Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks is a Jewish spiritual teacher, musician, and founder of Torah of Awakening (2006). He has taught this Jewish Path of Presence to hundreds of students around the world through workshops, retreats, and his on-line program. He also served as clergy and sacred music director at Chochmat HaLev synagogue in Berkeley, California (2000- 2016). He received s'micha (ordination) as Minister of Sacred Music from Reb Zalman Schachter Shalomi z"l (2013), Spiritual Teacher from Rabbi SaraLeya Schley and Shaykh Ibrahim Baba Farajaje (2013), Jewish Meditation Teacher from Dr. Avram Davis (2004) and holds a Bachelor in Music from the Eastman School of Music (1991). He lives in Tucson, Arizona with wife Lisa and their two children.

Website: torahofawakening.com

Transcript of this interview

Interview conducted 2/26/2017

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump

00:06:20 - The Early Years of Spiritual Exploration

00:12:12 - A Shared Awakening

00:17:56 - The Potential for Enlightened Consciousness

00:22:37 - Meditative Practices and Spiritual Education

00:26:42 - Connecting deeply to the present moment

00:31:00 - Dislodging Scabs of Anger

00:35:02 - The Vulnerability of Spiritual Awakening

00:39:15 - The balance of strength and sensitivity in relationships

00:42:52 - Divinity Revealed in Hiddenness

00:47:06 - The Nature of God and the Relational Experience

00:50:54 - The Connotation of God

00:54:49 - The Duality of Prayer and God's Response

00:59:30 - Recognizing the Oneness of God and Reality

01:03:53 - Practices for Deepening Presence in Judaism

01:07:53 - Integral Jewish Meditation and Daily Practice

01:12:24 - The Baal Shem Tov's Call for Accessible Spirituality

01:16:08 - The Power of Sacred Language

01:20:10 - Hebrew and Vedic Language Connection

01:24:29 - The Purpose of Incarnations and Fulfilling Roles

01:28:43 - The Meaning of "Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad"

01:33:20 - The Miracle of Our Consciousness

01:38:03 - Awareness and the Field of Experience

01:42:10 - The Implication of "That" and "This" in Non-Duality

01:46:04 - Global Spiritual Awakening

01:50:13 - The Influence of Indian Spiritual Teachers on Jewish Culture

01:53:56 - The Universal Wound in the Jewish Psyche

01:59:00 - The Judaism of the Mind

02:03:16 - The Jewish Meditation Center and the Power of Music

02:07:03 - Torah of Awakening Resources

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