544. Jonathan Gustin

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Rick Archer

Meditation asks, “Who am I?”

Therapy asks, “How do I heal and become happier?”

Purpose work addresses the question, “Where do I belong in the ecology of life?”

Purpose guiding breaks the spell of our default purposes of safety, security, comfort and outward success, and orients us towards our true purpose, which is to embody our unique calling within.

When we all have the opportunity to live our calling, we can support our collective true purpose: to become co-creators of our species’ evolution. We may, thus, give birth to more beauty, truth, and goodness into the world.

Jonathan Gustin, M.A, MFT, is the founder of Purpose Guides Institute. He guides people to find and embody their life’s purpose, as well as trains those who want to become Purpose Guides themselves. Jonathan has been a psychotherapist, meditation teacher, and Purpose Guide for over 20 years. He is an adjunct professor at JFK University and co-author of Purpose Rising: A Global Movement of Transformation and Meaning with Ken Wilber, Erwin Laszlo, and others.

Website: purposeguides.org
Free Live Webinar: Pandemic As Practice – Friday, April 10th, 11 am-1 pm PST
Free Live Video Conference with Adyashanti on Purpose and Soul – Thursday, May 7th, 6 pm Pacific / 9 pm Eastern

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Video below. Audio coming soon.

537. Roger Walsh

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Rick Archer

Roger Walsh MD., Ph.D. DHL graduated from Queensland University with degrees in psychology, physiology, neuroscience, and medicine, came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar, and is currently a professor of psychiatry, philosophy, anthropology, and religious studies at the University of California. His research interests include psychological health and wellbeing, virtues such as love and wisdom, practices such as meditation that foster them, and the psychological roots of our current social and global challenges.

Roger’s books include Paths Beyond Ego, The World of Shamanism, and Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind, and he recently edited the modestly titled volume, The World’s Great Wisdom. His research and writings have received over twenty national and international awards. He was formerly a circus acrobat, held world records in trampolining and high diving, and recently graduated from the San Francisco Comedy College and had an extremely brief and unsuccessful career as a standup comedian.

For more information, see drrogerwalsh.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded February 15, 2020.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

530. Rick Archer at the 2019 SAND Conference – Knowledge/Reality is Different in Different States of Consciousness

Posted on January 1, 2020 by Rick Archer

Opening points:

People get polarized in different perspectives. The more they focus exclusively on their perspective, the more justification for it they find.
Learning to appreciate paradox; accommodating different viewpoints within a broader perspective.
Enlightenment as Totality. Only Totality can realize Totality.
Totality has no difficulty reconciling paradoxes.
Getting comfortable with paradox might be conducive to our realization of Totality.

Examples of contradictory realities:

free will vs. determinism
personal self vs. no-self
Are we already enlightened, or must enlightenment be attained?
Is practice an aid or an obstacle?
Is the guru model dead?
Does non-duality imply that there are no stages of spiritual growth?
direct vs. progressive paths
patience vs. determination on the spiritual path

Additional points covered:

Acting in accordance with your own experience, not a concept of someone else’s.
Absolute reality does not negate relative realities.
Radically different realities at different levels of nature’s functioning are perfectly compatible with one another.
Incorporating universal and individual perspectives – ocean and wave, boundless and boundaries.
My experience in doing BatGap.

Recorded at the Science and Nonduality Conference, October 27, 2019.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Previous talks on BatGap:

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download