Conversations about Meher Baba

Late Night Chat with Margi Connor: Childlike cheerfulness, Feb 8, 2024, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts.Jai Baba all!I want to remind all of you that I will only be doing the Late Night Chats on the second Thursday of each month from now on, but if anyone has anything that they would like to talk about or want to share just let me know and I will get you set up to do it on the other weeks.For this week, I was racking my brain for what to talk about. I typically pick the topics based on what Baba is bringing up in my current life so I thought why not do the same with this? After all, Baba always emphasized the sacredness of children and the importance of bringing childlike cheerfulness into our lives. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I have been trying to create a morning routine that starts my day with connecting to and listening to what Baba is telling me. I have been doing that by doing a meditation and then journaling about whatever comes up, but journaling more in the style of a discussion between Baba and me rather than just talking to myself. I do highly recommend it and it's made such a difference in feeling His presence throughout the day.My thought was to try something similar altogether. We will start this Late Night with a guided Inner Child meditation. This is something I do with my clients all the time and it always brings beautiful imagery, but keep the tissues nearby. I am going to put a "Baba spin" on it. After I will give you all a few mins to journal and write about it, then if you feel called we can share what came up.Looking forward to something different and connecting with all of you!In His Love,MargiTo join the email list for Late Night Chats, please 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

Late Night Chat with Jeff: Richard Sander, Feb 4, 2024, 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: Rich Sander’s Baba StoryDear folks of Baba, In Mandali Hall at Meherazad beginning during the 1970s, one of the most favorite topics among the mandali was the story of how each of us was drawn to Baba. They were not so much interested in the narrative of our lives, but in those first moments when Baba entered our story, when the sunlight pierced the overcast sky of our minds and hearts. They could see the loving intervention of their Beloved in redeeming us from our lost condition. We have as our guest today, Rich Sander, whom I have known since the early 1970s, and surprisingly, whose story I have never heard. We go back to that time in New York City when both of us would go to see Dr. Harry Kenmore, one of Baba’s intimate mandali. For me, Harry had the most powerful presence of the mandali, a larger-than-life figure with a booming voice, flashing eyes and exuding great confidence, reminding me of an Old Testament prophet. We both benefited immensely from Harry’s great love for Baba. Rich’s spiritual awakening started in Colorado where he grew up, and with his early connection to Rick Chapman and Allan Cohen, two of the younger followers of Baba whom He had asked to spread His message of discouraging the use of drugs among the Hippie generation. After his time in New York, Rich returned to Colorado and for years was part of the very active Denver Group. Besides his pilgrimage to India in 1972, Rich has come to the Center again and again over the last fifty years and has been a part of our Zoom sessions from his home in Grand Junction. This is roughly the outer itinerary of his life, but we will be most interested in the inner itinerary of his life with our Beloved Baba. In his own words, he says, “I am just learning the gift of Baba’s love beyond our limited identity and struggle.” We as listeners are invited to ask him questions to draw out his story.In 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

Thursday Late Night Chat: Amartithi Stories, Feb 1, 2024, live on Baba Zoom

Hey Friends/Family in BabaI will be hosting a late night chat this Thursday night, February 1st, it will an Amartithi version for the subject of late night chats as February 1st is the day after amartithi. For this late night chat feel free to share how your Amartithi went, maybe you spent it at your local Baba group, maybe you were in Myrtle Beach, maybe in India, Australia, maybe you enjoyed the day at home wherever you were reflecting on Amartithi. Feel free to share any experiences from Amartithi of this year or past years. Also feel free to share any poems, songs, etc that you have shared in the past at any Amartithi programs you’ve been at. Looking forward to seeing all who can make it. Much love in Baba Peter 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

Late Night Chat with Jeff: Goher Mobed, Jan 2, 2024, 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: Goher Mobed’s Baba storyDear folks of Baba, In the final session of Effort and Grace, we read where Darwin is making the point that we think we are the doer of our efforts but eventually we realize they have been precipitated by Baba all along. I found the quote I was looking for from the Sufi Perfect Master, Bayazid Bistami, that captures Darwin’s point so clearly: "At the outset I was mistaken in four respects. I set out to remember God, to know Him, to love Him and to seek Him. When I came to the end of my journey, I saw that He had remembered me before I remembered Him, that His knowledge of me had preceded my knowledge of Him, that His love for me had existed before my love for Him, and He had sought me before I sought Him.” Tonight, we have the good fortune to have with us Goher Mobed, the daughter of Minoo Kharas, one of the early mandali. Growing up within the orbit of Baba’s love, she will share her own meetings with Baba. And there is the story of her father’s poignant search for God, which is unique and very touching, and shows Baba’s most loving response. Feel free to ask her questions as she shares her story. I am hoping over the next several weeks that some of you, like Goher, will volunteer to share your coming to Baba story. Most of us have been together for years now on Zoom, and I thought it would be interesting and moving to hear how Baba has reeled each of us in. Sometimes even our childhood sense of the divine plays a part in how we experience Baba now. The sharing will be quite informal. You won’t have to memorize anything; those of us listening will ask questions along the way to help draw out your story.In 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

