156: The Downsides of Awakening

In the first episode of this two-part exploration, Brian describes three different approaches to freeing ourselves from the grip of thought and runs through his favorite methods in each category. • Includes a guided meditation offering various examples of the three basic approaches to quieting the mind. Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:  #2 in the Top 100 Awakening All time chart  #5 in the Top 100 Joy All time chart  #5 in the Top 100 Awareness All time chart  #6 in the Top 100 Consciousness All time chart  #37 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart  To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:  https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit  https://findinghappiness.com/ and  https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian Photo by Avery Evans on Unsplash   

In this episode we talk to Rastal about his journey from trauma and depression to fundamental wellbeing, his experience with a method from Jeffery Martin's Finder's Course, as well as how he navigates the many different levels of fundamental wellbeing, bringing it to the foreground of our experience. • Includes a guided meditation for sinking into one's direct experience as a vehicle for deepening into various levels fundamental wellbeing. To learn more about Rastal, please visit: ConsciousCuriosity.cc Other sites mentioned in this episode: The Fundamental Wellbeing Foundation https://fundamentalwellbeing.foundation/ Jeffery Martin, The Finders Course, etc.: https://drjefferymartin.com/ https://www.nonsymbolic.org/ The Finders book: https://www.amazon.com/Finders-Dr-Jeffery-Martin/dp/1572425563 45 Days to Awakening Course: 45daystoawakening.com For a good description of Jeffrey Martin's Locations of Fundamental Wellbeing: https://insanebraintrain.blogspot.com/2015/01/jeffrey-martin-locations-of.html or The Martin Matrix, a Comprehensive Map of Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience (Enlightenment/Nondual) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCfeamM07dk Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:  #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit: https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website: https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter: https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit https://findinghappiness.com/ and https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian

In this episode we talk to Karen Thorson about the interplay between health, pain, worry, responsibility, and being present with what is, as well as using the body for direct experiencing, and our unique paths among the various modalities for continuous explorations. • Includes a guided meditation helping us to feel the vast fullness of breath, and the field in and around our bodies, bigger than our skin, connected with everything, expanding with life, wellness, and joy. To learn more about Karen Thorson, please visit:  NetworkWellnessOfBoulder.com Other sites mentioned in this episode: Epienergetics:  https://epienergetics.com/ Nonviolent Communication (NVC)  https://www.cnvc.org/ Jeffery Martin, The Finders Course, etc.:  https://drjefferymartin.com/ https://www.nonsymbolic.org/ The Finders book: https://www.amazon.com/Finders-Dr-Jeffery-Martin/dp/1572425563 45 Days to Awakening Course:  https://45daystoawakening.com/landing-page1594666682471 For a good description of Jeffrey Martin's Locations of Fundamental Wellbeing:  https://insanebraintrain.blogspot.com/2015/01/jeffrey-martin-locations-of.html or The Martin Matrix, a Comprehensive Map of Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience (Enlightenment/Nondual):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCfeamM07dk ~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:  #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart  #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart  #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart  To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:  https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit  https://findinghappiness.com/ and  https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian

In this episode we explore the potential drawbacks of our spiritual journey, and how awareness of these drawbacks can help us to sidestep them. • Includes a guided meditation in which we acknowledge potential challenges that arise in awaking, and how we can accept and allow them with compassion. Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS:  Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:  #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart  #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart  #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart  To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:  https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit  https://findinghappiness.com/ and  https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian Photo by kaleb tapp on Unsplash 

In this episode, we talk to Judith Blackstone about her new book, The Fullness of the Ground, different approaches to nonduality, and inhabiting the body as a way to connect to Fundamental Consciousness and the ground of being. • Includes a guided meditation helping us to connect the space of our body with the environment, allowing us to experience both as the same space. To learn more about Judith Blackstone, please visit: RealizationProcess.org Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:  #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart  #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart  #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart  To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:  https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit  https://findinghappiness.com/ and  https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian

In this episode we delve into the practical use of thinking that we have free will and the liberating implications of imaging that we do not. • Includes a guided meditation leading us to imagine the consequences to your view of the world if you do not have free will and are not the doer. Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods: #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:  https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit  https://findinghappiness.com/ and  https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian Photo by Volodymyr Kozhevnikov on Unsplash

In this episode, we talk about the benefits and potential drawbacks to aligning with and pursuing a sense of mission. • Includes a guided meditation helping us to remember past moments of purposefulness, and to create a guiding sense of mission for the upcoming year. Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:  #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart  #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart  #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart  To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:  https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit  https://findinghappiness.com/ and  https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian Photo by Alex Shuper on Unsplash

In this episode we talk to Rosalyn Rourke about her book, When Wisdom Arrives, the Enneagram, how to deal with feelings, and using more relatable terms that are not spiritual jargon to help people reduce suffering. • Includes a guided meditation allowing us to reframe an upsetting experience in light of eight basic emotions, thereby going beyond emotional thought loops and imagined unworthiness. To learn more about Rosalyn Rourke, please visit: https://rosalynrourke.com/ And to sign up for her Glimpses, please visit: Glimpses Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:  #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart  #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart  #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart  To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:  https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit  https://findinghappiness.com/ and  https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian

In this episode we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of both identification and disidentification, and when it’s appropriate to use each in daily life and in our spiritual practice. • Includes a guided meditation that helps us notice that what we hear and what we feel are simply appearances in the larger field of awareness. Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods: #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit: https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website:  https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter:  https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit  https://findinghappiness.com/ and  https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian   Photo by Brandon Zack on Unsplash

In this episode we talk to Sid Friedman about how his technique—Effortless IFS—grew out of Internal Family Systems, and how we can heal contractions and life difficulties while celebrating the fulfillment inherent in our nature. • Includes a guided meditation using music to help us experience the causeless joy that is ever-present. To learn more about Sid Friedman, please visit: https://EffortlessIFS.com/ For Sid’s Effortless IFS YouTube page, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/@EffortlessIFSwithSidFriedman/featured Or on Facebook: IFS Nondual Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/635095095241821 Don't forget to subscribe for more ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. NEWS: The audiobook version of Jonathan’s new book, Ecstasy as Medicine is now out! Also available in Kindle and Paperback. https://amzn.to/3RCK1c8 Awareness Explorers has made the following top listener charts on Goodpods:  #3 in the Top 100 Spirituality chart  #5 in the Top 100 Religion & Spirituality chart  #32 in the Top 100 Meditation All time chart  To learn more about Awareness Explorers, and to listen to all of our podcast episodes, please visit: https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/ If you want to listen to the meditations alone, you can find all of our meditations excerpted either in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAVvivvVVGNfQgJxbWB6dF6Z Or on our Awareness Explorers website: https://www.awarenessexplorers.com/meditations To Support Awareness Explorers, please consider clicking the "Donate" button on any AwarenessExplorers.com page, or becoming a Patreon supporter: https://www.patreon.com/awarenessexplorers To learn more about Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor, please visit https://findinghappiness.com/ and https://www.playawarenessgames.com/ You can listen to all of our episodes on this YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLThffcko0gAXyaArC4OyY0y84CZ8uSb_n Enjoy, Jonathan and Brian