618. Thom Krystofiak

Buddha at the Gas Pump

Thom Krystofiak holds a B.A. from Harvard (magna cum laude) and an M.A. from Cambridge University, where he was a Knox Fellow. A trained teacher of Transcendental Meditation, he joined an intentional community in Fairfield, Iowa in 1983, where he and his wife continue to live. There he encountered a cornucopia of spiritual seekers. A rigorous and thoroughgoing skeptic surrounded by ready believers, he has developed unique perspectives on the eternal yet ever-new contest of doubt versus belief. Website: krystofiak.com Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Transcript of this interview. Interview recorded October 2, 2021. Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introducing Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:04:49 - Extraordinary Beliefs and Skepticism 00:09:04 - Nurturing Skepticism and Exploring Extraordinary Beliefs 00:13:31 - Dangerous Beliefs and their Implications 00:17:42 - Strange Beliefs and the Link to Spirituality 00:21:57 - The Spectrum of Belief 00:26:25 - Perceiving the Unseen 00:30:36 - The Complementarity of Science and Spirituality 00:35:00 - Spiritual Experiences and Remarkable Coincidences 00:38:57 - Exploring Extraordinary Beliefs 00:43:39 - Encouragement of the Irrational 00:47:56 - The Allure of Hidden Knowledge 00:51:58 - The Manipulation of Beliefs by Powerful Industries 00:56:20 - Bucking science and climate denial 01:00:02 - Einstein's View on God 01:03:53 - The Nature of Consciousness and Embodied State 01:08:30 - Recognizing the Essential Nature 01:13:13 - The Profoundness of Self-Realization 01:17:14 - The Nature of Consciousness 01:21:16 - The Value of Skepticism and Certainty 01:25:32 - Anecdotes of Out-of-Body Experiences during Surgery 01:29:26 - Unexplained Phenomena at Dinner 01:33:12 - The Connection between Fascination with the Paranormal and Social Issues 01:37:26 - The Seductive Power of Claims About Truth 01:41:22 - Peer-Reviewed Science vs. Scientist Claims 01:45:16 - The Importance of Scientific Consensus 01:49:42 - The Consensus of Spiritual Experiences 01:54:04 - The Motivation and Benefits of Spiritual Practices 01:58:03 - The Cognition of Deeper Mechanics of Nature 02:01:48 - Yogic Flying and Levitation 02:05:53 - The Positive Reception of the Book