Vicki Woodyard is a spiritual writer living in Atlanta, Georgia. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, she graduated from The University of Memphis, magna cum laude, with a B.S. in English and Psychology. She is a meditator, a webmaster and has a lifelong interest in the spiritual path. Her late husband, Bob, died of multiple myeloma in 2004 and they lost their only daughter to cancer when she was seven.
This equips Vicki to write about her path in an honest and humble way, opening the reader’s own heart to what is worth living for. The light of her path is tinged with humor as she lays down the bottom line and invites you to consider what YOU are living for. Awakening is but a dream until you sink into the heart. When you are caught in the dream, it just means you have temporarily forgotten. Vicki’s writing, as Elsa Joy Bailey says, "serves as a bookmark to help you find your place again. The website is a way into what is. Vicki’s writing catches one off-guard, waking people up to their mortality and infinite being at the same time..."
She is the author of:
Paperbacks:
LIFE WITH A HOLE IN IT: That's How the Light Gets In - The Wisdom of an Awakened Heart
BIGGER THAN THE SKY: A Radical Awakening
eBooks - All of Vicki's books are available in eBook form on her website:
You can find out more about Vicki at her website or friend her on Facebook.
Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.
Summary and transcript of this interview
Interview recorded November 16, 2019.
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump with Vicki Woodward
00:05:26 - Suffering and Spiritual Awakening
00:11:04 - My Introduction to His Teachings
00:15:03 - The Short-Term vs. Long-Term Perspective
00:18:45 - The Bus Stop and Digging Deep Wells
00:22:38 - Finding Balance Between Extremes
00:25:56 - Capturing Wisdom in Short Sutras
00:29:35 - Gathering Energy
00:32:59 - The Journey to Wholeness and Simplicity
00:36:28 - True Resting and Putting to Rest
00:39:35 - The Gentleman Teacher
00:42:47 - Cracking Open the Ego and Humility
00:46:15 - Dreams and Destiny
00:49:43 - Meeting the Hawaiian Guru
00:52:59 - Synchronicities with John Ramsey
00:55:47 - Synchronicities and Spiritual Coherence
00:59:05 - The Experience of Self
01:02:18 - Finding Humor in Tragic Times
01:05:49 - Being Conscious in Daily Tasks
01:09:28 - Suffering and Consciousness
01:13:16 - Overcoming Agoraphobia and Social Anxiety
01:16:47 - A "What Me Worry" Approach
01:19:48 - Manifesting Grace through Leaps of Faith
01:23:09 - The Grace of Christmas Dinner
01:26:53 - The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes
01:30:35 - The Intensity of Spiritual Practice
01:34:26 - The Power of Consciousness and Grace
01:37:42 - The Journey of an Ordinary Spiritually Awakening Person
01:41:27 - Finding Wholeness in Life
01:44:56 - The Art of Going Deep
01:47:39 - Closing Remarks