Conversations about Meher Baba

Late Night Chat with Jeff: Laura Smith, June 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! Dear folks of Baba, We have had a few guest speakers from the younger generations, including Laurent Weichberger, Sevn McAuley and Margi Connor. Laura Smith, our guest for this Sunday, is between my generation and Margi’s. She grew up here in Myrtle Beach and was a bright, joyous, fun-loving and carefree presence on the Center. Her parents, Craig and Louise, moved here in 1971 to be near the Center and be a part of the Baba community. They had the great good fortune, to attend the ’69 Darshan in India, but Laura was not yet born. In her teenage years, Laura was an enthusiastic participant in the Youth Sahavas and then went off to college where she faced some of the temptations that many from our generation dealt with. She speaks very openly about her college struggles and Baba’s help during that period of her life. You will find her perspective unique and refreshing. As many of you know, she works at Sheriar Books as a most welcoming manager, along with her genial sidekick, Sheila Gambill, and a trip to the Center often includes a delightful Baba-filled visit to the bookstore! Baba is Laura's everything, and she speaks very frankly and openly about her struggles and the breakthroughs in her life with Him and also Mehera.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: Irwin Luck, May 20, 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: Irwin Luck’s Baba StoryDear folks of Baba, Again we are having as our guest speaker, Irwin Luck, one of the few in our country still living who met Baba. I tell him that he is on the "endangered species list!" He first met Baba in 1960 when he was just in his early 20s and he shares a very intimate perspective of Baba’s human side. Baba was so natural and loving with him and delighted in this boy's great enthusiasm for Him. He asked Baba many questions which Baba welcomed, and he had the good fortune of driving around in the car with Baba visiting places in Pune. He was with Baba at other times during the 1960s, including the East-West Gathering at Guruprasad in 1962, and he was in Meherabad when Baba was being lowered in His grave on the 7th of February, 1969. As always, Irwin welcomes any questions and gives a broad perspective of Baba as the Avatar and what it means to live for Him. Irwin lives in Myrtle Beach and is a delight to be around, entertaining in so many ways. Over the years, he has written many poems which he posts regularly that give valuable insights into the life with Baba, and he has worked tirelessly for Baba for over sixty years. Come and enjoy his great sense of humor, and bring questions. Let’s see if we can ask him a question he can’t answer! That would be a first!!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: Controlling Anger, May 13, 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: Controlling AngerDear folks of Baba, One of the greatest challenges facing us in our life with Baba is acquiring a natural control of anger, without repressing it. Baba has said that it is possible through great effort to rise above putting lust into action (an entanglement with the gross sphere) and greed (an entanglement with the subtle sphere). However, the root of anger is embedded in the mental sphere, which is at a much deeper level. He says that to control anger requires the intervention and grace of a Perfect Master or the Avatar. Therefore, we are faced with a Herculean task and have to turn to Baba for help. Baba has said that anger is used for domination and aggression. It is used for getting our own way, and sometimes if we don’t get our own way, we get even angrier. One of the insidious forms of anger is embedded in our values and beliefs which we sometimes think of as sacrosanct. We think that no one should violate our sacred beliefs! People sometimes feel that their values are the true and correct ones and should prevail with others (including with their children) and the world around them. When they are not respected, a "righteous anger" is often aroused. Because the root of our values and beliefs are on the mental level, it is no small achievement to root out their domination and avoid forcing our values and beliefs on others.Anger takes many other forms, from rage in extreme cases to its hidden form of resentment to its more subtle forms of annoyance, irritability, sarcasm, disapproval and impatience. I don’t think it will be possible to gain control of anger without dealing with these more subtle forms. There are two insights from Eruch that have been extremely helpful for me in dealing with anger. If you express anger toward someone, he said, see that you apologize to them afterwards. Naturally, this can often be very humiliating, a blow to the ego and an admission that our behavior has been inappropriate. And the humiliation of knowing we will have to apologize afterwards acts as a deterrent to expressing anger in the first place! We are not dealing here with anger when it is used to protect or defend oneself, which is another topic entirely. Anger is an impediment to the soul’s growth when it is used for the ego, but not when it is expressed in the cause of love and truth. Another invaluable insight I learned from Eruch is how to express mock anger, that is, expressing anger without really being angry. It can get the job done without really hurting others. For example, suppose I am rooming with a couple of guys in college, and neither does much of anything to clean up after themselves, such as doing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom. If I don’t say anything and just let it happen, months can go by and naturally a resentment begins to build. When I finally speak up, there is a tremendous anger that comes through that can be hurtful and alienating. But if at the very beginning I express mock anger such as, “Hey you guys, am I supposed to be your mother and clean up after you! Let’s share in keeping this place clean." The effect is not as insulting and shaming. Rather than there being a hurtful barb in the anger, there is a softness in the intensity that makes its point clearly and without hurt. Controlling anger is a massive challenge, and I’ve only touched on a few aspects. I think it would be very interesting and informative to hear different ways of approaching it from all of 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: Bif tells Mehera stories, May 10, 2024, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts.Hi everyone! Jai Baba!Bif Soper will be joining us once again to tell some stories of Mehera and working in Meherazad when the women mandali were still there. For those of you who don't know or remember Bif from a few months ago, he is a longtime Baba lover and Meherabad resident. He has been in India without leaving for almost 30 years. Bif came to Baba with the rest of the hippies in the early days and has spent his life devoted to Baba. If you would like to hear his Baba story, it is available on Youtube.He is one of the best storytellers I know. Jeff and he should go toe to toe one day. Bif has so much first hand intimate experience with mandali and even helped to take care of Mohammed the mast when he was still alive, so his stories are rich and rare. Looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday evening.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: Precious Baba Moments, May 5, 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 have all had many precious and intimate moments with Baba throughout our lives, moments when He has let us know He and His intimate love are here with us. It might be our first moment of hearing about Him, or at our first Baba meeting, His reassuring voice heard within at a very low point in our lives, or an instance of Baba’s matchless humor that has his undeniable signature! It might have been a time when we experienced Him taking over in a most difficult situation that was impossible for us to face alone. It might have been a time when one of the mandali shared something life-changing with us, inspired by Baba. It may have been an unexpected intuition that enabled us to avoid a dangerous situation. All these interventions and visitations from our Beloved prove that He is intimately involved in our lives whether we are aware of it or not. There was one Baba person who found herself in a mental hospital in the worst condition of her life. Her condition was so severe that one of the older inmates held her in her arms like a young child. This situation went on for weeks. One day in her lowest moment of darkest despair, she called out to Baba in desperation. And deep within, she heard Him say, “This is hurting Me more than it is hurting you.” His clear words gave her the supreme assurance that she was not alone, that He was there, and this gave her the confidence that He would help her climb out of her deep despair. This was life-changing and has brought in her a lifelong gratitude to Baba. Baba has said, “When everything goes wrong, the mind becomes helpless, and it has to rely entirely on the heart. These are the moments when you resign to my will and so rely solely on my help. When you leave all to me, I dare not care not, and you are relieved from the predicament.” What you share needn’t be your most vulnerable moment. There are many moments, large and small, that show how our Beloved enters our lives. We know what it means to us, but think what it means to Baba to see us deeply touched by His love and our spontaneous gratitude! Please come and share some of His sweet, poignant interventions in your life. We are sharing past moments with Baba, yet we know there are always many precious moments to come.