REVEALED: Lost Teachings & Wisdom of Jesus Christ CHANNELED! (ACIM) | Alan Cohen

In the heart of every storm lies the calm, and in the midst of life’s chaos, we find our truest selves. On today’s episode, we welcome Alan Cohen, a spiritual teacher whose journey is as eclectic as it is profound. His path weaves through the corridors of Orthodox Judaism, the psychedelic explorations of Ram Dass, and the transformative teachings of A Course in Miracles. In our conversation, Alan shares insights that challenge and uplift, reminding us of the immense power within our minds and spirits.

Alan began his spiritual journey at a tender age, contemplating the nature of life and death. As he grew, his quest for truth led him through various spiritual disciplines, each contributing a unique thread to the tapestry of his understanding. From strict Orthodox practices to the liberating philosophies of Ram Dass, Alan’s journey is a testament to the diversity of paths that can lead to enlightenment. “Sometimes we can change our own environment but always we can change our attitude,” Alan shares, highlighting the essence of true empowerment.

One of the most influential figures in Alan’s journey was Ram Dass, with whom he had the honor of co-teaching in Maui. Ram Dass, renowned for his humility and sense of humor, exemplified the integration of profound spiritual wisdom with everyday life. Alan recounts, “He was a rare person because he actually walked his talk. You know, not everybody does. I mean, we all have our high points and low points. But he was very humble, always stayed in his heart, very kind.” This relationship deeply influenced Alan’s approach to spirituality, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and kindness.

In our discussion, Alan reflects on the lessons learned from adversity. He shares personal anecdotes that illustrate how shifting our perspective can transform challenges into opportunities for growth. Alan recalls a time when a simple shift in attitude turned a potential setback into a memorable and positive experience, demonstrating that “our mind and our perspective are the only things we truly have control over in the world.” This perspective is particularly resonant in a world that often feels out of control.

SPIRITUAL TAKEAWAYS

  1. The Power of Perspective: Our attitude towards life’s challenges can change our experience profoundly. By choosing to see the positive, we empower ourselves to rise above circumstances.
  2. Authentic Living: Emulating the authentic, humble approach of spiritual leaders like Ram Dass can enrich our spiritual practice and our daily lives.
  3. Inner Peace: Consistently seeking peace within ourselves, regardless of external chaos, is a powerful way to maintain spiritual equilibrium.

Alan’s spiritual journey also led him to A Course in Miracles, which profoundly impacted his understanding of self and the universe. He describes how, through this course, he discovered a deeper connection to the divine, realizing that true miracles stem from within. This realization is a cornerstone of his teachings, emphasizing that we all possess the ability to create change in our lives through our thoughts and attitudes.

In a world often fixated on the material and the immediate, Alan Cohen’s insights provide a refreshing reminder of the deeper, enduring truths of our existence. His journey illustrates that while the paths to spiritual enlightenment are many and varied, the destination is the same: a deeper understanding of our true selves and our place in the cosmos.

In conclusion, Alan’s wisdom and experiences encourage us to look beyond the surface of our daily lives and find the deeper meanings and lessons in every experience. By embracing our spiritual nature and maintaining a positive perspective, we can navigate life’s challenges with grace and resilience.

Please enjoy my conversation with Alan Cohen.

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Follow Along with the Transcript – Episode 118

Alan Cohen 0:00
Sometimes we can change our own environment but always we can change our attitude. It's, you know, our mind and our perspective the only thing we truly have control over in the world because as you said, everything changes around us.

Alex Ferrari 0:23
I've been able to partner with Mindvalley. To present you guys FREE Masterclass is between 60 and 90 minutes, covering Mind Body Soul Relationships, and Conscious Entrepreneurship, taught by spiritual masters, yogi's spiritual thought leaders and best selling authors. Just head over to nextlevelsoul.com/free. I'd like to welcome to the show Alan Cohen. How you doing, Alan?

Alan Cohen 0:55
Hey, good to be with you, man.

Alex Ferrari 0:57
Thank you so much for coming on the show my friend i i appreciate I appreciate not only your work and the things you've been doing, but I appreciate you coming on the show. I think it's gonna be a fun conversation.

Alan Cohen 1:05
My pleasure.

Alex Ferrari 1:07
So first question, sir, how did you begin your spiritual journey?

Alan Cohen 1:12
I remember when I was about five years old, I said to a friend. Wouldn't it be funny if we were all dead? And we're just dreaming, we're alive. And now many years ago, I realized the kind of closer to the truth. And I realized when I was a teenager, I became an Orthodox Jew, which gave me seven years of strict discipline and then I kind of outgrew it. And I turned to psychedelic drugs. And Rahm das became my guru, which led me to an amazing teacher and healer in New York named Hilda Charlton studied with her for many years, found A Course in Miracles and work with lots of channels work with data, Darryl Anka and Bashar as you know, and Abraham and some others, so it's been a really great ride from you know, one, one moment, momentous connection to another I feel very blessed.

Alex Ferrari 2:04
So from an Orthodox Jew to psychedelics and ROM Das. It's a fairly large jump. As they say, it's a fairly large jump. Did you actually work with rom das or just his teachings?

Alan Cohen 2:19
I work with him. He taught me early in the days, but then when he moved to Maui many years later, just a few miles from me. And we began to co teach. Oh, my goodness. So that was a great honor. I spent a lot of time with him. So that was a real blessing while he was on the planet. Yeah.

Alex Ferrari 2:34
So let me ask you, because I haven't spoken to anyone who has actually worked with rom das one on one. What was it? Like, during those times? I mean, he's IV, me I've seen every documentary possible about rom Das. I'm a fan of his and I've read his work. And his it's such a fascinating trajectory as well, from the psychedelics do Yeah. To the Maharishi, am I mistaken. And going through that whole process, from the time period that you were with him, he was already past the psychedelic space, or was he? Right? He was past the psychedelics at that point. Right. Right. Right. So what was it like being around someone like rom Das?

Alan Cohen 3:11
Well, he was a rare person is because he actually walked his talk. You know, not everybody does. I mean, we all have our high points and low points. But he was very humble. always stayed in his heart, very kind. He had a great sense of humor. Like even after he had a stroke, he had a debilitating stroke. And he was in a wheelchair for the last 20 years of his life. And they would go to his house for dinner, and he'd be joking about his arm not moving and he do these monkey sounds from you open the door. And, you know, there was a part of him that really was able to take his human predicament lightly, and play with it and witness it rather than be stuck. And so he's one of the greatest teachers, by example, a lot of people talk to talk, but they don't walk though. He talked the talk and he walked the walk. It was a great blessing to be with him. It's pretty funny as well, he never he never lost his sense of humor, even to the last moments.

