Buddha at the Gas Pump

Thomas Legrand is a wisdom’s seeker, a social scientist and sustainability practitioner.

He is the author of the internationally acclaimed book “Politics of Being. Wisdom and Science for a New Development Paradigm” (2022), an invitation to radically rethink our model of development, which received the Grand Prize of the Nautilus Book Award in 2024.

His spiritual journey began at the age of 23 with an encounter with native spirituality in Mexico, before embracing the wisdom of a wide range of traditions and practices, including meditation, energetic healing and Tai-chi-chuan. He lives with his wife and their two young daughters near Plum Village, the monastery of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in the South West of France, his country.

He is currently the Lead Technical Advisor for the UNDP-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Interview recorded November 9, 2024

For over 30 years, Georgette Star, MA, D.Min, has dedicated her life to empowering adults and youth to live soul-embodied, joyful, and purposeful lives. An intuitive Soul Stream Life Coach & Mentor, and Method trainer, her own deep quest for Self-Realization informs all aspects of her work. Finding joy in sharing this journey with others and a calling to contribute to the greater good inspired her to found the Life Blessing Institute (LBI).

This transformational learning community is designed to guide individuals on the journey of human potential, spiritual awakening, and actualization of their soul’s agenda. Through LBI, Georgette developed a variety of programs, including Maiden Spirit & Peace Warriors Youth Programs, Individual and Community Rites of Passage Celebrations and the Soul Stream Method Practitioner Training.

Currently Georgette is also working on a documentary film titled The Woman’s Rite. The film examines the challenges of ageism faced by women (and all genders) and explores how these limitations can be transformed through creative expression, conscious rites-of-passage and spiritual awakening. It highlights the opportunity for women to step into empowered, vibrant, and respected elderhood, offering their wisdom, creativity, light, and love to a world that deeply needs their contributions.

Georgette holds a Master’s degree from the Naropa Institute and a Doctorate of Ministry from the University of Creation Spirituality. Using her life experience, education and an array of natural abilities, Georgette actively pursues contributing to humankind however she can. In addition to her professional work, she cherishes being a mom, grandmother, artist, forest dweller and daughter of Mother Earth. She also finds joy in creating collaboratively with others and sharing the spiritual journey of awakening with her friends and colleagues.

Website links:

The Life Blessing Institute (LBI)

The Woman’s Rite documentary project

Click here to contact Georgette if you are interested in her Soul Stream Life Map Readings and include the word “BatGap” in the message field.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Interview recorded October 27, 2024

Dr. Edi Bilimoria was born in India and educated at the universities of London, Sussex, and Oxford. He presents an unusual blend of experience in the fields of science, arts, and philosophy.

Professionally, Edi is an award-winning engineer and consultant to the petrochemical, oil and gas, transport, and construction industries. He has been Project Manager and Head of Design for major innovative projects such as the Channel Tunnel, London Underground systems, petrochemical plants and offshore installations. He also worked in safety and environmental engineering for several Royal Navy projects, including the Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier and the fleet of Offshore Patrol Vessels.

A student of the perennial philosophy for over half a century, Edi has given courses and lectured extensively in the UK, and internationally. He has organized and chaired conferences with the object of encouraging discourse on the different, but overlapping, roles of science, religion, and practical philosophy. Edi has published extensively in the fields of science, engineering, and the esoteric philosophy.  "Unfolding Consciousness" has received recognition with the 2022 Grand Prize Award from the Scientific and Medical Network. Edi's earlier work, "The Snake and the Rope" is also an award winner.

Website: edibilimoria.com

Summary and transcript of this interview

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Interview recorded October 12, 2024

Kim Sheridan is an award-winning author, naturopath, entrepreneur, and more. Her focus includes animals, the afterlife, health, the environment, veganism, and all topics related to compassion for humans and animals alike. She is a highly respected expert on life after death for animals, and much of her time is devoted to rescuing animals, caring for them, and providing hospice care for elderly animals making their transition to spirit.

Kim is the author of Animals and the Afterlife and the founder of Compassion Circle, a non-profit organization with a mission to expand the circle of compassion to all beings. Compassion Circle is comprised of animal rescue, animal sanctuary, and a line of nutritional products for animals, all proceeds of which help fund the rescue and sanctuary.

Kim has been listed in 2,000 Notable American Women, Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals, and Great Minds of the 21st Century. Her goal is to help make the world a better place, to provide comfort to those grieving the loss of a beloved animal, and to be a voice for the voiceless, teaching compassion and respect for all living beings.

