WEBVTT 1 00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:22.199 Hello, and welcome to Psychik Teachers. I'm your host, Samantha Fay. 2 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:24.839 And I'm Deb Bowing and today we're. 3 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:28.600 Going to be talking about some modern mystics. But before 4 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:31.120 we do, we just wanted to pop in once again 5 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:33.840 and say happy New Year. We hope it's twenty twenty 6 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:37.280 six is off to a great start for you. If 7 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:40.520 you go to our Facebook page, you'll see some photos 8 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:43.479 I posted just this week of Deb and I having 9 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:47.240 a lovely holiday meal together and we did a Toro 10 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:51.039 reading and so we posted some photos about that. It 11 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:53.399 was so much fun. And while we were talking, we 12 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:55.560 were like, so, what do you want to talk about 13 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:58.359 on the show in twenty twenty six, And we had 14 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:00.799 some pretty good ideas, I think, don't you? 15 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:03.439 I think so, and I hope our listeners do. 16 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:06.480 Yeah, see me too. So we've got some really fun 17 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:10.000 guests lined up and we've got some cool research stuff 18 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:12.319 we're going to be bringing to you. And one of 19 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:15.280 the things we were talking about was, you know, we 20 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:18.680 like to look back at historic figures who have laid 21 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:22.439 the groundwork for doing the intuitive work we can do today. 22 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:24.120 But we thought it would be kind of fun to 23 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:27.560 highlight some more recent people. So I did a little 24 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:29.680 bit of research, deb you did a lot of research, 25 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:32.000 so I think you should start us up. 26 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:35.120 Well, I'd be happy to do that, you know, I 27 00:01:35.159 --> 00:01:38.560 think that a lot of us don't know except for 28 00:01:38.599 --> 00:01:41.439 the folks that I'm going to be talking about. I 29 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:45.159 did not know a lot about folks from India and 30 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.519 the work that they did up until the Beatles. So 31 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:51.239 that's really kind of where I'm going to begin. And 32 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:53.599 then I'm going to dive back into history a bit 33 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:56.640 with two other folks. The first person I want to 34 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:00.319 talk about is a man from India who shaped both 35 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:05.000 Western culture and Western music. In the nineteen sixties. He 36 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.319 sent many of us to the Incense Store, and he 37 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:12.520 introduced us to musicians such as the Ravi Shankar, whose 38 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:15.560 work was just brilliant. I saw something recently where his 39 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:19.039 daughter is also playing the sitar these days, and she's 40 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:21.680 doing some lovely work. But in any case, the person 41 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:25.400 I want to talk about is the Maharishi Mahashogi, born 42 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:30.240 somewhere around nineteen seventy. We in the West met him 43 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:34.120 when the Beatles went to India in nineteen sixty eight 44 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:39.800 to learn from him. Most notably, he brought transcendental meditation 45 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:43.879 to the West. It was the Beatles relationship with him 46 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:47.080 that gave us songs on their Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Arts 47 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:52.400 Club Band album and most of the White Album. However, 48 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:57.599 we also have John Lennon's song Sexy Sadie, which thinly 49 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:02.919 Veil's accusations the Maharishi inappropriately touched some women who came 50 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:07.000 to his aushrom. The accusations were never confirmed, and both 51 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:11.319 George Harrison and Paul McCartney denied that they were true. 52 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:16.360 But the Maharishi was really primarily an entrepreneur of enlightenment 53 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:21.120 who built an enterprise of spiritual centers and schools that 54 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:24.919 today are estimated to have an asset of about three 55 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.520 hundred million dollars. He died in two thousand and eight. 56 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:32.560 Whether he was a true spiritual master or Charlatan will 57 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:36.599 never be determined, of course, but he did introduce the 58 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:42.639 West to transcendental meditation and to some serious philosophy of 59 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:47.599 his beliefs in India. According to his teaching, stress could 60 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:51.199 be reduced by daily meditation. This is a quote from him. 61 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:55.560 The philosophy of life is this, Life is not a struggle, 62 00:03:56.039 --> 00:04:03.080 not attention. Life is bliss, It is wisdom, eternal existence. 63 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:09.680 Life is bliss, It is eternal wisdom, eternal existence. He 64 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:14.879 studied Sanskrit under a Hindu leader known as Guru Dev, 65 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:19.920 which means divine teacher. In his younger years, he studied 66 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:25.240 forms of meditation with several masters, eventually adopting for himself 67 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:30.759 the name Maharishi, which means great soul. He rebranded the 68 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:34.480 meditation philosophies that he had studied into a container that 69 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:39.800 he called Transcendental Meditation TM calms the spirit, and the 70 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:42.600 Maharishi hoped that it would bring peace to the world. 71 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:47.279 It is not far removed from John Lennon's song All 72 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:50.199 You Need Is Love, which he wrote before he met 73 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:54.519 the Maharishi. So here's what happened. In nineteen fifty nine, 74 00:04:55.040 --> 00:05:01.879 the Maharishi founded the International Meditation Society BASS, with bases 75 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:05.360 in London and in San Francisco, and he set about 76 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:10.439 recruiting members. He established his headquarters in Switzerland, then moved 77 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:13.759 it to Amsterdam in nineteen ninety, and at the height 78 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:18.759 of the movement had more than two million followers worldwide, 79 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:23.279 including ninety thousand in the UK, which is of course 80 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:26.199 how the beatles came to him. His followers either paid 81 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.920 a subscription or tithed a part of their earnings, and 82 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.560 as a result, the society that he formed became rich. 83 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:38.480 He even had his own helicopter. Wow, I know. 84 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.240 Well, what can I say? The Pope has his own helicopter. 85 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:44.040 Well, there is that. So yes, he was certainly a 86 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:48.879 very wise businessman and an entrepreneur. But at the heart 87 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:53.120 of his work was this notion of meditation, which was 88 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:57.199 a new concept here in the West, particularly for us, 89 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:00.720 and I'll talk more about that and how still has 90 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:05.800 centers here in the United States. But in February of 91 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:11.560 nineteen sixty seven, George Harrison's wife Patty became intrigued about 92 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:16.600 him after attending a lecture on TM in London. And 93 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:19.959 at that time George was developing his own interest in 94 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:24.439 Indian culture. He had played a sitar George had on 95 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:28.319 Rubber Soul in nineteen sixty five, which I just love, 96 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:32.040 and had gone to India in September of nineteen sixty 97 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:35.959 six to study with Rabi Shankar. If you don't know 98 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:38.439 his music, once again I urge you to listen. His 99 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:43.319 music was just wonderful There arguably several sides to the 100 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:47.199 coin about the relationships between members of the Beatles and 101 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:51.279 the Maharishi. For example, the years that they were connected 102 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:54.879 with him produced some of their most powerful and well 103 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:59.920 loved music. It really was a shift in Western music 104 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:03.279 