676. Lissa Friedman

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Rick Archer

There have always been three deep interests that have informed my life; and those are art, spirituality, and psychotherapy which all tend to reflect each other. I have been an artist since my childhood, had spiritual experiences since I was 6, and my interest in psychology began at twelve when I started reading psychology books.

There were some experiences during my childhood which indicated an opening for spiritual awareness. The first was when I was walking to school, when I was 6, and I realized that I was in this body. The second happened many times when several light beings would sit on my bed and talk to me, before I went to sleep. Their energy was very distinct. I could feel the weight of them on my bed.

My spiritual journey actively began when I was 19 and began doing TM. After TM I had a few other spiritual teachers and many spiritual openings, or awakenings, throughout my life. The last most significant experience, which was several years ago, was when I was taking a walk and I heard a voice inside of me say “it’s time”. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I thought it might become clear by connecting with the group of light beings. When I did, an energy began to flow through me. I soon got another message that this was not just for me, it was to share with others. This led me to gather a few people together to meditate, and with whom to share this energy. I had no idea if anyone else would feel the flow of energy, but they did. My meetings with people have evolved into a sharing of wisdom and energy that flows from this spaciousness, which is the Boundless.
The importance of this sharing is that it helps all of us shift into the consciousness of the One, or Infinite, or Boundless. This is a small step away from knowing that we are the Boundless. As we move through the world as the Boundless, there is a ripple effect. Sharing this shift in frequency facilitates, an expansion in human consciousness; where more people know that we are all One. Through an energetic transmission, people are guided to take their next step on their spiritual journey.

I have been a psychotherapist for about 40 years, during this time I have been trained and/or certified in several modalities including: Transpersonal Hypnotherapy through the Michael Newton Institute, Hypnotherapy through the Ericksonian School.
I am the founder of the Enneagram School of Awakening, which is accredited by The International Enneagram Association.

I call what I do Transpersonal Psychotherapy because I help people work through personal limiting patterns, as well as guiding them to open to their true nature, which is beyond the personal.

I have written two books Boundless – Experiential description of stepping into the boundless, and my journey to the Boundless; and From the Heart of Boundless – discussions and teachings about obstacles and issues that might get in the way of connecting to the Boundless.

Websites:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded February 4, 2023.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:04:26 – Childhood Memories and Unknown Experiences
00:08:42 – Interaction with Subtle Beings
00:12:53 – The Journey of Meditation and Spirituality
00:16:59 – Opening to Subtle Dimensions
00:21:48 – A Phase of Iconoclasm
00:26:45 – Relearning the Enneagram and Awakening Experiences
00:31:37 – Feeling the Energy of Each Type
00:36:43 – The Enneagram and Living a Transcendent Life
00:40:46 – Reconnecting with the Energy of Light Beings
00:45:32 – Exploring Past Lives and Life Between Lives
00:50:43 – The Awakening and In-Depth Exploration
00:55:36 – Sharing the Frequency
01:00:05 – Accessing Information in an Expanded State
01:05:20 – Out of focus and in focus
01:09:32 – The Beauty of the Present Moment
01:13:38 – The Boundlessness of Is-ness and Letting Go of Identity
01:18:47 – Limiting Beliefs and Identity
01:23:54 – Short-term Practices for Facilitating the Process of Awakening
01:28:09 – Shift into the Boundless
01:32:24 – The Art of Surrender
01:36:41 – Retreats and Self-Talk Diagnosis
01:41:01 – Kundalini Awakening and Its Effects
01:45:13 – Conversation about Asheville and TM Center

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

672. Rick Archer Interviewed by Angelo Dilullo

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Rick Archer

I was interviewed by Angelo Dilullo, who has been on BatGap.

Angelo’s:

Points discussed:

My spiritual history. The TM program
The importance of integration and stabilization on the spiritual path.
The value of spiritual development in unfolding our full potential.
About Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi)
The masculine and feminine aspects of spirituality.
Compassion, kindness, generosity, and such qualities as expressions of holistic spiritual development.
The Association for Spiritual Integrity and the importance of ethics on the spiritual path.
What is the best spiritual practice?
Are there any detrimental practices? (Psychedelics? Neo-Advaita?) Harmful teachers?
The qualifications for being a spiritual teacher and the importance of discerning between qualified and unqualified teachers. The importance of humility and genuineness in teachers.
We all have different roles to play. Awakened people aren’t necessarily teachers and don’t necessarily use spiritual terminology.
The relevance of channeling, mediumship, etc. to spirituality. Different dimensions of reality.
“God” as an unbounded self-interacting ocean of consciousness. We are characters with some improvisational latitude in the Divine Play. The playwright has our best interest in mind.
Staying aligned with the Divine “stream”. Trusting your instincts.
Global problems are symptomatic of the quality of collective consciousness which is trending toward awakening, perhaps as a response to the dire nature of these problems.
The cumulative nature of spiritual practice.
Recommended books.
The importance of where you put your attention.
The complimentary relationship between knowledge and experience.
The importance of taking the first step on the spiritual path, and one thing will lead to the next.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded December 20, 2022

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

664. Isira, 2nd Interview

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Rick Archer

Isira is an awakened spiritual teacher who has been initiated in advanced spiritual practices and rites across a number of traditions including Australian Aboriginal, Yogic Indian, African Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhist. When she was a young adult, Tibetan Lamas, recognized her as an important incarnation and travelled to Adelaide, Australia to bring her to the Himalayas to be ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Isira is also honored as an Australian Indigenous elder and wisdom keeper.

The heart of Isira’s teaching is Holistic Awakening. While the predominant western model of awakening focuses on individual consciousness, Isira’s holistic approach has us awaken to the sacred in all of life. It is an awakening that is integrated, embodied, and grounded, rather than siloed, conceptual, and abstract.

Isira believes that, even among those on a committed spiritual path, there is still a deep sense of “something missing.” The human spirit is hungering to be nurtured by the sacred. We know this because we’re living in a world that is fractured and conflicted more than ever. And people are reporting a sense of fear, alienation, depression, anxiety, and chronic illness in epidemic numbers.

Inspired by the wisdom of indigenous cultures, Isira teaches that we must awaken to what she calls the “Four Sacred Pillars of Life.” While one of these four pillars is the Self or Spirit, they go beyond the Self to include our interconnected relationship with three other essential dimensions of life—the second is nature or earth, the third is kinship or others, and the fourth is the cosmos or universe. While conventional thinking assumes that our spiritual connection must start with Self or Spirit, instead, Isira teaches that for awakening to be holistic, it is essential that we start with our connection to earth or nature.
Through holistic awakening, we move out of the mind into a lived experience in which the sacred is restored to each moment of our day-to-day life.

As we integrate our awakening, a natural byproduct is that we relate in a deeper, more meaningful way—respecting, honouring and loving all of life. Simply, we live sacredly.

Books: