← Next Level Soul Podcast with Alex Ferrari
Next Level Soul Podcast with Alex Ferrari
FLASHBACK FRIDAYS: Humanity's GREAT SHIFT Has Begun! URGENT Wake-Up Call YOU NEED to HEAR! with Michael Bernard Beckwith
01:14:18
Michael Bernard Beckwith is a renowned spiritual leader, author, and speaker, known for his inspirational teachings and profound insights into personal growth and spiritual transformation. Born on July 4, 1956, in New York City, he developed a keen...
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- [00:00]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Life is just better when you've got a good friend to go through with it. I'm Juan Valderrama from those Amigos Podcast, and I know that whether it's podcasting, acting, parenting, or just making it through the day, it helps to have someone you trust in your corner. La Quin amigo that just gets it. Your State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need, and if needed, your State Farm agent can help you file your claim too. Like a good neighbor. Stay Farm is there.
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Ryan Seacrest
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Michael Bernard Beckwith
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Michael Bernard Beckwith
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Michael Bernard Beckwith
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Michael Bernard Beckwith
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- [01:31]
Alex Ferrari
Welcome to the Next Level Soul Podcast where we ask the big questions about life. Why are we here? Is this all there is? What is my Soul's mission? We attempt to answer those questions and more by bringing you raw and inspiring conversations with some of the most fascinating and thought provoking guests on the planet today. I am your host, Alex Ferrari. Now, before we dive into today's conversation, I want to invite you to experience something truly transformative. Next Level Soul tv. Our spiritual streaming platform where seekers from around the world can awaken, heal and expand. We've curated a powerful collection of life changing documentaries, Deep dive interviews, original series, audiobooks, courses, master classes and live events all focused on conscious personal transformation, ancient wisdom and and the soul's journey, this isn't just content, it's a calling. Whether you're exploring your spiritual gifts, seeking answers from the beyond, or just craving something real in a noisy world, Next Level Soul TV was made just for you. And here's the best part. It's commercial, free, available around the world and growing every week with new soul expanding content. So if you're ready to go deeper, head over to NextLevelSoul TV and start streaming your awakening. Now, let's begin today's episode. Disclaimer the views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of this show, its host, or any of the companies they represent. Now today on the show we have Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith. Now Michael is a best selling author, one of the stars of the legendary Secret documentary, and the founder of the Agape center in Los Angeles. Michael and I had a very deep conversation about his origins, how he became who he became and what is happening in humanity today, the great shift in consciousness, the big change that's happening to mankind and humanity and much more. Let's dive in. I'd like to welcome to the show Michael Bernard Web Beckwith. Hey there Michael.
- [03:46]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
I'm great, man. Everything. You know, one of my favorite statements, regardless of whatever's going on in life, is how can it get better than this? And then the universe will answer that question. Whether you're in the throes of a challenge or whether you're in a burst of an epiphany. How can it get better than this? So right now that's where I'm at. How can it get better than this? I'm with you, man. Life is good.
- [04:09]
Alex Ferrari
I appreciate you, my friend. Thank you so much for coming on the show. I've been a fan of yours probably since I was introduced to you back in the olden days with the Secret.
- [04:17]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Oh yes, that movie still has legs, man.
- [04:21]
Alex Ferrari
I man, isn't it amazing?
- [04:24]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
It's amazing. I go out into the world to speak and then you have different generations just starting to listen to it or read it or see the video and it's just like waves. And then some of the old timers are going back over it again because they missed something or it's, it's an interesting dynamic that, I mean, I've been in, I've been in more movies than any spiritual teacher I got an award for. I didn't even know that until somebody pointed out to me. And that one is, is one of those that just really changed a lot of lives.
- [04:57]
Alex Ferrari
Absolutely without question. So my first question to you today, sir, is how did you begin your spiritual journey?
- [05:04]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
My spiritual journey began it wasn't a conscious situation, even though as a, as a child I had certain spiritual awakening, certain mystical experiences. But as a kid and growing up, even as a teenager, I would quickly try to Normalize myself to be with my peers. So something happened. I knew something happened. I didn't know what it was, and I just didn't want to be weird. So I quickly tried to normalize my awareness. I remember when I was 11 years old, I was. I was in Washington, DC. I'm from DC originally, but raised in LA. And I was back during the summer with. Staying with my grandmother. And it was. It was around my birthday, and I'd gone to the store to pick up something for my grandmother. And I was in one aisle, and all of a sudden I could see that the individual who was stocking food in the aisle next to me was about to drop a bottle of baby food. I could see it in my mind's eye. So I ran around there really fast, and I caught it before it hit the ground. And he looked at me and he said, how did you know that was going to fall? I said, I didn't know. I didn't. I couldn't explain it. I said, I don't know. I just saw it. So anyway, I'm walking home that day with the groceries. My mother, my uncle and my grandmother are sitting on the stoop watching me walk in their direction. They're smiling at me, you know, and I'm thinking to myself, I'm not who they think I am. My. My grandmother thinks I'm her grandson. My mother thinks I'm her son. My uncle thinks I'm his nephew. But I'm not. I'm something else. I didn't have any words for it. And so I'm getting closer and closer to them. I'm saying, what am I going to do? What am I going to do? And I became what I thought I should be for them. I literally became the nephew, the son and the grandson. And I just kind of quickly closed everything down. So, fast forward, I'm a senior, I'm at usc. I've transferred from Morehouse College, and I'm in the psychobiology major. Right before that, I'd had had an experience that catapulted me to usc, but I didn't know what it was. But anyway, I went there. I was going to go to med school. And I'm giving you a Cliff Note version here.
- [07:27]
Alex Ferrari
Sure, sure, of course.
- [07:28]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And I'm starting to have a series of spiritual experiences. But at the time, I didn't know that's what it was. I thought it was psychological pathology. I thought something was wrong with me. So I stopped smoking weed just to ensure that I wasn't going crazy. But the experiences intensified Culminated with this lucid dream that I had for a nice period of time in which these three men were always on the horizon, coming after me, but they were always in the distance. But every night they were a little bit closer. So one night they were very close. I could see the outlines of their face. And I looked to my right and I could see this small tent. Thousands and thousands of people trying to fit into this very small tent. And. But I knew everyone in line and I said, these guys can't hurt me. I have all my friends here. And one by one, they turned their back on me. Two of the men held me down and another man stabbed me in the heart with a serrated knife. The pain was excruciating, physically and emotionally. And I died. And when I woke up from that, I could see that we were surrounded by this presence of such immense beauty. My name for this presence was love Beauty. The love that penetrated my being was beyond anything I'd ever experienced humanly. And I never could fit back in the box that I had been given intimations of as a kid. I couldn't get back in my box anymore. And that changed my life. And I went on to research journey to discover what had happened to me. And then that's when I bumped into the mystical teachings of the Buddha, Jesus the Christ, the Ramapada, the Panishads, Sri Aurobindu, Walter Russell. And I began to see there was similarity in these awakenings that had happened. And my life was never the same after that. My trajectory of my life became all about having a more conscious connection with this presence. At the time, I didn't use the word God. At the age of 16, I had left the church. It didn't hold anything for me. I didn't believe all of those religiosity around, around Jesus. And so I just called it love beauty. Later on in life, I was able to use the word God again because it didn't mean the guy got the. The sky God didn't mean the man in the sky had no anthropomorphic qualities. It was all a presence of love and beauty and intelligence and. And that's the short version of how, you know, it took a number of years to integrate and then years later to discover that there was actually a career called spiritual therapy, because I'd been doing it without any licenses or anything, because people liked being around me. They would get healings, I would do counselings, and there's some wonderful stories around that as well. And then I went to this metaphysical spiritual community at the Behest of my mother and a friend named Lissa. And I had said to them, I'm not going to any church. Church. There's no truth going on in church. And they kept begging me, this is metaphysical. This is not like a regular, you know, you're going to hell and fire and brimstone and any of that kind of stuff. So I went, and the Gentleman was named Dr. Daniel L. Morgan, and he had started the Guidance Church of Religious Science. And I was walking into the sanctuary and I heard him say, heaven and hell are not merely places, they're states of consciousness. And I said, he's right. This, this truth being spoken in a church, this is unheard of. Anyway, I sat down, listened to him. The next day I was in, I was enrolled in one of his classes. And then I found out there was something called a spiritual practitioner. It was a licensed spiritual therapist. And I ended up taking that. I think at the time it was a two year program.
- [11:46]
Alex Ferrari
Wow.
- [11:47]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And I took that, became, I became full time practitioner. I did that. I saw six to eight people every single day, six days a week. Had seminars before they were popular. And then ultimately went to the School of Higher Consciousness, School of Ministry. Graduated. Took me five years to graduate from a three year program because I wasn't trying to graduate. I was just like, like joining. Just, I just like being a learner and hanging out with like minded people, you know, so. So that's kind of the Cliff Note version of, of what happened.
- [12:25]
Alex Ferrari
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
- [12:28]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway Cough. And cold season is coming, so make sure you're prepared and stock up on your family's favorite personal wellness products. Now through October 7th. Shop in store and online for savings on products like Mucinex, Kickstart Combo, Zyrtec Allergy relief tablets or Liquid Gels, Halls Cough Drops and Mucinex Fast day and night, so you and your family are armed and ready for the season ahead. Offerings, October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [12:57]
LifeLock Advertiser
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- [13:55]
Alex Ferrari
And now back to the show.
- [13:59]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And then little by little by little, you know, I ended up starting a spiritual community and it took off. It's continuing to grow even now. We grew exponentially during the lockdown. And now I just, I'm on full time. I'm on full time service mode. How can I serve? I should have never asked that question.
- [14:22]
Alex Ferrari
Be careful what you wish for, my friend.
- [14:24]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
How could I be of service? And the universe keeps showing me ways that I can be of service. And I keep saying yes.
- [14:30]
Alex Ferrari
So, Michael, when you had some of these mystical experiences and you were kind of questioning your sanity, what would you, what advice would you have for people who are listening in the audience who might be having these kind of spiritual awakenings within their own lives and they, they really can't kind of understand it. There's much more information about it now, obviously with shows like this than it was when you were having it.
- [14:51]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Right.
- [14:51]
Alex Ferrari
But still, it could be extremely scary. What advice would you have for them?
- [14:55]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Well, first of all, today, as you, you said, you know, we have, you have classes in transpersonal psychology that didn't exist 40 years ago. You know, this was all woo woo stuff, you know, and so any good books on transpersonal psychology will allow you to see that what looks like a, a psychological crisis is actually a breakthrough. So I would say one, don't try. Many people, particularly in the Western world, when they're going through an inner crisis of awakening, they think they, many people still think it's pathological and they'll get drugs, they'll get some kind of pharmaceutical drug to kind of stop it so they can have some kind of surcease from the experience. And they're actually in many cases stopping the energy of their transformation. I'm not saying that that's happening for everybody. Sometimes it might be appropriate for somebody to do something to alleviate the inner turmoil and pain they're going through. But in many cases there, there are openings taking place and People are afraid of it. And instead of leaning into it, finding a good spiritual therapist to help you walk through it, an authentic shaman, not these fly by night shamans that go to Peru for two months and call themselves a shaman, you know, but a real one to help navigate through this kind of spiritual awakening, which I think at this time in human history is happening more frequently. You know, it's in the newest sphere of the planet. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's vibrationally trending. And, and so I would let people know they're not going crazy. You know, I worked with an individual a couple of years ago who was having a full on Kundalini awakening and she was about to be put on a whole lot of medication and her husband was very, very nervous. And, and when I, when I met with her, I said, oh, I could tell this was not, she was not losing her mind, she was gaining her mind. And, and I worked with her for a few days and she started integrating the higher frequencies. She was actually bringing some very powerful knowledge through. Her intuition was at an all time high and subsequently she didn't need any medication. She just got, she got balanced. And now her and her husband are really good friends of mine, we're business partners now actually. And, and she's doing great. She's, she's tapped in some very powerful genius within her. But she was about to be put on medication, you know, and fortunately I was able to step in and show and to her and her husband, this was not to be medicated, this was to be embraced because the next version of herself was emerging, you see?
- [17:47]
Alex Ferrari
Yeah, well, you said the, that more and more of these awakenings are happening now. And I would agree with you, I've even In the last 10 years, the information that is these conversations, you know, this, like when we were talking about the Secret, you know, that was one of those movies that kind of shifted consciousness in many ways. It dropped seeds.
- [18:09]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Yeah, dropped, it was, it was absolutely dropped seeds.
- [18:12]
Alex Ferrari
Yes, it dropped seeds to start the bigger conversation. What do you think is happening in this, this kind of global shift that is in consciousness that we're all going through right now? Because if we look at the world, so many people are like, oh, the world's going to hell, it's worse than ever. There seems to be so much more uprisings and wars and politics and all this stuff. It seems like everything's going to hell. But in another perspective, it appears so. Can you explain your. From your perspective?
- [18:43]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Well, first of all, that which was Peripheral years ago is now becoming a part of the central conversation. So you have two things happening on the planet. You have that which used to be woo woo, you now have Bruce Lipton, the Godfather, epigenetics. You have quantum scientists using the word consciousness that were all holographic expressions of a one of a one source, a one presence, you know, using the interchanging with mystical language, you see. And this is all part of the gestalt, the language, the information that's now flowing freely, you know, that a lot of the indigenous cultures prophesied at this time, all that used to be secret, would now be available openly everywhere. And that's. We're living in that time. So you have that combined with the fact that the Earth itself is vibrating at a higher frequency. The Earth is more alive. Whether you look at that from a shaman point of view that speaks about the Earth being alive and the mother being awakened, or whether you speak about it from a scientific point of view, you watch the human scale or you watch the vibration of the Earth, it's actually going to a higher frequency. And so all of that is combining to create an atmosphere of awakening for those who choose it. I mean, it happens, but you still have to do the inner work to actually choose to break free from the status quo. So that's going on now. Now it appears that things are going to hell in a handbasket. And I don't know where we get handbaskets from. But anyway, however, you have, you know, something called the Internet. You have these news medias. Years ago, it would take a few days before a news item would begin to catch around the world. Now it's instant. So if something negative happens at another part of the United States, another part of the world, you get the information. And, and most of the information we get via the media is always the lowest common denominator of the human experience. You don't get the resolutions, you don't get the mediations, you don't get the truces, you don't get the wars that are ending. I mean, we're, we're at an all time low in terms of wars on the planet. You know, historically. Yet people would think that we're at an all time high in terms of wars, but we're not, you know, so I mean, there are factors that are using food as war and weather is for war and things of that particular nature. That's another discussion. But so the appearance of everything going to hell is not true. And secondly, the appearance also is actually what I feel to be more of A birth pain of another dimension rising, or another expression of good rising. You have the, the collective consciousness being aired out, so to speak. That which was hidden under the rug, psychic in our psychic context is big now becoming visible and so, and being reported on. If somebody's saying crazy stuff, they're going on the news. You know, if somebody is just a regular old guy sitting in the room meditating and not creating any havoc, and they're not going to be on the news, you know, oh, Joe sitting in his office today and he's meditating and he had a tremendous insight about the presence and he decided to forgive his family. That's not going to show up on the news, not going on cnn. But if Joe gets mad and shoots up somebody, oh, Joe's going on the news, you know.
- [22:15]
Alex Ferrari
Absolutely.
