598. Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Rick Archer

Sufi mystic and visionary Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri is an enlightened spiritual master. His life and works serve as a reminder that spirituality is a science and an art vitally relevant to our times. Shaykh Fadhlalla grew up in an environment where religious scholars, as well as Sufi and mystics, were part of his formative experience. His love and understanding of the universality of the Qur’anic message have imbued him with respect for other religions and spiritual paths.

Websites:

Books mentioned during the interview:

Some points discussed in this interview:

Shaykh Fadhlalla’s childhood:
- His curiosity and interest in science.
- Seeing the underlying sameness in different cultures and religions.
- Not being satisfied with earthly comforts.
Integrating individuality with universality, inner with outer, physicality with spirituality.
Luck and good fortune vs. divine orchestration.
Life as preparation for infinite life.
Nature provides the most amazing flow of guidance, but we are not attuned to it anymore, and our material fears and anxieties consume everything.
Calibration between the physical reality and the ‘quantum field’ makes a “huge difference in the quality of life and the ease of flow”.
Different kinds of ‘mind’: Low, Normal, Super, and Supra.
Shaykh Fadhlalla’s shift from occasional to abiding awakening.
Awakenings can be dramatic (abrupt) or subtle (gradual). In any case, refinement is ongoing. Life’s challenges may still touch you, but won’t overwhelm you.
We are moving very rapidly to greater universality, acceptance, tolerance, and respect.
The benefits of contemplating the vastness of the universe.
Shaykh Fadhlalla’s two highly spiritual fathers – his biological one and his guru, Swami Chinmayananda.
The 3-day limit for grieving in the Muslim tradition.
All religions come from the same light.
“The arc of the rising consciousness is clear.”
Love of nature as a spiritual path.
“You are essentially a cosmic being on a short journey on this earth.”
Suffering can be an incentive to see God.
Karma and reincarnation in Islam and Sufism.
Spiritual and other forms of leadership is shifting from male to female. Female saints in Islamic history.
Liberation within limitations.
Some quotes:
- “The ultimate treasure, without measure, is your own soul”
- “Every home needs its own inner ashram.”
- “Within every human being, there is sacred light. If I don’t interfere too much, if I put my shadow away then the light will lead me.”
- “The master within, my own soul, the divine presence.”

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded May 1, 2021

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

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597. Richard Tarnas

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Rick Archer

Richard Tarnas is a professor of psychology and cultural history at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where he founded the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. He teaches courses in the history of ideas, archetypal studies, depth psychology, and religious evolution. He frequently lectures on archetypal studies and depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara and was formerly the director of programs and education at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. He is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a history of the Western world view from the ancient Greek to the postmodern widely used in universities. His second book, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, received the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network and is the basis for the upcoming documentary series The Changing of the Gods. He is a past president of the International Transpersonal Association and served on the Board of Governors for the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco.

Website: cosmosandpsyche.com

Interview recorded April 25, 2021.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

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596. Eben Alexander and Karen Newell

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Rick Archer

Academic neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander III, whose career includes decades as a physician and associate professor at Harvard Medical School and revered teaching hospitals, was once staunchly committed to the materialist world view — the belief that the physical world is all that exists. His scientific belief system was altered by a 2008 transcendental near-death experience (NDE) in which a bacterial infection severely damaged his brain as he fell into a week-long coma during which he experienced an odyssey into another realm. Despite a bleak medical prognosis, Dr. Alexander awoke to make an inexplicable return to full health. He has since become a pioneering scientist and modern thought leader in the emerging science that acknowledges the primacy of consciousness in the universe, he is the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife, and Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Heart of Consciousness.

Website: ebenalexander.com

More detailed bio.

Karen Newell is an author and specialist in personal development with a diverse body of work that rests upon the foundation of heart-centered consciousness. As an innovator in the emerging field of brainwave entrainment audio meditation, Karen empowers others in their journeys of self-discovery by demonstrating how to connect to inner guidance, achieve inspiration, improve wellness and develop intuition. She is co-founder of Sacred Acoustics, and co-author with Eben Alexander III, M.D. of Living in a Mindful Universe.

More detailed bio.

Website shared by Eben and Karen: innersanctumcenter.com

Twice-monthly webinars mentioned during the interview.

Some points discussed during this conversation:

Eben’s NDE and improbable recovery, including experience of a subterranean realm, the collapse of 4-dimensional reality, his guardian angel, and a “gateway valley” in which souls reside between lives.
The importance of music and sound. Binaural beats.
Experiencing a life review (how we impacted others) during NDEs has been reported for over 2,000 years.
Dealing with things now so they do not need to be handled during your life review.
The brain does not create consciousness. Our mental states create our physical reality.
Is the world about to undergo a “phase transition” to a “golden age”?
The alignment of science and spirituality – the afterlife and reincarnation studied seriously. Important because mainstream society trusts science. The work of Ian Stevenson and Jim Tucker.
The brain as a filter.
The harmful ramifications of science not understanding consciousness as primary.
Materialists are entrenched because it’s hard to admit that one’s life’s work has been based upon a misunderstanding. They are going extinct.
Memory storage: in the brain or in the ‘cloud’?
Kindness, compassion, love, forgiveness – feminine qualities the world needs now.
The importance of discernment on the spiritual path.
How would a person choose their parents and other life events? Our perspective between lives is much broader and not ego-bound.
How do we know our life’s purpose and how to live it?
During sleep, we interact with subtle realms.
The veil shrouding humanity’s consciousness is thinning.
Do we reunite with pets on the other side?
Illness can be a learning experience for the soul.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded April 17, 2021.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download