Alex Ferrari 4:07
So let me ask you, because there's so many that's a really great lesson that he taught here is that we as as humans walking this, you know, this path, things happen to us that we we don't want to happen to us and things that we have no control over. And we either choose to embrace it, to accept it, or to fight or be angry or bitter about it. And the story that you just told about Rahm Das, most people would have been angry and bitter of losing, you know, being stuck in a wheelchair for 20 years, no less. What tips do you have for somebody going through, you know, something as serious as that or something lighter and just accepting things as they come to you in life as opposed to you know, being angry about it because I'm suffering through the hopefully the tail Have COVID I caught it on my vacation. And it is, you know, I literally caught it on my vacation and haven't been on vacation in two and a half years. And we planned it. It was a family thing. We had two or three good days. And then the we all went down like dominoes. And it was just like, horrible. And as I was going through it, I felt like you know, this isn't right. You know, I mean, I mean, I work hard. I mean, why why did this happen to me? Like why? Yeah, my whole family was going through and and we're still struggling. Of course my kids bounce back in seconds. But my wife and I are still going through stuff. Yeah, I never once during this process, though, I was angry about it. I was just kind of like, oh, perturbed, I would say at certain points, like, Hey, do I really need to drive three hours with a fever? Because we have no hotel room? Yeah. So how do you I'm using myself as an example. But yeah, what advice do you have for people going through things like this.

Alan Cohen 6:00
It's funny, you should mention, I'll tell you a similar story in a minute. But sometimes we can change our own environment. But always we can change our attitude. It's, you know, our mind and our perspective, the only thing we truly have control over in the world, because as you said, everything changes around us. So we did a retreat, I did a coach training retreat a couple of months ago. And this was way after COVID was over, quote quotes. And, you know, we thought it was safe to go back in the water. And out of about 26 people with their treat about eight people came down with COVID. And we discovered that one of them tested positive the day before the end of the retreat. And so that night, we had a COVID test party. How we got we had to, you know, do we got to keep people safe. So we got kids for everybody. And then we went into this the lobby of this lodge, we put out some music, we got some pizza. And we're busy swabbing each other's noses, and laughing. And then when he got the negativity all marched by and applauded, and it was the most amazing experience of people taking what could be a negative and turning it into a positive. And then of the people who did go home with it, I kept in touch with them. And their attitudes were amazing. Wow, I finally had some time to be home. Wow, this is as a respiratory, I wouldn't have taken this on my own. Wow, I'm really going in and remembering who I am independent what's going on in my body. So I say every minus f of a plus, that's waiting for a stroke of vertical awareness. So we can take even a COVID or God bless rhombus a stroke, and find some way to look at it that's empowering. Rather than debilitating, you know, the body may be debilitated. But the mind and soul don't have to be.

Alex Ferrari 7:56
It is all about perspective, it is all about how you choose to look at things. Like I said, I'm not happy about what happened. You know, I was really looking forward to a relaxing vacation that one with shivers and fevers.

Alan Cohen 8:11
But well, were there any spiritual lessons for you to gain any insight? Yes, your perspective that you wouldn't have had if it hadn't happened? What What was the? What was the gift for you?

Alex Ferrari 8:21
I think the gift for me going through this is that I I think I was stretched a little too thin, too many things, too many things going on, taking on too much stuff. And this is the way of the universe saying to me, you need to reevaluate what you're doing and how you want to exert your energy and things like that. And if you don't want to listen, we're gonna make you listen. And exactly, and I, I mean, I'm very thankful that I got to see Niagara Falls in a normal way. But, you know, I wish it would have been another way they would have taught me this tuition, but it is what it is. Look, it happened to me. When I moved to my new home. About a week or two after we were fully moved in, like we moved all the boxes in and things. I broke my ankle. Yeah, I just broke my ankle. And I was so upset. And I was like, You Abbott like really, really. And it was the point where I needed to slow down because I was just going and going and going. Something needed to slow me down. And anytime there's been big things like that in my life. I know I remember I got into a car accident once. Yeah. And I was the one that hit another car. And I was going through some a lot of turmoil in relationships at that time in my life. And it was, someone was saying, you got to wake up, can't keep going down this path. So it's always a little something I've always found even the worst things that happen to you. When they happen you feel that they're bad Add. But in hindsight when you look back you go, Oh, that was bloated.

Alan Cohen 10:04
I think TR the shutdown said life must be live forward. But it can only be understood backward.

Alex Ferrari 10:12
Wow, that's wise words right there. It's so true you things that happened to you in your that you thought that was the literal end of the world for you when you were I mean look in high school for God's sakes I mean everything was the end of the world night school. But you look back and go, Oh my God, thank God I didn't go out on a date with that. I thank God, I didn't get that job, or thank God I didn't get on that reality show.

It would have ruined my career. But at the time, oh my God, my whole world is coming to an end. But you're absolutely right. You have to you have to look, the only way you can read it and understand it is by looking back.

Alan Cohen 10:47
Well look, look at the pandemic. I mean, that knocked the whole world on its butt. And everybody had a very clear choice. Do I go into fear and defensiveness and protectionism? Or do I somehow use this to grow spiritually. And a lot of people were totally paranoid, a lot of people were reaching out to help each other. And it was a blessing. It's hard for so many people actually talk to their teenage kid for the first time in years. They they actually, you know, had meals with a family and sat down. I live in Hawaii. And you know, there was a period of non tourism for like two or three months. And the reef started to come back. And I snorkeled, and these dead gray reef started to come to life again, and wonderful wildlife and the ocean started to come in again. I thought, Wow, this was what the world was like before we messed it up. So in many ways, it was a real vision of how good it could get. When we take a situation and milk, the spiritual gift from it. That's the only way I see I can see that it works.

Alex Ferrari 11:51
There was the late great Wayne Dyer always used to say, he was like I just flew in from Maui, because someone had to. So I say the same thing to you. You live in Hawaii, because someone has to I mean, someone has to do it, someone has to do it might as well be

Alan Cohen 12:05
The vibration.

Alex Ferrari 12:08
So what brought you to A Course in Miracles?

Alan Cohen 12:11
Well, I saw an ad for it's in Psychology Today. And it was a very hokey ad. And it showed this guy wasn't out of story, to show this guy walking down the street with these three golden books falling to and from the heavens. So this is crazy. And this is just another psychic today. And I really was put up miracles, I don't want to, you know, wave my hand and make a hell of the asset. I don't need to do that. And then I voice said, Just do this. Always just like the deep inner voice. I don't care what your personality saying. Just do it. So I sent away for the books. And in those days, there were three hardcover books. And I opened the first book, and I looked at the introduction, that's the Course in Miracles. Oh, man, it's just jumped out at me. It was like, you know, remember when Batman used to punch somebody in the go pass? By the 60s? Yeah, it was like, oh, man, it just, it just spoke to me in a very, very deep place. And I realized this was true. If this was a message from God, and the voice, just stay with us, and you're going to gain a lot from it. So I did. That was 42 years ago. 1980.

Alex Ferrari 13:26
Now, who wrote the who wrote A Course in Miracles? I mean, I know there's a physical person who wrote it. Yeah. But who's the ghost writer, if you will?

Alan Cohen 13:35
Well, the ghost writers, Jesus, Jesus Christ. And, you know, kind of interesting because he picked a cynical, professional, clinical psychologist, atheist, Helen Schucman, as his channel, the most unlikely channel, but they had a soul contract, you understand? And so the court and the course Jesus, many, many times make references to stuff he said on the New Testament, and to events like his crucifixion and resurrection. So there's no doubt that the voice that is channeling it is that Jesus Christ, you don't have to believe it. You know, the material stands on its own merit with without believing. But if Jesus is going to speak to us today, I think there'll be a voice he would choose.

Alex Ferrari 14:21
Now, there's, you were mentioning earlier that, like you said, when you were younger, that the world maybe we're dead, and we're just dreaming that we're alive. Very, very Matrix style, if you will. That's why I love the matrix. It has so many spiritual Yeah, layers and onions on on them and cool kung fu obviously. And Keanu Reeves, but, but there's this great illusion that we are walking in which is the physical world that is so intoxicating. What advice do you have about We're breaking breaking through that illusion understanding that in many ways we are walking the matrix we are in the matrix, we are not in the real place of spirit and where we are truly who we truly are. We're, I use this analogy a lot. And I've said it on the show before, because I come from the film industry that you know, when you're on set, the set is the world. And the characters in the characters are characters written by the writers, but they're actors who walk in so if Anthony Hopkins comes on set and wants to play, Hannibal Lecter, he's like, I want to play a cannibalistic, lovable cannibal in a horror movie to see what that feels like. He goes in, he plays the scenes. And at the end, the director yells, cut, and he goes, and he goes home for the day. But the insanity that we're in, is that we still believe that we're actually Hannibal Lecter, that we're that we are the characters that we play, and not truly, the actor playing it. So that's my analogy to the great. Love to hear what you think.

Alan Cohen 16:09
Well, there's an Italian proverb, it says, one of the chess game is over the king of the pond go back into the same box.

Alex Ferrari 16:20
Wow, that's Wow, that's deep.

Alan Cohen 16:22
Oh, and that's where I had a bulletin goes when you know, and then movies over. Right. And so we do choose to play parts. And we the actor more than the role, it's actually initial question, Alex. When I'm in my wrong mind, when I when I feel like I am limited by my body, and three dimensions only. It doesn't feel so good. Because I want this and I want that I can't have that and upset about this. It's just like, it sets me into a whole matrix of limitation, and fear and sickness and death and conflict and IUI. You know, what a world we've created. When I meditate or pray or do my course, in miracles less than a walk in nature, I connect with a place in me that's so much deeper, and so much more rewarding. And if I could give it a voice would say this is real. Remember this. And so I think a lot we all, you know, walk in the contrast of getting sucked into the physical matrix. And then we have our moments when we rise above it, and we remember who we truly are. And those moments are gifts from God, if you will, to keep us on track and help us not go any deeper into the quicksand. So bottom line is we have to really explore what do we experienced when we're in our right mind and what we experienced when a wrong mind and keep choosing between the two hopefully shows you more and more of the right mind?

Alex Ferrari 18:02
Yeah, it's really fascinating, because you're right, we, most of the times, we live in the, in the physical and we have glimpses of the connection of, of eternity and eternity, but of the spirit of the higher place that we're all from. And as you get older or become more skilled at being able to tap into that, life changes for you, I found and meditation is a very big part of that. And walking in nature. I mean, you, you know, you go to Yellowstone National Park or you know, Yosemite or sit, sit and stand in front of a Sequoia in you just, you're there like it's this you're connecting to something so much larger than you were most of us live in the in the minutiae of, of the day, that stuff that doesn't even matter. I always tell people, I always tell people like, Oh, I'm angry at this person. I'm like, in 50 years doesn't matter. Yeah, in 100 years, the thing that you're so worried about right now, yeah. Is it going to matter? Really?

Alan Cohen 19:08
Well, you know, Bashar gives the mantras so what a lot of people tell him his problems. So what and you reminded me also of a graceful Course of Miracles, they call it the thunder of the meaningless. It just seems so real and so alive and so I have to put that fire out. If I don't do this sometimes is gonna happen. But it's just a big fat distraction. And if we can just keep our head on straight for a moment, like we bought a, we bought a property recently. And during the negotiation pocket process, we got a little hot under the collar with a realtor. And so, as we raised our voice, she softens her voice. And the louder we got the softer she got, we didn't yell but you know, are upset. And so I learned a great lesson in this Somewhere in the Bible, it says A soft answer turns away wrath. And what she was doing was she was centering us and getting us back to the vibrations. Okay, what's really going to make this work here? So if in the heat of an upset, or a craving or something that's just got you sucked in, if you could just take a breath. And remember, there's a lesson for Korean Americans, I can see peace instead of this. And I use it often. I get stuck in traffic. Okay, I can see peace and settlers. My part is just something they don't like. Okay, at this moment, if I really want it if I really really wants it, I could choose peace. Well, let me try that offer. sighs How would it feel if I chose peace instead of this upset? Oh, that feels pretty good. So that's, that's a method I use.

Alex Ferrari 20:48
Yeah. And also, if you found this to be true, but somebody sometimes, I mean, in the past, I used to, kind of relish being in the misery and relish in the pain and relish in the Depression, of things like I remember when a girl would break my heart and in middle school or high school, I'd literally go home and turn on SATA music to wallow in this feeling like I don't want to, I don't want to feel good. I just want to wallow and reinforce my pain. What is it me do? Did you feel that? Did you ever do that when you were growing up?

Alan Cohen 21:25
Oh, yeah. You know. Well, Misery loves company, including your own. And so it's like there is a reward. The ego does throw lots of rewards our way saying, you know, you get lots of sympathy. You get money you get you know, there's lots of lots of rewards for being sick or upset. And at some point, the rewards of peace begin to exceed the rewards of upset. That's a big tipping point for a lot of us. I think in the New Testament, Paul said, when I was a child, I enjoy the child toys of childhood. But now my man enjoys the joy, the rewards of manhood. What he was saying that at some point, we have to put aside the toys of self indulgence and misery and wallowing and saying that that's not really gonna get me what I really want, there has to be some higher reward.

