697. David Doyle

David Doyle lives on the water in the island city of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, their teenage son, and Merlin, a rambunctious Rat Terrier. At an early age he set upon a spiritual path and soon put down the books and turned inward. David’s path has been by most standards a very traditional inner practice, starting with Hatha Yoga and quickly moving to Raja Yoga. Meditation was his main practice, with asanas as an adjunct to meditation.

Early on in his spiritual practice a teacher said that if you master the basics of yoga, and if you practice in earnest, all will unfold – everything you need will come to you. David took this to heart, beginning a life-long practice that for the most part was a solitary journey.

At 20 years old his third eye opened in a dramatic unfolding, and from there came the never-ending gift of insight and abilities including: clairvoyance, clairsentience, clairaudience, precognition, telepathy and more.

Some years later David joined the Berkeley Psychic Institute during its heyday and befriended the founder, Dr. Lewis S Bostwick, whom he considers to be his first great spiritual teacher, and friend. He spent over a decade with this group and at its many (at the time) institutes and thousands of students and teachers.

In 2012, David came to an abiding awakening, and since that time, many changes have taken place in an ongoing process of daily and weekly energetic and auspicious unfoldings, many of which have left him nearly incapacitated.

Since awakening, David has also become an adept Qi Gong Master under the guidance of Grand Master Shi Yong Yao, formerly an elite teacher-monk at the Northern Shaolin Temple in China. Additionally, many siddhis have developed as byproducts along The Way as well as a massive kundalini awakening and other extraordinary happenings.

Now, with ten years having passed since awakening, David is ready to share experiences from his fifty+ year journey with a wider audience. He created Monk with Family, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to the householder, but inclusive of anyone for whom The Way is their life’s focus. David leads a weekly Satsang open to all those interested, and is available for speaking engagements and other spiritual events.

David A. Doyle: Inventor, entrepreneur, manufacturer, publisher, sailor, skier, burning man (burner), householder.

Founder: Monk with Family Website

Founding member of Shaolin Master Qi Gong, a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to sharing the teachings of Master Yao. David is registered in China as the: Deputy Director of the U.S. Regional Department of Shaolin Fohanmen.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Interview recorded December 30, 2023

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

686. Dr. Etta D. Jackson

Dr. Etta D. Jackson was born in Kingston, Jamaica and migrated to the USA as a student in 1965. For twenty-five years she worked in education and retired in 1994 to travel. She has authored four books:

Audible.com versions:

She founded an international NGO non-profit organization, The Institute for Conscious Global Change (ICGC) in 2007 to assist the United Nations and Member States in eradicating extreme poverty through development. ICGC is in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. Etta holds a BA in Biology, MS degrees in Guidance and Counseling and in Administrative Leadership and Supervision. Etta holds a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University. She has one daughter and one grandson.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded July 8, 2023

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:05:26 – Communicating with the Light
  • 00:10:30 – Receiving Instructions from the Light
  • 00:14:41 – Writing in London with the Golden Light
  • 00:18:55 – The Back Story of Dr. Whitworth
  • 00:23:57 – A Divine Encounter
  • 00:29:44 – The Divine Feminine Unveiled
  • 00:34:54 – Understanding Your Choice
  • 00:39:40 – Mysticism vs. Occultism
  • 00:45:03 – The Occult Knowledge of Ancient Religions
  • 00:49:50 – Transitioning into the Aquarian Age
  • 00:54:20 – The Authenticity of Experience and the Role of Older Souls in Guiding the Young
  • 00:58:34 – A Relationship Based on Mutual Respect
  • 01:03:33 – The Symbolism of the Journey to Jerusalem
  • 01:08:51 – The Journey of Knowledge and Experience
  • 01:14:00 – The Paradox of Good and Evil
  • 01:18:49 – The Purpose of the Earth Experiment
  • 01:24:23 – Embracing Change and Shifting Paths
  • 01:29:07 – Understanding the Power of the Mind
  • 01:33:59 – The Inner Lodge and the Role of Consciousness in Governance
  • 01:38:13 – Masonry and Divine Inspiration
  • 01:43:21 – Developing your Relationship with Yourself
  • 01:47:47 – Kneeling at the Feet of the Soul
  • 01:52:56 – Wrapping Up the Interview

685. Lucy Grace, 2nd Interview

Lucy was raised in a low socioeconomic household and neighborhood, by a young single mother in New Zealand in the early 1980s.

