509. Georgi Y. Johnson

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Rick Archer

Born in Sheffield, England, Georgi has led a life of charm, intoxication, collision and perpetual re-awakening. Having experienced her parent’s divorce and later her father’s death to alcoholism, Georgi was a born seeker for a stable home that was somehow prior to the broken home that she knew. As a teenager, she attended evening classes at the School of Philosophy in Belgium, that offered a ‘sanitized’ version of Vedanta. While it gave a lot, the experience became oppressive, and when she left to Oxford University, she instead delved into Jungian psychology and the application of psychoanalytic and feminist literary theory.

When she was 20, Georgi arrived in Jerusalem, in search of a midway point between the mysticism of the east and the decay of the west. She experienced a part of the earth that is charged with bliss. Yet it was also a country where it seemed that nobody belonged. In this, she found a sense of belonging (in the field of not belonging).
Georgi’s life in Israel would include a compulsion for conflict. She worked as an investigative journalist exposing lies told about terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Later, she would undergo a high-conflict divorce in which she was condemned by rabbinical courts as a fake convert, a home-breaker and a naughty woman.

All this served to re-awaken her deeper purpose: the exploration of the mysteries of consciousness. After she met the love her life – spiritual teacher Bart ten Berge – this passion would express through escalating processes of liberation.Today, she is deeply fulfilled in sharing this journey with others through workshops, and one-on-one mentorship.

A free spirit, citizen of the world and a poet, Georgi is presently pioneering Nondual Therapy, which she sees as part of a paradigm shift in the evolution of psychology.

Books:

Website: perception.inner-growth.org

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded July 6, 2019

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 – Introduction and Importance of Donations in Supporting BATGAP
00:04:47 – The Value of Individual Responsibility and Volunteer Work
00:08:37 – A Jacob’s Ladder of Light
00:12:30 – The Connection Through Meditation and Mantras
00:17:09 – Forbidden Mantras and Spiritual Contemplation
00:21:19 – Surrendering to Genius
00:26:10 – Mystical experiences and the power of sound
00:30:11 – The Death of the Author and the Fluidity of Texts
00:34:28 – The Negative Effects of Trusting Outer Authority
00:38:58 – Cannabis and Coffee-induced Psychosis
00:42:16 – From Anxiety to Apocalyptic Depression
00:46:42 – Finding Healing and Service
00:50:53 – Overcoming Anxiety and Finding Joy
00:55:05 – Closing of the Heart
01:00:00 – Visitations from Enlightened Beings
01:03:01 – The Cone of Non-Duality
01:07:34 – The Paradox of Existence and Nonexistence
01:12:37 – Qualities of Awakening: Love, Peace, Joy
01:17:21 – The Peace Within Conflict
01:22:26 – The Spoiled Nature of Humanity
01:26:14 – The Impulse to Incarnate in a State of Nondual Quality
01:31:16 – The Innocence and Guilt of Humanity
01:35:35 – The Non-Dual Nature of Inheritance and Purpose
01:39:53 – Embracing Natural Empathy and Unity with Others
01:44:16 – Different Experiences of Enlightenment Based on Nervous System
01:49:14 – The Sensitivity of the Nervous System
01:53:17 – The Vision of Two Figures
01:58:06 – The Tragic Effects of Psychiatric Drugs
02:02:49 – The Mind as a Receiver
02:07:57 – Embracing Diversity and Non-Conformity
02:11:43 – Conclusion and Donation Reminder

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

488. Judy Cohen

Posted on February 2, 2019 by Rick Archer

Judy Cohen is a former clinical psychologist, former serial entrepreneur, former depressed, anxious, anti-depressant-taking, suicidal despairer. She used to be a seeker of Self Improvement. She used to be a Certified Facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie, and later a Certified Senior Facilitator-Trainer of the Living Inquiries. (** She’s not certified in either method anymore.) She was desperate to feel better. Luckily, eventually, Judy came to see that the methods she was trained and certified in actually perpetuated, strengthened, the sense of self as damaged.

Several awakening experiences happened. Contrary to popular myth, they didn’t put an end to unpleasant feelings. So all that seeking, the inquiry, the desperation to shift, was for… what, then? Judy finally realized she could give up seeking because… This. Is. It. As it is. And what could any teacher or technique give her that wasn’t already here, that she didn’t already have? She came to see that every experience- good, bad, happy, or sad- is an awakening. She knew to give up seeking because there was nothing more to get. She’d had it all along. Much more fun, this no-Judy-to-fix, nothing-to-seek existence. Though of course, she’s also still here as Judy. Because human continues. And paradoxically…That’s better.

Website: irreverentmind.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded January 26, 2019.

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 – Introduction and Background
00:05:01 – The Work and its Effects
00:09:43 – Perception and language distortion
00:14:08 – Words and Communication
00:18:45 – The Perpetuation of Stories
00:23:11 – Appreciating the Present Moment
00:27:46 – The Miserable Dream World
00:32:40 – Understanding vs Realization in Spirituality
00:36:51 – Embracing Paradox and Ambiguity
00:41:26 – Triggers and the Unpredictability of Human Experience
00:45:51 – Accepting “this is it”
00:50:33 – The Importance of Attitude in Education
00:54:59 – Surrendering Control and Finding Motivation
00:59:41 – Accomplishment and Spiritual Development
01:04:11 – Keeping the Mind Busy
01:09:08 – Finding Inner Peace and Bliss
01:13:23 – The Limitations of Language
01:17:33 – Preferences and Consciousness
01:21:40 – The Nature of Consciousness
01:25:55 – The Frog Desires Water, The Physician Disease
01:29:38 – The Infinite Versions of Bliss
01:33:24 – The Limits of Language and Metaphor
01:37:24 – Finding Peace in Pain
01:40:44 – Dissolving the Mind’s Roadblocks
01:44:41 – The Trap of Reinforcing the Sense of Self
01:48:03 – Finding Intrinsic Happiness
01:51:14 – Emulating Teachers and Gurus
01:54:30 – The Contradiction of Perception and Guidance
01:58:22 – Relaxing into Oneness
02:02:13 – The Importance of Getting Out of the Dream
02:05:19 – Sparking New Ideas

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

486. Myree Morsi

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Rick Archer

Myree Morsi (MA) is a spiritual and energetic healer, counselor and coach who specializes in supporting people with Kundalini, awakening and the embodiment of consciousness.

Myree was psychic and naturally shamanic since early childhood. She began intensive spiritual practice in meditation and yoga as a teenager, which eventually heightened these abilities. She has a capacity to “see” the process of Kundalini Shakti in someone’s system and dedicated her gifts to healing others. From 2004 Myree began having deep insights into the nature of true self, amidst a wild Kundalini journey. Kundalini completed in 2009, leaving her with a profound shift in what she identified as her reference point, and access to constantly increasing levels of awareness. Since then, she has explored what it means to continually integrate vast consciousness into a physical and energetic system that had suffered extensive trauma and previously acute PTSD. The journey of awakening continues to deepen and expand endlessly. The most priceless gift has been a causeless joy.

Myree’s special interest is in the intersection of trauma, Kundalini, awakening, and embodiment. Trauma presents specific challenges to the capacity of the physical and energetic systems to absorb consciousness and expand in both functional and stable ways. Myree is passionate about supporting people who walk such paths and brings a sense of humor, safety, and compassion to the places we get stuck because she has been in those places too, and unfolded them into freedom.

She offers individual sessions, classes, and retreats. Myree is a bhakta, inspired by Amma, and also Adyashanti, Ramana, Gangaji and the quiet crones and wise folks she has met along the way.