Neil Douglas-Klotz is an internationally known scholar in the fields connecting religious studies (comparative Semitic hermeneutics) and psychology as well as a poet and musician. He is the author of Prayers of the Cosmos, Desert Wisdom, The Hidden Gospel, and The Genesis Meditations as well as coauthor of The Tent of Abraham with Sr. Joan Chittister and Rabbi Arthur Waskow. He is the past chair of the Mysticism Group of the American Academy of Religion and is active in various international colloquia and conferences dedicated to peace and spirituality.

Website: abwoon.org

Amazon Author's Page, listing all of his books

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded November 5, 2022

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Neil Douglas-Klotz

00:03:29 Neil’s background

00:04:40 - A Childhood of Alternative Beliefs

00:09:22 - How I Made Major Life Decisions

00:12:20 Aramaic, Sanskrit, Sound and Meaning

00:13:42 - The Connection Between Language and Objects

00:15:54 Chanting, mantra and the evolution of consciousness

00:17:47 - Human Consciousness and Modern Life

00:20:34. Changing the cultural paradigm of materialism

00:21:52 - Separation from Family Conditioning

00:22:09 Yeshua's healings and the culture of his time.

00:24:14 Did Jesus exist?

00:26:29 - The Transmission History of the Gospels

00:26:55 How and when were Jesus' words first written down?

00:30:22 - The Origins of Aramaic and Greek in Jesus's Vicinity

00:31:11 Aramaic and Greek at Jesus' tme.

00:33:04 Hundreds of early gospels.

00:34:50 - The Origins of Christian Creeds

00:35:49 Modern Christian religion and politics.

00:37:03 Neil's new book Revelations of the Aramaic Jesus: his method and texts

00:39:04 - The Translation of Scriptures

00:39:10 The King James Version of the Bible

00:40:27 "What would Jesus do?"

00:43:29 - The Connection to the Source of the Self

00:44:10 Evolution of Neil's work

00:45:07 "I am the way, the truth and the life...."

00:47:50 - The Meaning of "Hayye"

00:50:15 Jesus' miracles and healings, and early human consciousness.

00:52:13 - Healing through Connection to the Unseen

00:54:15 The important Aramaic words usually translated "good" and "evil"

00:56:50 - Ripening in the Breath

00:59:50 Jesus and prayer, with and without words

01:00:45 - Entraining with the Teacher's Consciousness

01:03:01 Worst mistranlation that empowers colonialism and ecocide.

01:04:49 - The Injustices of the World

01:06:56"Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven..."

01:08:57 - The Interconnection of Inner and Outer Life

01:09:09 The "sin against the Holy Ghost."

01:12:06 The Aramaic "lord's prayer" in brief

01:14:37 - Hollowing oneself for resonance with the cosmos

01:18:57 - The Aramaic Prayer of Dedication

01:20:39 Conversion, "saving the soul" or the soul saving you

01:23:18 - The history of Christianity and religion's impact

01:23:40 Snake handling?

01:25:28 "I and my father are one."

01:27:25 - The Living Togetherness with the Creating Source

01:29:38 "omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent?

01:30:45 "only begotten son"

01:31:36 - Jesus, the Cross, and Trust

01:35:05 "Did Jesus die on the cross?"

01:35:40 - The Possibility of Jesus' Survival on the Cross

01:37:53 Seeing angels or beings from other faiths

01:39:04 Jung's "Christian yoga"

01:39:44 - Awakening and Healing with Neil Douglas-Klotz

01:40:56 "original sin"

01:43:46 "judge not lest you be judged"

01:43:57 - Finding Your Path in Life

01:45:51 What is mine to do?

01:47:47 Jesus suffering

01:48:12 - The concept of pain and suffering in Christianity

01:50:32 "let him who is without sin cast the first stone"

01:52:02 - Tangled Relationships and Casting Stones

01:54:19 the "house divided against itself"

01:56:11 - Representatives of Anything Worthwhile

01:57:36 "you shall know them by their fruits"

01:57:56 non-dual existence

02:00:32 - The Concept of Hell in Ancient Semitic Mysticism

02:00:38 The ancient Semitic afterlife

02:02:28 Reincarnation in the Bible?

02:04:54 - The Power of Chants and Music

02:05:40 The source of Neil's Aramaic chants

02:07:36 Chanting Abwoon d'bashmaya

02:10:34 - The Power of Transformation