- [22:15]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
So, so we have a contorted view of reality based on what we're presented by the status quo every single day. And then I would also add one other thing, and that is there's a difference between the world and the planet. They are not synonymous. And I, I teach this all the time because people will say, oh, what's going on in the world? What's going on with planet Earth? They're not the same thing. The planet is Gaia, 3/4 water, rainforests, oceans, lakes, rivers, Earth, and she's alive. And then there's the world. The world is an agreement that we all have with each other. We have opinions, points of view, perceptions, positionalities, agreements. When you agree upon something, you live in that world, you actually create and end up condensing your beliefs into that world experience. Two people can stand on the same spot on the planet, but be in two different worlds based on their beliefs, based on their perceptions. So there are many people living in a world of peace, world of harmony, inside a world of joy, a world of thanksgiving and gratitude. And there are many people living in survival. There are many people living in fear and anxiousness and anxiety, all occupying the same space. You know, it's in quantum reality that's called the condensate. You know, it's like in Newtonian reality, two things cannot occupy the same space. But in the quantum field, many things can occupy the same space. They vibrate at different levels, you know, and so there are many people living at a different vibration, living in a different world. And there are people living in another vibration, living in a world of fear and doubt and polarity and hate, resentment, animosity.
- [24:07]
Alex Ferrari
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
- [24:10]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest. For Albertsons and Safeway Cough and cold season is coming, so make sure you're prepared and stock up on your family's favorite personal wellness products. Now through October 7th shop in store and online for savings on products like Mucinex Kickstart Combo, Zyrtec Allergy Relief Tablets or Liquid Gels, Halls Cough Drops and Mucinex Fast day and night so you and your family are armed and ready for the season ahead. Offerings October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [24:40]
LifeLock Advertiser
I bet you've probably been to the doctor's office in the past few months. I bet you had to hand over personal info like your insurance, your id, maybe even your Social Security number. And I bet you weren't thinking about how your doctor is just one of many places that has your personal information. If any one of them isn't careful, it's a good bet they could accidentally expose your details to hackers and identity theft, putting you at risk. Fortunately, Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed or your money back with plans covering up to $3 million for stolen funds and expenses. Don't take chances with your personal info. Help protect it even when it's out of your hands. Save up to 40% your first year with promo code iheart. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off. Terms apply.
- [25:38]
Alex Ferrari
And now back to the show.
- [25:41]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
But what's being reported? Generally the lower frequencies, right? That's what's being reported. Why the reporters don't live in the higher frequencies. They are actors reading what they're supposed to report. So they're not even they're just reporting from an old paradigm. You're a reporter from the new paradigm. Individuals that have these kind of conversations, we're beginning to report from what's trying to emerge, whereas the old reporters are reporting from the status quo and if it bleeds, it leads. So all of that allows me to be very optimistic. I mean, an optimist is not a person doesn't see challenges. An optimist is simply a person that knows there's a solution to every challenge. So I live in that frequency. Yeah.
- [26:34]
Alex Ferrari
So is. Is that why podcasts of certain frequencies are getting more attention and more viewers and more listeners than traditional media? By landslides?
- [26:46]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
I mean, absolutely. It's, it's not sanitized by sponsorship that say you can't speak about A, B, C or D. I was with, I was at the Milken Institute, I think it was last year, speaking there. And Van Jones was speaking there as well. And I went to a dinner with him and a bunch of people and just me and him, he was a bunch of folks and he was the speaker there. And somebody asked him a question about, you know, his position on the news. And I can't remember what the question was, but he said this, he said, listen, the news is curated. I'm on cnn, somebody else is on Fox, somebody else is on, they're all speaking to a demographic. If I happened, he said, if I happen to agree with a statement that a friend of mine is saying and he's actually a reporter on Fox, I'll get in trouble if I say I agree with so and so because I'm not supposed to agree with that, or if he hears something that I says and he says, oh, I agree with Van, he can't say, he says. And fan went on to talk about that, but he went on to say, you know, basically if you want to get really good information, he said, go to a podcast that you trust the people that are doing real good research and really speaking, he says that's where the new territory is. It's in the podcast. Because the news that we see, it's, it's curated to a demographic and that demographic is going to hear what they already believe. They're not going to get anything outside of their present paradigm and the sponsor is going to sponsor that. So I agree with what you just said. The podcast is the territory where people can begin to get new, new groundbreaking insights and revelations about spirituality, about science, about whatever.
- [28:35]
Alex Ferrari
Right? Because there's no quote unquote agenda. Not all shows, but some shows like what we do is we try to bring up a variety of people like yourself and near death experiencers, a quantum physicist and in an ancient civilization story. And it's all of it just to kind of start a different conversation. And I never thought of it, but that way.
- [28:54]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
But you're.
- [28:54]
Alex Ferrari
We're throwing out new ideas that just are not sanitized and are introducing new ideas that you would have never even thought about. So that's really fascinating.
- [29:03]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
You're not going to hear it on NBC, buddy. No, you, unless it's really carrying to a very special niche. Today we're going to have the good news from so and so is right.
- [29:13]
Alex Ferrari
It's always at the end, the moment.
- [29:15]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
They give you like a two minutes of it, you Know they saved the.
- [29:17]
Alex Ferrari
Cat out of that tree. Now back to the war, right? Now you've said a couple times in our conversation, vibrations. Now I understand what you mean by different vibrations at different, higher levels in the quantum field. Both having something stay at the same place at the same time, but at different vibrations. Is that why to kind of, kind of bring it down to earth for people who might not understand that concept? Is that why people are attracted to certain kinds of people like yourself? Like you said, people like to be around you. You like to be around other like minded people. Is that more like you're being around people who are at the same vibration as you are?
- [29:55]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Yeah, it's, it's simpatico. It's, it's, you know, you birds of a feather flock together. You know, if, if you are holding a certain vibration and frequency, you're going to magnetize and radiate and discover those kind of individuals. And oftentimes it feels like you know each other. You know, it's like you're, you're, you're kind of coming from a similar source. You've had different insights and revelations. And you know, we have a body, but we're not a body. We're, we're more vibrational beings than we are anything else. You know, we, this is mainly water or a certain special kind of water that's within us. And then the rest is all frequency and vibration, you know, and this is why if people listen, if they're, if they're, if their biome is clean and they had, and their gut is clean, they can have a gut reaction to something. They can be around somebody. And this feels like, I don't want to be around, I don't want to go into business with this person. No, I don't. He's sounding really good, but I think there's some canine teeth behind those tongue. You know, they can say, no, I'm not, or you can meet somebody else. And it doesn't look like the type of person you'd hang out with, but you just feel like very close. This person can be a partner, a friend, a business associate. You know, the vibration is sympathetic, you know, and the frequency is high. And, and if you listen with your being, you're generally right. The first mind is generally right. Yeah.
- [31:28]
Alex Ferrari
Now from your point of view, how do you define a spiritually awakened person? All these awakenings that are happening, how would he define that from your perspective?
- [31:39]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Well, when I. First of all, defining the word spiritual is not, has nothing to do with a religion. The word spiritual Eternal. These are all interchangeable. So we're all spiritual beings, we're all eternal beings that have emerged from the eternal. So a spiritual being, an awakened being, is one who is a. Who has awakened to that. They've come out of sleepwalking. They've come out of the mass hypnotic spell of believing that they're separated from their source, separated from the divine, separated from love, intelligence, beauty. They're not living on an island thinking they're separated from life. When you start to have an awakening, you start to realize, oh, you're one with this life force. There is no separation. The wave is waking up to the fact that it's one with the ocean. The sunbeam is waking up to the fact that it's emanating from the sun. A sunbeam can't even exist without the sun. The wave can exist without the ocean. We can exist without being emanations of a presence that is never an absence. So we wake up to that. And it's startling to the ego because the ego lives in separation. You know, it creates separation for survival. But then when you transcend the ego perspective, you realize, oh my God, I'm one with this flower. I'm one with all human beings. I'm one with Mother Earth. Let me take care of her. Let me be a good steward. I'm one with the presence. And that's not blasphemy. What's blasphemy is to limit your perception and to limit the presence in your life. But when you open yourself up, say, oh, I'm one with all of in life, capital L life, you know, I'm one with life. We magnify it, we glorify it, we let it flow through us. And beings that you mentioned, near death experiences, you know, I call them near life experiences. You know that, that when people in the testimony is always pretty much the same. We're here to perfect our loving. We've never been separated from life. Even though we may have had the experience of separation. It was just. The hypnotic experience wasn't real. So when we wake up, we realize, oh my God, I'm one with this tree over here. I'm one with the ground beneath my feet. There's only oneness. There's only unity. Everything else is hypnotism. Everything else is an illusion. And illusions can produce experiences, and experiences can be suffering or painful, but they're temporary. That which is eternal is each and every one of us living as a spiritual being. So we wake up to that. It's a wake up call. Oh my God, I've been running around in life anxious and afraid about something that doesn't even exist. Death. Right.
