Paradoxically, “Anatta”, HWL Poonja, enlightened master, said, "means, I don't exist." Exactly! That was Anatta’s experience late one night almost 20 years ago when the ego/personality disappeared and was seen to have less reality than smoke and dust.
Yet a magical life has transpired, regardless. Starting out as a ‘Jesus Freak’ in New York, Anatta lived in Oregon and India as a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. In the presence of HWL Poonja she washed the Master's dishes, ate radishes from his hands and massaged his arm which had been injured. She spent a beautiful afternoon sitting under the trees in Ojai California attending a talk with the late J. Krishnamurt. All in all, Anatta eventually traveled to India on seven separate occasions.
Continuing the journey in the west to Hawaii and Sedona, she sat with many well known teachers - finally finding her heart’s home back in the town of Tiruvannamali, India, and has felt blessed sitting at the foot of her ultimate teacher, the sacred mountain, Arunachala, near the Ramana Maharshi ashram; a place where, since ancient times, many enlightened beings have been drawn
When not in India, Anatta lived a very ordinary life in Southern California near her three daughters and three grandchildren. Surprisingly existence has sent her two more teenagers to raise and she is currently in the mountains of North Carolina doing just that, though that journey is coming to an end as the "kids" are almost grown.
About the book, The Ordinary Buddha, by Anatta Campbell. Adyashanti and Byron Katie, two well known teachers, share their personal awakening stories, as well as eleven other "ordinary" people who, in beautiful and dramatic ways, share with us their journey from real-life, not so saintly pasts to the discovery of their true nature; The discovery that we are not who we thought ourselves to be all along, but something far more grand and yet sweetly ordinary. The Knowing sweeps through us like a fresh breeze on a spring morning. Their discovery is our discovery.
Anatta is available for Skype or phone sessions.
Please feel free to contact Anatta, at: 11sunyata@gmail.com
www.Facebook.com/TheOrdinaryBuddha
The website for her book, "The Ordinary Buddha": www.Theordinarybuddha.org.
Transcript of this interview
Interview recorded 3/9/2013
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction: Anatta Campbell on Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:05:28 - The Different Aspects of Awakening
00:10:21 - The Continuous Process of Awakening
00:13:50 - The Journey of Awakening and Maturing
00:17:47 - The Fullness of Emptiness and Presence
00:21:35 - The Paradox of Existence
00:25:15 - The Experience of Selflessness
00:29:16 - Living Life Differently After Awakening
00:33:02 - The Search is Over
00:35:37 - Creativity and Aligning with the Source of Life
00:39:25 - Addiction and Alignment
00:43:32 - The Miracle of Utilizing Laws of Nature
00:47:06 - A Message from the Other Side
00:50:43 - The Balance of Control and Surrender
00:54:50 - The Impact of Words and Ego Growth
00:58:24 - From Jesus Freak to Seeker
01:01:31 - Going to India with Osho
01:04:30 - Understanding and Accepting the Flaws of Spiritual Teachers
01:07:46 - Controversies and Personal Experiences with Osho
01:11:09 - The Transformative Power of Meditation
01:14:30 - Surrendering Everything I Thought I Was
01:18:00 - Different Psychic Experiences
01:21:38 - Rediscovering the Chapters
01:24:47 - Following a Unique Path
01:28:27 - Oneness and Duality in Existence
01:32:08 - The Longing for God to Know Itself
01:36:09 - Experiencing the Thoughts of Animals
01:39:37 - A Conversation about Consciousness and Life
01:42:18 - E-Book and Hardcover Publishers
01:45:25 - Meditating in the Woods
01:48:48 - Gratitude and Farewell