when the Beatles were working with the Maharishi. It is 105 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:07.560 believed that transcendental meditation helped John get off drugs at 106 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:13.199 the time. Conversely, managers and associates of the Beatles warned 107 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:15.800 them that they were being used and exploited by a 108 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:19.639 con artists, and both sides of the media had a 109 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:25.639 field day with that relationship. It really was such a 110 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:29.959 convoluted time with young people in the United States as 111 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:33.480 the Beatles developed this relationship with this man. There is 112 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:37.399 considerable conjecture about how the Beatles then came to break 113 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:41.839 their relationship with the Maharishi, but they did. It could 114 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:44.839 be argued that the visit to India they spent some 115 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:49.399 time with him created disharmony rather than harmony for the Beatles, 116 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:52.879 but there were many other factors that caused tension with 117 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:58.480 the band, including John's love for Yoko Ono, who could 118 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:03.519 be seen as an alternative spiritual leader for him. While 119 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:09.480 the Maharishi never received any earnings that he had anticipated 120 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:11.720 from the Beatles. He really thought that there would be 121 00:08:11.720 --> 00:08:16.439 a whole a different way of him earning money and 122 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:20.639 profiting off of his relationship with the Beatles. But he 123 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:23.879 did become wealthy, as I've mentioned by other avenues. He 124 00:08:23.959 --> 00:08:28.439 certainly maintained a celebrity following in the nineteen seventies. He 125 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:33.759 established transcendental meditation centers around the world, several in the 126 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:38.639 UK and America, and there is a university in Fairfield, Iowa, 127 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:43.120 and his work in tmwork in America continues in later years. 128 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:48.799 George Harrison and Ringo Starr stated in interviews that regardless 129 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:52.279 of their relationship with the Maharishi, they were grateful for 130 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.120 some of what they learned from him and from the 131 00:08:55.120 --> 00:09:01.080 practice of transcendental meditation. And he died in two and eight, 132 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:05.159 but transcendental meditation continues. And just for folks who because 133 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:07.399 of Lord. I mean, how many times have our listeners 134 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:11.080 heard us say, meditate, meditate, meditate, Well, there's lots of 135 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:15.120 different kinds of meditation. And often when here in the West, 136 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:18.320 for the most part, we think of meditation, we think 137 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:23.159 of mindfulness, meditation. Well, you set an intent for your 138 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.600 time in silence, and often we hear the wonderful prayer 139 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:30.240 and chant, may I be happy, may the world be happy, 140 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:32.759 may all beings be at peace. You know that lovely 141 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:39.039 mantra is just wonderful. Transcendental meditation is just being silent. 142 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:43.480 There's a place where in TM where there's a shift 143 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:46.360 in your brain waves in the silence. And that's about 144 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.320 the best I can do is explaining it to you. 145 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:53.559 Okay, I thought it was different. I thought transcendental meditation 146 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.159 you had a guru and they gave you a mantra 147 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:00.000 or a nonsense word to focus. 148 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:02.879 That may be true. Some of the research I did 149 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:05.200 talked a lot about it just being in silence. 150 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:08.039 Yeah, and then I thought that too, So I'm always 151 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:12.279 confused about it. There's a lot of really cool documentaries 152 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:16.759 on transcendental meditation, and one of them is narrated or 153 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:20.639 focused on Jerry Seinfeld. But it's all like very successful 154 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:23.399 people in the world of business in Hollywood who talk 155 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:26.679 about how TM saved their life and really help them 156 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.240 become focused on their purpose. 157 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:33.639 I've heard those same things, and it may be that 158 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:35.960 what you and I are saying here is that with 159 00:10:36.039 --> 00:10:39.360 almost any other practice or belief system. There are different 160 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:41.960 schools of thought, and it's not just one. I think 161 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.720 that's true, so it may be probably one direction of 162 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:48.000 TM in another in another way, you know. Right. He 163 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:52.200 was a fascinating man, and I can still see pictures 164 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.360 in my mind of the Beatles and the Maharahi's sitting 165 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:58.480 with the beautiful flowers around their necks and all the 166 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:01.799 Eastern clothes which to us here, at least in the South, 167 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:04.919 when I was a teenager in the sixties, that was 168 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:09.039 really weird stuff. You know. It was rare that you 169 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:12.720 knew somebody who was of a different Christian denomination than you, 170 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:16.639 much less a different belief system from across the ocean. 171 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:17.000 You know. 172 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:20.480 Yeah, that's so true and important to point out because 173 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:24.440 now we're all open to all sorts of different faiths. 174 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.440 But you're right back then, especially for the Beatles, Oh. 175 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:32.240 Yeah, I mean Buddhism, Hinduism, incense. I mean, that's why 176 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:37.039 I mentioned the incense stores earlier, because you just couldn't 177 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:39.120 go to, you know, the grocery store and buy a 178 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:41.399 bag of incense. I mean it was you didn't do that. 179 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:43.519 You had to go looking for it, and most of 180 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.519 us didn't even know what incense was. I mean frankinsense 181 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:49.399 and myrrh brought to the baby Jesus. We had some 182 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:52.480 notion that that probably smelled pretty good. And U. Catholick's 183 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:54.240 had some great stuff in your church, but we did't 184 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:58.919 have anywhere else. I'm serious, and I don't mean that 185 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.639 in a despair jingly in any way. But it really 186 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:07.240 did open up this relationship with Eastern Thought, did open 187 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:12.799 up a whole new world of openness and at least 188 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:17.320 curiosity about beliefs and practices and cultures different from your own. 189 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:19.440 I think it's a wonderful. 190 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:23.639 Thing and normalize this idea of meditating, which is so 191 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:28.440 important for the growth of our spirituality and our consciousness. Okay, 192 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:31.080 so who are you going to tell us about next, Samantha. 193 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:33.039 I'm going to talk about two more folks in just 194 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:35.559 a minute. But before I do, let's take a quick break, 195 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:35.960 shall we. 196 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:37.559 Yes, We'll be right back. 197 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:43.440 Hi, everybody. Here are a couple of events that I've 198 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:46.120 got coming up, and I so hope you'll join me. 199 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:51.759 On Saturday, January thirty first, I will be at Dancing Moon, 200 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:55.759 Books and Gifts in Raleigh, North Carolina. I'll be there 201 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:58.879 for an afternoon workshop about my new book, Crafting the 202 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:01.440 Wheel of the Year. If you can get to Raleigh, 203 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:04.399 I would love to see you. You can get information 204 00:13:04.440 --> 00:13:08.679 about the event at Dancingmoon Raleigh dot com. And then 205 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:12.240 on Saturday, February seventh, I hope you'll join me and 206 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:14.600 my co author of Crafting the Wheel of the Year, 207 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:18.919 Claire Gelder, for a zoom workshop that focuses on the 208 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:23.240 Celtic holiday of Imboke. I'll discuss the cultural and spiritual 209 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:27.200 aspects of the season, and Claire will teach you great crafts. 