People everywhere are undergoing a shift to an Awakened state of consciousness which is transforming their understanding of themselves and the world. For some, this shift has been abrupt and dramatic. For others, it has been so gradual that they may not have realized it has occurred. Such shifts, or “awakenings,” are not new: Christ spoke of the “Kingdom of Heaven within,” Buddhists speak of Nirvana, Zen masters of Satori, Hindus of Moksha, but these traditions generally regard these states as rare and difficult to attain.
Many people are therefore skeptical of claims of higher states of consciousness. They find it hard to believe that apparently ordinary friends and neighbors might be experiencing something extraordinary. Maybe they expect Enlightenment to look as remarkable on the outside as it is reputed to be on the inside.
This show will attempt to dispel skepticism and misconceptions by week after week, allowing otherwise ordinary people to relate their experience of spiritual awakening. The terminology is tricky, because there are no universally agreed upon definitions to describe this experience. Also, enlightenment is not something that an individual person “gets”. It’s not even something that the mind can grasp. It’s an awakening to that which contains the mind and all other things. So it’s not surprising that language is inadequate to convey it.
Perhaps those listening to these interviews will become convinced, as I am, that genuine and permanent spiritual awakenings are not just a pipe dream, but are real and are becoming relatively commonplace. Feel free to pose and discuss questions brought up on the show, both in this blog and in it’s related chat group. I’ll invite interview guests to join so that you may chat with them directly.
I am very grateful to many people for helping me with this project. They include
- Ralph Preston – a lifelong friend since high school who is doing the post-production work – adding the titles, replacing our green screen background with something nicer, etc.
- Hemant Singh – a dear friend in New Delhi who has helped me a lot with this blog.
- Tom Traynor – in whose home we have been holding a weekly satsang (spiritual discussion group) for many years, who filmed the first interview in this series, and who got it through my thick skull that this should primarily be a TV show, not a radio show.
- Ed Spinella, my neighbor and friend, who made me some lovely wooden stands on which to mount my video lights. Check out Ed’s “Table Boards“.
- Isaac Nevas, who came up with the name “Buddha at the Gas Pump”.
- Bryan Hawthorne – a tireless and young man who taped the early shows at the Fairfield (Iowa) Public Access Channel
- All the people who have so generously made a financial donation to the project.
- And all my wonderful guests, who are pioneers in announcing something that many consider non-existent or impossible to achieve.
Contact Rick Archer, show host and webmaster.
Some interviews are available on DVD. Eventually all will be. If a DVD is available, there’s a note to that effect on that interview’s page. To order DVDs, click on the “Donate” button in the right hand column. This will take you to a PayPal page. There, enter the title(s) of the interview(s) you want to order and your mailing address. DVDs are $15 each plus $3 S&H. If you order three or more, the price is $10 each. Overseas shipping will be more, but until I’ve sent a few, I’ll have to check with the post office, then let you know the amount. Proceeds from these sales will help to support this project by paying for software, better webcams for Skype interviews, etc.
Please post general comments to this page, rather than here.