PRESENCE

You cannot be more present. You cannot practice presence, or try being more present, or learn how to be present. You cannot lose presence, move away from it, find it, or move towards it. Presence is not a thing, or a commodity you can possess, or a state of mind. It can, however, dawn on…

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IN THE WORLD, BUT NOT OF IT

Awakening, the holy grail. Awakening, the icing on the cake. Awakening, the carrot at the end of the stick. Awakening, the magic bullet. Awakening, you want it. You seek it. You chase it. You give up caring about anything else in order to get it. Awakening, you hope it takes away your pain. You expect…

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DON’T WAIT FOR THE PERFECT MOMENT

Friend, do not wait for the perfect moment. The perfect moment is a figment of the imagination, a fantasy designed to delay the discovery of peace. The perfect moment cannot exist, because reality cannot be divided into separate moments. There is only the forever-unfolding now. And this now offers you the most precious opportunity to…

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TO MEDITATE .. OR NOT TO MEDITATE?

To meditate .. or not to meditate? Is a dedicated meditation practice the only road to enlightenment .. or is the direct route of recognizing “what is already free” a better way? Should all effort be put into achieving a higher state of consciousness .. or is it best to simply let go of any…

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Your Brokenness is Holy

Friend, do you run away from your pain, your shame, your secret rage and private grief? Do you stuff those unwanted feelings into the dark recesses of your belly, cover them over with things to do, things to get, things to eat? Do you turn away from disappointment, rejection, failure and regret, pretending they do…

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WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH PAST PAIN .. DO WE NEED TO HEAL IT?

I am often asked … Is somatic work useful in the process of awakening? Do we need to dissolve contractive patterns in the body-mind before we can be free? Should we attempt to let go of suppressed emotions .. or should we just practice “being still and present”? Does focussing on past wounding perpetuate it…

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EMPTY YOUR VESSEL

Empty yourself. Empty your mind of unexamined beliefs, passed down through generations, inherited without question .. they do not belong to you. Empty your heart of accumulated grievances, held onto regrets and resentments, hardened into a story of ‘poor me’ .. this is not who you are. Empty your cells of undigested memories, toxic emotions,…

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THE MISUNDERSTANDING OF TRIGGERS

It’s fashionable to talk about triggers these days. People refer to triggers in all sorts of ways. Psychotherapists talk about triggers, when working with past trauma. Relationship counselors talk about triggers, when working with couples seeking guidance for conflict. Spiritual practitioners (and even some spiritual teachers) talk about triggers, when referring to powerful emotions. You…

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If Awakening is to Serve a Real Purpose

If awakening is to serve a real purpose in our lives, it needs to find new forms of expression through our everyday interactions. And if this awakening is to serve a purpose in the bigger picture of birthing a new humanity, it needs to engage us fully with the evolutionary impulse of existence. Enlightenment is…

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The End of the Patriarchy of ‘Mind over Heart’

Transcript of Amoda’s opening discourse at the ‘Open Circle’ Meeting, San Rafael, CA, September 2018. To watch the video and follow the transcript, please scroll to the bottom of this page. There’s a tendency on the spiritual path, when seeking the elusive and much desired state of enlightenment or awakening, to emphasize the mind-qualities of…

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ZORBA THE BUDDHA

There’s a tendency to believe that awakening eradicates all traces of the personality. The unawakened mind holds a picture of an “awakened person” as someone who shows no emotion, who speaks slowly, who never refers to “I” or “me”, who has no memory of their own past (or at least denies that any personal history…

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THIS DARKNESS IS THE GIFT

When the sweet smell of sadness wafts into your heart, do you turn away and bury your head in make-believe happiness? When the stark beauty of aloneness invites you in, do you flap around on the surface to avoid drowning in her depths? When the weight of failure comes bearing down, do you set up…

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