Late Night Chat with Jeff: the impact of ”Effort & Grace,” Jan 21, 2024, 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: The Impact of Effort and GraceDear Folks of Baba, We are at the very end of Darwin’s book, Effort and Grace, and I thought after going over the last two sections, it would be interesting to hear from each other the impact that his book has had on our inner life. As I had said in a previous email, in my early years with Baba I had only a very nebulous and unformed idea of what was meant by the "inner life”. I thought that if I just went on living my life with Baba, my inner life would somehow be taken care of automatically. In going to Darwin and Jeanne’s meetings, I gathered from them that it is possible and even indispensable to be pro-active in focussing on the many subtle nuances of the inner life. Like all of us, from time to time I had had inner experiences, flashes of insight, sporadic intuitions, surges of enthusiasm and uncommon inspiration, and above all, Baba’s loving presence—a number of unusual fleeting experiences—but I had only a very vague idea of how to integrate them. In asking Darwin many questions about the inner life over the years, he provided, in his usual unassuming way, a description of our interior landscape and a roadmap through this mystical terrain to the foothills leading up to the pristine mountain of the soul. He shared many things that were over my head at the time, especially his whole concept of creating "inner space", and sometimes it wasn’t until decades later that I would find myself in one of the interior places that he had described. These inner recognitions, like dropped bread crumbs, would give me confidence that I was on the right track as I made my stumbling way toward Baba's outstretched arms. What is paramount in Darwin’s approach is the intimate companionship that can be thrillingly enjoyed with Baba along the way, a relationship that is thoroughly enjoyed by Baba Himself! How has Darwin’s Effort and Grace impacted your inner life with Baba? Have you adopted some of the practices that Darwin has discussed such as the provisional ego, dressing our soul with Baba, creating more "inner space" by giving our emotional complexes to Him (“The deeper the feeling, the deeper the healing” as Darwin would say,); becoming less attached and more of a witness to the unfoldment of life, working to overcome unworthiness, striving to be more receptive to Baba’s grace and presence throughout the day! So, feel free to share what Darwin’s book has awakened in you.In 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

Late Night Chat with Margi Connor: Celebrating the Divine, Jan 18, 2024, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts.Jai Baba, fam!We had a few lovely weeks of Bif sharing his story and the virtual tour, and I assure you, he will be back (Baba willing) to share more of his invaluable stories of his time with the Mandali and living so many years in Meherabad. For this week, however, I thought it would be nice to come together and do something similar to what happens on Sunday evenings in the Reading Room at Meher Center. On the Center calendar, they call it "Celebrating the Divine," so I can't take credit for the name. ;). This week will be an open sharing of anything you would like to. It could be a song or poem you wrote or maybe reading a sweet short story from a book. You could tell a Baba story that you enjoy and something from your own life experience. The floor is open to entertain Baba in whatever way we can.Can't wait to connect with all of you on Thursday!In His Love,MargiTo join the email list for Late Night Chats, please contact Angela

Late Night Chat with Jeff: E&G - Beatic Vision, Jan 14, 2024, 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! Dear folks of Baba, We are now on the final chapter of Darwin Shaw’s classic book, Effort and Grace, entitled, The Treasure in Our Hands, on page 116. Here he speaks of the “beatific vision” which is our destiny after all our efforts and Baba’s grace. It is a glimpse into the very essence of His Being. Darwin was insistent that it is not a future attainment, but is available and is happening right in this very moment. It is a shift from the passing present (representing the past/present/future paradigm) into the experience of the timeless present—which Baba calls the Eternal Now. I remember someone once saying to Darwin, that in recounting his times with Baba, he seemed to be re-living those magnificent experiences. Darwin was quick to say that he was not re-living these experiences with Baba, he was living them! Later, in speaking with him, he conveyed to me that Baba’s life took place in time, but also it is always taking place in timelessness. Any period of His life can be accessed as a living experience if we can let go of our attachment to seeing things always through the lens of time. As Darwin would affirm, we have not missed seeing Baba. He can be seen right now as He was in the past and most importantly, He is relating so personally to us right now in our hearts. There is an experience that Darwin shared with us a number of times, although it did not appear fully in his writings. It took place in 1954 during what became known as the Three Incredible Weeks when Baba invited some seventeen men as His guests in Meherabad. The men had Baba's intimate company during this time, and on one occasion while they were gathered in what is now known as the Museum Room, Baba was dictating a message on the alphabet board. At one point, Bill LePage was deeply moved by a very poignant expression on Baba’s face, one of “ineffable sadness”. With tears in his eyes, these words came to him, “He is seeking only to be given a home in each heart.” Bill longed for Baba to just hold that expression but He continued dictating on His board.However, not long after, Baba suddenly stopped and asked the men to look at Him for five minutes. Instantly, Baba assumed the exact expression that Bill was longing to see. Meanwhile, here is what Darwin shared with us during those five minutes. As he was looking at Baba, veils upon veils began to drop away from his inner vision and Baba became more radiant, and from radiant to splendor and from splendor to effulgence. Gradually, Baba’s form dissolved into an ocean of Divine Love! Darwin would say, “You can actually see Divine Love!” After this beatific vision, very gradually, Baba’s form reappeared and He was again sitting in the room right before them. From God in human form to the formless infinity of God and back to His form—in five minutes! Darwin would share that eventually the eye of the soul opens, and it is possible to see Baba face-to-face. This is the treasure awaiting us. All our efforts and Baba’s grace one day will clear away the inner veils that hide the sight of HIs living presence in this very moment. To see Him is to be drenched in Divine Love. Baba has said that He is more eager for this culminating moment than we are, and He lovingly provides the ongoing inspiration behind all our efforts. This is the inner path that Darwin shares in this book, Effort and Grace, which is one of the major approaches that ends in Baba’s arms. All the veils that impeded the flow of our intrinsic love fall away and we become who we always were—Divine Love itself. Rumi has said, “If the door of your soul were to open for an instant, you would see that the heart of every existent thing is your intimate friend.” In the end, this door is no longer open for just an instant, but for eternity! If there is time, it would be so touching to hear from you what Darwin’s book has opened up and inspired in you.In 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