- [34:37]
Alex Ferrari
Well, that's my near death experiences. Most of them that I've spoken to, if not all come back completely changed with this exact awakening when they get the glimpse to go, oh, this is an illusion. We are here to be one with everything it is become transformed.
- [34:53]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Yes.
- [34:54]
Alex Ferrari
So hopefully we don't have to die to get this transformation.
- [34:56]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Well, that's the thing. I mean, the old religion was you had to die and go to heaven. The new, the new spirituality is no, you die to your littleness and you have heaven here now.
- [35:07]
Alex Ferrari
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
- [35:10]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway Cough and cold season is coming, so make sure you're prepared. And stock up on your family's favorite personal wellness products. Now through October 7th, shop in store and online for savings on products like Mucinex Kickstart Combo, Zyrtec Allergy relief tablets or liquid Gels, Halls Cough drops and Mucinex fast day and night. So you and your family are armed and ready for the season ahead. Offer ends October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [35:40]
LifeLock Advertiser
I bet you've probably been to the doctor's office in the past few months. I bet you had to hand over personal info like your insurance, your id, maybe even your Social Security number. And I bet you weren't thinking about how your doctor is just one of many places that has your personal information. If any one of them isn't careful, it's a good bet they could accidentally expose your details to hackers and identity theft, putting you at risk. Fortunately, Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed. Or your money back with plans covering up to $3 million for stolen funds and expenses. Don't take chances with your personal info. Help protect it even when it's out of your hands. Save up to 40% your first year with promo code iHEART. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iHEART or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off terms apply.
- [36:38]
Alex Ferrari
And now back to the show. Let me ask you, Michael. When you had that lucid dream and those three men, two of them holding you down, one stabbed you, did you literally have to die and then come re be reborn to this new awakening of who you are now, that was.
- [36:56]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
That was my experience. It's not everybody.
- [36:58]
Alex Ferrari
No, of course, of course.
- [36:59]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
But it was. It was very painful. And when I woke up, a shift had occurred. And it occurred so dramatically that most of the friends that I had at that particular time, I lost the friendships. I thought I'd freaked out. And because they knew me more as a revolutionary, you know, change the world by any means necessary. I was a part of, you know, different groups to help change the world according to our particular perception. You know, I was selling weed at the time to fund my way through usc and, you know, and. And everything stopped. I. It was like I never got high again. I didn't drink any alcohol again. I wasn't a big alcohol drinker anyway, but I never smoked again. You know, it just fell off. It just. And so I lost my friendships. And there was a period of time where I was. I was alone. I wasn't lonely, but I was alone. I didn't have a lot of friends. You know, I can remember this two things. One, I went to all the people that I'd been running with at that time, and letting them know that the spiritual world does exist. It's not a figment of my imagination who. The things I used to do, I don't do anymore. And. And they fell off. Then I went over to another friend's house. His name was Reggie. His wife was sitting in the living room, standing in the living room. And I walked in and I. And I said, listen, I've had this experience, changed my life. There really is another dimension of living. There are many, many dimensions of life. I've been traveling. There are other beings. And Debbie was just nodding at me, and Reggie's coming down the hallway and Reggie says, I believe you. I've been thinking along those lines. So he became my running partner. And we were already friends since we were childhood. But I thought I was about to lose him too, because he was very revolutionary. You know, he's working with the Black Panthers and, you know, religion is the opening of the people, you know. And he said, I believe you. And so he became my running partner. And we did. We went to every guru, all the meditation retreats, we took silver, mind control. We did everything together. And eventually he changed his name to Nirvana and he became a minister. He's passed over now, but yeah. And then the other thing that happened was I was sitting. I used to work for the mayor of Los Angeles. I worked for Mayor Bradley. I handled all the senior citizens affairs in the 8th Council Matic District, but I was by myself. I was A weirdo, you know, and had this spiritual awakening. I was weird to everybody. I was teaching metaphysics at lunchtime to people who wanted to know about it. And one day I was sitting at the field office, I was having lunch outside and I looked up and I saw this big ball of light with these beautiful colors in it. And I was just staring at this ball of light wondering, what is that? And then if my eyes focused, it was a person. And I was looking at her aura.
- [40:05]
Alex Ferrari
Wow.
- [40:05]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And I went up and talked to her. And she was a member of Self Realization Fellowship and she was a. She was a meditator. And that became one of my first friends because we understood each other. She was, you know, a novitiate of Paramahansa Yogananda. And I was on my own, you know, practicing and curating my own experiences. We became really good friends. So that was like one of my. Those two people were one of my first couple of friends on the path. Path that I knew instantly from my heart. Yeah.
- [40:36]
Alex Ferrari
So, Michael, why do you think that these awakenings are happening? Happening at this moment in history is a general. I mean, we've spoken about the vibration of Earth, but is that what is causing this? Because, I mean, like we talked about 40 years ago, 30 years ago, this. There's nothing like this. There's no conversation. And let alone 100 years ago, you and I would have been. We would be hung up.
- [41:01]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Well, the women, the women would have been burned at the stake and the men would have been crucified.
- [41:06]
Alex Ferrari
Very much. Very much.
- [41:07]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
That's. That's the archetype.
- [41:09]
Alex Ferrari
Pretty much. Pretty much. So why do you think?
- [41:12]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Well, what's happening now is you have an intensity of necessity. It's like with the, the climate emergency that we're facing, the pollution, the ocean that's being overly polluted and overly fished, the rainforest that's disappearing. There's. There are systemic issues. The prison industrial system, politics is nuts. You have junior high school people in just creating more and more polarity. Like they're in, they're in junior high school. No, he's to blame. He's to blame. He's to blame. You know, so the egoic kind of people run for these offices and you have a few statement statesman in there, but, you know, you know, three fourths of them have received money from pharmaceutical companies, you know, in Congress, you know, so you have all these junior high school people just trying to feed their gluttony. So you have all of this stuff happening on the planet. Not just. This is not just America, you know, Great Britain is, is no better than we are in terms of the politics and other, other countries. So I think that when there's a, there's a, there's a crisis that's leading to a breakthrough. You know, if you, if you look at the often used metaphor of the caterpillar going to the butterfly, you know, the caterpillar eats, runs out of food, starts to spin. It's, it goes into its cocoon, but it becomes a liquid. The imaginal cells of the butterfly begin to emerge. The imaginal cells are initially killed off by the immune system of the caterpillar. It kills off the new cells that are going to birth the caterpillar because it's foreign, it's different. Then ultimately the imaginal cells proliferate so fast that it overcomes the caterpillar's immune system and a new creature is born. Out of the chrysalis comes a different creature. It can fly. It's a butterfly. Well, I think we're in the throes of an emergence of something new. But the, the, the, the, the imaginal cell, I mean the defense system of the old is, is killing off the new. You know, calling them crazy quacks, whack jobs. There's no science behind the near death experience, you know, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Whether it's newness in health with alternative means of healing oneself, newness in education, whatever, there still seems to be on the skinny branches on the fringe. But it's proliferating. What is called alternative is proliferating until, as Buckminster Fuller would remind us, it's not about destroying an old system. It's about allowing the new system to emerge and making it so strong that the old just kind of disintegrates because the new is taking over. So I think we're in the, we're at the, we're in the beginning stages of something new emerging. And it will proliferate, it will magnify until there will be a different kind of way we deal with each other. Love will come back, will come back and be popular again. Love is not popular right now. I always say, you know, right now the true revolutionaries on the planet are the lovers. Those who love, those who keep their heart open, those that forgive, those that have compassion and kindness, that people think that's soft. Those are the true revolutionaries, the ones that are trying to fight and keep guns and shoot people and rob people and, and, and, and to be a macho and, you know, ego, the whole, that's they're not revolutionary. Revolutionaries are the lovers, you know. So I think that this is what's emerging at this time in human history.
- [45:07]
Alex Ferrari
Now we'll be talking a little a lot about the individual awakening. What is your perspective on humanity's consciousness as a collective and how we are all either agreeing to this on a different vibrational level to do all of this? Would you agree with that statement?
- [45:27]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
There's different levels to that? Yes. Those individuals that have said yes and are participating in their own evolution are seeding the consciousness the same way that Katama, the Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Kuan Yin and other individuals hundreds of years ago put into the newest fear, the template of an awakened being. That's still here, that vibration is still here. Now you have thousands of other people emerging that are seeding the environment, the atmosphere, the environment. Now individuals still have to choose that they're not just going to be pulled into the next frequency because they're here at some point. We have a level of sovereignty. We have a level of free will. We have to say yes to it. You know, we have to be interested in it. I teach that, you know, we've all emerged from the eternal, from the eternal, but we're made in the image and likeness of God, which means doesn't mean we look like God because God is formless. So it's not like, oh, I look like God. It means that we share a faculty and that faculties that we're able to think independent of an experience. We can think independent of a circumstance or a situation. So that everything that emerged out of nothing there was not a grain of sand. This infinite intelligence birthed everything out of nothing but an idea. We have the same faculty. We can birth a whole new life out of an idea.
- [47:02]
Alex Ferrari
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
- [47:05]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway Cough and cold season is coming, so make sure you're prepared. And stock up on your family's favorite personal wellness products now through October 7th. Shop in store and online for savings on products like Mucinex Kickstart Combo, Zyrtec Allergy Relief tablets or liquid gels, Halls cough drops and Mucinex Fast day and night so you and your family are armed and ready for the season ahead. Offer ends October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [47:35]
LifeLock Advertiser
I bet you've probably been to the doctor's office in the past few months. I bet you had to hand over personal info like your insurance, your ID Maybe even your Social Security number. And I bet you weren't thinking about how your doctor is just one of many places that has your personal information. If any one of them isn't careful, it's a good bet they could accidentally expose your details to hackers and identity theft, putting you at risk. Fortunately, Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed or your money back with plans covering up to $3 million for stolen funds and expenses. Don't take chances with your personal info. Help protect it even when it's out of your hands. Save up to 40% your first year with promo code iHEART. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iHEART or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off. Terms apply.
- [48:33]
Alex Ferrari
And now back to the show.
- [48:36]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
So continuing with what I'm saying, we're at an old stage of evolution where we are, we evolve because of adjustments to the land mass and climate to what is called conscious evolution, where we are participating in our own evolution. We are meditating, we are doing the life visioning process, we're affirmatively praying, we're hanging with high minded, open hearted people. So even though individuals are seeding, people still have to choose to be interested in it. You have to choose it. So I would say yes, there's a collective awakening happening and more and more people are choosing to be interested in the awakening which then makes them a candidate for insights and revelations.
- [49:21]
Alex Ferrari
As your growth and my show's growth has, is a testament to people are looking for this information. How long have you had your church?
- [49:29]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And you're, you're, you're Agape is in his 37th year. I've been teaching three, four, five years before I started Agape. So I've been four decades in.
- [49:40]
Alex Ferrari
So what was, how has it changed?
- [49:44]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Forty years now the same people thought I was crazy, now come to Agape.
- [49:49]
Alex Ferrari
That guy's nuts. And now they knock on the door, can I come in?
- [49:52]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And now they're like, you know, can I meet with you? Can you, can you hold me in prayer? You know, I'm going to take a class, you know. Yeah. So it's just, it's just like the conversation is here now. It's, it's as you said earlier, you know, when the secret came, you know, that was just a seed planting. You know, there's a lot of things that people can criticize about it, but you can't criticize the fact that, you know, you don't criticize the Model T, you know, you, you develop a new car, you know what I mean? So you don't criticize the secret. It was, it jumped out there, you know, so now there's, there's more coherence around the ideas, there's more understanding about action that has to take place and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But today there are more and more people who are interested, who are listening, who are going to classes, who are going on the websites and studying and going to spiritual communities and reading books. And it's a billion dollar industry. It wasn't a billion dollar industry. I mean, I used to say years ago that people would read these spiritual books, but they would cover it with a paper bag so nobody knew what they were reading. And they would rather say they were reading porn than a spiritual book, you know.
- [51:04]
Alex Ferrari
Right.
- [51:05]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Oh, I had some pornography, you know. Good for you.
- [51:08]
Alex Ferrari
Good for you, Joe.
- [51:08]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Okay, yeah. Was it good? Oh, yeah. You know, but now people will openly read, you know, transformational books. You know, life visioning, Deepak Chopra, Michael Beckwith, you know, Bruce lifted, you know, they'll read it now and not hide it, you know, so, so things have changed and are still changing rapidly.
- [51:29]
Alex Ferrari
What do you think is the biggest challenge we have as a species and on the individual level for this awakening to continue to occur?
- [51:40]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Well, people don't quite understand that their hate for other people, whether it be color of the skin, sexual orientation, what's, what side of the aisle you are on in terms of politics, they don't realize that their chain is being pulled. They're, they are actually being hypnotized into that hate. It's, it's a part of how a civilization is controlled. You, you create that kind of atmosphere. There's a level of self hate that's there. And then they train people unconsciously to project that onto other people so that there's divisiveness in our society that keeps people from understanding how powerful they really are. And if individuals stood how powerful they really are, they could change the status quo in an instant. So people actually think that they hate that person. That person. They don't even know understand where that hate came from. Somebody is a puppeteer actually controlling that and that's, that's a big hindrance to evolution. People have to wake up. And it's interesting, I was, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm kind of a Trekkie, you know, I remember seeing this old Star Trek with Captain, the original Captain Kirk and the Klingons. And then we're fighting, you know how they do. Sure. And they go to this planet and the Klingons are trying to take over this planet and Kirk is trying to, trying to save this, these people. And they're, they seem totally unconcerned. They're unconcerned. You know, long story short, these beings had already transitioned into living without a body. They could manifest a body whenever they wanted to and they could be invisible so they couldn't be hurt at all. And then subsequently there was an energy there that thrived off of hate, that was creating the energy between the Klingons and the Enterprise staff to be at odds with each other. So as long as that was happening, this other entity could survive and go strong and create havoc. And once they figured it out, then the Klingons and the Enterprise staff started liking each other so they didn't want to be controlled by this other force. That happens right now. You know, there, there, there, there are groups of people that love the fact that people don't get along and, and, and people actually think, they're thinking these thoughts. They're not. Their mind is being hijacked and their hate isn't real. You know, so anyway, that's one, that's one of the obstacles.
- [54:24]
Alex Ferrari
Right.
- [54:24]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And we already talked about some of the systemic issues in our, in our world culture that we're all facing simultaneously. And then there's still individuals who are materialist, who if you can't smell it and see it, taste it, touch it or hear it, it's not real. And so we call these individuals dimensionally challenged. They're only living in 3D. I mean, living a whole life in just three dimensions. How boring. You know, and, and then what happens is either through a crisis or a near death experience or something, they begin to realize that, that there's something way beyond the sensorium, way beyond what you can see physically or hear audibly, that's surrounding us. That's, that's here. You know, so those are, those are some of the things that are hindering our wider perception.
