When John Samsen first contacted us several months ago, he said, "I'm 90 years old, I've had both my feet amputated, and I've never been happier". We soon learned that John designed the Ford Thunderbird, Plymouth Barracuda, and other "muscle cars", and later had a profound and abiding spiritual awakening.
Over a course of many decades, John Samsen followed a quest to understand the “big questions” of Life; why are we here, what is Life all about, and who am I, really? Along with careers in Aerospace Engineering and car designing, John studied the sciences, mythologies, religions, philosophies, and psychologies, to expand his understandings. A pattern of paranormal experiences opened his mind to areas of experience beyond the paradigms of Science. In 1970, he embarked on a quest of Self Discovery, participating in hundreds of hours of intensive consciousness exploration with such noted researchers as Drs. Jean Houston and Robert Masters, Dr. Lawrence LeShan, Robert Monroe, and others involved in the “human potentials” movements of the 1970s.
After a series of traumatic events in his life, John experienced a “metanoia”, what some call a transformation or “awakening”. John's quest ended, and in the years since, he has been enjoying Life, knowing peace of mind, “unconditional love” of self and world, and freedom from fear and anxiety. John has been working on a verbal description of his experiences that does not rely on traditional metaphysical or religious ideas but is consistent with modern scientific concepts of space, time, matter, and energy. He believes that a dramatic experience of “awakening”, which is rare and very difficult to achieve, is not necessary for enlightened living; that with proper guidance and consistent effort, most people can achieve that state of being.
His Book: A Journey to Metanoia: My Life Transformed
You may email John.
More about John's automotive design career here and here.
Discussion of this interview in the Batgap Community Facebook Group.
Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.
Transcript of this interview
Interview recorded December 9, 2017.
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:03:07 - From Airplanes to Car Design
00:05:29 - Terrifying Experiences in the Realm of Geometric Principles
00:07:54 - Trance States and Otherworldly Experiences
00:10:22 - A Strange Flying Object
00:12:27 - Mysterious Events and Poltergeist Activity
00:14:59 - The Little Man in the Restroom
00:17:36 - The Encounter with the Weird Man
00:20:00 - The Breakdown and Regeneration of Belief Systems
00:23:08 - The Illusion of Reality
00:25:39 - A Blissful Awakening
00:28:15 - Happiness in the Face of Pain and Resistance
00:30:42 - A Shift in Perspective
00:33:19 - Trading Commodities and Design Work
00:35:30 - The Impact of Jean Houston's Workshops
00:38:09 - The Preciousness of Life and Growing Older
00:40:49 - The Decision of Euthanasia and Following a Deeper Mind
00:43:22 - A Vision of Love Energy
00:46:14 - The Evolutionary Trajectory of the Universe
00:48:45 - The Interaction of the Divine Intelligence
00:51:10 - The Nature of Opposites
00:53:17 - Embracing Diversity and the totality of existence
00:55:19 - Fear of Death and Valuing Life
00:57:30 - The Earth as a Host
00:59:56 - The Drive Behind Human Activities
01:02:13 - The Potential End of Human Life by the End of the Century
01:04:45 - The Possibility of Metanoia and an Enlightened World
01:07:07 - Motivation to Contribute
01:09:17 - Ordinary Spiritually Awakening People
01:11:26 - Journey to Metanoia
01:13:31 - Getting to Know the Guest Speaker