This video contains my Question and Answer session at the 2018 Science and Nonduality conference. and also an interview of me by Shakti Caterina Maggi, an Italian spiritual teacher who used to be a journalist. My SAND Q&A includes the following points:

How BatGap started.

Which guests have been the most interesting, provocative, intriguing, brilliant, mysterious, surprising, etc.?

What insights have I gained? How has this process influenced my spiritual path? What do I experience while I’m interviewing people? What do I foresee for BatGap in the next few years?

How to deal with family and friends who don’t understand your awakening or interest in spirituality?

A consideration of sudden vs. gradual awakenings.

How do I regard the urgency of humanity’s need to take a spiritual/cultural leap in response to the dire predicament facing us?

The joy and challenge of speaking with people from such a broad range of spiritual backgrounds.

Why science and spirituality need and can benefit one another.

The importance of understanding consciousness to be the fundamental to the universe rather than merely a product of brain functioning.

Shakti's interview includes the following points:

In which direction are we as consciousness moving? How might the growing awakening of consciousness help humanity avert disaster?

Embodied spirituality vs. avoidance of life through transcendence. Consciousness is relevant to every field of human endeavor.

Consciousness is fundamental to matter.

Finding the foundation of our being and dealing with individual planetary problems from that foundation.

Ethical standards for spiritual teachers.

The quality of awakening will vary according to one’s constitution.

Awakening enhances individual differences while establishing our fundamental unity.

Sticking with one teacher vs. working with many.

The importance of sincerity. The principle of “the highest first”.

Recorded October 27th and 28th, 2018, in San Jose, California.

Discussion of this talk and interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this talk and interview

Other talks by Rick on BatGap:

SAND 2019 - Knowledge/Reality is Different in Different States of Consciousness

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - The Birth of Buddha at the Gas Pump

00:04:10 - The Enlivening Effect of the Industry Update

00:07:12 - The Power of Ordinary People

00:09:47 - Hidden Gems in Interviews

00:12:14 - Creating New Categories of Interesting Content

00:14:24 - The Transformative Power of Immersion in the Interview Process

00:16:44 - The Evolutionary Impact of Service

00:18:38 - Dealing with Family in the Awakening Process

00:20:04 - Cultivating Patience and Compassion in Relationships

00:22:16 - A Remarkable Awakening

00:24:14 - The Incremental Process of Spiritual Development

00:25:57 - A Tipping Point

00:28:44 - The Spiritual Awakening in Response to Crisis

00:31:40 - Awakening Within Everyone's Physiology

00:33:49 - Revival of Extinct Cultures and Convergence of Technologies

00:36:24 - Science, Spirituality, and the Balance of Evolution

00:38:37 - The Role of Science in Spirituality

00:41:02 - The Fundamental Nature of Consciousness

00:43:35 - Interview with Shakti Caterina Maggi

00:46:33 - The Earth's Immune System

00:49:56 - The Evolution of the Non-Duality Conference

00:53:59 - The Extension of Human Quest to Know the Universe

00:57:48 - The Dark Side of Spiritual Teachers

01:01:30 - Remaining a Student Forever

01:04:30 - Cultivating Discernment and Questioning in Spiritual Development

01:07:56 - The Boundaries of a Behavioral Teacher

01:11:28 - The Boundaries of Ethics and Honesty in Teacher-Student Relationships

01:14:46 - Transparency and Ethical Guidelines in Spiritual Teaching

01:17:15 - The Cognition and Integration of Awakening

01:20:27 - Different Perspectives in Spirituality