- [55:14]
Alex Ferrari
It's, it's so interesting how Star Trek, and for me was Star Wars. As you can see, I have a Yoda behind me.
- [55:23]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Yeah, I like Star wars too. Yeah, yeah.
- [55:25]
Alex Ferrari
But it's so interesting that both of those, and stories in general, and movies, movies and books, they're seed planters as well. And the seeds that were planted by Star wars and by Star Trek.
- [55:35]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Yes.
- [55:36]
Alex Ferrari
Have been growing and growing for, I mean the concepts that Star Trek talked About. And was it the 60s, right, when the show was originally aired?
- [55:43]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Yeah, it was in, it was in the 60s and they dealt with a lot of things. Oh, before it was popular, the interracial.
- [55:52]
Alex Ferrari
The interracial kiss was the big one.
- [55:55]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
It was, it was, it was him. And the two first interracial kisses were Perry Belafonte movies and start in Star Trek. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And people were upset. Well, not everybody. I mean, you know. Oh, I remember when what's the lady's name, big actor, put her hand on Harry Bella. It was her show.
- [56:17]
Alex Ferrari
Yes.
- [56:18]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Tuna. She sang down.
- [56:21]
Alex Ferrari
Yes, yes, yes, I saw that. I saw that documentary.
- [56:23]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And they were going to cut that out and she says the show's not even going to be aired if you cut me touching her about, you know, and. Yeah, so they. Star Trek and then Star wars tuned everybody into the fact that there was a force. There was.
- [56:37]
Alex Ferrari
Right.
- [56:38]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
There was a field, you know, there's a rupture in the force. The force is with you. You know, that. That planted a whole seed about a presence that's with us. You know, we can be attuned with it, you see. Yeah, right.
- [56:51]
Alex Ferrari
Yeah. And that's what energy or ghee. Energy and all that, it's, it's the same concepts. But it's fascinating how these ideas get dropped into the mass media and how it affects really the world in such a lot. I mean, I always use the Matrix as one of those movies as well that just absolutely. I love the shifted perceptions of reality and the whole, the whole thing of quantum physics now with simulation theory and things, and this materialist that you were talking about, quantum physics is throwing that all upside down and they're fighting it, it and they're like, no, no, no, no, that's not like. But here's the proof. No, but that's not real proof.
- [57:30]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
They can actually, they have to have telescopes. I mean, microscopes actually can see an electron, you know what I mean?
- [57:36]
Alex Ferrari
In between and between electrons, in between the space and.
- [57:40]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And show the movement of it based on thought and, and, etc. But some people, if they can't see it and taste it, smell it, touch it, hear it, it's not real to them. And they're living life as an invalid. You know, they're living life on crutches, basically, because the sense, the sensorium are prosthetics of the scent of the spiritual sense. And they're living with the prosthetic rather than the real sense.
- [58:06]
Alex Ferrari
What's the Galileo effect? It's the Galileo. Don't look, don't look through. I can't look through the microscope. I can't look through the telescope and see that the sun is the center of our, our galaxy right now. What would you suggest for someone who wants to consciously participate in this shift? We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
- [58:29]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway Cough and cold season is coming, so make sure you're prepared and stock up on your family's favorite personal wellness products. Now through October 7th. Shop in store and online for savings on products like Mucinex Kickstart Combo, Zyrtec Allergy Relief tablets or Liquid Gels, Halls Cough Drops and Mucinex Fast day and night so you and your family are armed and ready for the season ahead. Offerings October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [58:58]
LifeLock Advertiser
I bet you've probably been to the doctor's office in the past few months. I bet you had to hand over personal info like your insurance, your id, maybe even your Social Security number. And I bet you weren't thinking about how your doctor is just one of the many places that has your personal information. If any one of them isn't careful, it's a good bet they could accidentally expose your details to hackers and identity theft, putting you at risk. Fortunately, Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed or your money back with plans covering up to $3 million for stolen funds and expenses. Don't take chances with your personal info. Help protect it even when it's out of your hands. Save up to 40% your first year with promo code iheart. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off. Terms apply.
- [59:56]
Alex Ferrari
And now back to the show.
- [60:00]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
There's a number of ways to enter into. One of the quickest ways is to begin to become aware of what question are you living in? And that is, you know, we have questions that we ask all the times consciously and unconsciously, and some are empowering and some are disempowering. So the average unconscious person asks questions like what's wrong? Who's to blame? Why me? Which puts a filter over their perception so they can't see reality. If you ask a question like what good is here that I presently cannot see? Or what gift is trying to emerge through me? If you start to ask empowering questions, the universal presence via universal law will answer those questions. And you can begin to walk in your empowerment by asking, what gift is here that I'm supposed to give? What power is within me that's supposed to be unleashed? The universe will start to speak to you in a language and in a way that you can understand. And you'll start to walk in the direction of your empowerment, of your awakening. Now, of course, meditation is extremely important. Asking empowering questions is extremely important. Any introspective exercises that help you curate your questions or to notice what lies you're telling yourself? What do I mean by that? Most people, they live with a series of lies. Something happened to them. They experienced some kind of trauma in their life, and a lie happened. I'm not supported. No one likes me, I'm unworthy. I never will be good enough. These are all lies. Now, a lie acts as a law until it's neutralized. The truth is that each of us are spiritually heavy, spiritually merged from the eternal. All of us are unfolding perfection. We're all worthy. We're all up to receiving more good than we can imagine. Anything else is a lie. So if you begin to watch your mind and the ego, you can begin to see the lies you're telling yourself that you've inherited from some experience that you were too little to deal with at the time. And you start to untangle those lies until you begin to tell yourself the truth. And then you begin to see differently. Your perception will change and you'll begin to realize that you were looking at life through those lies, the lens of the lies, rather than the, the lens of the truth. So those are, those are subtle ways that one can begin to, to open themselves up to the field of infinite potential. Yeah.
- [62:45]
Alex Ferrari
And it is like Bruce, our friend Bruce Lipton, who talked about those first seven years of programming that we. That's a lot of those lies come in those seven years because your parents are going to give you the same programming that they got and they believed because you're pretty much almost an empty vessel. It's as, you know, you. I always say, because I have kids, there's some programming at the factory, there is some, some programming in the factory that come in. And you have certain traits and personality.
- [63:14]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [63:15]
Alex Ferrari
But the belief systems and the beliefs of the world are programmed in those first seven years and continue to be programmed afterwards. But the really intense part is those first seven years.
- [63:25]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Right? Yeah, you're the, the kids in alpha state, you know, and, and just picking up on everything, whatever the parents are listening to on the news, the parents beliefs, what they've inherited from their parents in embryo was the conversations that were being had, how they were imprinted when they first came out. All that is impri.
- [63:44]
Alex Ferrari
Our.
- [63:44]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Our mind imprinting our consciousness. But we're at the stage of, when we begin to wake up, we begin to decide what goes in our awareness. You know, we don't just allow the world to impress our mind, nor are we trying to have a relationship with the world. We're trying to have relationship with our real self, which is eternal. Yeah. And then we begin to undo the imprints. And that's called being reborn. You know, you, you had your first birth coming through the womb, then you have your second birth when you have an awakening. Oh, I don't even believe that nonsense. Where did I get. I was bad and unworthy and not good enough. Where did that come from? It was a sea of mental garbage, you know.
- [64:29]
Alex Ferrari
Well, let me ask you this then. How do you reconcile traditional religious beliefs with this new consciousness shift? Because I, from my own experience and from just being on this show so much that when you rock someone's foundational beliefs, if you, if they believe in reincarnation and it counters what they've been taught all their lives in a, in a traditional or let's say Christian or Jewish tradition or something like that, they can't believe one idea that's separate from that because it starts to, starts to crack the foundation. And that's when all this fighting and all this, I have to kill you and you are wrong and I am right. We are the chosen people, not you and all this ridiculousness. So how do people reconcile if they are interested in this awakening of consciousness, but have this baggage of traditional religious beliefs? How do you reconcile the two?
