About this episode
Neil Douglas-Klotz is an internationally known scholar in the fields connecting religious studies (comparative Semitic hermeneutics) and psychology as well as a poet and musician. He is the author of Prayers of the Cosmos, Desert Wisdom, The Hidden Gospel, and The Genesis Meditations as well as coauthor of The Tent of Abraham with Sr. Joan Chittister and Rabbi Arthur Waskow. He is the past chair of the Mysticism Group of the American Academy of Religion and is active in various international colloquia and conferences dedicated to peace and spirituality. Website: abwoon.org Amazon Author's Page, listing all of his books Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group Transcript of this interview Interview recorded November 5, 2022 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Neil Douglas-Klotz 00:03:29 Neil’s background 00:04:40 - A Childhood of Alternative Beliefs 00:09:22 - How I Made Major Life Decisions 00:12:20 Aramaic, Sanskrit, Sound and Meaning 00:13:42 - The Connection Between Language and Objects 00:15:54 Chanting, mantra and the evolution of consciousness 00:17:47 - Human Consciousness and Modern Life 00:20:34. Changing the cultural paradigm of materialism 00:21:52 - Separation from Family Conditioning 00:22:09 Yeshua's healings and the culture of his time. 00:24:14 Did Jesus exist? 00:26:29 - The Transmission History of the Gospels 00:26:55 How and when were Jesus' words first written down? 00:30:22 - The Origins of Aramaic and Greek in Jesus's Vicinity 00:31:11 Aramaic and Greek at Jesus' tme. 00:33:04 Hundreds of early gospels. 00:34:50 - The Origins of Christian Creeds 00:35:49 Modern Christian religion and politics. 00:37:03 Neil's new book Revelations of the Aramaic Jesus: his method and texts 00:39:04 - The Translation of Scriptures 00:39:10 The King James Version of the Bible 00:40:27 "What would Jesus do?" 00:43:29 - The Connection to the Source of the Self 00:44:10 Evolution of Neil's work 00:45:07 "I am the way, the truth and the life...." 00:47:50 - The Meaning of "Hayye" 00:50:15 Jesus' miracles and healings, and early human consciousness. 00:52:13 - Healing through Connection to the Unseen 00:54:15 The important Aramaic words usually translated "good" and "evil" 00:56:50 - Ripening in the Breath 00:59:50 Jesus and prayer, with and without words 01:00:45 - Entraining with the Teacher's Consciousness 01:03:01 Worst mistranlation that empowers colonialism and ecocide. 01:04:49 - The Injustices of the World 01:06:56"Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven..." 01:08:57 - The Interconnection of Inner and Outer Life 01:09:09 The "sin against the Holy Ghost." 01:12:06 The Aramaic "lord's prayer" in brief 01:14:37 - Hollowing oneself for resonance with the cosmos 01:18:57 - The Aramaic Prayer of Dedication 01:20:39 Conversion, "saving the soul" or the soul saving you 01:23:18 - The history of Christianity and religion's impact 01:23:40 Snake handling? 01:25:28 "I and my father are one." 01:27:25 - The Living Togetherness with the Creating Source 01:29:38 "omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent? 01:30:45 "only begotten son" 01:31:36 - Jesus, the Cross, and Trust 01:35:05 "Did Jesus die on the cross?" 01:35:40 - The Possibility of Jesus' Survival on the Cross 01:37:53 Seeing angels or beings from other faiths 01:39:04 Jung's "Christian yoga" 01:39:44 - Awakening and Healing with Neil Douglas-Klotz 01:40:56 "original sin" 01:43:46 "judge not lest you be judged" 01:43:57 - Finding Your Path in Life 01:45:51 What is mine to do? 01:47:47 Jesus suffering 01:48:12 - The concept of pain and suffering in Christianity 01:50:32 "let him who is without sin cast the first stone" 01:52:02 - Tangled Relationships and Casting Stones 01:54:19 the "house divided against itself" 01:56:11 - Representatives of Anything Worthwhile 01:57:36 "you shall know them by their fruits" 01:57:56 non-dual existence 02:00:32 - The Concept of Hell in Ancient Semitic Mysticism 02:00:38 The ancient Semitic afterlife 02:02:28 Reincarnation in the Bible? 02:04:54 - The Power of Chants and Music 02:05:40 The source of Neil's Aramaic chants 02:07:36 Chanting Abwoon d'bashmaya 02:10:34 - The Power of Transformation