EP332: No-Self in Direct Experience

In this episode, Dan and I go more deeply into how identity — taking yourself to be a limited, separate-from-the-rest-of-life entity — is the key factor behind the ability to explore love and and relationship in the way we’ve discussed in our episodes thus far. The sense of self demands a lot of attention, which means far less attention is freed up to be fully present with your partner and with life itself. A strong identity also serves as an interpretive filter, in a sense, funneling a lot of attention toward the protection and defense of the sense of “me”. Old conditioning is bolstered by identity; on the flip side, conditioning is dramatically weakened and can fail to arise in some cases when the sense of separate self is seen through. We begin to talk about how one can examine the sense of self and discuss an upcoming video series we’re creating for this purpose.  I mention Dan’s book in this episode. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPGKY8YLPlease email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP405: The challenge of identity: The sense of self appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In Part 2, we look more deeply at how we work through relationship issues through the lens of our “post mortem” process. We also turn toward the underlying spiritual and identity work that we feel allows us room to look at issues with minimal defensiveness and more objectivity. We believe anyone can explore identity this way and achieve similar benefits.  Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP404: Dealing with Issues in Relationship — Part 2 appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In Part 1 of this two part episode, Dan and I give an example of a conditioned pattern that arises in our relationship and how we work through it. Our approach is rooted in our strong mutual desire to examine anything and everything that arises, and our strong aversion to avoiding triggers or sweeping issues under the rug. We’re willing to let things get uncomfortable and messy to clearly see and work through what’s arising.  In Part 2 we’ll talk more about our “post mortem” revisiting process and we’ll look at the role identity plays in the way couples work through issues.Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP403: Dealing with Issues in Relationship — Part 1 appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Since we began recording episodes together, Dan and I have received several emails from people realizing their relationship isn’t where they want it to be. Some of those people want to re-engage with their partner but aren’t sure how.  In episode 402, we share a few steps on how to re-engage with your partner so that you can both get a better sense of what you’re open to with each other and with the relationship. Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP402: Re-engaging with your partner appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Dan and I share the “whale under the boat” sense we’ve had from the beginning of our relationship that there is something very powerful and intelligent behind our union. In conventional thinking about relationships, two people get together for reasons of love, connection, comfort, companionship, etc. While those features are present in our relationship too, they seem more like the “top layer” only, helping pave the way for a bigger, more mysterious purpose that we don’t yet understand but love exploring. If you feel something like this in your relationship, we would love to hear from you!Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP401: The Deeper Purpose in Relationships appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

Dan and I look at the difference between believing you love your partner — a largely thought-based state– and the active, alive, energetic state of being ‘in love’ with your partner. We discuss being in love as an energy cycle that takes both people to keep it going and we explore the vital role of presence when it comes to being in love. We end the episode with a few words about why we are having these conversations and what they may bring up for some listeners. Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP400: Believing in love versus being in love appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Dan and I explore the difference between thinking and direct perception. This distinction is crucial in the spiritual and self-investigative work we’ve done and that we’ll be discussing more in future episodes. It’s an important difference in how we relate in relationships and in all of life, actually!Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP399: Clarifying direct perception versus thinking appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this episode, Dan and I explore the benefits of asking meaningful questions. We discuss what meaningful questions are, the benefits of asking them, and why people don’t ask questions. We also go into depth about how we ask each other meaningful questions and the ways in which that has strengthened our connection and led to significant changes in our lives. Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP398: Asking meaningful questions appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In EP397, Dan and I share how we went from being quite independent – in part as a way to prioritize our respective spiritual paths – to now being surprisingly (to us!) interdependent and closely enmeshed in many ways. Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you. The post EP397: From Independence to union appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.

In this conversation, Dan and I share one of the key ways our deep connection developed in the early days of our relationship; something we called “going into the portal” through sustained eye contact and feeling into the energies that were present.  We discuss how this process went for us and the benefits of it on our relationship. We even do a little “portal dive” while recording so you can get a feel for it yourself! Please email me at [email protected] with your feedback and suggestions about this episode. We would love to hear what you think and what you’d like to hear more about as we record a new series of episodes for you.The post EP396: Exploring our connection through eye contact appeared first on Dr. Amy Johnson.