:10:04 - Profound Emotional Experience with Mushrooms
00:13:18 - The Preparation and Purpose of Taking Mushrooms
00:16:15 - The Profound Experience
00:19:29 - The Phenomenon of Dreaming and Waking Up
00:22:43 - The Interpretation of Dreams and Suffering
00:26:41 - The Relationship Between Pain and Suffering
00:31:11 - Finding Balance and Intentionality
00:35:07 - The Lack of Consensus on Enlightenment
00:37:58 - The Problem with Seeking and the Notion of "Do Nothing"
00:42:13 - The Habit of Doing Nothing and its Ineffectiveness
00:45:44 - Instantaneous Enlightenment
00:49:48 - The Mistake of Mistaking Understanding for Enlightenment
00:54:14 - Behavior and Enlightenment
00:58:36 - The Influence of Eastern Lineage Traditions in the West
01:03:01 - Getting Close to Spiritual Teachers
01:06:48 - The Value of Honesty in Teaching
01:10:08 - The Parallels between Spiritual and Physical Laws
01:14:08 - The Bliss of Emptiness and Fullness
01:18:17 - The Danger of Fundamentalism and the Diversity of Enlightenment
01:22:02 - Grades of Ignorance and the Importance of Inquiry
01:25:47 - Different Experiences of Enlightenment
01:29:42 - Physiological Transformation in Enlightenment
01:33:21 - States vs Stages of Consciousness
01:36:52 - Adjusting to a New Center of Gravity
01:40:36 - Improvisation and Letting Go of Scripts
01:44:29 - The Lesson of Humility in Improvisation
01:48:30 - The Ultimate Unreality of the World
01:51:20 - Conclusion and Farewell