Alex Ferrari 22:16
Now, is there any advice you can give in how to overcome the powerful pole of the ego? And it's such a dis? It's such a such a rascally little thing to ego, because it because yeah, at certain times, it's very blatant, and you could see it coming a mile away. Boy, it seems to work behind the scenes in ways that you are by the time you realize it's already too late. You're like, Oh, my God, it has been ego this whole time. Ah, you got me again. When you think you're an evolved, I've been meditating i Yeah, it's really enlightened and all of this and then all of a sudden you just like someone points out, you know, this is ego. I'm like, son of a bitch. It's ego again. Got me.

Alan Cohen 22:59
Egos unbelievably crafty and tricky. Like, you know, wily coyote is. So when I was in high school, Alex leaps, we took a trip to Washington, DC, I lived in New York. And for a class trip, I've seen a trip. And it took a big picture of everybody on the big they put you on these huge, wide bleachers and take a picture of your class with capital in the background. So the yearbook comes out. My buddy says, Alan, do you notice anything unusual about this picture? No, no. He says, look at the left side and look at the right side. Well, there's the top and the top here. There's two guys, Arnie Goldstein and Jeff Meltzer. And then on the right side of the whole bleachers, there's Arnie Goldstein and Jeff Meltzer again. So he said, I said how to do that. He said, Well, they knew the trick. In those days, they had a camera that hand real slowly across the whole senior class. And they knew the trick that after the camera pass them, they could jump down behind the bleachers, run to the other side, and get back on the other side, maybe add a picture again, which they did so many years later, because that's how the ego works. Like you shine the light on it. And the moment the light is not on it, it goes to some other place and tries to trick you from the other side. So your description, the egos, athlete, cribs, all I can say is that you just have to start noticing how bad it feels when you're an ego, and how good it feels when you're not. And you have to start noticing it more and more subtle moments in the beginning before it sinks its roots in. And the good news, I guess we could say is that you're going to get the lesson one way or another. If you don't get the Whisper you're going to get the slap, but like your COVID Right. So eventually you're going to get it one way or the other. So I pray every day please, please let me get more easily. I don't need to slap Thank you very much

Alex Ferrari 25:03
The slap, how about the baseball bat across the head over two by four for the car that just crashes on top of you with like a Yeah, like a piano that falls from from the ceiling is

Alan Cohen 25:13
Whatever it takes to get your attention. That's the deal, whatever it takes to get your attention.

Alex Ferrari 25:18
And that's something that I mean, I've learned throughout my life is that I've, sometimes the universe is trying to teach me a lesson. Oh, it's always it's always trying to teach you lessons, but there was. But there's those the big ones, let's say the there, there's the little guys. And then there's the the big broad stroke lessons of things that we have to work on while we're here. And the first time,

Alan Cohen 25:40
It was just that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. So even if you get a huge baseball bat across the head, the good news is that when you process that and come out on the other side, you're going to have a major shift that you wouldn't have had if was a slower, gentler lesson.

Alex Ferrari 25:57
Right, exactly. But many times you can hopefully learn that lesson with the whisper, or the or the Poke, or that or the Hey, maybe you want to look at this, Hey, go until eventually you just get a punch across the face. And then sometimes it gets easier. And I know, I know, people who've been continuously punched by larger and larger fists, and continuously don't learn the lesson to the point where you literally got to be brought to your knees almost. I mean, there was a point in my life where I was a dare to from going bankrupt. And I was very young, and made many mistakes financially. And it was finally that there was that moment like okay, you have not learned. So we're gonna bring you to the brink. Yeah, till you finally and I finally I woke up. I was like, okay, okay, I'm not going to do this.

Alan Cohen 26:50
And what was your lesson? What do you think you got out of that?

Alex Ferrari 26:53
Oh, that lesson specifically was that I needed to take responsibility for myself, I needed to take I needed to grow up, become a man, you know, no one really taught me finances growing up, didn't have a lot of role models in that world. So I did what I what I saw, and it was mistakes, a lot of mistakes with credit cards and debt and stuff like that. And ego was all over the place all over the place to finally it got to the point where like, you're going to go bankrupt, literally. And your life is gonna get ruined for a long time, unless you unless you change your ways. And I always I've told this story on the show before and I think it's something that's very powerful. A day or two before I sign the paperwork, I yelled out to the universe in anger. And I said, Look, I don't want to sign these papers. But if you don't send me any help, I'm gonna sign these papers. Yeah, the next day. My first boss called me, Wow, and said, Hey, man, I don't know if you're looking for a job or not. But they're looking for editors. Up in West Palm Beach. I lived in Fort Lauderdale at the time. And like, I called them and told them about you. They're waiting for you. And I went up, you know, auditioned for the job. Got it. And within a few weeks later, I got a second job. And I had to work hard to get out of that hole. But I'm not afraid of work. But I needed the opportunity. And then in that change, I never had to sign the bankruptcy paperwork and got myself out of it. Within a year I was out of it. But see, that was. Those are those kinds of moments in life. You just you just go take a second. That couldn't have just been coincidence.

Alan Cohen 28:40
It was an act of grace. I have a book called The Grace factor. And, you know, many years ago, I had kind of similar situation. My mother was dying in the hospital. She's now recovering from a surgery. My girlfriend broke up with me. It was the middle of winter in New Jersey. And there was a snowstorm and I from hanging out in the hospital with my mother. I got this. But he caught kind of effects of staph infection. Oh, luckily, my lip blew up, you know. So I went to this doctor and he lanced it without any anesthesia screaming bloody murder, and I think all the people in the waiting room was to run out. And I I went to the pharmacy through snowstorm, how bad could it get? And the people in line took one tomato for antibiotics. They took one look at me and they moved out of the way. This guy needs one. And then when I got to the pharmacist, I didn't have my wallet. He said Just take it.

Alex Ferrari 29:45
Just get out of here.

Alan Cohen 29:46
Just just, you know that point, the hardest day in my life. And I went home. And in my mailbox was a letter from my spiritual mentor Hilda and I was with him For 14 years, Alex, and she never ever sent me a letter except the one that arrived that day. And said, Allah, it was like a spiritual level of sheer love. You're doing good stuff, keep up the good work. Don't be daunted by anything, you're going to emerge unscathed. It was like a short, you know, motivational letter. Now, what voice told her to write that letter a week or two in advance, and who organized it so when I opened my mailbox that day, if I could pick one day, my entire life when I would receive that letter would have been that day. And I call that grace. I think that in spite of our stupidity and our awkwardness, that there is a love and a wisdom that is working behind the scenes to sustain us love us, protect us, and bring us home.

