327. John Astin

Buddha at the Gas Pump

Rick Archer

Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.7 • 737 Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2016

⏱️ 117 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

John Astin is the author of three collections of poetic and prose reflections on the non-dual nature of reality, Too Intimate for Words, (2005) This Is Always Enough(2007), and Searching for Rain in a Monsoon (2012). He is presently at work on a new book, It’s Not What You Think It Is: Reflections on the Inconceivable Nature of Reality. Along with his writing and teaching, John is also a singer, songwriter and recording artist who since 1987 has produced seven CDs of original spiritual/contemplative music including his most recent release, What We’ve Always Been. In addition to his writing and music, John also holds a PhD in health psychology and is an internationally acclaimed scholar in the field of mind-body medicine, his research focusing on the applications of meditative/contemplative practices in psychology and health care. For information about John’s work, visit www.johnastin.com. Music CDs: What We've Always Been Already Shining Clear Blue Mind Now Is the Time For more see johnastin.com/music Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 1/9/2016 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:04:18 - The Beginning of a Journey of Self-Exploration 00:09:43 - Struggling and Seeking for Enlightenment 00:16:13 - The Paradox of Awakening 00:23:10 - The Mystery of God and the Absolute 00:30:30 - The Continuous Awareness That Doesn't Change 00:35:18 - The Unfathomable Nature of Reality 00:39:26 - The Indescribability of Experience 00:42:59 - The Equalness of Experience 00:46:58 - Applying Curiosity to Our Own Experience 00:50:53 - Investigating the Experience of Anxiety 00:54:49 - The Abstraction of Anxiety 00:58:16 - The Practical Utility of Spiritual Development 01:02:32 - Exploring the Nature of Experience 01:05:58 - Awe-Inspiring Complexity and Intelligence 01:10:00 - The Universe Inside the Touch 01:13:53 - The Sensitivity of Non-Conceptual Dimensions of Experience 01:17:42 - The Authority of Spiritual Teachers 01:22:04 - Letting Experience be the Authority 01:26:20 - The Nature of Devotion and the Role of the Teacher 01:30:46 - The Value of Transmission and Devotion 01:34:21 - Treating Others with Respect and Devotion 01:40:07 - Reflections on the Spiritual Path 01:48:31 - The Wholesome Way and Discovering What Truly Interests Us 01:51:47 - The Importance of Personal Experience in Spiritual Practice 01:55:12 - Picking up on the Little Things 01:58:24 - Finding Ease within the Flow of Experience 02:02:50 - Embracing uncertainty and holding perspectives loosely 02:06:30 - A Chuckle at Materialists 02:11:34 - Beyond ideas of right and wrong 02:17:22 - Conclusion and Thank You

Transcript

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0:00.0	The
0:07.0	The Welcome to Buddha at the Gas Pump.
0:27.5	My name is Rick Archer.
0:29.0	Buddha at the Gas Pump is an ongoing series of interviews with spiritually awakening people.
0:33.4	I say that because this may be the first one you've watched, although most viewers have watched many.
0:37.5	But if it is your first, then feel free to go to batgap.com, B-A-T-G-A-P, and check out the past interviews menu,
0:45.5	where you'll find 320-something previous ones all categorized in various ways.
0:51.1	You'll also see a donate button there on the site which we very much appreciate
0:55.5	people clicking on if they feel moved to do so because it supports this whole project
0:59.6	and enables us to keep it going. My guest today is John Aston. John is the author of three
1:05.8	collections of poetic and prose reflections on the non-dual nature of reality.
1:11.0	Too intimate for words.
1:13.0	This is always enough.
1:14.6	And searching for rain in a monsoon.
1:17.2	He is presently at work on a new book.
1:18.8	It's not what you think it is.
1:20.2	Reflections on the inconceivable nature of reality.
1:23.3	Along with his writing and teaching, John is also a singer, songwriter, and recording artist
1:27.2	who since 1987 has produced seven CDs of original spiritual contemplative music, including
1:32.6	his most recent release, What We've Always Been.
1:35.9	So John is a musician and he sings and plays guitar and he's released a number of CDs of his
1:41.8	songs.
	...

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