Dr. Miles Neale, PsyD, is a Buddhist psychotherapist in private practice and founder of the two-year online Contemplative Studies Program. Author of Gradual Awakening (Sounds True, 2018) and co-editor of Advances in Contemplative Psychotherapy (Routledge, 2017), Miles is a faculty member of Tibet House (US) and Weill Cornell Medical College. With more than twenty years integrating the mind science and meditative practices of Tibetan Buddhism with psychotherapy, trauma research, and neuroscience, Miles is a forerunner in the emerging field of contemplative psychotherapy and leads pilgrimages around the Buddhist world.

Websites:

• milesneale.com
• 2 Year Online Contemplative Studies Program

Audio course: The Gradual Path – Tibetan Buddhist Meditations for Becoming Fully Human

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded September 28, 2019

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
• 00:05:02 – Integration and gradual progression of consciousness
• 00:09:59 – Expanding Circumference of Concern
• 00:14:57 – The Journey to Unity Consciousness
• 00:19:36 – The Certs commercials and the importance of multidimensionality
• 00:28:42 – What was being removed from meditation practices
• 00:33:23 – Transforming the Collective Consciousness
• 00:37:55 – The Fear of Hedonism and Nihilism
• 00:42:28 – The Importance of Systematic Teaching in the Lam Rim
• 00:46:55 – The Purification of the Nervous System and Release of Samskaras
• 00:51:36 – The Power of the Mantra and Settling the Mind
• 00:55:47 – The Divide between Spiritual Life and Personal Predicaments
• 01:00:35 – Addressing Trauma in Spiritual Communities
• 01:04:56 – Unconditioning from Cult-like Thinking
• 01:08:59 – Trusting Your Intuition and Sense of Self
• 01:12:16 – Trauma-Informed Dharma: Empowering People
• 01:15:47 – The Pitfalls of Science Turning into Dogma
• 01:20:00 – Authority Figures and Self-Confidence
• 01:24:35 – Removing Deep Rooted Imprints without Meditation
• 01:29:13 – Processing Trauma Memories
• 01:33:42 – The Limits of Yogifying Trauma
• 01:38:19 – Accessing Alternative News Content
• 01:42:46 – Reconciling Paradoxes: The Brahman Perspective
• 01:47:16 – The Importance of Multiplicity of Views and the Teachings of Emptiness
• 01:51:18 – The Resurgence of Psychedelics and Expansion of Consciousness
• 01:55:40 – The Power of Pilgrimage in the Modern Age
• 01:59:15 – The Power of Immersion and Pilgrimage
• 02:03:36 – An Integrative Curriculum for Personal Growth
• 02:07:33 – Bringing Spiritual Knowledge into Life
• 02:11:20 – Concluding Remarks

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After 20+ years of Buddhist and non-dual practice, in 2003 Tina Rasmussen, Ph.D., undertook a year-long solo retreat during which awakening occurred. She later ordained as a Buddhist nun with a world-renowned meditation master, became the first Western woman to attain that path, and was authorized to teach. Tina has been studied by Yale Neuroscience Lab for research on the effects of meditation on consciousness and the brain. Tina is co-author of Practicing the Jhanas: Traditional Concentration Meditation as Presented by the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw, and has been featured on Conscious TV and in Non-duality Magazine. She is also involved in the Diamond Approach to realization. Tina teaches students worldwide how to walk the path of the “urban mystic”—functioning from deep spiritual understanding while living a modern human life. Dr. Rasmussen has also worked in the field of human/organizational development as a consultant/coach for 25+ years, with several published books on humanistic leadership.

Website: luminousmindsangha.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded February 23, 2019.

