Buddha at the Gas Pump

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 extended physical abilities, foresight, and streams of vision that I could not explain. The school I was attending at the time insisted that I demonstrate these physical abilities on stage; no one, including me, could understand how I could jump so high. People felt that I was in the air just a little too long for my own good. I noticed in high school that I never actually fell asleep at night and that nights and days just blended together uninterruptedly. This went on for years. When I would wake up in the morning I felt like I was falling asleep and when going to sleep at night I would seem to wake up. When I was a young adult I started Transcendental Meditation, and then my personal experience really took off. I started first intuiting—then hearing, and seeing—the subtle fabrics of the quietest levels of my own consciousness: pure abstract knowingness, from within its own nature, revealed its unified, wonderful structure of wholeness. About 30 years ago, I began to hear the hum of existence as layers of knowledge. I could see the divine heavens; I started experiencing the relationships that rendered everything experienced as one unified wholeness of multiplicity. And ultimately how, even daily life, far from being the football field of turbulent change, is nothing but the greatest expression of divine-to-Absolute-self-awareness. And yet here we all are, essentially no different from each other. Nothing much changes. My experience is that all this is true for everybody. The “sphere of consciousness” around me as a child, is still there but has expanded to include all the different layers of my awareness. Book: The Landscape of Enlightenment: With Doors and Windows to Our World Websites: harriaalto.com aaltodesign.com Other interviews 2nd BatGap Interview with Harri 3rd BatGap Interview with Harri Harri Aalto, in Panel Discussion on Refined Perception Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Transcript of this interview. Interview recorded 3/22/2014 Recent note from Harri: Discussion Group Invitation I've been hosting consciousness discussion groups for several years and invite you to join. Learn more on my Facebook or website. These groups uniquely blend people experiencing realized states with seekers at various stages, accelerating everyone's growth. I've observed that simply discussing these experiences creates immediate positive shifts in participants' awareness. What makes our groups effective is the multi-perspective discussions that foster rich exchanges between participants. Participant Feedback: "The discussions have gradually opened me into both a felt sense and ever-deepening understanding of the eternal oneness." —RL "I feel more awake, alive and curious... increased power and stability in my Presence." —JB "I now appreciate that self-realization is not only natural and simple, but I have had this experience for quite some time and just didn't know it." —WH "I have recognized that I am in this surrounding love all the time in various degrees of clarity." —LVT "My primary insight was that I, and many seekers, have already realized the experience of the Self without being aware of it." —ATL For more content, visit my YouTube channel. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Response to First Interview 00:05:01 - The Ocean of Consciousness and its Fluctuations 00:10:00 - Recognizing Consciousness 00:15:21 - The Speech of Enlightenment 00:19:34 - Unity of Pure Consciousness and Daily Life 00:26:07 - The Mechanics of Creation and the Nature of Consciousness 00:31:58 - The Continuum of Consciousness 00:37:26 - Infinite Intelligence in Creation 00:42:54 - The Continuum of Consciousness 00:47:36 - The Illusion of Subtle Layers 00:52:46 - The search for the self 00:57:43 - The Value of Experience Within the Self 01:03:10 - The Structure of Consciousness and Pure Consciousness 01:07:16 - The Silence of Pure Consciousness 01:12:24 - The Evolution of Consciousness and the Presence of God 01:18:04 - Connecting with the Growth of Love 01:23:31 - The Reverberation of Pure Consciousness 01:27:36 - The Function