- [65:19]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Well, you know, a person is in pain or crisis, eventually they start asking different questions and they eventually come to an awareness that, you know, the teachers, whether you're talking about Gautama, the Buddha, whether you're talking about Yeshua Ben Joseph, Jesus the Christ, or any of them, you know, what they spoke of is quite different from the religion that formed around them. You know, so many, many people are, are coming to an awareness that they have been practicing the religion about Jesus rather than the religion of Jesus. You know, oh, that's great. And then, and once they do a little bit of study, they can say, oh, I believe what Jesus believed now. All this stuff built around him, you know, all this stuff about hell and, and, and salvation and eternal termination and all that stuff. Yeah, yeah, that, that, that was man made. Men made that stuff up that didn't have anything with the teachings, you know, and there's fundamentalism in every religion. You'll find the fundamentalisms in Islam and Buddhism, in Christianity, you know, and so eventually an individual has to do a deep dive and go and go back to the original teacher. Whatever your culture is, you go back to the original teacher and just study his or her words. Not the religion, just his or her words. You know, study the Bhagavad Gita, but meditate first because it's metaphorical. You know, study the Dhammapada, study the Bible, but only the New Testament, only the words of Jesus, you know, which has also been curated to a degree. You'll come to a different insight than if you study just the religiosity around it. And so many people, I mean, the churches are emptying out in droves. These young people don't want to go there anymore. They're not having a transcendental mystical experience. They're. They're. They're. They're being beat over the head about things and told. I mean, I went to a, a church recently. There was a young boy that was killed, that died. His mother metaphysical. His father's father was a minister, Baptist. So that's where the memorial service was. And I had an opportunity to speak there, but I forgot. I mean, he went, he went up and he started talking about, first of all, women couldn't come to the pulpit. Women couldn't wear pants. Women couldn't have. They couldn't wear hats. And he started saying, well, we searched the Scriptures and we don't think he's going to go to hell, by the, by the way he died. He's not going to go to hell. So we're happy about that. And then he just talked. It was almost like it was a performance art piece of the past, except that it was present. It was really happy. Right. It was like, wow, people used to go to these kind of churches, and I imagine some people still do. And I wasn't into heavy judgment about it. It was just more of, wow, this is still going on. Just blessed him, blessed everybody and said, you know, got out of there.
- [68:45]
Alex Ferrari
The energy wasn't right. I get you. No. So how did you navigate that, by the way? I'm just curious. How did you navigate your. You spoke in front of them, so, yeah, I just generalize it.
- [68:57]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
I'll tell you a story that serves me well, and that is Dr. Howard Thurman, who is a great mystical theologian. He was mystical and he transcended Christianity, met with Gandhi, brought the nonviolent teachings back to Dr. King. He was King's mentor and I met him. I went, I stayed in Thurman hall. When I went to Morehouse College, I met Dr. Thurman. He said, I heard him say one day.
- [69:23]
Alex Ferrari
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
- [69:26]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Spooky season is quickly approaching, so time to stock up on all your favorite treats now through October 7th. You can get early savings your Halloween candy favorites when you shop in store and online. Save on items like Hershey's, Reese's Pumpkins, Snickers Miniatures, Tootsie Rolls, Raw sugar, Milk Chocolate, Caramel, Jack O Lanterns, Brock's Candy Corn Charms, Mini Pops and more. Offer ends October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [69:56]
LifeLock Advertiser
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- [70:54]
Alex Ferrari
And now back to the show.
- [70:57]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
You know you're going to be put into places where people may not understand you or they may even hate what you're saying. And he said, he said something along the lines of, you know, just talk about your best friend, which is the presence. Just talk about your best friend. It could be the teachings of Jesus. So my grandmother had made her transition. This is a number of years ago, and I was invited to give the eulogy. And it was in the church that my great grandfather founded. My two great grandfathers founded this church, St. Luke's Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. so my grandfather, great grandfather, Arthur Chittister, and my great grandfather, Frederick Greenwich, they were the founders of this church. So I'm speaking in this church. The minister of the church at the time was upset that he wasn't doing the eulogy and that I had come from this weird religion. So I'm in the stuff. I did a red eye to be there on time to do the service. I'm in the back room meditating. This is my grandmother. I was very close to her. I'm meditating. And they come in. I mean, it's like six or seven of these ministers. He says, what. What is your. What is your. What is your philosophy? What is your theology, sir? And I'm, you know, I'm shocked. I'm meditating. This is my grandmother. I have some sadness moving through me. I'm, you know, what is your theology and why are you speaking? I say, well, you know, this is the church my great grandfather founded, and my grandmother was a member here. And they want me to do the service. And my theology is the teachings of Jesus. And they looked at me really weirdly, you know, like, we know that's not true, you know. So anyway, I go out to speak, and they're sitting behind me, and they're just stoic, you know, I'm this young guy, they're a little older. And I. And I said. And I remember Thurman's words, and I said, I'm going to talk about my best friend. And today my best friend is Jesus. And I began to teach about the teachings of Jesus. I began to teach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, the kingdom of God was within. All the teachings is done unto you as you believe. The ground upon which you were standing is holy because you're standing there. I weaved it all into a eulogy about my grandmother and who she was and that these spiritual qualities that she emanated are still alive because they're God given. They're not human. You perfect them, but they come from God. So she's still alive. Anyway, I started teaching all of this, and little by little, they start to. They started to. Amen, brother. Oh, my God. Amen. Oh, go. You know, they went from being the San Hindran and the Pharisees to an amen corner, you know, so I pulled upon that vibration when I spoke at this Baptist church. I just spoke about eternal life, the teachings of Jesus encapsulated into this boy's life and. And sat down. I wasn't going to not be me, you know, but I knew where I was so I knew I would curate more of the teachings of Jesus. I didn't. Not just about Jesus, but of enrolled into a. A brief eulogy and it was all good.
- [74:20]
Alex Ferrari
Yeah, it's a great story, Michael. Now, Mike, I'm going to ask you a few questions to ask all of my guests. What is your definition of living a fulfilled life?
- [74:30]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Living. Living a fulfilled life is being on the edge of your unfolding. It's a. You're fulfilled if you're growing, you're fulfilled if you're becoming more yourself. And in growing and becoming more yourself, you become a generative being, meaning you are here to contribute, to serve, to give. That's a radiance of compassion, kindness, generosity, and whatever your gifted area is. Everybody can't do everything, but everybody is here to share and to give something. So you're not fulfilled if you've just taken. If you've just lived the life of acquiring stuff. You lived a full life. You're living a full life if you're circulating, if you're sharing and shining and radiating and giving and being on the edge of greater discovery of who you are. So the idea is, you know, is to live on the edge. You know, if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space. Yeah. Beautiful, my friend.
- [75:35]
Alex Ferrari
Now, if you could get in the time machine and go back in time and talk to little Michael, what advice.
- [75:38]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Would you give him? You know, you're. You're asking me a question about something that happened for me, for real.
- [75:45]
Alex Ferrari
Okay, well, first of all, where is the time machine and can I get a ride?