Alex Ferrari 30:51
Yeah, I would agree with you. Because there's I mean, there's so many times that in life that you just are. I mean, as you get older, you realize this, but there's things that just happen, you're just like that that's a nic in the sense, that doesn't, you know, when you want something to happen, it doesn't happen, as generally for your best. And then when something happens, you're like that. That's not. That's like there's like the story I told you like, There's no rhyme or reason that he called me out. I hadn't talked to him in a few years. Yeah. And, and then, by the way, years later, a couple years, like three or four years later, I got to return the favor. When he was at the, the lowest part of his life, I was able to give him a helping hand. And I told them, I never forgot that he's like, What do you mean, I go, you saved my life. He's like, I go, Yeah, I was about to go bankrupt. If you hadn't made that phone call, I would have signed a bankruptcy paperwork, and I would still be dealing with that decision to this day. And I was able to help him out and an even darker place than I was, which was wonderful to be able to do to go full circle like that. It is. It is remarkable. Now, we've talked we're talking a lot about things that happen to us and, and mistakes that we may be continuously make throughout our lives, which could be called patterns. Is there? Is there ways or any advice you can give us on how to break these patterns that are not being of service to us? They're not serving us in any way on our path?

Alan Cohen 32:34
Well, someone asked Abraham, similar question. They said, You can't teach an old dog new tricks. And Abraham answered, You have no idea what an old dog you are. Meaning that while you tend to identify with your childhood patterns and ongoing patterns and addictions, there is a you there is a self with a capital S that runs so much deeper than the personality immersed in those patterns. And when you start to connect with that truer self, you gain leverage to shift those patterns. So once again, we're back to meditation and prayer Course in Miracles in yoga, and walking in nature and watching uplifting movies and watching your podcast. I mean, anything you can do that lifts you to high vibration, will empower you to shift those patterns. Now, there's another angle on it. Rom das once said, he told me, he said, spirits spiritual masters are just as neurotic as the rest of us. But to them, the neuroses are all relevant.

Alex Ferrari 33:50
It makes me feel a little bit better.

Alan Cohen 33:52
And if you hung out with spirit, and I've hung out with a lot of the top teachers and gurus and masses, and they all have some stick, you know, they smoke they argue with why some of them have sex things going on. And money is, you know, not that their major, but they have stuff going on. So a lot of was was Oh my God, when am I ever going to overcome my lust and, you know, these guys have lust and they just they don't they don't worry about it. They don't fight it. They don't make it wrong. They, they remember who they are most of the time. And when they forget, they come back to who they are. Anyway. So, you know, my, I pray to you know, every day to stay in my highest mind to live in the highest vibration. When I don't I ask okay, what's the lesson here? And can I love and accept myself anyway, even while I'm doing this, and not use this pattern or addiction to distract me from my higher self? And both of those angles helped me Alex, I don't know if that answered your question, but that's my idea. Yeah,

Alex Ferrari 34:55
I mean, we've always been fascinated by it. quote unquote, gurus. And I've studied a lot of Eastern philosophy and the actual real word what the real true word means of the word guru in the classical sense. And in eastern philosophy. It's really interesting, because you have been able, you have hung out. And yeah, and been in the presence of many of these gurus, while they're here, to my understanding, and I've spoken to some gurus as well, while they're here they are, they are man they are, they have everything that we all deal with, they are not special, they have ego, they have, they have all of the things that we deal with, they have just a different understanding of the game a little bit better. And they're able to transcend a lot of the stuff that we hold on to. So they're, they're just a bit ahead of us, in many ways. What is your experience with gurus and understanding there? Because a lot of people think gurus are just like, they sit on top of the Himalayas, you know, floating, and they know all and are all and that's not from my experience, even with someone like Yogananda you know, who, you know, had to go through some stuff. I mean, there's, people always find I always find it fascinating that people think that you know, you're just born, yeah, enlightened. Not one master that's ever walked the earth was born that way. Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, none of them they all had to go through their lives. Yeah, teach what they've learned along their path. Is that your experience as well?

Alan Cohen 36:45
Well, we tend to romanticize gurus and think they're perfect all the time. And everything they say is perfect. And maybe a lot of it is, but they do have the human side. And I think it doesn't serve us to try to put them on a pedestal and make ourselves lower than them when we're all you know, and we question miracles, Jesus says, I am, I am your elder brother, who has walked the same path you're walking. And I've walked it a little ahead of you. And now Now I want to show you the way so you can join me as an equal peer. And I think that's so much more sane approach to a Christ or Buddha, or any, any guru Yogananda and I have a new book coming out of the fall called the mystical Messiah. And I'm redefining Jesus, as one of us who graduated a little earlier than us. And he wants to show us how to get out. And he's not looking for our worship. He's looking for our worship. And, and to make Jesus a God above you, is to be little a God that is in you. And so he wants to identify with the Christ in us instead of falling at the feet of Jesus. Now, a lot of Christians would say that's heresy. Yes. But but there's, you know, you know, Yogananda and Hildon. Even Jesus said, even greater things, and I shall you do. Right? So if we're less than Jesus, how can we do greater things than him? So I'm trying to do in this new book is to level the playing field. So we identify with God rather than miserable human.

Alex Ferrari 38:26
That's a beautiful, I love love that can't wait to read that book. Because it's something that's it's a message that needs to be put out there, I think, more and more, that idea has become becoming more and more popular, and we're going away from the dogmatic religious infrastructure that has been with us for 1000s of years. And look for some people if it works for you, God bless, oh, it works. But if you just look at the actual teachings of Jesus, and he everything, even in the in the Bible, which is not, you know, not, you know, it's not perfect. In many ways, it was written by man and translated 1000 Different time from different languages. So there's might be a little bit of things that got skewed along the way. But even in that, Jesus, like you said, everything I can do, you can do and more, makes so much more sense that we're all on the same path that some, some of us are just ahead. So it's as simple as you know, I'll use my my industry that when I work in with this the film industry, as an example, like I've been on set for hundreds of 1000s of hours of my life. I've been in the business for over 25 coming on 30 years. I probably know a few things that someone starting on that path does it know, am I an absolute master expert? No Oh, but I'm ahead of a lot of people purely because I've just walked the path longer. You know, and you know when I get to talk to some of these, you know, very big Oscar winning people. When I talk to them, we have conversations on par. Yeah, they've won Oscars and they've probably spent, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars on their movies, and I haven't, but it's this at the end of the day. It's a camera. It's a lens. It's an actor. It's a story. Yeah, it's so to think of gurus and to think of spiritual masters as anything but someone who's a bit ahead of you is it's tough it's I think I'd love your idea the way you're approaching it.

