Thomas Razzeto is one of the newest and freshest voices among the teachers of our balanced, ancient nondual wisdom. Thomas easily digs deeply into the core of this wisdom to reveal both its essential truth and the heartfelt compassion that all true sages embody when they are genuinely engaged in the world without being entangled by it.

The first time Thomas heard this nondual wisdom was in 2005 when he attended one of Timothy Conway’s satsangs and Thomas has continually attended these weekly meetings since they provide the foundation for all his work. (By the way, Timothy Conway was guest number 28 at Buddha at the Gas Pump way back in July of 2010.) Timothy woke up when he was only 16 and he later was fortunate enough to meet several enlightened masters, such as Sri Nisargadatta, Annamalai Swami, and others among Sri Ramana Maharshi’s immediate followers.

Thomas teaches in plain English, yet much of what he says would be recognized by people familiar with Advaita, Buddhism, or Hinduism. Thomas has taught his book, Living the Paradox of Enlightenment: Spiritual Awakening in Simple, Clear English, as a class for the Center for Lifelong Learning, which is a part of Santa Barbara City College, the highest-ranked community college in the United States. In September 2012, Thomas spoke for the prestigious lecture series, Mind, and Supermind, which is run by Santa Barbara City College.

Website: Infinitely Mystical

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview

Interview conducted 4/23/2016

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
• 00:04:11 – Practical Understanding of Non-Dual Wisdom
• 00:07:16 – Early Spiritual Journey
• 00:10:31 – Timothy’s perspective on enlightenment
• 00:13:28 – The Nature of Experience
• 00:17:07 – The Transformation of a Gang Member
• 00:21:25 – The Recognition of Mystical Experiences
• 00:24:00 – The Snake and the Rope: Recognizing What You Are Looking At
• 00:31:00 – The True Self and Enlightenment
• 00:41:23 – The Beauty of Clear Language and Examples
• 00:47:05 – The Three Steps of Awakening
• 00:51:03 – The Realm of Possibility in Enlightenment
• 00:54:15 – The Definition of Enlightenment
• 00:58:12 – The Functionality of the Ego
• 01:01:29 – The Faint Remains of Ignorance
• 01:04:34 – Setting Goals and Letting Go
• 01:07:11 – The Prayer for Liberation
• 01:10:17 – The Effortless Flow of Creation
• 01:13:38 – Balancing assertiveness and passivity
• 01:17:18 – Engaging with Life and Divine Intelligence
• 01:21:20 – The multi-leveled reality of the world
• 01:25:27 – The Existence of Atrocities in a Divine Universe
• 01:28:43 – The Vastness of the Universe and Different Realms
• 01:32:40 – The Power of Finding Good in Every Situation
• 01:36:16 – Awareness and Personal Consciousness
• 01:39:57 – Permeating the Dream Body and Maintaining Awareness during Sleep
• 01:43:02 – Science and Consciousness Beyond the Materialistic Paradigm
• 01:46:51 – The Mystery of Divine Intelligence
• 01:50:02 – The Difference in Experience: Dualities and Multiplicities
• 01:53:28 – The Importance of Self-Love and Social Justice
• 01:56:43 – Explore the Menus on batgap.com

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Between 1976 and 1985 Michael James studied the teachings of Sri Ramana under the clear guidance of one of his foremost disciples, Sri Sadhu Om. Together they translated into English all the original Tamil writings of Sri Ramana, and also Guru Vachaka Kovai (The Garland of Guru’s Sayings) (the most profound, comprehensive, and reliable collection of the sayings of Sri Ramana, recorded in 1255 Tamil verses composed by Sri Muruganar, with an additional 42 verses composed by Sri Ramana) and various works of Sri Sadhu Om such as A Light on the Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: The Essence of Spiritual Practice

Michael’s principal interest is the philosophy and practice of self-investigation (ātma-vicāra, ‘self-inquiry’) as taught by Sri Ramana, and he has written a detailed book on this subject: Happiness and the Art of Being: An introduction to the philosophy and practice of the spiritual teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana (Second Edition).

