Buddha At The Gas Pump

This “insubstantial figure in the dream, pointing to the Divine Dreamer,” has lived and studied the nondual essence of our sacred tradi­tions for 40 years since an utterly life-changing, spontaneous awakening to God or Reality in his 16th year in the hills of Southern California. Fortunately, Timothy met many enlightened masters, esp­ec­i­ally in Advaita Vedanta (Sri Nisarga­datta Maharaj, Annamalai Swami, and others among Sri Ramana Maharshi’s immediate followers, Amma Amritanandamayi, Anandamayi Ma, Mother Krishnabai, Dadaji of Calcutta, et al.) and various lines of Buddhism (Taungpulu Sayadaw, Shifu Hsuan Hua, H.H. the Dalai Lama, Seung Sahn, et al.), as well as spiritual adepts in Taoism, Sufism, and mystic Christianity and Judaism. Timothy has freely shared the “pathless path” of deep spirituality for over 25 years in satsangs and in free ongoing education classes at Santa Barbara City College. Books: Women of Power & Grace: Nine Astonishing, Inspiring Luminaries of Our Time and the forthcoming Ind

I was born on March 24, 1957 in Providence, Rhode Island on a Sunday at 2:40 p.m. My mother said that my birth was easy, with little pain, and that I was “completely grown up,” even as a child. In my youth, I was not prone to easy laughter or the common jokes that circulated among human beings. I lived in a world all by myself, thinking, feeling and being led innocently toward a life of relentless spiritual evolution. It would be many years before my spiritual sadhana, or spiritual practices, would reveal the memory of my inherent oneness with the Divine. My parents did not hesitate to inform me that my destiny was to attend “college,” a word they spoke with joy and enthusiasm, emotions that stood out starkly in my young attention, since those emotions were so deeply absent in almost every other part of my childhood. My mother grew up in a poor household and dropped out of school at a young age. My father was a high school graduate. We struggled as a lower-class Italian-American family in a minorities ghet

Rahasya is a mystic, physician, spiritual teacher and author who has been working with people for more than 33 years. Meeting his master in 1980 revolutionized his life and led to a deep understanding of his being. Rahasya's teaching is simple, profound and deeply transformative. http://www.livingunity.com/ Interview recorded 6/23/10. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Rahasya 00:02:34 - A Life of Travel and Freedom 00:05:35 - A Journey to India: From France to Nepal 00:08:42 - Encountering Osho and Pune 00:11:26 - Meeting an American Guru in Goa 00:14:13 - Primal Therapy and Childhood Traumas 00:17:03 - Osho's Vision on Therapy and Meditation 00:19:51 - The Moment of Desperation and the Search for Freedom 00:22:50 - Realizing Oneness and Letting Go of the Seeking 00:26:23 - The Illusion of Individual Improvement 00:29:17 - Experiences of Cosmic Super-consciousness 00:32:15 - The Unfolding of

As a child, I had many experiences of the limitless side of my Being, but perhaps nothing extraordinary. I think most people have such experiences quite naturally. As I grew older, I felt increasingly overwhelmed by my own wounds and by all the separation and denial I felt inside and out. By the time I left grammar school, I was confused and repressed. But I was telling myself and the world I was fine and everything was OK. By the time I’d reached my teens, I was in crisis and I found myself reaching out for something beyond the ordinary world. I began my spiritual search (as did many of my peers) reading books by J. Krishnamurti, Yogananda, Carlos Casteneda, Ram Dass, and Richard Bach. Soon thereafter, I began using hallucinogens as a tool in my self-inquiry process. I glimpsed my future realization in this life, but I also saw that I couldn’t reach it through drugs. At 17, I took initiation into TM and began to practice regularly. After meeting Maharishi, I found myself preparing to become a TM teacher. I

I'm the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer at Buddha at the Gas Pump. Richard Miller hosts a similar interview show called Never Not Here. Somehow we connected and he asked to interview me, not necessarily as an awakened being or teacher, but as a fellow spiritual aspirant. In the summer of 1967, when I was 17 years old, I was driving through Westport, CT with three friends in the car. One of them in the back seat was reading from a commentary on the Tibetan Book of the Dead by Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass). A quiet but memorable realization dawned in me that there was such a thing as "enlightenment" and that realizing it was life's ultimate goal. I rather recklessly explored that possibility through drugs for a year, then saw the futility of that approach and learned Transcendental Meditation. I taught TM for 25 years and still meditate regularly, but am not affiliated with any particular spiritual organization. I respect any of them which seem to offer genuine benefits to their participants. Interv

