677. Seán ÓLaoire - a podcast by Rick Archer

Fr. Seán ÓLaoire was born in Ireland and earned a B.Sc. degree (major in Mathematics) from the National University of Ireland. Ordained a catholic priest in 1972, he spent 14 years working in Kenya. He is multi-lingual and has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology; he is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice. He is co-founder and the Spiritual Director of a non-denominational community called “Companions on the Journey” based in Palo Alto. He is the author of five books and co-author of a sixth:

“Ukweli ni Nini?” (What is truth?) – written and published in Swahili in 1983“Spirits in Spacesuits - A Manual for Everyday Mystics”- published in 2003
“Souls on Safari” - published in 2006 - Translated into German in 2007“A Sensible God” – published in 2008
“Why? What Your Life Is Telling You about Who You Are and Why You’re Here” - published in 2013 (with Matthew McKay, PhD and Ralph Metzner, PhD) - Translated into Korean in 2015“Setting God Free: Moving Beyond the Caricature We’ve Created in Our Own Image” - published in 2021

Transcript of this interviewDiscussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Interview recorded February 25, 2023Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.



YouTube Video Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump. Mythology and ‘Thin Places’ 
00:06:40 - The Wisdom of Proverbs in Different Cultures00.09:00 Trying to domesticate God 
00:12:16 - The Cycle of Knowledge and Ignorance00:17:39 - The Disadvantages of Incarnation
00.23:20 Transformation of Consciousness 00:23:46 - Ineffective Structures and People's Transformation
00:29:20 -The Rural Electrification Scheme in Ireland
00:34:51 - The Invitation to Self-Transcendence00:40:08 - The Complexity of Existence
00.41:15 Karma and Pre-conception Contracts 00:45:44 - Pulling Life Over the Cliff
00:51:22 - The Purpose of Incarnations00:56:54 - Understanding Karma and Destiny
01:00:45 The Science of Spirituality 01:02:47 - Reincarnation in Christianity
01:08:15 - The Three Axes of Spiritual Awareness and Metrics in Spirituality01:14:12 - The Constraints of the Scientific Method
01:20:35 - The merge of science andspirituality
01:26:15 The Global Awakening 
01:26:24 - Awakening to Powerful Spiritual Experiences01:31:56 - Confrontation and the 80:20 Rule in Spiritual Teachings
01:37:49 - The Types of Civilizations and Our Current State01:43:41 - The Role of Healing Modalities in Personal Growth
01:43:54 Healing Trauma 01:49:43 - The End of Reincarnation?
01:55:22 - Separating from Narcissists01:56:34 The Trifurcation of Homo Sapiens Sapiens
02:00:41 - Forming Community and Overcoming Superiority02:06:17 - The Unity of All Life
02:12:18 - Communicating with Animals

Further episodes of Buddha at the Gas Pump

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