Website: animalsandtheafterlife.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded September 30, 2024

YouTube Video Chapters:

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

00:04:15 Life's Mission and Early Connection to Animals  

00:07:32 Mystical Experiences and Auras  

00:11:32 Finding Peace with Loss

00:15:20 The Value of Immortality Discussed  

00:18:26 The Gift of Animal Communicators

00:22:07 Debating the Afterlife with an Atheist  

00:25:29 The Case for Intelligent Design

00:28:43 The Spiritual Connection with Animals  

00:32:21 Ethical Considerations of Consuming Different Life Forms

00:36:27 Animal and Human Visitations After Passing

00:38:27 Understanding Animal Communication and Grief

00:42:17 The Role of Compassion in Spiritual Teachings  

00:45:52 The Possibility of Animals Returning in Another Form  

00:49:08 The Debate on Souls and Animals in Religion

00:52:41 The Soul's Higher Self and Astral Realms  

00:56:18 The Concept of Group Souls in Nature

00:59:19 The Continuation of Love Beyond Loss

01:02:17 Tribute to June: The Rat That Inspired a Journey

01:05:01 Ghostly Encounters with Deceased Pets

01:08:45 Embracing Mystical Experiences  

01:12:14 The Importance of Open-Mindedness in Science

01:15:25 Scientists and Believers: Bridging the Gap

01:19:37 Messages from Animals through Professional Mediums  

01:21:59 Communicating with Animals and Nature  

01:24:48 Experiencing Pet Communication  

01:27:51 Profound Contact Dreams

01:31:16 Investigating Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP)  

01:34:25 Werner Von Braun on Spiritual Continuity

01:37:41 Full Circle: The Author's Journey and Ending Reflections  

01:41:10 Safe Driving Tips and Personal Experiences

Four years ago, I experienced an awakening that opened up different worlds and granted me access to the Akasha through telepathy, leading to a higher state of consciousness. Since then, I have dedicated my time to integrating this experience and helping others identify past influences that hinder the realization of their soul's full presence. I also assist animals through telepathy.

I conduct workshops on esoteric teachings gathered since my awakening, providing keys to help people find their way home.

Website: lucasbergendahl.com

Summary and transcript of this interview

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Interview recorded September 7, 2024

A lifelong student of philosophy and comparative religion, a practitioner of Shaiva Tantra in the Shaiva Siddhanta lineage, and recent entrant into the Ramakrishna lineage by his guru, Swami Sarvadevananda Puri, Nishanth Selvalingam shares an authentic, firsthand approach to the Sanskrit texts of the Tantrik scriptural tradition to expose audiences to the profoundly positive and transformative philosophies and practices that this tradition offers. Nishanth Selvalingam graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Philosophy in 2024 and now lives in Westwood, Los Angeles where he hosts satsanghs with his wife, coaches middle school debate and lectures incessantly on all things Tantra and Non-Duality.

Website: nishyoga.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Interview recorded August 18, 2024

Tree works as a Spiritual Mentor, Kundalini Support, Certified Global TRE® Instructor, Transformational Bodyworker and a Healer from the Shamanic tradition.

Tree believes healing trauma can precipitate spiritual awakening and it is from this precept she works. She works with the body releasing contraction and with the nervous system establishing balance - with the understanding that a disregulated nervous system can hold the beingness hostage.

She believes enlightenment is achieved not by bypassing the body, but by going into the body. By addressing and releasing trauma bound in the flesh and stored in the nervous system. This is true freedom and the result is presence - embodied.

Tree has been a devotee of Meher Baba since she was 21.

She and her husband are establishing a Retreat Centre on the Far South Coast of New South Wales, Australia called Meher Farm Healing and Awakening Centre.

Tree is the author of Hot Flush Dark Cave describing her healing and awakening journey through the portal of menopause.

She is a devoted mother, grandmother and healer - her favourite past time is swimming in the river and the ocean and chanting to God.

Website: awakeningthroughthebody.com.au

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded August 3, 2024

YouTube Video Chapters:

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

00:03:53 - The Correlation Between Consciousness and Neurophysiology

00:07:53 - The Loop of an Agitated Nervous System

00:11:35 - The Nervous System and the Flow State

00:15:38 - The Impact of Early Trauma in Human Beings

00:19:39 - The Importance of Healing the Nervous System

00:23:22 - Trauma and its manifestations

00:27:11 -  “Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance”