After thirty years of seeking liberation, James Braha had nearly given up on finding fulfillment. His mind began to change, however, when he encountered the Hindu/Vedic philosophy of non-duality. Upon reading “Sailor” Bob Adamson’s book What’s Wrong with Right Now Unless You Think About It, James immediately invited Bob to come from Australia to share his knowledge with Americans.  For five glorious weeks in the summer of 2004, Bob and his wife stayed with the Braha family at their home in Florida. Spiritual talk with arguably the greatest non-duality teacher alive continued from morning till night, as James’ dearest friends and spiritualists from around the country joined the investigations into the truth of reality versus the illusion of appearance. James Braha's Site Sailor Bob's Site Interview recorded 5/19/2010. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Background 00:03:52 - Seeking Spiritual Techniques and Paths 00:07:4

Am a Zoroastrian by birth but a theosophist by inclination; was educated in South India as a civil engineer and worked in Pakistan from 1950. I learned TM in 1974 from an American teacher who introduced it for the first time in the country. Realizing its great value, I traveled to Switzerland in early 1975 and graduated as a teacher of TM under the guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who had popularized its practice in the West. As the only teacher in Pakistan initially, I organized the TM Movement there and was its National Leader for 12 years until my wife and I left in 1987 to settle in the US. Several thousand were taught during this period. In 1981, at Maharishi's invitation, I visited India and graduated as a TM-Sidhi teacher at his ashram in Rishikesh. Have been a member of the Theosophical Society for 44 years and am at present the president of the Houston Lodge, which is 98 years old. The motto of the Society is "There is no religion higher than Truth", to which all seekers would subscribe. Interv

Igal Moria was infected with the spiritual bug in his teens has no plans of recovering. He joined Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at 19 (in 1973) and was involved with the TM movement for 25 years, working with Maharishi on developing courses and course materials on Maharishi Vedic Science and world religions. He was a member of Andrew Cohen’s core body of students. Transcript of this intervew Interview recorded 4/21/2010 Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. Video also available in 20-minute segments on Facebook. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction: Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:05:16 - Leaving the Ashram and Seeking Independence 00:09:42 - A Traumatic Event and Its Aftermath 00:12:44 - The End of an Era 00:16:03 - Introduction to Andrew Cohen and Enlightenment 00:20:17 - A Rekindling of the Spirit 00:24:14 - The Allure of Spiritual Leadership 00:27:46 - The Recognition of a Bigger Reality 00:31:53 - Overcoming Inertia and Embracing Change 00:35:36 - Lib

Interview recorded 4/7/2010. Interview with George and Mary Foster Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:06:09 - The Power of Hearing in Consciousness 00:09:44 - The Realization of Being Stuck in the Body 00:13:53 - The Ultimate Connection with All of Existence 00:18:00 - The Experience of "I" in Consciousness 00:21:09 - Awareness of the Self and the World 00:23:20 - The Natural State of Man is Seeking More 00:25:56 - The Persistence of Awareness Beyond the Body 00:28:20 - A New Sensory Experience 00:31:40 - The Expansion of Awareness 00:34:31 - The Power of Meditation and Automatic Progress 00:37:34 - Connecting with the Celestial Realms 00:40:43 - Connecting with the Celestial Realm 00:43:20 - The Connectedness of All Beings 00:45:44 - Celestial Nervous Systems and Consciousness 00:48:48 - The Job of Celestial Beings 00:51:55 - The Experience of Wholeness

Interview recorded 3/31/2010. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Background of John Speer 00:03:45 - Questioning Existence and Meaning of Life 00:06:50 - Puzzling Reality and Spiritual Awakening 00:09:23 - The Feeling of Joy and Destiny 00:12:09 - Discovering Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 00:14:41 - A Chance Encounter with Transcendental Meditation 00:17:03 - Introduction to Meditation Journey 00:19:27 - Meeting Elaine and Falling in Love 00:22:14 - A Profound and Loving Experience 00:25:00 - A Profound Sense of Joy and Witnessing Human Emotions 00:28:00 - The Death of Our Son 00:31:05 - The Science of Free Will and Determinism 00:34:06 - Returning to Fairfield 00:36:41 - Resonating with a Spiritual Experience 00:39:25 - Discovering Raja Ram 00:42:01 - Freedom from Belief and Dependency 00:45:00 - The Freedom of Experience 00:47:52 - A Near-Death Experience 00:50:10 - The Dome and T

I remember having the thought at age 26, “what am I going to do, I will never make it through the second year of graduate school”? Having just completed my first year in training as a psychiatric social worker it was obvious that I felt more like a patient, who needed intense help, than the person charged with helping others. At that moment, I became a seeker.  The subsequent initiation into Transcendental Meditation forever set the direction of my life in ways I could not have imagined and it was a blessing that I did not. The road was bumpy quite a bit of the time yet there were always people there to help. Nature was always there giving both challenges and help necessary to see my way through them. Then one day not knowing how it happened or why, silence was now present all the time. Everything had changed yet nothing was different.  The change was both ordinary and profound. It was not the end of the journey but a new beginning and way of experiencing it. Life is now spent in the deepening of that silence

A lifelong seeker of spiritual awakening, Sandra has deeply applied and correlated many teachings, methods, disciplines, healings, experiments, adventures, and views of every kind to forge a comprehensive understanding of human identity. She attended the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, an interdisciplinary program, experientially based, and purposed toward personal transformation. Her investigations led her to become a devotee of Adi Da Samraj between 1986 and 1996. She then began studying with Saniel Bonder, founder of Waking Down in Mutuality, with whose guidance she awakened in 1996, to a non-dual conscious embodiment of both her divine and human nature. She is currently a Senior Teacher of Waking Down, participating also in the ongoing creation of dharma, organizational structure, courses, and workshops. Sandra has been in private practice as a transpersonal psychotherapist since 1987. She has been a resident of Fairfield, Iowa since 2004. Her personal web site Interview recorded 2/24/2010. Video

bax (or baxishta if he’s feeling uppity) does not consider himself fully awakened, but knows for sure that he’s recognized glimpses of the self.  He says this puts him in an awkward position and insists on starting off with this apology, if what i’ve seen is true then i’m a hypocrite every time i speak about it no better than the man who having awoken briefly from his dream rushes back to tell his friends what he saw “you’re all in my mind” he  informs  them and they laugh at him twice once for being obviously wrong and once for being right and therefore talking to himself my only defense is that even hypochondriacs do get sick and even hypocrites do awaken briefly bax’s motto is “self is solid”, and he considers himself a student of Ramana Maharshi, whose favorite description of the self was “a dense mass of self-knowledge”.  He considers himself a post-new age thinker, and feels that most of what is discussed today goes only halfway to Shankara’s great ‘three laws of self-knowledge’.  Specifically, much is

Pam Keene currently resides in Fairfield, Iowa with her husband Brad. A conscious seeker since the age of nineteen, she has been influenced by a variety of spiritual teachers. However, her sacred marriage of ten years has provided her with the most profound education so far. And she is still learning. Interview recorded 2/10/2010. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Buddha at the Gas Pump Introduction 00:04:32 - Pam and Brad's Awakening Journey 00:08:54 - Letting go of Transcendental Meditation 00:12:43 - Alcohol, Drugs, and Awakening Journey 00:16:44 - Honeymoon period and drinking/drugs 00:20:19 - The Importance of a Guru in Spiritual Growth 00:23:21 - Dana's Spiritual Journey 00:27:29 - The Power of Desire and Individual Paths 00:30:36 - The Awakening Process and Embracing a Personal God 00:33:35 - The Progression of Awakening 00:36:07 - The Rheostat of Belief 00:39:11 - Holding all Expressions of the Divine

Interview Recorded 2/3/2010. Article mentioned by Christopher, which help trigger his awakening. Audio and video below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Spiritual awakenings and shifts with Christopher Roberts 00:02:53 - Questioning Beliefs and Finding Peace in Not Knowing 00:05:21 - The Crumbling of Belief Systems 00:07:35 - Self-Referral and Spiritual Evolution 00:09:43 - Seeking Acceptance and Validation 00:11:59 - Abrupt Shifts and Emotional Turmoil 00:13:52 - Evolving and letting go of struggle 00:15:17 - Synchronicity in Meeting Friends 00:16:53 - An Unexpected Midnight Drive to Chicago 00:18:39 - Spontaneity and Alignment in Life 00:20:49 - Paganism and Eastern Philosophies 00:23:05 - Shifting Reality through Forgiveness and Apology 00:25:21 - Confrontation on the Road 00:27:25 - A Intense Encounter and the Power of Forgiveness 00:29:32 - A Series of Coincidences 00:31:39 - Finding my Spiritual Home at MUM 00:

