Adyashanti is one of my all time favorite teachers. I've been dying to get others appreciative of him (but you know how it goes sharing your favorite spiritual teachings with those that aren't in the right stage of their life). All this to say, I'm so glad you also value him. He's changed my life in the most subtle ways. I always come back to "heart of awareness", "ground of your being", and "existing as the context".
Wow! That's big, fascinating news. I've been binging Adya since Spontaneous Awakening mid-year too. I'm very grateful for his gentle teachings and his voice! I too really appreciate your writing.
I think this takes the whole teaching of “we don’t have to suffer” in a very interesting, practical direction. Really appreciate your writing, as always.
It really does, and I feel it kinda went overlooked in his announcement. I considered getting into the enlightenment = no suffering, but still pain teaching but also that feels like it's just a concept
As an SSRI-using Zennie, I have to concur. :) Seriously though, hadn't heard about his retirement. That's a bummer but thankfully there is so much of his work out there -- his impact will continue.
How fascinating! Adya was never my deal in all these years. When I first got in touch with Advaita Vedanta in the late 90ies, I only went to direct disciples of Ramana and Nisargadatta.
Papaji left his body in 1997 and took "me" with him. What followed were months of no mind, no world and no "I". 2 years later (and because of unresolved samskaras) my body started to go nuts - panic attacks and MCAS (which was unknown back then) started.
I also started with SSRIs back then, which just gave me a basic stability on a bodily level.
We have to stop thinking of SSRIs as a treatment for "mental illness" - it's just on a physical level. It was and is the wrong treatment though - at least in my case. Anti-histamines and treatment of my MCAS would have been right - just medicine wasn't that far 25 years ago.
Overall medication doesn't say anything about the depth of realization of someone.
...and I don't consider Adya as "enlightened" - he is not even teaching non-duality but an awareness teaching like so many other Satsang teachers.
If you are interested in the real hot s*** then listen to Jim Newman or Andreas Müller ;)
In non-duality there is no room for awareness - there is noone aware, nothing to be aware of and also no awareness in between....
Wow, I appreciate you sharing this. I dove head first into adyashanti’s teachings nearly 20 years ago when I was in college…I remember feeling he was the first person I’d ever encountered who seemed trustworthy. I knew he had retired and had suffered a lot of health issues but I’m sitting here in tears…
My favorite Adya books are “The End of Your World” and “Emptiness Dancing.”
But, for me, his best stuff came from his audio library on his website. The question and answer sections are pure gold as a person starts to awaken. The main reason I survived my awakening relatively unscathed (awakening can be very traumatizing if you judge it) is because so many people on those tapes sought help with coping with their awakening and Adya’s response, over and over, was that they should not judge what they were going through. So, I also didn’t judge my experiences either.
Essentially, Adya’s advice was to not freak out (e.i. judge). So, when meaning fell away from reality, I just rolled with it. When the experience of personal love fell away, I just kept my eyes peeled for what was there instead and discovered an awakened person’s version of love, which is a heart-moving sense of awe. When motivation fell away, I waited until it became clear that it was never needed in the first place.
More to the point, I’ve seen my body-mind wear down from my 8 years as a court-appointed attorney in child abuse cases. I noticed over the years how I only had a faint experience of stress that trickled and pooled over the years into a puddle and later a pond and eventually a lake of anxiety and fear.
I just recently started seeing a therapist to engage in somatic trauma therapy. And, while I have not felt the need for antidepressants, I have returned to my practice of “Kundalini Yoga” meditation which is the meditative equivalent of taking psych meds.
My experience of the Infinite hasn’t changed a bit, but my experience of physical reality is present too, which is the part that needs the extra help.
I think it is useful to remember that mindfulness is a monk’s practice. Coming down from the mountain from cloistered living presents a challenge that was never really the point of mindfulness.
Oh, Karl, this is just a treat to read. I have been going through some of his "classic" dharma talks on the YouTube premium version. What are your favorite talks? Would love to listen a couple, if you know em off-hand. And thanks for the reminder not to judge experience; I created a lot of suffering for myself by judging some paranormal experiences that I feel now are no big deal.
Of all the heady truth here, and there’s a lot of it, here’s what jumped out at me: “A desire for change can coexist with a desire to maintain.”
Yes. All my recovery and spiritual seeking and transformative later, I still gotta maintain. I hang onto things they bring me equilibrium. Change is dizzying especially when it comes quickly. Serenity is hard-won. God I need a cigar and a hot tub 🙏
Adyashanti is one of my all time favorite teachers. I've been dying to get others appreciative of him (but you know how it goes sharing your favorite spiritual teachings with those that aren't in the right stage of their life). All this to say, I'm so glad you also value him. He's changed my life in the most subtle ways. I always come back to "heart of awareness", "ground of your being", and "existing as the context".
