Enlightenment: The Ego, what is it? How to transcend it.

[greybeard]

From the Sounds true web site
Adyashanti

Ego is nothing but a state of consciousness

All of the great spiritual teachings direct us to look within, to “know thyself.” Unless we know ourselves, we can never find our way beyond suffering. In fact, it’s because we don’t know ourselves that we’re so prone to suffering, that we’re so prone to misunderstanding the nature of who we are and reality itself. So this assumption that we are something separate, something other than everything around us, is the basis of what I call our “egoic consciousness.” Because, after all, what we are really talking about here is a state of consciousness, a way of packaging the world conceptually. When our mind starts to imagine that we are something separate and different from the world around us, it changes the way we perceive, which means it changes our state of consciousness. The thoughts that we believe alter and change our state of consciousness.

You can see this shift in consciousness in any given moment, as you become aware of the thoughts that are present. Take the following thoughts, for example: imagine a sunny day on the beach, where you’re lying in complete relaxation and you can hear the water lapping up against the shore. You can feel the warm sand supporting you from underneath. You can feel the rays of the sun across your face. You can hear the distant bird calls of seagulls. If you just think those thoughts, and allow yourself to really feel them, they’ll start to change your consciousness. You’ll literally start to feel different about this moment, even though nothing has actually changed, even though you’re not actually at the beach. Even though all of it is created in your mind through imagination, it can change the way you feel, and how you feel affects how you perceive yourself, others, and the world around you.

So to take it a step further, when our mind interprets our sense of self to mean that there actually is self, our consciousness changes. And before very long, our consciousness is such that everywhere it looks, it sees separation. Of course, it doesn’t tell you this. Most human beings don’t walk around saying to themselves, “I feel separate from everything around me. I’m distinct and different.” That’s because this change of consciousness, this egoic consciousness, becomes so integrated into the way you see and experience life that you don’t even have to remind yourself of it. You don’t even have to be consciously thinking about it because it is so deeply woven into the fabric of your perception. The truth is that, ultimately speaking, ego is nothing but a state of consciousness.

If this was fully understood in its deepest aspect, that the ego is just a state of consciousness, we wouldn’t be chained to it. We wouldn’t be weighed down by it. We wouldn’t feel isolated. Yet we see our egos, we see ourselves, as very separate entities; and everyone around us is doing the same thing. Everyone around us sees themselves as essentially different from others, and from life in general. So we move in a world where almost everyone we meet will be reflecting back to us this egoic sense of consciousness. To find liberation, we must wake up from this dream that our mind creates, that we’re something separate than everything around us. This is the only way we can begin to find a way out of suffering.

See Adyashanti live in August 2013. Visit WakeUpFestival.com for more information.

http://www.wakeupfestival.com/

[we-R-one]

Chris, you post such great stuff, thank you for your efforts. What Adyashanti explains, matches what I've come to know to be true through my own personal experiences, which is why I've posted these two defintions on "the solutions thread", as they align with much of what I have discovered and what's being said above.

DIMENSION- A dimension is a state of consciousness. When you look at what we know about dimensions, what we find is that each is about a unique set of beliefs. Our current 3D consciousness was not established until enough people began to believe the same way. And the current 5D consciousness will not be established until enough of the people existing there figure out how to live in unity. So we see that when enough people live a set of beliefs they create a dimension.

Going further, a state of consciousness/dimension vibrates at a certain frequency just as all physical matter has a distinguishing vibration or frequency. In our universe, the closer we get to the integration point of Light and Dark, the faster we vibrate (compassion being the integration point with the fastest vibratory rate). So, if a whole group of people acquire a particular set of beliefs, in this case, the understanding of how to live at the integration point between Light and Dark, then they all begin to vibrate at that particular rate. This vibratory rate is also known as a frequency. Continuing on, this group vibration creates a new consciousness, a new reality, and a new dimension by the individuals in the group expressing themselves emotionally, creatively, etc.
Source: Jelaila Starr

ASCENSION- On an individual level, ascension is the process of changing one’s consciousness from one reality, based on one set of beliefs, to another. On a group or planetary level, ascension is the collective expansion of a state of consciousness (set of beliefs) to the point where that consciousness creates a new reality—a new state of being or dimension (*The Hundredth Monkey Syndrome).

