Category Archives: Nonduality

458. David Thomas

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Dave ThomasDavid Thomas is a self-realization teacher, speaker, and writer living in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Through self-inquiry and deep meditation, he has gained a deeper understanding of the true inner-self and liberation. He seeks to guide individuals in their pursuit of their true nature through his writing, speaking, and personal coaching.

David’s teachings are from his own personal experiences and he shares his insights through videos, quotes, and poems. His works are created to help uplift and heal those who seek release from their constant pain and suffering caused by mental bondage. He speaks from his personal experience of having being lost in ignorance, then finding the truth within, and experiencing nirvikalpa samadhi. One conversation with him truly has the power to transform the way you see and experience life. The love and wisdom he often radiates is a blessing to all seekers of truth.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded June 9, 2018

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:05:58 – Witnessing a Miracle
  • 00:10:31 – Near-death experience and spiritual awakening
  • 00:16:19 – The Gift of Reading Energy
  • 00:22:09 – The Reality of Poverty and Intellect
  • 00:26:49 – The Madness of Self-Obsession
  • 00:30:56 – The Reality of Boot Camp and Conditioning
  • 00:35:32 – Disconnecting Your Humanity
  • 00:40:41 – The Manipulation of Ranks and Power Gangs
  • 00:45:56 – The Majesty of the Ocean and the Limitlessness of the Stars
  • 00:50:29 – The Dark Path of Depression and Suicidal Thoughts
  • 00:55:29 – The Experience of Near-Death
  • 00:59:19 – The Profound Experience of Near-Death
  • 01:04:03 – Self-Realization: Cutting Through Reality
  • 01:08:16 – The Essence of Self-Realization
  • 01:13:06 – Discovering Pure Awareness
  • 01:16:20 – Realizing the Oneness
  • 01:20:09 – The Journey to Oneness and Noneness
  • 01:25:28 – The Liberating Power of the Absolute
  • 01:29:47 – The Power of Enlightenment
  • 01:34:40 – Being Love
  • 01:38:04 – The Dark Side of Awakening and Enlightenment
  • 01:42:27 – Connecting the Dots
  • 01:46:43 – The Concept of God
  • 01:50:37 – Gratitude for the Beauty of the World
  • 01:53:58 – Follow Your Goal and Trust in God’s Provision
  • 01:57:36 – Resting in Awareness
  • 02:02:04 – The Language Barrier in Awakening
  • 02:06:42 – The Importance of a Spiritual Community, Connected Electronically
  • 02:11:29 – The Search for Inner Happiness
  • 02:15:25 – Contact Information and Concluding Remarks

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455. Jason Shulman

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Jason Shulman is an American spiritual teacher whose original work springs from his Judaic and Buddhist background. He is the founder of A Society of Souls: The School for Nondual Healing and Awakening, based in the United States and the Netherlands. There he teaches the distinctive body of nondual work he has developed to awaken the human spirit: Nondual Healing, Impersonal Movement and the Work of Return. Jason’s main concern has been to develop paths of healing the mind, body and spirit based on his own understanding of the difficulties inherent in the human condition. Through his studies and practice, Jason has developed a unique perspective on human consciousness and the nature of existence. His works seeks to translate this perspective into a replicable and clearly delineated path for other seekers of truth to follow. He has been especially interested in applying personal spiritual work into methods of transforming society at large. To that end, he has created the MAGI Process, a nondual method of working with conflicts between people, institutions and governments. He is the author of numerous monographs and books and several albums of his work as a singer and songwriter. More about his work can be found at societyofsouls.com.

Books:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded May 19, 2018.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:03:47 – The Resolution of Non-duality
  • 00:07:40 – Healing the Ego vs Transcending
  • 00:11:49 – The Difficulty of Being an Individual in the Totality of Being
  • 00:16:58 – Effort in Spiritual Development
  • 00:21:06 – Welcoming Challenges and Being a Total Human Being
  • 00:24:58 – The Ethics of Enlightenment
  • 00:28:31 – The Four Universes and Non-Dual Shamanism
  • 00:32:41 – The Ultimate Reality and Non-Duality
  • 00:37:16 – The Aliveness of Everything
  • 00:40:51 – Appreciating Divine Intelligence in Buddhism
  • 00:44:39 – The Myth of Enlightenment and Freedom from Suffering
  • 00:49:48 – The Work of Return and the Ego’s Resistance to Change
  • 00:53:44 – Secondary Suffering and the Fear of Death
  • 00:58:21 – Doubts and Verification in Spiritual Practices
  • 01:02:04 – The Intrigue of Extraterrestrial Life and Kabbalistic Healing
  • 01:05:05 – A Teenage Adventure in Midtown Manhattan
  • 01:07:25 – From Health Crisis to Teacher
  • 01:09:59 – Awakening and Understanding
  • 01:13:06 – The Limitations of Perception
  • 01:16:34 – Developing Perception in Non-Dual Shamanism
  • 01:21:36 – Loss and Spiritual Materialism
  • 01:25:40 – Different Perspectives on God
  • 01:28:58 – The Nature of the Universal God
  • 01:32:33 – Mutual Co-arising and the Magi Process
  • 01:38:01 – The Role of Spirituality in Solving Global Problems
  • 01:43:32 – The Point of Phase Transition: Water to Steam
  • 01:47:09 – The Purpose of Spiritual Search
  • 01:50:46 – The Importance of Spiritual Education
  • 01:53:47 – Working with David Shapiro
  • 01:57:11 – The Nondual Shaman and Awakening the Self