Alan Cohen 40:44
Well you know Guru is spelled view ru so you know to Guru said, Doesn't say worship means a G your your worship for God and yourself. Rana, Maha and Ramana Maharshi said guru, God and self are one. And a true master really wants to empower the students rather than gather power for the master. Do you know Bob Ross, have you seen Bob Ross? painting? Painting, of course, is a wonderful painting a big series on PBS.

Alex Ferrari 41:15
And then a new document and your documentary on Netflix was fascinating.

Alan Cohen 41:20
I purposely didn't watch them, but maybe I should watch them.

Alex Ferrari 41:23
You should. Absolutely you absolutely should. I feel it does nothing. But it has nothing but good things for Bob. Oh, good. So Bob comes out shining like an angel in that document. The people around him have many more karmic lessons to learn. That's all I got.

Alan Cohen 41:41
That's a good way to hold it. Anyway, we watch lots of Bob Ross videos. He's energy so sweet. And one of the YouTubes one of the commenters said, Bob Ross didn't paint to show us what a great painter he is. He painted a painter to show us what great painters we can be. Yes, exactly. To me, that's the mark of a true gua that they want to invite the students so the disciples to rise to meet them in their own greatness instead of you know, trying to live in reflected glory.

Alex Ferrari 42:14
Oh, that's a great way of looking about it. Because if you know if you have anyone who's ever seen Bob Ross, he was all about teaching you how great it is easy little trees, simple, some simple little trees as he would say, beautiful little weapon a little Bucha here and there. And the way he would do it is so quick. And when you watch the documentary, you'll understand the technique because he did go deep into the kind of painting he would do wet on wet paint and all this kind of stuff. But it was fascinating because he truly wanted to teach and democratize this thing of like, right of like, oh, you fighting canvas paintings and oil paintings? Or, you know, that's Michelangelo. That's Van Gogh. That's his masters? No, any of you can do it. And this is how he did. It was fascinating to watch. But that's a great way of looking at it. And that's what a good teacher does. It's not about the glory of luck. I don't know about you, there are Bob Ross paintings, if you can find originals are worth something purely because of his fame. But his legacy is not his art, his legacy. Teaching others to be great.

Alan Cohen 43:23
Well said, Very well said, Well, you've had Bashar, you've had Darryl Anka on his show, I spent 1000s of hours with Bashar and some in person and lots lots of videos. And he coaches lots of people. And he never takes credit. For the students advances like the say, Bashar, thank you for opening my heart. Well, thank you for opening your own heart. Sure you changed my life. Well, I give you full credit for changing your life. I'm happy to support you, but you did it. And he will never accept empowerment for stuff that the clients did. And that's why I love him because he's always empowering students rather than rather than themselves. He knows he's powerful. He doesn't need any more power. He wants to empower students.

Alex Ferrari 44:05
Yeah. And I think if you are a person that has, if you've got to tell people that you're powerful, you truly are not sure. That's in any in any scope of life, if you have to say, Do you know who I am? Obviously not that big of a deal. It's the quiet one who doesn't have to say a word exactly that you just understand that that person is

Alan Cohen 44:30
When your work speaks for itself don't interrupt.

Alex Ferrari 44:34
Exactly. Now, we've talked a lot about you know, connecting, connecting with yourself and connecting with your higher self. Do you have any advice on how we can better connect with our higher selves, our true nature, so we have more of those glimpses, and they're less glimpses and more of the norm and then we have glimpses of the crap that we deal with that Hear?

Alan Cohen 45:01
Well, I think it's very unique to each individual Alex. I mean, for a lot of us, it's meditation or prayer journaling, or Course in Miracles or yoga or tai chi. And those are all very valid ways to connect. But I'm always telling people, anything that brings you to joy is in our as a way of connecting, if it raises your vibration to read a certain magazine, or have a certain hobby, or hanging out in a certain area, then do it. Because in everything is vibration, Tesla said that if you want to understand the universe, think in terms of frequency, energy and vibration. And so anything that lifts you to a vibration we feel connected, is valid. I ran a retreat once. And there was a lady sitting in the lobby before bedtime, she was reading emergency magazine, true stories of ambulance calls. So I was I said, Josephine, how could you come to a spiritual retreat? And read that? She says, Oh, well, I'm on. I'm on the rescue squad. And this gives me good ideas. I find it inspiring. So for her, that was a spiritual exercise, I wouldn't do that it wouldn't touch me. But I cannot. I cannot afford to judge what brings her true joy, and no one gets to judge me for what brings me joy. So the simple answer is, anything that lifts your vibration to more joyful connection to your spirit is a valid spiritual path. And do it as much as you can make that fruit main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.

Alex Ferrari 46:40
Now, I'm going to ask you a question that I believe I know the answer to but I know a lot of I get asked this a lot. And I love to hear your perspective. Why do bad things happen to good people?

Alan Cohen 46:56
Well, let's hear your answer.

Alex Ferrari 46:59
I think my answer to that is that we all have lessons and those bad things are considered are the concept of good and bad is absolutely perspective. I always I always use the example when you get into a car accident, it could be the worst day of your life. But when you take it to the mechanic, it's the best day of his. So it's all relative, it's the action is the action, and has no negative positive charge, we're the one that will apply a negative or positive charge to it. And it's wonderful to say that, in this space where I am right now, where I'm not in a car accident, nothing horrible, other than me dealing with COVID right now, but COVID is neither evil, nor good. It is what it is. It is a tree it is the sun it is it's just is we're the ones that apply good or evil, to the concepts of good and evil. So that is my definition that if something negative or perceived negative happens to us, it's there to teach us a lesson. Whether we want to learn that lesson or not. The larger the thing, the deeper the lesson that we need to learn or the the more resilient we've been or resistance we've been to learn that lesson.

Alan Cohen 48:13
Yeah, I think you're right on the money there. And you say whether we want to learn or not well, you do want to learn on a spiritual level soul level? Yeah, it was a choice of personality and r&b in Christ and who does. But on a soul level. Okay, this sums gold in this for me this some, this is going to advance my spiritual evolution in some way. And I help others as well. So you know, many people have gone through hard stuff, and they end up becoming great spiritual teachers as a result of the lessons. So it's a very limited perspective. what's good and bad? Oh, yeah, of course, we all want good. But we have to trust that when something bad happens that there's some some gem in it that's waiting to be plumbed.

