343. Thomas Razzeto

Thomas Razzeto is one of the newest and freshest voices among the teachers of our balanced, ancient nondual wisdom. Thomas easily digs deeply into the core of this wisdom to reveal both its essential truth and the heartfelt compassion that all true sages embody when they are genuinely engaged in the world without being entangled by it. The first time Thomas heard this nondual wisdom was in 2005 when he attended one of Timothy Conway’s satsangs and Thomas has continually attended these weekly meetings since they provide the foundation for all his work. (By the way, Timothy Conway was guest number 28 at Buddha at the Gas Pump way back in July of 2010.) Timothy woke up when he was only 16 and he later was fortunate enough to meet several enlightened masters, such as Sri Nisargadatta, Annamalai Swami, and others among Sri Ramana Maharshi’s immediate followers. Thomas teaches in plain English, yet much of what he says would be recognized by people familiar with Advaita, Buddhism, or Hinduism. Thomas has taught his book, Living the Paradox of Enlightenment: Spiritual Awakening in Simple, Clear English, as a class for the Center for Lifelong Learning, which is a part of Santa Barbara City College, the highest-ranked community college in the United States. In September 2012, Thomas spoke for the prestigious lecture series, Mind, and Supermind, which is run by Santa Barbara City College. Website: Infinitely Mystical Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Transcript of this interview Interview conducted 4/23/2016 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:04:11 - Practical Understanding of Non-Dual Wisdom 00:07:16 - Early Spiritual Journey 00:10:31 - Timothy's perspective on enlightenment 00:13:28 - The Nature of Experience 00:17:07 - The Transformation of a Gang Member 00:21:25 - The Recognition of Mystical Experiences 00:24:00 - The Snake and the Rope: Recognizing What You Are Looking At 00:31:00 - The True Self and Enlightenment 00:41:23 - The Beauty of Clear Language and Examples 00:47:05 - The Three Steps of Awakening 00:51:03 - The Realm of Possibility in Enlightenment 00:54:15 - The Definition of Enlightenment 00:58:12 - The Functionality of the Ego 01:01:29 - The Faint Remains of Ignorance 01:04:34 - Setting Goals and Letting Go 01:07:11 - The Prayer for Liberation 01:10:17 - The Effortless Flow of Creation 01:13:38 - Balancing assertiveness and passivity 01:17:18 - Engaging with Life and Divine Intelligence 01:21:20 - The multi-leveled reality of the world 01:25:27 - The Existence of Atrocities in a Divine Universe 01:28:43 - The Vastness of the Universe and Different Realms 01:32:40 - The Power of Finding Good in Every Situation 01:36:16 - Awareness and Personal Consciousness 01:39:57 - Permeating the Dream Body and Maintaining Awareness during Sleep 01:43:02 - Science and Consciousness Beyond the Materialistic Paradigm 01:46:51 - The Mystery of Divine Intelligence 01:50:02 - The Difference in Experience: Dualities and Multiplicities 01:53:28 - The Importance of Self-Love and Social Justice 01:56:43 - Explore the Menus on batgap.com