Between the age of 20 and 40 I was consumed with a wide range of existential questions, but despite endless thinking and reading, I never found a single answer. Due to some business-related stress at the age of 40, I started a simple meditative exercise as a way to acquire some peace of mind, and within two weeks a major insight occurred that led to more meditative activities. Five months later a huge cosmic-consciousness event answered seven of my questions and catapulted me into a different reality. I then concluded that all answers were “within,” and for the next 15 years I went on silent meditation retreats with Christians, Buddhists, and Advaita groups during which all of my other questions got answered. Nevertheless, I still did not feel free. Then, a new question arose, “How is it possible to stay in a unity-conscious state of mind permanently rather than oscillating between a sense of selfhood and no-self?” In 1999, after a deep experience of gratitude on a solo hiking retreat, “the little guy in the head” (the sense of a personal “me”) totally vanished, and the result was freedom, contentment, and understanding.

Book: Pouring Concrete: A Zen Path to the Kingdom of God – Expanded Edition

Bob’s email

Transcript and summary of this interview

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Interview recorded August 19, 2023

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:04:43 – Questioning Beliefs and Exploring Existential Questions
00:08:25 – The Journey of Seeking Answers in Zen Philosophy
00:12:17 – The Shift in Perception
00:16:07 – A Reality Shift
00:19:54 – The End of the Construction Company
00:24:03 – Realization of the Incomprehensible
00:28:16 – Simple answers to Zen riddles
00:32:17 – Finding Freedom in the Middle of Responsibilities
00:35:50 – Questioning Selfhood and Freedom in the Mountains
00:38:59 – The Dissolution of the Sense of Self
00:42:30 – The True Self and Identity
00:46:00 – The Silence of the Mind
00:49:19 – Non-Abidance in the Mind
00:52:39 – The Kingdom of God Inside and Outside of You
00:55:59 – Shifting Attention Beyond the Mind
01:02:47 – The Benefits of Practice and Reconfiguration
01:06:16 – The Natural Inclination to Help Others
01:09:50 – The Depth of Awakening
01:13:12 – Falling Asleep During Meditation
01:16:26 – Realizing the Irrelevance of a Silent Mind
01:20:00 – Seeking Benefit in the Present Moment
01:23:32 – Intuition and the Home of All Knowledge
01:27:00 – Knowing and achieving specific things in life
01:30:50 – The Blissful State on the Deathbed
01:34:07 – Embracing the Unknowable Future
01:37:31 – The Universal Sound
01:40:44 – The Challenges of Maintaining Friendships
01:48:00 – Wrapping Up with Bob

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Growing up, a burning desire to seek truth took hold. After years of searching, the need to see reality overtook the need to avoid suffering. Through the marriage of inquiry and surrender, realization unfolded in ways that could never have been imagined by my former self.

After seeing through the illusion of separation, there is now a keen interest in exploring the mystery of reality and the human form. The stage of integrating this non-dual understanding into daily life is ongoing and beautiful, and something I return to daily. Not just to help myself, but to look for ways to alleviate suffering for anyone who is interested.

