Conversations about Meher Baba

Dec 12, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, Focus: feeling of Belonging, live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: The FEELING of BELONGINGDear loving folks of Baba, There is in us the imperative need to feel we belong. Initially it is to our family, and then it evolves to our neighborhood perhaps, maybe our ethnic group, our country, etc. And along the way we invariably meet with disappointments, because we encounter others who exclude us, who make us feel we don’t belong or even who don’t want us to belong. What are the ways that Baba helps us overcome this disappointment? Can we experience a belonging in all situations through Baba? He has said several things that are helpful: “To have loved one soul is like adding its life to your own. Your life is, as it were, multiplied and you virtually live in two centers. If you love the whole world you vicariously live in the whole world …""You can own the world without being attached to it, so long as you do not allow yourself to be owned by any part of it.”Eruch echoed this last statement when he would say from time to time in Mandali Hall: “This whole world is yours, but you have to claim it. Through love, you incorporate what is outside of you into your own being.” For example, as I see it, if we love birds and we learn their names, their habits, where they nest and what they feed on, and we love going out and observing them, soon we will find them flying around inside of us. We have incorporated them into our being, and our being expands through this inclusive love.We have all been in situations where we don’t feel we belong. What causes us to feel this way?What can we do to remedy this?The mandali gave us such a feeling of belonging, to them and to Baba.How can we continue that feeling of belonging?What part does acceptance of others play in this? Often we seek to belong in a situation or with a group of people, but we wind up sometimes feeling excluded. Are we approaching it all backwards? What if we extend a belonging to all others? What will we experience? Krishnamurti, whom Baba referred to as a saint, once said, “If you want to be loved, just love. When you love, you are no longer inquiring whether or not someone loves you." In extending an inclusiveness to someone, does it have to be expressed externally? What if the person is abusive or takes advantage of us? Is it possible to be inwardly inclusive while at the same time keeping an external distance, especially if the person is not open to changing their behavior?If you know you belong to Baba, does that make it easier for you to feel you belong to the whole world, given that the whole world belongs to Baba?If you exclude others, will that affect your own feeling of belonging?If we are sincerely dedicated, as we see it, to the spiritual well-being of others in each situation, then we will naturally feel that we belong in every situation.These are quite a few questions that several of us came up with others on this topic.What do you have to say? In His inquiring love, JeffTo join the email list for Jeff's 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

Dec 5, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, special guest: Sevn McAuley, live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: Sevn McAuley on Don StevensDear folks of Baba, Tonight we have as our guest Sevn Mccauly. He was one from the younger generation who spent so much time with Don Stevens, one of the mandali. He accompanied Don to his many Baba meetings in this country, in Europe and in India and has many first hand stories of being with him. He has a wealth of stories of Don sharing his intimate times with Meher Baba and his practices of living for Him and remembering Him throughout the day. Sevn lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and is married to Huma and has two lovely daughters who are growing up in Baba’s love. He is open to answering any questions about what he has gathered in his own life with Baba and his times with Don Stevens. It’s rare to hear from one of our younger generation of Baba. Due to working full time now with the Center open again, I am thinking of discontinuing the Tuesday night chats except on the occasion of special guests or an additional topic that would be fun and valuable to explore. In His love, Jeff To join the email list for Jeff's 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

