Retreat, Conspiracy Theories, and Clarifying the Mind
Summary: A conversation about how crisis can become a kind of involuntary retreat, inviting deeper practice, self-inquiry, and inner clarification. The discussion also explores discernment, conspiracy thinking, the subtler levels of creation, and practical ways to steady the mind through breath and meditation.
Questions This Interview Explores
- How can a period of forced isolation become a genuine retreat for spiritual practice?
- What helps us distinguish inner truth from fear, projection, and conspiracy thinking?
- How do meditation, breath, and self-inquiry steady the mind in uncertain times?
- What role do subtle forces, karma, and grace play in the way we meet crisis?
Sally Kempton is a deeply practiced teacher of meditation and spiritual philosophy, and the author of the books Meditation for the Love of It and Awakening Shakti: as well as the audio course Doorways to the Infinite, recently put out by Sounds True. A former swami in the Saraswati order of India, she has been practicing and teaching devotional contemplative tantra for more than 40 years. Her teaching is powerfully sourced in the eastern meditative traditions of yoga and Kashmir Shaivism, yet highly contemporary in her focus on evolutionary practice. She offers a powerful transmission of meditative experience.
Books:
- Meditation for the Love of It
- Beginning Meditation
- Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga
- Shakti Meditations
- Doorways to the Infinite: The Art and Practice of Tantric Meditation (audio program)
Website: sallykempton.com
Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.
This interview was recorded May 15, 2020, as part of an online conference offered by the Science and Nonduality Conference, held May 17-23, entitled Wisdom in Times of Crisis. The conference has finished, but you may sign up to access all of its content.
Transcript, summary, and key takeaways from this interview
YouTube Video Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
- 00:02:21 – Awakening Kundalini and Applying Esoteric Wisdom
- 00:04:05 – Initiations and Retreats in Ancient Cultures
- 00:05:32 – The Experience of Retreat During Lockdown
- 00:07:15 – The Power of Retreat and Inner Reflection
- 00:08:56 – Global Initiation and the Power of Practice
- 00:10:55 – Awakening and Spiritual Transformation amidst Crisis
- 00:12:38 – Consequences of our actions
- 00:14:39 – The Power of a Clarified Mind
- 00:16:25 – Samskara, Vasanas, and Pragnya
- 00:18:09 – Karl Marx’s Analysis of Capitalism
- 00:20:12 – The History of Conspiracy Theories and Real Consequences
- 00:21:46 – The Power of Ritambhara Pragyan
- 00:24:00 – Discerning Truth from Bullshit
- 00:25:53 – Hidden Spiritual Realities and Conspiracy Theories
- 00:27:33 – Clarifying Your Intelligence and Discernment
- 00:29:35 – Lingering Delusions and Finding Truth
- 00:31:34 – Seeking truth moment-to-moment
- 00:33:21 – Maintaining Clarity and Friendships
- 00:35:02 – Embodied Ascension and God’s Will
- 00:36:34 – Discerning our Callings and Obligations
- 00:38:30 – Motivation during the pandemic
- 00:40:04 – The Subtler Levels of Creation
- 00:41:59 – Tension and Forces in the Universe
- 00:43:54 – The Non-dual Shaiva Perspective
- 00:45:55 – Tapping into Grace and Consciousness
- 00:47:34 – Enriching Positive Forces in Creation
- 00:49:19 – The Universal Form of Self-Help
- 00:51:17 – Settling the Mind and Connecting to the Breath
- 00:53:21 – Taking care of yourself during difficult times
- 00:54:58 – The Accumulation of Benefits in Meditation
- 00:56:13 – Wrap Up and Thanks
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