- [75:51]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
I was. I was 20. This. I was a little kid. I was 26, 26, 27. I had my spiritual awakening. I was three years into it, and I'd been invited to speak at the senior citizen center in the Valley. I didn't have any degrees at this time. It's just. Michael. People just liked me. They wanted to be around me. They wanted me to come speak. So I'm driving to the Valley and I'm wondering, what. What is my life going to look like? What. What. What am I going to do with my life? I've had this awakening. People like being around me. People are calling me for counseling. They're sending me donations. But nothing had formulated. It was just, you know, And I had a job. Some. I always remember this. It had been raining. And then the rain stopped and the sun parted the clouds. It was a very beautiful day. And I had a vision. This vision. Michael, my future. Michael came to me and said, michael, keep. Don't worry about your future. Keep doing what you're doing. I'm here, I made it, I'm good. Just keep doing what you're doing. You'll be guided. And I came out of that somewhat of a trance and went to do the talk. Talk went fine. People loved what I had to say. And so now fast forward, that was, that was in the 70s, late 70s, when that happened. And so fast forward, we're in the late 80s, maybe in early 90s. I'm speaking at a Wednesday evening service at Agape International. And. And there was a moment of transcendence. This energy was just flowing through me powerfully. I'm driving home and I feel very moved. I'm very conscious that, that I'm, quote, unquote, in an altered state. It's the real state of coherence. But I'm driving, pulling into my driveway and I go into. I'm getting ready to do the clicker and go into my driveway in my garage. And I have a vision. In this vision, I see Michael. He's 26, 27 years old. He's driving to the Valley. He's asking the question, what am I going to do with my life? And I say to Michael, michael, keep doing what you're doing. I'm here, I made it. We're good, man. Keep doing what you're doing. Don't worry about the future. You're taking the right steps. Keep listening. I'm talking to him. And so I've had the experience of being the young Michael, asking and then being Michael in the future, telling him. And I broke into tears. I just started crying. I'm in my driveway just crying. I sat in my car for a long period of time. I just crying about the meaning of it all. And then right above my right side up in here, there was a me saying, there's more to come through you like that, you know. So I told Michael, it's going to be okay. Keep doing what you're doing. I think if I could talk to young Michael, I'd go to that 11 year old when he was having that like, awareness. And I say, hey, man, you're waking up. Don't shrink for the world. Even though, don't shrink for the world. Because I got. What happened was I got closer and closer to my mother, my. My grandmother and my uncle. And I didn't know what to do because what they were looking at was not who I was. I wasn't just a son, a nephew or a grandson. I was. I was something else, but I didn't have the words for it. I didn't know what it was. And I shrunk and I acted like, you know, Michael. I acted like little Michael. I would tell Michael, don't do that. Don't shrink you because he shrunk a few times in life until. Until that opening in. In. In a college, I shrunk a few times. Don't shrink. You're okay. Stay open. It's good. I would tell him to stay open.
- [79:47]
Alex Ferrari
How do you define God?
- [79:49]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Love, intelligence, beauty. That's everywhere. A presence that is not an absence does not come or go. You don't have to pray for God to come because the presence is omnipresent. This presence is everywhere. It's actually capital L life that's conscious of itself.
- [80:14]
Alex Ferrari
And finally, what is the ultimate purpose.
- [80:16]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Of life, the ultimate purpose of us? What the universal presence is up to is producing an individual that can perfectly reflect the entire cosmos as an individual. This is why we love Buddha, Jesus and Zoroaster. Because in their culture and in their time, they perfectly reflected the entire cosmos according to their particular culture and what they had curated in language at that particular time. So our purpose is to actually reveal the presence according to our uniqueness. There's no two people the same, so we get to perfectly reflect. And what is that? It's love, it's beauty, it's intelligence, it's order, it's harmony, it's abundance. It's all of that. That's what the universe is up to. Producing an individual that can perfectly reveal that.
- [81:10]
Alex Ferrari
We'll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
- [81:13]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [81:42]
LifeLock Advertiser
I bet you've probably been to the doctor's office in the past few months. I bet you had to hand over personal info like your insurance, your id, maybe even your Social Security number. And I bet you weren't thinking about how your doctor is just one of many places that has your personal information. If any one of them isn't careful, it's a good bet they could accidentally expose your details to hackers and identity theft, putting you at risk. Fortunately, Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed or your money back with plans covering up to $3 million for stolen funds and expenses. Don't take chances with your personal info. Help protect it even when it's out of your hands. Save up to 40% your first year with promo code IHEART. Call 1-800-L-LIFELOCK and use promo code IHEART or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off. Terms apply.
- [82:40]
Alex Ferrari
And now back to the show. And where can people find out more about you and the amazing work you're doing in the world, my friend?
- [82:48]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
There's a couple of ways you can go to the website Agape Live.com that's the portal right into the spiritual community. I speak every Sunday there three services meditation service and two worship celebration fellowship services. You can go to my podcast, it's called take back your mind and it's, it's a guest on there and we have great conversations. Sometimes I do solo and just answer questions. You can go to my Instagram page. I do something there every day. I put some kind of what I think to be uplifting, educational, inspirational message. I do, I still do a few Instagram lives every Wednesday morning. My Facebook page is up. So those, those are the ways you can go to michaelbeckwith.com as well. Go straight to it. It's being revamped right now, but it's still up and it's being curated to go to another level of greater service.
- [83:49]
Alex Ferrari
And do you have any parting messages for the audience?
- [83:52]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
I would say to everyone listening, I would say that you are a unique emanation of life itself. There's nothing missing in you. You're not looking for your missing piece. The answers are within you. Do a deep dive within yourself. Find some level of spiritual practice that you're resonating with right now and you'll discover there aren't any closed doors in this multi dimensional universe. You'll be walking through your own perception of a door into the bounty of your own being. Be free. Be free.
- [84:34]
Alex Ferrari
My friend, thank you so much for coming on the show. It has been a pleasure and honor speaking to you today and please continue your amazing work on the planet and helping us all awaken my friend.
- [84:43]
Michael Bernard Beckwith
And thank you again. It is my joy. Thanks for the invitation.
- [84:47]
Alex Ferrari
I want to thank Michael so much for coming on the show and sharing his knowledge with all of us. If you want to get links to anything we spoke about in this episode, head over to the show notes at next levelsoul.com forward/305 now. If this conversation stirred something in you, there's more waiting. You can listen to this episode completely commercial free on next level Soul TV's app where Soul meets streaming. Watch and listen on Apple iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, Fire TV, LG and Samsung apps anytime, anywhere. Begin your Awakening at next LevelSoul TV. Thank you so much for listening. As I always say, trust the journey. It's there to teach you. I'll see you next time.
- [85:36]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Spooky season is quickly approaching, so time to stock up on all your favorite treats. Now through October 7th, you can get early savings on your Halloween candy favorites when you shop in store and online. Save on items like Hershey's, Reese's Pumpkins, Snickers Miniatures, Tootsie Rolls, Raw Sugar, Milk Chocolate, Caramel, Jack O Lanterns, Brock's Candy, Corn Charms, Mini Pops and more. Offer ends October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [86:05]
LifeLock Advertiser
I bet you've probably been to the doctor's office in the past few months. I bet you had to hand over personal info like your insurance, your id, maybe even your Social Security number. And I bet you weren't thinking about how your doctor is just one of many places that has your personal information. If any one of them isn't careful, it's a good bet they could accidentally expose your details to hackers and identity theft, putting you at risk. Fortunately, Lifelock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a LifeLock US based restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed or your money back with plans covering up to $3 million for stolen funds and expenses. Don't take chances with your personal info. Help protect it even when it's out of your hands. Save up to 40% your first year with promo code iHEART. Call 1-800-Life-LIFELOCK and use promo code iHEART or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off terms apply.
- [87:00]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Spooky season is quickly approaching, so time to stock up on all your favorite treats. Now through October 7th, you can get early savings on your Halloween candy favorites when you shop in store and online. Save on items like Hershey's Reese's Pumpkins, Snickers Miniatures, Tootsie Rolls, Raw Sugar, Milk Chocolate, Caramel Jack O Lanterns, Brock's Candy Corn Charms, Mini Pops and more. Offer ends October 7th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [87:30]
LifeLock Advertiser
Chances are, you've been to the doctor recently, and you probably handed over your insurance, your ID, and even your Social Security number. Your doctor is just one of many places that has your personal info, and if any of them accidentally expose your details, you could be at risk for identity theft. LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK and use promo code iheart or go to lifelock.com iheart for 40% off. Terms apply.