Adyashanti, a spiritual teacher known for his nondual teachings, discusses the importance of fresh inspiration, the power of intention in awakening, the need to recognize different facets of truth, and the erosion of personal will in spiritual awakening. They also explore building emotional walls, the levels of awakening, and the shift in approach among non-dual teachers regarding language.
Awakening involves a profound shift in identity, breaking through the calcification around the heart and experiencing oneness.
The falling away of ego can lead to a sense of no self and a crystal-clear understanding that everything is unified.
The disappearance of personal will can be mistaken for depression, but it is a significant spiritual shift that requires surrender to the larger will to move forward.
Deep dives
First Awakening: Seeking and Fear Falling Away
The first awakening, which occurred at around 25 years old, led to the falling away of seeking and fear. Seeking became irrelevant, as the realization of what the seeker was already had emerged. Fear, both psychological and emotional, vanished completely. This initial awakening was a profound shift in identity, where the sense of self shifted from ego identification to a recognition of being eternal and unharmed.
Second Awakening: Unity and Falling Away of Ego
The second awakening, around the age of 32, was characterized by a deep recognition of unity. Adi saw that he was everything, from the toilet to the entire world. The second awakening led to the falling away of ego, with a sense of no self arising. The experience brought forth a crystal-clear understanding that everything is unified. This recognition was not accompanied by any emotional overtone or excitement.
Continual Falling Away
In the years following the awakenings, Adi continues to notice what falls away in his experience. This includes the diminishing and disappearance of various forms of conflict, both subtle and overt. The continual falling away allows for a sense of normalcy and an appreciation of the unified nature of existence. The refinement and falling away of various aspects of personal conditioning are ongoing.
Cautionary Note: Spiritual Shipwrecks and Limbo Zone
Adi mentions the dangers that can arise when personal will diminishes without a deep realization of truth. Some individuals experience a reduction in personal will without a profound understanding, resulting in a state of debilitating limbo. However, as personal will diminishes, one can enter a different energy that comes from a place beyond the personal, providing new inspiration and motivation.
Dealing with the Disappearance of Personal Will
Many people are experiencing a significant spiritual shift known as the disappearance of personal will, which is often misunderstood and attributed to depression. This shift is characterized by a relinquishment of control and a surrender to the larger will. Some individuals may spend years in this phase, feeling stuck and unaware of how to navigate it. It is important to let go of the part that wants to drop out or hide and surrender to the larger will in order to avoid getting trapped in this phase. While the duration and experience can vary for each person, understanding and acceptance of this phase can help individuals move forward.
Breaking the Calcification of the Heart
Awakening involves a profound shift in identity, breaking through the calcification around the heart and experiencing oneness. However, during this process, individuals can experience the loneliness of the aloneness, triggering memories of pain and isolation. This period can be challenging as old patterns and conditioning are dissolved, which might lead to resistance from the ego. It is important to remember that this phase is temporary, and as one progresses in their awakening, the deeper states of insight and realization unfold. In the long run, individuals typically find being awakened a more enjoyable and fulfilling state than being unawakened.
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“Adyashanti” means primordial peace. Adyashanti dares all seekers of peace and freedom to take the possibility of liberation in this life seriously. He began teaching in 1996, at the request of his Zen teacher with whom he had been studying for 14 years. Since then many spiritual seekers have awakened to their true nature while spending time with Adyashanti.
Adyashanti offers spontaneous and direct nondual teachings that have been compared to those of the early Zen masters and Advaita Vedanta sages. However, Adya says, “If you filter my words through any tradition or ‘-ism’, you will miss altogether what I am saying. The liberating truth is not static; it is alive. It cannot be put into concepts and be understood by the mind. The truth lies beyond all forms of conceptual fundamentalism. What you are is the beyond—awake and present, here and now already. I am simply helping you to realize that.”
A native of Northern California, Adyashanti lives with his wife, Mukti, and teaches extensively in the San Francisco Bay Area offering satsangs, weekend intensives, and silent retreats. He also travels to teach in other areas of the United States and Canada.
Books and other media:
The 30-day Wake Up Challenge
Resurrecting Jesus - a self-guided video course
The Direct Way
The End of Your World (book)
The End of Your World (audio download)
Emptiness Dancing
True Meditation
Falling Into Grace
Spontaneous Awakening
Realization Unfolds
Adyashanti's website
Interview Summary and Transcript
Interview recorded 8/30/2011
Other interviews with Adyashanti
Interview on Conscious.tv covering a lot of biographical info.
Adyashanti and Francis Bennett on “Resurrecting Jesus”
Adyashanti and Susanne Marie on the Falling Away of Self
Adyashanti and Francis Bennett on "The Embrace of Jesus and Buddha"
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Adyashanti's Teachings on Spiritual Awakening and Inquiry
00:04:11 - Intuition and the Spirit of Inquiry
00:07:23 - Connecting through Fresh Inspiration
00:10:46 - Letting go of Attachments to Thoughts and Ideas
00:14:11 - Different Strategies for Awakening
00:17:03 - The Thorn and the Boat Analogy
00:19:50 - The Capacity for Infinite Truth
00:22:19 - The Beginning of Awakening
00:25:41 - Understanding Awareness and Awakening
00:28:08 - The Complexity of Defining "Ego" and "Awakening"
00:31:13 - The Complexity of Truth and Viewpoints
00:34:12 - The Resistance to What Is
00:37:18 - The Concept of Self and its Functionality
00:40:06 - The Subtle Sense of Self
00:43:40 - The Disappearance of Ego in Awakening
00:46:19 - The Absence of Seeking and Fear
00:49:00 - Surrendering to Death for Truth
00:52:43 - Seeing the Hidden Secrets
00:56:05 - The Process of Letting Go
00:59:00 - The Erosion of Personal Will and False Notions of Awakening
01:02:04 - The Disappearance of Personal Will
01:05:22 - Letting Go of Personal Relationship to Existence
01:08:17 - The Importance of Taking Action
01:10:41 - The Breaking of the Heart's Shell
01:14:15 - Awakenings in the Head, Heart, and Gut
01:17:45 - The Nuanced Nature of Understanding and Awakening
01:20:52 - Insight and Action in Zen
01:23:03 - Maturing in Spiritual Awakening
01:25:50 - The Fear of Aloneness and Loneliness
01:29:04 - The Maturity of the Process
01:31:46 - A Conversation with Adya
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