Interview recorded 3/31/2010.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction and Background of John Speer
• 00:03:45 – Questioning Existence and Meaning of Life
• 00:06:50 – Puzzling Reality and Spiritual Awakening
• 00:09:23 – The Feeling of Joy and Destiny
• 00:12:09 – Discovering Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
• 00:14:41 – A Chance Encounter with Transcendental Meditation
• 00:17:03 – Introduction to Meditation Journey
• 00:19:27 – Meeting Elaine and Falling in Love
• 00:22:14 – A Profound and Loving Experience
• 00:25:00 – A Profound Sense of Joy and Witnessing Human Emotions
• 00:28:00 – The Death of Our Son
• 00:31:05 – The Science of Free Will and Determinism
• 00:34:06 – Returning to Fairfield
• 00:36:41 – Resonating with a Spiritual Experience
• 00:39:25 – Discovering Raja Ram
• 00:42:01 – Freedom from Belief and Dependency
• 00:45:00 – The Freedom of Experience
• 00:47:52 – A Near-Death Experience
• 00:50:10 – The Dome and TM City Program
• 00:53:06 – The Experience of Oneness
• 00:56:29 – The Embodiment of the Universe in Christ
• 00:59:05 – The Omnipresence of God
• 01:01:43 – Christ as the Savior for Each Other
• 01:04:37 – Finding Fulfillment on the Spiritual Path
• 01:07:39 – Reflecting the Essence of the Soul
• 01:10:36 – “Light that is one, though the lamps be many”
• 01:13:00 – The Awakening Moment
• 01:15:34 – The Essence of Seeking and Finding
• 01:18:10 – Ramana Maharshi and the Essence of Spiritual Awakening
• 01:20:42 – The Mahavakya and a Good Stopping Point
• 01:23:09 – Conclusion and Farewell

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

I remember having the thought at age 26, “what am I going to do, I will never make it through the second year of graduate school”? Having just completed my first year in training as a psychiatric social worker it was obvious that I felt more like a patient, who needed intense help, than the person charged with helping others. At that moment, I became a seeker.  The subsequent initiation into Transcendental Meditation forever set the direction of my life in ways I could not have imagined and it was a blessing that I did not. The road was bumpy quite a bit of the time yet there were always people there to help. Nature was always there giving both challenges and help necessary to see my way through them. Then one day not knowing how it happened or why, silence was now present all the time. Everything had changed yet nothing was different.  The change was both ordinary and profound. It was not the end of the journey but a new beginning and way of experiencing it. Life is now spent in the deepening of that silence and removal of the remaining junk. One can indeed know “One’s Self” and yet have much more work to do.

Interview recorded 3/17/2010.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Motivations for creating the show and the different paths to enlightenment
• 00:03:48 – Awakening and the Impact of Spiritual Practice
• 00:07:41 – The Impact of TM Meditation on Personal Growth
• 00:12:23 – The Shift in Consciousness
• 00:17:19 – The Solvent of Silence
• 00:21:15 – The Separation of Thinking from Awareness
• 00:25:33 – Exploring Heart-Oriented Practices
• 00:29:06 – Gratitude and Appreciation
• 00:32:49 – The Importance of Development and Meditation in Life
• 00:36:20 – Meditation as a Vehicle for Growth
• 00:39:11 – The Value of Seeking Help
• 00:42:18 – Working through Thoughts and Achieving Peace
• 00:45:25 – Overcoming Fear and Wrong Thinking
• 00:47:48 – Recognizing and Accepting Personal Strength
• 00:50:07 – Dealing with Habits and Tendencies
• 00:52:32 – The Byron Katie Work and the Journey of Self-Discovery
• 00:55:20 – The Fulfillment of Silence
• 00:57:53 – Getting Along Better with People in Silence
• 01:00:19 – The Value of Peaceful Relationships and Cordiality
• 01:02:35 – Varieties of Awakened People
• 01:04:47 – The Similarity of Silence
• 01:07:33 – The Illusion of Enlightenment
• 01:10:25 – Overcoming Fear through Faith in God
• 01:13:44 – Nature’s Help in Moving Forward
• 01:16:28 – Shifting Perspective: From Individual to Ocean
• 01:19:13 – Life’s Supportive Events
• 01:21:23 – Support and Spontaneity in Doing the Work
• 01:24:09 – Relaxing into Vastness
• 01:26:29 – Letting Go of Control and Accepting Life
• 01:29:09 – The Gift of Fairfield
• 01:31:44 – Living in Fairfield: A Fascinating Place

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

I had been a seeker for most of my life. I began to meditate in 1973 and followed that path for the next 28 years. In 1983 I had a very intense Near Death Experience that left me with a very unattached view on the seriousness of everything. A separation and subsequent divorce in 1991 left me without a reason to continue doing what I had been doing. After visiting Fairfield, Iowa twice a year from 1989, my new wife Cindy and I moved here in 1999, as it was the next obvious thing to do. Our old life had ended and this was a chance to start a new chapter. We jumped right into the group meditation program in the Domes at Maharishi International University but also were fascinated by the fact that Fairfield was Grand Central Station for just about every spiritual teacher on the planet. After sampling the various flavors of all the folks passing thru it seemed obvious that Andy Rymer was the next thing to pay attention to. I found Andy to be a very powerful force and can see his influence on me to finally get that I was awake and had always been awake. From the summer of 2001 through 2010 I kept busy nurturing a group satsang in my home and participating in an informal spiritual discussion group at Revelations Coffee Shop most afternoons as a 12-step program for seekers.

I’m happy to have phone conversations with people – no charge. My number is 641-919-6917. My email is [email protected].

Interview recorded 1/22/2010.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
• 00:04:25 – The Journey to Fairfield, Iowa and the Practice of Meditation
• 00:08:02 – The Transformation Begins
• 00:11:01 – Interviewing People who’ve never done TM
• 00:14:32 – A Near-Death Experience and a Shift in Focus
• 00:18:05 – A Journey into Transcendental Meditation
• 00:22:07 – A Shifted Perspective
• 00:25:25 – The Understanding That I Didn’t Create This
• 00:28:57 – The Dark Night of the Soul
• 00:31:59 – Angels and Laughter
• 00:34:58 – Expansion of Perception
• 00:38:23 – A Strange Encounter with a Black Hole
• 00:41:26 – Various Spiritual Teachers and Their Influence
• 00:44:38 – The Profound Meditation Experience
• 00:48:01 – The Level of the Relative and the Absolute
• 00:51:16 – The Essential Thing
• 00:55:22 – The Shift to Universal Consciousness
• 00:59:36 – The Consciousness of Being
• 01:03:12 – A Divine Encounter in the Chair
• 01:06:30 – End of Doubt
• 01:10:21 – The Value of Gathering with Enlightened People
• 01:13:48 – The Enthralled Caller
• 01:17:56 – Functioning in the Relative World
• 01:21:40 – Unexpected Boat Acquisition
• 01:24:56 – A Heart Attack Experience
• 01:28:20 – The Heart Attack Experience
• 01:31:24 – The Presence in Pain and Suffering
• 01:35:09 – Changing Your Relationship with Awakening
• 01:38:40 – The Dangling Carrot Attitude
• 01:42:35 – The Intimacy of Appreciation
• 01:45:56 – Closing and Future Satsang Questions

Save

Save

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More