Conversations about Meher Baba

Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton: Effort and Grace, May 14, 2023, 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: Delving into Effort and GraceDear folks of Baba, This Sunday we will again explore Darwin Shaw’s book, Effort and Grace, which is an in-depth inquiry into the inner life with Baba. It describes one of the major approaches to Baba by one who was devoted to Him for over 70 years, which culminated in a glorious intimacy with Him. Darwin was always so encouraging and optimistic in what we can do to open up to Baba’s immediate loving presence. He asserts that many of the blocks to this intimacy can be removed by our efforts and by inviting Baba’s ongoing intervention and grace. In our last session we finished up with the chapter on Purifying Our Hearts and began the one on Changing Our Values on page 38. In this chapter, Darwin introduces the concept of the “inner barometer” as a way of describing how we can observe our interior mental and emotional climate. Are what we are doing and the choices we are making in our life creating clearer skies within or are we clouding over our awareness and making it more difficult to discern the light? Darwin used to say we need to create more inner space, some room within to be able to see where the light is entering our consciousness and proceed in that direction, to rely on our intrinsic insight and intuition that Baba is gradually awakening rather than being pulled into our cloudy sanskaric currents. It is a very pro-active approach to our inner life by which we can anticipate impulses in us that are binding and join inner currents that are flowing toward freedom. 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.” We don’t have to be passive victims of our emotions, thoughts and desires. Each session evokes invaluable discussion that does not require having attended the previous sessions; each section stands alone and provides a window into the inner life of the lover/Beloved relationship and is virtually independent, like facets of one diamond—Baba. For those who do not have a copy of the book, below is an attachment for following along:https://issuu.com/ompoint/docs/shaw_effort_graceTo 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

Daniel Stone interview and Q&A, May 13, 2023 live on Baba Zoom

A recorded interview of Daniel Stone, speaking about Meher Baba to a spiritually minded podcast called "Buddha at the Gas Pump."The interview is about 2 hours long. After the interview, Daniel will take participant questions and comments!Tech host Ruth Appel in NC.

Late Night Chat with Margi Connor &Peter Goodman: Ego Death, May 11, 2023, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts led by Margi Connor and Peter Goodman.Jai Baba all!This week we will be discussing the way Baba slowly brings us closer to Him through our ego deaths. All of these little deaths lead us to the ultimate death-oneness with Him.Baba, in His compassion, destroys us little by little. This is what I mean by ego deaths, all the little parts of yourself you have had to let go of throughout your life. I have used this analogy before, but life with Baba is a whiteboard. He tells us to draw Him a beautiful picture, so we spend so much time creating what we believe is a masterpiece. We become so enamored with our drawing that we forget the reason we started it all along. That is the moment Baba rubs His hand across the board and tells us to start over. We feel heartbroken, but once we begin to draw another picture, a wave of gratitude washes over us. Baba wasn't taking anything away, He was making room for something better.Baba slowly kills our ego in countless ways. Perhaps, you have to let go of a person you built your identity on-a spouse, family member, etc. Maybe you spent your whole life building a career and then once it got going Baba took it away from you. What was that like? What was He making room for?Sometimes He does it softly and sometimes not so much. Often the most painful part of the spiritual path is grieving the past versions of you. Is the grief a natural part of this or is it a sign of our lack of trust in His plan?How many versions of yourself have you had to let go of along the way? Was there one in particular that stands out to you and taught you immense lessons? Are you grateful now? Do you still question why Baba had to destroy that part of you?Very excited about this topic!In His Love,Margi and PeterTo 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 Wolverton: Suffering, May 8, 2023, 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: Why Must We Suffer?Dear folks of Baba, A seeker came to his Master begging to be relieved of his ongoing suffering. The Master listened patiently and promised he would honor his request provided he would carry out one order—to go into the city and knock at every door and find someone who has not suffered. The seeker went from door-to-door and could find no one. What is the place of suffering in our spiritual life that our heart inevitably endures? We all have experienced many disappointments in our lives—such as betrayal, injustice, humiliation, prejudice—that have seemed totally uncalled for and hurt us deeply. Have you noticed in retrospect that they were really blessings in disguise; they awakened an awareness and empathy in us that wasn’t there before? Have