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: Overcoming Weaknesses, April 28, 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: Overcoming Weaknesses with BabaDear folks of Baba, Most of us, though not all, enjoyed an initial joyous honeymoon with Baba, which sometimes lasted for weeks or months, and then Baba began His work of drawing out our strengths and tackling our weaknesses. The struggle with overcoming our weaknesses, our topic, can be painful but thankfully there is a sense of growing inner freedom which is a comforting compensation. In many ways, our weaknesses can give us a feeling of unworthiness, and we can become obsessed with thinking that the whole spiritual journey is about overcoming all our weaknesses. That is not really true. Our aim is to become detached from our weaknesses and not let worrying about them take over our lives. In what may seem paradoxical, Realization comes in the midst of our strengths and weaknesses, not when we’re finally free of weaknesses. In one of Mehera’s favorite quotes of Baba, He says, “Seeds germinate in soft soil. I plant my seed of love, not in your strengths, but your weaknesses.” In other words, weaknesses have a place in our growing love and are not as bad as we might think. Mani, Baba’s sister, who spent most of her life next to Baba, used to quote this line, “I prayed to you for strength to carry out your work. You gave me weakness so I would depend on You.” In my experience, rather than my weaknesses contributing to a low self-esteem, Baba has converted them into empathy and compassion for others, and that has always been an unexpected benefit.The work of overcoming our weaknesses goes on and on with Baba, struggling to rise above such weaknesses as anger, lust, wanting, backbiting, dishonesty, possessiveness and worry, and we are humbled in the process, for sure. It is an integral part of our obeying Baba. Eruch used to share with us Baba’s method: “Two steps forward, one step back.” When asked why one step back, Baba said that in this way our “pride” of progress is being annihilated as we go along. This is by way of a long introduction to our topic this Sunday: Is there a weakness, large or small, that Baba has helped you work to overcome eventually or at least come to a manageable place with your weakness? To give several examples: has Baba helped you overcome excessive worry about your children, fear of being fired from work, anxiety about public speaking, addiction to alcohol, managing your financial affairs, discomfort in being with large numbers of people, worry about health, a feeling of unworthiness about yourself, loneliness, backbiting, boredom, procrastination, white lies—there are innumerable weaknesses! The weakness you choose need not be large and consuming, and you needn’t share a weakness that makes you feel too vulnerable. What is most helpful is to hear how Baba intervenes in His very personal way in our lives. What we share is always interesting and informative to all of us. The mandali used to give this analogy of the Master’s work with his disciple: in shaping a clay pot, the potter with one hand strikes the outside of the spinning pot with a flat mallet while his other hand is on the inside supporting the pot’s fragile wall. We are always being supported by Baba’s inner help in the process of dealing with our weaknesses. 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: Jim Oppenheim, April 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! Jim Oppenheim shares his Baba story.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: Entertaining Baba, April 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! The Topic: Entertaining BabaDear Folks of Baba, I thought this Sunday we would have a change of pace from our usual sessions: We have a program at the Center titled, "In Celebration of the Divine,” in which guests bring something to share for entertaining Baba and those gathered. It could be a favorite quote of Baba’s or maybe a mystical Sufi poem, a touching, humorous or colorful story from our life with Baba, an exchange with one of the mandali, a song, or even a joke. Entertaining Baba reminds me of an incident from my own life that was pivotal in my work at the Center. Back in the late 1980s or early 1990s, I was just beginning the long and arduous job of cleaning all the windows and screens of the Original and Lakeview Kitchens. Altogether this involves 47 windows, some of which have as many as 12 panes. And then there are the screens! It is a long, often uninspired journey into the realm of cleaning. Starting at window 47, I had made my way to window number 41, with rags and Windex on the step ladder, when I heard a clear, authoritative voice within say, “Is this work entertaining to Baba?” Without hesitation, I found myself saying, “No!” I thought, Baba has to watch me all day, all of us in fact, and I am approaching this window cleaning with an unenthusiastic check-list mentality: 41 done, 40 done, 39 done… I thought of one of those poor security guards somewhere in a small room in a shopping mall, watching a whole bank of TV monitors aimed out at the extensive parking lots to make sure nothing untoward is happening. What if some shopper were to do a little dance toward one of the unseen cameras. Wouldn’t that make the guard's day! There has to be a better way to clean windows. One of the ways I came up with of entertaining Baba was to get some of the kids on the Center to help, supplying them with rags and Windex, and let them go ahead of me. We would work for a while, and then go into the kitchen and have some treats, maybe ice cream on a hot day, and enjoy ourselves. Or I might ask someone who might need to talk about something difficult they’re going through, and we can work while delving into the issue. Or another way is to think of Baba, His life, sing a song, or do a super window cleaning job for Him. I learned how to be more resourceful and creative and not let the window cleaning become my usual uninspired routine. And make it more fun for Baba. Now if I can only do my danged taxes in the same spirit!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: Moments with Baba, April 11, 2024, live on Baba Zoom