Nov 28, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, topic: the provisional ego, live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: Living the Provisional Ego: a colossal challenge!Dear folks of Baba, We are in over our heads with this topic. But it’s where we’re heading ultimately. How do we get there? What are the intermediate steps? Your perspectives are wholeheartedly invited.First, an invaluable quote by Baba on the "provisional ego” (provisional meaning temporary, a substitute arranged for the time being only):"Think of me in everything you do. Eat, dance, but forget yourself in the action and think of me instead. This is union through action. The less you think of yourself and the more you think of Baba, the sooner the ego goes and Baba remains. When you — ego — go entirely, I am one with you. So bit by bit, you have to go. Today your nose, tomorrow your ears, then your eyes, your hands, everything."Think of me when you eat, sleep, see and hear. Enjoy everything, but think it is all Baba. Baba enjoys it. Baba is eating it. Sleep soundly in Baba, and when you wake up remember it is Baba getting up. Keep this one thought constantly with you. If you do wrong, then think it is Baba doing wrong. If you get a pain, think it is Baba getting a pain. Then it will be all the time Baba ... Try to forget yourself and do all for Baba. Let it be Baba all the time!" It might be said that the provisional ego is the last train stop in Creation. It usually begins as an exercise, but ultimately the truth behind the provisional ego needs to be revealed in us through experience. That is, the provisional ego is useful as a concept, but it has to eventually become a reality. One day we will realize that all along it has been Baba living what we have always claimed as our life! It really is Baba who gets up in the morning, not us. In watching a movie, for example, we may find ourselves identifying with one of the characters so that when that character is in danger, we feel we are in danger, when they succeed, we succeed, when they fall in love we fall in love. In the end, when the credits come up, we know that it was all a projection on our part. We get so identified with the character in the movie that we become that character for the time being. But Baba has said that It has never been us. He is the One who plays all the roles. That is, it is Baba who is living the life we see on the screen before us, and we are projecting our consciousness on to Him, and claiming that we are the one who is living this life! This is our colossal mistake. In lifetime after lifetime, we identify with the character before us and are pulled into the whole illusion of Creation. What we are being asked to do is to remain fully aware of Creation, but not identify with anything in it. Or put in another way, to be aware that everything and everyone is Baba. Such a detachment, Baba says, is not sterile or passive, but is a state of flowing and dynamic responsiveness to life characterized by a loving spontaneity that always leaves our consciousness free! In this way, love is finally liberated from being bound by Creation and can express itself in each moment as it wishes, unrestrained by what our personality wants. Baba has said that we are really infinite, but we identify with the mind, and instantly we become a person. If we didn’t do this, we would remain the Infinite that we really are. All this is a very tall tall order from Baba. Bit by bit “we” have to go. I know we all sometimes feel in certain moments Baba working through us or eclipsing us in a particular situation. We may feel Him watching us. And now it all has to be reversed, little by little, so that it is us watching Him live what we formerly called “our" life. The mandali have said that people are just playing their roles. They are not really their roles; it is really Baba in disguise. Yikes, what a huge challenge! This is an unfathomable topic that is truly ongoing. In His love, JeffTo join the email list for Jeff's 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

Nov 23, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, guest: Alan Talbot, live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: Our guest is Alan Talbot Tonight our guest is Alan Talbot who will share his many colorful, humorous and insightful stories of being with Baba’s mandali and close ones over the years, including his times with some lesser known like Joseph and Kari Harb and Henry Kashouty. For decades, Alan and his wife Karen have generously hosted many of the intimate followers of Baba at their lovely home in the east bay of San Fransisco. I am sure we will hear some of his insightful exchanges with them that will be helpful in our own inner lives with Baba. Alan will also share his story of coming to Him. He is always open to questions about his experiences. In His love, JeffTo join the email list for Jeff's 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

Nov 21, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, focus: Mandali stories, live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: Personal stories of the Baba’s mandali and close ones In our other chats, people have enjoyed hearing personal stories of being with Baba's mandali and close ones, and it is always invaluable to hear stories from Baba’s life and close ones that have touched us most. Baba’s mandali and close ones are ever-living examples, each in their own unique way, of lives dedicated to Him. Come and enjoy what others share. In His love, Jeff To join the email list for Jeff's 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

Nov 16, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, guest Laurent Weichberger: Surrender, live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Dear folks of Baba, By popular demand, I have asked Laurent Weichberger to join us again, this time to share with us about the challenge of surrendering to Baba, a subject he has written about in his latest book. In this book, Laurent has researched and found many invaluable quotes from Baba that are helpful in trying to understand what He means by surrender. Love and obedience culminate in surrender, and we have seen it demonstrated in the lives of the mandali. Baba has given us these helpful words: One who loves is the lover of the Beloved. One who obeys in the beloved of the Beloved. One who surrenders has no existence other than the Beloved. Laurent is always open to our questions, he welcomes discussion and the views of others on what surrender means and what it might look like when played out in our lives. I think you will find the session very enlightening on this intimate subject. In His love, JeffTo join the email list for Jeff's 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

Nov 14, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, topic: finding Baba in each other, live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: The challenge of finding Baba in each other In 1956, Anita Putalik, in her interview with Baba in New York City, expressed her deep devotion to Jesus. Baba was very pleased with her love for Jesus, and then responded by saying, “You have made one big mistake in your spiritual life: You have put God in heaven, and until you find Him in evryone you meet, your religion will always be lopsided.” This became the theme of her life, finding God in each one, and she expressed this magnificently in her profession as a religious counselor and with us at the Center. With a dear friend of mine, we came up with these questions that might be helpful to explore:Remembering that famous claim: "I love humanity--it s people I can't stand": What comes to mind as a really challenging encounter with someone who gave you a hard time? (and maybe this is an ongoing situation.)In everyday life how do you deal with folks you need to get along with (neighbors, colleagues, employers, spouses, relatives, shopkeepers, medical practioners, et al.)? Even when--particularly when--they and you are not seeing eye-to-eye?How much of your day-to-day interactions with others are "on AUTOMATIC PILOT"? Where you behave ROUTINELY, perhaps due to OVERLOAD, too much going on, anxiety, or just plain HABIT?Do you think awareness, triggered by listening more, could help?What helps you to bring out the "better angels" of everyone's nature? Theirs & yours.Do some people come by this disposition, this openness, more easily than others? If so, can it be developed?What role can/does/could PATIENCE play in seeing Baba in others?What if the person has behaved like a scoundrel, and is still doing that? What then? How are we supposed to respond to such a person? What's the difference between "seeing Baba in" them, and MAKING EXCUSES for them? Do you find yourself continuing to accept abusive situations and behavior “in the name of love?” Is there a better way? Maybe keeping them at a safe distance and yet holding them in your heart.Compassion and empathy: how do they fit in here? What do we experience when we find Baba in others? Is this just another way of coming to ACCEPTANCE?Could “finding Baba in everyone I meet" be to delight in their company, a welcoming, loving acceptance of them, without necessarily knowing consciously that we are doing this? In His love, JeffTo join the email list for Jeff's 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

