675. John Churchill

Born in London, Dr. Churchill's interest in psycho-spiritual development, Integral theory, Contemplative studies, Western Esotericism, and Mahayana Buddhism began in his adolescence,. During this time, John received the esoteric Planetary Dharma transmissions that would in time unfold as his contribution to a planetary fourth turning teaching. Dr. Churchill spent 15 years training and teaching “Great Seal” meditation in an Indo-Tibetan Mahayana lineage under the mentorship of the late senior Western teacher, translator, respected author, and clinical psychologist Dr. Daniel P. Brown. He is also a founding member of the Integral Institute led by esteemed Transpersonal/Integral philosopher, Ken Wilber. John has received advanced training in: attachment therapy, hypnosis, positive psychology for peak performance, and the “Pointing Out” style of Mahamudra meditation. For the last 25 years, John has developed a a Fourth Turning Planetary Dharma practice which includes the somatically based contemplative practice path; Embodying the Open Ground, that integrates psychodynamic healing, adult development and meditation. John holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from William James College, and is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Married to his partner, Nicole since 2000, they are Co-Founders of Samadhi Integral, and Co-Directors of Karuna Mandala. Book: Becoming Buddha: Buddhist Contemplative Psychology in a Western Context Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group Summary and transcript of this interview Interview recorded January 29, 2023. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:05:37 - The Different Dimensions of Mind and Cross-training the Mind 00:11:07 - The Path of the Bodhisattva 00:17:12 - Meeting the Needs of a Different Population 00:22:54 - Developing a Contemplative System in the West 00:27:53 - Examining Components and Creativity in Meditation Practices 00:33:32 - Understanding Different Types of Spiritual Practices 00:39:15 - Transcending Sacred Technologies Through Collaboration 00:44:40 - Allowing Our Natural Tendency to Unfold 00:50:08 - Describing the Experience of Brahman 00:55:41 - Gaia as a Multidimensional Being 01:01:41 - Perspectives and Metacognition 01:07:26 - Exploring the Fundamental Nature of Reality 01:12:26 - The Next Stage of Human Development 01:18:12 - Education and Spiritual Development 01:23:03 - Tiered Levels of Cognition and Development 01:28:02 - The Four-Year Contemplative Education 01:32:05 - The Plant Dimension 01:33:19 - The Sacred Tradition of Herbal Medicine 01:38:25 - Thoreau's Belief in Building Foundations 01:44:05 - A New Contemplative System with Psychedelics 01:49:43 - Legalization of Marijuana and Psilocybin 01:55:20 - Personal Experiences with the Law 02:00:07 - The Significance of a Skull Symbol 02:04:57 - Personal Connection and Future Meetup

Om Podcasten

The implication of the title - Buddha at the Gas Pump - is that ordinary people are experiencing higher states of consciousness once thought to be rare and difficult to attain. People everywhere are undergoing a shift or awakening to their true nature. For some, this shift has been abrupt and dramatic. For others, it has been so gradual that they may not have realized it has occurred. Such shifts, or awakenings, are not new: Christ spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven within, Buddhists speak of Nirvana, Zen masters of Satori, Hindus of Moksha, but these traditions generally regard these states as rare and difficult to attain. Many people are therefore skeptical of claims of higher states of consciousness. They find it hard to believe that apparently ordinary friends and neighbors might be experiencing something extraordinary. Maybe they expect Enlightenment to look as remarkable on the outside as it is reputed to be on the inside. This show will attempt to dispel skepticism and misconceptions by week after week, allowing otherwise ordinary people to relate their experience of spiritual awakening. The terminology is tricky, because there are no universally agreed upon definitions to describe this experience. So please forgive us if we use some unfamiliar terms. We will try to clarify our definitions as we go along. Perhaps, after a while, those listening will become convinced that genuine and permanent spiritual awakenings are not just a pipe dream, but are real and are becoming relatively commonplace. These podcasts are the audio track of a weekly interview show which may be seen as videos on our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/buddhaatthegaspump). Also see the main site: https://batgap.com. For search purposes, I will add the following to this description - batgap, Buddha at the Gaspump, Buddah at the Gas Pump.