Alex Ferrari 48:53
Yeah, I mean, you look at some of the stories in history where something really horrible happens to people. And it defines their life in a good way, because they go off to teach or to help other people. I had a, I had a guest on a while ago that went through extremely traumatic experience, abuse when they were younger. And that event or events that happened during the time in her life, completely changed her trajectory in life, where now all she does is help people deal with trauma and deal with this. So she wouldn't have gone through this horrible thing. She wouldn't be bringing so much good in the world. And I asked her straight I go, would you want to change it? And she's like, No, because it is who I am and all the bad things that have happened to me in my life. Many people ask me, would you want to go back and change it? My first book was about how I almost made a $20 million movie for the mafia, and I was traumatized by a bipolar gangster. are threatening my life on a daily basis for over a year. And it was so traumatic, it took me years to come out of it. And that's when I almost went bankrupt, it was really difficult. It's still, it's still, it's still the vibrations of that event when it was in my early 20s. Still ring to this day. But I wrote a book about it, I was able to release it. And then I kind of looked back and I, I people go, why do you do what you do I go, I've always wanted to help people avoid the pain that I went through. So my my other shows that I have in the filmmaking space, are direct, there's a direct line, to that horrible event, because I wanted to help people avoid just mistakes and pitfalls and things that could hurt them. And I did that on a subconscious level. And I'm now doing it again, but in the spiritual space as well,

Alan Cohen 50:54
Beautiful thing, you know, your turn to hardship or to compassion. And you know, Joseph, just Joseph Campbell, he talked about the hero's journey, I'm sure you're quite familiar with it. Sure. And he said that when you have your hero's journey, you go through trials and tribulations to come on the other side. But that's not the end of the journeys, is when you've when you've captured the Holy Grail, which is the jewel of wisdom that your hardships engendered, then it's your responsibility to bring it back to the community, nobody, nobody grows spiritually just for him or herself. So when you come back, and you teach, and you save people, the same hardship you went through, so then it's full circle, and it has a lot bigger purpose in your own spiritual growth, because it extends and multiplies to lots of other people.

Alex Ferrari 51:42
Agreed. I mean, if I would have learned all those lessons and not taught it, it wouldn't, it wouldn't have the same impact, it would have been meaningless.

Alan Cohen 51:50
And you can't not do it. I mean, I've worked with lots of people in AAA and people who've been through so many hardships, and they can't imagine just going in a hole and hiding out, they will just share what they've learned. They just has to spill over. It's just a part of nature to to extend healing to everyone they meet.

Alex Ferrari 52:07
I mean, if you if you survive the tiger down by the river, and attack, you're not going to go back to the village and go, so you guys have anything to do. Like you're going to say, Okay, guys, look, there was a tiger. Yeah, attack to me. This is how I defeated the tiger. So maybe you guys don't have to die. It's an inherent nature for us to try to teach and share and share. That's how we've survived as long as we have as a species is that that ability to do so. But you're right, you can't just sit on it. Generally speaking, there's always exceptions. But generally speaking, there's something inside of you that you want to get it, you want to give.

Alan Cohen 52:45
Compassion is a very lofty spiritual trade. And when you go through a hardship like you did, and you gain compassion through it, that's a blessing to everyone you touch afterwards, they're just lining up waiting to be saved, the trouble you went through. So what a beautiful gift to sharing.

Alex Ferrari 53:00
I try I try to do what I can answer. Now the concept I want you to I want to hear your definition of the concept of I am, what is the I Am?

Alan Cohen 53:12
Well, it's our true self. It's a true divine identity. It's beyond personality. It's beyond body. It's beyond human experience. It's just the you and I that we are independent of anything that happens in the dualistic world. It's just our God's self that that's founded and anchored in truth. That's just who we are. Everything else comes and goes, but the I Am, doesn't move it doesn't budge.

Alex Ferrari 53:37
Now what is your definition of consciousness?

Alan Cohen 53:44
It's the point of awareness. Someone said that God grew and knows. God is a flower that grew and nose to smell itself. Meaning that you know, we are each God looking at the universe through a different set of eyes, to appreciate and to learn. So consciousness is the point of attention that looks out of the universe touches the manifest world. And and, and her and imbibes it in order to connect with the high self in order to remember who we truly are.

Alex Ferrari 54:24
Alan, I want to ask you a question this because I'm fascinated and curious about what your perspective is on this. When when you first discovered these truths in your life when you finally took the blue pill, and it was the blue pill, the red pill, I forgot which pill it was. But you you took the red pill, I think it is. And you discovered oh my god, this is the matrix and oh, I am who I am the I Am and and all of this. What did that feel like because I know many people listening are still trying to find that awareness of that truth within their own lives. What did that feel like? And what was the understanding that you were able to grasp at that moment.

Alan Cohen 55:17
I was visiting, I took a pilgrimage to France, and I went to take a group to the Church of St. Teresa of last year in France, one of the patients into France. And on the way out, there's a sign that said to the crypt, crypt sounds like Edgar Allan Poe, but I went in anyway. And this is where the remains of St. Teresa are held. And I sat down and meditated. And during my meditation, I was lifted out of my body. Now, it wasn't like Casper, the Friendly Ghost, where I was just flooding us and where it was that my body disappeared, I wasn't trying to make this happen, it just happens to gift. And I just I went into such a big, big mind that I realized a couple of things. One is that all there is is love. That's just all there is. And the physical universe is dust. It's just like there was just, it was so minut compared to all that really is life and death. That it's like I just, I just, I don't know how to this is so hard to describe. It's just like my mind became one with the mind of God for a little while, I thought this is pretty cool. I'm never going anywhere again. But then of course, 10 minutes later was back in my body. And I just have this knowing of the bigness of it, I became the bigness of it all. And that experience was etched so deeply in me, Alex that even though I came back, and I've had lots of ups and downs and dramas in life, that was so real. And so true. That nothing I've ever done in the physical world can supersede it or deny it was just a deep, deep knowing of all as well, I am one with God, there's no problem. And let the good times roll. That says, you know, it was just it was just an expansive, expansive knowing that it was a gift of grace. I didn't do it. I didn't make anything happen. It was just God was saying, Okay, here's your gift. run with the ball now.

Alex Ferrari 57:33
It's, it's, it's, that's a beautiful story. And I had similar similar experiences in my life as well, where you just, there's that moment when you go, Okay, this is, this is this is okay, I get it. Now, I've had many near death experiences on the show. I'm fascinated, always talk to people who had near death experiences, because they get to do that. In an extreme level, you were able to meditate and find, you know, call, I'm calling it like dipping the toe in the universe kind of vibe that you were able to get. They get to see a whole other part of, you know, understanding or knowing or understanding that changes them absolutely dramatically from atheists to people, you know, agnostics to everybody. And they come back with a completely new knowing. And it's fast, it always fascinates me to talk to them, because you can't not be changed by an event like that. They're there. They're extreme, obviously, you know, hopefully we don't have to all die and come back to be able to do this. Or you could be meditating in a crypt in France, I could just be meditating on my couch or walking through the forest or something along those or have a dream even. Which brings me to my next. My next question dreaming. What's your perspective on dreams? What do they mean to us? is are they messages, things like that?

