433. John Samsen

When John Samsen first contacted us several months ago, he said, "I'm 90 years old, I've had both my feet amputated, and I've never been happier". We soon learned that John designed the Ford Thunderbird, Plymouth Barracuda, and other "muscle cars", and later had a profound and abiding spiritual awakening. Over a course of many decades, John Samsen followed a quest to understand the “big questions” of Life; why are we here, what is Life all about, and who am I, really? Along with careers in Aerospace Engineering and car designing, John studied the sciences, mythologies, religions, philosophies, and psychologies, to expand his understandings. A pattern of paranormal experiences opened his mind to areas of experience beyond the paradigms of Science. In 1970, he embarked on a quest of Self Discovery, participating in hundreds of hours of intensive consciousness exploration with such noted researchers as Drs. Jean Houston and Robert Masters, Dr. Lawrence LeShan, Robert Monroe, and others involved in the “human potentials” movements of the 1970s. After a series of traumatic events in his life, John experienced a “metanoia”, what some call a transformation or “awakening”. John's quest ended, and in the years since, he has been enjoying Life, knowing peace of mind, “unconditional love” of self and world, and freedom from fear and anxiety. John has been working on a verbal description of his experiences that does not rely on traditional metaphysical or religious ideas but is consistent with modern scientific concepts of space, time, matter, and energy. He believes that a dramatic experience of “awakening”, which is rare and very difficult to achieve, is not necessary for enlightened living; that with proper guidance and consistent effort, most people can achieve that state of being. His Book: A Journey to Metanoia: My Life Transformed You may email John. More about John's automotive design career here and here. Discussion of this interview in the Batgap Community Facebook Group. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. Transcript of this interview Interview recorded December 9, 2017. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:03:07 - From Airplanes to Car Design 00:05:29 - Terrifying Experiences in the Realm of Geometric Principles 00:07:54 - Trance States and Otherworldly Experiences 00:10:22 - A Strange Flying Object 00:12:27 - Mysterious Events and Poltergeist Activity 00:14:59 - The Little Man in the Restroom 00:17:36 - The Encounter with the Weird Man 00:20:00 - The Breakdown and Regeneration of Belief Systems 00:23:08 - The Illusion of Reality 00:25:39 - A Blissful Awakening 00:28:15 - Happiness in the Face of Pain and Resistance 00:30:42 - A Shift in Perspective 00:33:19 - Trading Commodities and Design Work 00:35:30 - The Impact of Jean Houston's Workshops 00:38:09 - The Preciousness of Life and Growing Older 00:40:49 - The Decision of Euthanasia and Following a Deeper Mind 00:43:22 - A Vision of Love Energy 00:46:14 - The Evolutionary Trajectory of the Universe 00:48:45 - The Interaction of the Divine Intelligence 00:51:10 - The Nature of Opposites 00:53:17 - Embracing Diversity and the totality of existence 00:55:19 - Fear of Death and Valuing Life 00:57:30 - The Earth as a Host 00:59:56 - The Drive Behind Human Activities 01:02:13 - The Potential End of Human Life by the End of the Century 01:04:45 - The Possibility of Metanoia and an Enlightened World 01:07:07 - Motivation to Contribute 01:09:17 - Ordinary Spiritually Awakening People 01:11:26 - Journey to Metanoia 01:13:31 - Getting to Know the Guest Speaker