028. Timothy Conway

This “insubstantial figure in the dream, pointing to the Divine Dreamer,” has lived and studied the nondual essence of our sacred tradi­tions for 40 years since an utterly life-changing, spontaneous awakening to God or Reality in his 16th year in the hills of Southern California. Fortunately, Timothy met many enlightened masters, esp­ec­i­ally in Advaita Vedanta (Sri Nisarga­datta Maharaj, Annamalai Swami, and others among Sri Ramana Maharshi’s immediate followers, Amma Amritanandamayi, Anandamayi Ma, Mother Krishnabai, Dadaji of Calcutta, et al.) and various lines of Buddhism (Taungpulu Sayadaw, Shifu Hsuan Hua, H.H. the Dalai Lama, Seung Sahn, et al.), as well as spiritual adepts in Taoism, Sufism, and mystic Christianity and Judaism. Timothy has freely shared the “pathless path” of deep spirituality for over 25 years in satsangs and in free ongoing education classes at Santa Barbara City College.

Books:

  • Women of Power & Grace: Nine Astonishing, Inspiring Luminaries of Our Time and the forthcoming
  • India’s Sages– Volume 1, India’s Sages: Nondual Wisdom from the Heart of Freedom, which profiles 40 authentic sages from the modern era; the even more massive
  • Volume 2, India’s Sages Source Book: Nondual Wisdom from Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas, Tantrics, Sants, Sikhs & Sufis, features over 120 wonderful sages and scriptures from India’s “living past.”
  • A trilogy of works focusing on nondual spirituality, religion, science, and political justice is also in preparation.

Print interview with Timothy can be found at:

The Sun magazine, April 2003 cover story

See also:

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded 7/14/10.

Second BatGap interview with Timothy.

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

YouTube Video Chapters:

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
  • 00:04:17 – Tim’s Personal Journey and Interest in the Personal
  • 00:08:00 – Struggling with Depression and Identity Crisis
  • 00:11:15 – The Profound Opening
  • 00:15:09 – Divine Intervention and the Transformation
  • 00:19:05 – The Franciscan Way and the Suchness of Being
  • 00:23:33 – A Life-Changing Experience
  • 00:27:05 – A Profound Change in Perception
  • 00:30:55 – The Bedrock Sense of Joy and Maintaining Pure Awareness
  • 00:34:37 – Astrological Background and Opening to Spiritual Vertigo
  • 00:38:26 – The Presence of God and the Separation
  • 00:42:22 – Challenging Non-Mystical Religiosity
  • 00:46:10 – Meeting Dan, the History of Consciousness
  • 00:49:26 – Who are you beyond concepts, beyond self-labels?
  • 00:53:03 – Dan: A Significant Influence 
  • 00:56:59 – The Power of Stillness and Letting God Take Over
  • 01:00:45 – The Fascination with God
  • 01:03:48 – A Tragic Loss
  • 01:06:14 – From Burma to India: A Spiritual Journey
  • 01:09:16 – Divine Encounters in the Cave
  • 01:13:10 – Sri Maharaj’s Different Aspect
  • 01:19:33 – Multiple facets of Maharaj
  • 01:21:04 – The Struggle with Different Teachings
  • 01:24:35 – The Paradox of Instruction
  • 01:28:29 – The Vitality Meditation and the God of Your World
  • 01:32:57 – The Dangers of One-upmanship in Spiritual Teachings
  • 01:36:43 – Abuse of Power and Loneliness in Spiritual Communities
  • 01:40:33 – The Evolution of Teachers and Their Contributions
  • 01:44:44 – The Reasons for Intense and Painful Situations
  • 01:48:46 – Concluding Remarks and Farewell
  • 01:51:26 – End of Audio