00:31:06 - Body Work and Spiritual Awakening

00:35:21 - Kundalini Awakening and Working with the Body

00:39:05 - Working through Impressions

00:43:00 - The Beginning of the Involution

00:47:13 - Understanding vs Realization

00:51:05 - Avatars and Spiritual Teachers

00:54:55 - Astral Exorcism and Healing Dance

00:58:44 - The Kundalini Awakening Process

01:02:31 - Kundalini Awakening and Spontaneous Movements

01:06:19 - Purging Negativity

01:09:54 - The Annihilation of the Apparent World

01:13:37 - The Final Destination and Different Planes of Existence

01:17:35 - The Journey of Awakening

01:21:44 - The Existence of Ego in Different States

01:25:51 - Kundalini Awakening and the Sacred Fluids

01:29:42 - The Value of a Life

01:33:33 - Different Types of Meditation

01:37:30 - Releasing Emotions

01:41:18 - The Presence of Benign and Caring Intelligences

01:45:17 - Healing Ceremonies and Nature Retreats

01:49:19 - Following Intuition and Divine Orchestration at 61

01:53:24 - Following the Synchronicities

01:56:55 - In Touch for the Next 15 Years

Melinda Edwards, MD is a mother, writer and physician in Charleston, South Carolina, providing psychiatric care for underserved adults. She attended the Medical University of South Carolina and completed her residency in psychiatry at Stanford Medical Center. She has studied complementary and alternative medicine with Andrew Weil, MD, researched the effects of MDMA on PTSD with Michael Mithoefer, MD, and is a columnist for Autism Parenting Magazine. Dr. Edwards is the author of PSYCHE & SPIRIT: How a Psychiatrist Found Divinity Through Her Lifelong Search for Truth and Her Daughter’s Autism.

As a child of medical missionaries, Melinda grew up in a Mayan Indian village in Guatemala, Central America. Early in life she experienced an inner pull to a deeper truth. Her journey has taken her through various spiritual practices including meditation retreats, guidance from spiritual teachers, travel to India, and living in spiritual communities. Her quest led to the ongoing discovery of the sacred in all.

Inspired by her journey with her daughter Saachi, Dr. Edwards founded the 501c3 nonprofit organization Living Darshan to foster a deeper understanding of autism in the world.

Website: melindaedwardsmd.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded July 20, 2024

YouTube Video Chapters:

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

00:03:26 - An Evolutionary Journey

00:07:57 - The Fear of Going to Hell

00:11:58 - Tiptoeing Through Sleeping Elephants

00:16:32 - Levels of Spiritual Evolution

00:20:56 - The Spiral into Anorexia

00:25:46 - The Importance of Compassion and Being Heard

00:30:10 - Love as a Virus and the Hazards of Idealizing Spiritual Teachers

00:34:39 - Red Flags in Spiritual Teachers and Communities

00:39:21 - The Dangers of a Spiritualized Ego

00:43:34 - The Danger of Unqualified Advice in the Spiritual Community

00:47:37 - Exploiting Students' Finances

00:51:29 - The Role of Students in Spiritual Teaching

00:55:29 - Correlation between Teaching in Medicine and Spirituality

00:59:39 - Spiritual Teachers and Holistic Development

01:03:34 - The Realization of Nothingness

01:07:09 - The Nature of Realization and Integration

01:10:15 - The Dissolution of the Project of "Me"

01:13:53 - Micro adjustments and thriving

01:18:13 - Medications and Spiritual Awakening

01:21:51 - Support and Caution in Meditation Retreats

01:25:50 - The Impact of Spiritual Practices on Brain Chemistry

01:29:41 - Taking Medication for ADD and Kundalini Awakening

01:33:16 - Online Sessions and the Law

01:38:05 - The Porousness of Energy and Information

01:42:40 - The Increase of Neurodiverse Beings in the Population

01:47:44 - Different Realms and Dimensions

01:51:22 - Supporting Autistic Children in Their Purpose

01:55:29 - Navigating Kundalini Energy

01:59:32 - The Power of a Mother's Love

02:02:41 - Stay tuned for upcoming content

John R. Audette is the author of “Loved by the Light: True Stories of Divine Intervention and Providence”. He earned a Master of Science degree from Virginia Tech. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, his professional career spans over three decades of senior executive positions in hospital and hospice administration and physician practice management, as well as the performing arts and public broadcasting.

He contributed several scholarly chapters to various books by other authors about spiritually transformative experiences and non-local consciousness including works by Dr. Ervin Laszlo. He is also gratefully acknowledged in many other books on these subjects by various well-known authors whom he assisted dating back to 1974. His first work of fiction, a novel trilogy, will be published in 2025.

John is the primary founder of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc., (IANDS.org), with co-founders Raymond Moody, MD; Bruce Greyson, MD; Michael Sabom, MD; and Kenneth Ring, PhD. John now serves as CEO of Eternea, (eternea.org), which he co-founded with Eben Alexander, MD and Edgar Mitchell, Sc.D. He is also an honorably discharged veteran with over six years of voluntary service (both active and inactive duty) in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era.