Michael’s website

• Transcript of this interview
• Chinese transcript of this interview

Interview recorded 8/10/2013.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to Michael James and his study of Sri Ramana
• 00:04:14 – Experiencing Happiness from External Objects
• 00:07:42 – Happiness and Peace
• 00:11:27 – The Indubitable Existence of “I Am”
• 00:15:02 – The Doctrine of No-Self
• 00:19:56 – Going Beyond Differences and Illusions
• 00:23:33 – The Power of Attention
• 00:26:53 – The Tendency towards Outer-directed Attention
• 00:30:24 – The Illusion of Self
• 00:33:38 – The Collaborative Process of Transformation
• 00:37:08 – Self-Attention and Effortless Effort
• 00:40:38 – The Power of Devotion to Krishna
• 00:43:53 – Seeking Happiness and the Experience of the Self
• 00:46:54 – The Compatibility of Self-Enquiry with Daily Activities
• 00:50:06 – Certain Lifestyles and Self-Enquiry
• 00:53:44 – The Happiness Within
• 00:57:07 – The Search for Happiness
• 01:00:30 – The Teachings of Arunachala
• 01:04:23 – The Different Stages of Spiritual Practice
• 01:07:20 – The Effort Towards Self-Inquiry
• 01:10:51 – The Mechanics of Self-Enquiry and Self-Attention
• 01:14:00 – Discovering Self-Attention and Self-Knowledge
• 01:17:07 – The Appeal of Enquiring Minds
• 01:20:28 – Starting with “What Is Happiness?”
• 01:23:34 – Understanding the States of Consciousness
• 01:27:18 – Sleep as a State of Consciousness
• 01:30:25 – The Dream State and the Waking State
• 01:33:55 – The Difference Between Waking and Dream States
• 01:37:49 – The Projection of the World
• 01:41:17 – Wrapping Up and Concluding Remarks
• 01:44:00 – Exclusive Interview with Michael

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DISCOVERING OUR NATURAL WELL-BEING

As the name suggests, well-being is natural – that is, it’s a normal condition (if not an average one for most of humanity) and not just in the domain of some sages and saints. Our real shared nature is one of goodness, balance and harmony, where suffering is not imagined or dwelt upon. In truth, in nature, there is no such thing as “suffering”. There is, of course, pain, when an injury is inflicted, and grief in unnatural circumstances or when a loved one passes, but there is no necessary attachment of mind-made suffering to that pain in nature.

Our natural well-being finds its foundation in truth, reality, and love. Taken together, they form the ground of all our human and divine experience of life. And this grace of living in peace and contentment is what it means to be naturally “happy”. By “contentment” we mean contentment with the content of now – whatever that might be in the moment –confusion, anger, pleasure, pain, fear…bills! All this is mirrored and embraced in the aware silence of innate well-being.

While words cannot describe this natural state, we can suggest it with phrases such as the following:

• Truth is what remains when falseness falls away.
• Reality is what remains when imagination falls away.
• Love is what remains when fear falls away.
• Peace is what remains when struggle falls away.

Natural Well-being – enjoying what we are! – is what remains when all the above ideas about it fall away.

James Waite is a writer, designer, and businessman in Berkeley, CA. He discovers and shares this natural well-being in daily aware living at www.nondualityliving.com.  He is the author of two books: “Real, Whole, Here, and Happy!” (Free @ NDL) and “Fading in the Light”. A new book, “LIVING HERE…Discovering our Natural Well-Being” is emerging. He meets weekly with friends in the San Francisco Bay area to explore aware living and you are invited to contact him (see below).

James and his Nutritionist wife Alla are also offering BE WELL! NATURAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING services for individuals, couples, groups, and companies. They are offering a timely S.O.S. (Sources Of Stress) seminar (current programs are here and here).  He is open to travel and sharing in various forums including making Hosting arrangements for BE WELL! Transformational Living programs. He invites your inquiries at [email protected]. or [email protected].

James’ blog

Transcript of this interview

Interview conducted 6/1/2013

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction and Non-Duality Insights
• 00:04:55 – A Journey of Awakening
• 00:09:12 – The Beginning of the Spiritual Journey
• 00:13:16 – Seeking Structure and Method
• 00:17:17 – Meeting Adyashanti and the Awakening Experience
• 00:20:43 – Recognizing the Forever Nature
• 00:24:50 – The Innocent Misplacement of Identity
• 00:29:02 – Hatred Towards God
• 00:33:52 – Blossoming of the Heart
• 00:37:36 – Love without Ego
• 00:42:08 – Perceptions and the Stuff of Our Being
• 00:46:22 – Resting in Awareness
• 00:50:21 – The Practice of Self-Remembering
• 00:54:45 – Paradoxical Nature of Levels and Stages
• 00:58:22 – Recognition of Body-Mind Experience
• 01:03:13 – Belief in Reincarnation
• 01:08:06 – The Mystery of Absolute Truth
• 01:11:54 – Interpenetration of the Absolute and the Relative
• 01:16:16 – The Fear Born of Duality
• 01:20:17 – The Illusion of Leaving and Doing
• 01:24:24 – The Value of Monastic Life
• 01:28:45 – The value of suffering and the intelligence of life
• 01:32:57 – The King and the Minister’s Wisdom
• 01:35:40 – The Meaning of Life and the Cosmic Unfolding
• 01:39:36 – Exploring Life and Death with Michel de Montaigne
• 01:42:40 – Embracing the Reality of Death
• 01:46:08 – The Treasure of Knowing Reality
• 01:50:04 – The Path of Relieving Suffering
• 01:53:54 – The Well-being of the Boomer Generation and the Future of Humanity
• 01:58:07 – Ending Remarks and Contact Information
• 02:01:19 – Sign up for Email Notifications

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