of Memory and Consciousness 01:32:30 - The Resonance of Truth 01:38:04 - The Universe and Consciousness 01:43:27 - The Question of Free Will and Determinism 01:48:44 - The Elephant Analogy and Overcoming Personal Challenges 01:54:29 - The Function of Subtle Levels of Creation 01:58:50 - The realization of being everything and writing a book 02:01:52 - The Potential for Self-Realization 02:05:33 - The Joy of Exploring the Possibilities Within Pure Consciousness 02:09:50 - The Unfolding of Experience 02:13:15 - Embracing Different Perspectives 02:17:17 - The Experience of Pure Consciousness and the I-ness 02:21:27 - Concluding Remarks 02:24:59 - Wrapping Up the Podcast

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 programs. Chapman University Bio Wikipedia Page Books: The Non-Local Universe: The New Physics and Matters of the Mind The Conscious Universe: Parts and Wholes in Physical Reality Looking In, Seeing Out: Consciousness and Cosmos Transcript of this interview Interview conducted 3/15/2014 Menas Kafatos, in Panel Discussion on Kashmir Shaivism YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction: Menas Kefatos and his research interests 00:04:03 - The Nature of Consciousness 00:08:33 - The Nature of Emptiness and Conscious Awareness 00:13:09 - Complementarity: Physics and Mysticism 00:17:32 - Perception of the Self in Others 00:22:02 - The Play of Universal Consciousness 00:25:50 - Transformation after Death 00:29:39 - The Collapse of the Quantum World 00:33:43 - Division and Complementarity 00:37:38 - The Evolution of Consciousness and Complementarity 00:41:46 - The Play of Existence 00:45:46 - Consciousness and the Hard Problem 00:49:53 - The Observer and the Act of Observation 00:53:53 - The Conscious Universe 00:57:45 - Quantum Principles Applicable to Everyday Life 01:00:48 - The Principle of Complementarity 01:04:14 - Non-locality and complementarity 01:08:21 - Non-locality and the Infinitely Correlated Nature of Creation 01:11:32 - The Interconnectedness of Principles 01:14:53 - The Emergence of the Pauli Exclusion Principle 01:18:50 - The Awareness of Atoms and Electron Interaction 01:22:48 - Unity in Diversity and the Bigger Picture 01:26:28 - The Conscious Universe and Universal Intelligence 01:30:12 - The Meaning and Purpose of Life 01:34:01 - Consciousness and the Clockwork Universe 01:37:23 - The Many Perspectives of Reality 01:40:57 - The Psi Phenomenon and Scientific Research 01:43:57 - The Debate on Climate Change and Global Warming 01:47:29 - Catastrophic Implications and Irreversible Damage 01:50:07 - The Conflict Between Environmentalism and Fossil Fuel Industry 01:52:45 - The Intelligent Universe

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, Time. & Space (Perspectives on Time, Space, and Knowledge) New Way of Being New Kind of Knowledge The Center for Creative Inquiry Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 3/8/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Jack Pertranker and the Center for Creative Inquiry 00:02:26 - Creative Inquiry and the TSK Vision 00:04:33 - The Nyingma Tradition and the Wealth of Practices 00:06:45 - The TSK Vision and the Center for Creative Inquiry 00:08:43 - Fishing in the Same Ocean 00:10:48 - Tapping into a Deeper Source of Creativity 00:13:08 - The Buddha's Dilemma: To Teach or Not to Teach 00:15:02 - Layers of Conceptual Assumptions in Understanding 00:16:47 - The Value of Variations 00:18:34 - Leaving Dry Land 00:20:04 - Introduction to TSK (Time-Space Knowledge) 00:21:22 - The Fundamental Notion of Inquiry 00:23:32 - The Interconnected Nature of Inquiry 00:25:45 - Two-Way Sensing and Questioning Assumptions in Self-Knowledge 00:27:14 - Challenging Assumptions in TSK 00:28:43 - The Life Drain in Routine Work 00:30:41 - Happiness in Occupations 00:34:35 - Living with an Open Heart in the Face of Tragedy 00:39:30 - Expanding the Perspective through Space 00:47:07 - The Earth Does Not Move and the Nature of Experience 00:52:40 - The Possibility of Personal Experience 00:58:05 - TSK: Everyday Teaching and Practices 01:04:07 - Becoming aware of space and questioning its relationship with objects 01:08:17 - Questioning Assumptions about Knowledge and Time 01:12:09 - The Dynamics and Structures of the Self 01:14:32 - Writing Plans and Challenges 01:16:26 - Stretching Capacity to Understand 01:18:18 - Exploring Different Perspectives 01:20:18 - Global Engagement and Language Diversity in TSK 01:22:13 - Concluding Remarks 01:23:47 - Discussion Group, Donation Button, Email Notifications and Audio Podcast Subscription