210 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:31.960 You can register on my website www dot dev Bowen 211 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:36.000 dot com and there's more on my website and there's 212 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:39.960 more coming soon, so check it out dev Bowen dot com. 213 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:47.360 Thanks everybody, Welcome back everybody. Before we talk about the 214 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:49.240 next two folks, I need to give you a word, 215 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:51.759 a definition of a word, and the word is boba 216 00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:56.080 baba and it comes from the Persian and it's an 217 00:13:56.120 --> 00:14:02.159 honor term of respect meaning father, her, grandfather, sir. So 218 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:05.399 when you hear the word baba attached to someone's name, 219 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:09.080 it means that person has been given and designated some 220 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:14.159 level of respect and honor from his followers or folks 221 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:18.200 around him. So I want to begin by telling you 222 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:22.399 about a man whose name was Shri Sai Baba of Shurdi. 223 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:25.279 I'm just going to call him Said Baba from now on. 224 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:29.799 He was born in eighteen thirty eight and he passed 225 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:34.600 on in nineteen eighteen. He was revered by both Hindu 226 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:38.399 and Muslim followers and was considered by many to be 227 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:44.320 a saint. He condemned discrimination based on religion or caste. 228 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:47.120 And think back to the time frame in which this 229 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:51.240 man lived, the eighteen hundreds in India particularly, and well 230 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:52.120 in America too. 231 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:54.600 I was going to say, we're fighting a civil war. 232 00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:59.039 Absolutely exactly. You're right. That was a really radical idea. 233 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:03.840 No disc emination based on religion or caste. His teachings 234 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:13.360 emphasized love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, enter peace, and 235 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:17.480 devotion to God. He taught what he called the importance 236 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:21.679 of realization of the self and opposed that which he 237 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:24.879 called love towards perishable things. 238 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:31.039 Well, I like that phrase. Yeah, I love perishable things. 239 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:35.440 Yeah. Well, you know, once I got past thinking about 240 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:38.399 you know, vegetables, I thought, oh, lots of things. 241 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:41.639 Yeah, I love chocolate, with a passion. 242 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:43.919 I don't think that's what he meant, Samantha. 243 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:45.720 No, I know, I'm just being silly. 244 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:49.320 Oh okay, all right, okay, but I know sometimes folks 245 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:50.960 take us literally when we tell true. 246 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:55.159 Sorry, just being sarcastic, Ignore me, I. 247 00:15:57.480 --> 00:15:59.759 Okay. Just to clarify, I believe what he meant by 248 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:04.120 towards perishable things is not okay, is that which fades 249 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:07.200 away and is not based on kindness and all those 250 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:11.120 other qualities that he revered. We don't know a lot 251 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:15.039 about his early life. One theory states that he was 252 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:19.000 born into the Brahmin caste, which is an upper upper 253 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:24.519 class cast but later was adopted by a Sufi holy one. 254 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:27.679 Here I'm not sure I'm pronouncing that word correctly, but 255 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:32.720 of the Sufi tradition, when he was sixteen, it is 256 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.799 believed that he lived for about three years near the 257 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:38.799 village of Amanagar, and I'm going to talk about that town. 258 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:43.360 Later he dressed as a Sufi holy man, meditating for 259 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:47.159 hours under a tree. So there was also this kind 260 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:50.519 of connection to the Buddhist thought, because of course that's 261 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:53.480 what we know about Buddha under the tree. Sufi is 262 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:57.519 a fascinating other belief system that we could be talking about, 263 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:00.720 but we'll hold on to that for another episode. Say 264 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:03.799 Bob had left the village for about a year in 265 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:09.000 his life, during which time he really did he just disappeared, 266 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:12.000 and when he came back he was dressed as a 267 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:17.640 Sufi teacher. Later he incorporated some Muslim attire into his clothing, 268 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:23.000 which led to hostility towards him in a predominantly Hindu village. 269 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:27.920 So as he is trying to bring together various schools 270 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:34.079 of thought Hinduism, Muslim thought, his Hindu village community is 271 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:36.519 not real happy with him. For four to five years, 272 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:40.720 he lived under a tree, meditating for long periods of time. 273 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:46.359 Reports say that he was withdrawing, not talking, uncommunicative, and 274 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:49.599 he often wandered for long periods in the jungle around 275 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:54.279 the village. He was essentially persuaded to take up residence 276 00:17:55.119 --> 00:18:00.359 in an old and dilapidated mosque some years later, where 277 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:04.839 he lived a solitary life, surviving by begging and receiving 278 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:09.359 itinerant Hindu or Muslim visitors. In the mosque where he 279 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:13.839 lived for some time, he maintained a sacred fire and 280 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:17.920 gave sacred ash from the fire to guests. The ash 281 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:21.400 was believed to have had healing powers. He treated the 282 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:25.960 sick by applying ashes. He delivered spiritual teachings to his 283 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:31.400 visitors and recommended the reading of the Baggadavida for Hindus 284 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:36.200 and the Koran for Muslims. He often taught using parables, 285 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:39.799 so once again he's trying to bring in sacred text 286 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.319 and invite people to look at common ground. Baba is 287 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:48.200 believed to have tended a garden named after a rivulet 288 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:53.359 called Lindi which flowed nearby. The gardens still exists and 289 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:59.039 it contains temples commemorating people and animals associated with Saibaba's 290 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:03.799 life continues today to be visited by pilgrims. In nineteen ten, 291 00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:08.759 his fame began to spread into Mumbai. That city used 292 00:19:08.759 --> 00:19:12.079 to be called Bombay Mumbai. Being regarded as a saint 293 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:16.279 with the power of performing miracles, he was visited by 294 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:21.880 numerous people, and in August nineteen eighteen, Sai Baba told 295 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:25.359 some of his devotees that he would soon be leaving 296 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:29.720 his mortal body. He died on October fifteenth, nineteen eighteen. 297 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:36.000 His remains were interned at Bhutiwada in the Surdi, which 298 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:39.279 later became a place of worship that is known today 299 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:44.880 as Shri Somdimander or the Shurdy Sai Baba Temple. When 300 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:48.200 he spoke of himself, he said, you need not go 301 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:52.960 anywhere in search of me. Barring your name and form, 302 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.359 There exists in you, as well as in all beings, 303 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:03.160 a sense of being or consciousness of existence, that is me. 304 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:09.240 Knowing this, you see me inside yourself and in all beings. 