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443. Shakti Caterina Maggi

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Shakti Caterina MaggiShakti Caterina Maggi has been sharing a message of awakening to our true nature as One Consciousness since 2003, with workshops and meetings held in Italy, Europe, and around the world.

Although in the vein of the Advaita and non dual tantric tradition, Shakti shares a very contemporary approach to self-realization and reveals the real possibility of seeing what we are and embodying it in our everyday life with clarity, wisdom and humor.

The first glimpses and non-definitive openings to the Self and the true nature of reality began to occur for her at a very early age. At around 27, these temporary windows of our true nature brought her to a state of great inner openness, without having the cognition that what was happening was called “awakening” or “enlightenment” in other cultures.

In January 2003, while working as a financial reporter in Milan, she had the first experience of kundalini awakening.

“Everything vibrated from its infinite nature: my body, the room, the bed I was on were all a unique vibration of love that expanded and dissolved itself in a space without borders. I was myself and at the same time I was no longer me, Existence itself was my nature. After about two hours everything disappeared into nothingness and I was surprised to wake up in the morning still alive. Honestly, I was certain I was going to die that night. Now there was something vast and completely silent that looked at a funny little me, acting like a cartoon character, moving but also loving. “

For the first time, she realized she needed a spiritual guide. Knowing that all this had occurred without her conscious desire or intentional action, she simply waited for life itself to deliver someone able to clarify what was unfolding. Each prayer became a simple “amen”, may thy will be done, in the recognition that existence itself, and the Divine through it, always carried what was truly needed.

Four months later, she met Bodhi Avasa in a satsang in Milan, and after only five days she encountered a definitive experience of self-recognition.

“I suddenly realized that Caterina had never existed. It was just a thought of My Mind, and that My Mind was the Divine Mind. No separate identity existed, but only a single Self, empty and aware, from which Existence itself was born as in a dream. “

It took a few months for this quantum leap to stabilize, as mind and body were traversed by profound and transformational understandings. Avasa’s guidance supported her in crossing through those energetic phenomena without attaching to any of them, and in developing an understanding that could erase the fear that emerges in this integration process.

Encouraged by Avasa, she soon thereafter started to share her experience, although it was only in 2011 that she began to hold true satsang. The process of integration of the awakening, and purification from what Ramana Maharshi referred to as vāsanas (latent tendencies), required several years, allowing her to develop a deep understanding of the path that takes place after awakening and its integration into daily life.

Since then, many people have met her and recognized the vast and transformative reach of such a simple and direct message.

Website:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.

Interview recorded February 15, 2018.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction and Background of Shakti Katarina Maggi
  • 00:04:25 – The Power of Synchronicity
  • 00:08:46 – Early Experiences and Love for God
  • 00:13:39 – Insights Before Sleep
  • 00:18:07 – Meeting the Teacher
  • 00:22:41 – Dissolving Identification and Conditioning
  • 00:27:38 – The Delightfulness of Being Human
  • 00:31:54 – Acting without Attachment to Results
  • 00:36:15 – Awakening to Truth
  • 00:40:11 – Appreciating the Glory of Life
  • 00:44:58 – Life’s Unexpected Paths
  • 00:48:57 – Embracing the Darkness and Discovering the Beauty
  • 00:53:03 – Love and Relationships in Awakening
  • 00:57:46 – Awakening in the Heart
  • 01:02:52 – The Illusion of Separation and Duality
  • 01:05:53 – The Experience of Teaching from the Heart Level
  • 01:09:55 – Meeting Darkness and Light in Neutrality
  • 01:15:22 – The Attitude of a Beginner
  • 01:19:56 – Embodying Awakening
  • 01:24:51 – Living Life in Awareness
  • 01:29:02 – Integrating Words and Consciousness
  • 01:33:00 – Life as the Guru
  • 01:37:06 – The Appearance of Beingness
  • 01:41:05 – The Experience of Life
  • 01:44:57 – The Individual Expression of Being
  • 01:48:48 – Contradictions and Paradoxes in Oneness
  • 01:53:46 – The Joy of Seeing the Perfection of it
  • 01:58:05 – Spiritual Connection with Whales and Consciousness
  • 02:02:39 – The experience of Kundalini and its significance
  • 02:06:45 – A Delightful Conversation
  • 02:10:00 – Radiating Information for Registration

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