Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks is a Jewish spiritual teacher, musician, and founder of Torah of Awakening (2006). He has taught this Jewish Path of Presence to hundreds of students around the world through workshops, retreats, and his on-line program. He also served as clergy and sacred music director at Chochmat HaLev synagogue in Berkeley, California (2000- 2016). He received s’micha (ordination) as Minister of Sacred Music from Reb Zalman Schachter Shalomi z”l (2013), Spiritual Teacher from Rabbi SaraLeya Schley and Shaykh Ibrahim Baba Farajaje (2013), Jewish Meditation Teacher from Dr. Avram Davis (2004) and holds a Bachelor in Music from the Eastman School of Music (1991). He lives in Tucson, Arizona with wife Lisa and their two children.
Website: torahofawakening.com
Interview conducted 2/26/2017
Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.
YouTube Video Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
- 00:06:20 – The Early Years of Spiritual Exploration
- 00:12:12 – A Shared Awakening
- 00:17:56 – The Potential for Enlightened Consciousness
- 00:22:37 – Meditative Practices and Spiritual Education
- 00:26:42 – Connecting deeply to the present moment
- 00:31:00 – Dislodging Scabs of Anger
- 00:35:02 – The Vulnerability of Spiritual Awakening
- 00:39:15 – The balance of strength and sensitivity in relationships
- 00:42:52 – Divinity Revealed in Hiddenness
- 00:47:06 – The Nature of God and the Relational Experience
- 00:50:54 – The Connotation of God
- 00:54:49 – The Duality of Prayer and God’s Response
- 00:59:30 – Recognizing the Oneness of God and Reality
- 01:03:53 – Practices for Deepening Presence in Judaism
- 01:07:53 – Integral Jewish Meditation and Daily Practice
- 01:12:24 – The Baal Shem Tov’s Call for Accessible Spirituality
- 01:16:08 – The Power of Sacred Language
- 01:20:10 – Hebrew and Vedic Language Connection
- 01:24:29 – The Purpose of Incarnations and Fulfilling Roles
- 01:28:43 – The Meaning of “Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad”
- 01:33:20 – The Miracle of Our Consciousness
- 01:38:03 – Awareness and the Field of Experience
- 01:42:10 – The Implication of “That” and “This” in Non-Duality
- 01:46:04 – Global Spiritual Awakening
- 01:50:13 – The Influence of Indian Spiritual Teachers on Jewish Culture
- 01:53:56 – The Universal Wound in the Jewish Psyche
- 01:59:00 – The Judaism of the Mind
- 02:03:16 – The Jewish Meditation Center and the Power of Music
- 02:07:03 – Torah of Awakening Resources
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