670. Robin Chaurasiya

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Rick Archer

Robin was born and raised in the US with a very religious and schizophrenic mother as well as a violent and atheist father. At 14, Robin started volunteering with various non-profits organizations and traveling the world, two lifelong passions which led her to work with dozens of NGOs and travel nearly 100 countries. After spending several years in the US Air Force, Robin was kicked out for being lesbian which led to her new life as an activist. At 24, she started Kranti, an NGO that empowers survivors of trafficking and daughters of sex workers from Mumbai’s red-light areas, where she lived and worked for a decade. In 2020, Robin moved to a mud hut at 13K feet in the Himalayas without any water, electricity or toilet. For over a year, she wasn’t online, didn’t read any book and didn’t speak with anyone. In July 2021, she started working part time from the mountains and became a certified BatGap addict. She returned to civilization in August, 2022 and will return to the mountains (temporarily) in January, 2023!

Kranti: kranti-india.org

Donating to Kranti:

savethechild.org Tax exempt for US donors.)
Milaap: Help the Survivors of Trafficking (India-based, doesn’t deduct fee. Not tax exempt for US donors.)
Donating to Happy Feet Home (hospice for terminally ill children)

Contact Robin

PDF with more info about Robin, her upcoming book, and Kranti

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded November 20, 2022

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

Empowering girls in red-light areas for social good | Robin Chaurasiya, India | Global Teacher Prize

Robin’s hut at 13,000 feet in the mountains of Nepal:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

662. Emilio Diez Barroso

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Rick Archer

Emilio Diez Barroso perfected the art of appearing very successful. He manages two family offices, a venture investment firm, sits on the board of over a dozen companies etc… but up until recently, he was always trying to get somewhere other than where he was—seeking recognition, achievement, love, success, and finally, the ultimate carrot: enlightenment.

In his pursuit of enlightenment, he was forced to face what all the seeking had been trying to avoid: his own sense of unworthiness. Defeated at the game of becoming and humbled by the realization of his true nature, he is now dedicated to alleviating suffering in the world.
Emilio is a father to three incredible teachers and resides in Los Angeles.

Book: The Mystery of You: Freedom is Closer Than You Think (All proceeds from the book go to contentment.org.)

Website: emiliosbook.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded September 10, 2022

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

659. Jessica Eve

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Rick Archer

After years of radical liberation in my own absence eventually became another kind of prison, I found freedom from “Enlightenment” in the freedom to live a richly human bittersweet life, in a new way, the way of transimmanence, in which the spiritual and the material are unified, and everything including suffering is a sacred expression of the divine.

Discovering how many other people have been harmed by modern adaptations of liberation via self-negation teachings, I’ve become a Spiritual Emergence Coach, and run peer support groups for people experiencing spiritual crisis, especially related to Neo-Advaita.