711. John Audette

John R. Audette is the author of “Loved by the Light: True Stories of Divine Intervention and Providence”. He earned a Master of Science degree from Virginia Tech. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, his professional career spans over three decades of senior executive positions in hospital and hospice administration and physician practice management, as well as the performing arts and public broadcasting.

He contributed several scholarly chapters to various books by other authors about spiritually transformative experiences and non-local consciousness including works by Dr. Ervin Laszlo. He is also gratefully acknowledged in many other books on these subjects by various well-known authors whom he assisted dating back to 1974. His first work of fiction, a novel trilogy, will be published in 2025.

John is the primary founder of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc., (IANDS.org), with co-founders Raymond Moody, MD; Bruce Greyson, MD; Michael Sabom, MD; and Kenneth Ring, PhD. John now serves as CEO of Eternea, (eternea.org), which he co-founded with Eben Alexander, MD and Edgar Mitchell, Sc.D. He is also an honorably discharged veteran with over six years of voluntary service (both active and inactive duty) in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era.

Website: AffirmingGod.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded July 7, 2024

YouTube Video Chapters:

710. Viivi Jokela

Viivi Jokela facilitates awakening in people who are inclined in that way. She had a spontaneous, deep awakening to true nature in 2022, followed by a strange and at times intense acclimation, which she refers to as no self realization or simply the natural state.

Viivi communicates a direct approach to realization, grounded on experiential insight on the aspects of awakening. She invites you to inquire into and recognize the awe-striking immediate, inherently awake radiance of your own being and of all being.

Website: sensingradiance.com

In this interview, Viivi Jokela shares her journey of spiritual awakening and self-realization. She discusses her early life, her struggles with suffering and alienation, and her eventual deep awakening to her true nature in 2022. She describes the intense acclimation process she went through, which she refers to as no self-realization or the natural state. Viivi also talks about her experiences with a yoga school that turned out to be a cult, her powerful Kundalini awakening, and the subsequent purification process. Throughout the interview, she emphasizes the importance of understanding the nature of experience and the difference between direct experience and mental interpretation.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded June 29, 2024

YouTube Video Chapters:

  •  00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  •  00:03:37 – Early Suffering and Alienation
  •  00:07:22 – Finding Yoga in the Hospital
  •  00:10:22 – The Powerful Kundalini Awakening
  •  00:13:16 – The Journey of Purification
  •  00:16:27 – Challenges after Kundalini Awakening
  •  00:19:46 – Recommendation for Kundalini awakening practitioners
  •  00:23:23 – Finding the Right Meditation Practice
  •  00:26:55 – Defining Enlightenment and Liberation
  •  00:30:16 – The Experience of Self
  •  00:33:57 – Multi-Dimensionality of Life
  •  00:37:16 – The Personal and Impersonal within a Larger Wholeness
  •  00:40:18 – The Dance of Relative and Absolute
  •  00:43:30 – Holding Multiple Perspectives Amid Conflicting Views
  •  00:46:24 – Appreciating Different Perspectives
  •  00:49:52 – Understanding the “I got it, I lost it” syndrome
  •  00:53:22 – Extracting Instructions for Awakening
  •  00:56:35 – The Beginner’s Mind and Approaching with Curiosity
  •  01:00:16 – Different Types of Meditation
  •  01:03:58 – The Collapse of Fundamental Structures of Reality
  •  01:07:38 – The Teacher and the Experience of Death
  •  01:11:20 – Moments of Transcendence and Nothingness
  •  01:14:34 – The Reality of the Deep Homecoming and Healing Through Realization
  •  01:18:22 – The Disappearance of God
  •  01:21:34 – Kundalini: The Most Powerful Energy
  •  01:24:54 – The Relationship between Trauma and Relational Healing
  •  01:28:34 – Dismissive Attitudes and Lack of Empathy
  •  01:31:58 – The Contradictory Nature of the Experience
  •  01:34:44 – The Importance of Having a Broad Perspective
  •  01:38:40 – Exploring Aggression and Self-Respect
  •  01:42:37 – Closing Remarks and Next Interview Preview

709. Philip Weber

Philip Weber had a successful 35-year career as an executive in the hospitality industry. A member of Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship since 1999, Phil is known for his highly ecumenical outlook, holding a deep appreciation for many of the world’s spiritual traditions and teachings, and often affirming his Guru’s adage: “Truth is one, paths are many.”

Currently retired and residing in Carlsbad, California, Phil prefers a quiet, contemplative life. He is not a spiritual teacher and has no online or social media presence. For Phil’s book announcements, please go to his editor’s website.

Books:

To Contact Phil please go the “Connect” page of his editor’s website.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded June 16, 2024.

YouTube Video Chapters: