This us one of my favorite interviews. Frances Bennet is so infectiously good natured and the warmth between Rick and Frances is so evident. kudos and thanks.
Francis Bennett has a wonderful way to share the details that make life a mystery and a gift. I felt inspired by this man and it carried over during the day. How beautiful is that!
one of my favourite interviews. Great to hear someone who is spiritually aware yet doesn't forget the laymen out they such as myself when describing putting spiritual development and methods of 'just being in the awareness' into practice, making it comprehensible for all. For a dunce such as myself who has spent a long time now trying to be at peace it is a lot more practical and helpful than someone saying "you don't need to search, just be' which whilst true can be very frustrating. Lovely.
Namaste, revisited this as well. Beautiful gentle one here.. Would love to hear more from Francis. Enjoyed every word. Great job Rick! Thank you Francis for the wisdom.
Thanks Rich. Beautiful interview. I had a thought while you spoke with Francis. I’m not sure why but something triggered a past conversation. The concept is in the art world. “In the world of form and color every object reflects every other object” They can not separate. One of my mentors in the art world said something similar and I thought you may enjoy this meditative thought. The fact that all colors in the spectrum are not independent…blessings to you Rich and thanks John Stromme
Wonderful interview. It's a joy to see the joy Francis has realized. It does remind one, though, of the difference between someone who has genuinely experienced and someone who can help/teach others to realize the same reality. He doesn't really give me a feeling he could usefully communicate/transmit this stuff -- as, perhaps, other of your interview subjects suggest they might (IMO).
One of the best guests that I've heard on your show. Engaging and interesting story. I'd have liked to hear more about his interpretation of Christianity which is obviously far more insightful than a set of beliefs that God had a son that came to earth 2000 years ago etc etc. Maybe it would be a good idea to see if you can get more Christian mystics to be interviewed?
I watched this a while ago and it did nothing for me.. after watching the more recent one with Adyashanti (which I enjoyed) I came back, and I've really enjoyed this :) Every time he gets emotional it sets me off too... lol
But that happiness that's pointed out in the interview at 1:16:00 is the side effect of being in the Awakened state and not the purpose of becoming Enlightened. As Francis then says, "We ARE the happiness."
Rick....... Nisargadatta's continuing with his business selling the little Indian cigarettes proves that the Awakened ones can indeed function in the "real" world(in reference to the question you posed to Francis).
Mr Bennett would most likely react as we all would if our ego button was pressed - we are on a journey not yet reached. The important thing is what we do after we have made a mistake - forgiveness. It seems that the Rev Eslam doesn't 'react' and then forgive and accept it as a lesson but continues with resentment and argument. That is not the sign of a work in progress but a huge 'block' to development.
In Christian understanding, integration after union with the divine is participation in the redemptive process. So Mother Tersea could live much of the time in an experiential darkness like Christ suffering on the cross. As St. Paul said, "I preach nothing but the cross."
You know, the misconception is that now-a-days people think that " iIT'S ALWAYS THERE".......MAKES it sound like "something" is ALWYAS FINALLY THERE. BUT THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE and misleading. Because now seekers look for "something" to be there permanently. From my perspective it is more "relaxing/true to understanding" to say IT is your NATURE. ENLIGHTENMENT is your NATURE.
I'm interested in the discussion of being awake in the heart, in consciousness, even while deeply asleep (this is around minute 54). This was an important point that Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made in his teacher training courses, but most other teachers of advanced consciousness do not make often, or make only obliquely. I think these other teachers try to avoid startling people by making awakening seem beyond our actual current experience. I've even heard Rupert Spira, who is normally so clear in his descriptions, say, "there is nothing about my state of consciousness that is any different from your state of consciousness". He wants to impress on us that we are ALREADY aware, and are already aware of being aware. So he hides the fact that awakening shifts our identification in such a way as to make awareness lively in our awareness, a very different state indeed. But being awake while asleep really IS beyond our experience, and beyond our memory of past experiences, for most of us. This experience is not so hard to describe. Just imagine being completely aware, but floating in darkness, with no sensory input and no thoughts or feelings (other than a pleasant satisfaction). Then see your senses click on, one after another, until the waking state is fully functional. That isn't really too strange or unbelievable, right? Awareness is before anything else, before objects, events, or anything else in the relative world. Awareness during sleep is a simple concept and the only difference when actually experiencing it is that it fills one with wonder, amazement, and delight. You definitely don't get that part from an intellectual understanding of absolute and relative. When that permanent "shift of viewpoint" happens for me, I fully expect my new identification with the unbounded Self to extend through 24 hours of each day. Not that I will need any proof of my state, since self-realization is undeniably self-evident. On the other hand, none of this is to say that being awake during sleep is not just a phase that gives way to something else. Anything is possible.
During my meditation Teacher Training (a practice called Ishayas' Ascension) being full conscious while sleeping was one of the strangest and most interesting experiences to have arisen (even my mind was asleep!)! It happened to this "normal person"!
Yes, this is a typical early experience. It is a signpost of full consciousness to come. Continue with your effective practice. It may also be helpful to be aware of being aware whenever it occurs to you. Best wishes.
David Spector Thanks, David. It's been a lovely ride. Through my childhood were many moments of slipping into what I would later call "pure awareness", the dao, etc., punctuated by a deep baptism in the car accident that took my mother's life and sent me into something of an NDE when I was 13. That experience led to several months of constant awareness of this peaceful, blissful, presence that wouldn't even fade with the deep grief. 5 years later (2002) life found me living in a monastic community, preparing for my Teacher Training retreat. It's been a good ride. Though I wouldn't claim Enlightenment, the Presence is always here, in some moments it's like the bass of a song, in other moments like the melody. Working in a monk run cafe on the Oregon coast had a great deal to do with the practice of "being in it" even in dynamic activity. Sometimes it seems to very obviously pervade everything, sometimes it doesn't. Whatever the case, I'm thankful for the journey thus far. Do you use a practice?
Yes, I learned TM in 1970, became a TM teacher in 1972, and switched to the NSR project in 2007. I've been the volunteer representative of NSR in English since then.
Look, I'm just saying that your nervous system does not have to be in a particular purified/or screwed up state to experience your nature..........This NATURAL PEACE & VASTNESS which is our NATURE is not dependent on the "state of our nervous system"....and if you really want to get wierd, "what is a nervous system anyway???"....space/space and more space.....it's like pixalated atoms in space......but it sure looks like a nervous system when you see it with your eyes, doesn't it????.......
BY THE WAY,."something going on in the nervous system, or stabilizing the nervous system"-has nothing TO DO WITH ANYTHING. I know people believe that-but that's not my experience THIS VASTNESS, YOUR NATURE has NOTHING to do with a nervous system. THIS NATURE IS NOT nervous system driven. You can be crippled, totally screwed up /nervous system and STILL BE/EXPERIENCE your NATURE FULLY.. ALL your concepts on "how it works are" useless in the FACE OF YOUR NATURE/THIS VASTNESS THAT YOU ARE..