For example, 3D is about the belief that, this is the only life that we have and if you can’t touch it, taste it, see it, feel it or hear it, it doesn’t exist. 5D, is about Christ or Unity consciousness where we realize that we are all connected—we understand and live in oneness.
Source: Jelaila Starr

[skippy]

Posted by greybeard (here)
Terence McKenna Dreaming Awake at the End of Time

Not that easy to understand but very amusing, wordy, brilliant, educational.
Well worth listening to repeatedly

Chris

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KboPUQ0xCDs

Just, finishing watching this video of Terence. Thanks Greybeard for sharing. Absolutely brilliant and lot's of humor. Nobody is in control, what a very empowering thought..

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ubDnEWHkjBc

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=UObMf0wYFeQ

[greybeard]

Terrence McKennna's work, which is genius, features is this video here.
Im really glad you enjoyed his videos skippy.
chris
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post655716

[wolfgaze]

A 10 minute clip from an interview with Gregg Braden where he speaks about how human emotions affect us and also our environment:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=knjmrnJLhkA

[Rich]

Posted by wolfgaze (here)
A 10 minute clip from an interview with Gregg Braden where he speaks about how human emotions affect us and also our environment:

That video goes well with 2 videos posted on the https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?3779-Meditating-simply&p=656390&viewfull=1#post656390 thread (renaming link doesn't seem to work for some reason).

Here are the youtube links:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=LPCVz...layer_embedded

https://youtube.com/watch?v=7dHcO...layer_embedded

Christ has said that our ego thoughts (negative feelings) cause as much environmental destruction as the pollution we create through our technology.
With awareness of how our emotions can make us sick, we come to the same conclusion for this planet if we see earth as a single organism:

http://www.christsway.co.za/letters/article1.pdf

[greybeard]

Hi EmEx
thanks for your post.
There are quite a few Gregg Braden videos further back on this thread and reference to Heart Maths-- Global Coherence Initiative
http://www.glcoherence.org/

Gregg Braden is on that board.

Regards Chris

[wolfgaze]

Posted by EmEx (here)

Posted by wolfgaze (here)
A 10 minute clip from an interview with Gregg Braden where he speaks about how human emotions affect us and also our environment:

That video goes well with 2 videos posted on the https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?3779-Meditating-simply&p=656390&viewfull=1#post656390 thread (renaming link doesn't seem to work for some reason).

Here are the youtube links:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=LPCVz...layer_embedded

https://youtube.com/watch?v=7dHcO...layer_embedded

Christ has said that our ego thoughts (negative feelings) cause as much environmental destruction as the pollution we create through our technology.
With awareness of how our emotions can make us sick, we come to the same conclusion for this planet if we see earth as a single organism:

http://www.christsway.co.za/letters/article1.pdf

I feel like the negative emotions of the mind (brain) are a low frequency/vibration 'waveform' of energy and thus do not travel as effectively/efficiently when it comes to affecting the electromagnetic 'grid' - as opposed to positive emotions of the heart having a high frequency 'waveform' and thus having a much greater influence/impact on others as well as the grid.

[AwakeInADream]

Interesting Wolfgaze!

In a physical/scientific sense lower vibrations/frequencies contain more power/energy and can travel further(physically), but I think that in the spiritual/emotional sense the opposite is the case, in that higher vibrations have more impact and can travel further(spiritually), but still low vibrational negative emotional energy is still more noticeable in a physical sense in terms of atmosphere. It seems like the spiritual world and the physical world are like reflections of each other in a mirror, and act oppositely in some ways. (I'm not sure I'm making sense here)

Love can change the universe, but hate will mostly effect your immediate environment.

[greybeard]

Posted by AwakeInADream (here)
Interesting Wolfgaze!

In a physical/scientific sense lower vibrations/frequencies contain more power/energy and can travel further(physically), but I think that in the spiritual/emotional sense the opposite is the case, in that higher vibrations have more impact and can travel further(spiritually), but still low vibrational negative emotional energy is still more noticeable in a physical sense in terms of atmosphere. It seems like the spiritual world and the physical world are like reflections of each other in a mirror, and act oppositely in some ways. (I'm not sure I'm making sense here)

Love can change the universe, but hate will mostly effect your immediate environment.

Hi AwakeinaDream
http://de.spiritualwiki.org/Hawkins/Teachings
Dr David Hawkins Power vs Force explains this well.
Force requires more and more "push" and runs out of steam--- Power is spiritual--higher frequency.
Gandhi vs British Imperial rule is classic.

The Map of consciousness from Power Vs Force
http://www.dharanipitaka.net/2011/20...werVsForce.pdf

The PDF for the book Power vs Force /Hidden determinates to human behaviour

http://kgrd.8m.com/UPLOADS/Power-Vs-....,%20Ph.D..pdf

Chris

[AwakeInADream]

Thanks Chris! I've looked for that book before but could never find a free version. It looks fascinating! and seems to cover a lot of areas. Definitely priority reading for me.

I wonder though... Is the bodies intelligence at the same level as the wisdom of the higher self? How much can the body really know?
Can the ego interfere with the bodies responses?

[greybeard]

Posted by AwakeInADream (here)
Thanks Chris! I've looked for that book before but could never find a free version. It looks fascinating! and seems to cover a lot of areas. Definitely priority reading for me.

I wonder though... Is the bodies intelligence at the same level as the wisdom of the higher self? How much can the body really know?
Can the ego interfere with the bodies responses?

Hi AwakeinaDream
It takes time for old ideas to drop away particularly for me the one that i was the body rather than what is called The In dweller"
A later step was the realisation that there is only one consciousness--Higher Self.
I had to read this from different sources different teacher before I came to believe it.
God is like highly intelligent electromagnetic energy and were are in essence the same but of a lesser wattage.

Hope that helps
Chris

[greybeard]

Global Coherence Initiative

Commentary: Establishing the New Paradigm & Ongoing Global Earth Changes

Dear Chris,

Thank you to all of you for your ongoing support and participation in GCI and our mission to bring more peace and harmony to the world. GCI now has over 50,000 members; how exciting is this! For many people, 2012 was an incredibly intense year, bringing global changes on all levels: political, societal, economic and environmental. In this commentary, I want to address the ongoing global earth changes, what they mean to us and what we might expect in 2013.

GLOBAL GEOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

At the World Forum, an international congress on GEOCATACLYSM held in 2011, extensive data from different earth science disciplines were compiled and discussed by various scientists. The goal was to gain a deeper insight into global environmental changes and their potential impact on civilization. The compiled data indicated that our planet is going through a great transformation. Many scientists realized that the changes not only affect our weather and climate, but they also affect the lithosphere (the ridged, outermost rocky shell of our planet), the hydrosphere (the combined mass of water found on our planet), the atmosphere and the magnetosphere (Earth’s magnetic field).

Prof. Dr. Elchin Khalilov, the Chairman of the World Forum, reported changes in the following areas, and some of the points below are directly quoted from the proceedings:

‘Magnetic poles’ drift acceleration

The explosive, more than fivefold growth of the North Magnetic Pole’s drift rate from 1990 to the present has been accompanied by a significant increase in Earth’s activity.

In 1998, the North Magnetic Pole’s drift rate approached its maximum value. From roughly 1998 on, there has been an observed sharp increase in the number of large earthquakes and earthquake fatalities, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis (catastrophic, medium sized and weak, see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Velocity of North Geomagnetic Pole movement
Figure 1: Velocity of North Geomagnetic Pole movement
(from N. Olsen and M. Mandea, 2007)

Large earthquakes

A comparative analysis of variations and the dynamics of numbers of large M> 8 earthquakes between 1980 and May 2010 revealed that starting from 1997-1999, there has been a surge in the number of large earthquakes and fatalities caused by them (see Figure 2).

Graph for M8 earthquakes
Graph for M>8 earthquakes

Increase in floods has been observed

Flood statistics from the US in Figure 3 below show a large increase in flood notifications between 2000-2008. In addition, the number of worldwide flood notifications for the period between February 2010 and late May 2010 is more than 2.5 times higher than the figures for the same periods from 2002 to 2006 inclusive.

Figure 3: U.S. flood statistics from 1980 to 2008
Figure 3: U.S. flood statistics from 1980 to 2008

Hurricanes, storms, fires

A surge was observed in the number of North Atlantic tropical storms between 1998 and 2007, and this tendency continues today. An increase in the total number of Atlantic Basin hurricanes from 1944 to the present was also observed. A recent super storm that is still alive in our memory is Hurricane Sandy. The dynamics of the annual number of U.S. forest fires from 1960 to 2007 reveals their increasing tendency, with a "surge" beginning in 1998. A similar pattern in the dynamics of forest fire statistics has been observed in other regions of Earth".

"An important role in climate change is attributed to global changes in the parameters of the geomagnetic field and magnetosphere; this refers in particular to the more than 500% increase in the North Magnetic Pole’s drift rate and reduction of the geomagnetic field intensity. Today, the impact of magnetospheric processes on Earth’s climate is considered a proven scientific fact."

As previously discussed in GCI commentaries, global climate change is also affected by solar activity and other solar variations, like the flux of solar radiation in particular, which is a proven scientific fact. "As a result of the studies conducted, a conclusion has been drawn about the beginning of the so-called global "energy spike" in our planet’s energy manifesting itself across all its strata: the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and magnetosphere. The starting point for the global "energy spike" is roughly 1998. The global "energy spike" is explicitly reflected in the soaring statistical indicators for the vast majority of natural disasters most dangerous to humanity: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, storms, floods and forest fires."

In maybe less scientific words, what does this global "energy spike" mean to us? Is the earth evolving to a different state of consciousness or frequency (along with humanity)? Can we learn to live with the earth changes, rather than being threatened by them? In mid-2013, the maximum of the present solar cycle is expected. So, this year we could expect more earth changes.

While we do not know what kind of earth changes to expect, we can take responsibility for our own inner well-being and help create more harmony in our energetic field environment. An example of how heart coherence can positively affect us can be found in the photographs below.

The first photograph shows a saliva sample from a person in an incoherent state; it doesn’t have any structure and looks like a blob. After five minutes of practicing heart coherence, saliva taken from the same person shows nicely formed crystals. Since we are composed of about 70% water, these saliva samples indicate that what we feel can have an impact on us.

Picture – saliva of person not coherent
Picture – saliva of a person not coherent

Picture – saliva of same person after five minutes of heart coherence practice.
Picture – saliva of the same person after five minutes of heart coherence practice.

We encourage you to practice heart coherence to increase harmony and well-being throughout 2013.

With appreciation for your continued support of the Global Coherence Initiative.

Annette Deyhle, PhD and GCI Research Team

P. S. To support the Institute of HeartMath and make a donation to our latest research project, Adopt a Scientist click here. Donate $50 or a monthly donation of $5 or more and receive a free Solar Revolution Movie DVD. In Solar Revolution, is a wealth of scientific evidence that shows a remarkable correlation between increase in solar activity and advances in our creative, mental and spiritual abilities. (We ship the DVD for free.) Donate Now.

Sorry I could not insert the pictures graphs etc--- this was pasted from an e mail to me.
Chris

[greybeard]

Nanci Danison speaks of creation from her Near Death Experience perspective.

In the second video she explains why and how we Light Being "souls" within humans can literally create the physical reality our human hosts experience.

Im not saying I take on board all that she says Its a may be so with me.

Comments of course welcome.

Chris

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1UlrWwli9Q0

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=o9G3hxtmg-8

[greybeard]

Dr. Alexander, a renowned academic neurosurgeon, spent 54 years honing his scientific worldview. He thought he knew how the brain and mind worked. A transcendental Near-Death Experience (NDE), in which he was driven to the brink of death and spent a week deep in coma from an inexplicable brain infection, changed all of that -- completely. (from http://www.lifebeyonddeath.net/author)

Later he sought to reconnect with the peace and understanding of that experience and found it through programs at The Monroe Institute. This presentation was made at the 2012 Professional Seminar at The Monroe Institute.



Ps--- A raised conscious is out to get you----its inevitable -- surrender,----smiling.
Chris

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=z7TXtV5s9mw

Questions and answers.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=axMDHBGtJMM

[zen deik]

To transcend the ego one must become humble .unfortunately it usually comes thru humiliation .You are only as sick as your darkest secret .selfishness and self-seeking are sure fire signs of an over inflated ego and getting it to the right size is usually a painful process but it is possible .no pain no gain

[greybeard]

Welcome zen delk
Thanks for placing your third post here.
All the best
Chris

[greybeard]

Conscious TV latest.
You have to go there to watch the interviews I cant down load them on to the thread.

Chris


Welcome to conscious.tv http://www.conscious.tv/

We are a UK based TV channel broadcasting here on the Internet at www.conscious.tv. We also have programmes broadcast on satellite and cable channels in different countries. In the UK you can watch our programmes at 8.30pm every day on Information TV’s ‘Showcase 2’ channel which is no 192 on the Sky Satellite system. You can also find us on the new Samsung Smart (also known as Connected and Hybrid) TVs where we are under the 'video' section.

Conscious.tv aims to stimulate debate, question, enquire, inform, enlighten, encourage and inspire people in the areas of Consciousness, Science, Non-Duality and Spirituality. We welcome any feedback and are very interested in suggested topics and guests for future programmes.

Email us at info@conscious.tv with your ideas or if you would like to be on either of our emailing lists. You can be on the 'Newsletter list' (every 3 months) or on our 'New Programme Alert list' which means you will be notified every time a new programme is available to watch on the channel.

Our latest programmes

John Rowan - 'The Centaur, Subtle, Causal and Non-Dual' - Interview by Iain McNayUnder Non Duality - (loaded 18 April 2013) [watch this programme]
Awakenings - John Rowan - 'The Centaur, Subtle, Causal and Non-Dual' - Interview by Iain McNay
Started to work in the Transpersonal field in 1982 and wrote the book, 'The Transpersonal: Spirituality in Psychotherapy and Counselling'. John also co-wrote, 'The Therapist's Use of Self' arguing that the transpersonal has a unique contribution to make in the therapy field. He has been exploring the higher levels of mysticism since 2003, and has written several papers with detailed arguments, as well as leading transpersonal workshops in 25 countries.

In this interview we hear about John's fascinating history and explore the Centaur, Subtle, Causal and Non-Dual states and demonstrate the differences between these stages.

'In my daily work as a psychotherapist I attune myself to the client's way of being, in order to get on to the same wavelength, so to speak. I am what has been called 'an authentic trickster' in the sense that I can genuinely match the client's level of consciousness at all times. In other words I do not claim to be a dedicated mystic who is always at, say, the Non-Dual level of consciousness. I would rather claim to be able to enter that state at will or as appropriate.'

Robert Gebka and Kathy Monaco - 'Less Is More' - Interview by Iain McNayUnder Consciousness - (loaded 18 April 2013) [watch this programme]
Other - Robert Gebka and Kathy Monaco - 'Less Is More' - Interview by Iain McNay
Robert Gebka is director of the Dorset Mindfulness Centre. He spent five years living and working at the Nan Hua Buddhist monastery in South Africa. He tells his story, including how he had to deal with many afflictions including anxiety, depression and drug addiction. He now works part-time within the mental health field for the NHS. He is passionately engaged in bringing mindfulness to the NHS and is the originator of the Mindful Recovery Project, a Mindfulness Based Recovery Support approach for individuals with severe mental health conditions.

Kathy Monaco was introduced to Buddhism to get answers to some of the questions that were always in the back of her mind. She lived as a nun both in South Africa and Taiwan before disrobing and constructing a simple life for herself using Buddhist tools.

Burgs - 'The Flavour of Liberation - Part 1' - Interview by Iain McNayUnder Non Duality - (loaded 12 April 2013) [watch this programme]
Traditions - Burgs - 'The Flavour of Liberation - Part 1' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Beyond The Veil' and 'The Flavour Of Liberation - Volumes One, Two and Three.'

Has been teaching meditation in Europe and Asia since 1998. He initially trained as the main assistant to the Balinese meditation teacher and healer Merta Ada and helped him set up his Meditation school in Indonesia. The Healing meditation practices he learnt during this period, heavily influence Burgs' current teaching practice, which have a strong emphasis on the application of meditation in the maintenance and cultivation of physical and mental health. While learning from Merta Ada, he also trained in Chi Kung with a number of well-known Taoist teachers in Asia, and today integrates many of these practices into his teaching system. Went on to learn meditation from the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw in Burma. He was personally tutored by the Sayadaw, and became the first Westerner to complete the entire series of 40 Samatha meditation practices as described by the Buddha.

After disrobing as a monk in Burma, he was asked to visit the Tibetan Light Master, His Holiness Dodrupchen Rinpoche, who gave him the direct Dzogchen Mind Transmissions and subsequently recognised his attainment of some of the highest levels of Dzogchen practice. Since then, Burgs has been teaching both meditation and Chi Kung in the UK. He has a deep grounding and understanding in all aspects of meditation and energetic cultivation, and has a profound appreciation of how different spiritual practices and traditions fit together as a whole. He can directly perceive the mechanics of the mind and body, and can help elucidate the relationship between these aspects of ourselves.

Burgs - 'The Flavour of Liberation - Part 2' - Interview by Renate McNayUnder Non Duality - (loaded 12 April 2013) [watch this programme]
Traditions - Burgs - 'The Flavour of Liberation - Part 2' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of 'Beyond The Veil' and 'The Flavour Of Liberation - Volumes One, Two and Three.'

Has been teaching meditation in Europe and Asia since 1998. He initially trained as the main assistant to the Balinese meditation teacher and healer Merta Ada and helped him set up his Meditation school in Indonesia. The Healing meditation practices he learnt during this period, heavily influence Burgs' current teaching practice, which have a strong emphasis on the application of meditation in the maintenance and cultivation of physical and mental health. While learning from Merta Ada, he also trained in Chi Kung with a number of well-known Taoist teachers in Asia, and today integrates many of these practices into his teaching system. Went on to learn meditation from the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw in Burma. He was personally tutored by the Sayadaw, and became the first Westerner to complete the entire series of 40 Samatha meditation practices as described by the Buddha.

After disrobing as a monk in Burma, he was asked to visit the Tibetan Light Master, His Holiness Dodrupchen Rinpoche, who gave him the direct Dzogchen Mind Transmissions and subsequently recognised his attainment of some of the highest levels of Dzogchen practice. Since then, Burgs has been teaching both meditation and Chi Kung in the UK. He has a deep grounding and understanding in all aspects of meditation and energetic cultivation, and has a profound appreciation of how different spiritual practices and traditions fit together as a whole. He can directly perceive the mechanics of the mind and body, and can help elucidate the relationship between these aspects of ourselves.

[greybeard]

Earth GAIA 101 - Seminar by NDE Mellan-Thomas Benedict

Very recent talk by Mellen of Near Death Experience fame.

Chris

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rV5EUHxVPVk

Survival and Breaking out of the system! Mellen Thomas Benedict & Vinny Eastwood 21Feb2013

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ympcy_NaGqs

In this touching "Bonus interview" for the movie AWAKE IN THE DREAM, Mellen Thomas Bendict talks about his near death experience.
www.awakeinthedream.net
www.awake-der-film.de

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=8VQiVQ4fa_4

[greybeard]

Mindfulness and transpersonal interviews Conscious TV

http://www.conscious.tv/


Our latest programmes

John Rowan - 'The Centaur, Subtle, Causal and Non-Dual' - Interview by Iain McNayUnder Non Duality - (loaded 18 April 2013) [watch this programme]
Awakenings - John Rowan - 'The Centaur, Subtle, Causal and Non-Dual' - Interview by Iain McNay
Started to work in the Transpersonal field in 1982 and wrote the book, 'The Transpersonal: Spirituality in Psychotherapy and Counselling'. John also co-wrote, 'The Therapist's Use of Self' arguing that the transpersonal has a unique contribution to make in the therapy field. He has been exploring the higher levels of mysticism since 2003, and has written several papers with detailed arguments, as well as leading transpersonal workshops in 25 countries.

In this interview we hear about John's fascinating history and explore the Centaur, Subtle, Causal and Non-Dual states and demonstrate the differences between these stages.

'In my daily work as a psychotherapist I attune myself to the client's way of being, in order to get on to the same wavelength, so to speak. I am what has been called 'an authentic trickster' in the sense that I can genuinely match the client's level of consciousness at all times. In other words I do not claim to be a dedicated mystic who is always at, say, the Non-Dual level of consciousness. I would rather claim to be able to enter that state at will or as appropriate.'

Robert Gebka and Kathy Monaco - 'Less Is More' - Interview by Iain McNayUnder Consciousness - (loaded 18 April 2013) [watch this programme]
Other - Robert Gebka and Kathy Monaco - 'Less Is More' - Interview by Iain McNay
Robert Gebka is director of the Dorset Mindfulness Centre. He spent five years living and working at the Nan Hua Buddhist monastery in South Africa. He tells his story, including how he had to deal with many afflictions including anxiety, depression and drug addiction. He now works part-time within the mental health field for the NHS. He is passionately engaged in bringing mindfulness to the NHS and is the originator of the Mindful Recovery Project, a Mindfulness Based Recovery Support approach for individuals with severe mental health conditions.

Kathy Monaco was introduced to Buddhism to get answers to some of the questions that were always in the back of her mind. She lived as a nun both in South Africa and Taiwan before disrobing and constructing a simple life for herself using Buddhist tools.