379. Rick Archer at Berkeley Open Circle Center - a podcast by Rick Archer

I was hesitant to put this up because there's more than enough of me on this site, but a few kind friends encouraged me to, so here it is. I gave this talk at the Open Circle Center in Berkeley, California on October 24, 2016. Points discussed include:

“Can knowledge of nonduality be scientifically understood, that is, systematically organized, tested, explained, and predicted? Science has not devised instruments capable of detecting the nondual nature of ultimate reality, but spiritual traditions discuss it extensively, and numerous followers of these traditions (and of no traditions) claim to have experienced it as their essential nature. This experience is commonly termed “awakening” or “enlightenment”.Is there a “scientific” consensus among these people? Are they referring to the same thing? Is there just one awakening, or are there many degrees of it? Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian mystical traditions tend to assert the latter. If there are many degrees or stages of awakening, do they culminate in an ultimate stage we might term “enlightenment”, or is there no ultimate? When one’s essential nature has been clearly and abidingly realized, has one reached a terminus, or do refinement, clarification, and other facets of development continue?
If we see spiritual development as never-ending, will we be forever chasing the dangling carrot, or can we rest in our true nature, the seeking energy having dropped off, and yet acknowledge that compared with what might be possible, we are relative beginners?Many spiritual teachers make statements such as “This is it. You are That which you are seeking. Realize this, and you are finished.” Is such advice helpful, or does it short-change spiritual aspirants?”
How might spirituality benefit from science, and vice versa?The consequences of science meddling with Laws of Nature without understanding the field in which they reside.
The importance of understanding on the spiritual path.The seeming epidemic of spontaneous awakenings.

Other talks by or interviews of Rick on BatGap:SAND 2019 - Knowledge/Reality is Different in Different States of Consciousness
2018 SAND Conference Q&A and Interview by Shakti Caterina Maggi
SAND 2017:"The Ethics of Enlightenment"Talk at SAND 2015
Interviewed by Fax GilbertInterviewed by Richard Miller

Transcript of this talkVideo and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.


Chapters:00:00:00 - My Role in the Spiritual Community
00:03:46 - The Role of Spirituality in the Age of Science00:06:30 - The Ramifications of Meddling with Nature
00:08:42 - The Potential of a Transcendent Society00:10:42 - The Possibility of Countless Advanced Civilizations
00:13:03 - Science and Spirituality: Working Hypotheses00:15:36 - Distorted Teachings of Religion and the Importance of Understanding
00:18:19 - Finding Inner Happiness00:21:10 - Clarifying the Meaning of Awakening and Spirituality
00:23:31 - The True Nature of Identity and Awareness00:25:57 - The concept of"awakening"00:27:43 - Exploring the Unknown Territory
00:29:51 - The Full Nature of Reality00:32:32 - The Variations of the Spiritual Realm
00:35:06 - Spiritual Enlightenment and Historical Figures00:37:19 - The Threefold Paradox of Reality
00:39:21 - The Full Range of Creation in Living00:42:32 - The Predominant Subjective Experience of Christ
00:46:33 - The Endless Evolution of the Self00:51:04 - The Marvelous Creation and the Divine Intelligence
00:55:25 - The All-Pervading Intelligence00:58:36 - The Universe's Fine-Tuned Nature
01:01:19 - The Evolution of the Universe and the Awakening of Humanity01:04:53 - The Awakening of Consciousness
01:08:08 - The Purificatory Mechanism01:11:13 - The Natural Cycle of Imbalance and Balance
01:13:42 - The Concept of Mistakes01:17:02 - Sharing a Unified Intelligence as a Species

Further episodes of Buddha at the Gas Pump

Further podcasts by Rick Archer

Website of Rick Archer