305 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:15.440 If you practice this, you will realize all pervasiveness can 306 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:20.920 thus be as one with me. Today. Because of Saibaba Sure, 307 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:24.279 it has become a famous religious tourist destination in India 308 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:27.680 and is counted as one of the most popular Hindu 309 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:31.960 places of pilgrimage. The Saibaba Temple is visited by an 310 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:37.119 average of sixty thousand pilgrims a day. During religious festivals, 311 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:40.039 this number can reach up to two hundred thousand. Both 312 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:43.839 the interior of the temple and the exterior cone are 313 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:48.200 covered with gold. Inside the temple, the statue of Saibaba 314 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:51.960 is carved out of Italian marble and is seen draped 315 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.559 with royal cloth, wearing a gold crown and adorned with 316 00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:59.039 fresh flower of garlands and the temple is managed by 317 00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:02.559 the Saibibi truck. He often talked about the Hindu gods 318 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:07.400 and quoted from sacred text. On occasion, he would comment 319 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:11.799 on passages from the Bagadavida, the Upanishads and other books. 320 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:15.559 The names of Krishna and Rama were sacred to him. 321 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.200 With Muslim followers, he talked of Allah and the Koran, 322 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:25.279 often quoting Persian verses. He respected all faiths and taught 323 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:30.960 that all are particular paths towards one goal. Saibaba left 324 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:35.079 behind no spiritual heirs, appointed not disciples, and did not 325 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:40.319 provide formal initiation, despite folks asking him for that. And 326 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:43.720 there are many temples of Saibaba in India. They're all 327 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:48.039 over the country. They're also located in the United States, 328 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:57.000 Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, Surinam, Fiji, South Africa, Kenya, Benyon, Cuba, Canada, Pakistan, Australia, 329 00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:01.359 United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Germany, Japan and New Zealand, and 330 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:03.559 probably some other places too. That's good. 331 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:04.440 Quite a legacy. 332 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:09.440 It is, really is and really deeply loved and deeply 333 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:13.480 committed to the notion of connection among us all. 334 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:18.960 He was really respect among us all. Yes, it really 335 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:21.799 is amazing, especially when you think about, as you were 336 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:23.960 saying in the beginning, what was going on at the 337 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:27.839 time that he was born. I mean, he was born 338 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:32.920 shortly after the American Revolution, the French Revolution. We had 339 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:36.440 the Tripoli Wars, which was said it was fought about piracy, 340 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.880 but it was really about slavery and stopping that in 341 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:42.359 some of those shores, and then the Civil War and 342 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:44.960 all the other stuff. And to have this holy man 343 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:48.519 talk about how we're all connected and won back then 344 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:51.240 very very brave and very profound. 345 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:55.519 Absolutely, it really was. He was an interesting Viallet I. 346 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:57.920 Want to know how he was persuaded the way you 347 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:00.319 describe it. I have this image of this man just 348 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:04.079 wandering the jungle, trying to be alone, and they're like, no, no, 349 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:08.119 you got to come live in this dilapidated monastery. 350 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:11.640 Yeah. I guess because of what he was teaching, folks 351 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:14.880 wanted to hear more, and so they found place for 352 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:16.920 him to be and in some ways probably took care 353 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:17.519 of him, you know. 354 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:19.880 And that poor man just probably wanted to be alone. 355 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:23.000 Well, I don't know. I mean, he may have been 356 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:25.519 committed to teaching. You know, teachers have to teach when 357 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:25.920 they teach. 358 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:28.920 There's a quote by Niedsche I think about a lot. 359 00:23:29.640 --> 00:23:33.079 He says, I hate who steals my solitude without an 360 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:35.480 exchange offering me true company. 361 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:39.920 H I love that. That's great. Who said that? 362 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:44.240 Niedsche and I have shortened that. It's so bad like 363 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:47.119 every time. So when Lake texts me, I always say, 364 00:23:47.400 --> 00:23:51.000 who intrudes on my solitude? 365 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:56.680 That's so funny because when my text stings. 366 00:23:56.920 --> 00:23:58.599 I don't want to tell listeners what you say? 367 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:03.759 I could say the nice part? Okay, Okay, when the 368 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:06.359 text things, I say, what do you want? 369 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:10.880 Well? Sometimes if I call her, she'll answer, what do 370 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:11.319 you want? 371 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:13.680 No, I'm kidding. I don't do that to you. 372 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:17.440 You don't do that. Your tone does, but you don't say. 373 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:21.480 The Well sometimes is it's strict? This is same for me. 374 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:26.119 All right, you have one more amazing teacher and then. 375 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:28.599 Start out this action the fell I wanted to talk 376 00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:29.480 about the most. 377 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:31.880 Okay, so let's take our last quick break and then 378 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:34.680 we can get to who you really wanted to teach 379 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:39.799 us about. We'll be right back, okay. As we took 380 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:44.079 into winder and hopefully have space for more introspection and reflection, 381 00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:46.400 you might want to check out one of my E 382 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:50.160 courses on topics such as honing your own intuition, learning 383 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:55.039 about crystals, and psychic protection techniques. My Manifest Money Miracles 384 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:58.200 E course is only eight dollars and has really helpful 385 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:01.279 tips like how to create a lucky time aliceman for abundance. 386 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:04.279 Or if you're having trouble falling asleep or need a 387 00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:07.119 way to hit pause on an overthinking mind, check out 388 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:10.799 one of my guided meditations, ranging from chakras and spirit 389 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:14.200 guides to learning how to remember your dreams. Just hit 390 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:17.279 play as you fall asleep and let your subconscious mind 391 00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:20.400 do the rest. For more information, go to Samantha Fey 392 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:22.319 dot com and click the stores tab. 393 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:31.240 Welcome back, everybody. So when I began teaching at Academia, 394 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:35.839 I was about the same age as my students' mothers 395 00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:40.799 and fathers. Well, as time went on, I got older 396 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:45.240 and they didn't, right, I kept getting older and my 397 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:48.319 students were still in their late teens and early twenties 398 00:25:48.359 --> 00:25:49.079 for the most part. 399 00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:52.839 Did you ever get that letter? Our Dean of students 400 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:56.039 would always email us this letter at the beginning of 401 00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:59.720 every semester, and it changed obviously every year, but it 402 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:03.960 would say this year, oh, these freshman students were born, 403 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:08.680 you know, the year that President Bush was elected or whatever. 404 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:10.920 And every year it would change. The year that Obama 405 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:13.240 was elected. It was like, what is happening? How is 406 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:15.759 how is you already eighteen? 