Here to explore complexities behind spirituality and unravel the confusion is one of my spiritual mentors, the extraordinary Douglas Bentley. Spirituality is about finding inner happiness, feeling love, and coming to a place where you're authentically at peace. Douglas' passion is helping people flower on the journey of spiritual awakening, and that's exactly what he does in our amazing conversation today. Listen in and learn about how to integrate spirituality and awakening into everyday life!
Connect With Douglas:
Douglas Bentley
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The Eternal Moment on YouTube
The Mission Log:
- [04:49] - Douglas talks about what his guru told him, and how he ended up getting sent home to help others.
- [06:00] - How did Douglas become a monk?
- [09:46] - We hear about Douglas' transition from being a monk to living in the Western world again, which in some ways was surprisingly easy.
- [12:15] - Douglas discusses why he loves and respects his master so much, and raves about how special it is to spend time around him.
- [13:45] - What's a being, or an avatar? And is Douglas himself an avatar in the sense that he has been describing?
- [16:33] - Orion takes a moment to share a powerful experience that she had at Oneness University in India. Douglas then explains some of what happened in the experience that Orion has described.
- [20:48] - Douglas points out that high states of consciousness are not the end goal, but they're very special things that change your perception forever.
- [21:41] - What is Douglas' definition of spirituality, and what is it to be spiritual?
- [26:10] - Orion has a hard time accepting things when they're hard, or when there's a major gap between reality and expectation. Douglas points out that she's not alone.
- [29:55] - The first step is just to understand that you happen to be in a physical, animal body that has a brain that constantly labels, assess, and compares sensory inputs.
- [34:11] - Douglas always tell people that they've been duped by the mind for their entire lives. The key is to fall out of resistance and not get sucked back into being engaged as the mind fighting the mind.
- [36:04] - Something that really helped Orion to be present with her body in the moment was taking pole dancing classes.
- [39:06] - Why can't we just stop suffering? In his answer, Douglas shares something that his teacher told him once: unless you start staying in the present moment, there is no more growth.
- [43:38] - Douglas talks about how to react proactively in the moment when someone treats you badly.
- [46:29] - What's the difference between being spiritual in the sense of being present in the moment and expressing your feelings (including anger), and being a destructive jerk?
- [50:22] - Douglas discusses how we can live more in awakened states.
- [53:22] - When Orion was younger, she used to do what Douglas has been recommending.
- [54:32] - One of the things that's important, but that people have to discover in their own way, is how incorrectly you're breathing.
- [60:35] - What are Douglas' three top tips for living a stellar life? He doesn't have three, but rather one powerful message: realize that you can come out of suffering internally by stepping out of daydreaming and stepping into a state of vast beingness.
- [61:13] - Douglas talks about where listeners can find him.
Links and Resources:
