Igor Anvar Kufayev was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In his childhood he had many experiences associated with awakening. An artist by nature he studied philosophy, theology, aesthetics and sacred geometry. In his late twenties, faced with crisis brought by personal traumas, he was trampolined into the higher level of awareness. Initiated into meditation in a dream, Igor immersed himself into the practice of yoga. A year later he learned Transcendental Meditation and practiced it diligently for several years.
At the age of thirty six Igor had undergone a radical transformation of consciousness which subsequently blossomed into spontaneous unfoldment of Grace. For the next five years he continued long hours of meditation, integrating expanded state of awareness throughout his daily activities. Around that time he began sharing his insights with those who were attracted by the energy emanating in his presence.
Igor points out that awakening takes place in the body on a cellular level and it is the body, with its nervous system, that acts as a support for individual consciousness to mature into full Enlightenment. It could be said that his methods are rooted in Tantra, having studied such diverse traditions as Vedanta, Tantra, Sufi and Zen for many years he remains elusive to categorization. Saying that: ”Abiding in a state of spontaneous absorption transcends the boundaries of any given truth based on intellectual grasp of ultimate reality…”.
He emphasizes the biological nature of self-realization and sees the process as progressive purification of Prana. For vital force directs and orchestrates all movements in the body, and all cognitive processes are linked to the electric current of which Prana is a conduit.
Igor’s style of teaching is based on spontaneous and intuitive insight which allows him to empathize with uniqueness of each individual conditioning. He embraces life in its most terrifying contrasts through direct experiences of Love, Life and Death, if only to appreciate more fully the predicament of human condition.
He lives with his partner, Emma Devi and their two small children, Ramana and Keahnu. He looks after his mother who struggles with dementia, while the family is (currently) based in Costa Rica. Igor continues working with those who require guidance, sharing his time between family duties and editing his 10 year correspondence into a book under the title, ‘Letter to a Siddha’.
Many of us identify with a mixture of thoughts, perceptions and sensations. The people around us, our teachers and our friends, believe that they are separate entities and we naturally follow their example without question. This identification with our body and mind seems deeply rooted but investigation reveals that it is the origin of discontentment and unhappiness.
The non-dual perspective radically questions this identification and this investigation leads to an experience in which the separation between a subject and an object, between a ‘me’ and the rest of the universe, between ‘me’ and God, is abolished.
Francis Lucille points towards an experiential understanding of what we are – the pure, timeless Consciousness residing in the background of all mental activity. This Consciousness is found to be the reality of all things and is revealed as absolute happiness, intelligence, love and beauty.
The dialogues presented in this book point us gently and subtly towards the essence, the luminous depth of our being, which is both the meaning of things and their unique reality.
About the author
In 1973, after studying Science at l’Ecole Polytechnique and l’Ecole Nationale Superieure de l’Aeronautique et de l’Espace, Francis Lucille discovered the wisdom of the East through Vedantic and Buddhist texts. This began a deep seeking for identity that ended shortly after his meeting with his spiritual teacher, Jean Klein, in 1975. Francis Lucille now lives in the USA. He holds retreats in Europe and the United States.
This is an excerpt from the interview with Francis Lucille at the Science and Nonduality Conference 2011 featured in the 3DVD set “Science and Nonduality Anthology Vol.3″.
Francis Lucille is a spiritual teacher of the tradition of Advaita Vedanta (non-duality). He became a disciple of Jean Klein, a French Advaita teacher whom he met in 1975. This was the beginning of a close association that lasted until the death of his friend and spiritual master in 1998. http://www.francislucille.com/
Western Masters of Non-Duality. Francis Lucille: What is Self Inquiry?
Francis Lucille speaks answers the question, “What is Self Inquiry?”
The High Heeled Guide to Enlightenment is the must have book for females who are looking to connect to something other than their internet provider! Alice Grist jumps stilettos first into all things spiritual and conjures up an entertaining, witty and honest account of her search for Enlightenment.
From the Author
The High Heeled Guide to Enlightenment capture’s Alice’s early explorations into a spiritual lifestyle and makes spirituality accessible for a new generation of Women (and men who don’t mind reading a pink book). Alice’s adventures see her literally living through the dawning spiritual crisis’s that enlightenment brings, whilst mixing that with a perfectly normal, slightly rock chick modern life. Her ups and downs are charted, whilst she put’s her spiritual credentials to the test. Alice flings herself into a range of wacky, fun and fascinating spiritual practices, and comes out a better person for it. A must read book for any high heeled seeker who knows that there is more to life than lipstick!
A book for anyone who believes that coincidence is never just coincidence, that love can change the world and that there is most definitely something amazing waiting for us after death. Chapters include, The High Heeled Buddha, The High Heeled Wiccan, The High Heeled Kabbalah, The High Heeled Spiritualist, The High Heeled Shaman, High Heeled Reincarnation, High Heeled Healing and High Heeled Divination. A fantastic beginner’s guide to all things mystical, esoteric and spiritually fabulous!
“The High Heeled Guide to Enlightenment’ is a deeply personal book for me that charts my own life and my journey from a low point to spiritual happiness. But it is more than that too, it is informative beyond me and my life, it depicts some fascinating concepts from my perspective and, in a manner that allows modern folk to see it from their perspective too.” Alice Grist –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Alice Grist is the author of two books. The High Heeled Guide to Enlightenment, her first book , charts Alice’s journey from party girl to sassy spiritual woman. Alice’s second book is the soon to be published The High Heeled Guide to Spiritual Living (July 2011). THHGTSL is a guide to living spiritually through the ups and downs of modern existence. Both books are published by O-Books / Soul Rocks and have attracted much reader and reviewer acclaim.
Alice Grist is the Publisher of new John Hunt Publishing Imprint – Soul Rocks Books. Soul Rocks publishes soulful and spiritual books with sass and edge.
Alice is the founder and managing editor of Soul-Cafe.net, an online network and magazine for soulful and spiritual living. On Soul-Cafe Alice regularly interviews and features the spiritual advice and writings of experts and authors. Soul-Cafe provides a safe, happy space for all spiritual seekers.
Alice is a frequent contributor to many magazines and online lifestyle sites, often writing about spirituality in her own quirky, accessible and fierce style. She writes a regular column – Alice’s World of Woo for Haunted Magazine. She is a frequent guest on many TV and radio shows. Alice can also be found on You Tube posting under Alicebiddie…
Alice is also available for Tarot Readings and Reiki Healing. Alice teaches Meditation at local gyms in the Leicester area.
This book details the vision of interspirituality within a comprehensive and powerful synthesis of world religions and spirituality, the discoveries of modern science, and the developmental and evolutionary view of history. It is the first book to review and predict the ongoing history of world religions and spirituality in the context of developmental history, the evolutionary consciousness movement, and current scientific understandings of anthropology, human cognite development, brain/mind and scientific consciousness studies.
This book addresses Brother WayneTeasdale’s vision of “The Interspiritual Age,” a vision that parallels the equally well-known and publicized visions of the world’s developmental and evolutionary consciousness movements (known therein as coming “Integral Age” or “Age of Evolutionary Consciousness”) and the international humanist movement (known therein as the emerging “International Ethical Manifold”). As such The Coming Interspiritual Age is the first synthesis of interfaith and interspirituality with the popular writings of integral leaders Ken Wilber and Don Beck.
The book includes provocative sections regarding the inherent unity within the world’s religious and spiritual understanding (especially their shared mystical understandings), the relationship of these and modern scientific studies of consciousness and brain/mind, the developmental and evolutionary views of history, the inevitable ongoing processes of world globalization and multiculturalism, the emergent understanding of the Divine Feminine, the nature of spiritual experience and the reputed spirit realms, and the various predictions around and surrounding the year 2012. The book concludes with extensive “how-to” sections regarding the development and practice of interspirituality as it can happen both within the world’s current religious traditions as well as in new, creative, and entrepreneurial settings worldwide.
Kurt Johnson, PhD, is well known internationally as a scientist, comparative religionist, social activist and former monastic. PhD in evolution, ecology, systematics and comparative biology and extensive training in comparative religion and philosophy. Author of 7 books on ecology and evolution.
David Robert Ord is a former Presbyterian (USA) minister and Graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary. Coauthor with Dr Robert B. Coote of The Bible’s First History, In the Beginning, Is the Bible True, Understanding the Bible Today, Your Forgotten Self.
Dr. Kurt Johnson has worked in science and spirituality for over 40 years. This dual career in science and spirituality is detailed at WIKIPEDIA. In spirituality, Kurt is co-author of the recently published book The Coming Interspiritual Age, with David Robert Ord, the Editorial Director of Namaste Publishing (publishers of such spiritual teachers as Eckhart Tolle and Michael Brown). As a New Release, the book has been in Amazon’s Top Ten in Spirituality.
Kurt was originally a Christian monk and founded, with Br. Wayne Teasdale and others, the InterSpiritual Dialogue Association for discussion of contemplative experience across traditions. Ordained in three spiritual traditions, he works also with The Contemplative Alliance and Integral Communities.
In science, Kurt is the co-author of the best-selling Nabokov’s Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius, with Steve Coates of The New York Times, which was a Top Ten Book in science in 2000. Kurt’s PhD is in evolution, ecology, systematics and comparative biology. Associated with the American Museum of Natural History (30 yrs.). He published 200+ articles on evolution and ecology, including the 2011 Harvard DNA sequence study vindicating Vladimir Nabokov’s views of evolution. He is currently completing another book on Nabokov’s science and art for Yale University Press. However, Kurt’s primary interest is the simplicity of nondual spiritual practice.
From an early age Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. For twenty years he studied the teachings of P.D.Ouspensky, J.Krishnamurti, Rumi, Shankaracharya, Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1996. Francis introduced Rupert to the teachings of Jean Klein and Atmanada Krishnamenon and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.
His two books, The Transparency of Things, (sub-titled Contemplating the Nature of Experience), and Presence, in two volumes (The Art of Peace and Happiness and The Intimacy of All Experience), are a profound exploration of the non-dual nature of experience.
Rupert lives in UK and holds regular meetings and retreats in Europe and USA.
Awakening is a living transmission of silence and freedom, writes Eli Jaxon-Bear, granting final liberation to everyone. A teacher in the self-realization movements of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Poonjaji, and Gangaji, Jaxon-Bear presents a unique map of egoic identification as a vehicle for self-inquiry and a final realization of freedom. Sudden Awakening puts spiritual awakening in a larger context: that it is humankind’s next evolutionary leap. Based on ancient Indian teachings and years of contemplation, this book offers the key to the possibility of ending world destruction. The book is written in clear, beautiful prose, and readers can peruse each chapter as a meditation, or as a gateway into awakening the highest self-attainable. It offers insight into the nature of the true spiritual quest and shows the traps as well as the signs of confirmation along the journey.
Eli Jaxon Bear – 2nd Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview
Published on Apr 18, 2013
Eli Jaxon-BearEli Jaxon-Bear was born Elliot J. Zeldow in Brooklyn, New York, in 1947. His eighteen-year spiritual path started in 1971, when he was a federal fugitive during the Vietnam war. In 1978, Kalu Rinpoche appointed him the president of the first Kagyu dharma center in Marin County. In 1982, he was presented with a Zen Teaching Fan at ChoShoJi Zen Temple in Japan.
After a search took him around the world and into many traditions and practices, his path and his search ended when he was pulled to India in 1990, where he met his final teacher, Sri H.W.L. Poonja. Confirming Eli’s realization, his teacher sent him back into the world to share his unique psychological insights into the nature of egoic suffering in support of self-realization.
Eli infuses the teaching with his teacher’s living transmission of silence. He presents a unique map of egoic identification as a vehicle for ruthless self-inquiry and final realization of true freedom. He dedicates his life to passing on the transmission of his teacher.
Eli currently meets people and teaches through the Leela Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to world peace and freedom through universal self-realization.
He is the author of Sudden Awakening into Direct Realization, (New World Library), The Enneagram of Liberation: From Fixation to Freedom, (Gangaji Foundation Press), and he is the editor of Wake Up and Roar: Satsang with H.W.L. Poonja, (Sounds True).
This is my second interview with Ellie. You might want to listen to the first one before listening to this one: http://batgap.com/ellie-roozdar/
Ellie is a happily married woman for 29 years. She has been blessed, with two beautiful children—a lovely daughter and a sweet son.
She has graduated from SUNY at Stony Brook and has been teaching mathematics in high school and community colleges. After changing her career, she worked in Information Technology as a Quality Assurance Manage for many years.
Since childhood, she was seeing herself as a vision, which was not associated with the body at all. The question was arising, “Who am I?” This was never answered and it was there in her heart for a long time…
Since the year 2001, she has been inspired:
>To get to know who she is
>To find what she is searching for.
For the past few years, she has had wonderful experiences by “going within,” meditating and discovering the Truth. The Truth reveals itself to itself by itself.
She would like to share these experiences with you.
She hopes that by reading her story, you also get inspired to “go within” and “discover” who you really are, and also find the authentic joy that resides within.
This is simply a discovery, not to become anyone or anything. Remember: Joy is already there, it just needs to be uncovered.
We learn to go within and to be a witness of the “nothingness.” It may be frightening at the beginning. All our life we want to be somebody and add something to ourselves and now we will face “nothingness.”
She wishes you all patience and the best of luck on this path. Please know that this is the best thing and the most important thing that you can do for yourself.
You will be happy that you took time and discover your True Self.
Q. 1. Can you please tell me how you became interested in non-duality and what would you say it is?
As I was never a conscious seeker, there was no active interest prior to the ‘awakening experience’ in what can be termed ‘non-duality’. I had never heard that word before or terms such as awakening / self realisation and so I had no preconceived ideas about what it could be.
In a way it could be described that life circumstances seemed to engineer an opportunity for all ideas of a personal self to be seen through. It appeared that due to intense physical and emotional suffering the ‘I’ that I believed I was had to really stop. As a direct consequence of this stopping, there was a sudden and radical experiential recognition of life as it truly is – in other words an awakening experience. What is simple, obvious and always the case was clearly revealed when all ideas of a personal self fell effortlessly away. Following this revelation, it was subsequently realised that this recognition required an ongoing dedication and commitment to embody what had been revealed – and not to simply live from the memory of an ‘experience’. What seemed to naturally emerge from this subsequent realisation was a deeply sincere commitment to what had been realised, to shed the layers of conditioned reactivity and ever more deeply abide as that recognition.
Subsequently, an interest then seemed to emerge about how this realisation is being communicated and how it could be communicated to ‘others’. Although effectively it was recognised that there are no ‘others’ – all is appearing in life as life – it was realised beyond doubt that experiential recognition of life as it truly IS is the answer to all self conflict and the associated emotional suffering. Furthermore, recognition has a profound impact upon the way life is experienced moment to moment, making the peace that is eternally here experientially available – and this has huge potential implications for the wider ‘world’. This ‘understanding’ then cemented the commitment to living this realisation and gave rise to a great passion to share with whoever is receptive to self inquiry.
Subsequently, non-duality was experientially understood to mean that life is effectively ‘unified’ – that there is no separation anywhere – separation is only apparent and ‘lives’ in thought identification only. Every ‘apparent’ thing is simply life expressing itself and as such all expressions are understood to be equal (that paradoxically includes thought identification). Awareness is a good ‘pointer’ to this unified ‘field’ from which all apparent things come and go – but in and of itself isn’t a ‘thing’. That thing-less thing is undeniably present, aware, exists and yet in cannot be separated from experience – so in truth they are ‘understood’ to be one and the same. Awareness / experience (apparent ‘things’) = life itself.
Q.2. Did anything change about you, your personality, character, temperament, disposition or otherwise after this realization?
This is difficult to say but as there has been a fundamental shift in the way functioning appears to happen ‘here’ there must have been some significant changes with regard to certain personality traits. The way life is approached now is totally different – there is a ‘responding to life’ as it naturally unfolds rather than deciding ‘what I want’ and trying to make that happen. As a consequence, there is a natural relaxation and peace underlying experiences that it would seem to have had inevitable consequences on the remaining ‘personality’.
Q. 3. How long did it take you to integrate this or for others around you?
The integration of what has been realised and the commitment to that recognition is ongoing so I don’t see it as ‘finite’ but in experiential terms, more of a process of continuous evolution. As regards the others around me, I cannot speak for others; all I can know is the experience ‘here’ – however, people that have known me for a long time seem to indicate to me that I seem noticeably much more peaceful and content.
Q 4. What about likes and dislikes, did this change at all?
The main thing that appears to have changed is my diet. I seem to have moved away from eating a largely meat based diet to a more plant based one. I still eat meat (at the moment) but consumption is greatly reduced and there also appears to be a natural tendency to avoid red meat. This has not been a conscious choice but rather something that is happening all by itself.
There is a sense of an intelligence guiding all action / decisions and as such there seems to be a natural moving away from doing things that could be considered harmful to the body and that seem to be out of harmony with the ‘whole’. Alcohol consumption has also been reduced to virtually zero. I have also noticed an inclination to be quiet and so there has been a moving away from noisy social events choosing more relaxed, peaceful and solitary environments instead.
I still love many of the things that I enjoyed ‘before’: music, travel, walking in nature, being with friends -although now it seems as if there is even greater enjoyment in these simple things. The moment is always enough – there is no ‘looking for something better’ outside of the current experience. This means that the peace that is naturally here is more experientially obvious – seeming in effect, to permeate through everyday experiences with an ever increasing brightness. This appears to make even the most ordinary of moments extraordinarily ordinary, full of aliveness and awe.
Q 5. Did you practice meditation of any kind before this realization? Do you still meditate and what are your thoughts on this as a path or method to realization?
Prior to the realisation I engaged periodically in guided visualisations / relaxation techniques, but no ‘formal’ meditation practices.
What prompts the revealing of one’s true nature is a mystery; therefore I couldn’t advocate any one path in favour of another – or deny any path. However, what was realised experientially ‘here’ is that you can’t get to where you already are by any path and that a step on a path is (effectively) a step away. However, all paths are valid until they are seen as futile, so from that perspective they serve an ‘apparent’ purpose and are ‘valid’ and ‘meaningful’ from that perspective.
In relation to ‘practices’ it is important is to understand the possible effects that any practice can have – that being the potential to keep thought identification active. The very nature of this risk is a probable barrier to actually seeing beyond thought identification. So any practice that is undertaken with a hope of getting somewhere or achieving some end result can potentially create an apparent paradox – the practice can actually serve as an invisible barrier to realisation and not actually reveal ones natural state – which is the practice’s apparent ‘aim’.
In respect of meditation practice, I see true meditation as mindfulness – complete awareness of experience (sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touch) – in the presence of a relaxed body and a quiet, alert mind (which incidentally is also part of ‘experiencing’).
‘Mindfulness’ could also be said to be a natural consequence of realising what you are and surrendering fully to that recognition. In addition, one could engage in mindfulness as a ‘practice’ until it is no longer a practice as such, becoming a more natural way of functioning – so in effect there is an apparent merging with the primordial way of ‘Being’.
Sitting in silence is another practice that could be considered useful as far as the integration or embodiment during the post awakening journey. This ‘practice’ of sitting in silence enables the natural silence to be more prevalent throughout all experiences. Both mindfulness and sitting in silence are regularly practiced ‘here’, being mindful throughout the waking state and also completely surrendering to silence most nights before sleep – there has been on occasions, also been full ‘awareness’ during the experience of ‘sleep’.
I think what is paramount in respect of any practice taken as a pathway to awakening, is knowledge of the limitations the practice may by nature potentially impose. When seen in context, no practice is a problem and can subsequently not only create a ‘space’ for what is always present to be revealed, but also aid experiential embodiment post awakening.
Q. 6. Did you read advaita scripture of any kind before this shift from any traditional sources. Vedanta, Buddhism, Sufism and so on. or was it mostly contemporary books.
As I wasn’t an active ‘spiritual’ seeker before the awakening experience, in relation to ‘realisation’ I hadn’t read extensively from any source – traditional or otherwise. In my early teens I had a fascination with near death experiences and spiritual psychology, reading books like ‘The Light Beyond’ by Raymond Moody and ‘The Road Less Travelled’ by M. Scott Peck. From the age of sixteen I was enjoying Khalil Gibran’s‘The Prophet’ and a number of years later I had someone who recommended to me a book called the ‘Tao Te Ching’. The Tao was a book I loved to read and reread periodically, I had a deep fascination with the text for some reason, it really spoke to me and there was a really beautiful quality, likened to poetry that seemed to emanate from the words. These books were simply enjoyed for what I thought they were – just beautiful and poetic writings. There was no real understanding at all of what the words could have been pointing to.
After the awakening experience, my fascination with the Tao Te Ching made perfect sense and I could at last understand experientially the recognition that words were actually inviting. Due to the nature of the illness that was being experienced prior to, during and after the awakening experience reading pages of text is problematic. However, an interest naturally arose as to one’s ability to communicate the incommunicable and, as a result I started collecting books of a mainly traditional orientation.
One of the books that seemed to ‘find me’ quite early on after the awakening experience came to me while I was on a meditation course. It was a book called ‘A Garland of Guru’s sayings’ by Sri Murgunar. What attracted me to the book was one of the faces on the cover – a man I now know to be Sri Ramana Maharshi, the great sage of India. The poetry contained within the pages resonated deeply and lead to several visits to the ashram at the foot of Arunachala, Tiruvannamali, South India – the place where Ramana Maharshi lived from the age of 16 until his death in 1950. I have yet to read any of Ramana Maharshi’s teachings in detail, to this day I have only reading short passages but feel a strong resonance with what the message points to, the experiential recognition of one’s true nature. Ramana’s physical form in the images of recorded photographs can evoke strong emotions to arise of deep love and gratitude. His image seems to symbolise everything that I have come to understand as true – that is not to say there is devotion to him, but to what his physical image seems to represent – the true nature of what we ARE – that beyond form or description.
Other books that became of interest that I have collected include: The Dhamappada, poetry by Hafiz and Rumi, The Gospel of Thomas, The Upanishads, Zen flesh, Zen bones by Paul Reps, The Bhagavad Gita, The Seven Valleys of Baha ‘u’ Lah, The Ashtavakra Gita, Padamalai by Muruganar, The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in his own words by Arthur Osbourne, Be as You Are by David Godman, Bodhidharma translated by Red Pine, Song of the Adadhut by S. Abhayananda, The Yoga Sutra’s of Patangali by Alistair Shearer and The teachings of Huang Po. None of these have been studied extensively, rather a few pages savoured over a cup of tea during quiet moments. Books by modern teachers that I have dipped into are mainly by Eckhart Tolle and Adyashanti – Adya’s teachings seem to resonate the most strongly of all the modern teachers that I have encountered so far.
Q 7. What do you talk about in these Satsangs that you do? Is it mostly Q and A? What is the format?
As sharing publicly is a fairly new occurrence that has only been undertaken following recent invitations, I am in the process of discovering what happens each time the experience unfolds. So far the pattern that seems most common to meetings is a period of silence followed by a short discourse lasting between 20 and 40 minutes before inviting questions.
In relation to what is discussed at these meetings, the discourse / pointers arise around a central message – the unchanging source of life. Questions and answers flow around this core topic and discussions relating to suffering, awakening – the experiential recognition of one’s true nature – the integration / embodiment of this understanding beyond words or intellect commonly arise.
Q. 8. Do you call yourself a teacher or do you use some other term for this and would you consider yourself to be more traditional or what Dennis Waite refers to as neo advaita?
I don’t call myself anything, I am simply myself. Sometimes a label such as ‘teacher’ maybe used, but I don’t see myself as a teacher at all. I am just the same as everybody else, only there seems to have been an experiential recognition of what has always been the case in this instance. As this recognition has revealed deep peace and has had a fundamental effect on how life is experienced as a result, there has been a natural inclination to want to ‘share’ this discovery with ‘others’. This however is a somewhat paradoxical statement as upon this experiential recognition the ‘I’ that it appeared to happen to disappeared – so to say it happened to somebody is misleading – it was also realised simultaneously there are no ‘others’ – only life.
However, from this direct experience of human-ness, recognition means that life is seen in its true context and so is experienced differently due to a self evident natural clarity. It is challenging to say how life is different – as nothing in terms of circumstance may have changed at all – but seeking (conscious or otherwise) ends and an allowance of the innate peace that was seemingly hidden by conditioned tendencies becomes increasingly experientially obvious.
Awakening is not the end – far from it. If anything, it can be likened to a beginning-less beginning of true experiencing – life seemingly offering a deeper opportunity to experientially surrender to what has been recognised and abide with increasing conviction as that.
Q. 9. Do you also do private consultations of any kind? What method do you use?
I do conduct private consultations. The method I use if it can be described like that is meeting the moment as it is / meeting someone where they are. I offer what I consider to be a holistic approach that is unique each time – based on what it seems is needed for each person that contacts me.
Generally, I like to find out a little bit about the person speaking to me, to see how they view themselves and ‘world’ around them. Depending on what it is sensed about what the person is ready for, several approaches maybe then adopted and a line of reflective questions offered according to what seems to be required. For example beliefs / perceptions / ‘conditioning’ and conditioned responses maybe explored that are specific to the individual, clear pointers to what ‘is’ offered and the direct experience investigated. In addition, exercises or practices may be suggested and discussions that relate directly to the experiential integration / embodiment of what has been recognised can all arise as part of the process too.
The aim (if there is one) is to create a quiet space that potentially promotes the simple, natural experiential recognition of one’s true nature and to assist the individual as necessary into a clear and autonomous way of ‘being’ in the world.
Q. 10. What about a book, are you writing one?
I am writing a book. The inspiration for this book was really ignited from the perspective of the experience here – ‘waking up’ without a teacher due to intense suffering, without any ‘active’ seeking / initial interest in advaita or other traditions. I aim to address – in a modern way, many aspects of this pathless path but in easy to understand language that would appeal to the ‘ordinary’ person. It will hopefully be a book that family, friends and acquaintances would be able to understand, that is ‘current’ and yet weaves in with that modern perspective the relevant aspects of the more ‘traditional’ approach.
The book will be a ‘live’ text taking the reader on a journey of self discovery – pausing at key points to investigate the direct experience with questions and exercises. The text will aim to address in a logical sequence many of the main point’s surrounding the ‘awakening experience’ from suffering through to recognition and the subsequent integration.
Karen Richards
In February 2008 at the age of thirty-three, Karen experienced a sudden and radical awakening. Prior to this realisation, no teachings or practices were followed – in fact at that time the terms non-duality and awakening were completely unfamiliar. This spontaneous realisation presented itself during a period of intense emotional suffering and when demands in life exceeded Karen’s physical capability.
Karen attempted to persevere in the face of these challenges, the consequence being a severely debilitating illness that affected physical functioning on every level. Although the illness had a devastating effect on life as it was then known, it seemed to create a space for a deeper reality to be recognised.
As her state of health was so poor, Karen was unable to return to work – meaning that she spent a significant amount of time confined to her home. The effect of this period of solitude was profound surrender, allowing the realisation to become deeply integrated into daily living. Two and a half years after the initial recognition, someone Karen didn’t know approached her for guidance, which really was the beginning of sharing in a more active way. Karen now shares openly with all those who wish to enquire into the true nature of reality.
Karen grew up in a small town in the heart of England and was born into a non-religious family. After a somewhat turbulent childhood and unsettled early adult life, she trained as a nurse in 1993. After qualification in 1996, Karen went onto practice nursing in the NHS full time for twelve years, gaining experience in many specialities including general surgery, urology and medicine before specialising in intensive care. In the years prior to the realisation, Karen has experienced challenges and disappointments that seem common to many. She is also a certified life coach and that, coupled with her nursing career has given her considerable experience of working with people from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances. This has endowed her with the ability to empathise and understand life as it is to commonly experienced, making her easy to communicate with.
Following the realisation, Karen’s experience of illness – coupled with her extensive experience of healthcare, enabled dis-ease / illness to be seen from a different perspective. Misperception of what we are and the stress that can ensue in direct relation to that misperception, means that we are often in a state of persistent resistance to life as it is. This negative state of functioning is the foundation for many of our health challenges. The rediscovery of who we are is fundamental for the transformation of the human life experience. It means that the peace that is already here is recognised and experienced directly, having potentially profound healing effect on the mind and body.
Realisation – from a human perspective – means that the unity beyond apparent diversity is remembered. Life can then be embraced fully and authentically – without contamination from the lens of the conditioned mind, bringing relief from all psychological suffering. An inevitable consequence of this recognition is the arising of compassion, love and respect for life in all of its appearances – having an ever deepening impact on the human experience. This has the direct consequence of transforming the world we see literally before our eyes, having a powerful healing effect on the planet as a whole.
‘May you rediscover who you truly are, for in that knowing lies liberation, peace and wisdom. You are THAT for which you have been seeking’
Much love, Karen Richards
Posted by Karen Richards
Special Note:For a more detailed and deeper insight into Ellie’s revelation of Self- Realization, view on this page widget containing 9 parts of video clips..
~ Enjoy and Namaste.
I was born and raised in Iran and moved to the US in 1979. I am a happily married woman for 29 years. We have been blessed, with two beautiful children, our lovely daughter and our sweet son.
Have graduated from SUNY at Stony Brook, I have been a math teacher in high school and community colleges. After a while, I changed my career to Information Technology and worked as a Quality Assurance Manage for many years.
Since childhood, I was seeing myself as a vision, which was not associated with the body at all. The question was arising “Who am I?” This was never answered and it was there in my heart for a long time…
Since year 2001, I have been inspired:
1. To get to know who I am
2. To find what I am searching for (which was a true authentic Joy of being, that I remember from somewhere)
For the past few years, I have had wonderful experiences by going within, meditating and discovering the Truth. The Truth reveals itself to itself by itself.
I would like to share this experience with you.
I hope by reading this path, you also get excited to go within and “discover” who you really are, and also find the true inner joy that resides within. This is a discovery and not to become anyone or anything. Remember: Joy is already there, it just needs to be uncovered.
We learn to go within and to be a witness of the “nothingness “We call this “Adaam” or “Lamakan” in Farsi.
It will be very scary at the beginning. All our life we want to be somebody and add something to ourselves and now we will face “nothingness.”
Meditation, points into what is eternal here and now. The Truth reveals itself in the midst of the silence. Although I have had some deep esoteric experiences, however; that is not truly require, for the Truth to reveal itself to itself. Truth is witnessing the silence. The silence and peace is the reflection of the Truth and not the Truth itself. The Truth is one that which can’t be negated. It is always here in the midst of thoughts or no thoughts. It is here before, during and after each experience. As simple as this….
The “nothingness” or “Adaam” is one side of the coin, since on the other side, everything arises from this “nothingness” such as our peace, joy, intelligence, and creativity. They all come from this inner space of pure silence and nothingness. This is very paradoxical.
By doing so, not only we discover that we are that pure authentic Truth, but also the true joy is arising from there. It is residing there and we could feel it at any time.
For the first time, the freedom will be felt at peace to be “Home”.
This is a wonderful opportunity to experience this body, and it is such a loss not to find and feel this wonderful mystery in our hearts.
I wish you all the patience and best of luck on this path. Please know that this is the best thing and the most important thing that you can do for yourself. You will be happy that you took time and discover your True Self.
Love and light!
Ellie Roozdar
Interview recorded 10/16/2011
How to Relax into Your life as a Living Meditation, More Fully and Enjoyably As You… This book is a collection of invitations that support people in practical, very human ways to become more awake to themselves and the world they are experiencing. It includes topics such as trust, love, blame, attraction, anger, abundance, acceptance and inclusion of self. These ‘reading’ meditations demonstrate how available it is for everyone who is interested to awaken more and more to the present moment, here and now. No need to go off to a cave in the Himalaya! Canela uses humor and love in her invitations for those who want to know how to live more easily, in more acceptance of What Is; how to access the experience of no-separation in any given moment; and how each and every aspect of who they are, no matter what it looks like, benefits them directly.
Canela Michelle Meyers – Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview
Once the shift to the Awakened State of Being has occurred, it becomes obvious that every moment that proceeded that moment was significant towards its Self.
It is also obvious that Awareness was present in each and every moment prior to that. The difference is in that it is ‘Realized’ — Awareness is aware of Awareness.
The journey for Canela Michelle towards this realization was happening long before she had heard of the potential of consciously living in the stateless state of Being. Once she heard that this was possible in 1995, the path was lit up and speedy until she ended up in Satsang with Isaac Shapiro in February 1998. By this time her inner and outer explorations were deep and subtle yet her explorations of what she perceived seemed to only serve to expand all of that even more…so she simply asked Isaac: ‘Is it beyond perception?’ He answered ‘Yes’ and in that moment, what was there previously as some sort of structure fell away, leaving only ‘What Is’ at play and Awareness being aware of That.
‘Real-ized’
It is recognized that the only reality is what is aware of itself in each moment, that there is nothing beyond that play happening, whatever the play might be.
Canela Michelle is an expression of Awareness in each moment…just like everyone else is whether they recognize it yet or not (as is all that appears — air, body, thought, chair, taste, etc.). Her love is in supporting people to relax open to this Truth. Supporting them to allow themselves to not only recognize Love, but to experience That; simply as it is, dependant on nothing at all.
Awareness is the constant in the midst of the play of events. What rises, or appears in each moment might feel or look like an obstacle to Love, yet when a person opens to directly experiencing whatever that is, it shifts, changes and merges with all that is…no longer appearing as if it were an obstacle.
There is nowhere to get to, you are already ‘Here’; it’s simply a matter of ‘meeting’ whatever might be appearing, right here, right now, in each moment. Once explored, it is recognized only as an invitation, from your Self to your Self…Love beckoning you hither.
The support is offered in Satsang Meditation gatherings, individual & couple Satsang Sessions in person or by phone and in her first book: Right Here, Right Now Meditations — Satsang Invitations for Expanding Awareness.
Many of us identify with a mixture of thoughts, perceptions and sensations. The people around us, our teachers and our friends, believe that they are separate entities and we naturally follow their example without question. This identification with our body and mind seems deeply rooted but investigation reveals that it is the origin of discontentment and unhappiness. 
The High Heeled Guide to Enlightenment is the must have book for females who are looking to connect to something other than their internet provider! Alice Grist jumps stilettos first into all things spiritual and conjures up an entertaining, witty and honest account of her search for Enlightenment.
This book details the vision of interspirituality within a comprehensive and powerful synthesis of world religions and spirituality, the discoveries of modern science, and the developmental and evolutionary view of history. It is the first book to review and predict the ongoing history of world religions and spirituality in the context of developmental history, the evolutionary consciousness movement, and current scientific understandings of anthropology, human cognite development, brain/mind and scientific consciousness studies.
Kurt Johnson, PhD, is well known internationally as a scientist, comparative religionist, social activist and former monastic. PhD in evolution, ecology, systematics and comparative biology and extensive training in comparative religion and philosophy. Author of 7 books on ecology and evolution.
David Robert Ord is a former Presbyterian (USA) minister and Graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary. Coauthor with Dr Robert B. Coote of The Bible’s First History, In the Beginning, Is the Bible True, Understanding the Bible Today, Your Forgotten Self.
Awakening is a living transmission of silence and freedom, writes Eli Jaxon-Bear, granting final liberation to everyone. A teacher in the self-realization movements of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Poonjaji, and Gangaji, Jaxon-Bear presents a unique map of egoic identification as a vehicle for self-inquiry and a final realization of freedom. Sudden Awakening puts spiritual awakening in a larger context: that it is humankind’s next evolutionary leap. Based on ancient Indian teachings and years of contemplation, this book offers the key to the possibility of ending world destruction. The book is written in clear, beautiful prose, and readers can peruse each chapter as a meditation, or as a gateway into awakening the highest self-attainable. It offers insight into the nature of the true spiritual quest and shows the traps as well as the signs of confirmation along the journey.
How to Relax into Your life as a Living Meditation, More Fully and Enjoyably As You… This book is a collection of invitations that support people in practical, very human ways to become more awake to themselves and the world they are experiencing. It includes topics such as trust, love, blame, attraction, anger, abundance, acceptance and inclusion of self. These ‘reading’ meditations demonstrate how available it is for everyone who is interested to awaken more and more to the present moment, here and now. No need to go off to a cave in the Himalaya! Canela uses humor and love in her invitations for those who want to know how to live more easily, in more acceptance of What Is; how to access the experience of no-separation in any given moment; and how each and every aspect of who they are, no matter what it looks like, benefits them directly.