Nov 9, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, guest Laurent Weichberger, Live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Dear folks of Baba, Tonight our guest will be Laurent Weichberger who was very close with Don Stevens, one of Baba’s intimate followers. Don was drawn into Baba’s net in the late 1940s and spent many precious times with Him over the years. Laurent remembers Don sharing his many exchanges with Baba, especially about the inner life and the challenges of living a life devoted to Baba. Don was especially generous with his time, taking part in group discussions among Baba’s young followers, and he organized trips to places where Baba had been in Europe and in India. He was instrumental in getting God Speaks published in this country, and he wrote a number of books about Baba, including his book Listen, Humanity, which came out during Baba’s lifetime. It is a moving and detailed account of his time with Baba in 1955 in India. Laurent has written several books including ones on surrender and forgiveness and Baba’s message on drugs, and over the years he has given seminars on these subjects. Laurent is always open to questions. You will enjoy hearing about Don Stevens and his life with Baba.In His love, JeffTo join the email list for Jeff's Chats: contact AngelaMeher Baba’s last message on the alphabet board: “There is no reason at all for any of you to worry. Baba was, Baba is, and Baba will also be eternally existent. Severance of external relations does not mean the termination of internal connections. It was only for establishing the internal connections that the external contacts have been maintained till now. The time has now come for being bound in the chain of internal connections. HENCE EXTERNAL CONTACT IS NO LONGER NECESSARY. It is possible to establish the internal link by obeying Baba's orders. I give you all My blessings for strengthening these internal links.: I am always with you and I am not away from you. I was, am and will remain eternally with you, and it is for promoting this realization that I have severed external contact. This will enable all persons to realize Truth by being bound to each other with internal links. : Oh, My lovers! I love you all. It is only because of My love for My creation that I have descended on Earth. Let not your hearts be torn asunder by My declarations concerning the dropping of My body. On the contrary, accept My Divine Will cheerfully. You can never escape from Me. Even if you try to escape from Me, it is not possible to get rid of Me. Therefore have courage and be brave. : If you thus lose your heart, how will it be possible for you to fulfill the great task which I have entrusted to you? Be brave and spread MY MESSAGE OF LOVE far and wide to all quarters, in order to fulfill My Divine Will. Let the words 'BABA, BABA' come forth from every nook and corner of the world and from the mouth of every child, and let their ignorance be reduced to ashes by the burning flame of My Love. : Come together in order to fulfill My Will by taking your stand on TRUTH, LOVE and HONESTY, and be worthy of participating in My Task. I give you all My blessings for spreading MY MESSAGE OF LOVE.” Meher BabaThis 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

Nov 7, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, focus on “Show and Tell” for Baba, Live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: “Show and Tell” for Baba: our favorite sayings, poems, songs I thought it would be fun to hear some of your favorite poems, jokes, songs, sayings of Baba or particular writers, one of your own personal experiences that was meaningful to you or an insight that is helpful in your life with Baba—a potluck of anything and everything. Come to share and/or listen, In His love, Jeff To join the email list for Jeff's Chats: send an email request to babazoom77@gmail.comThis 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

Nov 2, 2021 Late Night Chat with Jeff Wolverton, focus on self-forgiveness, Live on Zoom

We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But twice a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for spontaneous chat, more readings, songs, quotes, you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Topic: Self-compassion, self-forgiveness, self-acceptanceDear folks of Baba, We have focused in other chats on how we respond to others for Baba’s sake. What about our attitude toward ourselves? What place do self-compassion, self-forgiveness and self-acceptance have in our inner life with Baba?What part do these play in combating a sense of unworthiness we might feel sometimes?Does Baba ever really disapprove of us?To what extent does self-criticism, which usually has to do with things in our recent and distant past, keep us from being fully present in the present moment?Is it possible to lower the standards we set for ourselves so that they relate more to where we actually are than where we would like to be ideally? That is, so that our standards are doable rather than being so out of reach that we continually fall short?It will be very interesting to hear how we answer and explore these questions.In His love, JeffTo join the email list for Jeff's Chats: send an email request to babazoom77@gmail.comThis 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