A. Hameed Ali was born in Kuwait in 1944. At the age of eighteen, he moved to the USA to study at the University of California in Berkeley. Hameed was working on his Ph.D. in physics when he reached a turning point in his life and destiny that led him more and more into inquiring into the psychological and spiritual aspects of human nature. Hameed's interest in the truth of human nature and the true nature of reality resulted in the creation and unfoldment of the Diamond Approach®: “The Diamond Approach is a path of wisdom, an approach to the investigation of Reality and work on oneself that leads to human maturity and liberation. Because of our particular vision of Reality it is not completely accurate to think of this approach as spiritual work, for this work does not separate the spiritual from the psychological, neither does it see these two as separate from the physical everyday life and scientific investigation of the content of perception. However, because we live in a society where the prevailing thought is that of the separated facets of Reality, the closest category recognized in this mentality, to our approach, is that of a spiritual path or exploration.” Some of Hameed's many books: The Power of Divine Eros: The Illuminating Force of Love in Everyday Life The Unfolding Now: Realizing Your True Nature through the Practice of Presence Brilliancy: The Essence of Intelligence (Diamond Body Series) Essence With the Elixir of Enlightenment: The Diamond Approach to Inner Realization Website: ahalmaas.com Transcript of this interview 2nd interview with Hameed. Hameed Ali and Karen Johnson on Nondual Relationships Interview recorded 2/22/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction of Hamid Ali 00:05:52 - The Nature of Spiritual Experience 00:10:53 - The Importance of Cultivating Fine Discrimination 00:15:01 - The Multifaceted Nature of Spiritual Development 00:19:15 - The Manifestation of Being 00:24:11 - The Different Paths of Experiencing Being 00:28:55 - Differences in Spiritual Teachings and Approaches 00:33:05 - Multi-dimensional spirituality and the nature of reality 00:37:32 - The Manifestation of Intelligence 00:42:04 - The Intelligence of Being 00:46:36 - Self-realization and God realization 00:51:16 - The Nature of Manifestation 00:55:44 - The Concept of Separateness vs Non-Separateness 01:00:17 - Experiencing Vastness & Radical Non-Locality 01:04:57 - The Maturity of the Individual 01:09:17 - The Totality of Being 01:13:27 - Moving through Obscuration, Vastness Becomes Liquid 01:18:03 - The Manifestation of Being 01:22:30 - The Experience of Emptiness 01:27:01 - The Taste and Sensation of Music 01:30:59 - The Illusory Nature of Individual Consciousness 01:35:00 - The Continuation of Practice 01:39:08 - The Practice of Inquiry and Spiritual Qualities 01:43:37 - Dzogchen and the Self-Destructing Practice 01:47:53 - Evolution and Communication Beyond the Body 01:52:07 - The Importance of Training and Guidance 01:56:05 - Finding Fulfillment in Work 02:00:07 - The Incompleteness of Being 02:04:23 - The Endless Potential of Knowledge 02:08:28 - The Connection of Hearts 02:12:29 - Weekly Discussion and Q&A