Existing as the context is such a good one. And thank you, Maria, this makes me happy
Wow! That's big, fascinating news. I've been binging Adya since Spontaneous Awakening mid-year too. I'm very grateful for his gentle teachings and his voice! I too really appreciate your writing.
his voice is so buttery
I think this takes the whole teaching of “we don’t have to suffer” in a very interesting, practical direction. Really appreciate your writing, as always.
It really does, and I feel it kinda went overlooked in his announcement. I considered getting into the enlightenment = no suffering, but still pain teaching but also that feels like it's just a concept
As an SSRI-using Zennie, I have to concur. :) Seriously though, hadn't heard about his retirement. That's a bummer but thankfully there is so much of his work out there -- his impact will continue.
my youtube algo keeps hitting me with pretty epic Aday clips so I'm also not worried, better binging :)
How fascinating! Adya was never my deal in all these years. When I first got in touch with Advaita Vedanta in the late 90ies, I only went to direct disciples of Ramana and Nisargadatta.
Papaji left his body in 1997 and took "me" with him. What followed were months of no mind, no world and no "I". 2 years later (and because of unresolved samskaras) my body started to go nuts - panic attacks and MCAS (which was unknown back then) started.
I also started with SSRIs back then, which just gave me a basic stability on a bodily level.
We have to stop thinking of SSRIs as a treatment for "mental illness" - it's just on a physical level. It was and is the wrong treatment though - at least in my case. Anti-histamines and treatment of my MCAS would have been right - just medicine wasn't that far 25 years ago.
Overall medication doesn't say anything about the depth of realization of someone.
...and I don't consider Adya as "enlightened" - he is not even teaching non-duality but an awareness teaching like so many other Satsang teachers.
If you are interested in the real hot s*** then listen to Jim Newman or Andreas Müller ;)
In non-duality there is no room for awareness - there is noone aware, nothing to be aware of and also no awareness in between....
Wow, I appreciate you sharing this. I dove head first into adyashanti’s teachings nearly 20 years ago when I was in college…I remember feeling he was the first person I’d ever encountered who seemed trustworthy. I knew he had retired and had suffered a lot of health issues but I’m sitting here in tears…
My favorite Adya books are “The End of Your World” and “Emptiness Dancing.”
But, for me, his best stuff came from his audio library on his website. The question and answer sections are pure gold as a person starts to awaken. The main reason I survived my awakening relatively unscathed (awakening can be very traumatizing if you judge it) is because so many people on those tapes sought help with coping with their awakening and Adya’s response, over and over, was that they should not judge what they were going through. So, I also didn’t judge my experiences either.
Essentially, Adya’s advice was to not freak out (e.i. judge). So, when meaning fell away from reality, I just rolled with it. When the experience of personal love fell away, I just kept my eyes peeled for what was there instead and discovered an awakened person’s version of love, which is a heart-moving sense of awe. When motivation fell away, I waited until it became clear that it was never needed in the first place.
More to the point, I’ve seen my body-mind wear down from my 8 years as a court-appointed attorney in child abuse cases. I noticed over the years how I only had a faint experience of stress that trickled and pooled over the years into a puddle and later a pond and eventually a lake of anxiety and fear.
I just recently started seeing a therapist to engage in somatic trauma therapy. And, while I have not felt the need for antidepressants, I have returned to my practice of “Kundalini Yoga” meditation which is the meditative equivalent of taking psych meds.
My experience of the Infinite hasn’t changed a bit, but my experience of physical reality is present too, which is the part that needs the extra help.
I think it is useful to remember that mindfulness is a monk’s practice. Coming down from the mountain from cloistered living presents a challenge that was never really the point of mindfulness.
Oh, Karl, this is just a treat to read. I have been going through some of his "classic" dharma talks on the YouTube premium version. What are your favorite talks? Would love to listen a couple, if you know em off-hand. And thanks for the reminder not to judge experience; I created a lot of suffering for myself by judging some paranormal experiences that I feel now are no big deal.
I’m sorry. I don’t remember. I had them downloaded on an old IPod from years ago that has long since found its way onto the scrap heap.
I would love to hear about your para normal experiences and your reaction and realizations about them, if you feel comfortable sharing.
No worries at all! Maybe I will write an essay about that, feel it would need more room to breathe
Can you share the original interview where Adya shares that his issue was due to deodorant?
Of all the heady truth here, and there’s a lot of it, here’s what jumped out at me: “A desire for change can coexist with a desire to maintain.”
Yes. All my recovery and spiritual seeking and transformative later, I still gotta maintain. I hang onto things they bring me equilibrium. Change is dizzying especially when it comes quickly. Serenity is hard-won. God I need a cigar and a hot tub 🙏