407 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:18.359 We got that too, We got that letter to we 408 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:21.960 did well. So it's the first day of school after 409 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:25.880 I gotten older, and this lovely young woman comes up 410 00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:28.720 to me after class and she looks me in the 411 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:35.240 eye and she says, jay Baba. And I looked at 412 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:38.559 her and I said, jay Baba. She said, you know 413 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:42.480 my grandmother. I said, who's your grandmother? And she told 414 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:45.240 me her grandmother's name. I did indeed know her grandmother, 415 00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:50.519 who was a devout follower of Mayha Baba. And jay 416 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:54.400 Baba is the greeting that Baba lovers, as they call themselves, 417 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:56.839 say to each other. It means, in the name of Baba, 418 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.000 I greet you kind of thing. The first words out 419 00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:01.880 of the student's mouth were jay baba, and I responded 420 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:04.640 in kind. I knew what she meant because I have 421 00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:08.880 been blessed over the years to know many folks who 422 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:12.599 are followers of Mayor Baba. Having had a couple of 423 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:16.319 opportunities to visit the Baba Center, which I'm going to 424 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:20.440 talk about in a few minutes, and to listen to 425 00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:24.880 some great music that has been dedicated to Mayor Baba 426 00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:27.599 over the years. Let me tell you about him, and 427 00:27:27.640 --> 00:27:31.000 then I'll talk about what I know about him. He 428 00:27:31.400 --> 00:27:34.960 was born in eighteen ninety four and he this is 429 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:37.519 a quote, This is how they described it, dropped his 430 00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:42.000 body in nineteen sixty nine. His followers believed that he 431 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:46.119 was a true Avatar. And that word, I know probably 432 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:49.440 conjures up the image of those blue folks on that movie. 433 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:52.880 But the word avatar, and I don't mean that desparingly 434 00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:55.720 because I've never seen the movie. But avatar here means 435 00:27:55.799 --> 00:28:01.160 a true master, a true manifestation of God in human form. 436 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:04.839 His followers believe that of him. He has hundreds still 437 00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:10.000 today of thousands of followers in India, with followers in 438 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:13.960 North America, Europe, South America and Australia. Is a huge 439 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:20.119 following of Baba in Australia. His teachings, like Cyboba's, draw 440 00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:25.400 from Sufi, Vedic and Yogic perspectives, and he taught that 441 00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:29.640 the goal of all beings was to become conscious of 442 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:34.880 their own divinity and to realize their oneness of and 443 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:39.119 with God. As a boy, he formed what he called 444 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:44.440 the Cosmopolitan Club, which was dedicated to remaining informed on 445 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:49.799 world affairs and collecting money and donating it to charity. 446 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:53.920 He played several instruments, and he was a poet. He 447 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:59.200 was fluent in several languages and loved poetry by William 448 00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:05.000 Shakespeare Percy Shelley. His transformation in his spiritual practices began 449 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:10.920 when he was nineteen and lasted for seven years. At nineteen, 450 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:16.039 he met Hasrat Babajan, an elderly Muslim saint. He was 451 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:19.559 cycling past a tree that she had made her home, 452 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:23.039 which she called out to him, and so he went 453 00:29:23.079 --> 00:29:26.039 over to her and she kissed him on the forehead, 454 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:31.079 which caused him to enter a nine month long trance, 455 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:35.799 which he described as divine blits, where he was just 456 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:40.359 not conscious of his body. She predicted that he would 457 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:45.119 become a spiritual leader, and for several years he explored 458 00:29:45.160 --> 00:29:49.000 the teachings of lots of masters that he encountered. By 459 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:52.920 nineteen twenty two, when he was twenty seven, he began 460 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:56.880 gathering his own disciples, and they gave him the name 461 00:29:57.119 --> 00:30:02.279 meher Baba, which means compassionate face. In that year, Baba 462 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:06.319 and his followers established a center in Mumbai, and a 463 00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:10.680 year later they left Mambai and moved to a few 464 00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:14.599 miles outside Amanaga. Remember I said that name of that 465 00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:19.839 town earlier. They moved outside Amanagar into a communal area 466 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:24.680 that they called Meherbad. This ashram in Meherbad became his 467 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:28.319 center for his work, and it is continues today. There 468 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:32.160 are still his followers who keep that ashram alive. He 469 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:36.880 opened a school, a hospital, and a dispensary in Meyerbad. 470 00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:39.720 To think of that as kind of a suburb of Amanagar, 471 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:43.319 all of which were free and open to all casts 472 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:46.240 and faiths. And I know that today. I think a 473 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:49.960 lot of that work is focused on eye issues, cataracts 474 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.079 and so forth. From July tenth, nineteen twenty five, until 475 00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:57.559 he died in sixty eight or sixty nine, whichever it was, 476 00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:03.400 he maintained silence. So for all those years Baba was silent. 477 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:08.240 He did not speak, and yet he taught and wrote 478 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:10.200 books and did all sorts of cool stuff. 479 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:14.000 He initially say why he's stopped speaking. 480 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:16.680 Yeah, he does. In his book entitled God speaks. He 481 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:19.519 talks about why he doesn't speak anymore. I've given my 482 00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:22.160 copy of those books away I had. His two most 483 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:26.200 famous books are called God Speaks and Discourses, and they're gone. 484 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:28.839 I don't know what happened to him, but what he 485 00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:33.799 did do initially was he communicated with a chalk on slate, 486 00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:36.279 a little lap board that he kept that he wrote 487 00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:39.319 with chalk on, and then he had an alphabet board, 488 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:42.920 and then later he created basically his own sign language 489 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:46.160 that his followers could follow. It was not like we 490 00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:48.960 would think of American's sign language, but it was Boba's 491 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:52.440 way of gesturing. What he taught about as he wrote 492 00:31:53.200 --> 00:31:56.000 on the board and with his followers in front of him, 493 00:31:56.480 --> 00:32:00.559 and as he wrote in his books, was he was 494 00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:04.839 really concerned about nature and the purpose of life. He 495 00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:08.160 said that the world around us as we see it 496 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:14.000 really is an illusion, and that the universe is our imagination, 497 00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:19.519 that there's more than we can comprehend in our imagination. 498 00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:24.960 He taught that God alone exists, that each soul is God, 499 00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:29.599 passing through imagination in order to receive its own divinity. 500 00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:33.359 As I mentioned, tell most famous books are entitled God 501 00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:37.880 Speaks and Discourses and Beginning in nineteen thirty one, he 502 00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:41.640 began to make visits to the West, and throughout the 503 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:45.839 decade of the thirties he traveled around the world in 504 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:48.559 lots of different places, went to Europe and came here 505 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:52.160 in the United States, and it was during this period 506 00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:58.200 that he began to establish his first contact with Western disciples. 507 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:01.440 He traveled on a Persian past word, which I thought 508 00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:04.200 was interesting, and as he had given up writing as 509 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:07.480 well as speaking, he would not sign the forms required 510 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:09.920 by the British Government of India, so he traveled on 511 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:13.480 a Persian passport as opposed to an Indian passport. On 512 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:16.640 his first trip to England in nineteen thirty one, he 513 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:19.680 was traveling on a big ship at the same time 514 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:23.799 as was Mahatma Gandhi. They met three times on board 515 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:28.000 that ship, and one of these exchanges lasted for three hours. 516 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:33.039 Hold on, hold on, what are Gandhi and Baba doing 517 00:33:33.079 --> 00:33:34.920 for three hours? If he doesn't write or. 518 00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:39.039 Talk at this point gesturing and as huing gesturing, an 519 00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:43.039 interpreter is one of his followers is explaining what he's saying. 