I was born on June 14,1946 in Elizabeth, NJ and now live in Northwest Jersey. As a child I was aware of a vast stillness each night when I would close my eyes and lay down for sleep. The world seemed to dissolve in a blissful silence each night until waking in the morning. This experience was forgotten until found again while learning Transcendental Meditation. That profound first encounter with meditation set my feet on a path which culminated years later in the realization that our true nature is vast empty stillness that at the same time is full with life.
In a very practical sense, this shift in perception has greatly changed reactions to daily life. Every aspect of life is underscored by a spontaneous peaceful acceptance that is beyond intellectual understanding. The world is experienced as arising and dissolving in unconditional knowing. There is no sense of a separate individual struggling or accomplishing anything. Life goes on without anxiety, worry and obsessively mulling over a past that is gone and future that hasn't happened. Seeing life this way allows a freedom to totally embrace experiences as they unfold. Even as the mind continues to judge situations as good or bad there is a deeper knowing that it’s all ok.
Summary and transcript of this interview
Interview recorded 9/15/2010
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction with Joel Rumbolo
00:03:19 - Childhood Blissful Experience
00:06:49 - From Marijuana to Yoga
00:09:34 - First Initiation Ceremony
00:11:59 - Car Accident in Edison
00:14:40 - Witnessing and the Shift in Perception
00:17:36 - Witnessing and the Ego
00:20:36 - Meeting Nila and Discovering Deep Silence
00:22:55 - Letting Go and Realizing Stillness
00:26:18 - Experiencing the Shift into Silence
00:29:48 - The Peace of Non-Identification
00:32:45 - The Wonder of Life and the Experience of Sleep
00:35:53 - Experiencing Sleep and Awareness
00:38:43 - The Experience of a Unified State
00:41:41 - The Perception of Vastness in Unity
00:44:02 - The Power of Visualization
00:47:26 - Having an Open Mind
00:52:07 - Being Contained and Defined
00:55:53 - The Perception of Silence and Subtle Realities
01:01:53 - The Flow of Life and Coincidental Experiences
01:07:16 - The Illusion of the Individual I
01:12:26 - The Possibility of Taking Questions from the Audience
01:15:59 - The Insanity of the Human Race
01:19:44 - The Wastefulness of Wars and the Path to World Peace
01:23:02 - Awakening to Different Paths
01:25:46 - The Power of Guided Meditation
01:27:58 - Retirement and Hobbies
01:30:19 - Neo-Advaita and the Misconception of Stillness
01:33:40 - The Misleading Nature of Enlightenment Experiences
01:38:21 - The End of Your World and Adyashanti
01:41:23 - Background Music