Website: matt-garrett.org

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded August 14, 2022

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
• 00:06:32 – Finding Freedom through Surrender and Inquiry
• 00:13:07 – The Paradox of No Self
• 00:20:28 – The Empty Body and the Aliveness Within
• 00:26:32 – Inquiry into the Self and Objects
• 00:30:48 – Spiritual Development and Full Blossoming
• 00:35:31 – Tapping into Non-Duality and Expressing It
• 00:39:23 – The Relationship between Free Will and Determinism
• 00:42:57 – Different Levels of Spiritual Maturity
• 00:46:23 – The Importance of Discernment and Checking Desires
• 00:49:05 – The Pendulum Analogy
• 00:52:32 – The Courage to Pursue Inner Development and Incorporate it into Daily Life
• 00:55:54 – The Fullness Within Yourself
• 00:59:43 – Resistance and Trusting the Universe
• 01:02:57 – The Play of Life and the Power of Surrender
• 01:06:48 – The Awakening after Giving Up Seeking
• 01:10:28 – Going Beyond the Self
• 01:13:57 – Beyond Awakening
• 01:17:28 – The Calling to Go Deeper
• 01:21:28 – The Flexibility of Reality and the Dilemma of Purpose
• 01:25:54 – Transitioning from Purpose to No Purpose
• 01:30:01 – Finding Freedom Beyond Purpose
• 01:33:40 – Surrender and Inquiry
• 01:37:10 – The Wisdom to Accept the Unchangeable
• 01:40:22 – The Transformation of Inquiry
• 01:43:25 – Emotional Work and the Inquiring into the Self
• 01:46:55 – The Impersonal Nature of Suffering
• 01:50:53 – Surrendering Personal Suffering for Humanity
• 01:54:45 – The Balance of Selfishness and Altruism in Helping Others
• 02:00:23 – Knowing the Self and Helping Others
• 02:05:21 – Farewell and Outro

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Anoop Kumar communicates a bold, new vision of healing and healthcare based in a more comprehensive understanding of whole human anatomy–a crucial step in the journey of healthcare transformation. He is the founder of Health Revolution, an emergency physician, public speaker, and author of Michelangelo’s Medicine: How Redefining the Human Body Will Transform Health and Healthcare and Is This a Dream?: Reflections on the Awakening Mind, and a columnist for Emergency Medicine News.

Integrating a deeper understanding of consciousness with our existing medical knowledge is foundational to Anoop’s work. To further this, he developed the Three Minds framework–a trans-disciplinary approach that develops and integrates our knowledge of consciousness, mind, body, and the environment. He applies the Three Minds framework to identify unexamined tenets ripe for disruption and rehabilitation in healthcare.

By training, Anoop is board-certified in emergency medicine and holds a master’s degree in management with a focus in health leadership.

Websites:

• anoopkumar.com
• healthrevolution.org

YouTube Channels:

• Healing is Possible
• Beyond Mental Health with Anoop Kumar, MD

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded May 7, 2022

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction with Rick Archer
• 00:04:39 – An Explosive Experience in the Bedroom
• 00:08:48 – Remembering Past Lives
• 00:13:06 – Timeless Experience
• 00:17:25 – Defining Consciousness and Brahman
• 00:21:55 – Taking a Scientific Approach to Spiritual Concepts
• 00:26:23 – The Cleansing of Perception and Integration
• 00:30:48 – The Three Minds Framework
• 00:35:49 – The Formation of Identity
• 00:40:57 – Moving from the Physical to the Mental World
• 00:45:40 – The Relationship Between the Physical and Mental
• 00:50:27 – The Three Minds Framework
• 00:54:59 – The Nature of Light and Perception
• 00:59:26 – Awareness of the Second Mind
• 01:03:44 – The Three I’s and Existence Across Different Layers of Reality
• 01:08:36 – The Difference Between Jesus and Hitler
• 01:13:02 – The Perception of Existence
• 01:17:46 – Speculation on Unity of Minds
• 01:22:07 – The Three Minds: Jeeva, Saguna Brahman, and Nirguna Brahman
• 01:26:53 – Integrating Fields of Knowledge and Society
• 01:31:53 – Perception and Identity
• 01:36:45 – The Sense of Identity in Spirituality and Psychosis
• 01:41:18 – The Power of the Mind and Restructuring through Spirituality
• 01:45:44 – The Importance of Guidance in Spiritual Practice
• 01:50:00 – Setting Personal Standards
• 01:54:19 – The Influence of Culture on Religion
• 01:58:58 – The Process of Integration
• 02:03:27 – The Power of Creativity and Connection
• 02:07:56 – The Role of Intuition in Spiritual Guidance
• 02:12:14 – Healing and Becoming Whole
• 02:16:47 – Closing Remarks and Resources

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