Alan Cohen 59:09
I think there are many different levels of dreams Alex. Some are just working out subconscious stuff from the day. So if you have a conflict or scare and that goes into your subconscious, your inner being is processing and trying to cleanse that that experience is not process process consciously. And even if it's a bad dream, there's a processing that's happening. That's valuable. I think another level of dreams are visitations from angels or departed loved ones or gurus that are really coming literally to teach you and give you messages. Other levels of just dropping into your deep subconscious knowing where you just tapping into guidance about what's up for you on your life. So there's many different levels. I take dreams seriously. I don't think any of them are random. I think I think we work out a lot of stuff on our dream world that we can't get to in our limited conscious world.

Alex Ferrari 1:00:07
Yeah, it's, I don't have to agree with you on every aspect of that answer, because I too. I take them very seriously. And they never, I always get angry though. With my dreams because there's always it's always a an allegory, or, you know, what are they really, you know, a plane a plane crashing? It's really not about a plane crashing, I'm like, can you just tell me? Can you just why do we have to play this this game of like, you know, visions of, of something that you really mean this? Yeah. Can you just say, Hey, man, tomorrow, don't get in the car. Because some it's gonna happen. As opposed to like, there's a tree that falls. And there's a bunny, what? You have to kind of, like, pay for the dream. And it always say, you know, and I have I have people I talked to about my dream sometimes. And I give them a give them the dream and break it down. For me. They're like, what do you think it is? I'm like, I think it means this, this and this. And rarely, I actually hit it on the mark, according to them. And other times, you're like, Yeah, you're completely off. But what it really means it's, it's don't invest in this. I'm just saying.

Alan Cohen 1:01:27
You work in films who work in movies, so dreams that people come to life, and there's trees and bunnies and good guys and bad guys. And so those are all symbolic ways of working out stuff without, you know, the Greeks invented drama 500 years before Christ, because they figured out that by seeing a character go through a catharsis and his own drama. You get to work at your own stuff vicariously. And so you can say, Well, why do we need to go to movies? Why don't you just get it directly? Well, you could but you know, this quote, it's like using the illusion of the external world to teach us lessons that we might not get directly.

Alex Ferrari 1:02:09
Okay, I'll, I'll let I'll let that one go, then. All right. I'll let that one go. No, because I understand what you mean with movies is like, you know, you live you live vicariously through, you know, the events, especially when they're told well, and they're directly written well and acted. Well, you feel the pain, you feel the love you feel, the joy, the excitement, and you kind of live through that's why movies are so the visual medium is probably the most powerful. Yeah, art form we have because it's a combination of almost all the art forms together.

Alan Cohen 1:02:41
What movie or movies have you seen little and worked on? That you feel have delivered the most important spiritual messages to humanity or to at least?

Alex Ferrari 1:02:54
Oh, what a great question. Oh, God. Well, they won't be surprised by the audience to know that Shawshank Redemption is is one of those movies. Without question that is, I feel spiritually has given a lot to the to the world. The Wizard of Oz has another one that has a lot of spiritual lessons that I have to say Star Wars there for the original Star Wars, which is as perfect of a story for for the hero's journey as anything has ever been created. It is as I mean, with Joe's help. George really nailed it, that there's some there's some meat and potatoes in that story that we all need to it's just part of stuff that we all need to understand. Those are the movies that I mean, and then you start getting into more complex things like The Godfather. You know, which many people are like, that's a mob. That's a monster movie. And like, it's a movie about family. And there's so many lessons. And so I mean, there's a reason why it resonates. Interesting with everybody that watches it in one way, shape, or form that movie resonates. And you ask why does it resonate? Is it the darker side of us? It's like we literally see the innocent turn into the monster through the scope of the first two movies specifically. You know, with Michael, you know, who didn't want to be in the business, but inside had the potential to become the godfather. And so like in choices of our lives, I think, Alan I can go on for hours. I mean, I mean, we can have we have deep philosophical conversations about

Alan Cohen 1:04:55
Maybe we should another time.

Alex Ferrari 1:04:57
Another time we'll do a whole episode about this. ritual, the spirituality of The Godfather. But but for me, it's the movie that rang to me the most is Shawshank Redemption is my favorite part of my favorite movie? Because it's there's so much beauty in it, wrapped in hell. And I feel that that's such a beautiful analogy from light. Wow. Because you in many ways we are in a prison. And many ways we are trying to escape this prison, right? And that's what let's end the frame. And that's what we do.

Alan Cohen 1:05:30
You're actually answering a lot of the questions you asked over the course of our time together. How do we make sense of the physical plane? And how do you stay connected to spirit we just said there's so much beauty wrapped in hell. I think it was Dale, Connie or Jamestown who said two men look death through prison bars, one some mud, the other stars. And so even from a starting point of how you have the power to elevate your vision, and not only see heaven, but bring heaven to earth, Jesus said on earth as it is in heaven. Now, that tells me that it is possible to have heavenly experiences even while you're living in the earth. Absolutely no need to die to go to heaven that we can make earth more like heaven if we choose it.

Alex Ferrari 1:06:12
I think we've all had moments of that. I think the key to it is this, this try to live in those moments longer and longer and longer. As opposed to they shouldn't be glimpses they should be the norm and the glimpses should be the crap. Now I'm gonna ask you two questions, ask all of my guests. What is your mission in this life?

Alan Cohen 1:06:35
My mission is to know myself as a divine being, to remember love and peace as much as possible. And we're possible to extend it to others. So uplift them to where I can.

Alex Ferrari 1:06:48
And what is the ultimate purpose of life?

Alan Cohen 1:06:52
Same thing, just remembering who we are, and recognize the guidance in us and around us as much as possible.

Alex Ferrari 1:06:59
And our where can people find out more about you, your book should work and the things that you're doing?

Alan Cohen 1:07:04
Website Alancohen.com, alancohen.com.

Alex Ferrari 1:07:12
Alan, it has been an absolute pleasure and honor talking to you, my friend. I know we're gonna have to do that episode of the spirituality of the movies. Yeah. And you and we'll get David Hofmeister, come on as well. We'll have a great conversation. But my friend I appreciate not only you coming on the show, but all the amazing work and spiritual work that you've been doing over the course.

Alan Cohen 1:07:32
A lot of fun with you, Alex, thank you so much. You make me laugh. You have a good heart. You have great wisdom. So you're great teaching you on right.

Alex Ferrari 1:07:39
Appreciate you my friend.

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