ate night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts.Hello and Jai Baba, everyone.The topic for this week is on moments with Baba. I felt this would be a good topic to follow Jeff's last Sunday.Our relationship with the Beloved changes so much in our lives. I have found that with myself and people who He graciously turns the key for, He meets everyone exactly on their level. He never expects a kindergartener to understand God Speaks or demands us to be a certain level. He loves and accepts us wherever we are. I often think of how the Mandali listen to people come to them with their worldly problems and pretend that those things really mattered. I feel Baba usually does the same. He never judges us for not being "further along" on the path. Only our own ego and expectations do that. Like you would with a child, He patiently waits for us to figure out the next move to make in the game. Amongst this patience, Baba lets us know He is there with us along the journey. I can only speak from the lens of my own experience, but as my relationship with Baba has changed over the years so has the way He shows me He is near or makes appearances in my life. When I was younger He showed up as Jesus and never really said anything. Throughout my teen years He was a mystical force, and now in my current state of adulthood, Baba comes to be more through Mehera than anything else. I thought it would be lovely to share some of the various ways Baba has shown up in your life as your relationship with Him has deepened.When we first come to Baba, there is a honeymoon. He gives us a plethora of signs and serendipitous experiences to ensnare our hearts. There tends to be a theme of going through a period after that of longing and settling in, looking for Him in all the ways He once made His presence known. Then we find something else, beit our own intuition or a bird song each morning. Once we have fully settled into the everyday practicality of loving Him, I feel this is when He pops up out of nowhere again. Maybe this time He its through another person or picking a perfect Baba quote you needed to hear. Either way, He always has a way of letting us know we are not alone.These moments with Him, the mystical ones beyond worldly explanation can sustain us for a lifetime so why not share them.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: Your Baba then and now Part 2, April 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: Your Baba, Then and Now, Part 2Dear folks of Baba, As I mentioned in the last email, I thought to have a second session on the topic we just had: how our life with Baba was in the early years and where we find ourselves today. Only a few of you had the opportunity to share, and I find it so interesting how Baba has worked in us over the years to bring us to where we are now. In thinking about my own life, I find that so many different themes have emerged, so many aspects to my relationship with Baba that have unfolded over the years, and just one of them could easily make for a substantial check-in. Several examples of these aspects you might consider: your inner relationship with Baba, how you remember Him during the day, your efforts in bringing Him into your work, your struggles with overcoming weaknesses, how your relationship with others has changed, the evolution of your self-esteem and self-compassion, the increasing gratefulness over the years, the development of your intuition and receptivity to grace. There so many aspects to how Baba has entered our lives. In our session two weeks ago, I found it very touching and engaging to hear how beautifully some of you shared the evolution of your relationship with Baba from the early days up to the present. I find it so helpful in my own life to hear how others experience Baba.I realize that this sharing may be very personal and intimate, and yet hearing from each other can really expand and deepen our view of who Baba is. As I’ve written before, when Eruch was asked how we could keep Baba from becoming a religion, he said, “If His lovers would get together in small groups and share their mystical experiences, it could be averted.” He said that in 1970, and I think that today he would have used the term, sharing “our inner experiences of Baba.” How can you make a religion out of so many uniquely different approaches to Baba! Kitty Davy was once asked by a reporter from the Charlotte Observer, “Is Baba a cult?” In her proper and rapid British accent, she replied, “Oh no, no, no. You could never get two Baba lovers to agree on anything!"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