Conversations about Meher Baba

Late Night Chat with Jeff W: “Not Too Near, Not Too Far”: Relating to Others, May 19, 2025/Baba Zoom

Topic: “Not Too Near, Not Too Far”: Relating to OthersDear folks of Baba, In the late 1930s and into the mid-40s, Baba was working with a large group of Eastern and Western women on the hill at Upper Meherabad. At one point when He was with Helen Dahm, an artist from Switzerland, she complained to Him about her difficulties and discomfort in being around so many others. She was a loner type, but He did not humor her and said of this Advent that--“The Path is through people.” We know when He came as Buddha, He advocated setting aside periods of time in isolation to meditate on the Divine. What is asked of us today is quite different. Baba is emphasizing a family feeling for each other, to be as brothers and sisters in His love. From His last message on the alphabet board, Baba went so far to say that we would “realize Truth by being bound to each other with internal links.” This is extraordinary! He is not only encouraging us to be bound to Him, but bound to each other. Baba gave a valuable hint on how to relate to others that keeps our love flowing. Back in the 1930s, Baba gave an order to His men mandali in regard to women: “Not too near, not too far.” I have found that this order is of immense and invaluable help in relating to others. I witnessed over the years how Baba’s mandali embodied the truth of these words in relating so intimately to all of us when we were with them. Its deeper meaning became clearer to me as I discussed with the mandali what our relationship with others should be. As I wrote in one of the recent emails, Darwin Shaw would tell us that we are embodiments of Baba’s Ocean of Divine Love right now, not just in the future. And even though this ocean is striking us with its full force every moment, by the time it passes through all of the layers of our ego and personality with its likes and dislikes, this ocean is often reduced to a mere stream, at most a river. There is little love left to offer to others. However, from the mandali I learned that there is a way of making the most of the love coming through us. The heart is our primary vehicle for expressing love, and if it is shut down, the flow of love is blocked. Therefore, it is supremely important to keep the heart open and flowing, and that is where Baba’s injunction, “Not too near, not too far,” is extremely valuable. If, for example, we are confronted with a person with a prickly personality, we have to be careful not to bring our heart too near, otherwise they may lash out and cause our heart to shut down, and so the flow of love, which is what we are here to express, is blocked. This is not done for self-protection but for safeguarding the flow of our love. Thus, it is important to position ourself by withdrawing inwardly a certain distance which allows the person to be their prickly self without causing our heart to shut down. Even in the course of a conversation, we may have to withdraw at times when sharp or sarcastic remarks are likely to happen. The whole aim is to keep the love flowing toward the other person, because if we don’t flow out with love to others (this can be done invisibly), we diminish ourselves by that much. Our life becomes smaller. The same is true if our heart is too distant; others don’t know how to relate to us and so they keep their love at a distance, and we miss out on the joy of the “give and take” of love with others. However, if a person is especially abusive or even dangerous, we may have to love them from a great distance, from afar. Baba’s simple advice is an invaluable guideline in relating to others which enables our love to continue flowing and maintaining, as Baba has encouraged, our internal links with others. Tuning into our intuition moment-to-moment is our best guide in this process. Of course, when our heart is deeply broken as in a divorce or the death of a loved one, the heart may shut down for years, and that usually requires a different method altogether to get the love flowing again. How do see your heart responding in situations with others? Do you sometimes come too close to them and frequently get your heart hurt? Do you play it safe and keep a distance, but then lose some of the intimacy with others? What kinds of behavior from others do you find that shuts down your heart? Are you particularly sensitive to such things as sarcasm or indifference or a superior air expressed by others? What type of treatment from others hurts your heart? How do you deal with these subtle and problematic situations? Baba has said, “How can you realize My Infinite Presence If you shrink from me in those who hurt you and welcome Me only in those who please you.” In His love, JeffTo join the email list for Late Night Chats, contact AngelaThis event was recorded live. Please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net.

Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton: Expressing Our Love in Illusion, May 11, 2025 live on Baba Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But once a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for conversation, more readings, songs, quotes - you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: Expressing Our Love in IllusionDear folks of Baba, Baba has said that Creation is all an illusion, a zero, a complete nothing, a statement which I think was initially a shock to most of us, and we were faced with an overwhelming dilemma—what do we do with the love He has placed in our hearts if everything is an illusion? Early on, during my first couple of weeks of coming to Baba back in my college days, I woke up one morning and saw that all of life was an illusion. It was horrible, bleak and meaningless, for I had no place to express the love that was in my heart. How could I invest in something that was a total fake? I wandered around for three days with the most dreary and empty prospect before me. Thankfully, on the third morning, Baba conveyed this to me, “Even though all life is an illusion, it is always worthy of your most loving attention.” That bridged for me what seemed to be two impossible realms: the world of love and the realm of Illusion. Didn’t Baba Himself give His most loving attention to everything in this, His illusory world? For us, Love is first mirrored imperfectly in the world of Illusion before it is mirrored perfectly in Baba. He has said, “I am the Divine Beloved worthy of being loved because I am love. He who loves me because of this will be blessed with unlimited sight and will see Me as I am.”I remember discussing this subject one day with Darwin Shaw. It was his conviction that love, the love in us right now, was in fact here before Creation, and that we are always free to express love if we would only rise above our attachment to the opposites, especially our likes and dislikes. As Baba has said, Creation is a predestined drama for each of us, from the most gaseous state to our final realization of God. In our discussions, Darwin and I likened Creation to a black-and-white film, and through love we can add a magnificent array of colors to it. In every moment, we are free to express the love that Baba gives us through His grace! That is, we are not passive victims of a predestined drama; we can add rich and beautiful colors to every moment! With our love, we have a glorious part to play in His creation. We have the potential to love unconditionally; it is our birthright. Besides your love for Beloved Baba, where do you find the most attractive and compelling place to pour your love into? Where does your love most naturally and wholeheartedly flow? Baba has said, “I can say with divine authority that I experience eternally and consciously and continually being One with you all and One in you all. Any worship or obeisance done to any deity, animate or inanimate, to any saint, guru, yogi or advanced souls eventually comes to me. By offering pure, unadulterated love to anyone and anything, you will be loving me.” If we rise above our likes and dislikes, the floodgates of our pure hearts can always be opened to everyone and everything. Creation is a vast field we can pour our hearts into if we wish. What unexpected fields of love have opened up for you over the years with Baba? What are some of your passions that Baba has awakened in you? Do you sometimes experience a dilemma between loving Baba and loving others? How have you dealt with that? What difficulties do you experience in expressing love to others, especially when they resist what you have to give? Do you find that there are circumstances where it’s better to radiate love silently rather than expressing it outwardly? “To penetrate into the essence of all being and significance and to release the fragrance of that inner attainment for the guidance and benefit of others, by expressing in the world of forms--truth, love, purity and beauty--this is the sole game which has any intrinsic and absolute worth. All other happenings, incidents and attainments can, in themselves, have no lasting importance.” Meher BabaIn His love, Jeff To join the email list for Late Night Chats, contact AngelaThis event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily

Arsenio Rodriguez tells mandali stories, May 12, 2025 live on Baba Zoom

Arsenio Rodriguez had many short visits to Meherabad/Meherazad in the 70s and 90s because his employer sent him to India frequently. He said Eruch once greeted him, saying "Are you coming or going?" Tonight Arsenio will share some stories of his times with the mandali.Hosted by Betty Lowman in CA This event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily

Hamirpur Tales: Gil Alvarado, May 7, 2025 live on Baba Zoom

Celebrating Meher Baba's Declaration as the Highest of the High in Hamirpur.Guest speakers who met Pukar either in Hamirpur, at the Maine Mela, 8-10 August 1975, in Athens Maine, or who connected with Pukar on 2.5 month journey in the USATo date, the following interviews have been completed and are now available for your listening pleasure in the Babazoom recordings:Dr Richard Leveton, on tour with Pukar in Hamirpur, November,1972Ron Greenstein, on tour with Pukar in Hamirpur, February 1973Allen Ray Powell, on tour with Pukar in Hamirpur, February 1974, your host for the Maine Mela, August 1975Irwin Luck, on tour with Pukar in the US, Maine to Florida, August 1975Arsenio Rodriguez, hosted Pukar in San Juan Puerto Rico, September, 1975Gil Alvarado toured with Pukar in Hamirpur in 1971, his interview is forthcomingHosted by A R Powell in CAThis event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily

Merwan Dubash tells Baba stories, part 1, May 12, 2025 live on Baba Zoom

Every other Monday, Merwan will come and tell his Baba stories! He has a lot to share and tells the stories well, so be sure to listen to the whole series! There will be time for questions after every session.Hosted by Prakash Dheram in NJThis event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily

Sahavas for Everyone: Faith, May 7, 2025 live on Baba Zoom

Sahavas for Everyone. First and third Wed of the month."Faith" (from Twelve Ways of Realizing Me) by Meher Baba. ❤ Love to all no exceptions! ❤ Jai Baba!Hosted by Laurent Weichberger in SCThis event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily

Nick Principe ”Sharing Baba’s Kindness,” May 5, 2025, live on Baba Zoom

Nick will tell stories he heard from the Mandali, in the context of trying to live a life of the spirit. Questions and comments welcome!Hosted by Diana Goodheart in NCThis event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily

Baba Humor sharing meeting, May 4, 2025, live on Baba Zoom

Jai Baba dear Baba Family,Join me for a session on Beloved Baba's Love and Humour in our lives. Come share your funny stories of Baba's mischievous humour in your life or other humour stories of Beloved Baba. Baba loved Humour and time and again insisted on its importance. Let's all laugh with Baba and each other and entrust our life's stress and worries to HIM. ❤Hosted by Roshani Shenazz in MumbaiThis event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily

Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton: Transformative Moments w Baba, Apr 27, 2025 live on Baba Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But once a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for conversation, more readings, songs, quotes - you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: Transformative Moments with BabaDear Folks of Baba, For many of us, our most transformative moment was the moment we came to Baba, and the description of this moment is often the most touching. However, there are also many other pivotal and instructive moments in our life with Baba that are also invaluable to share. They take many unique forms: sudden insights or flashes of intuition that have served as course corrections to how we live our life, inner experiences or dreams that have opened a door to a deeper relationship with Baba, a moment in which we were given a fleeting glimpse of the soul. We may have received from Baba an unfailing way to access His presence in the course of our day. There are also exchanges with one of the mandali or someone in our daily life that have provided guidance at a critical time. For some of us, there have been moments in the tomb or in Baba’s bedroom at the Myrtle Beach Center in which something was communicated by Him that touched us deeply. Not all transformative moments need necessarily be positive on the surface. Sometimes realizing how selfish we’ve been may be an invaluable turning point in our lives. We may have put too much emphasis on work, for example, that caused us to not give enough attention to a loved one and we lose them. We may have bottomed out on alcohol which drove us to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that began a real change in our lives. You may have suddenly felt within to turn away from a self-centered habit of being. Baba has said, “A new line in the divine picture is sketched only when some individual takes life forcefully in his hands, breaks up the old patterns and insists on creating something new by his own inner vision.” What moments in your life have you found to be transforming? What were the circumstances and events leading up to these moments? How have these changes played out in your life? Did they create an instant change and have the results unfolded over time. We will all definitely benefit from hearing your awakening moments. “When pure love is first received as a gift of the Master, it becomes lodged in the consciousness of the aspirant like a seed in favorable soil, and in the course of time the seed develops into a plant and then into a full-grown tree.” Meher BabaIn His love, JeffTo join the email list for Late Night Chats, contact AngelaThis event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily

Sahavas for Everyone: Desperation part 2, April 16, 2025 live on Baba Zoom

Sahavas for Everyone. First and third Wed of the month."Desperation" (from Twelve Ways of Realizing Me) by Meher Baba. ❤ Love to all no exceptions! ❤ Jai Baba!Hosted by Laurent Weichberger in SCThis event was recorded live. To be first to be notified of a new video on this channel, please hit the red subscribe button, then the notifications bell. To join future live events, see www.babazoom.net. Please join our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/meherbabafamily