The lack of resources available in childhood resulted in a shrinking of her outer world to what she thought of –  years later – as a kind of welfare-child ashram. Within the home, and outside of it, there were few distractions or ability to go anywhere else, and significant trauma – all forcing her to go within to what she thought of as “the deep stillness and light inside” to rest, find nourishment, solace, and strength.

At 19 she experienced her first shift, seeing through the personality, and subtle perceptions revealing themselves.

She never thought much of it, there had already been so much light inside, and she was so thrilled to be in the world finally so she simply went on with living.

After a brief stint in television journalism, Lucy spent 15 years in Europe and New Zealand working for international humanitarian aid agencies.

On return to NZ at age 31, she suddenly became extremely ill.  For six months, she was mostly bedridden. Doctors, both natural and traditional, could not find the source of the illness.

Over the next few years, she had to work to earn an income but there was no strength for much else. The pain in her body was ever-present, and the fear of not knowing if this was her life forever now, was sometimes crippling.

She was forced to exist in a kind of in-between world again – of much aloneness and silence, aside from work.

After a few years of significant illness, she recovered strength enough to live a semi-normal life. But any time she tried to do too much, she was knocked back into illness.

By 35 she was in a leadership role at a non-profit, married, with a baby on the way, just surviving day-to-day with the pressure on her physical body.

On becoming a mother, she was plunged into a level of blackness that was completely shocking and previously unknown.

For more than two years she descended into complete separation and couldn’t hear the guidance that had always accompanied her in her life. For the first time ever she couldn’t feel God.

In 2018, after more than two years of immense struggle, an unexplainable and absolute surrender took place within, in a moment, as her two-year-old cried and reached for her.

Within two months she had left the career she loved to rest in what she thought of as silence. For around a year and a half, she couldn’t do much else.

Lucy had never been exposed to spirituality, nor did she know anything about its concepts or traditions. She thought meditation was for “those hippy people.”

Because there had been no conscious spiritual search, she had no context for what was happening. Often it was so beautiful and joyful – she didn’t need to know. There was an innate sense of trust and recognition that went beyond what needed to be seen or understood with the mind.

When the need to understand did arise – some online searches helped a little, but often it all felt overwhelming, and she preferred sitting in silence to hear from within. Guidance and teaching were always present and given through hearing and images. Despite this, when particularly strange things would occur the need for the mind to understand would return.

One night in 2019, before sleep, in heartfelt prayer she asked for help to cut through all the online noise and finally really grasp what was going on. There was a felt sense of need for community.

As she was awakening in the morning, she heard the words “Buddha at the Gas Pump”. Lucy says, “I was stumped. I had no idea what that meant, but Googled it and found BatGap. As a result, my life has changed. Over the years BatGap has supported me deeply in the process – nurturing trust and allowing everything to unfold as it wants to.”

From then until now, Lucy has been called over and over into deeper surrender. She has had further shifts and many clearings. Her career of 15 years, husband/partner of 16 years, many friends, and her home – all things she loved dearly – have fallen away.

She has never had a teacher and has read very little. She makes no claim to know anything.

It seems to her that there is nothing to know, or that can be known. There is no one way and no right way. There is only your way, to be honoured and cherished and fallen into more and more deeply in every breath.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and Transcript of this interview

Lucy’s first BatGap interview

Interview recorded July 1, 2023.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction and Welcome to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:08:18 – Connecting with Others in Awakening
  • 00:17:09 – The Tenderness of Authentic Joy and the Rage it Provokes
  • 00:24:02 – Temptation and Projections
  • 00:30:04 – The Transformation of a Life
  • 00:34:26 – A Glowing Experience
  • 00:38:26 – Surrendering to the Path of Joy
  • 00:43:11 – Embracing Change in Life
  • 00:48:10 – Moving into a Group of Guides
  • 00:53:59 – The Humility of the Being
  • 00:57:54 – Prayer and Divine Guidance
  • 01:01:56 – Dissolving Barriers and Embodying Truth
  • 01:06:40 – Embracing the Path of Life
  • 01:11:22 – The Struggle of the Butterfly’s Emergence
  • 01:16:19 – The Power of Self-Acceptance
  • 01:21:28 – The Gifts of Illness
  • 01:26:39 – Trusting the Intelligence of Nature
  • 01:31:30 – Deepening into Presence
  • 01:35:33 – The Paradox of Self and No Self
  • 01:40:23 – The Reality of Vyavaharika and the Peril of Denial
  • 01:45:19 – The Deep Connection with Nature
  • 01:50:55 – Turning the Light Around
  • 01:55:40 – Witnessing the Being