you found that sometimes suffering has brought about a spiritual healing in you? Have you had times with Baba when you've suffered emotionally in life at the hands of your fellow beings and have doubted that it had much to do with Baba and your spiritual growth? You might have thought, “The loving things that happen to me come from Baba, and the unloving things that happen are done by others.” You may even know that this is not true, but your heart and mind convince you that others are responsible and not our all-loving Beloved. Fortunately, in retrospect we see that many of the untoward things that have happened to us have awakened compassion in us that wasn’t there before. For example, if we have gone through a divorce and all the usual profound pain that that entails, we are not so flippant in our reaction when a friend is going through a break-up. Have you suspected that maybe it is Baba who, through others, causes these hurts to the heart so that we learn to let go of the mind and live permanently in the heart, to value the heart above all else? Mani once said, “Nothing happens to you without Baba’s knowing approval.” Last time on the topic of blindspots, one of you shared an insight regarding the benefits of what we might be suffering, by asking Baba, "Why are you doing this FOR me" (rather than,TO me)? In your own life, after you've gone through a painful situation, are there times when you've seen a SILVER LINING in the whole thing? How did this play out? Sometimes weaknesses and emotional complexes last for years or are never really overcome. What effect does that have on your pride of progress and the experience of humility and empathy? Have your shortcomings and inadequacies forced you to depend on Baba and not always on your self? Have you had to seek help from others, maybe even a professional? How do you live with something in you that won’t change even with your best efforts to get help from Baba and others? Mani, Baba’s sister, used to quote the line, “I prayed to You for strength to carry out Your work. You gave me weakness so I would depend on You.” Bhau Kalchuri, one of the intimate mandali, used to say, “Sometimes it takes a nightmare to wake us up from a pleasant dream.” Would any of you willing to share a painful experience that in retrospect proved invaluable in awakening the inner life and deeper compassion for others? Have you experienced through the suffering of the heart how profoundly we share with others a commonality of human experience that gives us some sense of oneness with others, which Baba has spoken so eloquently about? Those who have been addicted to alcohol or other substances, for example, have experienced a spiritual awakening through the 12 Step Programs and have been connected to others at a very deep level, people they might never have met otherwise. Have you sometimes felt that when you are suffering continually in a situation, even though you’ve had the best of intentions, you worry that you must have done something profoundly wrong? For example, you’ve shown kindness to someone for years, and they suddenly turn on you? A sweet reminder: Baba told us, "The remedy and comfort for all ills is to constantly remember Me wholeheartedly.” Can you see a possible trajectory—through suffering to understanding to empathy to full compassion and acceptance of what Baba gives us. Doesn't this lead us to remember him more readily, and with gratitude?”With loving help from dear friends in Baba, 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 &Peter Goodman: Baba’s Humanity, May 4, 2023, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts led by Margi Connor and Peter Goodman.Jai Baba!I thought it would be nice to allow for a more open share rather than a discussion of a certain topic. I welcome everyone to share their Baba dreams or lack thereof. Baba said quite a few things about dreams and I personally think it's a beautiful way that Baba shows us He is nearer than we could ever realize.Eruch's quote on dreams:"The Ancient One comes into our midst time and again to point out that this is all a dream. We see dreams in our sleep and call them sleep dreams. The illusory life that we lead while awake is a vacant dream. The Ancient comes to us in this and tells us that it is a vacant dream. Even all of this is a dreaming too, yet this dream has significance because in this vacant dream Baba makes us aware of our dreaming. Likewise, when one sees Baba in one's sleep dream it is significant because even though we are asleep and dreaming we have the semblance of reality, and hence, His appearing in our dream has significance. This is what I have gathered from Baba."Hope this inspires a beautiful chat tonight.In His Love, Margi and PeterTo 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 Wolverton: Effort and Grace, May 1, 2023, 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: Delving into Effort and GraceDear folks of Baba, This Sunday we will again explore Darwin Shaw’s book, Effort and Grace, which is an in-depth inquiry into the inner life with Baba. It describes one of the major approaches to Baba by one who was devoted to Him for over 70 years, which culminated in a glorious intimacy with Him. Darwin was always so encouraging and optimistic in what we can do to open up to Baba’s immediate loving presence. He asserts that many of the blocks to this intimacy