Kristin Kirk experienced an initial awakening in 2003 which revealed healing gifts, subtle workings of consciousness and radically transformed her experience of reality. Since then, Kristin has supported self-realization, embodied awakening and multidimensional functioning for individuals and groups through classes, healing sessions, meditation retreats and awakening journeys. Kristin is available in person, by phone and live video stream and travels by invitation. Interview recorded 2/16/2014 http://kristinkirk.com Transcript of this interview. Previous BatGap events involving Kristin: Kristin Kirk, in Panel Discussion on Refined Perception Kristin Kirk in Panel at Sofia U. Part 1 | Part 2 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Spiritual Awakening and Childhood Experiences 00:05:02 - Divine Being Experience 00:09:21 - Awakening and Communication with Nature 00:13:29 - Shifting from fear to trust 00:18:04 - Awakening to the Universal Ground of Being 00:23:13 - Levels of Awakening and Integration in Consciousness 00:27:40 - 24/7 Communication with Spirit Guides 00:32:31 - The potential difficulties for people in lower consciousness as the planet awakens 00:37:20 - The Unfolding of Painful Imbalance 00:43:01 - The drive for completeness within 00:48:05 - The Levels and Dimensions of Consciousness 00:53:02 - Opening to Different Dimensions and Shifting Awareness 00:57:26 - The Divine Game of Oneness 01:02:16 - Deconstructing Structures of Experience 01:07:48 - Seeking Deeper Truths 01:12:04 - Exploring Different Dimensions of Consciousness 01:16:40 - Dissolving the Substance of Identification 01:21:33 - Dissolving Story Identification 01:26:24 - Unity and Consciousness in Different Dimensions 01:31:22 - Cultivating the Worthiness for Spiritual Experiences 01:35:33 - A Journey through Different Dimensions 01:42:07 - The Dance Between Individual Experience and Oneness 01:46:57 - The Healing Process and Consciousness 01:51:28 - Resonating on Different Floors 01:55:25 - Hands-on Work and Physical Support 01:59:53 - Teaching in Between Lifetimes 02:04:46 - The Awakening of Consciousness 02:09:10 - Experiencing Love and Appreciation 02:13:46 - The Power of Consciousness in Kauai 02:20:30 - The Anatomy of Consciousness 02:25:11 - Meditation Retreats on Kauai

Jeffrey J. Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, where he chaired the Department of Religious Studies for nine years and helped create the GEM Program, a doctoral concentration in the study of Gnosticism, Esotericism, and Mysticism that is the largest program of its kind in the world. Jeff is the author of seven books, including Comparing Religions: Coming to Terms, Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal, and Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred. He specializes in the comparative study and analysis of extreme religious states from the ancient world to today. His full body of work can be seen at http://kripal.rice.edu/. Dana Sawyer is a professor of religion and philosophy at the Maine College of Art and a lecturer on world religions for the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine.  His expertise is in Hindu and Buddhist systems of philosophy, and he has a professional interest in exploring the appeal of Asian religions on the Western mind.  In that regard, he has written a critically acclaimed biography of Aldous Huxley and has just finished writing the authorized biography of Huston Smith, the renowned scholar of world religions. Books: The Perennial Philosophy Reloaded: A Guide for the Mystically Inclined Aldous Huxley: A Biography Huston Smith: Wisdomkeeper: Living The World’s Religions: The Authorized Biography of a 21st Century Spiritual Giant Website Transcript of this interview Other BatGap interviews with Dana: Individual interview With Khen Rinpoche Tsetan Dana Sawyer in Panel at Sofia U. Part 1 | Part 2 Dana Sawyer on Huston Smith Interview recorded 2/9/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Jeffrey J. Kripal and his work 00:03:14 - Background and Interest in Religious Belief and Behavior 00:06:17 - Jeffrey's Openness to Metaphysical Ideas in Academia 00:09:39 - Revisiting the Paranormal and Psychic Abilities 00:12:52 - The Dominance of Materialism in Western Science 00:16:23 - The Incompleteness of the Materialistic Worldview 00:19:32 - Psychic Experiences and Spiritual Practice 00:23:04 - The Noetic Potential and Deep Philosophical Implications of Psychic Functioning 00:26:04 - The Power of Fiction and Imagination in Paranormal Experiences 00:29:20 - Living in a Sliver of Reality 00:31:50 - Authorization as a Paranormal Ability 00:35:04 - The Importance of Personal Experience in Religious Understandings 00:37:39 - Coming to Terms with Religious Pluralism 00:40:46 - Mystics and cultural influence 00:44:31 - The Controversy of Near-Death Experiences 00:47:41 - The Unmappability of Our Gnostic Potential 00:51:06 - The Celebration of the Physical and Metaphysical 00:54:26 - Double Messages in Religious Symbolism 00:57:56 - The Power of the Imagination 01:01:16 - The Power of the Imagination 01:04:03 - The Power of Imagery and Archetypes 01:06:57 - Art as a Channel for Deeper Intelligence 01:09:52 - Whitley Strieber's Perspective on Abduction Events 01:13:13 - Science fiction as a machine version of spirituality 01:16:16 - Prophetic Synchronicities and Divine Play 01:19:15 - The Intelligence of Machines and Consciousness 01:21:51 - Heresy and Mysticism 01:24:33 - Finding Meaning in Our Work 01:27:31 - The Importance of Diverse Perspectives and Making Up Your Own Mind 01:30:42 - Envisioning the Future and Societal Phase Transitions 01:32:53 - Music

Jan passed away on July 5, 2025. Jan Esmann, born 1960, is an "enlightened kundalinī shaktipāt master" living in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he teaches, transmits and gives shaktipāt. The highest teachings are transmitted in silence during meditation or afterward. Jan is not part of any tradition or represents a lineage. He has been giving shaktipāt since the mid-1980s but did not fully emerge as a teacher until after 2006. He has an MA in History of Modern Culture from Copenhagen University, and a B.Sc in Art-restoration from the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen. He earns his living as an artist, a writer, and a software developer. Books: Lovebliss: The Essence of Self-Realization Enlightenment 101: From Ignorance to Grace Kundalini Tantra: Song of Liberation Website: shaktipat.one Transcript of this interview First BatGap interview with Jan. Interview recorded 2/1/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Spiritual Journey 00:04:51 - Awakening versus Self-realization 00:09:14 - The Journey to Self-Realization 00:13:42 - The Distinction Between Enlightenment and Awakening 00:18:44 - Witnessing Consciousness and Self-Realization 00:23:11 - Awakening vs Self-realization 00:27:29 - The Mechanism of Self-realization 00:32:35 - The Dark Night of the Soul and Depression 00:37:12 - Witnessing Sleep and Dream 00:41:53 - Witnessing and Self-Realization 00:46:34 - Dissolving the Kundalini and Liberation 00:51:24 - Remembering Past Lives 00:55:51 - The Value of Understanding 01:00:20 - Bliss in God-Consciousness 01:05:52 - Pure Self-Realization and God-Consciousness 01:10:39 - A Divine Encounter 01:15:44 - Self-realization as a baby 01:20:28 - The Soul and Kundalini 01:25:59 - Kundalini awakening and Shaktipat 01:31:08 - Endless Journey of Enlightenment 01:37:07 - Advaita Vedanta and Ramanuja's Point of View 01:41:27 - The Opening and Expansion of the Crown Chakra 01:46:09 - The Significance of Profound Experiences 01:51:00 - Zen Practice and Enlightenment 01:55:11 - The Effectiveness of In-Person Interaction 02:00:00 - The Recognition of Bliss 02:05:25 - Sahaja Samadhi and the Variations of Experience 02:09:59 - The Power of Shaktipat 02:14:55 - The Mechanics of Meditation and Shaktipat 02:20:33 - Self-Realization and Para-Bhakti 02:26:09 - Meditation Practices and Contact Information

Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris is an internationally known evolution biologist and futurist living in Spain. Her post-doctoral degree was at the American Museum of Natural History, she taught at MIT and the University of Massachusetts, contributed to the NOVA-Horizon TV series, is a fellow of the World Business Academy with an honorary Chair in Living Economies, and is an advisor to Ethical Markets. She convened international symposia on Foundations of Science in Hokkaido and Kuala Lumpur. Her books include EarthDance: Living Systems in Evolution. Website: sahtouris.com Wikipedia page Summary and Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 1/25/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Elizabeth Sartoris: Evolution Biologist and Futurist 00:03:26 - The Interconnectedness of Nature and Cultural Assumptions 