I simply awoke. I suffered for more than 20 years with depression, fear, guilt, anger, judgment, confusion, a lack of connection and dis-ease. I lost friends and three lovers over 9 years to AIDS and then was diagnosed with cancer and AIDS in 2003 and thought that I was going to die. But upon introspection I realized that I was more than my thoughts because I was being aware of my thoughts. I realized also that I was more than birth and death. With this realization, all fears of being were absolved and a peace enveloped me that revealed that all is in divine order.

I went through “the dark night of the soul”. And as layer upon layer of who I thought I was dissolved, I slowly became more and more self-aware. At one moment I remembered that I am more than any created form and so ultimately they have no true effect on me.

Now I am here grateful to utilize the gifts of this body to express the one love from which all flowers. Life is not about something else or something other, it is what is happening now. And when our mind calms we then have eyes to "see". I am listening, singing, writing, sharing, and just playing and enjoying the blessings of each moment.

Richard's Book, "From Suffering to Soaring"

First live-action video for the song Be Here Now, by Richard Schooping

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded 9/22/2010.

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - From Suffering to Soaring Through God I Transcended AIDS

00:03:35 - The Burden of the World

00:07:21 - Losing everything and finding music

00:10:23 - From Research to Spiritual Awakening

00:13:30 - Vipassana and Self-Simplification

00:16:12 - The Mummy in the Infirmary

00:18:42 - The Ocean Becomes Conscious of Me

00:21:16 - Embracing Different Spiritual Practices

00:23:46 - Diversity and Intricacy of Life

00:26:11 - Becoming Light and Presence

00:28:09 - Letting go of Attachments

00:30:20 - Transition from Duality to Unity

00:32:06 - The Path of Awareness

00:34:04 - The Shift to a Spiritual Personality

00:36:33 - Finding Joy in Creative Expression

00:38:39 - Love and Relationships

00:40:10 - Resting in the Wholeness of Life

00:42:42 - Experiencing Emotions and Healing

00:44:48 - The Illusion of Creating Heaven

00:46:39 - Letting the Ocean Be

00:48:05 - The Nature of Simplicity and Awareness Awareness

00:50:19 - The Evolution of Communication

00:52:47 - The Simplicity of Life and Resonance

00:55:07 - The Act of Imagining Creates Reality

00:57:56 - Contentment and Awareness

01:00:17 - Allowing the Unfolding of Awareness

01:02:49 - Clarity and Realization of Truth

01:05:06 - Waves and Clinging

01:07:42 - The Dissolution and Unraveling of Beliefs

01:09:57 - Living a Simple Life

01:12:11 - Richard Schuping Interview

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