can be removed by our efforts and by inviting Baba’s ongoing intervention and grace. This month we had five Sundays, and I mistakenly thought we would be having one of our topic discussions this Sunday, but instead our session is on Effort and Grace. We left off on page 35. And we are finishing up with the chapter on Purifying Our Hearts and then beginning on the chapter, Changing Our Values, where Darwin introduces the subject of sublimating our lower impulses in favor of higher values: anger is transmuted into patience and tolerance, greed and wanting are sublimated into the spirit of generosity, lust and desires are transmuted into longing and purity, jealousy into an appreciation of others, bindings into inner freedom. In taking a reading of our interior, we are able to avert certain impulses and negative emotions and move toward aligning ourselves with our better angels (the divinely-human qualities deep within us that flow directly from Baba). We surrender our limited life and move toward the unlimitedness of Baba’s being. Each session evokes invaluable discussion that does not require having attended the previous sessions; each section stands alone and provides a window into the inner life of the lover/Beloved relationship and is virtually independent, like facets of one diamond—Baba. For those who do not have a copy of the book, below is an attachment for following along:https://issuu.com/ompoint/docs/shaw_effort_graceTo 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 &Peter Goodman: Baba’s Humanity, April 27, 2023, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts led by Margi Connor and Peter Goodman.Jai Baba!I thought discussing the beauty of Baba's humanity this week would be interesting. We speak so much of His divinity but seldom take time to acknowledge His perfect humanity.Baba really was the perfect man. The stories of His life are so relatable. He came here to show up His compassion and meet us on our level. Baba could have been working with such big and "more important" things, but often He would talk to people on a human-to-human level, asking them about their sleep, their families, and their work lives. In some ways, He was more human than we allow ourselves to be. He embraced His radical moods instead of denying how He felt. Did He do that out of compassion, or was it because that is where the real joy and love are? In the full experience of life, that is. I sometimes feel that Baba is just up there watching us go through all our suffering. I often forget that He came down here and experienced the same as we do, and much more. Why do we put God on such a pedestal? Sometimes hearing or reading the stories of Baba's life brings home just how human He was. Baba has likes and dislikes just as we do. He had preferences, told jokes, played games, and had bodily functions. He somehow was able to participate in creation while He orchestrated it perfectly. He went out of His way to connect to people's daily experiences and touch their hearts. Was this perhaps Him modeling a way to be? Do you find yourself trying to only connect to the "highest version" of someone and not accepting their humanity?I am not exactly sure where this topic is going to go tonight, but I want to welcome everything. If you have a story that brings home your experience of Baba's humanity. It could be just what someone else needs to hear. In His Love, Margi and PeterTo 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 Wolverton: Effort and Grace, April 23, 2023, 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: Delving into Effort and GraceDear folks of Baba, This Sunday we will again explore Darwin Shaw’s book, Effort and Grace, which is an in-depth inquiry into the inner life with Baba. It describes one of the major approaches to Baba by one who was devoted to Him for over 70 years, which culminated in a glorious intimacy with Him. Darwin was always so encouraging and optimistic in what we can do to open up to Baba’s immediate loving presence. He asserts that many of the blocks to this intimacy can be removed by our efforts and by inviting Baba’s ongoing intervention and grace. We left off on page 31 at the beginning of the chapter, “Purifying our Hearts.” Darwin is careful to make it clear that it is not the body, the mind or the heart that goes on the spiritual journey to God (the Soul), but consciousness itself (our awareness). And along this journey, the main work of our consciousness is to eventually withdraw its tentacles from being enmeshed in the body, mind and heart and come to focus itself solely on God. However, because of the trickster Maya, the body, mind and heart are continually dragging us into the prison of time and space when we are really “the timeless spirit.” The mind is the greatest purveyor of time and space, but as our awareness moves into the deeper realm of the heart, we begin to experience some of the timelessness and spaciousness of the Soul (God). This is achieved by our strenuous efforts of purifying the heart. This process is helped most profoundly by being open to Baba’s grace. One of the greatest obstacles is our mind that keeps dragging our timeless spirit into time and space through such negative emotions as worry, greed, ambition, retaliation and the myriad forms of wanting. Darwin gives the metaphor of a chess game in which we focus on moves that counteract the cunning moves of our ego, ultimately as Darwin says, “checkmating our false self." Each session evokes invaluable discussion that does not require having attended the previous sessions; each section stands alone and provides a window into the inner life of the lover/Beloved relationship and is virtually independent, like facets of one diamond—Baba. For those who do not have a copy of the book, below is an attachment for following along:https://issuu.com/ompoint/docs/shaw_effort_graceTo 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 & Peter Goodman: Finances, April 20, 2023, live on Baba Zoom

