499. Giovanni Dienstmann

Buddha at the Gas Pump

Rick Archer

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Spirituality, Society & Culture

4.7 • 695 Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2019

⏱️ 132 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Giovanni Dienstmann is a spiritual practitioner and teacher, and the creator of Live and Dare, one of the top five most visited meditation blogs on the planet. As an author, meditation coach and speaker, Giovanni helps people overcome anxiety and stress to live a more calm and centered life, through spiritually-inspired personal development work. Since the age of 14, spirituality has been the center of his life. In his journey, he practiced over 9,000 hours of meditation, tried 70 different techniques, and nearly became a monk twice. His spiritual thirst and eclectic approach led him to be formally initiated into the traditions of Zen Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Raja Yoga, and Mantra Yoga—by the masters Moriyama Roshi, Lakshamana Swami, Shivarudra Balayogi, and Nikhileshwarananda (respectively). In February 2010 he experienced a powerful awakening in the presence of Mooji in South India, and that has been a point of no return in his path. Giovanni is the author of the best-selling book Practical Meditation: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide, which has been translated to 5 different languages and has popularly been called “The Meditation Bible”. As a coach, Giovanni’s clients range from stay at home parents to entrepreneurs, C-level executives and pro athletes. In the field of meditation, he brings a contemporary and pragmatic approach to help both meditation novices and spiritual seekers alike. In his role as a spiritual writer, he balances deep reverence for traditional teachings with critical thinking and a comparative study of spiritual traditions. To learn more about Giovanni and his work, visit LiveAndDare.com. Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Summary and transcript of this interview. Interview recorded April 20, 2019. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introducing Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:04:43 - Different Meditation Techniques 00:09:24 - Discovering Zen and Meeting the Roshi 00:14:05 - The Zen Tradition and Lineage 00:18:51 - Disappointment and Closure in Zen Practice 00:23:24 - Doubts on Enlightenment and the Value of Knowledge 00:27:25 - The Value of Reading and Studying in Spiritual Paths 00:31:38 - Integrating aspects of the human experience 00:35:45 - The Path of Advaita and Integration 00:40:32 - Surrender to the Lord within 00:45:15 - Neo Advaita: Mistaking Temporary Realization 00:49:57 - Different Categories of Spiritual Practitioners 00:54:45 - The Role of Practice and Spiritual Bypassing 00:59:01 - Tuning in to Spiritual Books 01:03:33 - The Enjoyment of Spiritual Practice 01:07:48 - Benefits of Lowering Stress and Relieving Depression 01:12:10 - The Silence and Self-awareness 01:17:13 - A Powerful Milestone in my Spiritual Journey 01:22:02 - Maintaining Discernment in Spiritual Teachings 01:26:34 - The Importance of Purification and Discernment in Self-Realization 01:30:45 - The Dangers of Following Gurus 01:35:11 - Concentrating the Mind with Objects 01:39:26 - The Importance of Having Different Levels of Teachers 01:43:31 - Exploring Different Spiritual Paths 01:47:43 - The Bodhisattva and Continuing Existence 01:52:02 - The Concept of Leela in Tantra 01:56:35 - The Importance of Choosing the Right Meditation Practice 02:00:39 - The role of charging for meditation and spirituality 02:04:46 - The Role of Dakshina in Spiritual Exchange 02:09:09 - The Responsibility of Siddhis and their Role in Science and Society 02:13:26 - Demonstrating Siddhis through Scientific Means

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Welcome to Buddha at the gas pump.
0:28.5	Buddha at the gas pump is an ongoing series of interviews with spiritually awakening people.
0:34.1	I've done 499 of them now. That's what this one is.
0:38.5	And if you haven't seen others, it would like to, go to batgap.com, B-A-T-G-A-P, and look under the past interviews menu,
0:48.4	where you'll see all the previous ones archived in various ways.
0:52.3	This program is made possible by the support of appreciative
0:55.3	listeners and viewers. So if you appreciate it and feel like supporting it, there is a PayPal
1:01.2	button on every page of the site. And that little sentence I just said is just about the only
1:05.4	thing we do to raise funds. We don't like to make a big fuss of it, but the support is
1:10.1	appreciated and is essential.
1:12.7	So my guest today is Giovanni Densman.
1:16.8	Giovanni is a spiritual practitioner and teacher and the creator of Live and Dare,
1:22.3	one of the top five most visited meditation blogs on the planet, as far as we know on any planet.
1:28.6	As an author, meditation coach, and speaker, Giovanni helps people overcome anxiety and
1:34.1	stress to live a more calm and centered life through spiritually inspired personal development
1:38.6	work. So having read that sentence just now, it makes it sound like it's one of these
1:43.1	sort of, that he's offering
1:44.7	a sort of practical down-to-earth benefit-oriented approach to spirituality, which very often
1:51.8	doesn't even involve the word spirituality. People meditate and do yoga and stuff to deal with
1:56.8	stress. But Giovanni himself is very deeply, spiritually motivated, and has been since the
2:04.2	age of 14. Spirituality has been the center of his life since then. And in his journey, he has
2:11.2	practiced over 9,000 hours of meditation and counting, tried 70 different techniques, and nearly became a monk twice.
	...

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