Late Night Chat with Jeff: E&G - Spiritualizing our lives, Jan 7, 2024, 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: Spiritualizing Our LivesDear folks of Baba, I hope you have survived the holidays and still have your wits about you as we delve into the second to the last chapter of Darwin Shaw’s Effort and Grace, Spiritualizing Our Lives, on page 111. Here he is talking about moving permanently into the level of the spirit and living from there, which requires the shutting down of what he calls the “wanting machine.” In this state, it is about expressing love in the world around us rather than wanting anything from it. This love can flow out unseen; it does not always have to be expressed outwardly. At the level of the spirit, we experience Baba as the loving doer and we are merely “conduits” as Darwin would often say. Eventually life just unfolds; we experience it as being orchestrated by Baba’s love. He has written, "The goal is to achieve perfect inaction, which does not mean merely inactivity. When the self is absent, one achieves inaction in one’s every action.” The ego is effaced when we realize our self (our identity) as spirit. This is equivalent to “bringing the kingdom of heaven down on earth.” Or as Kitty Davy often used to say, our work is to “spiritualize matter.” This is a very gradual evolution. The first intimation of my need to redirect my focus from the ego to the realm of the spirit came during one of the meetings at the Shaws. After reading one of Baba’s discourses, those of us gathered were enjoying cookies and apple juice which Jeanne would always provide. I was standing near Darwin, and very casually he looked at me and said, “You are not the personality self.” The truth of his words must have sunk very deeply because I found myself thinking, “I thought the whole purpose of life was to get to know myself more and more deeply and go on improving myself until I reached the goal!” Here Darwin was essentially saying that I was barking up the wrong tree. Even though his remark was completely over my head at the time, I filed it away within my consciousness with the idea that one day I would evolve into the truth of it. From time to time, Darwin would say that "the personality self is just a storefront for the soul.” We make such efforts to arrange the window displays with the changing seasons when we could go through the door and enjoy the priceless merchandise inside. The realm of the spirit is, so to speak, behind the personality self, which I feel is where Baba is leading us. We come to know we are different from our personality; ideally it is merely a vehicle for the spirit just as the flute is a vehicle for the music of the musician. When we are raised to the level of the spirit, everything is spiritualized. All that happens is seen as a spiritual unfoldment leading toward Baba and our own divinity. As Teilhard de Chardin, the French mystic and theologian, once said, “We are not human beings have a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”In 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

Thursday Late Night Chat: Bif Soper virtual tour Part 2, Jan 4, 2024, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of heartsJai Baba!I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and is ready to get back into the swing of routine. We will be continuing with Bif on the virtual tour through the Valleys of the Saints and Aurangabad. If you haven't seen part 1, I highly recommend watching it before joining on Thursday evening. Here is the link for it!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr4otiMDKSgIn His Love, MargiTo join the email list for Late Night Chats, please 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

Late Night Chat with Margi Connor: Sharing Mehera Stories, Dec 21, 2023, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts. Jai Baba all!Bif is unavailable to finish the second half of the virtual tour this week due to a birthday celebration happening for Mehera at Meherazad in the morning. He will be joining us again in the new year on Jan 5 to finish it up, so stay tuned!This week, however, we will celebrate Mehera's birthday together with an open sharing of stories. I want to highlight that this is not meant just to be reserved for people who had the pleasure of meeting Mehera, although those stories are of course welcomed. What is your inner experience of the Feminine side of God? Have you had dreams? Is there resistance or fear surrounding Mehera? Do you feel Her love and presence as much as you feel Baba's? Do they play different roles? Have you had a mystical experience with her or felt deeply connected to Her physical form?Very much looking forward to this sharing and can't wait to see how we honor the Queen!In His Love,MargiTo join the email list for Late Night Chats, please 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