That's not the title of Rick Archer's web portal. Buddha at the Gas Pump is – batgap.com for short. We'll get there in a moment.
First, we are what we eat. Relative to our food body, that's true enough. It's literally made from the things we eat. But it also extends to our emotional and mental consumption. What's our diet there?
The best news are horrible news. One glance at today's media confirms that old newspaper-man's credo. With the always-on lifestyle of people wired into the worldwide web, overexposure to bad news about which we can't do anything is a daily occurrence. Add ever more explicit violence in films and free online porn. The normalization of dysfunction and brokenness is rampant. Letting that perversion invade our mind to then distress or cripple our emotions is bad medicine. Sure, junk food doesn't kill; at least not right away. Our long-term health and present wellbeing simply do better when the building blocks to our physical existence are nutritious. Likewise for our mental and emotional wellbeing. Whilst exposure to bad news is virtually unavoidable if we don't bury our head in the sand, we can certainly be selective and counter-balance with regular servings of good life-affirmative news. Where to reach for those?
Enter Jesus the cheese monger, Lao Tzu the school-bus driver, Buddha the gas-station attendant. Common perception of extraordinary beings can't help but abstract them into super humans. If we believe the historical evidence, we acknowledge their lives. Yet unless we enjoy the mystical heart connection of a true devotee to transcend time and place, they happened long ago in times very different than ours. What about right now? Are there still beings like Jesus, Lao Tzu and Buddha? Are there others whose potential for Christ Consciousness or Shunyata has begun to stir, making them saints in swaddle cloths, pilgrims on the path, evolving light bearers in growing darkness? What if these were ordinary people like you and I who pay taxes, raise families, hold down jobs? Would learning about them not be good news amidst today's grim headlines?
That's exactly how I view Buddha at the Gas Pump, Rick Archer's ongoing YouTube conversations with people from all walks of life who, as a result of extraordinary experiences, spiritual practice, insights and inner openings, have shifted into and are living a more expanded state of consciousness. Throughout the ages, people have worked on themselves to wake up. Yet typically, only those in their immediate vicinity knew. Today's real-time information technology can link us up from the comfort of our chair. Batgap is an ever-growing resource to link us up with some of them. Listening to their stories, feeling their presence – some won't speak to or touch us. Others could have us in tears; on the same wavelength; in spontaneous silent communion and inner resonance. Many have their own websites where we may pursue direct contact. Site archives by category include specific spiritual traditions or practices. If you feel drawn to addiction/recovery, Kashmiri Shaivism, Shamanism, Sufism, Vedanta or Zen, near-death experiences, mediums, non-dual teachings or scientific research, Rick's log of 700+ guests should have someone for everyone.
If overexposure to darkness has you down, tune into a channel of light to be reminded. Amidst current global goings-on, opportunities for awakening, transformation and living full meaningful lives rooted in spirit remain ripe. We may not believe Jesus when he said that we can do what he did. For that, our abstractions—of the only begotten son of God, of a specially empowered super being whose coming was foretold—create a vast gap. We may feel unworthy or otherwise incapable to cross it and that belief becomes the barrier. Yet Rick's guests look and speak like us—ordinary people. They live in our 21st century with all its challenges, seductions and distractions. Might not that prompt a spark of inner sight that yes, transformation can happen to everyone? In fact, it is happening all around us. Batgap's assemblage of dialogues confirms it. We must only pay attention and know where to look. That said, Rick Archer's guests remind us. Somebody's look, speech, bearing and circumstance needn't give any indication as to their inner state. Not every traveller on this path becomes a formal Zen roshi, Christian priest, energy healer, therapist or published author. Hence Buddha at the Gas Pump. The green grocer we buy our veg from once a week could be a realizer; a carrier of higher vibrations; a silent instigator of change or blessings. At Rick's, the usual abstraction gap can be most narrow. His gas station pumps light fuel to counterbalance the rampant fear-based negativity of today's daily news. That makes it a wonderful resource for positive news.
Happy browsing!
