Three months ago, I read the book "The Theory of Everything" by Ken Wilber. I took it on a trip to New York to kill the time on bus; however, this book is very interesting that the tour became a distraction - I wish I could be left alone and enjoy reading this book.
Since then, I searched online and watched all available videos about Ken Wilber. The image and design of his website is a bit confusing or misleading; nevertheless all his speeches and interviews (very few) are inspring.
This interview took place on April 30th, and there were about 8,000 views when I discovered it on May 4th. Soon there were over twenty thousands views on youtube. In this interview, Ken introduced his major theory as well his advice on religions and opinions on the current president of USA. Ken has published over 30 books, and reading each book may take over 10 or 20 hours. This 2.5-hour interview is really the shortcut to “the top of the world, looking down on creation“ through the eyes of one of the most intelligent thinker in today's world.
Ken Wilber - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview
April 30, 2018
00:00-00:11
· Ken Published ten books in ten years while working as a dish washer
00:11-00:25
· Stopping brain waves and enlightenment/waking-up. “constant consciousness present”, “ultimate reality” “cleaning up &growing up”
00:25-00:40
· 1960-1970 eastern traditions, transpersonal psychology, “emotions cleaning up”, “disassociation not owning it”, “repressed emotions” “false emotions” “re-own anger and address the original source of anger”
00:41-01:09
· Religions and growing-up; various types of intelligence. “
· Growing up is a capacity human developed/discovered about one century ago”. “Waking-up and growing-up interact in certain ways but they run in different tracks…it could be high in one but low in the other…” “Grow up to be broad-minded”
· Women’s moral developmental stages include “Selfish-ego centred; Group-ethical centered; Universal care; Integrated”. Religions were established 2000 years ago, at that time, there were no world views and the compassion was limited to small groups/communities”
01:09-01:14
· Discussions on different spiritual leaders. Following a wrong leader is wasting a life.
· Waking-up, cleaning-up and growing-up all three should be included in religions.
01:14-01:18
· An interesting test with highly enlightened people.
01:18-01:26
· About one million years ago, women’s emotional intelligence developed while taking care of babies. Men’s emotional intelligence developed when facing dangerous hunting areas.
· Everyone was born at square one, grew through lower stages and enter higher levels later in life.
01:26-01:34
· How to impact the world? Awareness VS Actions.
01:34-01:42
· Spiritual practices are to include all three parts (waking-up, cleaning-up and growing-up). They are equally important and none is more fundamental than the other. Isolation of any of them causes problems. Traditional religions are to be revised.
· An interesting example of new religions including all three parts.
01:42-01:45
· Followers ask where and which level they are at on the map. It leads to overthought and concept addition. “How to relate…is up to you”.
01:45-01:52
· The emptiness in Buddhism did not change. The enlightenment today is interesting, as the world grows with complexity…
· Sam Sora(?) Bahaya Buddhism(?)
01:52
· The five major stages of consciousness. Three relative stages are Waken, Dreaming, Deep Sleep. Two ultimate stages are “Toria (?)”(pure witness, not identified with anything), “Toriakida(?)”(witness dissolved, pure oneness, no longer see earth, you are earth)
02:02
· “Spirit is produced by brain” is so wrong.
02:05
· “Why take it seriously?” “If you are tired being tortured, move up a stair” “History is a nightmare from which I have tried to awaken…”
02:06
· Super mental consciousness. 14 billion years of evolution, from Atom to Shakespeare to Buddha.
02:13
· Small mind (product of brain) VS Big mind (Ground/fundamental). Big mind is all inclusive.
· How to describe ultimate reality? Words have opposite, boundaries, ultimate reality has no opposites.
02:28
· Ramada(?) is a great realizer but not an example of integral vision. Questioning the purity of his waking up, as “he had no relationships - no children, no work schedule, no financial system. He was not getting into many areas of human activities at all. For the rest of capacities that human beings have, he didn’t work on, didn’t practise and he didn’t really manifest many of them in any really highly developed and involved fashion”.
02:31
· Final question about president Trump. Overview of votes and statistics. He is “at Ego centric and selfish development stage…in some ways he has lots of ethino-centric…”