520 00:33:43.680 --> 00:33:46.880 Wow, Okay, I'm sorry, I'm just still stuck on giving 521 00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:47.920 up writing and talking. 522 00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:53.759 Yeah, an aide to Gandhi said, you may say emphatically 523 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:57.799 that Gandhi never asked Major Baba for help or for 524 00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:00.920 spiritual or other advice. Oh yes, I don't know what 525 00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:01.640 they talked about. 526 00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:05.279 Wow, And why would he see that? It's almost like 527 00:34:06.119 --> 00:34:08.920 Gandi didn't ask for anything from him because he had 528 00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:12.159 his own spiritual inner knowing. I don't know. That's kind 529 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:13.360 of a strange quote, don't you. 530 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:17.039 Think I did? I found that really interested. So when 531 00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:20.840 he came over here to the US, he was just 532 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:25.159 and noundated by and loved by a lot of really 533 00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:28.960 famous people who just didn't quite know what to do 534 00:34:29.079 --> 00:34:32.000 with this really cool Indian guy who didn't talk and 535 00:34:32.239 --> 00:34:38.159 was just wonderful. He met Gary Cooper, Charles Lawton, Tulula Bankhead, 536 00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:43.760 Boris Carlof, Maurice Chevalier, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Banks Junior, 537 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:48.400 Fairbanks Junior. They held a reception for him at which 538 00:34:48.440 --> 00:34:52.599 he delivered a message to Hollywood, and as a result, 539 00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:56.119 he emerged as quote one of the enthusiasms of the 540 00:34:56.199 --> 00:34:59.920 nineteen thirty So he was quite the I don't want 541 00:34:59.920 --> 00:35:02.519 to say politician, but that might be the right word. 542 00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:09.960 Really in that he garnered a wide variety of followers 543 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:15.639 from lots of different disciplines and basically just teaching these 544 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:20.239 lovely lessons about kindness and oneness. And I'm going to 545 00:35:20.320 --> 00:35:23.440 talk about his most famous quotes in a few minutes. 546 00:35:23.800 --> 00:35:27.280 In the nineteen forties and early fifties, his followers engaged 547 00:35:27.320 --> 00:35:31.719 in what he called a new life, a commitment to asceticism, 548 00:35:32.159 --> 00:35:35.119 during which he in about twenty of his followers traveled 549 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:40.000 to India incognito. So he basically said, how can we 550 00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:45.360 be committed to our teachings and our beliefs and do 551 00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:48.119 so in a way that does not draw attention to ourselves? 552 00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:52.719 And he tried that for a few years, and then 553 00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:59.800 he began to establish centers for his followers outside India. 554 00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:06.440 As I mentioned, gathered followers from England, Australia, several other countries. 555 00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:09.840 And one of his followers from England was a woman 556 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:13.119 named Elizabeth. Oh, I've forgotten her last name. It begins 557 00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:17.559 with the P Patterson. Thank you, Elizabeth Patterson. And Elizabeth 558 00:36:17.559 --> 00:36:20.760 had a sister named Kitty, and I met Kitty. Elizabeth 559 00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:23.760 was dead by the time I went to the barber center, 560 00:36:23.800 --> 00:36:28.280 but I met Kitty. He charged them, Kitty and Elizabeth 561 00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:31.159 and some friends of hers, with the task of finding 562 00:36:31.159 --> 00:36:35.480 a place in the United States that would be appropriate 563 00:36:35.559 --> 00:36:39.480 for a retreat center for him and his followers. Well, 564 00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:42.840 this is the sixties. So they began on the West coast, 565 00:36:43.360 --> 00:36:46.760 and he gave them a set of instructions as to 566 00:36:46.840 --> 00:36:48.800 what they had to find. And here were the rules. 567 00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:52.159 You must find land that is large enough that several 568 00:36:52.440 --> 00:36:55.440 buildings can be built on it for folks to stay 569 00:36:55.440 --> 00:36:58.760 in and meditate in. It must contain a fresh water lake. 570 00:36:59.239 --> 00:37:03.840 It must be you're moving salt water. It must be 571 00:37:03.880 --> 00:37:07.400 in a virgin forest, and it must be given to you. 572 00:37:07.400 --> 00:37:12.679 You can't ask for it. Well that's a little daunting task, 573 00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:15.280 even in any world of looking for real estate, right 574 00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:15.760 I think. 575 00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:16.400 Yeah. 576 00:37:16.719 --> 00:37:20.000 So Elizabeth and her buddy started in the West and 577 00:37:20.159 --> 00:37:22.840 nothing was happening. You know, you couldn't tell anybody you 578 00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:25.320 go where you were doing it. It was a hard 579 00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:28.159 thing that Baba asked her to do, and at some 580 00:37:28.320 --> 00:37:33.039 point her father, who knew and respected her. Following of Mayhor, 581 00:37:33.079 --> 00:37:36.280 Baba said, well, you know, Elizabeth, I've got this land. 582 00:37:36.360 --> 00:37:39.119 He said. It's a weird place, but if you think 583 00:37:39.159 --> 00:37:42.239 it'll work, and have it and here's what it's got, 584 00:37:42.760 --> 00:37:45.440 and he rattled off all of Baba's criteria and the 585 00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:50.280 mayor Senna is today on Highway seventeen in North Myrtle Beach, 586 00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:54.360 South Carolina. It's a top amazing. There is a tiny 587 00:37:54.360 --> 00:37:56.920 little sign used to be just on the mailbox, I 588 00:37:56.920 --> 00:37:59.440 think now there's actually a sign at the entrance now 589 00:37:59.679 --> 00:38:02.280 and just go in. You just can't go hang out. 590 00:38:02.639 --> 00:38:05.960 You're met at the gate by someone who is a 591 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:09.280 host or a hostess. And when I went, I had 592 00:38:09.280 --> 00:38:10.920 to go meet with Kitty and tell her why I 593 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:12.760 was there and who I was, and that was okay, 594 00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:14.880 and then I knew other BABA people. 595 00:38:15.559 --> 00:38:19.559 For international listeners, deb how would you explain Myrtle Beach 596 00:38:20.920 --> 00:38:25.440 Because it's like the opposite spiritual place. It's a beautiful place. 597 00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:27.559 It's a touristy place for golfers and beautiful. 598 00:38:28.039 --> 00:38:31.960 It is tourism on steroids. Yeah, I mean it really 599 00:38:32.079 --> 00:38:34.320 really is. It's not a place that I would want 600 00:38:34.400 --> 00:38:34.760 to live. 601 00:38:34.880 --> 00:38:39.880 There's beautiful beaches, beautiful places to golf, yes, lots of 602 00:38:39.920 --> 00:38:43.239 mini golfing as well, lots of big water slide places. 603 00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:46.880 There's like the Dixie Land Stampede, the Dolly parton the 604 00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:52.719 Medieval Nights Show. It's all sorts of lots of trip clubs. 605 00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:55.719 It's it's like, I don't know, like a little Las 606 00:38:55.800 --> 00:38:57.079 Vegas in the South. 607 00:38:57.440 --> 00:38:57.960 It really is. 608 00:38:58.039 --> 00:38:59.159 That's giving it more credit. 609 00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:03.760 But Nessel in the woods near this place, you would 610 00:39:03.760 --> 00:39:05.480 think you were on a different planet when you go 611 00:39:05.519 --> 00:39:10.440 into center. It is absolutely beautiful, just gorgeous. 612 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:14.000 Is that where I went to see the monks do 613 00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:16.239 their sand mandalas? 614 00:39:16.519 --> 00:39:17.000 I don't know. 615 00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:19.679 I went to North Myrtle Beach. Oh, this is like 616 00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:23.280 seven years ago, and there were these visiting Buddhist monks 617 00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:28.519 and they spent the week making these elaborate, gorgeous mandalas, 618 00:39:28.639 --> 00:39:31.320 all made out of different colored sand. And at the 619 00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:34.599 end of the week they just took a big inhale 620 00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:37.679 and blew it all away, all their beautiful work. It 621 00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:40.559 was such a bistical, wonderful thing to see. I wonder 622 00:39:40.559 --> 00:39:42.400 if that's where I was, and I didn't even know. 623 00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:45.760 I don't know. It's a beautiful place. It's a lovely 624 00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:49.639 testament to Baba. There are items that belonged to Baba 625 00:39:50.039 --> 00:39:53.480 in what's called Baba's house. There there's a chair that 626 00:39:53.559 --> 00:39:56.800 had been his in India, but he also had and 627 00:39:57.119 --> 00:40:02.639 still has other spiritual retreat centers Brisbane, Australia and Ojai, California, 628 00:40:03.039 --> 00:40:05.800 and he had been to these retreat centers after they 629 00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:08.119 were being set up and so forth along the way. 630 00:40:08.360 --> 00:40:12.719 In nineteen fifty two, as he was heading from the 631 00:40:12.760 --> 00:40:17.400 Mayor Spiritual Center in South Carolina to Ojai, California, the 632 00:40:17.400 --> 00:40:20.559 one there near its town in Oklahoma called Prague, he 633 00:40:20.599 --> 00:40:23.440 was in a terrible car accident and he came back 634 00:40:23.480 --> 00:40:26.719 to Myrtle Beach to recuperate for a while. He was 635 00:40:26.760 --> 00:40:30.199 at Elizabeth's house at the time, so he worked on 636 00:40:30.280 --> 00:40:32.719 some writing and so forth while he was with Elizabeth. 637 00:40:33.079 --> 00:40:38.320 He began Dictating God Speaks in nineteen fifty three and 638 00:40:38.400 --> 00:40:43.800 dedicated the book to the universe, the Illusion that Sustains Reality. 