Website: AffirmingGod.com

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded July 7, 2024

YouTube Video Chapters:

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

 00:04:46 - Edgar Mitchell and the Institute of Noetic Sciences

 00:09:08 - Raymond's Integrity and a Missed Opportunity

 00:12:45 - Validating Observations about the Nature of Reality

 00:17:45 - The Ring of Destiny

 00:20:22 - A Beautiful Near-Death Experience

 00:24:02 - The Power of Nonsense

 00:29:19 - The Meaning of Cigarettes and Traumatic Incidents

 00:34:14 - The Lizard Beings

 00:37:56 - Spiritualization of Material Life

 00:41:58 - The Realization of True Divine Inspiration

 00:46:14 - A Journey of Karma and Forgiveness

 00:49:17 - The Realization of God's Existence and Transformation

 00:54:14 - The Power of Experience and Spiritual Awakenings

 00:57:45 - Wrestling with Chaos, Fear, and Confusion

 01:01:31 - The God Void and Escaping Addiction to Heroin

 01:05:51 - Moving Beyond Materialism

 01:09:42 - The Eternea Concept

 01:15:03 - The Purpose of All Religions

 01:18:41 - Synerge with a GE and the Power of Cooperation

 01:23:24 - Catalyzing a Global Spiritual Revolution

 01:28:10 - Advancing Love and Light

 01:31:54 - Emulating Saintliness

 01:36:47 - The Continuum of Evil

 01:41:27 - God's Reaction to Evil

 01:44:32 - The Nature of Consciousness and Diversity

 01:48:01 - Connectedness and Awareness

 01:50:39 - The Role of Paradise and the Potential for a Perfect World

 01:54:22 - The Power of Personal Epiphany and Transformation

 01:57:15 - The Possibility of Publishing and Filming the Work

Viivi Jokela facilitates awakening in people who are inclined in that way. She had a spontaneous, deep awakening to true nature in 2022, followed by a strange and at times intense acclimation, which she refers to as no self realization or simply the natural state.

Viivi communicates a direct approach to realization, grounded on experiential insight on the aspects of awakening. She invites you to inquire into and recognize the awe-striking immediate, inherently awake radiance of your own being and of all being.

Website: sensingradiance.com

In this interview, Viivi Jokela shares her journey of spiritual awakening and self-realization. She discusses her early life, her struggles with suffering and alienation, and her eventual deep awakening to her true nature in 2022. She describes the intense acclimation process she went through, which she refers to as no self-realization or the natural state. Viivi also talks about her experiences with a yoga school that turned out to be a cult, her powerful Kundalini awakening, and the subsequent purification process. Throughout the interview, she emphasizes the importance of understanding the nature of experience and the difference between direct experience and mental interpretation.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded June 29, 2024

YouTube Video Chapters:

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

 00:03:37 - Early Suffering and Alienation

 00:07:22 - Finding Yoga in the Hospital

 00:10:22 - The Powerful Kundalini Awakening

 00:13:16 - The Journey of Purification

 00:16:27 - Challenges after Kundalini Awakening

 00:19:46 - Recommendation for Kundalini awakening practitioners

 00:23:23 - Finding the Right Meditation Practice

 00:26:55 - Defining Enlightenment and Liberation

 00:30:16 - The Experience of Self

 00:33:57 - Multi-Dimensionality of Life

 00:37:16 - The Personal and Impersonal within a Larger Wholeness

 00:40:18 - The Dance of Relative and Absolute

 00:43:30 - Holding Multiple Perspectives Amid Conflicting Views

 00:46:24 - Appreciating Different Perspectives

 00:49:52 - Understanding the "I got it, I lost it" syndrome

 00:53:22 - Extracting Instructions for Awakening

 00:56:35 - The Beginner's Mind and Approaching with Curiosity

 01:00:16 - Different Types of Meditation

 01:03:58 - The Collapse of Fundamental Structures of Reality

 01:07:38 - The Teacher and the Experience of Death

 01:11:20 - Moments of Transcendence and Nothingness

 01:14:34 - The Reality of the Deep Homecoming and Healing Through Realization

 01:18:22 - The Disappearance of God

 01:21:34 - Kundalini: The Most Powerful Energy

 01:24:54 - The Relationship between Trauma and Relational Healing

 01:28:34 - Dismissive Attitudes and Lack of Empathy

 01:31:58 - The Contradictory Nature of the Experience

 01:34:44 - The Importance of Having a Broad Perspective

 01:38:40 - Exploring Aggression and Self-Respect

 01:42:37 - Closing Remarks and Next Interview Preview