00:06:35 - Failure of our Education Systems 00:09:53 - The Need for a Global Consortium of Sciences 00:13:21 - The Multidimensional Nature of Consciousness 00:16:55 - Intelligence as the number of levels 00:20:05 - The Opposition to Change 00:23:19 - The Role of Crisis in Evolution and Human Cooperation 00:26:22 - Being Prepared for a Hot Age 00:28:54 - The Balance Between Individuation and Community 00:31:45 - The Wisdom of the Body and Negotiating Levels 00:35:16 - The Interplay of Matter and Spirit 00:38:27 - The Evolution of Transparency 00:42:02 - The Existence of God and the Mechanistic Universe 00:44:49 - The Origins of the Mechanical Universe 00:48:04 - The Taoist Understanding of the Universe 00:51:20 - The Maturation Cycle of Evolution 00:54:45 - Building Real Community 00:58:03 - Creating the Future You Want 01:01:09 - Awakening to Corporate Wrongdoings 01:03:50 - The Power of Collective Change 01:06:34 - Accelerating Change and the Future 01:09:30 - Harmony with Nature for a Sustainable Future 01:11:58 - Integrating Technology and Nature 01:15:02 - Questioning the Validity of Darwinism 01:18:15 - Perspectives on Creation and God 01:20:43 - The Omnipresence of God 01:23:39 - Taking Back the Power to Coin Money 01:26:15 - The Tipping Point and the Need for Maturity 01:29:22 - Voluntary Participation in the Physical World 01:32:03 - Sign up for email notifications

David Alsobrook is now deceased. His father was a Nazarene pastor and David received a “new birth experience” at age 15. He devoured the Bible from cover to cover and went much deeper into exhaustive, detailed studies of Scriptures for years after that. He devoted the first 3 hours of the day in private prayer as well, hungering and seeking for more of God in his life. He began traveling and speaking in a wide assortment of churches and special events, ministering in more than 2000 speaking events in 49 states and 5 provinces in North America and in other countries. He wrote more than 40 books of varied sizes which were translated in more than 30 languages and distributed in no fewer than 50 nations. In 2005 David experienced a crushing life blow and put aside everything for a season of seeking God more intimately, desperate for healing from his own brokenness. In July 2008 his prayers were answered when he was sitting on a large rock in a nature preserve. Time stopped, mind stopped, while everything around him shone with Light and Life. His sense of “personhood” dissolved as he experienced himself as Being. Since then his life has been largely one of almost uninterrupted peace, bliss, and serenity as a result of what he now calls a “transformation”. Books: You Can Be Free from Your Self: The Grace of Soul Transformation Learning to love Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 1/18/2014 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction of David Alsobrook 00:03:02 - The Anomaly of Spiritual Awakening 00:05:42 - Spirit and Soul Transformation 00:08:18 - Embracing Different Spiritual Expressions 00:11:04 - The Transformation and Dissolution of Ego 00:13:37 - Temporary Relief of Pain 00:16:36 - Seeking the Kingdom of God 00:19:12 - Returning to the Sermon on the Mount 00:22:01 - Contradictions within Christendom 00:24:46 - A Resonance in Nature 00:27:51 - A Life-Changing Experience 00:30:26 - The Significance of a Flat Rock 00:33:15 - Appreciating the Christian Terminology 00:36:13 - The Pain and the Ego 00:38:56 - Backsliding and Suffering on the Cross 00:41:33 - The Awakening and the Transition 00:44:15 - The Flip in the Garage 00:47:31 - Awakening to a new perspective 00:50:14 - The Eternal Christ and True Teaching 00:52:55 - Interpreting Mystical Statements 00:55:54 - Transformation and the Divine Intelligence 00:58:48 - Profound Awakening and Universal Truth 01:01:38 - The Importance of Stillness 01:04:40 - The Torment of Inner Noise 01:07:27 - The Importance of Coping Mechanisms 01:10:35 - The Noise of Emotionalism 01:13:48 - The Place of Different Practices 01:18:33 - The Experience of Stillness and Presence 01:24:19 - Observing the Mind and Finding Stillness 01:30:03 - Many Paths to Spiritual Awareness 01:33:46 - Donate Button and Upcoming Schedule