639 00:40:44.840 --> 00:40:48.880 It's a beautiful book. He spent some time throughout India 640 00:40:49.559 --> 00:40:53.639 traveling around talking not talking, let me rephrase that, having 641 00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:56.880 his words spoken for him about what he believed in 642 00:40:57.039 --> 00:41:00.559 was practicing. He was in another car accident in nineteen 643 00:41:00.599 --> 00:41:04.199 fifty six, this time in India, where he had really 644 00:41:04.239 --> 00:41:07.760 severe injuries and the doctor said he would never walk again. 645 00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:10.840 He did, but he was in constant pain for the 646 00:41:10.880 --> 00:41:13.639 rest of his life and sometimes needed to be carried 647 00:41:14.039 --> 00:41:17.840 from venue to venue. Then, in nineteen sixties, as the 648 00:41:17.920 --> 00:41:22.280 drug culture grew in the West, Baba developed relationships with 649 00:41:22.360 --> 00:41:26.960 Timothy Leary and Richard Albert, who became, of course, Barba roumdants, 650 00:41:27.360 --> 00:41:31.079 and he urged them to oppose the use of hallucinogens 651 00:41:31.079 --> 00:41:35.519 for spiritual purposes. Although his body continued to deteriorate, he 652 00:41:35.599 --> 00:41:40.800 continued to write and work until his death. When he died, 653 00:41:41.880 --> 00:41:46.480 his remains were entombed in Meyerbad. He never broke his silence. 654 00:41:46.599 --> 00:41:50.320 He never spoke again. Folks who followed Baba and who 655 00:41:50.519 --> 00:41:54.199 study his teachings say that his teachings can be divided 656 00:41:54.639 --> 00:41:59.519 into two interrelated categories, his metaphysics on the nature of 657 00:41:59.559 --> 00:42:04.159 the soul and the universe, and practical advice for someone 658 00:42:04.360 --> 00:42:09.000 aspiring to be more spiritual in their lives. His metaphysics 659 00:42:09.000 --> 00:42:13.599 perspective is mostly found in God's Speaks. It contains detailed 660 00:42:13.639 --> 00:42:17.599 statements on cosmology, the purpose of life, the progression of 661 00:42:17.639 --> 00:42:21.239 the soul, and his teachings on the practical spiritual life 662 00:42:21.480 --> 00:42:25.440 are mostly contained in his work called Discourses the Avatar 663 00:42:25.519 --> 00:42:28.440 Meher Baba Charitable Trust, which I mentioned earlier as the 664 00:42:28.519 --> 00:42:33.440 outgrowth of his medical organizations, continues to work for folks 665 00:42:33.480 --> 00:42:36.000 who come to see him. But there's also a veterinary 666 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:40.320 clinic there. And again this is in Amanagar in India. 667 00:42:40.440 --> 00:42:45.079 In the sixties, as his fame spread and as he 668 00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:49.880 had that relationship with Timothy Leary and Barbara Ramdats, there 669 00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:54.840 were many musicians who felt drawn to Baba. One of 670 00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:58.639 them was absolutely one of my favorite musicians. Her name 671 00:42:58.679 --> 00:43:01.719 is Melanie Sofka. Most folks, of course, only know her 672 00:43:01.760 --> 00:43:05.320 as Melanie, and she wrote a song called Candles in 673 00:43:05.400 --> 00:43:09.159 the Rain. Lay Down, Lay Down, lay it all down. 674 00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:13.079 Let your whitebirds mile up at the one who stands 675 00:43:13.119 --> 00:43:18.599 in Friends. Mayor Baba lives again. Lit Candles in the Rain, 676 00:43:18.880 --> 00:43:22.360 Mayor Baba Lives Again. Candles in the Rain. Love that 677 00:43:22.559 --> 00:43:25.880 song and I love Melanie's love of Baba. For those 678 00:43:25.920 --> 00:43:27.400 of you who are old enough to know who the 679 00:43:27.480 --> 00:43:30.960 who is, they're still playing. They're going on tour again 680 00:43:31.000 --> 00:43:33.239 this year. One of their lead singers, of course, was 681 00:43:33.280 --> 00:43:37.760 Pete Townsend, and Pete Townsend was a follower of Baba. 682 00:43:38.119 --> 00:43:40.639 He was at the Baba Center the second time I 683 00:43:40.760 --> 00:43:41.159 was there. 684 00:43:41.320 --> 00:43:42.280 Did you get to meet them? 685 00:43:42.760 --> 00:43:44.719 Well, hello, how are you? Is nice to see you. 686 00:43:44.840 --> 00:43:47.840 I mean, you know, you don't much talk to Pete Townsend. 687 00:43:47.559 --> 00:43:48.760 But that's still really cool. 688 00:43:49.039 --> 00:43:51.079 It was cool. If you know anything about the Who, 689 00:43:51.119 --> 00:43:54.000 probably you know something about the rock opper Tommy and 690 00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:57.679 that album was dedicated to Baba. He also Pete Roso 691 00:43:57.760 --> 00:44:00.559 wrote a song called Baba O'Reilly, which was named of 692 00:44:00.639 --> 00:44:04.119 for Us, partly for Mayor Baba. But what's also important 693 00:44:04.159 --> 00:44:06.880 is that, in addition to his work with Rock and 694 00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:12.119 Roll and Who, Pete Townsend did several solo acoustic albums 695 00:44:12.440 --> 00:44:15.480 dedicated to Baba. But here's the phrase that most folks 696 00:44:15.519 --> 00:44:19.480 probably know that they don't know comes from Boba. Remember 697 00:44:19.840 --> 00:44:25.880 the big hit by Bobby McFerrin called don't Worry Be Happy? 698 00:44:26.159 --> 00:44:30.039 Oh yeah, that phrase comes from Boba's books, Don't Worry 699 00:44:30.119 --> 00:44:34.119 Be Happy, And of course over time that became such 700 00:44:34.119 --> 00:44:39.079 a trite catch phrase in American culture, and from Baba, 701 00:44:40.239 --> 00:44:44.920 it was a very serious admiration. He meant it, don't 702 00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:48.039 worry be happy, and that was a part of Boba's 703 00:44:48.079 --> 00:44:53.320 teachings with such joy, such a belief in the beauty 704 00:44:53.400 --> 00:44:57.079 and the wonder and the kindness of the universe around him. 705 00:44:58.079 --> 00:45:00.679 Beautiful message, and you're right, we have. I've made it 706 00:45:00.840 --> 00:45:04.199 trait with orry be happy, And there's even something kind 707 00:45:04.239 --> 00:45:06.679 of trait when you hear it. If I was worried 708 00:45:06.719 --> 00:45:09.480 about something and someone said, oh, don't worry, be happy, 709 00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:12.880 I'd be like, we'll screw you. I'm worried right now, 710 00:45:13.079 --> 00:45:16.679 you know, hold space with me. But when you say 711 00:45:16.719 --> 00:45:19.519 it as he intended it, it takes on a whole 712 00:45:19.559 --> 00:45:21.079 different meaning, doesn't it. 713 00:45:21.079 --> 00:45:23.400 It really does. And there are a couple of other 714 00:45:23.440 --> 00:45:25.519 thoughts that come to mind as I wrap up this 715 00:45:25.559 --> 00:45:31.400 thing about Mayor Baba. You remember that whole saga that 716 00:45:31.599 --> 00:45:36.559 happened when Jeane died and the treasure hunt she set 717 00:45:36.639 --> 00:45:40.159 me on, Oh yeah, to get me to hear the 718 00:45:40.199 --> 00:45:45.000 words be happy. Yep. Well, if she'd used baba, I 719 00:45:45.079 --> 00:45:50.400 might have gotten it more quicker, because I certainly associate 720 00:45:50.719 --> 00:45:53.920 that sentence don't worry, be happy with Mayho Baba. 721 00:45:53.960 --> 00:45:55.199 That's her personality. 722 00:45:55.320 --> 00:45:58.719 She wanted you to work for it, She absolutely did. 723 00:45:59.400 --> 00:46:01.679 But I want to share, as I close out talking 724 00:46:01.719 --> 00:46:04.079 about may Or Baba, one other thing. I have a 725 00:46:04.079 --> 00:46:06.719 friend who, as I mentioned earlier, I have a lot 726 00:46:06.719 --> 00:46:09.559 of friends who are Biba followers, and one of them 727 00:46:09.599 --> 00:46:14.159 died a few years ago and his ashes are interred 728 00:46:14.280 --> 00:46:17.920 in mayor Bad. He loved Baba a lot, and my 729 00:46:18.000 --> 00:46:21.400 friend came from a culture where it took a lot 730 00:46:21.440 --> 00:46:26.960 for his parents to accept my friend's love of Baba, 731 00:46:27.119 --> 00:46:31.679 but they did eventually and became not Biba followers themselves, 732 00:46:31.920 --> 00:46:35.559 but certainly respectful of Baba and respectful of their son's 733 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:39.960 beliefs and practices as may Her Baba taught him. And 734 00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.440 so when my friend's parents died, and they died together 735 00:46:44.519 --> 00:46:48.800 in a terrible car accident. When they died and were 736 00:46:48.840 --> 00:46:53.320 buried in a cemetery, written on their headstones are the 737 00:46:53.360 --> 00:47:01.440 words love alone prevails. Love alone prevails. And that too 738 00:47:01.760 --> 00:47:02.920 is a quote from Mayer. 739 00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:05.679 Those are two very very famous quotes. 740 00:47:05.920 --> 00:47:07.519 Well Baba said them. 741 00:47:07.119 --> 00:47:07.840 Maybe all that. 742 00:47:09.360 --> 00:47:10.760 He didn't say them, you write them. 743 00:47:10.920 --> 00:47:11.480 Well, that's true. 744 00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:12.159 You know. 745 00:47:12.280 --> 00:47:14.920 I read this book years ago. It was written in 746 00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:18.719 the nineteen twenties, and it talks about the power of 747 00:47:18.880 --> 00:47:22.400 our mind. And one thing that author goes back to 748 00:47:22.559 --> 00:47:27.559 again and again and again is the energy we expel 749 00:47:28.000 --> 00:47:32.239 through talking. And I never really thought about it because 750 00:47:32.239 --> 00:47:36.079 everyone talks, but think about it. Like you're meeting people. 751 00:47:36.079 --> 00:47:38.920 You're thinking about what you should say, how you should respond, 752 00:47:39.400 --> 00:47:43.559 when you should pause eye contact. You're thinking about what 753 00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:46.280 would be helpful in this situation. Do they want help? 754 00:47:46.360 --> 00:47:49.000 Do they just want to talk? Do I do small 755 00:47:49.079 --> 00:47:52.079 talk here? Talk about the weather there? And so he said, 756 00:47:52.199 --> 00:47:55.960 you need to give yourself long stretches of silence in 757 00:47:56.000 --> 00:47:58.840 your day to reclaim your energy. 758 00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:03.119 Which is why I'm not always cheerful when the text. 759 00:48:09.320 --> 00:48:11.480 Oh golly, Samantha, I. 760 00:48:12.199 --> 00:48:14.639 D has been very, very fascinating. 