About this episode
Tom Crockett is an ordained minister and spiritual counselor. He is a teacher, lecturer, and student in the Pachakuti Mesa Shamanic tradition, as well as in Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, and Depth Psychology. He has worked as a spiritual counselor for over fifteen years. Tom has worked with indigenous healers in Mexico and North America and studied core shamanism through the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. He is a Reiki practitioner and has studied bioenergetic healing with Mietek Wirkus. In 2001, he completed an apprenticeship in Paqo Wachu (Peruvian Shamanism) under the guidance of shaman and ceremonialist, Don Oscar Miro-Quesada. Tom has led and cofacilitated retreats in Oaxaca and Mexico City, Mexico, under the auspices of the Institute for Depth Psychology. Tom has made an intensive study of dreamwork, especially as a tool for spiritual growth. He has been a featured presenter at the Association for the Study of Dreams International Conferences since 1998 and was an invited presenter to the Conference on Indigenous Healing Traditions of the Americas cosponsored by the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. in 2002. Tom has presented at the Science and Nonduality Conference (SAND) with co-panelists Scott Kiloby and Jeff Foster, and been a regular presenter at the Paradoxica Conference on Nonduality. Tom currently serves as Executive Director of Together We Can Foundation, a non-profit organization serving at-risk teens in Southeastern Virginia. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in fine arts from Old Dominion University (summa cum laude) in Norfolk, Virginia, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, respectively. He lives in Newport News, Virginia with his wife, Kelly and is stepfather to three amazing children: Holly, Kasey, and Dylan. Tom's books: One Drop Awareness: Picturing Enlightenment and Nonduality PillowBook: Deepening the Art of Sacred Sexual Play Stone Age Wisdom: The Healing Principles of Shamanism The Artist Inside: A Spiritual Guide to Cultivating Your Creative Self Tom's website: coyoteenlightenment.com Interview recorded 11/25/2012 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction with Rick Archer and Tom Crockett 00:02:55 - A Journey of Spiritual Exploration 00:06:28 - The Journey into Indigenous Wisdom and Plant Medicine 00:10:04 - Profound Emotional Experience with Mushrooms 00:13:18 - The Preparation and Purpose of Taking Mushrooms 00:16:15 - The Profound Experience 00:19:29 - The Phenomenon of Dreaming and Waking Up 00:22:43 - The Interpretation of Dreams and Suffering 00:26:41 - The Relationship Between Pain and Suffering 00:31:11 - Finding Balance and Intentionality 00:35:07 - The Lack of Consensus on Enlightenment 00:37:58 - The Problem with Seeking and the Notion of "Do Nothing" 00:42:13 - The Habit of Doing Nothing and its Ineffectiveness 00:45:44 - Instantaneous Enlightenment 00:49:48 - The Mistake of Mistaking Understanding for Enlightenment 00:54:14 - Behavior and Enlightenment 00:58:36 - The Influence of Eastern Lineage Traditions in the West 01:03:01 - Getting Close to Spiritual Teachers 01:06:48 - The Value of Honesty in Teaching 01:10:08 - The Parallels between Spiritual and Physical Laws 01:14:08 - The Bliss of Emptiness and Fullness 01:18:17 - The Danger of Fundamentalism and the Diversity of Enlightenment 01:22:02 - Grades of Ignorance and the Importance of Inquiry 01:25:47 - Different Experiences of Enlightenment 01:29:42 - Physiological Transformation in Enlightenment 01:33:21 - States vs Stages of Consciousness 01:36:52 - Adjusting to a New Center of Gravity 01:40:36 - Improvisation and Letting Go of Scripts 01:44:29 - The Lesson of Humility in Improvisation 01:48:30 - The Ultimate Unreality of the World 01:51:20 - Conclusion and Farewell