Late night chat centered around our Beloved. A sharing of hearts led by Margi Connor and Peter Goodman.Jai Baba!This topic probably was a bit of a strange one to pop up in your inboxes, but I know it is something everyone has to deal with at some point. That being said, it is also a topic that is considered a bit taboo in the world to talk openly about and not particularly spiritual. Why is that?Something I always loved so much about Baba was how practical He was. He never told people to stop working, wander in a desert, and just meditate on God. In fact, He did just the opposite. He would directly tell His lovers who had a longing to leave the world behind to get back to their lives and not shirk their worldly responsibilities. It has always confused me why more of His lovers don't openly talk about how we turn our finances over to Him. We seem to have an easier time discussing the other intricacies of the path, but when it comes to the more practical subjects there seems to be avoidance.Don Stevens said that he put his sexual and financial life completely in the hands of Meher Baba. How did he do this? I have always been intrigued by this statement every time I have heard it in my life with Baba. We can't let our rent go unpaid so how do we not worry about money? Has this come up in your life with Baba? How do you balance the ideal that Baba will see to everything, but still take responsibility where necessary? Sometimes there are times in life we have to work a little harder and take action to provide for ourselves and our families. How do we go about doing this without becoming too attached to an outcome?These are just a few questions that come to my mind very often. I feel finances is the one thing I have trouble having full faith in Baba about because it is dealt with on such a worldly level of necessity. Is this your experience? Personally, I am so looking forward to this conversation.In His Love,Margi and PeterTo 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 Wolverton: Effort and Grace, April 16, 2023, 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: Delving into Effort and GraceDear folks of Baba, This Sunday we will again explore Darwin Shaw’s book, Effort and Grace, which is an in-depth inquiry into the inner life with Baba. It describes one of the major approaches to Baba by one who was devoted to Him for over 70 years, which culminated in a glorious intimacy with Him. Darwin was always so encouraging and optimistic in what we can do to open up to Baba’s immediate loving presence. He asserts that many of the blocks to this intimacy can be removed by our efforts and by inviting Baba’s ongoing intervention and grace. We left off on page 27 with the section, “Dispelling Veils” in the chapter, Dissolving our Veils. In working to dispel the veils over his consciousness, Darwin was very proactive. He attended to every thought and emotion that appeared in his awareness. He would talk about being extremely alert (but relaxed) to the faintest tremor of anger in us, the first sinking of fear, or the moment the "wanting machine”(his term) starts up in us. That is, picking up the first signs of emotions and desires with our awareness before they flow downstream, so to speak, and are picked up and greatly complicated by the mind and emotions, by thoughts and other desires. As soon as the mind and emotion enter the picture, we are thrown into the illusory world of time and space. But when picked up at an early stage, these first tremors can be given inwardly and energetically to Baba where He dissolves them or countered by our better angels, the divinely human qualities within us. A stain can be removed much easier if done immediately. By making these efforts, we are not victims of any and every impulse that enters us. I have found this over my life to be immensely helpful in maintaining an inner harmony. I am reminded of this Cherokee teaching story:An elderly Cherokee man was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them: “A fight is going on inside of me; it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other wolf is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside of you and inside of every other person, too.” They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, “which wolf will win?”The old Cherokee replied, “the one you feed.” Each session evokes invaluable discussion that does not require having attended the previous sessions; each section stands alone and provides a window into the inner life of the lover/Beloved relationship and is virtually independent, like facets of one diamond—Baba. For those who do not have a copy of the book, below is an attachment for following along:https://issuu.com/ompoint/docs/shaw_effort_graceTo 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