John Hagelin, Ph.D., is a world-renowned quantum physicist, educator, author, and leading proponent of peace. Dr. Hagelin has conducted pioneering research at CERN (the European Center for Particle Physics) and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He is responsible for the development of a highly successful grand unified field theory based on the superstring—a theory that was featured in a cover story of Discover magazine. In addition, Dr. Hagelin has spent much of the past quarter century leading a scientific investigation into the foundations of human consciousness. He is one of the world’s pre-eminent researchers on the effects of meditation on brain development, and the use of collective meditation to defuse societal stress and to reduce crime and social violence. In recognition of his outstanding achievements, Dr. Hagelin was named winner of the prestigious Kilby Award, which recognizes scientists who have made “major contributions to society through their applied research in the fields of science and technology.” The award recognized Dr. Hagelin as “a scientist in the tradition of Einstein, Jeans, Bohr and Eddington.” Dr. Hagelin was featured in the hit movies What the Bleep Do We Know!? and The Secret for his cutting-edge research in physics, higher states of consciousness; and the peace-promoting effects of large meditation groups. Dr. Hagelin has appeared many times on ABC’s Nightline, NBC’s Meet the Press, CNN’s Larry King Live! and Inside Politics, CNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, and others. He has also been regularly featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and other major metropolitan newspapers. Dr. Hagelin received his A.B. summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1975 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1981. He is currently director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, Professor of physics at Maharishi University of Management, President of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace, President of the David Lynch Foundation, and Director of the Maharishi Foundation USA, which overseas the teaching of Transcendental Meditation in the United States. Book: Manual for a Perfect Government: How to Harness the Laws of Nature to Bring Maximum Success to Governmental Administration Interview recorded 1/12/2014 Transcript of this interview. Panel discussion with John Hagelin, Igor Kufayev and Mark McCooey at SAND Conference YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction of Dr. John Hagelin 00:03:07 - The Journey of Consciousness in Physics 00:06:17 - The Unified Field Theory and Superstring Theory 00:09:48 - The Essence of Pure Consciousness 00:12:28 - The Illusion of Solidity and Subatomic Reality 00:15:46 - The Consistency of the Universe 00:19:13 - The Collapse of Quantum Superposition 00:22:27 - Levels of Consciousness and Self-Awareness 00:26:08 - Reflections on Cosmology and Manifestation 00:29:25 - The Dynamic Nature of the Universal Field 00:32:46 - Bubble Universes and the Origin of the Big Bang 00:35:56 - The Nature of Intelligence 00:38:32 - Quantum Cosmology and the Bubbling of Universes 00:41:51 - The Inefficiency and Intelligence of the Universe 00:44:59 - Consciousness in Ancient Cultures and the Human Nervous System 00:48:40 - Evolution and Enlightenment 00:52:13 - Evolution of the Human Brain 00:54:31 - The Search for a Quantum Theory of Gravity 00:57:53 - The Concept of Time in Physics and Consciousness 01:01:13 - Time and Relativity 01:04:30 - The Diversity of Perception 01:07:58 - Perceiving Subtle Realms 01:11:49 - Electromagnetic Influence and Hidden Sector Matter 01:15:01 - Entities in the Physical World 01:18:12 - Levels of Unfoldment after Cosmic Consciousness 01:21:19 - Sharing Profound Experiences 01:24:09 - Possibility of New Age Technologies and Extraterrestrial Technologies 01:26:57 - The Future of Space Travel and Energy Generation 01:30:46 - Possibility of Civilizations Millions of Years Older Than Ours 01:34:18 - The Timing of Collective Consciousness 01:37:11 - Outro and Important Links