I had been a seeker for most of my life. I began to meditate in 1973 and followed that path for the next 28 years. In 1983 I had a very intense Near Death Experience that left me with a very unattached view on the seriousness of everything. A separation and subsequent divorce in 1991 left me without a reason to continue doing what I had been doing. After visiting Fairfield, Iowa twice a year from 1989, my new wife Cindy and I moved here in 1999, as it was the next obvious thing to do. Our old life had ended and this was a chance to start a new chapter. We jumped right into the group meditation program in the Domes at Maharishi International University but also were fascinated by the fact that Fairfield was Grand Central Station for just about every spiritual teacher on the planet. After sampling the various flavors of all the folks passing thru it seemed obvious that Andy Rymer was the next thing to pay attention to. I found Andy to be a very powerful force and can see his influence on me to finally get that

Interview recorded 1/6/2010. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Enlightenment as a Universal Experience 00:02:36 - The Experience of Art in Different Cultures 00:04:40 - Sculpture and the Power of Rebirthing 00:06:37 - The Impact of Caesarian Births 00:08:15 - A Spiritual Awakening 00:10:29 - Living in a Superfluid World 00:12:28 - The Range of Human Feelings and Non-Judgment 00:14:22 - The Tricky Balance Between Spiritual Freedom and Economic Realities 00:15:52 - The Meaning of Freedom in Prison 00:17:43 - Choosing Traumatic Circumstances 00:20:49 - Finding Deep Contentment 00:23:34 - Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone 00:26:06 - Early Spiritual Practices 00:28:45 - TM, Hatha Yoga, and Spiritual Development 00:31:50 - Discussing Death and Transition 00:35:02 - The Importance of Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone 00:37:54 - Fulfillment and Contentment 00:40:34 - Expanding Goals as an Artist, Heale

Rev. Winn’s experience is that the Kingdom of Heaven is a state of higher consciousness.  He focuses on understanding and experiencing the Christian mystical tradition in terms of the clearly defined states of consciousness found in the Vedic tradition.  He was the senior pastor of Unity Church of Fairfield IA for 12 years and for six years has been the senior pastor of the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. He has worked extensively on the subtle process of overcoming the Three Temptations of Jesus Christ and has been practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique for close to 48 years. He is a successful businessman, married with two children. Website: healingtheheartofamerica.org Interview recorded 12/23/2009. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:05:46 - The Experience of Feeling Free 00:09:10 - A Cone of Silence 00:11:46 - Awakening of the Being 00:14:43 - The Importance of Bedtime Sync

Fax and Sharon Gilbert met on a Transcendental Meditation teachers course in 1972 in Santa Barbara California and have been teaching together ever since. They’ve administered meditation centers and retreat facilities and inspired and taught thousands of people to meditate throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. They became involved in the Waking Down work in 2002. Several awakenings and dark nights of the soul later they became mentors and then teachers of this work in 2007. They both enjoy the freedom to express this teaching in their own way and marvel at the unique unfolding of each person in this mysterious process of awakening. Fax is also an artist/educator and uses the performance skills of mime, magic, masks and comedy to teach and inspire students of all grade levels. Since 1990 he has presented over 5,000 school assembly programs, residencies, and community concerts, and keynoted many regional educational events. He now splits his time between his Waking Down work and deliv

We feel like we live a pretty ordinary life, yet in our 54-year marriage and in our working lives (Steve's a retired electrical contractor and Winifred is an artist and poet) grace, challenge and transformation play themselves out in endless variety. Interview recorded 12/9/2009. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Definition of Spiritual Awakening 00:05:21 - Commissioned Paintings and Intuitive Portraits 00:09:56 - The Awakening Experience 00:15:16 - The Universal Experience of Enlightenment 00:19:02 - A Journey of Spiritual Seeking 00:24:38 - Discovering Limitless Consciousness 00:30:22 - The Nature of Awakening 00:35:50 - Housecleaning: Waking Down, Shake Down 00:39:27 - Spontaneous Awakening and Personal Growth 00:42:26 - The Spiral of Personalized Wounds 00:44:59 - The Healing of the Core Wound 00:48:01 - Awakening in the Midst of Crisis 00:50:27 - The Perfect Silence of Life 00:52:52