761 00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:16.800 I don't know why I'm talked about Baba before, because 762 00:48:16.840 --> 00:48:18.480 I have so much respect for him. 763 00:48:18.760 --> 00:48:20.960 What's your favorite thing about him? 764 00:48:21.400 --> 00:48:23.920 Did he walked that talk? He was a happy man. 765 00:48:24.559 --> 00:48:27.880 He really every picture you ever see of Mayha Baba, 766 00:48:28.320 --> 00:48:31.559 he is laughing and smiling and jovial, and he saw 767 00:48:31.599 --> 00:48:35.039 the world as a kind and wonderful place, and his 768 00:48:35.119 --> 00:48:39.239 followers do too. I've been blessed to have spent some 769 00:48:39.280 --> 00:48:43.039 time with folks who are devout Baba followers, and they 770 00:48:43.159 --> 00:48:45.800 saw the world that way. I think he was a 771 00:48:45.840 --> 00:48:49.159 great gift to us. I think he inside Baba and 772 00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:51.159 certainly many other avatars that we could go off on 773 00:48:51.679 --> 00:48:54.000 a whole month long tangent here, I'm sure, but I 774 00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:58.480 think that there's a lot for me that when and 775 00:48:58.599 --> 00:49:00.559 that's a part of what happened when I was doing 776 00:49:00.559 --> 00:49:05.360 the research for this episode. I dove back into concepts 777 00:49:05.480 --> 00:49:09.239 that I realized laid the groundwork for a lot of 778 00:49:09.280 --> 00:49:12.480 what I believe, not necessarily that I'm good at practicing, 779 00:49:13.159 --> 00:49:16.719 but that I certainly respect and am grateful for. And 780 00:49:16.840 --> 00:49:19.039 I don't know that we've ever had any conversation about 781 00:49:19.480 --> 00:49:23.840 Hindu or Muslim culture from India before, or avatars like 782 00:49:23.920 --> 00:49:24.599 Mader Baba. 783 00:49:25.480 --> 00:49:28.599 No, and it's high time. What are some things before 784 00:49:28.639 --> 00:49:30.639 we close out that you were reminded of? 785 00:49:30.840 --> 00:49:33.880 Well, it sent me right back down my Melanie rabbit 786 00:49:33.920 --> 00:49:37.519 hole in an interesting way. She also wrote a song 787 00:49:37.599 --> 00:49:42.159 called Baby Day, and the chorus is take you and apple, 788 00:49:42.199 --> 00:49:44.840 and take you a song and watch a baby day 789 00:49:44.920 --> 00:49:47.639 be born. And back in the days when I and 790 00:49:47.719 --> 00:49:50.639 Joel and some other friends used to do our own 791 00:49:50.760 --> 00:49:54.480 version of a sunrise service on Easter morning, we would 792 00:49:54.519 --> 00:49:57.039 take guitars and we would sing Baby Day as the 793 00:49:57.079 --> 00:50:02.719 sun came up. And Wow, there's just such a connection 794 00:50:03.000 --> 00:50:06.360 and so much of our respect and a curiosity for 795 00:50:08.519 --> 00:50:13.559 exploring and finding respect for belief systems that may not 796 00:50:14.039 --> 00:50:17.360 be one that we knew very well. I mean, folks 797 00:50:17.360 --> 00:50:20.760 have heard me say forever, I've told that story about 798 00:50:21.239 --> 00:50:22.880 coming home and telling my daddy I wanted to be 799 00:50:22.920 --> 00:50:26.000 a Buddhist and because of the Beatles, because that's all 800 00:50:26.000 --> 00:50:28.000 I knew about India was that there were Buddhist people 801 00:50:28.079 --> 00:50:30.239 in India and the Beatles were going over there, so 802 00:50:30.280 --> 00:50:32.400 the bounderies and Bodha people over there. I mean, really, 803 00:50:32.400 --> 00:50:35.960 that's what I thought, age and my sweet Daddy's saying, 804 00:50:37.000 --> 00:50:39.440 just be the best Buddhist you could be. And what 805 00:50:39.639 --> 00:50:44.039 a gift that sentence was because it opened the door 806 00:50:44.599 --> 00:50:48.400 for exploration of looking at the world through so many 807 00:50:48.440 --> 00:50:52.760 different lenses. And certainly part of that has spent my 808 00:50:52.840 --> 00:50:55.519 respect for mey and Baba all these years, and it 809 00:50:55.559 --> 00:50:59.400 took me back to wonderful places of my respect for Baba. 810 00:50:59.400 --> 00:51:01.639 And folks, I know, who are his followers. 811 00:51:02.159 --> 00:51:04.800 Well, it's a testimony to your father too, given that 812 00:51:04.880 --> 00:51:09.599 he was such a strong Christian man. Oh yeah, you know, 813 00:51:09.840 --> 00:51:12.559 and to say that to his child, it just says 814 00:51:12.599 --> 00:51:15.679 a lot about the kind of wise person he was. 815 00:51:16.199 --> 00:51:18.000 He was. My daddy was a pretty cool guy. 816 00:51:18.400 --> 00:51:21.199 Yeah, well, we've went out of time for my research, 817 00:51:21.800 --> 00:51:26.159 and that's totally fine. We will revisit mine in February. 818 00:51:26.360 --> 00:51:32.119 And mine wouldn't really match with this lovely, beautiful show anyway, 819 00:51:32.159 --> 00:51:38.079 because I researched a twentieth century French alchemist who may 820 00:51:38.159 --> 00:51:42.360 or may not have achieved immortality, and then I researched 821 00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:46.840 a mystic teacher who may have been a manipulator or 822 00:51:47.360 --> 00:51:50.800 may have really been a profound teacher. The jury's still out. 823 00:51:50.920 --> 00:51:54.440 So some interesting people that will keep talking about and 824 00:51:54.480 --> 00:51:58.440 bring to you next month. But next week we have 825 00:51:58.719 --> 00:52:01.840 some fantastic guests we're going to introduce you to, so 826 00:52:02.280 --> 00:52:04.840 we have lots of exciting and fun stuff coming up. 827 00:52:05.440 --> 00:52:09.440 I really appreciated learning more about these people, and it 828 00:52:09.519 --> 00:52:14.599 really has made me think about often the futility of speaking. 829 00:52:15.159 --> 00:52:16.679 And I don't even know if I mean that when 830 00:52:16.719 --> 00:52:18.719 I say that, because I think a lot of speaking 831 00:52:19.320 --> 00:52:21.800 is so important. You know, we need to be heard, 832 00:52:21.840 --> 00:52:23.519 and we need to hear others, and we need to 833 00:52:23.519 --> 00:52:26.320 hold space for them, and we need to be really 834 00:52:26.519 --> 00:52:30.360 really good stewards of listening. But I think there's a 835 00:52:30.360 --> 00:52:33.000 lot of power in silence too, and all of these 836 00:52:33.039 --> 00:52:37.159 men you've talked about today definitely lived that and taught that. 837 00:52:37.840 --> 00:52:40.320 There's an episcopal retreat center not far from where you 838 00:52:40.400 --> 00:52:44.960 and I live. That host periodically throughout the year silence 839 00:52:45.159 --> 00:52:48.800 times in one of their houses on the property. And 840 00:52:48.880 --> 00:52:52.159 I have been twice and spent three or four days 841 00:52:52.199 --> 00:52:57.039 in silence at that retreat center, and it was just 842 00:52:57.760 --> 00:53:01.199 wonderful to be in a space with that was the expectation. 843 00:53:01.760 --> 00:53:04.119 And one time there was another woman in the house 844 00:53:05.039 --> 00:53:08.119 and I had been assigned a downstairs bedroom and she 845 00:53:08.159 --> 00:53:11.000 had been assigned an upstairs bedroom far down the hall 846 00:53:11.079 --> 00:53:15.000 from me. And I spent three or four days with 847 00:53:15.119 --> 00:53:20.360 this woman and we never spoke, We never ever ever talked, 848 00:53:20.719 --> 00:53:23.480 and we had meals together. We sat at a table 849 00:53:23.840 --> 00:53:29.239 in silence together. And my last morning there, as I 850 00:53:29.280 --> 00:53:31.119 had packed up and was going to have breakfast with 851 00:53:31.159 --> 00:53:33.599 her one more time, I wrote a note and just 852 00:53:33.639 --> 00:53:36.079 put it by her plate that just said, I hope 853 00:53:36.119 --> 00:53:39.599 you've gotten what you've come for in this weekend to 854 00:53:39.679 --> 00:53:42.599 this time together. And she looked up and smiled at me, 855 00:53:43.039 --> 00:53:44.639 and that was as close as we came to talk. 856 00:53:45.960 --> 00:53:50.639 Wow, you've done that a few times. I half, yeah, 857 00:53:50.679 --> 00:53:53.400 I think that's so commendable because I would have to 858 00:53:53.440 --> 00:53:56.159 write that note and then add PS, I love your shoes. 859 00:53:56.199 --> 00:54:01.920 Where'd you get them? Here's my email. Let's talk, of course, 860 00:54:03.760 --> 00:54:08.199 but I can be silent. I do enjoy silence, but 861 00:54:08.239 --> 00:54:11.599 I also love meeting people and hearing their stories. 862 00:54:11.639 --> 00:54:14.119 And I don't know, so I was curious, as I 863 00:54:14.199 --> 00:54:16.000 was very curious as to why she was saying, what 864 00:54:16.159 --> 00:54:17.920 she was doing, what she was up to. But I 865 00:54:18.039 --> 00:54:20.519 was saying to write and to meditate. Yeah, and that's 866 00:54:20.559 --> 00:54:21.239 what I did. 867 00:54:21.440 --> 00:54:25.719 When you were saying, why you love his work, mayor 868 00:54:25.760 --> 00:54:29.719 Boba's work because he walks his walk. That's how I 869 00:54:29.760 --> 00:54:35.039 always talk about you. I do when people say, like, oh, 870 00:54:35.119 --> 00:54:37.880 tell me about your friend, your co host, and I 871 00:54:37.920 --> 00:54:40.360 always say what I love about deb is she walks 872 00:54:40.440 --> 00:54:41.159 her walk. 873 00:54:41.639 --> 00:54:45.119 Oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah Yeahoi. 874 00:54:45.599 --> 00:54:49.480 No, you actually do what you say and what you teach. 875 00:54:49.519 --> 00:54:52.599 And like you said, there's very very few people you know, 876 00:54:53.719 --> 00:54:56.639 like I actually do play with crystals every day, and 877 00:54:56.760 --> 00:54:59.599 we do actually meditate every day. But I don't think 878 00:54:59.639 --> 00:55:02.800 everyone you know, so you do that in many, many, 879 00:55:02.840 --> 00:55:07.440 many ways. Okay, before we end, this show is airing 880 00:55:07.599 --> 00:55:10.880 in your ears on Sunday, but we're recording it on 881 00:55:11.000 --> 00:55:15.480 January sixth and today, deb Did you know this? In 882 00:55:15.639 --> 00:55:19.719 Ireland this is called Women's Christmas? 883 00:55:20.960 --> 00:55:21.880 Yes, I didn't know that. 884 00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:26.119 Tell a traditional day for brothers and women to rest 885 00:55:26.280 --> 00:55:30.280 and celebrate after the busy holiday season, and they have 886 00:55:30.360 --> 00:55:33.719 the men take over holiday chores and the women will 887 00:55:33.719 --> 00:55:37.000 gather in pubs or homes for meals and socializing and 888 00:55:37.199 --> 00:55:42.280 just take the entire day to rest and relax. It 889 00:55:42.320 --> 00:55:45.199 falls on January sixth, twelfth Night, or the Feast of 890 00:55:45.239 --> 00:55:52.159 the Epiphany, officially marking the end of Christmas festivities. I 891 00:55:52.239 --> 00:55:53.039 love that idea. 892 00:55:53.880 --> 00:55:56.199 I do too. I think it ought to come more 893 00:55:56.199 --> 00:55:56.920 than once the year. 894 00:55:57.480 --> 00:56:00.679 I do too. I think we should give ourselves what 895 00:56:00.800 --> 00:56:03.880 is it called Women's Christmas or Little Christmas? We should 896 00:56:03.920 --> 00:56:07.840 give ourselves a little Christmas day off every quarter at. 897 00:56:07.800 --> 00:56:10.840 Least, right, I thanks so, absolutely so. 898 00:56:11.360 --> 00:56:13.800 If you guys are listening to this on Sunday and 899 00:56:13.880 --> 00:56:17.639 you missed January sixth to take a day off, take 900 00:56:17.679 --> 00:56:19.920 this as you're cue to plan a little day of 901 00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.760 rest after the busy bustliness of the holiday season we 902 00:56:25.039 --> 00:56:28.039 just had. I still need those reminders, don't we? 903 00:56:28.480 --> 00:56:30.840 Oooh? Do we not? You know I'm already ready for 904 00:56:31.239 --> 00:56:33.840 a silent retreat against I'm just thinking about it makes 905 00:56:33.840 --> 00:56:34.400 me want to go. 906 00:56:35.039 --> 00:56:38.360 Okay, well, let's go be silent for now, everybody. We 907 00:56:38.440 --> 00:56:40.920 hope you enjoyed this episode. We'll be back with you 908 00:56:40.960 --> 00:56:44.760 next week. In the meantime, be the light for yourself 909 00:56:44.840 --> 00:56:45.440 and others. 910 00:56:45.760 --> 00:56:48.880 Take care everyone. 911 00:56:53.519 --> 00:56:57.159 Thank you for listening to Psychic Teachers, your podcast for seekers, 912 00:56:57.239 --> 00:57:00.840 light workers, mystics, and magical thinkers. If you like the show, 913 00:57:00.880 --> 00:57:03.079 please tell a friend or leave us a review wherever 914 00:57:03.119 --> 00:57:06.199 you listen to your podcast. For more information, check out 915 00:57:06.239 --> 00:57:10.199 our Facebook page Psychic Teachers, or our websites Samantha Fay 916 00:57:10.239 --> 00:57:13.559 dot com and Debbowen dot com. Thanks for listening and 917 00:57:13.679 --> 00:57:14.559 have a great week.