037. Joel Rumbolo

I was born on June 14,1946 in Elizabeth, NJ and now live in North West Jersey. As a child I was aware of a vast stillness each night when I would close my eyes and lay down for sleep. The world seemed to dissolve in a blissful silence each night until waking in the morning. This experience was forgotten until found again while learning Transcendental Meditation. That profound first encounter with meditation set my feet on a path which culminated years later in the realization that our true nature is vast empty stillness that at the same time is full with life.

In a very practical sense, this shift in perception has greatly changed reactions to daily life. Every aspect of life is underscored by a spontaneous peaceful acceptance that is beyond intellectual understanding. The world is experienced as arising and dissolving in unconditional knowing. There is no sense of a separate individual struggling or accomplishing anything. Life goes on without anxiety, worry and obsessively mulling over a past that is gone and future that hasn’t happened. Seeing life this way allows a freedom to totally embrace experiences as they unfold. Even as the mind continues to judge situations as good or bad there is a deeper knowing that it’s all ok.

Interview recorded 9/15/2010

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction with Joel Rumbolo
  • 00:03:19 – Childhood Blissful Experience
  • 00:06:49 – From Marijuana to Yoga
  • 00:09:34 – First Initiation Ceremony
  • 00:11:59 – Car Accident in Edison
  • 00:14:40 – Witnessing and the Shift in Perception
  • 00:17:36 – Witnessing and the Ego
  • 00:20:36 – Meeting Nila and Discovering Deep Silence
  • 00:22:55 – Letting Go and Realizing Stillness
  • 00:26:18 – Experiencing the Shift into Silence
  • 00:29:48 – The Peace of Non-Identification
  • 00:32:45 – The Wonder of Life and the Experience of Sleep
  • 00:35:53 – Experiencing Sleep and Awareness
  • 00:38:43 – The Experience of a Unified State
  • 00:41:41 – The Perception of Vastness in Unity
  • 00:44:02 – The Power of Visualization
  • 00:47:26 – Having an Open Mind
  • 00:52:07 – Being Contained and Defined
  • 00:55:53 – The Perception of Silence and Subtle Realities
  • 01:01:53 – The Flow of Life and Coincidental Experiences
  • 01:07:16 – The Illusion of the Individual I
  • 01:12:26 – The Possibility of Taking Questions from the Audience
  • 01:15:59 – The Insanity of the Human Race
  • 01:19:44 – The Wastefulness of Wars and the Path to World Peace
  • 01:23:02 – Awakening to Different Paths
  • 01:25:46 – The Power of Guided Meditation
  • 01:27:58 – Retirement and Hobbies
  • 01:30:19 – Neo-Advaita and the Misconception of Stillness
  • 01:33:40 – The Misleading Nature of Enlightenment Experiences
  • 01:38:21 – The End of Your World and Adyashanti
  • 01:41:23 – Background Music