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction and Previous Interviews Menu
• 00:06:01 – Exploring Meditation and Inquiry Techniques
• 00:10:50 – The Brain Changes with Meditation
• 00:15:41 – Overcoming Hindrances in Meditation
• 00:20:33 – Understanding Awakening
• 00:24:17 – Uniqueness and Awakened Beings
• 00:28:08 – Fine-tuning the Contraption
• 00:31:56 – Deep Retreat Experience
• 00:35:55 – Handling Intense Energy during Meditation
• 00:39:37 – The Awakening Journey
• 00:43:32 – Working with Awakening in Daily Life
• 00:47:39 – Different Paths for Different People
• 00:50:55 – The Hare and the Tortoise
• 00:54:33 – The Neo-Advaita Shift
• 00:57:59 – Moving from Distortions to Integration
• 01:01:55 – Awakening in the World
• 01:05:28 – A Vision of a More Enlightened World
• 01:09:30 – The Lack of Understanding and Emphasis on Awakening
• 01:13:38 – The Importance of Diligence and Discernment
• 01:17:18 – Exercising Discernment and Ethical Living
• 01:21:14 – Living in Alignment with Realization
• 01:24:32 – Manifestation and Meditation across Different Walks of Life
• 01:28:24 – The Balance of Effort and Letting Go
• 01:32:47 – The Continuity of Awareness and Identification with Instinctual Drives
• 01:36:54 – Understanding the Harm and Delusion in Spiritual Practice
• 01:40:26 – The Challenges After Awakening
• 01:45:05 – Awakening and Dealing with Personality Material
• 01:51:11 – Insight and Rigpa: Stages of Liberation
• 01:59:03 – The Ground of Awakening
• 02:06:22 – The Full Potentiality of the Human Experience
• 02:12:23 – End of Presentation

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Caverly Morgan is a meditation teacher, nonprofit leader, and visionary. She is the Founder and Guiding Teacher of Presence Collective, dedicated to igniting personal transformation and collective awakening. She is also the Founder and Guiding Teacher of Peace in Schools — a nonprofit which created the nation’s first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. Peace in Schools is pioneering new depths in mindfulness education through teaching youth as well as training educators.

Caverly blends the original spirit of Zen with a modern nondual approach. Her practice began in 1995 and has included eight years of training in a silent Zen monastery. She has been teaching contemplative practice since 2001.

Prior to her pioneering efforts with Peace in Schools, Caverly formerly worked for nonprofits serving people with special needs. An artist and educator, she brings insight, passion, warmth, and humor to her transformative work with students of all ages and experience levels.

Caverly leads meditation retreats, workshops, and online classes internationally. She has been a visiting teacher at Open Circle, the Science and Nonduality Conference, Insight Meditation of Seattle and Charlottesville, Against the Stream in San Francisco, MNDFL, and the New York Zen Center of Contemplative Care.

Caverly also speaks publicly at conferences on topics including contemplative practice, social entrepreneurship, authentic leadership, and mindfulness education, and has been featured in publications such as Mindful Magazine and The New York Times. She is dedicated to actualizing possibility, serving love, and embodying the truth of interconnection.

• Website: caverlymorgan.org
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Caverly’s presentation at the Science and Nonduality Conference

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview

Caverly in panel discussions on ethics and spiritual teaching.

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
• 00:03:44 – A Conversation about Consciousness
• 00:06:51 – Discovering Zen Monastery Life
• 00:10:19 – Discovering the Path of Meditation
• 00:13:53 – An Identity Crisis at the Monastery
• 00:17:50 – Being with Your Experience
• 00:21:34 – Cultivating a Mentality of Spiritual Seeking
• 00:26:05 – The Journey to Enlightenment
• 00:30:25 – The Middle Way on the Spiritual Path
• 00:34:25 – Compassionate Concessions and Meeting Others Where They Are
• 00:38:51 – The Reconciliation of the Absolute and the Relative
• 00:43:27 – Seeking Enlightenment and Addressing Perceptions of Separation
• 00:47:13 – The Nature of Humor in Spiritual Practice
• 00:51:25 – The Contrast of Perceiving the World as Ramana Maharshi
• 00:55:55 – Recognizing Negative Self-Talk
• 01:00:06 – Moving towards greater happiness
• 01:03:51 – The Danger of Blending Morality and Practice
• 01:07:52 – Energetic Effects of Spiritual Practice and Neuroplasticity
• 01:11:20 – The Importance of Discernment and Truth
• 01:15:48 – Ongoing refinement in the journey of self-discovery in Zen monastic lineage and Amma’s influence
• 01:20:09 – Transformation in Teens
• 01:24:13 – Transformation and Connection in the Classroom
• 01:28:26 – Building a Supportive Community for Teenagers
• 01:32:18 – The Demand for the Program’s Expansion in Portland
• 01:36:08 – Flourishing and the Tools for Growth
• 01:40:13 – The Disappointment of Enlightenment
• 01:44:12 – Lack of attunement and suffering
• 01:48:33 – The Power of Collective Conditioning
• 01:52:32 – Shifting Consciousness and Collective Transformation
• 01:56:54 – The Marriage of Activism and Spirituality
• 02:01:00 – Availability of Teachings for All

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