509. Georgi Y. Johnson

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Rick Archer

Born in Sheffield, England, Georgi has led a life of charm, intoxication, collision and perpetual re-awakening.

Having experienced her parent’s divorce and later her father’s death to alcoholism, Georgi was a born seeker for a stable home that was somehow prior to the broken home that she knew. As a teenager, she attended evening classes at the School of Philosophy in Belgium, that offered a ‘sanitized’ version of Vedanta. While it gave a lot, the experience became oppressive, and when she left to Oxford University, she instead delved into Jungian psychology and the application of psychoanalytic and feminist literary theory.

When she was 20, Georgi arrived in Jerusalem, in search of a midway point between the mysticism of the east and the decay of the west. She experienced a part of the earth that is charged with bliss. Yet it was also a country where it seemed that nobody belonged. In this, she found a sense of belonging (in the field of not belonging).
Georgi’s life in Israel would include a compulsion for conflict. She worked as an investigative journalist exposing lies told about terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Later, she would undergo a high-conflict divorce in which she was condemned by rabbinical courts as a fake convert, a home-breaker and a naughty woman.

All this served to re-awaken her deeper purpose: the exploration of the mysteries of consciousness. After she met the love her life – spiritual teacher Bart ten Berge – this passion would express through escalating processes of liberation.Today, she is deeply fulfilled in sharing this journey with others through workshops, and one-on-one mentorship.

A free spirit, citizen of the world and a poet, Georgi is presently pioneering Nondual Therapy, which she sees as part of a paradigm shift in the evolution of psychology.

Books:

Website: perception.inner-growth.org

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded July 6, 2019

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

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504. Kate Gustin

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Rick Archer

Kate Gustin, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her education from Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley; and has worked in a variety of settings over the past twenty-five years as a mental health practitioner: outpatient psychiatry, community mental health clinics, VA Hospital, college counseling services, and currently in private practice. Gustin integrates the science of positive psychology into her psychotherapy, teaching, and consultation, and leads classes and trainings for students, patients, and health care professionals.

Book: The No-Self Help Book: Forty Reasons to Get Over Your Self and Find Peace of Mind

Websites:

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Interview recorded May 25, 2019

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

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482. Panel Discussions on Ethics and Spiritual Teaching

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Rick Archer

Rick Archer, Jac O’Keeffe, Craig Holliday, and Caverly Morgan

Ethics and Spiritual Teaching Panel at the Science and Nonduality Conference

Questioning whether higher consciousness and ethical behavior are tightly correlated.
The founding of
the Association for Spiritual Integrity (formerly the Association of Professional Spiritual Teachers).
The attempt to formulate a code of ethics that might apply universally in the contemporary spiritual community and enliven an understanding of what may or may not be appropriate, giving students greater confidence in their own discernment and discrimination.
Ancient traditions held the teacher beyond reproach and students surrendered their own will. This may have worked in monastic settings but generally does not work today.
Preventative support so we’re not busy doing cleanup.
Power hierarchies should not be an essential part of spiritual development and can lead to abuses.
Spiritual awakening does not necessarily qualify a person to offer advice on relationships, finances, etc.
Ethical training of some sort is integral to most honored traditions.
The issue of sexism and patriarchy in spiritual organizations.
Entering the teaching profession prematurely.
All too often, when teachers are challenged on their behavior, they ignore the challenger or become defensive.
How do we offer the possibility for redemption and atonement?
Moving away from a culture of competition to one of cooperation.
The importance of humility.
The importance of teachers not identifying with their role and thinking that students’ devotion is about them.
South Africa’s “Truth and Reconciliation” as a model.

Discussion of this panel in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Recorded October 27, 2018

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

Jac O’Keeffe, Craig Holliday, Rick Archer, Caverly Morgan

A Discussion on Teacher-Student Romantic Relationships

The Association for Spiritual Integrity does not have a moralistic, judgmental orientation. It’s a community endeavor. We don’t agree among ourselves on certain points. We’re trying to balance our subjective perspectives with standards that fit our contemporary culture.
A key point of disagreement is the issue of teacher-student romantic/sexual relationships. None of us are rigid or adamant in our opinions.We’re trying to work it out.
There are exceptions to every generality. In graduate school, psychotherapists are taught that it will never be appropriate for therapists and their clients to become partners.
Relationships tend to be the most challenging aspect of people’s lives. These challenges shouldn’t bleed into a teacher’s teaching activities.

The Association for Spiritual Integrity

When a teacher/student or therapist/client relationship transitions into romantic involvement, the potential for growth is undermined.
Sometimes “divine compulsion” arises in your spiritual path, shattering your conception of appropriate behavior.
The problem with teachers who haven’t transcended desire and explored their own shadow.
There can be a huge disparity between the apparent enlightenment of a teacher and their behavior.
Isolation and being closed to constructive criticism can be very dangerous for a teacher.
If a teacher doesn’t have friends other than his students, he might want to ask why. If he doesn’t have regular relationships and is always on a pedestal, he won’t get real-world feedback.
The culture is changing anyway. We’re just trying to give voice to values that are becoming lively in collective consciousness.
There can be a lot of practice involved in having your actions be a reflection of your deepest understanding.

Discussion of this panel in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Recorded October 26, 2018

Other BatGap episodes with these participants: