ConsciousTV home
 

Programme directory

jump to : Consciousness - Non Duality - Life Stories      Search
If you have any problems with a link on this page, please let us know.
Consciousness
A.H. Almaas » A talk by A.H. Almaas - 'The Unfolding Now & The Now Of All Times'
A.H. Almaas is the pen name of A. Hameed Ali, the originator of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization. The Diamond Approach is a path of wisdom, an approach to the investigation of Reality and a method of working on oneself that leads to human maturity and liberation. It is a spiritual teaching, a method of connecting with our spiritual nature and bringing it into our life. The Diamond Approach represents a new paradigm in human/spiritual knowledge and understanding. It is not a synthesis of existing knowledge, but rather a new, more integrated understanding of the entire human psyche - ego, personality, soul - and the psyche's relationship with its fundamental nature.
A.H. Almaas » A. H. Almaas - Essence of Intelligence - Part 1
A.H. Almaas » A. H. Almaas - Essence of Intelligence - Part 2
A.H. Almaas » A. H. Almaas - Essence of Intelligence - Part 3
A.H. Almaas » A.H Almaas - 'Endless Enlightenment' - Interview by Iain McNay
A.H. Almaas is the pen name of Hameed Ali, who is the creator of the Diamond Approach to Self Realization. The Diamond Approach is a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of awareness of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychological theories. He has authored several books about spiritual realization, including The Diamond Heart Series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, The Unfolding Now and The Point of Existence. He founded the Ridhwan School, an inner work school devoted to the realization of True Nature. The goal (orientation) of the school is directed toward helping students to become aware of and embodying their 'essence' or essential nature. In this interview he talks about his life, his experiences, and how he feels 'Enlightenment' is never ending.
A.H. Almaas » A.H. Almaas and Karen Johnson - 'Two Hearts Beat As One' - Interview by Renate and Iain McNay
A.H. Almaas is the pen name of Hameed Ali, who is the creator of the Diamond Approach to Self Realization. The Diamond Approach is a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of awareness of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychological theories. He has authored several books about spiritual realization, including The Diamond Heart Series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, The Unfolding Now and The Point of Existence. He founded the Ridhwan School, an inner work school devoted to the realization of True Nature. Karen Johnson is a co-founder of the school and is involved with Almaas in its ongoing development. They talk about their relationship going back over 30 years and how it has matured and deepened over that time.
A.H. Almaas » 'Acknowledging Our Mortality' - A talk by AH Almaas
Founder of the Ridhwan School and author of many books incuding 'Facets of Unity: The Enneagram of Holy Ideas' 'Essence' 'Elixir of Enlightenment' and 'Pearl Beyond Price', here Almaas talks about death and acknowledging our mortality.
A.H. Almaas » Love and Emptiness - Part 1
A.H. Almaas » Love and Emptiness - Part 2
A.H. Almaas » Love and Emptiness - Part 3
A.H. Almaas » Love and Emptiness - Part 4
A.H. Almaas » Spacecruiser Enquiry - Part 1
A.H. Almaas » Spacecruiser Enquiry - Part 2
A.H. Almaas » Spacecruiser Enquiry - Part 3
Books » 'Important Books In My Life - Edition 1' - David Bingham interview by Eleonora Gilbert
The first two programmes in a new series where guests talk about books that were important to them on their spiritual journey.
Books » 'Important Books In My Life - Edition 2' - Pathik Strand interview by Eleonora Gilbert
The first two programmes in a new series where guests talk about books that were important to them on their spiritual journey.
Books » 'Important Books In My Life - Edition 3' - Guy Smith Interviewed by Eleonora Gilbert
Author of the highly regarded Non-Duality book, 'This Is The Unimaginable and Unavoidable - Irresponsible Writing On Non-Duality' Guy talks about books that have influenced him during his journey.
Books » 'Important Books In My Life - Edition 4' - Dr Manjir Samanta-Laughton Interviewed by Eleonora Gilbert
Author of 'Punk Science' and the recently published 'The Genius Groove - The New Science of Creativity', Dr Manjir Samanta-Laughton talks about the books that have influenced her life and thinking.
Books » 'Important Books In My Life - Edition 5' - Martine Batchelor interviewed by Eleonora Gilbert'
Buddhist meditation teacher and author of eight books, Martine's choice of books which have been impactful in her life include: Chinese poetry; the exploration of the relationship between body and mind and the paradox of embodiment. Martine explains the myths and the reality of meditation in the management of chronic pain and her final book choice tells the true story of a schizophrenic man and his harrowing fight to manage this mental illness. Cold Mountain 100 Poems by the T'ang poet Han-shan, translated by Burton Watson Being Bodies edited by Lenore Friedman and Susan Moon Finding a Joyful Life in the Heart of Pain by Darlene Cohen The Day the Voices Stopped: a Memoir of Madness and Hope by Ken Steele
Books » 'Important Books In My Life - Edition 6' - Joan Tollifson interviewed by Eleonora Gilbert.
Author of four books, Joan's teaching resonates with Advaita, Buddhism, Zen and other forms of Non-Duality. In this interview the books explored are: The Book, On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts. The Light of Discovery by her much loved teacher Toni Packer. I Am That, talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and lastly Buddhism Is Not What You Think by Steve Hagen.
Books » Marlies Cocheret - 'Important Books In My Life - Edition 7' - Interview by Eleonora Gilbert
In this interview Marlies talks about the books that have touched her the most in her life. These 5 books were all written by women on women's spirituality and mysticism embracing the paths of Sufism, Tibetan and Tantric Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism. Marlies explains: "All my teachers have been male, but all the books that deeply touched me are written by females." The following books are explored: The Chasm of Fire by Irina Tweedie, Cave in the Snow by Vicki MacKenzie, Passionate Enlightenment by Miranda Shaw, Totality in Essence by Vimala Thakar and What Is Self? by Bernadette Roberts
Business » Erika Uffindell and Nigel Linacre -The Art Of Stillness In Business - Moderated by Iain McNay
(under Consciousness/Business) Nigel is author of several books including, Why You are Here - Briefly and An Introduction to 3-Dimensional Leadership. He is the co-founder of 'Extraordinary Leadership' and his clients include 'Wellboring' which provides water solutions for African communities. He says, "I practice self-awareness. I can be still. I practice gratitude and explore consciousness. I Pray. See and you shall find yourself, and you find everything." Erika worked as a brand manager for 25 years and is now transitioning out of this business to focus more on working with leaders to embrace the principles of conscious business. She works with Pinea3, the Global Institute for Conscious Leadership and Consciousness Capitalism UK. They both talk about the self enquiry they do, mindfulness, and that fact that organisations are energy and like people they too can get sick.
Business » Giles Hutchins - The Illusion Of Separation - Interview by Iain McNay
Giles has written two books, The Illusion of Separation and The Nature of Business. He says, "Our patterns of thinking and learning are all based on a world of things which we are encouraged to think of as separate building. The dominant world view allows us to count and measure objects without their having any relational value for us.... It provides for neat definitions and a sense of control over life yet projects a logic that sets humans apart from each other and from Nature itself. Yet the deeper we look into nature the more we realise that nothing in life is separate; everything is a dynamic interplay. Life is essentially co-creative, fluid and connective. Separateness is an illusion we have created which has fast become a dangerous delusion infecting how we think and relate in business politics and beyond. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the critical problem facing our planet cannot be resolved with the same thinking that created the problems in the first place. In Devon, my daily meditations and yoga were supplemented with sitting against trees I got to know intimately. I learnt a Druidic tree meditation and healing practice which I practiced daily with the trees. I also started writing short articles while sitting next to trees, blogs for a personal website. Then the Guardian newspaper offered to pay for me to write blogs for them and soon after that a publisher approached me about writing a book on business inspired by nature. 'Leaving corporate life was all contrary to my conditioning of security, career, status, financial income, etc. and while my earnings have been pathetic in comparison since, it is with no regrets. I gave myself the vital space and time to deepen my inner psychic connection to Nature and also to recover from years of shell-shocking global travel, stress, burning the candle at both ends. I underwent something of a metamorphosis from 2012 to 2014, gradually healing while letting go of old mentalities, going through a 'dark night of the soul', embracing the unconscious depths of my imaginal realm and making friends once again with the stillness within."
Business » Oscar David - 'Consciousness in Government and Business' - Interview by Iain McNay
Oscar is author of the book, 'The Enneagram For Managers.' He works in Holland with Government officials, Army Generals, Police officials and Business leaders on how to integrate more understanding and harmony within their organisations.
Business » Richard Barrett - 'The New Leadership - When I Becomes We' - Interview by Iain McNay
Richard is the author of four books including his latest: 'The New Leadership Paradigm - Leading Self - Leading Others - Leading An Organisation - Leading In Society.' He explains how personal development and understanding is so important when leading an organisation. The new leaders are the ones that recognise that values are changing fast on the planet, and the future of their organisations must include consciousness.
Business » Tim 'Mac' Macartney - The Invisible Path - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of Finding Earth, Finding Soul: The Invisible Path To Authentic Leadership, Tim in 1983 was a gardener at a management training centre. By 1987 he was the head of consultancy at the same place, and two years later had his own London based people and organisation development consultancy working with leaders of multinationals. He has foot in two worlds. There has been times when they have been at war with each other: one part is shocked at the beauty of the earth, the other loves the business of business. He says, "Leaders are failing us and we fail them too - we get the leaders we deserve. We are at a time when we all need to find our own self-leader." "Real vision cannot embrace conformity, yet most organisations insist upon it. Conformity is the place of the slave. Leaders need to be dangerous to the status quo and restless truth seekers. They exist to articulate the dreams and aspirations of a community, they may get burnt but they don't give up; they must sit by the people side by side as equals and listen." "We are in a war with ourselves, with life, and the lines are drawn." "We are implicated whether we like it or not. We can pretend that the corporations are the enemy, but all of us are employed by, eat their food, derive our power, fuel our cars, furnish our houses, take out entertainment from the same organisations. We can deride our politicians but someone keeps voting them into power. We are the problem." "Around the world small and big initiatives are being born that are the response of dedicated and visionary people. There are millions of people just one step away from entering the garden and picking up the spade."
Energy » Bruce Frantzis 'Journey into Taoism' Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 12 books including,' Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body', 'The Chi Revolution' and 'The Great Stillness', Bruce talks about his life; how he started enquiry at 6 years old, learnt Shiatsu and Zen when he was 14, and went to Japan when 18 to study with the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. He ended up living in China, Japan and India for 16 years where he studied Zen, Yoga, Kundalini and Taoist Fire traditions. Bruce speaks fluent Chinese and Japanese. Also he is the first Westerner to be certified in Beijing by the People's Republic of China to teach the complete system of Tai Chii Chuan. This is a really unique interview.
Energy » Burgs - 'Energy Fields and Modern Technology - Part 1' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Flavour Of Liberation' and 'Beyond The Veil' Burgs has been teaching meditation in Europe and Asia since 1998. He initially trained as the main assistant to the Balinese meditation teacher and healer Merta Ada and helped him set up his Meditation school in Indonesia. The Healing meditation practices he learnt during this period, heavily influence Burgs' current teaching practice, which have a strong emphasis on the application of meditation in the maintenance and cultivation of physical and mental health. While learning from Merta Ada, he also trained in Chi Kung with a number of well-known Taoist teachers in Asia, and today integrates many of these practices into his teaching system. Went on to learn meditation from the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw in Burma. Burgs has since been teaching both meditation and Chi Kung in the UK. He has a deep grounding and understanding in all aspects of meditation and energetic cultivation, and has a profound appreciation of how different spiritual practices and traditions fit together as a whole. He can directly perceive the mechanics of the mind and body, and can help elucidate the relationship between these aspects of ourselves.
Energy » Burgs - 'Energy Fields and Modern Technology - Part 2' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Flavour Of Liberation' and 'Beyond The Veil' Burgs has been teaching meditation in Europe and Asia since 1998. He initially trained as the main assistant to the Balinese meditation teacher and healer Merta Ada and helped him set up his Meditation school in Indonesia. The Healing meditation practices he learnt during this period, heavily influence Burgs' current teaching practice, which have a strong emphasis on the application of meditation in the maintenance and cultivation of physical and mental health. While learning from Merta Ada, he also trained in Chi Kung with a number of well-known Taoist teachers in Asia, and today integrates many of these practices into his teaching system. Went on to learn meditation from the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw in Burma. Burgs has since been teaching both meditation and Chi Kung in the UK. He has a deep grounding and understanding in all aspects of meditation and energetic cultivation, and has a profound appreciation of how different spiritual practices and traditions fit together as a whole. He can directly perceive the mechanics of the mind and body, and can help elucidate the relationship between these aspects of ourselves.
Energy » Mantak Chia 'The Universal Healing Tao' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of over 40 books including, 'Healing Energy of Shared Consciousness: A Taoist Approach To Entering the Universal Mind' and 'Taoist Shaman: Practices from the Wheel of Life.' In this interview Mantak Chia talks about his life and how he was taught to access CHI energy by his Chinese teacher. He explains how this CHI energy can clear emotions and strengthen the body and the mind, and how it is connected to Universal energy and life force. Mantak Chia also shows how to start accessing CHI energy.
Energy » Tez Sawicki - 'The Master Game' - Interview by Iain McNay
Founder of the retreats 'Gathering Essence: The Master Game', Tez takes us through his life. After years of struggle and alienation he started to find his way through studying the Daoyin system, The I Ching, Meditation and Qi Gong. After a series of openings which 'permanently re-opened the Universal Field' of his consciousness, Tez spent time developing and understanding the meditative process and cultivating the potential of the life force and its field. He says: 'The communion of body-mind and spirit with the Universal Field brings us into the effortless awareness of Wu Wei and leaves us standing at the doorway to the Absolute, to boundless Wholeness.'
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 1 - The Perfectionist' - Discussion with James Barlow, Anne Martin, Carlos Silva and moderated by Iain McNay
The Eighth programme in our series on the Enneagram. Three type 1's talk about themselves and their lives.
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 2 - The Helper.' - Discussion with Paul Burrows, Gill Harris and Renate McNay. Moderated by Iain McNay.
This is our final programme in our nine part series on the Enneagram.
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 3 - The Achiever' - Discussion with Maureen Gallagher, Eleonora Gilbert, Pat Knightley and moderated by Iain McNay.
The First programme in a new series about the Enneagram where we will talk in detail about each type (there are 9). Maureen, Eleonora and Pat are all Type 3's. In this discussion they explain how their knowledge of the Enneagram has helped them understand themselves and others better and live more authentic and fulfilling lives.
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 4 - The Romantic' - Discussion with Janette Blakemore, Rosemarie Morgan-Watson, Phil Dickinson and moderated by Iain McNay.
The fourth programme in a new series about the Enneagram and the 9 different personality types. Here type 4 is discussed in detail.
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 5 - The Observer' - Discussion Angelina Bennet, Heather Brown, Kilian Gilbert and moderated by Iain McNay.
The sixth programme in a new series about the Enneagram and the 9 different personality types. Here type 5 is discussed in detail.
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 6 - Fear And Courage' - Discussion with Grahame Morgan-Watson, Judith Priest and Lynne Citroen-Barratt and moderated by Iain McNay.
This is the second programme in a new series about the Enneagram where we will talk in detail about each type (there are 9). Grahame, Judith and Lynne are all Type 6's. In this discussion they explain how their knowledge of the Enneagram has helped them understand themselves and others better. They also talk about how they see the potential of their type in terms of the bigger picture of life.
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 7 - The Adventurer' - Discussion with Chris Walton, Nina Grunfeld, Daniel Conway and moderated by Iain McNay.
This is the third programme in a new series about the Enneagram and the 9 different personality types. Here type 7 is discussed in detail.
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 8 - The Challenger' - Discussion with Phil Wallace, Lynne Sedgmore and Christine Adames. Moderated by Iain McNay.
The seventh programme in our series on the Enneagram. Three 8's talk about themselves and their lives.
Enneagram » 'Enneagram Type 9 - The Mediator' - Discussion with Dottie Baynham, Cate Parker, Sam Settle and moderated by Iain McNay.
The fifth programme in a new series about the Enneagram and the 9 different personality types. Here type 9 is discussed in detail.
Enneagram » Faisal Muqaddam - 'The Essential Enneagram as a Spiritual Path to Awakening' - Interview by Eleonora Gilbert
Faisal Muqaddam is the originator of the Diamond Logos teachings. He is a psycho-spiritual teacher and a trained Reichan and bioenergetics therapist. He has been teaching for the last 35 years in the USA, Middle East and Europe. In this interview we explore the concept of 'the family hole' and how the child develops his personality structure based on what's psychologically 'missing' in the family. Also we explore the essential states of each type and which organs in our body are related to its ennea-type.
Enneagram » Ginger Lapid-Bogda - 'The Enneagram In Business' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of several books on the Enneagram including "Bringing Out The Best in Yourself at Work", "Bringing Out The best in Everyone You Coach" and "What Type of Leader are You?", Ginger talks about her life, how she found and uses the Enneagram in her work and the potential of the Enneagram in Business. She also gives a brief overview of the 9 different styles.
Enneagram » Helen Palmer - 'Relationships Matter - The Enneagram Tells us How' - Interview by Eleonora Gilbert
Helen Palmer is the author of two best sellers, The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in Your Life and The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding Your Intimate and Business Relationships - currently translated in 28 languages. In this interview Helen talks about the Enneagram and its importance in our personal and spiritual evolution. She describes how it could impact our relationships in the development of real understanding of our deep-rooted habitual patterns and that of others. She talks about our assumption that we are 'seeing consensus' in our views of the world. We believe that we can have differing opinions but fail to understand that we might actually have fundamentally different views of the world and different internal structures. For us to evolve out of automatic patterns takes reflection on our inward patterns, development of an attention practice. She says, "Take a pause, centre yourself, so you are not going into a premature conclusion or projection about what will happen. A temporary silence brings you to your senses and enables you to be receptive to reality as it is occurring between two people".
Enneagram » Helen Palmer - 'The Enneagram - Gateway To Spiritual Liberation' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in Your Life' and 'The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding Your Intimate and Business Relationship' as well as other books on the Enneagram. In this interview she talks about how she first heard of the Enneagram and met with Claudio Naranjo in the 70s. At the time there were very few teachings that included the mystical realms along with a psychological understanding. She explains how the Enneagram can provide important pointers to the barriers to spiritual liberation. Self-observation and self-reflection are key as is concentration and witnessing consciousness.
Enneagram » Sandra Maitri - 'Introduction To The Enneagram' - Interview by Iain McNay
Sandra is an author, an Enneagram teacher, and a principal teacher in the Ridhwan school, home of the Diamond Approach. She was among the first group of students to whom Claudio Naranjo presented the Enneagram system in the US in the 1970s. She has been teaching the Enneagram as part of the larger work of spiritual transformation for 25 years. In this interview she talks about her early adventures in personal development and then describes the principals behind the Enneagram and gives a brief overview of the Nine different types. Sandra has written two books on the Enneagram, "The Spiritual Dimensions Of The Enneagram - Nine Faces Of The Soul" and "The Enneagram of Passions and Virtues: Finding the Way Home".
Enneagram » Sandra Maitri - 'The Enneagram - The Virtues and The Passions' - Interview by Iain McNay
In this interview Sandra goes deeper into the Enneagram and talks about the material covered in her second book "The Enneagram of Passions and Virtues: Finding the Way Home".
Enneagram » Tom Condon - 'Living the Dynamic Enneagram' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Dynamic Enneagram - How To Work with your personality style to truly grow and change.' Tom explains how the Enneagram is an inner map of what we have learnt, but it is incomplete. It offers many clues to out truth strengths and can greatly help us improve our communications with others and our relationships. It is a springboard for change. We are in a deep trance, only perceiving a fraction of reality. We are living the story of our lives rather than our actual lives. The Enneagram can be an invaluable vehicle to help us wake up to who we really are.
Enneagram » Tom Condon - 'The Enneagram and Relationships' - Interview by Eleonora Gilbert
Tom Condon, author of The Dynamic Enneagram and of How to See Enneagram Styles in the Movies, combines in his trainings his knowledge of the Enneagram, Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP to bring about change. Tom has also produced over 50 DVD's and CD's. In this interview we go deeper into the exploration of what other factors, besides our Enneagram type, influence our patterns of behaviour in how we relate to people and to our world. We explore parental points, the Enneagram style of the family, the subtypes and much more. Tom says: "As you apply what you learn to your life, you might remind yourself that an Enneagram style is more than the sum of someone's visible behaviour. The Enneagram describes the inner strategies that drive behaviour. It's not what people do, it's why they do it".
Evolution » Alastair McIntosh - 'Community and the Divine Human Being' - Interview by Iain McNay
Alastair is author of several books including, 'Hell and High Water', 'Rekindling Community' and 'Soil and Soul.' His work is very much built around Community whatever form that takes and how a real experience of that can take someone into the heart and experience the connectedness that we all share beneath the surface. Alastair says: "Community is about creating synergies out of diverse parts. Becoming grounded means having one foot in the physical realities of this world and the other in the dynamics of people".
Evolution » Andrew Cohen - 'Evolutionary Enlightenment' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of many books including: "Embracing Heaven and Earth", "Living Enlightenment: A Call for Evolution Beyond Ego", "Enlightenment Is a Secret: Teachings of Liberation", "My Master is Myself: Birth of a Spiritual Teacher". Andrew talks about his life and spiritual openings and how he sees "Evolutionary Enlightenment as an original non-sectarian spiritual path for the 21st century", uniting the transcendent freedom of enlightenment with the innate human desire to change and to evolve.
Evolution » Andrew Harvey - 'The Death And The Birth' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 30 books including 'Hidden Journey', 'The Hope' and of his forthcoming book 'Radical Passion', Andrew talks about his life, his awakening and his dark nights. He travels worldwide encouraging people to explore and engage in Sacred Activism. Here he also talks about his time with Mother Meera, the importance of shadow work, and how as a human race we are right on the edge of death, but also of a new birth. Andrew explains: "Compassion in Action is the marriage of practical action and spiritual wisdom to create a holy force capable of transforming our world crisis and preserving our planet".
Evolution » 'Consciousness And Evolution - A Discussion with Chris Parish, Dave Pendle and Patrick Bryson' - Moderated by Iain McNay
Three long term seekers discuss Consciousness And Evolution from their own experiences.
Evolution » Dr Robin Wood - 'The Great Shift' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Great Shift: Catalyzing The Second Renaissance' and founder of 'Renaissance 2', Robin talks about the challenge that awaits us as we stand on the brink of our greatest crisis or opportunity. In his view we are faced with either evolution or extinction. Robin explains that we have to shift our consciousness, our behaviour and our systems, and talks about how this is possible.
Evolution » Hardin Tibbs - 'The Eco-Spiritual Futurist' - Interview by Iain McNay
Hardin is a UK-based futurist and business strategist with extensive experience of scenario-based strategic thinking. He is a futures researcher, strategic analyst, process facilitator and presenter, with a background in product development and visual communications. In addition to his strategy work, Hardin has made significant contributions on issues involving technology and environment. He brings together the world of Sustainability, the Future and Consciousness.
Evolution » Jason Liosatos, Peter Hughes and Kinga Monica - 'The Birth Of A New Society' - Interview by Iain McNay
Jason is author of 'The Emergency Transformation Of Human Beings'. Peter and Kinga's book is called, 'A Big Strategy.' They all share a concern for the way our society is going and understand that any real change on the outside has to come from within. In this lively and at times quite inspiring discussion they talk about their lives and the content of their books.
Evolution » Peter Russell - 'The Great Awakening' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of many books including 'The Brain Book,' 'The Global Brain,' 'From Science To God' and 'Waking Up In Time', Peter talks about his life and work. He explains what he calls Spirituality 101. He also talks about Singularity, 'A White Hole In Time,' and the bringing together of Consciousness and Science.
Evolution » Sophy Banks - 'The Transition Movement - Inner and Outer' - Interview by Iain McNay
Sophy talks about the different ways The Transition Movement works, both on the outside and on the inside. She founded the 'Heart And Soul' groups which later became known as 'Inner Transition.'
Healing » Anita Moorjani - 'Dying To Be Me' - Interview by Renate McNay
Anita worked in the corporate field before being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Four years after being diagnosed her body began shutting down. As her organs failed she entered into an extraordinary near-death experience where she realised the cause of her disease as well as waking up to who she truly is. On regaining consciousness she found her condition had improved so rapidly that she was released from hospital within weeks.
Healing » Arielle Essex 'The Matrix Of Healing' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of 'The Eight Factors Of Healing' and 'Compassionate Coaching - How To Heal Your Life and Make Miracles Happen', Arielle talks about her own healing process after she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and explains very clearly the role of the mind in creating our reality on different levels.
Healing » Brandon Bays - 'My Journey To The Journey' Interview by Iain McNay
Brandon has written several books including 'The Journey,' 'The Journey For Kids' and 'Consciousness The New Currency.' In this interview she talks about her early spiritual search; how she healed herself from a large growth in her stomach, and the events that led to her creating 'The Journey' seminar which she has been leading now for many years.
Healing » Daan Van Kampenhout 'Shamanic Rituals' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of 10 books including 'Images of the Soul: The Workings in Shamanic Rituals and Family Constellations' and 'The Tears of the Ancestors: Victims and Perpetrators in the Tribal Soul.' Daan talks about his life and his experiences with Shamanic Rituals and Family Constellations.
Healing » Dr Eric Pearl - 'Reconnective Healing' - Interview by Renate McNay
Healer and Author of 'The Reconnection - Heal Others, Heal Yourself'. Eric walked away from one of the most successful chiropractic practices in Los Angeles when he and others started witnessing miraculous healings. He talks about his mission in bringing the 'new' bandwidth of frequency never before present on Earth which awakens and upgrades our minds and human system. Dr Pearl brings his mission worldwide to a fast growing audience, to Governments, to the Healthcare System and to Prisons.
Healing » Dr Guy Meadows - 'How To Sleep Well' - Interview by Renate McNay
Dr. Guy Meadows (PhD) is a successful Sleep Physiologist and the Director of the London Insomniac Clinic. Insomnia feeds on our fear of not sleeping and the anxiety and distress that we choose to place on ourselves when we cannot sleep. He works with "Mindful Sleep Therapy" which goes against our modern desire to try and solve the problem of why we can`t sleep. It recognises that your body knows how to sleep and that the only thing preventing you from sleeping is you. Only when you stop "trying" to sleep, then and only then, will you sleep. He states: "Be the change you want to see in your sleep!"
Healing » Emilie Conrad - 'Continuum: My Story' - Interview by Renate McNay
Emilie Conrad is the founder of "Continuum" and the author of 'Life on Land - The Story of Continuum.' In this interview she talk about her traumatizing Brooklyn childhood and discovery of Dance with the psychic and physical collapse that led to the development of Continuum and to her ground-breaking movement and self-realization technique.
Healing » Matthew Manning - 'My Healing Journey' - Interview by Iain McNay
Matthew's early life was quite dramatic. When he was a teenager he started to be a catalyst for poltergeist activity which was at times very persistent and dramatic. He then started 'automatic writing' and found that he was becoming a magnet for people from many different cultures and languages that had been dead for years. His first book, 'The Link' which told the story of this activity was published when he was 20 years old and went on to sell over 1 million copies. He then had an experience in the Himalayas which changed his life and he then started to work as a healer. He is now one of Britain's best known healers and still works from his healing centre in Suffolk. Other books he has written include 'One Foot In The Stars', 'In The Mind Of Millions; The Healing Journey' and 'Strangers.'
Healing » Meir Schneider - 'My Life And Vision' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Movement for Self Healing', Meir tells his inspiring story of how he was born blind to deaf parents. Through hard work and determination he is now able to see (has a driving license). Meir also talks about his healing Centre in San Francisco, CA and why he believes that virtually anyone who is ill can improve their health.
Healing » Philip Jacobs - 'Chronic Illness and The Spiritual Path' - Interview by Iain McNay
Philip is the Sheik for the 'Turning' group at Colet House in West London. He studied with Dr Francis Roles for many years. In this interview he talks about the challenges he faced when he became seriously ill with Lyme disease. 'I had always previously thought that it was possible to change my attitude to any situation. With the illness, I realised that there was a stage where you couldn't. You could have a good attitude either side of the experience, but not while you were in it. This was when the illness was deep in the brain, there was no way out until it passed and you just had to allow the experience to be what it was and if it was darkness then it was just darkness.' ' I was having to assimilate the idea of illness and suffering as a gift - what looked like suffering on the physical and psychological levels could often have a transforming effect on the deeper spiritual levels, that may not be apparent to the casual observer.'
Healing » Vidyamala Burch - 'Living Well With Pain And Illness' Interview by Iain McNay
Author of the book 'Living Well With Pain And Illness - The Mindful Way To Free Yourself From Suffering', Vidyamala talks about her life. She describes how she seriously damaged her back 25 years ago and needs to use a wheelchair. At the same time she has found a way to live with constant pain so that it doesn't completely dominate her life. This is an inspiring and also a very practical interview.
Other » Adam Martanda - 'Homeopathy and Transformation' - Interview by Iain McNay
Adam, now 70 years old, was a successful homeopath and ran his own school in the UK for many years. He talks about his early life in a Gurdjieff group and living in different communities. His first experience with homeopathy was quite dramatic and led to a healing process that changed his life. He talks about homeopathy and how it can transform people's lives.
Other » Adrian Rides and John Flaherty - 'Addiction and Awakening' - Interview by Iain McNay
John is author of the book, 'Addiction Unplugged - How To Be Free and has worked in the field of addiction for 25 years. He was previously a Catholic Priest but left when he was 35 having felt he had handed his life over to the Church. At this point he felt physically, mentally and emotionally drained and he knew it was time to move on. Adrian started drinking heavily at an early age to avoid feelings of intense anxiety and reached the point where his marriage had broken down and he was in a deep depression. He discovered meditation and his life started to change. Shortly afterwards he had an experience, 'I realised that now is all that there is and that the past and future were simply torments of my mind. I realised that I was alive, that my aliveness was not separate from the aliveness in everything, I realised that I was life itself and that I had found myself.' He also works in the field of addiction and teaches mindfulness in London. Adrian's website is:www.lovelifelivenow.com and John's is www.beawarebealive.com
Other » Anne Geraghty - 'Death. The Last God' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'In The Dark And Still Moving', Anne talks about the sudden death of her son Tim Guest and how that started her journey to find out what death means for her.
Other » Brandon Bays - 'The Journey For Children' - Interview by Renate McNay
Brandon is author of 'The Journey' ' and 'The Journey for Kids.' In this interview she talks about how 'The Journey' work can be used with children to help them overcome trauma and lead them back to their true self.
Other » Camilla Carr and Jon James -'The Sky Is Always There' - Interview by Iain McNay
In 1997 Camilla and Jon drove to Chechnya to help set up a rehabilitation Centre for war-traumatized children in war-torn Grozny. Two months later they were kidnapped at gunpoint. For the next 14 months they were kept in basements with no natural light or fresh air. She was also raped. They tell their story, and how they survived by using meditation, Tai chi, Qigong and prayer circles. They wrote the book 'The Sky Is Always There' as a kind of cathartic healing for themselves. Camilla says, 'the captors could never touch my essence - my body is only a part of who I am. My spirit will always be free'.
Other » Camille Carr, Jon James and Christine Jensen - 'Consciousness and Trauma' - Moderated by Iain McNay
In 1997 Camilla and Jon drove to Chechnya to help set up a rehabilitation Centre for war-traumatized children in war-torn Grozny. Two months later they were kidnapped at gunpoint. For the next 14 months they were kept in basements with no natural light or fresh air. They talk about how they dealt with the trauma that came up for them after they were released and how they dealt with it. Christine Jensen works as a trauma therapist and is based in Bath, in Somerset. The three guests discuss the importance of recognizing and healing the many different types of trauma that we all face in life. How we are unaware of the layers of trauma hidden in our psyches, bodies and nervous systems and how this trauma is one of the barriers to discovering who we really are.
Other » Carla Verberk - 'It Started With A Kiss' - Interview by Iain McNay
Carla tells her story of how her first kiss brought her dramatically in touch with her body and was the first clue that she would eventually become one of the leading teachers of Tantra in Europe. Her Journey included the Humaniversity, Sannyas with Bhagwan/Osho; The Ridhwan school and many years studying and teaching Tantra.
Other » Charlie Morley - 'Dream of Awakening' - Interview by Renate McNay
Charlie Morley is a Lucid Dreamer and the author of Dreams of Awakening. He teaches lucid dreaming within the context of Tibetan Buddhism and is the co-creator of Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep and gives workshops and lectures around the globe. He says: " We sleep for about 30 years in our life, we are for 30 years in a 'black out' why would we not be interested in where we are?" In this interview Charlie talks about the benefits of lucid dreaming which is also a preparation for Death and Dying and for going through the BARDOS realms. Lucid dreaming offers the opportunity for the full Realization of our True Nature. Lucidity is not only about dream dimension, it's about all dimensions and being awake in everything we do.
Other » Christine Jensen - 'Trauma and Awakening' - Interview by Renate McNay
Christine specializes in 'Trauma Resolution Work' which was originally pioneered by American psychologist, Peter Levine. She was brought up in the outbacks of Australia very connected to nature, the stars and the earth and sees today the importance of it for regulation and harmony of our nervous system. She talks about trauma in spirituality and why trauma is in the way to fully Awaken. "Everything we experience is registered in the body and it has to be felt there so that the nervous system can release the blocked energy of the trauma, shock and stress, and heal. Our whole human system from psyche to cell wants to heal and move towards greater wholeness."
Other » Claudio Naranjo - 'Healing Civilization' - Interview by Eleonora Gilbert
Author of over 20 books including 'Healing Civilization' and 'Enneagram of Society: Healing the Soul to Heal the World', Claudio talks about his latest book 'Healing Civilization' and his vision for a better society.
Other » David Bingham -'Art and Self Realisation' - Interview by Renate McNay
David is an Artist and had his first experience of the timeless realm when looking at a painting by David Hockney when studying art in Art School. The highest purpose of art is to reveal the Self. He demonstrates how art can lead to Self-Realisation without the need for spiritual beliefs or practices and shows examples of paintings which can activate the experience of silence and stillness in the viewer. He also talks about the acceleration of the Evolution of Consciousness and that Self-Realisation is happening now on a much larger scale. The idea of a dramatic shift is receding and that clear seeing and acceptance of one's ever present Realisation is all that is required.
Other » Derek Thorne - 'Atman Vichara Yoga and Meditation' - Interview by Iain McNay
Derek is a yoga teacher, writer, poet and lecturer who is the Spiritual director of the YogaLiving community based near Bath in England. He has practiced Yoga for 40 years and has also trained many yoga teachers. Since 1997 has committed to Atma Vichara and the Jnana Yoga approach as given by Sri Ramana Maharshi. Alongside an ongoing professional life in the health service he now devotes his time to making that teaching accessible to all who seek it and to the development of the YogaLiving Community. In this interview he talks about his life and his work.
Other » Dr Peter Fenwick - 'Consciousness and Dying' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of several books including 'The Art Of Dying', 'The Truth In The Light' and 'The Hidden Door', neuro-psychiatrist Peter Fenwick talks about his research into End of Life Experiences and deathbed phenomena. In this interview Dr Fenwick explains what these occurrences mean in the greater picture of who we really are.
Other » Florian Schlosser - 'Consciousness And Relationships' - Interview by Eleonora Gilbert
People have always loved sitting and sharing in the presence of an awakened human being and experiencing that tender beingness. For about 7 years Florian has travelled around the world inviting seekers to recognize in their own experience who they really are and to live as an embodiment of truth in everyday life. In his unmistakable manner he embraces the daily and simple life that he is sharing with a constantly increasing number of 'friends of truth', as he calls all those being interested. Again and again visitors of meetings tell of spontaneous awakening, of an all penetrating silence, of simple clarity and presence and of overflowing love and gratitude which they experience in Florian presence. With both legs firmly rooted in normal everyday life and at the same time in the heart deeply connected with Ramana Maharshi, Papaji, Jiddu Krishnamurti and his teacher and friend Isaac Shapiro, Florian speaks and is silent, laughs and cries, is present with everyone who would love to savour the truth of awareness. In this interviews Florian talks about relationships and how this has impacted his life.
Other » Georgi Y Johnson and Bart Ten Berge - 'Anxiety And Awakening' - Moderated by Renate and Iain McNay
In this interview Georgi Y Johnson, Author of "I AM HERE" and her Partner Bart Ten Berge, Author of "THE GIFT" 7 STEPS to a Happy and Fulfilled Life", discuss the meaning of anxiety and depression in the process of Awakening. Fear is a natural part of physical life but we need to unhook our fears as the authority on our thoughts, feelings and choices. The way to do this is not to repress fear but give it space. Liberated fear is alive and appropriate to the moment. For many, severe Anxiety or Panic attacks can be the turning point in finding themselves. Georgi is telling us her own story of a period of Deep Depression, Panic Attacks and Anxiety; looking for help she met Bart who is a Healer and the co-founder of the International School of Spiritual Psychology (ISSP) based in Holland.
Other » James David Parker - 'The Magic Of Philosophical Illusion'
James Parker is a master of the mysterious magic arts who has created the phenomenal 'Philosophical Illusion'. He is a former teen prodigy and has now developed into an internationally respected virtuoso of his craft. Here he performs a unique show for conscious.tv.
Other » Jeff Foster - 'Conscious Relating: the Power of Honesty' - Interview by Eleonora Gilbert
Jeff is author of 5 books including, 'The Deepest Acceptance: Radical Awakening In Ordinary Life,' 'An Extraordinary Absence: Liberation in the Midst Of A Very Ordinary Life,' and 'The Wonder of Being.' In this interview relationships are explored from the perspective of consciousness. Can we really find the 'One' in the form of another human being? Everybody is just seeking for unconditional love. Fearless, clear and honest communication brings the end of seeking. Jeff says: "Life is about meeting ourselves, meeting our own pain, our own fears, our own bliss, our own joy - meeting all those waves in ourselves and meeting the one in front of us in the same way actually. In the end it is the same meeting - we are really just meeting ourselves."
Other » Jeff Foster - 'The Crucifix is the Present Moment" - Interview by Renate McNay
Jeff is author of 5 books including, 'The Deepest Acceptance: Radical Awakening In Ordinary Life,' 'An Extraordinary Absence: Liberation in the Midst Of A Very Ordinary Life,' and 'The Wonder of Being.' In this interview Jeff uses the crucifixion of Jesus to explain Life lived in the Present Moment. He also shares his own despair and talks about how we have the tendency to spiritually BYPASSING our human stuff and how we all long for the unconditional rest of the 'Ocean'.
Other » Jenny Boyd - 'Staring Into The Face Of God' - Interview by Iain McNay
Jenny Boyd is the author of 'It's Not only Rock 'n' Roll' a book where she presents interviews with 75 musicians about how their creativity functions. Jenny works as a psychologist and addictions consultant in London. She wanted to understand how the minds and souls of these artist could create such great music. Her own spiritual awakening first started when she was 18. 'A tingling sensation rippled through my body, everything appearing crystal clear. I felt like a channel for the deeper parts of myself, as if I was watching myself from above. There was also a feeling of unity. My search for enlightenment had begun, I was now on a path from which I would often swerve but never leave.' In 1967 she travelled with the Beatles to India to spend time with Maharishi Maheshi Yogi (her sister Pattie was going out with - and later married - George Harrison at the time)

Here she learnt to meditate. She became a successful model in London, and later married Mick Fleetwood the drummer in Fleetwood Mac. 'After many years of being involved with everything that went along with rock 'n' roll I decided to go to college and study psychology.' She talks about her own journey as well as the fascinating process she discovered about musicians creativity. 'Peak experience can happen when the artist is totally in the here and now. A time of complete concentration that overtakes the mundane - the experience of eternity right here and now - by completely concentrating on the music they are able to open themselves up - the result can be songs that come from nowhere.'

Other » Julian Carlyon - 'Homeopathy and Consciousness' - Interview by Ian McNay
Julian wrote "Understating Homeopathy" and has been a homeopathic practitioner and teacher for many years. He also has a keen interest in the various states of consciousness, especially the non-dual states. In this interview he explains how homeopathy works on the different levels of consciousness.
Other » Linda Hall - 'Resourcefulness Meditation' - Interview by Iain McNay
Linda's Resourcefulness Meditation has a down-to-earth style that makes understanding the process of meditation accessible, interesting and fun. Her approach is a synthesis of Western psychology and Eastern philosophies. As well as observing the benefits of meditation in the management of her own health, she draws from her many years of experience as a body-worker and healer. Linda's knowledge of the body/mind connection and its link with the nervous system's stress response is particularly useful as she sees meditation as a way to learn fundamental life skills, and importantly, as a means to develop a connection with our spiritual self.
Other » Malcolm Parlett - 'My Adventures With Gestalt' - Interview by Iain McNay
Malcolm has been a leading practitioner of Gestalt therapy for over 40 years. He was the first editor of the British Gestalt Journal and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. He talks here about his life and how Gestalt has influenced it over the years. 'I have sought to turn Gestalt practice into a discipline that takes me more deeply to being and living in the present, sensing my body and learning to meditatively observe my unfolding process. I am committed to bringing the therapeutic, spiritual, and political realms together - especially significant as the world undergoes either its Great Unravelling or its Great Turning, and as human beings face existential and ethical dilemmas that combine every aspect of a person's existence. It is in the spirit of crossing spiritual with political concerns, personal journeying with participating in this unprecedented time of global change, that I have increasingly focused on the Five Abilities, and finding ways to teach methods of engaging with them, strengthening and deepening them, for the benefit of all.'
Other » Marlies Cocheret and Ellen Emmet - 'The Feminine Face of God' - Interview by Renate McNay
This is the first programme in a new series which will explore the subject of Women and Consciousness. In this exploration Spiritual Teacher and Psychologist Marlies Cocheret, and Ellen Emmet who is a Transpersonal Psychologist and a teacher in Non-Duality Yoga and Movement Therapy, talk about how it is to be a woman on the path of awakening and liberation. It is important to first know that what we really are is beyond female and male and form. We can then begin to learn to express ourselves in a balanced way and reach our full potential as Human Beings.
Other » Meditation and Yoga in Prison - part 1
Discussion with Sandy Chubb, Ron Farquhar and John Dewar. Sandy Chubb runs the Prison Phoenix Trust, an organisation that helps prisoners and prison officers by providing classes in meditation and yoga in British prisons. Ron Farquhar and John Dewar are both ex-prisoners and talk about their lives before, during and after life in prison. They both had significant spiritual experiences while in prison.
Other » Meditation and Yoga in Prison - part 2
Discussion with Sam Settle, Ron Farquhar and Kate Morsley. All three run classes for the Prison Phoenix Trust on meditation and yoga in British prisons. They talk about their experiences while doing this.
Other » Neil Patel - 'Chi Kri Meditation' - Interview by Iain McNay
Ten years ago Neil Patel was diagnosed with a rugby ball sized tumour in his left leg, and told that even with a leg amputation and aggressive chemotherapy he had a 25% chance of being alive in five years. Ten years later, after following his own path of treatment, including Gerson therapy, meditation, yoga and psychology, Neil is healthier than ever. He has developed a meditation technique called Chi Kri yoga and in this programme he talks about his life and leads a short meditation.
Other » Ocke de Boer - 'Higher Being Bodies' - Interview by Iain McNay
Ocke is the author of the book, Higher being Bodies, which is based on a non-dualistic approach to the Fourth Way. Ever since hearing the song, 'Why Are We Sleeping' by Kevin Ayers when he was a teenager, Ocke realized that reality was different to what he had learnt and wanted to wake up. He became a sailor when he was 16, worked in a youth prison when he was 20, and then started to read Ouspensky and Gurdjieff. "This was like coming home," he says. In this interview, he talks about applying sacred ideas and explains 'coating,' the dual-nature of human beings. We have a physical body composed of material from the Earth and a Kesdjan body which is composed of matter from the solar system. "I am the absence of my presence and I am the absence of the presence of my presence."
Other » Phil Clothier - 'Consciousness in Business' - Interview by Iain McNay
Phil is CEO of Barrett Values Centre which provides information on the application of the Barrett Seven Levels of Consciousness Model and the Cultural Transformation Tools for the cultural transformation of corporations, non-profits, NGO's, government institutions, schools, communities and nations. Barrett Values Centre provides details on the use of the model and tools for personal transformation and leadership development. The centre was created in June 1997 to support leaders in building values-driven organisations. Since then, Barrett Values Centre has created a series of Cultural Transformation Tools (CTT) for mapping values, measuring cultural capital, and implementing cultural transformation. Phil explains how the organisation works and talks about how now, more than ever, it is vital that businesses at all levels start to realise that they need to incorporate consciousness into their thinking.
Other » Pim Van Lommel - 'Consciousness and The Near Death Experience' - Interview by Iain McNay
Pim worked as a cardiologist in the Netherlands and in 1986 became interested in near-death experiences in patients who survived a cardiac arrest. In 2007 he published his book 'Endless Consciousness: a scientific approach to the near-death experience.' He looks in detail into what actually happens in people's experiences during a NDE, and how it can dramatically change their lives. It raises such fundamental questions as: 'Where is Consciousness located?' 'What Happens when we die' 'Who am I?'
Other » Prakash Mackay - Preparing For Death - Interview by Iain McNay
Prakash grew up in Glasgow and travelled overland to Australia when he heard an inner voice telling him to change his life. He started to work with people with AIDS who were dying at a time when it was a taboo subject and there was a lot of ignorance on how AIDS was transmitted. It was a time when there was little resource available to help people die in a conscious way. Prakash says, "Death was in the closet and only Stephen Levine and Elizabeth Kubler-Ross seemed to be talking about how to bring it out in the West." After a time Prakash became burnt out. One day three of his patients died and he had to take time out to recharge. In 2009 he had his own scare and was told he had 3 months to live. Despite all his work with dying people he realised that he himself was not yet prepared for his own death. The diagnosis turned out to be false, but the scare deepened his work. He talks us through the stages we all go through when faced with death and shares his vast experience he has gathered over the years. This is not an easy subject but one we all have to face at some point.
Other » Robert Gebka and Kathy Monaco - 'Less Is More' - Interview by Iain McNay
Robert Gebka is director of the Dorset Mindfulness Centre. He spent five years living and working at the Nan Hua Buddhist monastery in South Africa. He tells his story, including how he had to deal with many afflictions including anxiety, depression and drug addiction. He now works part-time within the mental health field for the NHS. He is passionately engaged in bringing mindfulness to the NHS and is the originator of the Mindful Recovery Project, a Mindfulness Based Recovery Support approach for individuals with severe mental health conditions.

Kathy Monaco was introduced to Buddhism to get answers to some of the questions that were always in the back of her mind. She lived as a nun both in South Africa and Taiwan before disrobing and constructing a simple life for herself using Buddhist tools.

Other » Robert Waggoner - 'Lucid Dreaming - Gateway To The Inner' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Lucid Dreaming - Gateway To The Inner Self', Robert talks about his early dream experiences and how he discovered Lucid Dreaming after reading Carlos Castaneda. He quantifies the scientific evidence that now exists on this subject and explains why he feels that Lucid Dreaming is a revolutionary tool to explore the actual nature of reality. It can clearly show shadow issues and the limiting nature of self-attachments and may lead to an experience of non-dual awareness. He says: "Something pre-exists the sense of self. The making of the 'I' is a mistaken perception, the source of a whole series of errors."
Other » Rupert Spira - 'Art And Consciousness' - Interview by Chris Hebard
Rupert is a renowned ceramic artist whose book "Bowl" was published in 2004. He works from his studio in Shropshire, England, and has his work exhibited regularly in many prestigious galleries. He is also an advaita teacher and his book on this subject "The Transparency of Things" is available on Non-Duality Press. In this interview Chris Hebard reads quotes from "Bowl" and encourages Rupert to explain in a great deal of depth his feelings about the connections between art and consciousness.
Other » 'So, Now We Are Awake, Are We Going To Save The Planet?' with Elisabet Sahtouris, Will Pye and Jeff Warren. Moderated by Iain and Renate McNay.
There is often a reluctance for those who have attained a level of awakening to be interested in worldly concerns. The planet is rapidly approaching a man-made crisis. Do we care? What does being awake mean on a practical basis when it comes to our custodianship of the planet?
Other » 'Spiritual Crises' Discussion with Fransje De Waard, Frances Goodhall and Annabel Hollis - Moderated by Iain McNay
Fransje is the author of 'Spiritual Crisis'. Frances and Annabel help run the Spiritual Crisis Network in the UK. In this discussion they talk about their experiences and how important it is to understand the context in which crises occur. For many of us crises of a spiritual nature arise at various points in our lives, but often are not recognised at such.
Other » Steve Taylor - 'Waking From Sleep' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of "Waking From Sleep - Why Awakening Experiences Occur and how to Make them Permanent" (Hay House). He suggests that our normal consciousness is really a kind of sleep from which we sometimes wake to a more intense and complete reality. "Waking from Sleep" examines the methods that human beings have used throughout history to induce awakening experiences, including meditation, sex, nature, sport, psychedelic drugs and sleep deprivation; how higher states of consciousness were normal and natural to some of the world's people (and still are in some cases); and how we can make 'wakefulness' our normal state again.
Other » Thomas Mueller - 'The Matrix Of Silence' - Interview by Renate McNay
Thomas Mueller is the author of The Natural Health Matrix: Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds. He is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Meditation and Yoga Teacher and the Founder of AYUWAVE. In this interview he tells us his journey for health and peace and his path to waking up. He spent 10 years in the Ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the Vedic University in Holland and taught hundreds of students around the globe Ayurvedic therapies, meditation and yoga. The biggest thing he learnt was TRUST, and listening to the Song of Silence became the Matrix leading him to an incredible source of energy and peace.
Other » Tim Freke - 'Lucid Living Meditation' - Interview by Iain McNay
Tim is a passionate and entertaining voice for our collective awakening, whose enthusiasm for life is contagious. He's clear, irreverent, down-to-earth and not remotely interested in setting himself up as some sort of 'guru'. His controversial books and animated live performances have inspired many thousands of people throughout the world. He has an honours degree in philosophy and is an internationally respected authority on world spirituality. He has spent his life exploring the expanded state of consciousness he calls 'the magical mystery experience' or being 'deep awake' or 'lucid living' and he has a unique talent for helping others to experience this amazing state for themselves. He is the author of over twenty books that have established his reputation as a groundbreaking scholar and original free-thinker. He is best known for his groundbreaking work on Christian Gnosticism with his close friend Peter Gandy, including "The Jesus Mysteries", which was a top 10 best-seller in the UK and USA, and a 'Book of the Year' in the UK Daily Telegraph. Tim is the founder of The Alliance for Lucid Living and on the board of advisors for Team Humanity; organisations dedicated to our collective awakening. He is often featured in documentary films and chat shows broadcast by the global media such as the BBC and the History Channel. In this interview he talks about the importance of meditation practice in his life and finishes with a short meditation.
Other » 'Turning Into The Great Stillness' - Discussion with Philip Jacobs, Helen Oates and Shameemah Chota - moderated by Iain McNay
Dervish turning from the Mevlevi order of Dervishes is a potent method for experiencing inner stillness and the opening of the heart. It has been taught and practised at Colet House in West London since 1973 on a regular basis. The turning is a part of a ceremony known as a 'Mukabele' (meaning 'coming face to face') and it was originally developed by followers of the 13thcentury Persian mystic Jelaluddin Rumi. The ceremony is open to people of all beliefs and backgrounds. Rumi said he was the friend of 73 religions. As well as having a deep transforming effect on the turners, the whole ceremony has a profound inner symbolism, which represents man's inner journey back to the realisation of his essential oneness with God and the unity of all creation. Three turners, Philip Jacobs, Helen Oates and Shameemah Chota talk about how this practice of Turning has changed their lives.
Science » Bruce Lipton - 'The Power Of Consciousness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Bruce is a cellular biologist who is the author of "The Biology Of Belief" and "Spontaneous Evolution". He talks about his life, his work, and how he sees the predicament of the human race.
Science » Chris Frith - 'Making Up the Mind' - Interview by Iain McNay
Neuroscientist and author of 'Making Up The Mind - How the Brain Creates Our Mental World' talks about how experimental studies have shown that the brain creates our mental world. 'The distinction between the mental and physical is false; it is an illusion created by the brain which also creates the illusion that our own mental world is isolated and private. Our perception of the World is a fantasy that coincides with reality.'
Science » Dr Amit Goswami - 'Consciousness, Quantum Physics and Being Human' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of many books including: 'How Quantum Activism Can Save Civilization,' 'The Visionary Window: A Quantum Physicist's Guide to Enlightenment' and 'God Is Not Dead' talks about his life and how discovering that consciousness Is the ground of being changed his scientific thinking and also his approach to life. He also explains downward causation, quantum non-locality, free will, Intention, the observer effect, quantum collapse and how consciousness creates the manifest world.
Science » Dr David Hamilton 'The Science Of Belief' - Interview by Renate McNay
David is the author of 'How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body' and 'Why Kindness Is Good For You.' He talks about how our thoughts can change our bodies and also the power of Kindness.
Science » Dr Imke Bock-Mobius -'Experiencing Cosmic Oneness - Qigong Meets Quantum Physics' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Qigong Meets Quantum Physics', Imke studied Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics and became interested in Qigong after she experienced a dramatic healing in Beijing. During her teens she had questions such as, 'What operates behind visible reality?' and 'How was the Universe Built?' She explains how Qigong and Quantum Physics meet, Non-local interactions, the Observer effect and Entanglement. 'All things only exist because they arise together with their complementary opposite'. 'There is no such thing as an isolated particle; can there be such a thing as an isolated human being?'. 'The oneness of emptiness and the world of apparent phenomena is the last secret on the path to understanding reality'.
Science » Dr Joe Dispenza - 'The Science Of Changing Your Mind' - Interview by Iain McNay
Joe is probably best known for his appearances in the successful film, 'What The Bleep Do We Know?'. He also wrote the highly regarded book, "Evolve Your Brain". In this interview Joe talks in detail about his accident when he was in his early 20s which changed his life. He was a successful chiropractor in California when he was knocked off his bike by a truck in the middle of a triathlon race. Faced with the only 'cure' conventional medicine could offer him that would have involved a life of pain and restriction of movement in his back, he chose to ignore this advice and find his own way to healing. Joe has spent decades studying the human mind, how it stores information and why it perpetuates the same behavioural patterns over and over.
Science » Dr John Hagelin - 'The Core Of Nature' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of "Manual for a Perfect Government", John Hagelin, Ph.D. is a quantum physicist and leading proponent of peace. Stood for President of the US in 1990 and received over 2 million votes. Conducted pioneering research at CERN (the European Centre for Particle Physics) and SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre). His scientific contributions in the fields of electroweak unification, grand unification, super-symmetry and cosmology include some of the most cited references in the physical sciences. He is also responsible for the development of a highly successful Grand Unified Field Theory based on the Superstring. Dr Hagelin is therefore at the pinnacle of achievement among the elite cadre of physicists who have fulfilled Einstein's dream of a 'theory of everything' through their mathematical formulation of the Unified Field, the most advanced scientific knowledge of our time. Dr Hagelin is currently Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, a leading science and technology think tank, and International Director of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace, an organization of leading scientists throughout the world dedicated to ending nuclear proliferation and establishing lasting world peace. John talks about his life, his work and the benefits of meditation.
Science » Dr Jude Currivan - 'Cosmos' - Interview by Iain McNay
Jude is a healer, Cosmologist and Author. Her most recent book is "CosMos" co-authored with Ervin Laszlo. She also wrote "The 8th Charka" and "The 13th Step." She feels we stand at a threshold of a revolutionary and empowering new vision of the world. In this interview she talks about how leading-edge science and the insights of spirituality are converging to reveal that the Cosmos and all that we term reality is wholly integrated and that at its most fundamental level it is a field of information. This is the elemental cosmic mind from which everything emanates and is manifested and to which all ultimately returns.
Science » Dr Manjir Samanta-Laughton - 'Punk Science - Inside The Mind Of God' - Interview by Iain McNay
Punk Science charts the current revolution in science that is arising from rebels around the world and gaining ground. This brave new world is not one devoid of meaning or thought, but one alive with consciousness, where we dance in a field of light imbued with the mind of God. This is not a book of dogmatic religion. Punk Science stays firmly in the domain of logic and of science to demonstrate how the separate fields of science and spirituality are starting to look incredibly similar. Could it be that there are fundamental truths to the universe and we just have to know how to look for them? Hence we dive into the worlds of consciousness physics, the biology of belief, loop quantum gravity, the zero point field and hyperspace to show how we might finally find scientific explanations for phenomena such as psychic abilities, mediumship, distant healing and angelic encounters. Having brought together the world of modern science and esoteric knowledge, we then move into a new vision of the cosmos, where black holes, so long thought to be the great destructive giants of the universe are actually creative and the source of everything. This model, the Black Hole Principle, is backed up by numerous cosmological data. Furthermore, once we understand this principle, we can explore what it means to us, from re-examining ancient scriptures to providing new models for education, business and even the battle between the sexes!
Science » Dr Marilyn Schlitz 'The Art And Science of Transformation' - Interview by Iain McNay
A clinical research scientist, medical anthologist, and writer, Marilyn is also President and CEO of The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). The character Catherine in Dan Brown's latest novel was also based loosely on her. After a serious motor cycle accident when she was 15 years old she started to wake up to other possibilities which included the power of the mind in her healing process. In this interview she talks about her life, IONS, her experiments, and her latest book, "Living Deeply - The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life."
Science » Elisabet Sahtouris - 'Earthdance' - Interview by Iain McNay
Elisabet Sahtouris, Ph.D. is an evolution biologist, futurist, author, speaker and consultant on Living Systems Design. Showing the relevance of evolving biological systems to organizational design, she travels as a speaker in North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Dr Sahtouris is a citizen of the United States and of Greece, with a Canadian Ph.D. She did her post-doctoral work at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, taught at the University of Massachusetts and M.I.T., was a science writer for the HORIZON/NOVA TV series. She was invited to China by the Chinese National Science Association, organized Earth Celebrations 2000 in Athens, Greece and has been a United Nations consultant on indigenous peoples. She is a participant in the Humanity 3000 dialogues of the Foundation for the Future, the Synthesis Dialogues with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, and consults with corporations and government organizations in Australia, Brazil and the USA. Her books include "Biology Revisioned", "A Walk Through Time" and "EarthDance: Living Systems in Evolution". She uses nature's principles and practices revealed in biological evolution, as useful models for organizational change. She applies them in the corporate world, in global politics and economics, in our efforts to create sustainable health and well being for humanity within the larger living systems of Earth.
Science » Francoise Tibika - 'Molecular Consciousness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of the book, Molecular Consciousness: Why The Universe Is Aware Of Our Presence, Francoise studied for many years with Colette Aboulker-Muscat and works as a researcher in Chemistry for the Hebrew University. She says, 'According to science we are all victims of a fantastic sensory illusion. In quantum mechanics any particle of matter behaves like a solid body in some cases and like waves in other cases. This depends on the observer. We and everything around us are only waves, waves of probabilities, and when interacting with this very sophisticated device called our brain, these waves are reduced to certainty, a certainty WE choose.'
Science » Iain McGilchrist - 'The Divided Brain' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of The Master And His Emissary - The Divided Brain And The making Of The Western World and The Divided Brain And The Search For Meaning. Iain McGilchrist is committed to the idea that the mind and brain can be understood only by seeing them in the broadest possible context, that of the whole of our physical and spiritual existence and of the wider human culture in which they arise: the culture which helps to mould, and in turn is moulded by our minds and brains. He argues that the division of the brain into two hemispheres is essential to human existence, making possible incompatible versions of the world, with quite different priorities and values.
Science » Ivan Tyrrell - 'The Brain's Big Bang' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author (with Joe Griffin) of 'Godhead - The Brain's Big Bang', together they have also written several other books including, 'How to Master Anxiety', 'Human Givens: The New Approach to Emotional Health and Clear Thinking' and 'Dreaming Reality: How Dreaming Keeps Us Sane, or Can Drive Us Mad'. The book 'Godhead' draws together psychology, science and mysticism but it all basically boils down to one topic: "Why do we exist?" Ivan puts forward the idea that 40,000 years ago during the stone age a 'big bang' took place in the human brain enabling our ancestors to experience and exploit the world in a new way. This irrevocably changed the way the human race functioned. Ivan says, "When experimenting at the quantum level the consciousness of the experimenter always influences the outcome of the knowledge about reality in the experiment." And "Effective psychology is always based on a holistic understanding of the relationship between the biological, psychological and social aspects of human functioning. Everything is interconnected."
Science » Karen French - 'Gateway To The Heavens' - Interview by Iain McNay
As a reason for some purpose to life, humans have searched throughout history for order and patterns in the seeming random nature of our surroundings. Our ancestors learned to unravel the importance of simple geometric shapes in this quest for knowledge that is largely shrouded in mystery. Discover the purpose of simple geometric shapes and how they mould your reality and your perception of it. Learn how they have a direct bearing on what you are and why you are here. Find out how this knowledge can be achieved through the expansion of our conscious awareness and how this expansion is made possible.
Science » Lothar Schafer - 'The Infinite Potential of Quantum Physics' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Infinite Potential' and 'In Search of Divine Reality' talks about 'What Quantum Physics reveals about how we should live our lives.' Retired Professor of chemistry he spent a large part of his life in a laboratory looking at quantum-chemical computations and electron diffraction studies of molecular structures. He says, "You need to first understand the order of the universe and your place in it - you can't find happiness in your personal life if you are not living in harmony with the universe. The constituents of real things are found not to be real - these findings show that the quantum phenomena make it possible to establish a new covenant between the human mind and the mind-like background of the universe - one that provides a home again to the homeless and meaning to seemingly pointless life. The universe must be assumed to have a moral as well as a physical order, and facts and values derive again from a single source."
Science » Michael Meacher MP - 'Destination Of The Species' - Interview by Iain McNay
Labour MP and former Labour Environment Minister, Michael Meacher talks about his new book, "Destination Of The Species - The Riddle Of Human Existence". Here he follows a fascinating investigation into basic questions he has been asking himself for many years such as, 'Why are we here?' and 'What is the Universe for?'
Science » Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon 'Fractals and Consciousness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Nigel is a film maker who made the films: 'The Colours Of Infinity', 'Is God A Number?' and 'Clouds Are Not Spheres'. He talks about his life and how he discovered Fractals. He raises the question, Is God A Mathematician?
Science » Rupert Sheldrake - 'A New Science of Life' - Interview by Iain McNay
Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of more than 80 scientific papers and ten books. A former Research Fellow of the Royal Society, he studied natural sciences at Cambridge University and then studied philosophy at Harvard University, where he took a Ph.D. in biochemistry. From 1968 to 1969, based in the Botany Department of the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, he studied rain forest plants. From 1974 to 1985 he worked at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, where he was Principal Plant Physiologist. While in India, he also lived for a year and a half at the ashram of Fr Bede Griffiths in Tamil Nadu, where he wrote his first book, "A New Science of Life". This book has recently been republished and it is around this that the interview is based. Rupert is also the author of: "The Presence of the Past: Morphic Resonance and the Habits of Nature" (1988); "The Rebirth of Nature: The Greening of Science and God" (1992); "Seven Experiments that Could Change the World: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Revolutionary Science" (1994 and (Winner of the Book of the Year Award from the British Institute for Social Inventions); "Dogs that Know When Their Owners are Coming Home, and Other Unexplained Powers of Animals" (1999 and Winner of the Book of the Year Award from the British Scientific and Medical Network); "The Sense of Being Stared At, And Other Aspects of the Extended Mind".
Science » Steve Charter - 'Consciousness and Sustainability' Interview by Iain McNay
Steve is the author of "Consciousness, Sustainability and Climate Change". He is an independent consultant on the practicalities of achieving sustainability, particularly at regional and local level. He specialises in sustainable construction, sustainable communities and sustainable lifestyles/sustainable living. Steve Charter proposed and helped set up STSD in Somerset (est. 2000), now operating very successfully as Ecos Trust and Ecos Homes; helped significantly in advancing the SusCon project and has been working with Kirklees Council to advance plans for a Yorkshire Centre for Sustainable Buildings. In this interview he talks about how sustainability cannot truly be achieved without us changing on the inside as well as affecting changes on the outside.
Science » Theodore Usatynski - 'Instinctual Intelligence - Part 1' - Interview by Iain McNay
Theodore (Ted) is author of 'Instinctual Intelligence - The Primal Wisdom Of The Nervous System and The Evolution of Human Nature.' He talks about how Instinctual Intelligence reveals the hidden dimensions of our most personal experiences. It is a comprehensive resource for the newest pathways for harnessing the innate energy of our basic biological programing - the next stage of human evolution.
Science » Theodore Usatynski - 'Instinctual Intelligence - Part 2' - Discussion with Iain and Renate McNay
Theodore (Ted) is author of 'Instinctual Intelligence - The Primal Wisdom Of The Nervous System and The Evolution of Human Nature.' He discusses here how we are all, to some extent, affected by trauma and addiction which keep us bound to our personalities. By understanding that process we can move beyond this and open to the bigger picture of who we really are.
Science » Tony Wright - 'Left In The Dark' - Interview by Iain McNay
Tony talks about his book "Left in the Dark" which expounds the most radical reinterpretation of existing evidence from the disciplines of evolution, ecology, neurology, psychology, anthropology and other academic fields, whilst also placing the ancient 'Ages of Mankind' mythology and related traditions within a scientific context. These universal traditions were once the only version of history we had, they describe the onset and progression of a neurodegenerative condition that really has left us in the dark. Often considered no more than the imaginings of a primitive mind and easy to dismiss as mere myths, they are in fact a more accurate natural history of humankind than modern science has thus far recognised. The book outlines the origin and nature of a condition that eventually left us virtually blind to its existence. Evidence is cited that supports such a scenario. A means of definitively testing its validity is proposed and most importantly what can be done to treat the condition and prevent its occurrence. While this may seem a challenging prospect, it promises amongst other things the restoration of phenomenal abilities, exceptional immune function and most importantly a greatly enhanced state of mind and well being only rarely glimpsed by a tiny minority.
Transformations » Alain Forget - 'How To Get Out Of This World ALIVE' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of the book 'How To Get Out Of This World ALIVE' Alain talks about his awakening in Chartres Cathedral when he was 25. He says: "It is nothing else but our natural state, always there but masked by our psychological entity". Alain worked for many years to integrate his awakening and has now created a system called The 4 D's: DISTANCING, DISCERNMENT, DISINDENTIFICATION and DISCRIMINATION.
Transformations » Alan Lowen - 'The Art Of Being' - Interview by Iain McNay
Alan talks about his life and his work. Having been adopted by Catholic Nuns at an early age he started to find his way when he discovered Carl Rogers and Encounter Groups. He describes his awakening: "I disappeared into the most brilliant oneness in the whole of existence. All the boundaries dissolved". Alan worked at the Community Centre in London before going to Poona and becoming a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later Osho). At this time he becomes known as Rajen and ran Encounter groups before moving on to the Rajneesh ranch in Oregon. In this interview, Alan reflects on his time with Bhagwan/Osho and talks about 'The Art Of Being.'
Transformations » Alberto Manni - 'The Forgotten Jewel of Self Knowledge' - Interview by Renate McNay
After the sudden ending of an intimate relationship Alberto suffered greatly with painful thoughts and feelings. He saw no way out. This pushed him onto a spiritual path. He discovered the "Gnostic Movement" and dived headlong into this knowledge. After a time when he had found a new relationship he and his partner sold their house, resigned from their jobs, and left Italy to move to South America where the School was based. They devoting their lives to the deepening of their understanding of their inner nature and worked for the good of the School. They loved it. After a time though they discovered some inconsistency between  the School's doctrine and the leaders behaviour. Eventually they left and lost all their friends at the school as nobody would greet them anymore. They were treated like strangers and had to rebuild their lives. What Alberto brought out with him from the School was the teaching of "Self Remembering". When we do not remember ourselves we are asleep, we are not there. The only "real Life" we have during our day is what we do when awake; what is done from a state of Presence. Normally this is about 1%. We can live a whole day and perform most tasks that are required of us without being present or remembering our real selves. Alberto also developed the "Conscious Learning course" for University students of all Faculties.  www.spaziosereno.com
Transformations » Amoda Maa Jeevan - 'Radical Awakening' - Interview by Renate McNay
Amoda Maa Jeevan is a spiritual teacher and the author of: Finding God in Everything and Change your Life, Change your World and of the forthcoming book Radical Awakening - The Birth of a New World and a New You. In this interview Amoda Maa talks about the need of a truly holistic spirituality and of the need to reframe our understanding of what it means to be an awakened human being. Awakening is just the beginning the real journey is the Embodiment of this Awakening. It appears as if the outer world of form is breaking down, but it is the inner World of Consciousness that has reached a Crisis Point and we are called to turn around and join forces with Evolution itself.
Transformations » Ananta - 'Waking Up To Your Essence' - Interview by Iain McNay
Ananta has had to face many challenges in her life. She spent much of her 20's living with a Billionaire; became addicted to cocaine and then heroin. She spent 2 1/2 years in solitary confinement in a prison in Japan. Here she woke up to who she truly is. She was then deported to London where she had the challenge of integrating her realisation into daily life. She now travels and leads Satsangs in different countries.
Transformations » Andrew Rawlinson - 'THE HIT' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Hit - Into The Rock'N'Roll Universe And Beyond' and 'The Book Of Enlightened Masters - Western Teachers in Eastern Traditions.' . Andrew Talks about his life and how he was aware that he was continually 'hit' by realisations, small and large, that enabled him to see through his conditioning. 'The HIT is both a grace and a disturbance. All worlds are a show.. Reality is open It is constantly transforming itself It goes beyond itself It is where illusion begins. All derangements are connected. Like sub atomic particles they just keep reflecting each other jumping between each other and turning into each other. Just like a magic trick where certainty and deception change places. It's a jungle, as soon as you find a path you loose it. Everybody is looking for who they are ------- but they are nobody Not only is the world stranger than you imagine - it is stranger than you can imagine. And we are all collaborators in creation. And what is it to collaborate? To know that we are the mirror as well as the face in it, pain and what cures pain. This is the expanse of spirit: rich and dark. Yes, it's the Gods who are rocking us, who are looking for someone to receive them. There is really no reality without identity, and identity is a show.'
Transformations » Ariel and Shya Kane - 'Being Here' - Interview by Iain McNay
Authors of three books: "Being Here", "Working On Yourself Doesn't Work" and "How To Create Magical Relationships". They talk about their lives, their work, their realisations and how they implement these in day to day life.
Transformations » Arjuna Ardagh - 'Waking Up and Changing the World' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Translucent Revolution - How People Just Like you are waking up and changing the world,' Better Than Sex - The Ecstatic Art of Awakening Coaching' and 'How About Now' talks about his life and work. In 1991, after returning to India for a prolonged period of meditation, Arjuna met H.W.L. Poonja, a direct student of Ramana Maharshi. With Poonja's help, Ardagh went through a radical shift of perspective. Rather than attaining what he had imagined, he had the profound realization that what he had been seeking for was what he already was, and always had been. He realized that it was in the abandonment of all seeking and wanting that the heart found its fulfillment. In 1992 Ardagh to return to the West to "share this secret with his friends." He returned to Seattle and began to work with people one-on-one and in groups, facilitating a dramatic shift in awareness with thousands of people throughout the United States and Europe. He quickly discovered that this same realization was easily accessible to anyone who was willing to look in the right place, and that this had a profound effect on simple day-to-day life.
Transformations » Arthur Brown 'Part 1 - The God Of Hellfire' - Interview by Iain McNay
Arthur has recorded many albums over a 50 year period and is best known for his No 1 Worldwide hit 'Fire.' He has been a major influence on many successful artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls. His music has always been driven by his spiritual realisations, 'So many times I have come away from a gig, head full of stars, ears full of hissing, my throat sore with cinders. My body tired but my heart satisfied with song. What I lived I lived in the moment of performing. I didn't know how to receive the applause, that was not what I was there for, it was the moment when I was not there... my voice was singing but I was in bliss.' From an early age he roamed the hills near where he lived singing, talking in rhyme and making up poetry. His spiritual path led him to practice TM; Shivapuir Baba's 'decision exercise;' spend time living in a Gurdjieff community with JG Bennett and visiting Israel and singing for injured soldiers of both sides, as well as many other adventures. During this time he had many realisations: ''suddenly I was consciousness listening to me. I heard the beginning of everything, it sounded like a huge bell. Just before that I heard voices, sounding like Ohm. I knew that everyone heard it differently and that on different levels of consciousness the sound was different. I had in this meditation entered into the bliss body. It had in the contemplation of the sound become apparent that the bliss body was the balance of yin and yang. The movement of these two, from the original hum sound produced all subsequent sounds.'
Transformations » Arthur Brown 'Part 2 - The Outer And The Inner become One' - Interview by Iain McNay
Arthur has recorded many albums over a 50 year period and is best known for his No 1 Worldwide hit 'Fire.' He has been a major influence on many successful artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls. His music has always been driven by his spiritual realisations, 'So many times I have come away from a gig, head full of stars, ears full of hissing, my throat sore with cinders. My body tired but my heart satisfied with song. What I lived I lived in the moment of performing. I didn't know how to receive the applause, that was not what I was there for, it was the moment when I was not there... my voice was singing but I was in bliss.' From an early age he roamed the hills near where he lived singing, talking in rhyme and making up poetry. His spiritual path led him to practice TM; Shivapuir Baba's 'decision exercise;' spend time living in a Gurdjieff community with JG Bennett and visiting Israel and singing for injured soldiers of both sides, as well as many other adventures. During this time he had many realisations: ''suddenly I was consciousness listening to me. I heard the beginning of everything, it sounded like a huge bell. Just before that I heard voices, sounding like Ohm. I knew that everyone heard it differently and that on different levels of consciousness the sound was different. I had in this meditation entered into the bliss body. It had in the contemplation of the sound become apparent that the bliss body was the balance of yin and yang. The movement of these two, from the original hum sound produced all subsequent sounds.'
Transformations » Arthur Brown 'Part 3 - 'The Core Of Stillness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Arthur has recorded many albums over a 50 year period and is best known for his No 1 Worldwide hit 'Fire.' He has been a major influence on many successful artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls. His music has always been driven by his spiritual realisations. In Part 3 Arthur talks about his time spent studying and teaching the Beshara tradition. He then moved to Austin, Texas where he forged links with Gurdjieff groups while running a painting and decorating business with the Mothers of Invention drummer, Jimmy Carl Black. He tells an amusing story about being with Da Free John and talks about three people that had significant influence on this spiritual development, Mooji, Satyananda and Ganga. He formed a 'Healing Songs Therapy' group with counsellor Jim Maxwell where a song was created for each of their clients to help them heal. He toured with Robert Plant and in 2013 recorded an album 'based on the Cosmos' called 'Zim Zam Zim.' His spiritual journey was always in the foreground, 'Who Am I? Not my body, Not my thoughts. My mind is at peace. I can bear without the slightest restlessness all manifestations - all thoughts and images that arise - both pleasant and painful. Suddenly I know that this awareness of all and everything is itself a limitation. Subjects, object and consciousness are one and the same'
Transformations » Carolyn Cowan - 'The Mantle Of Grace'  Interview by Renate McNay

Carolyn is a Kundalini Yoga Teacher, Teacher Trainer and Psychosexual Therapist specialising in Addiction & Trauma Recovery. Dramatic early Childhood experiences led her into addiction to Smoking, Drugs & Alcohol. Whatever she tried nothing could kill her pain. She became a body painter and worked with many famous Artists such as Bryan Ferry, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Elton John. When doing the make-up for David Bowie one day her life changed dramatically. David took one look at her and told her she was in trouble. He was at the time himself in recovery and wanted her to get well too. He encouraged her to attend AA and stay sober. Soon afterwards she found Kundalini Yoga and started to meditate which has brought great transformation for her. She says: 'Sometimes the pain comes on so suddenly and that can be devastating. When you stay with it  'The Mantel of Grace' can descend and you realise that you have taken a step through a door and nothing will ever be the same again. You can then see how divine Life is here on this Planet. In the interview Carolyn speaks about Addiction, Trauma and the abstractness of the spiritual journey, and how healing began when she became bored with her own story of suffering.

Transformations » Catherine Ingram - 'Practical Wisdom in precarious times' - Interview by Renate McNay
Catherine Ingram is an International Dharma teacher and Author of three books: "Passionate Presence", "A Crack in Everything" and "In the Footsteps of Gandhi". Catherine says, "Our sanctuary is not in finding security in this world. Security in the things and circumstances of the world is an illusion. Our sanctuary is in our ability to relax into 'Present Awareness' and passionately celebrate beauty, to show up in love for our friends and families, to live lightly on this earth, and to experience wonder."
Transformations » Chris Bache - 'Diamonds From Heaven' - Interview by Iain McNay
Chris is author of several books including 'Lifecycles - a study of reincarnation in light of contemporary consciousness research'; 'Dark Night, Early Dawn - a pioneering work in psychedelic philosophy and collective consciousness'; and 'The Living Classroom,' an exploration of teaching and collective fields of consciousness.' He is currently completing his new book, 'Diamonds from Heaven: A 20 Year Journey into the Mind of the Universe.' This latest book is a detailed account of 20 years of discovery initiated by taking 73 high doses of LSD. This journey was inspired by Stan Grof's book 'In Realms of the Human Unconscious' which convinced him that the entire intellectual tradition he had absorbed was based upon a superficial experience of the human psyche. He felt he couldn't turn down the invitation of extending his experience of his mind to have first-hand knowledge of these domains. In this interview Chris shares some of the boundaries crossed, lessons learned and the experiences he had during this 20 year psychedelic journey. Categories include: crossing the perinatal plain, the ocean of suffering, Deep Time and the soul, the Greater Real of archetypal reality, the birth of the Future Human, Diamond Luminosity, and integrating the Infinite. This really is a very unique interview.
Transformations » Chris Hebard - 'The Journey To Stillness Speaks' - Interview by Iain McNay
Chris is the founder, interviewer and moderator of the Stillness Speaks TV channel and website. He was previously a successful business man until his life started to fall apart and he was forced to reassess everything. He tells his story and speaks about Stillness which is now prominent in his life. His mantra of 'More' has now become 'Celebration'.
Transformations » Christopher J. Smith - 'Discovering My Secret Self' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Secret Self - A Practical Guide to Spiritual Awakening and Inner Freedom.' From an early age Chris had a sense that society didn't feel right and felt strange how people believed and identified with things which were not real. As a child he had subtle experiences of 'no identity.' He left school and joined the army where he learnt the true meaning of conditioning, he felt it was like a prison within a prison. A Corporal said to him. 'we want to break you down and rebuild you as we want you.' After leaving he started to have paranormal experiences and then his first real breakthrough occurred when he was 21 after being hospitalised with food poisoning. It looked like he wasn't going to recover so he completely let go of the struggle and allowing death to happen and then a great sense of peace, calm and clarity came which allowed his mind began to rest for the first time. Life was up and down for a time until he found the following online: 'As you look at a tree, see the tree and not the thoughts about the tree. When you look at it observe the shape, colour and presence of it without thinking about the shape, colour and presence of it. Just look quietly and then you will see the reality of this thing called the 'tree', as you will see the reality of any object'. Contemplating on this shifted him into an experience of complete oneness with the tree and everything else; any filter dropped away. There was no longer a watching or watched, just one in the same. 'I could not say what was me and what was not me. It was like floating in an ocean.'
Transformations » Chris Parish - 'Conscious Evolution' - Interview by Iain McNay
Chris is the director of EnlightenNext in the UK. Has been a seeker all his life. Studied Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal in his 20s and also Vipassana. Then worked with Douglas Harding. Met Andrew Cohen in 1986 and felt that was the beginning of his real spiritual journey. 'Life became ecstatic and inherently meaningful.' But he felt the experience of enlightenment was not enough and he had to: 'Align myself with what I recognized to be true.' Chris was involved with the birth of evolutionary enlightenment and learnt the need to cultivate more foundation in evolutionary perspective. 'My eyes are literally the eyes of the universe reaching to become conscious of itself.'
Transformations » Christopher Titmuss 'An Awakening Life' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 14 books including 'An Awakening Life,' 'Light On Enlightenment', 'Transforming Our Life' and 'Inner Calm', Christopher talks about his life including his time as a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Part of that time was spent living in a cave in the mountains. He explains what he calls, 'the new way of being a human being' and the 'Four Noble Truths.'
Transformations » Claudio Naranjo - 'Seeker After Truth' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of over 20 books including 'Healing Civilization' and 'Enneagram of Society: Healing the Soul to Heal the World'. In this interview Claudio talks about his life and his first teacher, Totila Albert. How he first experimented with Ecstasy in therapeutic sessions; how he worked with Fritz Pearls; his time with Oscar Ichazo and how he took the basic Enneagram idea and developed the personality types. He shares about his first 'Seekers After Truth' groups and the long period when he felt he had 'fallen from Grace.' A fascinating interview.
Transformations » Daniel Doen Silberberg 'The Zen Of Alice' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of the book, 'Wonderland - The Zen Of Alice' Daniel talks about his life including 15 years spent as a student at Gurdjieff schools and 15 years at a Zen Monastery. Daniel received transmission of the Zen lineage from Genpo Roshi in 2003 and he now teaches through his Lost Coin School.
Transformations » David Bingham - 'Effortless Being' - Interview by Renate McNay
David is a spiritual guide and has helped many people to realise their True Nature. We did some interviews with David many years ago in the early days of conscious.tv and you can find his story of awakening in those. In this interview he explains how Self Realisation is becoming increasingly easy and that determination is the most important factor in achieving it. He tells us a few stories about some of his students who Woke Up recently. 'Realisation is effortless and is not an experience.' We need to realise that we are already Effortless Being, that's all we can ever be and by resting in it solutions we need will arise from infinite intelligence. He also explains what the biggest obstacle to realise ones Being is and the difference between Self Realisation and Waking Up. He talks about Integration and refinement following Self Realisation and different ways to disengage the Mind and integrate effortless Being into daily experience. 
Transformations » Debra Wilkinson - 'Awake And Ready' - Interview by Iain McNay
Debra was the child of an alcoholic Mother who started seeking because she could not live with her mind's conditioning anymore. She was a mass of anxiety, hurt and plagued by the past and terrified by the future. She started to meditate which helped to lift the heavy energies she had acquired. She developed a very painful nerve condition and learnt to be with the pain. Found that a dreadful curse became a true blessing. She would spend 5 hours a day in meditation and got to the point where, 'I was done.' 'I thought I knew who I was but suddenly I wasn't that anymore. So I sat with it and asked 'Who Am I?' 'Who or what is that?' And the answer came 'I am God!' I realised in that moment I am God in expression and now my mind was free. Now there is just me and God and me knowing that I am God.'
Transformations » Dr Kriben Pillay - 'Nothing Intrinsically Real' - Interview by Iain McNay
Kriben sees himself as 'an appearance, nothing intrinsically real.' He works as a magician, mentalist and as an associate Professor of Leadership in Durban, South Africa. He talks about how realisations through Krishnamurti, Douglas Harding and Byron Katie transformed his reality.
Transformations » Dr. B. Alan Wallace - 'My Buddhist Journey' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of several books including "Hidden Dimensions: The Unification of Physics and Consciousness", Alan Wallace recalls his early adventures in Europe and India which led him to discover Buddhism. He also talks about the levels of meditation and the importance of true balance in life.
Transformations » Eli Jaxon-Bear - 'Wake Up' - Interview by Iain McNay
Eli's spiritual path started in 1971, when he was a federal fugitive during the Vietnam war. In 1978, Kalu Rinpoche appointed him the president of the first Kagyu dharma centre in Marin County. In 1982, he was presented with a Zen Teaching Fan at ChoShoJi Zen Temple in Japan. After a search took him around the world and into many traditions and practices, his path and his search ended when he was pulled to India in 1990, where he met his final teacher, Sri H.W.L. Poonja. Confirming Eli's realization, his teacher sent him back into the world to share his unique psychological insights into the nature of egoic suffering in support of self-realization. Eli infuses the teaching with his teacher's living transmission of silence. He presents a unique map of egoic identification as a vehicle for ruthless self-inquiry and final realization of true freedom. He dedicates his life to passing on the transmission of his teacher. Eli currently meets people and teaches through the Leela Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to world peace and freedom through universal self-realization. He is the author of "Sudden Awakening into Direct Realization" (New World Library), "The Enneagram of Liberation: From Fixation to Freedom" (Gangaji Foundation Press), and he is the editor of Wake Up and Roar: Satsang with H.W.L. Poonja
Transformations » Eric Gross - 'Liberation From The Lie' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Liberation From The Lie - Cutting The Roots Of Fear Once And For All' Eric talks very candidly about his search for freedom. He learnt that the 'fear-self' is at the root of our difficulty to free ourselves and feels that his book is a 'liberation manual' containing the keys to deconstructing ourselves. 'The World is in crisis and we are in crisis.'
Transformations » Ginger Gilmour - 'Bright Side Of The Moon' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Bright Side Of The Moon' Met and married Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour with whom she had 4 children. Started her spiritual journey when she became very ill and discovered meditation. Worked and trained with Irena Tweedie, Cecil Collins, Dr Wenger Engel and Gerhard Adler on her processes over the years. 'I discovered the answer to the shadow Collective Unconscious including Anima and Animus. I realised I had always placed a shield between myself and my shadow - I only wanted to focus on Love light and Beauty - I discovered the shadow was marked - 'do not enter broken dreams' I was a puppet controlled by the darkness.' In this interview she talks about her life, her passions, her struggles and breakthroughs and her realizations. Ginger now works as a painter and sculptor.
Transformations » Heath Thompson - 'Returning To The Source Is Stillness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Heath's spirituality began by joining a Buddhist practice under the teachings of the Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hahn. He joined a two-year distance learning course called Foundation of Buddhism but quit believing that if there is an Absolute Truth it would be simple and not require academic discussion to find it. His Realisation occurred over two, perhaps three 'moments'; the first happened the day he quit the course, 'I was sitting in the garden absent-mindedly watching bees and insects flying around while drinking tea and I suddenly noticed a feeling appear in my stomach that vanished the moment I witnessed it, and an inner voice said to me "you will never feel that again." So he decided to simply sit without a real reason and just be silent and see if it returns - and it did, long enough for him to realise what was being expressed; an endless pool of stillness. 'My life totally changed a month later when getting out of bed I glanced through the window at the sky and saw, felt, heard the same Presence I had felt on the inside and I knew at once all is One, there is no inside or outside, no here or there, no birth or death, nowhere to go, nothing to do - all is as it is. I laughed at myself for even though I suspected the Truth to be simple I had not expected it to be ablaze wherever I looked. This happened in October 2009 and I spent until February 2011 feeling unable to express what I knew as my sangha had people with over 20 years experience of practice who didn't like my attempts to question some of the teachings. In the end I decided to leave and spend my time learning from nature.'
Transformations » Helen Hamilton - 'The Silence and The Fear' - Interview by Iain McNay
Helen has written 7 books including 'Reality Check - a simple guide to enlightenment,' and 'The Story of I'. She was always searching for something in my life and for many years she didn't know what it was. She always felt different as a child and could see energy and auras around her and desperately tried to fit in and find peace but it never came. A sense of an empty void began to grow inside her in her twenties and eventually she realised she was suffering from depression. She tried various forms of healing, reiki, meditations but they only gave her temporary relief. But then for one brief moment all mind chatter stopped and when it resumed she spent years searching for how to get back to that "place". She pursuing yoga, Kundalini teachings, Vipassana meditations and much more and experienced awakening in what seemed to be stages. During her awakening she experienced lengthy delays and many obstacles and issues and struggled to overcome blocks and got stuck many times. There were many delays and dark moments. In this interview Helen talks us through her journey and explains how she now sees reality.
Transformations Henry Shukman - 'Finally, I Gave Myself Up' - Interview by Iain McNay
Henry has written several books, some biographical, some poetry, and some novels. This interview is based on his latest book; his autobiography 'One Blade of Grass.' He takes us through his life; from severe eczema, depression and anxiety to finding meditation and Zen. He travelled for a time in South America and had an extraordinary experience on a beach which left him in awe but puzzled as he had no reference point to what had happened. Back in the UK after finding meditation and then Zen he started to work with Koans. In time he discovered the hidden treasures that contemplative practice and Zen can reveal. He now runs the 'Mountain Cloud Zen Centre' in New Mexico.

Transformations » Ishtar (Thomas Howell) - 'Relax. And Enlightenment is Waiting For You' - Interview by Renate McNay

Ishtar is a Meditation teacher, Ishaya Monk, Gardener, Writer and intuitive Astrologer. He had a sense of himself until the age of 7 and saw the World infused with boundless and bottomless Light. At 13 he was in a car accident that took his Mothers life and initiated an NDA (near death experience) which threw him into a profound Samadhi experience where he saw in a flash his whole Life before his eyes in perfect detail along with the knowledge of every time he made a choice from fear, limitation or conditioning. After the Samadhi faded he fell into intense grieving and depression and wanted to find his way back. He began a meditation practice and ascetic discipline with cold showers at 3am, fasting and many hours of meditation, he became a monk in his own home. Years later he found a practice known as the Ishaya Ascension and started living in a monastic environment dedicated to the practice and training to become a teacher. Miracles and wild manifestations were frequent and Awareness slowly saturated more and more of his life. A good spiritual practice is guiding us into the most fundamental and expansive octave of our nervous system. He says: "One doesn't have to do anything to wake up, just relax. Samadhi is waiting for us to relax. In Samadhi the psychic impressions are being destroyed and freeing up our Nervous System." He also talks about his lifelong interest in Astrology which is a fascinatingly accurate window into the strength and weaknesses of Peoples psyche. In his work he's tuning into the multi-layered music of the Soul.
Transformations » Ian Watson - 'Less Is More' - Interview by Renate McNay
Ian is the co-founder of "The Lakeland College for Homeopathy". In this interview he talks about his resignation in 2003 in order to persue a growing interest in other forms of self-healing and inner growth. He found the missing link and his main work today is in the field Consciousness and Transformation. He is author of 'The Tao Of Homeopathy.'
Transformations » Ian Wolstenholme - 'Negotiate Your Freedom' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Emotional Hostage - Negotiate Your Future' talks about his awakening and how it impacted his life. 'Self Discovery is the process of seeking yourself, seeing through the illusions of your conditioning and finding the real you. Everyone will tell you to be yourself but how can you know which of the voices inside your head is the real you?
Transformations » Jah Wobble - 'Riding The Sonic Boom To Heaven' - Interview by Iain McNay
Jah Wobble was the original bass player in the band, Public Image Limited (PIL), which was formed by former Sex-pistols singer John Lydon (Rotten). He was 17 when he joined the band. He came from a tough and at times violent East London background. When he was young he developed a taste for short wave radio oscillations; they put him into a stat...e of trance and he could sleep better. 'It felt like listening to infinity.' From an early age he had strong spiritual bent, he discovered the Upanishads and was captivated by ancient teachings. Music, especially the bass guitar and his spiritual life became indelibly intertwined. 'When you truly accept the bass as an emanation of God as the ground of existence you make a friend of impermanence, a state of flux, therefore the fear of losing what you have diminishes.you truly ride the rhythm - you will reside in the residence of 'OM' you can ride the sonic boom to heaven.' 'My bass playing relies first and foremost on intuition - it is necessary to remain innocent - intuition is directed from the solar plexus - the knowing sun in the guts.' After years on the road with bands he became an alcoholic, 'Whenever I drank all the fear disappeared and the tension left my body' but he couldn't go on like that and became completely burnt out. His Marriage broke up and he was left with crushing sense of failure. After joining AA and finding a real depth in his spiritual path life, 'I found I was grateful for every drink and drug I had taken because it was because of them I now had a beautiful and stable life which in turn led to a great productivity. I felt really alive and sensitised, I had simply grasped what it is to be human. Everything in life was sort of emptying out and becoming simpler. I was now at the stage of developing a meditative mind. There came a point where there was no difference between making music and spirituality - the world might have been getting crazier but I was getting better.'
Transformations » JC Mac - 'My Path To Enlightenment' - Interview By Iain McNay
From an early age JC was 'obsessed with finding God'. For a time he lived on the streets in North America selling guns to make a living. His life slowly began to change and he then became a successful life coach. Then in 2005 a dramatic opening occurred through which he eventually found silence, bliss and peace.
Transformations » Jeddah Mali - 'Recognizing Truth' - Interview by Renate McNay
Jeddah is an International Teacher on Enlightenment who had, already at a very young age, a deep understanding of the Nature of Reality. She embarked on a 20 year long journey at the age of 20 with the world's highest ranking masters such as the Dalai Lama and spending hundreds of hours in practice, meditation, analysis and exploration. Throughout her life she had a series of awakenings, culminating now in a moment to moment awareness of the source of all existence.
Transformations » Jeff Foster - 'The Waves are the Ocean' - Interview by Renate McNay
Jeff is author of 5 books including, 'The Deepest Acceptance: Radical Awakening In Ordinary Life,' 'An Extraordinary Absence: Liberation in the Midst Of A Very Ordinary Life,' and 'The Wonder of Being.' In this Interview he gives us the Metaphor of the Ocean and the Waves and invites us to discover the Ocean of who we are: an Awareness that has already allowed every Wave of emotion and experience to arrive, they are our beloved children. Jeff explains how we can stop running from "the mess of our life" into the deepest Acceptance of the moment and radically Awaken in Ordinary Life. He also shares with us in depth his own process.
Transformations » Jessica Britt - 'The Great Alchemy' - Interview by Iain McNay
Jessica is a teacher in the Ridhwan school. She talks openly about her life and the journey that has taken her from Freudian therapy to Jungian work to Gestalt practice. She lived at Esalen for 10 years and started to have sessions with Hammed Ali (AH Almaas) before joining the Ridhwan school in its early years. 'Transcendence is the first step to know one's nature - the nature of everything. The next step is to live this more and more; the one subject expresses itself in your/my/our location.'
Transformations » Jez Alborough - ‘My Personality Just Fell Apart…..'
Author of 'The Story Of You and 'The Infinite Journey.' Jez was a very successful children's author having sold over 8 million books. He was always aware of two sides of his life; a creative, outgoing character who loved and enjoyed himself and also deep down a traumatised, damaged side which was mostly hidden away. While cycling he would sometimes experience 'the sensation of golden light in my spine which put my thinking process in neutral and released me into a state of bliss. I could observe my life but there was a distance to it, almost as if it was happening to someone else.' Later when his career took off he would sometimes feel strange. 'It was as if something in me had fused: my hands went cold and my heart started racing; I felt abnormally stressed.' These episodes disturbed him. At one point he took a holiday which he hoped would put right whatever was wrong with him. But at one point, 'my knees buckled beneath me, my whole Personality just fell apart - there was no coming back. It was what UG Krishnamurti calls "the calamity." I couldn't pull myself together. The centre from which I'd previously operated just wasn't functioning, this was accompanied by tremendous anxiety.' In this interview Jez tells us his fascinating story as well as the realisations that he came to through this process, and the world he now lives in.
Transformations » Jo Berry and Pat Magee - 'Building Bridges' - Interview by Iain McNay
On 12th October 1984 a bomb exploded in the Grand Hotel in Brighton. The majority of the senior figures in the Conservative Party Conference were staying there at the time as it was during the Conservative Party annual conference. Five people were killed including Jo Berry's father, Sir Anthony Berry, the MP for Southgate. IRA member Pat Magee was convicted of the bombing and sentenced to 8 life sentences. He was however released from prison in 1999 after the Good Friday peace agreement. Jo Berry was determined that something good should come out of the tragedy and eventually met Pat Magee several months after he was released. They now work together in the area of Reconciliation and Conflict Resolution. In this moving and intimate interview they tell their stories.
Transformations » Jon Bernie- ''Ordinary Freedom' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Ordinary Freedom' and 'The Unbelievable Happiness Of What Is.' When he was 4 years old Jon looking up at the stars and asked "what is going on here? Where are we? What is this?" At 6 he started to learn the violin and practiced 2 to 4 hours a day. At 16 he decided to sit in a chair indefinitely to see if he could find what he was looking for. 'Suddenly there was no more room, and there was no more me. It was like I had merged into the sun - like I had become the sun. It was like a kind of universal orgasm, as if every cell in my body had had its own nuclear explosion.' Later he became a monk meditating for 8 hours a day. After leaving the monastery he met Jean Klein who he describes as his 'root guru.' He also spent time with Robert Adams and Adyashanti. 'There was a deep letting go that I realized I had been waiting for a long, long time, and now here it was. In the past there had always been some remaining fear that kept me from fully letting go, but now it was time, and finally I just let it happen - was like a complete annihilation - would later refer to this experience as the end of fear.'
Transformations » Jonathan Harrison - 'Naked Being' - Interview by Iain McNay
Jonathan is author of 'We Are All One' and 'Naked Being.' He talks about his life and his many realisations which have led to a state of oneness and Non-duality. He explains how he sees the human race moving towards the realisation that they are multi-dimentional beings.
Other » Jürgen Ziewe - 'Vistas Of Infinity' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of 'The Ten Minute Moment,' 'Multi-Dimensional Man,' and 'Vistas of Infinity.' Jürgen started to meditate at an early age and at one point suddenly discovered himself out of his body. At first he didn't realise what had happened but found confirmation in the books of Carlos Casteneda. He found that there is a wormhole right in the centre of our brains which can catapult us into a parallel world. In this interview he talks us through his many dramatic adventures over 40 years into higher dimensional realities from the darkest places to the most illuminated regions of cosmic Consciousness and realms. He also found out what happens to us after death. He says: "The moment we leave our physical body behind our unconscious becomes our new external walking reality." "Every day I wake up it is the first day of an infinite future."
Transformations » Jürgen Ziewe - ‘The Ten Minute Moment' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Ten Minute Moment,' 'Multi-Dimensional Man,' and 'Vistas of Infinity.' After 40 years of meditation which had gradually taken him to deeper and deeper places Jürgen went on a 7 day personal retreat in as remote cabin in Scotland. He meditated most of the day and experienced a profound awakening. 'After a meditation I slowly opened my eyes and sized up my surroundings - my body had become part of the furniture. I could still perceive the external world through my eyes but my body had turned into a shell - a cardboard cutout - reality was being stripped away before my eyes. I could no longer be sure of what was happening - it was beyond and outside anything I had come to know. The stillness was too vast in its scope to be grasped. There was no reality as I knew it. The thing is it has always been different but I hadn't noticed. It was reality stripped of any familiarity. I could almost not bear it. For a moment I wanted to go back. In an instant I recognised that I was just a thought; an imagination without no substance. This was the death of all deaths. I had arrived at zero point. I was about to be surrendered and reabsorbed into the source. One more step and there would be no return - I was staring into the merciless face of God.' He also talks us through his life, how he refused to accept that the 5 senses was all there is to reality and how that led to a life long quest to find out who or what this consciousness was conscious of.
Transformations » Karen Johnson - 'The ALIVENESS of Presence' - Interview by Iain McNay
Karen is a co-founder of The Ridhwan School/Diamond Approach with A.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali). She talks about her life, her meeting with Almaas and how their friendship lead to the creation and the on-going development of the school. She also shares her own remarkable expression of presence in its many manifestations.
Transformations » Kevin Billett - 'My Journey To Wholeness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Kevin is co-author, with his wife Brandon Bays, of 'Consciousness The New Currency.' In this interview he talks in detail about his life and how he finally found peace and freedom. Kevin says: 'All of life, I am that. Nothing external can ever complete me. I always come back to stillness.'
Transformations » Leonard Jacobson - 'The Path Of Champions' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Journey Into Now - Clear Guidance on the Path of Spiritual Awakening', 'Words From Silence' and 'Bridging Heaven and Earth: A Return to the One Leonard was originally working as a lawyer in Australia when he spontaneously resigned one day to follow a new path. Shortly afterwards he heard two words, 'Creativity and Communication' and this led him to become a copywriter. In Xmas 1981 he had the first of a dramatic spiritual opening on a retreat which completely changed the path of his life and his understanding of reality. More awakening experiences followed each with a period of integration in between. He now has a unique teaching which has two basic steps; the first step leading to presence, and the second to mastery. The second step is divided into 4 stages. Resistance of the Ego; Denial of who you have become; Repression of past emotions and Entanglement to the Other. In this interview Leonard talks about his path and his teaching.
Transformations » Mandi Solk - 'Self Enquiry - Know Yourself' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of 'The Joy Of No Self' talks about her complete turn around of her belief that there is nothing you can do to awaken to "YES" there is something you can doMandi found lasting freedom through the method of "Self Enquiry" by Ramana Maharshi.
Transformations » Marc John - 'The Ex-Seeker' - Interview by Iain McNay
Marc is author of 'The Ex-Seeker' and made the film 'Beheading Buddha'. Here he talks about his dramatic awakening when he was 34 years old. This event initiated an intense investigation over the next few years to find out what had actually happened.
Transformations » Martin Wells - 'Sitting In the Stillness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Martin is author of the book 'Sitting In the Stillness' and works as a psychotherapist in the British NHS. In his late teens he started to be drawn to Eastern philosophy and meditation. He began reading Jung avidly and started on an unconscious search to change his core belief. After years of practising as a therapist and meditation teacher he was becoming increasingly jaded when he went to a lecture by Jean-Marc Mantel. Almost immediately he had the experience of everything falling away, of all his searching coming to an end, and a feeling of peace and fulfilment and stillness. This experience started a completely new way of relating to life, and his work.
Transformations » Martyn Wilson - 'The State Of No Thought' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Enlightenment - The Keys To Consciousness.' Martyn only talks from his own experience. He was an ordinary guy with a normal life; family, work and all the usual stresses. He met Maria who was interested in spiritual enlightenment and at first he was very sceptical of her interest. He set out to disprove that such a thing existed and worked hard to find faults in her arguments. But then 'the impossible happened' and he actually started to wake up himself. He found a method that stilled his mind, and his thoughts would stop for few seconds. He persevered and in time those few seconds became a few minutes. He then found he could stop all uncontrolled thoughts and was in control of his mind. What had been his master became his servant. He talks us through his story and shares the method that he found worked for him as a meditation.
Transformations » Mary Reed - 'The Journey Of An Unwitting Mystic' - Interview by Iain McNay
Mary is author of the book, 'Unwitting Mystic - Evolution Of The Message Of Love.' In the Summer of 2000 she heard a voice deep inside her saying 'You are supposed to be doing something very important.' It didn't leave her alone; the more she tried to ignore it the more persistent it became. She then started to have visions of Christ, Buddha, the Dalai Lama and others. She had no religious or spiritual background and tried to find help to understand and integrate them. Everything failed to make sense to her. Her life fell apart and she attempted suicide by taking 97 pills, but woke up 2 days later. She felt remorse and supreme surrender. Eventually she found help which led her to India where she is now based in a Nunnery. She tells her fascinating story and talks about the realisations life has led her to.
Transformations » Matthew Sanford - 'Waking to Life and Death' - Interview by Iain McNay.
Author of 'Waking - A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence.' Paralyzed from chest downwards in a car crash at 13 Matthew has a remarkable story of survival and determination. For a time he escaped the pain by leaving his body. Years later he started to practice yoga and his entire body 'started whispering to him again.' His sense of who he was, was 'broken wide open.' Now he teaches yoga and focuses on 'the energetic release that is happening in his students mind-body relationships.'
Transformations » Michael Barnett - 'The Truth Comes Sideways' - Interview by Iain McNay
Michael was born in London, graduated at Cambridge University in Maths and Law and became a highly successful businessman for a while, then a world traveller. On returning to London he set up the lay movement known as 'People Not Psychiatry' and established his own Growth Centre, 'Community'. In 1974 he become a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) and made a name for himself as leader of intensive seminars in Poona and other Rajneesh centres. In 1982 he left this movement and set up his own Energyfield known as The Wild Goose Company. In this in-depth interview he talks about his life, his work, enlightenment and even finds time to talk about his love for Arsenal football club!
Transformations » Mike Kewley - You Are Not What You Think - Interview by Iain McNay
Mike was obsessed with becoming enlightened since childhood - for him that was the point of living. He knew from an early age that the voice in his head wasn't him. He had some terrifying experiences of no-self which led to panic attacks and depression. Eventually he decided that he needed to drop the desire for enlightenment and somehow fix his life; after a time, he was much happier. He then had the experience that ended his search for enlightenment. Mike said, "There's just the impersonal flow of awareness being everything without exception, no way to get it and no way to get out of it. It basks in the ordinary and mundane as well as the fireworks."
Transformations » Mukti - 'Stillness' - Interview by Renate McNay
Mukti had an early yearning to know God. She felt a fire in herself to find out what true marriage is. After a direct experience of knowing who she really is, awareness recognised itself as emptiness. She is married to Adyashanti.
Transformations » Nishant Matthews - 'Finding Compassion With Yourself' - Interview by Iain McNay
Nishant is author of "The Friend" and works as a therapist and spiritual teacher in Holland and Scandinavia. The interview is about finding spirituality in daily life using stories and examples from his personal experience.
Transformations » Nurit Oren - 'The Blonde On The Rocky Road to Freedom' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Blind Leading The Blonde On The Road To Freedom.' Nurit was born in Israel, her parents were atheist Jewish pioneers - in a Kibbutz where the kids lived separately - there was no family unit to relate to - was allowed to be wild/play naked. But all changed when family moved to Canada. In her late teens served in the Israeli army for two years where she was stationed in Gaza where it was very dangerous. One day she hitchhiked to the wailing wall in Jerusalem and stuck a piece of paper between the cracks saying ' I want to find true love, divine love, the love of God that is pure, unchanging and everlasting.' Found books by Muktananda and went to live in his ashram in India where she was a dedicated disciple. There she got up at 3am every day - then meditation then chanting then work no breakfast, then chanting then lunch then work then more chanting then work, then dinner. There was no socialising at all. She had a kundalini awakening then decided to stay indefinitely. But Muktananda died. Moved to Toronto, found a teacher called Dr Mills and stayed with him for 15 years. She had then been on a spiritual path for 40 years and still didn't feel free. Met Gabor Harsanyi, 'It's very simple. Look at me and feel your hand without looking at it. Notice that your mind will stop.' When she did this something shifted inside her She felt a very subtle sensation of wellness and peace. 'Now I get it' she realised 'This is it.. this is what I have been searching for.'
Transformations » Padma Wolff - 'Investigating Freedom' - Interview by Renate McNay
Padma Wolff met her teachers from the lineage of the East-Indian sage Sri Ramana Maharishi and in particular Isaac, Sri Poonjaji, Gangaji and Eli Jaxon-Bear, in the mid-nineties. Inspired by these encounters, she thoroughly investigated the controversial interface between psychotherapy and spirituality, as part of her studies in psychology. In particular through Eli Jaxon-Bear and the 'Leela Therapy' he developed, she experienced how useful and potent the combination of psychotherapeutic and spiritual means can serve to support the discovery of our True Self. This True Self has always been and will always be whole and intact. Accordingly Padma understands psychotherapy in the etymologically original and literal sense of the word as accompanying the soul back to its origin and back into its original state.
Transformations » Paul Holman – ‘Freedom Through Spatial Awareness’ - Interview by Iain McNay
Paul is author of 'Living Space - Openness and Freedom through Spatial Awareness.' He is a Doctor with 40 years' experience in psychiatry and has a lifelong interest in mind-body relationships. He began to realize that an expanded experience of space was reported by individuals who had woken up. The work of Douglas Harding had an immediate and extraordinary effect on him and he started to look for other accounts of radical changes in perception. He feels that as Westerners we are preoccupied with foreground experiences and our attentional style is narrow which has pervaded most aspects of our lives and leads to narrow focus. Becoming aware of space has made an enormous difference in his practice and his work with clients. In this interview he talks about his experiences and his work and how an awareness of Spatial Awareness can lead to freedom.
Transformations » Ravi Ravindra - 'A Voice Without A Form' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of many books including 'Science and the Sacred,' 'Krishnamurti - Two Birds On One Three' and 'Heart Without Measure. - Gurdjieff work with Madam de Salzmann.' Ravi was born in India in 1939. As a teenager he found himself reading the works of Swami Vivekananda and being 'pulled by a longing to understand the mystery and significance of life. He was struck by one particular statement: 'I am a voice without a form.' It opened a door to a new dimension for him. He talks about his time with Krishnamurti, 'Silence was a special delight to both of us, it was easy to understand each other's thoughts and feelings.' And then his 10 years with Madame De Salzmann who was head of the Gurdjieff work since the latter's death in 1949. She stressed, 'attention is all that we have, that is to say, attention is all that we can bring. The rest is out of our control. A higher energy is there. The purpose of man's existence on Earth is to allow the exchange of energy between the earth and higher levels of existence.'
Transformations » Ray Menezes - 'Life Story - Interview by Iain McNay
Ray almost drowned in Sri Lanka at 26 years old. He gave up hope and a change in consciousness occurred. He became determined to understand what caused this change. As a result of meditation practice his enquiry broadened in an attempt to find out why the mind works the way it does. He eventually saw that, 'There was no me' and that separation is an illusion. Ray talks about his spiritual journey over many years and what has helped him on his way. He now works as a meditation teacher and runs retreats in Europe.
Transformations » Reena Gagneja - 'Awaken And be Free' - Interview by Renate McNay
Since her teens Reena has been on a journey to find 'the truth.' She was born into a Hindu family, practiced a Japanese form of Buddhism for seven years and then, Christianity for two, all in a search for the 'meaning of life'. She has come to know that the Universe is perfectly logical, very just and highly intelligent. She saw during the 'dark night' that what she had been looking for so hard in outer religions and people was already within her and within all people; including wisdom, compassion, peace and most importantly Love. The Oneness that all people and all things rest in, became her experience. In this interview she tells the story of her life and how this realisation impacted her.
Transformations » Richard Moss - 'Radical Aliveness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Richard is author of many books including "How Shall I Live?", "The Black Butterfly", "The Second Miracle" and "The Mandala Of Being". He talks about his life, his awakening and how we can all live in a more alive way.
Transformations » Rory O'Connor - 'I Can't Do This Anymore' - Interview by Iain McNay
Rory was the youngest of 8 children and raised in the Catholic tradition. 'I remember looking at my parent's life and thinking that it seemed like a kind of hell, a trap that they 'believed' they could not get out of. From where I stood, frustration seemed to dog their lives.' He became a drummer in a heavy metal band but became very depressed and stopped playing music. But he kept searching, reading, started TM, and openings started to appear. 'At some point in my late thirties I had a real moment of clarity, a paradigm shift. I realised that what I understood of quantum science and the eastern traditions was essentially describing the same thing ie. the concept of everything appearing out of nothing through the observer. From then on 'reality' seemed a lot less 'solid'. 'Concurrent events in my personal life had also conspired to create an actual 'breakdown' moment where the pain of trying to keep everything 'together' caused me to smash the kitchen table to pieces with my bare hands only to find myself sitting in the rubble saying repeatedly "I can't do this anymore". It may not sound like it but this 'moment of surrender' was the best thing that ever happened to me.' 'When you know that you know nothing then you are free to consider anything and believe nothing. It doesn't matter how you describe it or label it life simply is what it is and the description/label is meaningless'
Transformations » Saraswathi - 'The Light Of Wisdom' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of 'Averi And The Unknown' talks about her Awakening in 2003 and since then the constant peeling away of old structures and beliefs. Awakening is just the first step, then you need to clear up the whole world. She was asked by her teacher Sai Baba to hold talks on the Heart. After her Awakening also words started to emerge and she wrote a thought provoking spiritual Novel.
Transformations » Susanne Marie - 'Embodiment Is Never Ending' - Interview by Renate McNay
Susanne Marie is a spiritual Mentor and Guide. In this Interview she tells us her story of Awakening and her experience of Oneness as a child. She talks about the challenge of the realization of our True Nature within the context of raising children and having a family. Close to her Heart is Embodiment, welcoming all of ourselves, knowing everything is God. Embodiment is never ending until the last breath. She says: "There is a growing movement in the awareness of the collective consciousness to include the understanding that our bodies are Divine. Consciousness is evolving to include all of itself. The era of recognizing the Absolute Truth that I am not the body, is expanding"
Transformations » Tejo - 'My Journey To and With Ridhwan' - Interview by Iain McNay
Tejo had his first spiritual experiences when he was a teenager. He then travelled overland to India to join the Rajneesh commune in Poona. He talks about his life as a sanyassin and then how he found, many years later, the Ridhwan school and his subsequent experiences.
Transformations » Tony Samara - 'A Modern Shaman's Journey' - Interview by Iain McNay
Tony is author of 'A Shaman's Wisdom'. He talks about his early life; moving to live in a Zen Monastery when he was 18; how he later went to live in the Amazon Jungle for several years moving from village to village and learning about himself and Shamanism. It is a fascinating story of determination, courage and of following your truth.
Transformations » Tony Samara - 'The Human Heart Is The Hero' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of several books including, 'Deeper than Words', 'From the Heart', 'Shaman's Wisdom', Tony was initiated into Shamanism in the jungles of South America. In this interview he talks about the loss of our instinctive connection with Nature and how we can regain our ONENESS with All That Is. Also, Tony talks about his deep commitment to the Evolution of Consciousness. He says, "the heart is what makes a Human Being a HERO".
Transformations » Turiya Hanover - 'I Wanted To Know How To Die' - Interview by Iain McNay
Co-founder of 'The Path Of Love' seminars. In 1972, Turiya and her husband were part of developing the first German Humanistic Psychology Growth Center known as Zist. The internal shift that she experienced there was profound and set her and her husband on a new course of human development, which lead them to India where she was to meet and become a disciple of Bhagwan/Osho. The sudden, unexpected death of her husband marked a turning point for Turiya and deeply influenced her own personal search and how she works with people today. In this interview she talks honestly and openly about her life and her spiritual journey.

^top
 

Life Stories
Authors » Alan Budge - Challenges of The Spiritual Path - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of For God's Sake, Alan describes this book as the true story of his tragi-comic quest for spiritual enlightenment. He says, "Having given up on the entirely godless realm of would-be smart London restaurants, I journeyed widely through India, China, Tibet, and parts of West Yorkshire. I also worked for various would-be deeply spiritual organisations. This unflinching quest for truth led, not entirely unexpectedly, to a far from enlightened descent into alcoholism and misery. But then after sobering up I began to ponder: what is really at the heart of all this spiritual carry-on? Can it be of any use, given the challenges we face?"
Authors » Anne Geraghty - Interview by Iain McNay
Anne Geraghty is a writer, lecturer and psycho-spiritual therapist. She runs workshops on love, relationships, planetary homoeopathy and the geoMystery. 'My life as a: cocktail shaker, psychotherapist, writer, shampoo girl, educational psychologist, taxi driver, cleaner, mother, researcher for the M.R.C., waitress, clinical psychologist, socialist feminist, factory worker, disciple of a tantric guru, maths tutor, relationship counsellor, adventurer into the psycho spiritual wild-side, shop keeper and cook - though not all at once or in that order, has taught me - everything is in everything.' Anne's autobiography is entitled, "In The Dark And Still Moving" and is published by The Tenth Bull Press.
Authors » Anneke Wills 'Naked' - Interview by Iain McNay
Anneke has been a successful actress most of her life. She has written two biographies "Self Portrait" and "Naked". She was Polly in the early Dr Who programmes and appeared in many films and TV series. In this interview she talks candidly about her personal life and her spiritual journey which included time as a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and of Michael Barnett.
Authors » Benjamin Zephaniah - 'A Poet Called Benjamin' - Interview by Iain McNay
Zephaniah Benjamin is a poet, a musician and an author. In this interview he talks about his life, how he was brought up in Birmingham, ended up in jail for burglary, and then decided to completely change his life, moved to London and became a successful poet and author. He talks about his poetry, his music, why he turned down an OBE and spending time in China studying Tai Chi. He now leads a quiet life living in the English Countryside. Benjamin's published works include, "Talking Turkeys", "Teacher's Dead", "Refugee Boy", "Face", "Gangsta's Rap" and "Too Black, Too Strong". His albums include, 'Naked', 'Us An Dem' and 'Belly Of The Beast.'
Authors » Colin Drake - 'Beyond The Separate Self' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of several books including, 'Awareness Of Awareness', 'Awakening And Beyond' and 'Beyond The Separate Self', Colin says, "The vital question is, Who Am I? Without a clear idea of one's essential identity one cannot relate to the world and others in an appropriate way." "There is a need for continual cultivation of awakeness - there is always the danger of nodding off again, staying awake is like walking on a razor's edge." "We need direct investigation, to put aside all belief systems and acquired knowledge. The easiest way is to enquire into the direct experience itself from the position of knowing nothing."
Authors » David Lorimer - 'Life Story' - Interview by Iain McNay
David has authored and compiled several books including 'Thinking Beyond The Brain' 'Learning for Life' and 'Radical Prince.' He is Programme Director of The Scientific and Medical Network and VP of the Wrekin Trust and Swedenborg Society. Here he talks about his life, his influences, and the work of The Scientific and Medical Network.
Authors » Davide De Angelis - 'The Guiding Principle' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of The Guiding Principle, The Seed and Living Actualized, Davide is inspired by adventure and a passion for learning; he has travelled extensively, connecting with the art and cosmologies of many diverse cultures. He has trained with Shamans and Seers from both East and West, and spent over twenty-five years studying the dynamics of Shamanism, Self-Enquiry, Yoga and Sound Healing. He shares his remarkable story and the realizations that came to him on his path. "Central to everything is a sense of play and innovation. The Tangible is created from the intangible".
Authors » Dr Manjir Samanta-Laughton - 'The Genius Groove' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of 'Punk Science' and the recently published 'The Genius Groove - The New Science of Creativity', Dr Manjir Samanta-Laughton talks about her life and how she found her own 'genius groove.'
Authors » Gary Lachman - 'My Story - From Blondie To Jung' - Interview by Iain McNay
Former Blondie bass player (then known as Gary Valentine) and author of several books including "New York Rocker", "A Secret History Of Consciousness", "Turn Off Your Mind" and "Jung The Mystic".
Authors » Hugh Milne 'My Journey To The Heart Of Listening' Interview by Iain McNay
Hugh is author of the books 'The Heart Of Listening - A Visionary Approach to Craniosacral work' and 'Bhagwan: The God That Failed.' He also features in the movie, 'Guru Bhagwan: His Secretary and His BodyGuard.' The interview covers Hugh's life; how he eventually refound his childhood abilities to 'see,' his years as Indian Guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's (Osho) bodyguard and how he has now become a teacher of Craniosacral work.
Authors » Jaki Scarcello - 'Women Of The Harvest' - Interview by Renate McNay
After a difficult period in her life Jaki came across a book by Ramana Maharshi which completely changed her perspective on Life. She became later a devotee of Ramesh Balsekar for 21 years and this is where she met her husband Wayne Liquorman. When she started to embody Ramesh's teaching she began writing a book "Fifty&Fabulous" where she explores the mature stages in a woman's life and the potential for Enlightenment.
Authors » Jeremy Thomas - 'You Don't Have to Be Famous To Be a Manic Depressive' - Interview by Iain McNay
Jeremy is the co/author with Dr Tony Hughes of, 'You Don't Have to Be Famous To Be a Manic Depressive.' In this interview he talks candidly about his life with Bi-Polar disorder and how he has found stability after years of extremes and struggles. He is at times very humorous as he tells the stories of some of his excesses over the years. He also brings hope to the many people who suffer from this condition as he offers advice based on his personal experiences.
Authors » Mark Townsend - 'The Gospel Of Falling Down' - Interview by Iain McNay
Mark always loved magic. He dabbled in Eastern religions and then aged 18 he started attending a Pentecostal Church. It gave him a sense of the supernatural and the mysterious. If there is a God, it said, then he is here and now. But he also found it constricting. After three years, he went on a trip to Israel, almost to escape, returned transformed and decided that the Church of England was where he should be. Three years later he was ordained in Ludlow, Shropshire and quickly discovered that there was a place for magic in his new job. Magical effects had a power that words didn't have and a symbolism in themselves. He used magic as a bridge builder to get to know the community. He wrote "The Gospel of Falling Down" which was about how we can find our magic through our failures and brokenness rather than through our successes. In 2008 he left the church and is now offering himself for retreats. He has since written two more books, "The Wizard's Gift" and "The Magician's Tale". In this interview he talks about his life, the ups and downs, and also finds time to do some fascinating magic.
Authors » Scilla Elworthy -'My Life - Transformation Through Listening' - Interview by Iain McNay
Scilla is author of several books and important papers including 'Making Terrorism History.' She talks about her life and how at an early age she learnt to listen to people and how healing that was for them. After her daughter was born she contracted encephalitis and was ill for 6 years. After she was cured questions came up such as, 'Who AM I?', 'What AM I here for?' which changed the course of her life. She became very involved with the anti-nuclear movement and helped start Peace Direct and the Oxford Research Group. She learnt how to engage in real dialogue with the nuclear policy makers. 'Try to understand why people are seeing things differently'. 'Change must take place inside me'
Authors » Simon Parke - 'One Minute Mystic' - Interview by Iain McNay
Simon has written several books including, "One Minute Mystic", "Shelf Life", "The Beautiful Life" and "The Enneagram". In this in-depth interview he talks about his life and adventures. He spent 20 years as a priest in the Church Of England, three years stacking shelves in a supermarket while contemplating the meaning of life, and has written award winning scripts for TV and Radio. He now leads retreats and meets people looking for a new way in their lives.
Authors » Stephanie Sorrell and Eleanor Stoneham - 'Depression As A Spiritual Journey' - Interview by Iain McNay
Stephanie is the author of "Depression As A Spiritual Journey" and Eleanor has a book entitled "Healing The Wounded Earth" which is to be published in November 2010. Both have suffered from periods of serious depression and have considered committing suicide at times. They are now both living reasonably stable and fulfilling lives. They talk about their experiences and how they feel their times of depression have opened them up to a spiritual journey.
Authors » Tim Parks - 'Teach Us To Be Still' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 21 works talks about his latest book, 'Teach Us To Be Still' a fascinating biographical tale about how he eventually cured himself of a long standing physical pain and through this discovered Vipassana meditation.
Spiritual » Adrian Scott - 'Being Held' - Interview by Iain McNay
Studied for the Catholic priesthood for five years and lived in an experimental religious community whose way of life was inspired by St Francis of Assisi. Here he developed an interest in the spirituality of monasticism and contemplative practice. Worked for the Bishop of East London as a community worker during the building of Canary Wharf, working with tenants groups whose lives were blighted by the development and then worked with a Bangladeshi Community Project based on Brick Lane, East London developing projects aimed at social regeneration. Studied various ways of engaging with the soul such as Christian Mysticism, the Enneagram, Mythology, Jungian Psychology, Spiritual Direction and Masculine Spirituality. Talks about his life and his work.
Spiritual » Beryl Marsden - 'Changes' - Interview by Iain McNay
Beryl's two passions in life are music and finding out who we really are. In her teens she sang at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and The Star Club in Hamburg. She supported the Beatles on their last tour and was in Shotgun Express with Rod Stewart, Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood. She also sang on the track 'Instant Karma' with John Lennon. After a difficult marriage broke up she found Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism. This transformed her life. She talks about her life and the peace she has now found.
Spiritual » Bronwen Astor - 'Love, Faith and Strength' - Interview by Iain McNay
Bronwen has had a fascinating life. She was a top model in the 50's, was one of the first BBC TV announcers, then married Lord Astor and thus became Lady Astor. Her life was completely changed when she and her husband were pulled in by the press in what became known as the Profumo affair. This time was a tremendous challenge for her and she talks openly about how her faith and her belief in love gave her the character and strength to see her through this and other challenging times.
Spiritual » Canela Michelle Meyers - 'Recognising Truth' - Interview by Renate McNay
This is a story of awakening. Canela Michelle Meyers guides us through different experiences where Awareness was knocked wide open. She takes us through the adjustments in her body and in her life that occurred thanks to these experiences till the shift to the Awakened State of Being happened. Canela is the author of Right Here, Right Now Meditations.
Spiritual » Clare Soloway - 'Life Story' - Interview by Iain McNay
Clare Soloway has been a psychotherapist, group leader and an explorer of the uniqueness and the mystery of human beings for over thirty years. She trained in the United States and then returned to England where she co-founded the first centre for Humanistic Psychology in Europe, Quaesitor. She was trained as a Gestalt and Bio-Energetics Psychotherapist and as a Group Therapist, her teachers being amongst the pioneers of the early days of Humanistic Psychology. Clare has travelled all over the world leading groups and trainings. In the 70s she lived in India in the Rajneesh Ashram and returned to England to establish a major commune in Suffolk and London, Medina, where more than 200 people lived and worked. Since leaving the Rajneesh movement in 1984 she has been in private psychotherapy practice and has continued to run groups around the world. For six years she worked in the area of HIV and AIDS which she considers to be among the most profound and humbling experiences of her life, working with people who faced some of the greatest challenges that life can bring, often with immense courage and determination to live every moment until the very end. For a number of years she has taught psychotherapy to degree level as well as clinical supervision for graduate therapists. Clare has an enormous respect for the lifelong journey of discovery and learning which each human being is part of and continues to live her own life with a joy for adventure and the fun of taking the next jump into the unknown.
Spiritual » David and Caroline Brazier - Pureland Buddhism - Interview by Iain McNay
David and Caroline are leading practitioners and teachers of Pureland Buddhism in the UK. They talk about their lives, how they found Buddhism, and how it began to impact them and shape the journey of their lives. In these three interviews they explain the principles of Pureland Buddhism and how it manifests in all aspects of one's life. Between them they have authored 12 books they include (David) "Who Lives, Dies Well", "A Guide To Psychodrama", "Zen Therapy", "The New Buddhism". (Caroline) "Guilt".
Spiritual » David Sye - 'The Bad Boy Of Yoga' - Interview by Iain McNay
David is a fascinating character who likes to teach his yoga 'on the edge.' He talks about how he taught yoga to the Bosnian army during the Balkan war and how he now works with kids in gangs in South London and Glasgow.
Spiritual » Deva Premal and Miten - 'Our Story' - Interview by Clare Soloway
Miten and Deva Premal talk here about there lives, how they met in a Rajneesh/Osho commune, how they first played in front of 20 or 30 people and then gradually built up interest in their music after touring non-stop for seventeen years. They have now sold nearly 800,000 CDs and are living proof that the power of mantra is as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. Eckhart Tolle, spiritual teacher and best-selling author (The Power of Now), says of their music' 'As you listen, the sacred space that lies beyond the mind emerges naturally and effortlessly'. Miten, originally from England, was a singer-songwriter in the 70s, opening for such groups as Fleetwood Mac, Lou Reed and Ray Cooper. He later discovered the power of meditation and left the world of rock 'n' roll behind. Miten's focus on the spiritual path is reflected in his meditative, joyful and often sensual songs featured on his CDs, Strength of a Rose, Dance of Life & Blown Away.
Spiritual » Elizabeth Stanley and Graham Burns 'Life Story' - Interview by Iain McNay
Elizabeth was a high powered banker and Graham was an ambitious lawyer. They both became interested in yoga and a slow transformation in their lives was ignited. They talk about the process as they left their former lives behind. Graham is now a successful yoga teacher and Elizabeth owns the famous Life Centre Yoga Centre in London's Notting Hill.
Spiritual » Guy Smith - 'The Challenge of Integrating Who You Are' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of the highly regarded Non-Duality book: 'This Is The Unimaginable and Unavoidable - Irresponsible Writing On Non-Duality', Guy talks about his experiences in the field of spirituality and the challenges he has faced with integrating this on a human level, since that time
Spiritual » Jean-Paul JeanRenaud - 'Be More and Do Better' - Interview by Iain McNay
Joined World Wildlife Fund in 1990 and founded 'One Planet Leaders.'. 'We are part of the web of life but also co-weavers and we need to make sure our actions are benign and of benefit to all. The new paradigm will be an expression of a transformed way of being, bade on compassion, understanding and founded on mutual respect: the Earth and each other. We express our being in and through nature - the current state of the planet reflects the impoverishment of the human psyche that has lost its sense of wonder and awe. No longer sees the 'great spirit' in the natural World. The ecological crisis we are experiencing today is a rather predictable outcome of the deluded behaviour the Buddha described as 'GREED, HATRED and IGNORANCE. We are quite literally poisoning the seas, the air and the earth. The imperative of the present is to be BE rather than to DO. In order to DO BETTER we must BE MORE. This is not a justification for passivity and inaction but a call for intensification of action, but at an interior level. A call for interior transformation and growth - the potential for limitless, interior, spiritual expansion. We have to focus less on the other and more on the inner worlds. Through the transformation and growth of our inner being and the liberation of the hidden self, outer renewal will occur. '
Spiritual » John Graham - 'The Keys To The Prison' - Interview by Iain McNay
John has served 8 prison sentences in 3 different countries. He was also addicted to cocaine and heroin. In this interview he talks frankly about his life, how he entered the criminal culture when a teenager, and how this led to more serious crime including trafficking heroin. He had a series of realisations and now works as a counsellor to help free people from their addictions.
Spiritual » John Hall - 'Life Story' - Interview by Iain McNay
John started his life in the music business and talks about how it was to work with people like Elton John and Tony Visconti. He then became interested in meditation and joined a Zen training group in London. His is now a director of the 'Body In Balance' Satellite TV channel.
Spiritual » Malcolm Stern - 'Life Story' - Interview by Iain McNay
Malcolm Stern has worked as a group and individual psychotherapist since 1979. He was a co-founder of 'Alternatives' at St James' Church in London and runs groups internationally. His approach involves finding where the heart is and helping individuals access their truth. In this interview he talks about his life and his work.
Spiritual » Persephone Arbour - 'Life Story' - Interview by Iain McNay
Persephone discovered the early days of the Growth Movement in London in the 1970s, first on her own personal and spiritual search, and then trained as a counsellor and group facilitator in the UK and USA. Included in this time were eleven life-changing years spent as a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (now known as Osho). In 1993 she took some time out to reassess her life and work. During that eighteen-month period of retreat she had some profound experiences. They included the death of a dear friend closely followed by a diagnosis of breast cancer, now thankfully still in remission. These produced insightful glimpses of the ephemeral nature of this world in which we live. As an older woman she became interested in exploring the natural phenomena that arise in this stage of life. This has opened up a whole new way of working which she continues to do, now at the age of 75.
Spiritual » Rhea Powers - 'My Journey Unfolding My Soul' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 10 books including 'Riding The Dragon,' 'Unfolding The Soul, 'Past Lives' as well as her first novel 'Beads On A string.' Rhea talks about her life, her work as a Past Life therapist; her experiences channeling, and how she used these experiences to find a deeper level of who she really is.
Spiritual » Simon Low - 'Life Story' - Interview by Iain McNay
Simon Low was brought up and educated in England, and worked in the music business for 16 years, with Virgin and RCA Records, rising to the position of Vice President of A&R for RCA Records in New York. After leaving the music industry Simon moved to Los Angeles where he was first introduced to yoga. He spent four years exploring a wide range of mind, body and spirit activities, including Hatha Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Kung, The Alexander Technique, psychotherapy, A Course In Miracles and Bodywork. Training as a yoga teacher, macrobiotic chef and a deep tissue body worker, he also worked as a volunteer for Project Angelfood in Los Angeles, a charity food service for housebound AIDS patients. In 1992 he graduated as a Yoga Teacher and returned to England opening the Primrose Hill Yoga School. In 2000 Simon co-founded Triyoga in Primrose Hill, London's largest and leading yoga centre, with 120 classes a week.

^top
 

Non Duality
Advaita » Bentinho Massaro - 'Free Awareness' - Interview by Renate McNay
Bentinho is only 23 years old and is one of the youngest Non-Duality teachers. 'Unity is already the case! It is only through the eyes of interpreting that you experience duality/separation. Drop being the interpreter of your Life and be at ONE with all your experience as it is and feels. Know that YOU exist.'
Advaita » Billy Doyle -'The Mirage of Separation' - Interview by Renate McNay
Billy is a Spiritual Teacher and Yoga Teacher in the Kashmir Tradition, and author of the book "The Mirage of Separation". He had a strong spiritual orientation early in life and started to explore non-dualistic teachings in his twenties. He met Jean Klein, a master of Advaita and Yoga who became his teacher for 14 years. He practiced 'Art of Listening' and self-inquiry and then one day, while on a silent retreat, "all identification with a separate Entity dissolved" and he then knew himself as Silence.
Advaita » Catherine Noyce - 'The Experience Of Non-Duality' - Interview by Renate McNay
Catherine has no book out, doesn't lecture or give sessions; in fact she lives a very ordinary life. That is apart form the fact that she lives in a Non-Dual state. The interview is quite fascinating for the ordinary way in which she deals with living life.
Advaita » 'Clear Seeing' - David Bingham with Dan Jackson and Una Ni Chiosain. Moderated by Iain McNay.
David has appeared on conscious.tv several times now and we always get a lot of positive feedback. Here he talks about and explains 'Clear Seeing.' Dan and Una had previously had private sessions with David; here they talk about how these sessions have affected how they see reality. At the end of the programme there is a 'Clear Seeing' session where David guides Eleonora. A 'Clear Seeing' Meditation concludes this programme.
Advaita » Darryl Bailey - 'Dismantling The Fantasy' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of two books, 'Dismantling The Fantasy - An Invitation To The Fullness Of Life' and 'Essence Revisited - Slipping Past The Shadows Of Illusion.' Drawn to meditation at 14 he spent the next 14 years exploring awareness and concentration. He was a Buddhist monk for 6 years when asked to begin teaching. 'The separate self with individual free will is an illusion, everything is as it is and could not be otherwise'
Advaita » David Bingham - 'Non-Dual Pointing - part 1' - Interview by Iain McNay, part 2 - interview by Renate McNay
In the 'development' of consciousness a point is reached where the distinction between human experience and the knowing of Present-Awareness-Existence becomes clear. This 'development' or 'evolution' is in reality superimposed upon timeless Awareness. Present-Awareness-Existence is the Totality. The Present is disguised by time. Awareness, which is non-conceptual, is disguised by the thinking process. Existence is disguised by identification with the body. Present-Awareness-Existence is what One already is and is fully known. The waking, dreaming and deep sleep states and all other states and experiences simply and effortlessly arise within it. Awareness is presently allowing the knowing of This.
Advaita » David Bingham - 'Non-Dual Pointing - part 2' - Interview by Iain McNay, part 2 - interview by Renate McNay
In the 'development' of consciousness a point is reached where the distinction between human experience and the knowing of Present-Awareness-Existence becomes clear. This 'development' or 'evolution' is in reality superimposed upon timeless Awareness. Present-Awareness-Existence is the Totality. The Present is disguised by time. Awareness, which is non-conceptual, is disguised by the thinking process. Existence is disguised by identification with the body. Present-Awareness-Existence is what One already is and is fully known. The waking, dreaming and deep sleep states and all other states and experiences simply and effortlessly arise within it. Awareness is presently allowing the knowing of This.
Advaita » David Bingham - 'Self Realization and Consciousness Experience' - Interview by Renate McNay
David and Renate explore the relationship between Self Realization and the evolution of consciousness. David has appeared on conscious.tv several times now and has an unusual ability to explain with great clarity the nature of reality.
Advaita » Dr Vijai Shankar - 'Absolute Understanding' - Interview by Iain McNay
Dr Shankar is the author of 10 books, including "Absolute Understanding" and subject of 830 CD releases. He was originally a Medical Doctor and then branched into research into cellular and molecular sciences. Dr Shankar had 'clarity to his awakening of the understanding of mind' and this changed the direction of his life. His scientific work gave way to a scientific approach in understanding life and mind. His teachings explain in detail Non-Dualism, Advaita Vedanta and Jnana yoga and reveals that life is timeless and thoughtless. Life is a singular movement of light and sound that reflects a delusion of actions mundane. They are not actions that man brings about because man is not a doer.
Advaita » Ellen Emmet - 'The Body Of Presence'
The body is not an idea or an image. It is this sensation, now, flowing in your Presence. This Presence is the matrix of all thoughts, sensations and perceptions. It is not located inside a physical body or anywhere else, yet we think and feel that it is. The body is not limited or separate from an outside world, yet we think and feel that it is. During our session, we explore the experience of the body as if for the first time. We allow postures, breath, visualizations and movement to unfold freely. Hidden resistances, habitual feelings and physical contractions are given the space to dissolve naturally. Gently, the body is revealed in its original state as aliveness.
Advaita » Ellen Emmet - 'The Body Of Presence - Part 2' - Interview by Renate McNay.
Ellen talks about her life and her work as a non-duality yoga and movement teacher. She did record Part 1 a couple of years ago which was a practical demonstration of her work. This is also under the Consciousness/Yoga section. She has a unique way of encouraging the body to enter a non-dual space.
Advaita » Florian Schlosser - 'Meeting Truth - Part 1' - Interview by Iain McNay
Florian is author of "Given", "Being" and "Space". He tells his human story in detail and describes the frustrations and the breakthroughs. He explains that transformation takes place at a cellular level and how important it is to stay connected with human experiences and how that can lead to the deepening and integration of spiritual experiences. 'The totality of now is a multi-layered experience.'
Advaita » Florian Schlosser - 'Meeting Truth - Part 2' - Interview by Iain McNay
Florian is author of "Given", "Being" and "Space". This programme continues on from Part 1. This time Florian goes deeper into the human, practical side of awakening and talks in detail about integration into day to day life.
Advaita » Francis Lucille - ' The Art Of Not Expecting' - Interview by Iain McNay
Francis is a spiritual teacher in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta (Non-Duality). A long time disciple of Jean Klein whom he met in 1975, he was a friend of Robert Linssen, Wolter Kiers, Ivan Ajar, William Samuel and Robert Adams. He was also influenced by J. Krishnamurti, Krishna Menno and Weir Wu Weir whom he knew personally. Francis transmits the ancient teaching of Non-Duality, the common ground of Advaita Vedanta, Ch'an Buddhism, Zen,Taoism and Sufism.
Advaita » Gangaji - ' The End Of The Story' - Interview by Iain McNay
Gangaji shares a simple message: 'This is an invitation to shift your allegiance from the activities of your mind to the eternal presence of your being'. Born in Texas in 1942, Gangaji grew up in Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Mississippi in 1964, she married and had a daughter. In 1972, she moved to San Francisco where she began exploring deeper levels of her being. She took Bodhisattva vows, practiced Zen and Vipassana meditation, helped run a Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center, and had a career as an acupuncturist in the San Francisco Bay area. Despite her successes, Gangaji continued to experience a deep and persistent longing for fulfilment. She pursued many paths to change her life including relationship, motherhood, political activism, career, and spiritual practice, but even the greatest of her successes ultimately came up short. In the wake of her disillusionment, she made a final prayer for true help. In 1990, the answer to her prayer came unexpectedly, taking her to India and to the meeting that would change everything. There on the banks of the river Ganga, she met Sri H.W.L. Poonja, also known as Papaji, who opened the floodgates of self-recognition. In this meeting, Gangaji's personal story of suffering ended and the promise of a true life began to flower and unfold. Today, Gangaji travels the world speaking to seekers from all walks of life. A teacher and author, she shares her direct experience of the essential message she received from Papaji and offers it to all who want to discover true and lasting fulfilment. Through her life and work, she powerfully articulates how it is really possible to discover the truth of who you are and to be true to that discovery.
Advaita » Georgi Y Johnson - 'The Psychology of Awakening' - Interview by Renate McNay
Georgi is a spiritual teacher and with her partner Bart ten Berge runs an international teaching and healing practice in Nondual Therapy and Spiritual Psychology. She is the Author of "I AM HERE", Opening the Widows of Life and Beauty, "Nondual Therapy" The Psychology of Awakening and "Stillness of the Wind" A Collection of Nondual Poetry. In this interview Georgi talks about Nondual Therapy. She was involved with her team and students in a shared evolutionary project where they used themselves as guinea pigs to discover the immense healing power of Nondual Qualities of our True Nature. Nondual Therapy, which Georgi is pioneering around the World is a process which supports the release of energetic contractions in the Psyche which are frozen forms of those Nondual Qualities. She also talks about the purpose in our suffering, that it is NOT private and inseparable of the suffering of the whole. Every moment we live the Universe is experiencing itself and how to be free within an experience or feeling. The Art of living this Life and that Individuality is a precious manifestation of Source in motion.
Advaita » Greg Goode - 'Philosophical Deconstruction' - Interview by Chris Hebard
Greg has been a philosophical counsellor since 1996. After studying Psychology at California State University, he studied philosophy at the Universitat zu Koln in Cologne, Germany, and received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Rochester. His areas of specialization were decision theory, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of George Berkeley. His doctoral dissertation was on the question, "Is it ever rational to be impatient?" Greg studied Advaita Vedanta through the Chinmaya Mission, Sri Atmananda, Jean Klein, and Francis Lucille. He studied the Mahayana teachings of Pure Land Buddhism through Jodo-Shinshu, and studied Chinese Middle-Way Buddhism through the lineage of the pre-eminent scholar of Chinese Buddhism, Master Yin-Shun of Taiwan, P.R.C. and author of The Way to Buddhahood.
Advaita » Halina Pytlasinska - 'Non-duality' - Interview by Renate McNay
Halina talks about her experiences and what Non-Duality means for her: 'There is a passion to express a sense of being that arose when the notion of self-identity fell away some years ago. I no longer see myself as a separate individual living in a world of separate objects, but feel more like a wave belonging to the one ocean of energy. There is a non-dualistic view of the world that has replaced the previously held, vastly smaller self-identity. Dropping the concept of being a separate self caused an energetic expansion from the limited boundaries of the body outwards into everything. A child-like joy and wonder has replaced the adult critic. Somehow it is recognised that life's essence is a single unity'.
Advaita » Jac O'Keeffe - 'Born To be Free' - Interview by Renate McNay
Jackie O' Keeffe was raised in rural Ireland. Wanting to know about God she studied theology and music. Graduating in the 1980's, her studies left her disillusioned and a non-believer. In 1997, her life changed dramatically when her sixth sense awakened. Quite spontaneously, she was able to see chakras, energy fields and auras. Moreover, she could communicate with animals and with those who have passed away. A busy practice in healing work developed within a short time, with Jackie offering private sessions and residential retreats. Using a variety of methodologies, her work had the primary focus of raising consciousness. Jackie continued for seven years as a spiritual teacher, before stopping her work in 2006 and leaving Ireland to deepen her own spiritual practice. Her personal quest led to that which is beyond the mind - a transcendence of dualistic thought. Jackie now lives in Ireland and India. She facilitates spiritual gatherings in question-and-answer format, offering clear pointers to spiritual seekers of truth. In this interview Jackie, as well as telling her story, gives clear and direct pointers to what's real. In her lively approach, she gives examples of how we fool ourselves into believing we are defined by our personality and she brings us back to what we truly are.
Advaita » Jeff Foster - Life Without A Centre - Interview by Iain McNay
The simple and direct message of Life Without A Centre is this: 'There is only ever Oneness. And in Oneness, the dream of separation arises, the idea that you are a separate 'person in the world', with a heavy past and an uncertain future, somehow divided from everyone and everything else. And in this dream there can be great suffering, because to a separate person, life will never seem complete, and a longing for Home will pervade all action. What we are talking about here is the possibility of waking up from this dream. And it's an awakening that's simpler and gentler than you could ever imagine. This radical message lovingly allows all spiritual paths to have their place, whilst at the same time making them completely obsolete. And this may feel very threatening to a mind hooked on ideas of paths, processes and perfection. But in the presence of this revolutionary clarity, the endless seeking of the mind cannot last. And then, in the place of striving, suffering, and solidity, there is only ever lightness, love and so much laughter. Some have called this 'spiritual awakening'. I call it Life Without A Centre.' His first book "Beyond Awakening" is available on Non-Duality Press.
Advaita » Joan Tollifson - 'Painting the Sidewalk with Water' - Interview by Renate McNay
She is the author of 'Bare-Bones Meditation: Waking Up from the Story of My Life', 'Awake in the Heartland', 'Painting the Sidewalk with Water' and 'Nothing to Grasp'. Joan points to the most obvious and impossible to avoid: the ever-present, ever-changing present moment. She also talks about her disability and compulsive, habitual behaviour and her biggest relief that there is nowhere to go and nothing to become. Toni Packer was her Teacher.
Advaita » Katie Davis - 'Awake Joy' - Interview by Renate McNay
In 1986, Katie Davis, author of "Awake Joy", had a spontaneous awakening that radically transformed her life. At the time, she had never heard of awakening and enlightenment. The integration took twelve years. Katie's husband is Sundance Burke, author of "Free Spirit", who awakened in 1982 with Satoshi (Osho/Nisargadatta influence) and Shunyata, named the Rare Born Mystic by his friend Ramana Maharshi. In 1998, Sundance and Katie became close friends with Eckhart Tolle, who encouraged them to share the teachings and write their books. They travel worldwide to share the message of conscious freedom and causeless joy in the form of talks in spiritual gatherings, satsang, intensives, silent retreats and private appointments. In this interview she talks about her life and her work.
Advaita » Kenneth Madden - 'The Ordinary Is Extraordinary' - Interview by Iain McNay
Kenneth talks very clearly from a non-dual place. He had an awakening during a Vipassana retreat many years ago. He says, 'I had no idea about the world of the spiritual seeker and such terms as awakening, enlightenment and liberation. I remember describing it at the time as like a veil being lifted to reveal that what I had always been looking at was what I had always been looking for. I also remember saying that no experience I had ever had could come close to what happened. It was subsequently seen that it wasn't an experience and that it wasn't a happening as nothing in fact had happened. It was a loss, a loss of me and a seeing of life as it truly is; whole and boundless, complete, unconditional love.'
Advaita »Linda Clair – ‘Enlightenment is in the Body’ - Interview By Renate McNay
Linda is a Meditation Teacher based on ZEN practice. She is the Author of the book 'What do you want - Conversations about Enlightenment.' In this interview which is the second conscious.tv one with her Linda says that enlightenment is the beginning of a whole new way of living and although its the end of suffering and fear, there is no end to the practice as long as one is in the body. To be fully free you need to go through being grounded, so grounded that you’re able to let go of everything”even enlightenment. Stay in your body. The silence is in your body. Its not out there. Stay in your body and you’ll be surprised what happens. To really become immersed in the silence, you need to free your body - purify your body of the past. Only then will there be silence and that silence is overwhelming.
Advaita » Mandi Solk - 'The Joy Of No Self' - Interview by Renate McNay
Mandi wrote "The Joy Of No Self - Reflections on The Nondual Nature of Everything". She tells the story of how she discovered that she had No self and describes how it is to live in the state of Non-Duality.
Advaita » Marlies Cocheret - 'My Biggest Love is Silence' - Interview by Renate McNay
She is a spiritual teacher in the lineage of Adyashanti. Born with a genetic kidney disease, her condition played a big part in her awakening and in the overcoming of her suffering. She emphasizes the importance of Meditation to calm the nervous system. This is an important aspect for full Embodiment to occur. In 1998 she became a student of Adyashanti and was taken by surprise when in 2000 he asked her to share the Dharma. She is not a teacher who talks about truth only in the sense of emptiness: EMBODIMENT of the Silence. Living our Humanity in the marketplace is her teaching.
Advaita » Michael James - 'The Real Behind All Appearances' - Interview by Iain McNay

Author of 'Happiness and The Art Of Being - An Introduction to the philosophy and practice of the spiritual teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana.' Michael travelled overland to India when he was 19 to help find some deeper meaning to his life. He discovered the book 'Who Am I' by Ramana Maharashi and went to Tiruvannamallai where Ramana had lived to find out more about him. There he connected with Sri Sadhu Om who had been a student of Ramana Maharashi and ended up living there for 20 years. He learnt Tamil and translated many books into English. He is widely regarded now as the principle scholar of Ramana's teachings and spends his time translating his work.

Advaita » Michael A. Rodriguez -'The Uncreated Light Of Awareness' - Interview by Renate McNay
Michael A. Rodriguez is a spiritual Teacher and Author of the book "The Uncreated Light of Awareness" In this interview Michael tells us about his spiritual yearning as a child and his voracious thirst for Truth, how he became disenchanted with academia and entering a monastic life. He ate, drank, breathed, lived and slept Non-Duality and went through a 5 year purification and alchemical transformation called "Poverty" by Meister Eckhart. He says: "If you think the Universe came first, you are it's prisoner, when you know that you came first, you are free".
Advaita » Mooji - 'Before I Am' - Interview by Iain McNay
Mooji is a direct disciple of Sri Harilal Poonja (Papaji). In 1987, a chance meeting with a Christian mystic was to be a life-changing encounter for Mooji. It brought him, through prayer, into the direct experience of the Divine within. Within a short period, he experienced a radical shift in consciousness so profound that outwardly, he seemed, to many who knew him, to be an entirely different person. As his spiritual consciousness awakened, a deep inner transformation began which unfolded in the form of many miraculous experiences and mystical insights. He felt a strong wind of change blowing through his life which brought with it a deep urge to surrender completely to divine will. Shortly after, he stopped teaching, left his home and began a life of quiet simplicity and surrender to the will of God as it manifested spontaneously within him. A great peace entered his being, and has remained ever since. In this interview he tells his story and talks about his work.
Advaita » Non-Duality Panel - Part 1
Richard is author of 'I Hope You Die Soon' and 'The Book Of No One.' Tim is the author of several books including 'How Long Is Now?' and 'Lucid Living'. The three panellists answer and discuss questions about Non-Duality that have been sent in by conscious.tv viewers.
Advaita » Non-Duality Panel - Part 2
Richard is author of 'I Hope You Die Soon' and 'The Book Of No One.' Tim is the author of several books including 'How Long Is Now?' and 'Lucid Living'. The three panellists answer and discuss questions about Non-Duality that have been sent in by conscious.tv viewers.
Advaita » Pamela Wilson 'The Loving Mystery' - Interview by Renate McNay
Pamela speaks about Advaita, Non-Duality and says 'That the universe is one undivided whole.' For the last ten years she has travelled widely in the United States, Canada and Europe, holding satsang and giving private sessions. In this interview she talks about her life and living in the Non-Dual state.
Advaita » Philip Jacobs - 'The Pathless Path' - Interview by Iain McNay
Philip is the Sheik for the 'Turning' group at Colet House in West London. He studied with Dr Francis Roles for many years. He talks us through his life. He first learned meditation at 16, started Turning when he was still a teenager, and had to deal with the challenge of being severely compromised, energy-wise, with Lyme disease for many years. "You discover that the only safe place where there is security and no fear is the present. When I awoke in the early hours full of fear, I would say, just stay in the present, just rest in that deep secure sense of Amness. You notice that you are in a place beyond fear, even physical pain becomes just another series of sensations that you are witnessing from a point of stillness."
Advaita » Richard Lang - 'Seeing Who You Really Are' - Interview by Iain McNay
Richard is an 'enlightened mystic' and teacher of spirituality. In 1970, searching for enlightenment he attended a workshop with Douglas Harding and under his guidance was astonished to discover that he actually saw his True Self - boundless, timeless and one with the world. He was so impressed with the effectiveness of Harding's experiment that he became involved in the work of giving workshops and teaching these methods to a wider audience. In this interview Richard talks about his life, and demonstrates 'The Headless way.'
Advaita » Richard Sylvester - 'I Hope You Die Soon' - Interview by Iain McNay
Many so-called teachers of Non-Duality suggest that there is someone who can do something to heal their sense of separation; in other words that there is a person who is able to discover that they are not a person. The absurdity of this idea is often camouflaged by highly complex and subtle thinking. Teachings about Non-Duality frequently present the seductive idea that liberation can be realised through an evolutionary spiritual path. This has no actual connection with Non-Duality but it can offer us a convincing, although completely meaningless, story about it. From this story arise the many paths, doctrines, techniques, gurus, teachers, mantra-salesmen, workshops and groups which make up the spiritual bazaar. Any way of searching may lead to a person being more comfortable. But that is all you get. You get a person who is more comfortable in their prison. If you are in prison, it's far better to be comfortable but that doesn't get the person out of the prison they perceive themselves to be in. Nothing will get the person out of their prison because the person is the prison. When the person drops away, it is seen that there never was a prison in the first place. Then it is seen that 'I' am the light in which everything arises. And so are 'you'. Richard's first book is called "I Hope You Die Soon", available on Non-Duality Press.
Advaita » Roger Linden - 'The Elusive Obvious' - Interview by Iain McNay
Roger Linden read J. Krishnamurti when he was 13 and sat on Hampstead Heath puzzling about what he read, sensing that it was somehow valid, somehow connected to a brief 'glimpse' he had at age 6. Later, as an adult in the 1970s, he learned TM and for many years was a TM teacher. He later trained as a psychotherapist and teacher of the Feldenkrais Method, developing his own approach to emotional, mental and physical well-being. In the early 1990s Roger left TM. The following year he met Jean Klein with whom another 'glimpse' occurred. In 1998 he began attending meetings with Tony Parsons, author of The Open Secret. On a retreat early in 1999 a comment by Tony 'triggered' another powerful 'glimpse'. A few days later, while walking on Hampstead Heath in London, all sense of separation fell away. It was realised that there is only being or consciousness. Since then there has simply been unity. Roger now leads regular groups in London and elsewhere in the UK.
Advaita » Rupert Spira - 'The Art Of Peace And Happiness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Rupert has appeared on conscious.tv several times before and we very much value his wisdom and clarity. He has two new books coming out on Non-Duality Press this Autumn entitled, 'Presence: The Seamless Intimacy Of Experience' and 'Presence: The Art Of Peace And Happiness' These two deep, intimate interviews are great trailers for these two books.
Advaita » Rupert Spira - 'The Seamless Intimacy Of Experience' - Interview by Renate McNay
Rupert has appeared on conscious.tv several times before and we very much value his wisdom and clarity. He has two new books coming out on Non-Duality Press this Autumn entitled, 'Presence: The Seamless Intimacy Of Experience' and 'Presence: The Art Of Peace And Happiness' These two deep, intimate interviews are great trailers for these two books.
Advaita » Rupert Spira - 'The Transparency of Things' - Part 1 - Interview by Iain McNay
Rupert Spira first came across the poetry of Rumi at the age of fifteen in 1975. Shortly afterwards he learnt the Mevlevi Turning, a sacred Sufi dance of movement, prayer and meditation. He then met his first teacher, Dr Francis Roles, who was himself a student of the then Shankaracharya of the North of India, Shantananda Saraswati. Under Dr Roles' guidance he learnt mantra meditation and was introduced to the classical system of Advaita or Non-Duality. This formed the foundation of his interest and practice for the next 25 years. At the same time he read everything available by the Russian philosopher, P.D. Ouspensky and learnt the 'movements.' During the late 70s he attended Krishnamurti's last meetings at Brockwood Park, close to his childhood home, and was deeply impressed and influenced by his intellectual rigor and fierce humility. Throughout these years he read and reread Ramana Maharshi and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, on a continual basis. A 'crisis of despair' in the mid 90s led him to the American sage, Robert Adams. Robert Adams died two days after Rupert arrived. However, during the afternoon spent meditating beside his deceased body garlanded with flowers, with a small group of his students, Rupert was told about another teacher, Francis Lucille. Several months later Rupert met Francis. The first words Rupert heard him say were: 'Meditation is a universal 'Yes' to everything'. Although this is the sort of phrase anyone on the spiritual circuit might come across, nevertheless it was a pivotal moment in Rupert's life. 'At this moment I realised that I had arrived home, that this encounter was the flowering and fulfilment of the previous thirty years of seeking' says Rupert. Over the next ten years Rupert spent all the spare time that work and family commitments would allow, with Francis, exploring the sense of separation as it appears in the mind in the form of beliefs and, more importantly, how it appears in the body as feelings of being located and therefore limited. Of the essence of these years, Rupert writes, 'The sense of separation is one of the most extraordinary and intricate creations that appear within Consciousness. Discovering its intricacies and subtleties at the level of the mind and the body, and its ramifications in the world is fascinating, enjoyable, humorous, absurd and sometimes painful. The power of this sense of separation lies in its obscurity. As soon as it is clearly seen for what it is, its apparent ability to obscure what we are from knowing itself is undermined. The clear seeing of ego is its dissolution.' Rupert's first book "The Transparency of Things" is available from Non-Duality books.
Advaita » Rupert Spira - 'The Transparency of Things' - Part 2 - Interview by Renate McNay
Advaita » Scott Kiloby - 'The End Of The Spiritual Search' - Interview by Iain McNay
Scott is author of "Love's Quiet Revolution" and "Reflections Of The One Life". He is also a lawyer and a musician. In this interview he talks about his drug addiction of 20 years and how through a series of 'spiritual openings' he found he was what he had been seeking.
Advaita » Stuart Schwartz 'Death And Non-Duality' - Interview by Renate McNay
Stuart is a satsang teacher and author of 'The Great Undoing.' He talks about his life and work and explores with Renate the experience of the death of their sons.
Advaita » Suzanne Foxton - 'No Body In Particular' Interview by Renate McNay
Suzanne Foxton is a mother and artist who works and lives in Kew in the United Kingdom. She was born a Hoosier (native of the US state of Indiana). She says she muddles along as best as she can, like most of humanity. Suzanne believes the particulars of her story are unimportant and she doesn't take much of anything too seriously. Her blog, Nothing Exists Despite Appearances, is an attempt to point to the infinite, eternal, and ultimately non-existent nature of reality. She began writing the blog to avoid having to talk to anyone about Non-Duality, as she found that the revelation of the true nature of existence tends to alienate people in manifested reality. Now she continues to write because it's fun. Everything she ever thought was important is gone; what is left is everything and nothing, boundless and beautiful. In this interview Suzanne shares with all of us the pain and despair she experienced in her life up to the point when manifested reality revealed itself and 'story' became unimportant.
Advaita » Susanne Marie - 'Living Beyond Unity' - Interview by Renate McNay
Susanne Marie is a Mystic, spiritual Mentor and Guide and currently writing her first book about her journey to Awakening. In this interview she talks about the 3 different major awakenings she had. 1. Emptiness of Mind - Mind waking up to itself 2. Unity Consciousness - the Heart understood the truth of form, the form itself is divine and I AM THAT not just I AM. 9 years of integration and embodiment followed when a realisation happened she wasn't anticipating - 3. Her Body released itself of identity, she was left with NO SELF The Body contains identity within its own structure, the sense of ME which is needed to help it function. When the ME fell away within the body nothing was ever the same. There is no landing place anymore. Self reflection came to a permanent End. There is only pure experience only NOW. She says: "Go directly to the experience and feeling of what is arising, drop deeper into the vastness of your Being, rest there, no need to interpret, let go without knowing
Advaita » Tony Parsons - 'The Open Secret' - Interview by Iain McNay
'The Open Secret communication can only point to the simple wonders of being, and attempt to illuminate the futility of seeking for it. It does not accept or reject the teachings of spiritual path or process but it will expose, without compromise, the singular and fundamental misconception that drives the belief that there is something called a seeker that needs to find something else called enlightenment. The Open Secret does not compromise with the needs and expectations of the seeker. Neither does it attempt to attract or please with promises of an easy and pleasant experience of liberation. Who could promise that, and who would experience it? Because the idea of individual free will and choice is seen as an illusory dream, there is no agenda or intention to help or change individuality. As far as the apparent individual is concerned, there is nothing for sale here.' Tony talks here about Non-Duality and his early life and experiences. He is the author of several books including, "As It Is: The Open Secret of Spiritual Awakening" and "Invitation To Awaken: Embracing Our Natural State Of Presence".
Advaita » U.G Krishnamurti - 'Calamity Consciousness' - Interview by Iain McNay in 1989
Not to be confused with the other Krishnamurti (J). U.G. died in March 2007. A fascinating character who was known by some as an anti-guru and a spiritual terrorist. U.G. emphasized the impossibility and non-necessity of any human change, radical or mundane. He insisted that the body and its actions are already perfect, and he considered attempts to change or mould the body or its actions as pure and simple violence. The psyche or self or mind, an entity which he denied as having any being, is composed of nothing but the 'demand' to bring about change in the world, in itself, or in both.
Advaita » Unmani - 'Awaken to Who You Are' - Interview by Renate McNay
In this interview Unmani candidly tells us her story. The gradual and at times, painful process of recognising that the lack of self, which she experienced from a very young age, is her true state and not something anomalous that needed to be fixed. Recognising Who You Are, is the end of overlooking that which has never been anywhere but right here. The end of pretending to know or trying to know. This is absolute Not-Knowing. Forever falling in absolute insecurity. This is what I am. I am what You are. Life itself. Unmani points to the end of the spiritual search. Actually finding what you have been looking for. Finding that it has never been anywhere but right here. Realising the paradox of Life.
Advaita » Wayne Liquorman - 'Never Mind' - Interview by Iain McNay
Wayne Liquorman was both a spiritual seeker and a family man with a successful export business, when he met his first and final guru, Ramesh Balsekar, in September 1987. In April 1989 the process of seeking ended when enlightenment happened through the body-mind mechanism called Wayne. Wayne describes the event as being 'of interest only to seekers.' His first book, "No Way: A Guide For the Spiritually Advanced" was published in 1990 under the pen name Ram Tzu because he 'didn't want a bunch of miserable seekers cluttering up his living room.' In fact, Wayne did not speak publicly until Ramesh asked him to do so in 1996. This enlightenment event and its aftermath are described in Wayne's second book, "Acceptance of What Is" published in 2000. He is also the author of "Never Mind A journey into Non-Duality", and is the editor of Consciousness Speaks and several other books by Ramesh Balsekar, who refers to Wayne as his 'spiritual son.' The teaching, as it happens through Wayne, is pure Advaita (Non-Duality), uniquely presented in a uncompromising, sometimes humorous way, without religious dogma or new age veneer. In his talks, Wayne is without agenda, speaking only in response to seekers' questions. He talks about Consciousness: the ground of all being, the source and the substance of everything. In the interview Wayne talks in detail about his awakening and how this impacted his life.
Awakenings » Adyashanti - 'Awakening' - Interview by Renate McNay
Adyashanti is author of several books including, 'Emptiness Dancing' 'Falling Into Grace' and 'The End Of Your World.' In this interview he talks in detail about his years as a Zen meditator; life as a top athlete; his two significant awakenings; the obstacles he discovered in the way, and the nature of illusion.
Awakenings » Art Ticknor - 'Solid Ground Of Being' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of the book ' 'Solid Ground Of Being' Art talks about his search for The Truth as his life, though perfect in one way, lacked purpose and meaning. After many years of working with Richard Rose's TAT groups, attending numerous individual retreats, and participating in Douglas Harding's work, a breakthrough occurred. Art says: "Art Ticknor was never alive, something broke the identification with the observer, there was no regret in seeing the sense of separate self go."
Awakenings » Bart Marshall - 'Only This Emptiness' - Interview by Iain McNay
In the Vietnam War a mortar landed nearby that blew Bart into a clear and brilliant blackness that, "Felt like home. I would have gladly stayed in that blackness, but instead I was brought back into a world I could no longer view in the same way." When he returned in 1968 he experimented with LSD, read everything he could find that might offer clues to what had happened to him, studied meditation and attended workshops. After 20 years he hit a wall as a seeker and then met the teacher Richard Rose whom he studied with for 5 years. It was after a weekend with Douglas Harding that a breakthrough finally happened. "Being the source of everything that is nothing - everything and nothing, only this emptiness."
Awakenings » Bernie Prior - 'Human Spiritual Evolution' - Interview by Iain McNay
Bernie talks in detail about his life and his awakening and the integration and consequences of that process. Spiritual Human Evolution is the term coined by Bernie Prior to describe evolution. It is the ongoing work of humanity, individually and collectively; the ongoing work of the universe; the ongoing work to live on the edge, to make life spiritually, consciously, abundantly manifest. The next stage in human evolution is the crossover from egoic individuation, expressing as separation, to the direct experience of pure Being and its conscious manifestation as pure Becoming. This is the truth that we are all the co-creators of universal form. We are actually responsible for the universe appearing as all human life. Globally, we have not wanted to take responsibility for that. Now that time has come.
Awakenings » Bob Fergeson - 'The Listening Attention' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of the book 'The Listening Attention, Bob talks about his life and awakening. He says: "I was taken beyond myself into the place of no concern. The years of wondering, of alternating between pleasure and misery came to an end along with the searching and longing it generated. I saw that in all that time I had never really moved; rather I simply woke up."
Awakenings » Byron Katie - 'The Story Of The ONE' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of many books including, 'A Thousand Names For Joy', 'Loving What Is: How Four Questions Can Change Your Life' and 'Who Would You Be Without Your Story? Byron Katie is the creator of 'The Work'. Here she talks about her life and how she sees reality. She says: 'Stay in the place you are not creating the illusion. Stay in the I AM.' 'I am the awareness of Consciousness observing itself'.
Awakenings » Chloe Goodchild - The Voice Of Silence
Chloe is the founder of The Naked Voice and the heart of her work is the practice of the spoken and sung voice as a Gateway to discover our Non Dual Awareness. Deafness in childhood catalyzed Chloe's discovery of inner sound and silence. This deep encounter with her inner self, catalyzed questions like: " Who Am I", "Who is Singing", " How can I transform my sadness". Chloe had many encounters with indigenous wisdom teachers, spiritual and classical Indian music masters, ultimately leading to a transformative 'no-mind' experience in Northern India, inspired by the great luminary and saint, Anandamayi Ma. This gave birth to the unique method of sound and voice, which Chloe eventually named, The Naked Voice. Her autobiography, The Naked Voice - Journey to the Spirit of Sound tells the story of these formative early years. In this in-depth interview with Renate she talks about her life and her work www.thenakedvoice.com
Awakenings » Deborah Westmoreland - 'Being Knowing Being' - Interview by Renate McNay
Deborah Westmoreland is a poet, a spiritual teacher and the author of Being Knowing Being, which is an upcoming book of spiritual essays. After several tragedies her big question was, "How can I end suffering?" She was sick and tired of Deborah. Her mind was too busy to sit in meditation so she started doing running meditations finding the moment. Never got ahead of her breath, nor behind. She disconnected from all her belief structures and attachments till she awakened one day, and realized that she had always been in Heaven. She says, "You have to become disinterested in the character, not interested in the story. Suffering is optional it's self-imposed." She never had a spiritual teacher, nor followed any teaching.
Awakenings » Dr Robert Forman - 'Enlightenment Ain't What It's Cracked Up to Be' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of several books including 'Enlightenment Ain't What It's Cracked Up to Be' and Director of 'The Forge Institute for Spirituality and Social Change', Dr Forman talks about his spiritual search and how the 'pot of gold' he longed for was not what it was cracked up to be. But in time he realised that it was of a kind and nature, wholly different than anything he could have known, or wished for. He also discovered that transformation at that level comes by grace and not by self-adjustment. He says: 'It is time we stopped mistaking the content for the awareness that beholds it. Vastness issues a challenge: tell the truth so completely that there is nothing left to be afraid of.'
Awakenings » Eimear Moran - 'A Feather On The Breath Of God' - Interview by Renate McNay
Eimear Moran is the Author of the book, 'The Garden Path Home to Eden - A new Way of seeing Love, Self and the Garden.' Eimear could always see the Divine in Nature and when her life seemed to fall apart she could only allow this total "free Fall" in the safe place of her Garden where she would sit with all her pain and loneliness. One day she sat in her Garden looking at a Hawthorn Tree; it was a grey, cold day and miserable. The tree looked poor and barren and she thought: "I must look as barren to this tree as he to me." In this moment she woke up and realized her true Nature. An amazing feeling of love came over her, it was a reality of heavenly perfection and she knew she had met God. Eimear can be contacted at:eimearmoran@eircom.net
Awakenings » Faisal Muqaddam - 'Enlightenment Happens In The Heart' - Interview by Iain McNay
Faisal talks about his life; his enlightenment, and how awakening happens in the mind, and enlightenment happens in the heart. He also talks about how he formed the Ridhwan school with AH Almaas and helped develop the 'theory of holes' and work with the Latiaf and essential qualities and enquiry. He later left to form his own teaching, 'The Diamond Logos.' 'The more that understanding comes through, the more the personality begins to resolve and we can retrieve the original state that is lost.' 'In our world today two major topics need to be emphasized; humanity needs to be spiritualized and spirituality needs to be humanized'
Awakenings » Faisal Muqaddam - 'The Glory Of The Human Being.' - Interview by Renate McNay
Faisal is a spiritual teacher and the founder of the 'Diamond Teachings' and the 'Diamond Logos Academy'. In this interview he talks about Enlightenment and beyond shedding more light on the nature of enlightened space and some of the experiences that unfold within that great opening and how through the deepening within this great domain, one can dawn on the 'Kingdom of the Three Domains' that is our human home. "The Absolute is our Nature and the Human Being is the Mandala of existence." He recites the 'The Verse of Light' from the Koran in Arabic which mirrors the complete Diamond Teachings.
Awakenings » Francis Bennett - 'The Key To Happiness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Francis Bennett was a Roman Catholic, Trappist monk for a number of years. He lived in two monasteries of the Trappist Order in the US and was also a member of an urban, contemplative monastic community originally founded in Paris, France in 1975. He has lived in France at several monasteries, and in Canada at a small monastic community in Montreal Quebec. He received a five and a half year monastic/spiritual formation with the Trappists before he made his vows as a monk at Gethsemani Abbey in 1983. He has worked in ministry in the area of spiritual Care in the hospice movement, as a hospital chaplain and in spiritual care of the sick and dying in parish settings. In 2010, while in the middle of a Church Service in his monastery in Montreal, Francis suddenly experienced what he has come to call, "a radical perceptual shift in consciousness", in which he discovered the ever present presence of spacious, pure awareness. He came to see that this awareness is actually the unchanging essence of who he really is and always has been; the Supreme Self. He also came to see simultaneously, that this vast, infinite sense of presence at the center of his being (and at the center of the being of everyone else on the planet) is actually not at all separate from the presence of God, which he had been looking for during his many years as a monk and spiritual seeker.
Awakenings » Gabor Harsanyi - 'The Master Of Silence' - Interview by Iain McNay
Gabor was born in Communist Hungary but escaped after the failed 1956 uprising. Travelled on foot to Italy and then lived in a refugee camp for a time in Italy before reaching Canada. Became a multi-millionaire very quickly but then found he was miserable and depressed when he realised this outer success didn't bring him any real happiness.

'I had achieved outer freedom but was far, far away from inner, real freedom.'

The market crashed and he lost almost everything. Lived in a forest for a time, 'I wanted to say NO to civilisation.' Moved to Mexico and then started to experience, real, deep, suicidal depression. Moved in with an Indian tribe in Ecuador, 'it was there I found that I could not just sit and BE like the Indians.'

'This suicidal depression became my greatest teacher.'

He discovered the secret to finding real freedom was going inside his body, 'Whenever I was able to do it I became calm and my mind would stop. I spent much time sitting by the water and experimenting with grounding my body to the beach. There were moments when all of a sudden the sound of the waves became different and the mind was so still that there were hardly any remnants of the depression. I would get up and start walking and the sand and the water on my feet felt unlike it had ever felt before. This marked the beginning of the end of depression'

After a time he was able to surrender to his ultimate love - presence - the silence of nothing where the mind takes a back seat and becomes the servant and the original being is once again on the throne..

He now helps people free themselves from thought addiction.

Awakenings » Genpo Roshi - 'Path Of The Human Being' - Interview by Iain McNay
Genpo is the initiator of the Big Mind Process and author of, "Big Mind Big Heart" and "The Path Of The Human Being". In this interview he tells the story of his human life and talks about the spiritual breakthroughs that occurred. He then explains the five stages of the path of the human being that can be seen as a map of spiritual development or evolution. He has some very insightful explanations on the state of Non-Duality.
Awakenings » Georgi Y Johnson - 'I AM HERE' - Interview by Renate McNay
Georgi is the Author of "I AM HERE - Opening the windows of life and beauty". In this interview she talks about her process of Awakening which led her into writing this book and the teaching of I AM HERE. Her first conscious awakening was when she was 2 years old, lying on the bed and calling her own name, like a Mantra, Georgi, Georgi, Georgi, when suddenly she became strange to herself."I was not me, not this name.so who was I"? Sporadic awakenings continued and she realised later that it was her conviction to understand the meaning of Life which she beautifully played out in her book "I AM HERE". She talks about the three stages of her awakening which started from the head up, the heart was still held prisoner, later the heart was open to unconditional love yet the body was still held prisoner. She also explains the difference between Consciousness, Awareness and Emptiness..'Enlightenment comes with the liberation of Awareness.'
Awakenings » Igor Kufayev - Flowing Wakefulness - Interview by Renate McNay
Igor, artist and Advaita Tantric Teacher was born in Uzbekistan and his book, Flowing Wakefulness - Essays on the Nature of Consciousness and Reality will be released soon. In this interview he tells us his view on Enlightenment and that true Awakening has to take place in the body on a cellular level. It is the Nervous System that supports the individual Consciousness to mature into full Enlightenment; it's an alchemical process. He states, "The Enlightened is one who's Nervous System can no longer be swept away by chemical storms inside. In this interview Igor talks about the importance of meditation and of the need for utter dedication to the truth.
Awakenings » Igor Kufayev - The Impact Of Awakening - Interview by Iain McNay
Igor was born in Uzbekistan and in his childhood Igor had many episodes associated with the awakening of Kundalini. Later in the wake of an advanced yogic course, TM-Sidhi Program, he went through a profound expansion of Consciousness. By the age of thirty six Igor had undergone a radical transformation of consciousness which subsequently blossomed into spontaneous unfoldment of Grace. For the next five years he continued long hours of meditation, integrating expanded state of awareness throughout his daily activities. Around that time he began sharing his insights with those who were attracted by the energy emanating in his presence. In this interview he talks about his early life and awakening. His book Flowing Wakefulness - Essays on the Nature of Consciousness and Reality will be released soon.
Awakenings » John Butler - 'Discovering Stillness - Part 1' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Wonders Of Spiritual Unfoldment' and Mystic Approaches.' His loves were farming and meditation. Tells his story of spiritual unfoldment and how he discovered stillness. It was not always an easy path for him and he went through periods of depressions and hopelessness. 'Realisation is not a personal attainment - it usually comes at times of deep prayer or quietness when the mind is clear of personal me.' 'I'm just a quiet old man of regular habits going up and down the hill to church each day, sitting on a bench when the weather is warm. I don't speak much. Adventures are inside.' 'From worldliness the absolute completion of Pure Being can seem out of touch, more theoretical than real. How can it be relevant to need? Once known however any return to ordinary worldly ways only seem to emphasise its loss. Total longing brings its own reward but all feelings of achievement disappear. Incomparable gifts of Heavenly Grace instruct, inspire, save us from drowning in the world'.
Awakenings » John Butler - 'Discovering Stillness - Part 2' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Wonders Of Spiritual Unfoldment' and Mystic Approaches.' His loves were farming and meditation. Tells his story of spiritual unfoldment and how he discovered stillness. It was not always an easy path for him and he went through periods of depressions and hopelessness. 'Realisation is not a personal attainment - it usually comes at times of deep prayer or quietness when the mind is clear of personal me.' 'I'm just a quiet old man of regular habits going up and down the hill to church each day, sitting on a bench when the weather is warm. I don't speak much. Adventures are inside.' 'From worldliness the absolute completion of Pure Being can seem out of touch, more theoretical than real. How can it be relevant to need? Once known however any return to ordinary worldly ways only seem to emphasise its loss. Total longing brings its own reward but all feelings of achievement disappear. Incomparable gifts of Heavenly Grace instruct, inspire, save us from drowning in the world'.
Awakenings » John De Ruiter 'Unveiling Reality' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of the book 'Unveiling Reality', John talks about his awakening experience which happened at the age of seventeen; how he lost it and then found it again. He also talks about Truth, Presence, True Peace, False Hope and many more other topics.
Awakenings » John Rowan - 'The Centaur, Subtle, Causal and Non-Dual' - Interview by Iain McNay
Started to work in the Transpersonal field in 1982 and wrote the book, 'The Transpersonal: Spirituality in Psychotherapy and Counselling'. John also co-wrote, 'The Therapist's Use of Self' arguing that the transpersonal has a unique contribution to make in the therapy field. He has been exploring the higher levels of mysticism since 2003, and has written several papers with detailed arguments, as well as leading transpersonal workshops in 25 countries.

In this interview we hear about John's fascinating history and explore the Centaur, Subtle, Causal and Non-Dual states and demonstrate the differences between these stages.

'In my daily work as a psychotherapist I attune myself to the client's way of being, in order to get on to the same wavelength, so to speak. I am what has been called 'an authentic trickster' in the sense that I can genuinely match the client's level of consciousness at all times. In other words I do not claim to be a dedicated mystic who is always at, say, the Non-Dual level of consciousness. I would rather claim to be able to enter that state at will or as appropriate.'

Awakenings » Kristiina Helin - Seeing Is Seeing Itself - Interview by Renate McNay
Kristiina is a Finnish Music Stage Director and a mother. As a child she had strong energy and Out of Body experiences which left her terrified. Having also had a violent upbringing she realized the need for relaxing and releasing emotional stress was essential. In her twenties she entered an Acting School in London where she explored her senses and radically questioned her perception and reality. Coincidentally she found out about Japanese Butoh Dance and travelled to Japan to study its philosophy. The most important exercise was Bisoku movement which is extremely slow. Dancing for example to the smell of a flower or to different images, becoming one with whatever caught her attention; a blade of grass, a tree. Back in Holland she entered a long period of silence where she took action to the zero and fell into a deep depression. At a gathering with Rupert Spira in Amsterdam she had a profound shift in her perception, looking into a mirror she was neither in her body nor in the mirror, she had disappeared.
Awakenings » Loch Kelly - 'Falling Into Awake Awareness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Shift Into Freedom.' Loch was a keen sportsman when young. After one ice hockey game when he played in goal and made several amazing saves someone asked him how he did it. He explained, 'time slows down, I feel open and connected, I get really quiet inside and it seems it is strangely quiet on the outside too.' Someone gave him the 'Zen and the Art of Archery' book and he realised that others had had this experience too. At times he could feel exactly what was going on but wasn't thinking. He then started to investigate meditation. And then one night when walking home from college and feeling an overwhelming grief as a result of some recent losses his thoughts quietened, his heart broke open and the weight of despair lifted. He looked up at the stars and noticed that his usual sense of self had gone, yet he felt fully embodied and alive. A new process had begun. Experience showed him that consciousness can shift intelligently but he didn't know yet how to shift it intentionally. He went to Sri Lanka where he did long retreats and then India where he saw the Dalia Lama who recommended he study with Tulka Rinpoche where he learnt Awake Awareness. Over the next few years he embodied this teaching. He worked for many years with people in homeless shelters in NY and sees his life as a continual series of shifts. 'There is no end to the mystery of Life - most of it is beyond human understanding'
Awakenings » Linda Clair - 'I Am Enlightened' - Interview by Renate McNay
Linda was born in Sydney in 1958. She had virtually no interest in meditation or spiritual matters until the age of 37, when she was introduced to Peter Jones, who became her first teacher. This meeting was an intense experience for her. There was a depth to the communication she had never experienced before, and it triggered a search for freedom, which was soon the major focus of her life. At this time she had two teenage children and was running a small business, but she managed to make time for intensive meditation. In 1997 she had a profound awakening during a ten-day retreat in northern New South Wales. She later described the experience as 'deeper than bliss'.There was a marked change in her after the awakening, which was really a very strong glimpse of enlightenment. She knew now what was possible, and she also knew that she would not be satisfied until that state became permanent. She maintained the humble attitude of a student and continued to practice.During this time she met the Japanese Zen Master, Hogen Yamahata, who also impressed her with his deeply enlightened presence and humility.In 2004 she travelled to Japan and spent six weeks at a Zen monastery with Hogen-san's Master, Harada Tangen Roshi, known as Roshi Sama. Her time with him was intense. She sensed she was close to the culmination of her journey. She returned to Australia in a deeply detached, peaceful state. Roshi Sama gave her the name Dai'an Jishin, which translates as 'deep peace, compassionate heart/mind'. Her search ended during a ten-day retreat with Hogen-san at Springbrook, in the mountains behind the Gold Coast in Queensland.'Everything changed. All fear disappeared. I was left with nothing and nothing to lose. The depth of peace and satisfaction overwhelmed me, and it continues to deepen every day. Life is immediate. There is no desire for anything more or different. This is enough.'
Awakenings » Mick Collins - 'My Crisis And Transformation' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'The Unselfish Spirit.' Mick left school at 15, working as a manual labourer before joining the army. Visited a Tibetan Monastery intending to stay 2 days and ended up living there for 3 years. 'I started contemplating various attachments and aversions in my conventional existence' and began reflecting on the significance on what a more intimate perspective could mean in the way he lived; began to observe and question how duality was embedded in my thoughts and behaviour.' He was also fascinated by the interplay between form and emptiness. But on a long train journey had an extraordinary experience where he had a heightened sense of compassion and profound feelings of love followed two days later by a slide into a diametrically opposed state. Was flooded by intense emotions; felt he was caught in a conflict between good and evil compounded by feelings of fear and terror. Left monastery and slowly started to find balance again with the help of Jungian work. Felt he had taken a journey into the unknown without a map. Eventually integrated the spiritual crisis and started to learn the interplay between doing and being which is now his passion.
Awakenings » Miranda Macpherson - Be Nothing Do Nothing Get Nothing Become Nothing - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of the book Boundless Love, Miranda has been teaching since 1995 and is known for her depth of presence, clarity and refined capacity to guide people into direct experience of the sacred. In this interview she tells us of her 'Dark Night of the Soul' begging God to let her die. Eventually she experienced profound Non Dual awakening while Meditating in Ramana Maharshi's cave and her life was completely changed. She says, "Our soul is longing to belong to humanity and Enlightenment is the Human Nature."
Awakenings » Mukti - 'The Embodiment of Enlightenment' - Interview by Renate McNay
The Feminine Face of God - Part 2. Mukti, whose name is translated as "liberation" is a teacher in the linage of Adyashanti, her husband. In this interview she talks about her spiritual path of Faith and Trusting, her longing to have a spiritual marriage with Adya and her experience of "True Stillness" which lead into her profound Awakening where Reality completely shifted. Mukti also points out that Women need to listen to their direct experience in their bodies and explains with such beautiful clarity how Enlightenment is felt and manifested through the 3 Centers - Mind, Heart, Belly - in the body
Awakenings » Nicholas Hagger - '+A+-A = The Great Nothing' - Interview by Iain McNay
Nicholas Hagger is a poet, cultural historian and philosopher and is the author of more than 35 books including his two latest just released, 'My Double life 1 - This Dark Wood' and 'My Double Life 2 - A Rainbow Over the Hills.' In this interview he talks about his life, his spiritual awakenings and how they have changed the way he sees reality. 'I asked Japanese poet Junzabuto Nishwaki in 1965 for a distillation of the wisdom of the East - he wrote on a business card +A+-A=0. The Great Nothing. He explained that the Universe is a unity that reconciles all contradictions, that the One combines day and night, life or death.'

'Libya accelerated my drastic purgation and remaking of myself. I was on the universal mystic way without realising it - I didn't know that my dark night of the senses would help me back onto the right path of detachments, illumination and transformations - I would have to traverse hell before I could reach inner serenity - I now felt more intensely than ever that I had lost my way in a dark wood and was I still searching for my right path.' 'This was my first glimpse of the celebrated golden flower, the centre and the source of my being. White light flowing upwards... a spring opened up inside me... visions wobbled inside me... I saw a fountain of light .Finally I said to myself , 'I surrender' and I was drunk with flowing light.'

Awakenings » Paul Morgan-Somers  - Paul disappears into the ocean (and Messi is God!) - Interview by Iain McNay
Something happened out of the blue to Paul when he was 15 playing football which was his passion. (he was signed as an apprentice to Cardiff City FC and wanted to become a professional footballer.) He had a strong sense to sit quietly and was overwhelming by a deep brilliant sense of beauty and peace. This went on for 18 months. He felt his sense of free will and choice was dropping away and that he was 'losing the story of Paul.' Life was becoming like a boundless football game. He felt like a kid on beach playing in an ocean of energy with no control over his experiences. He went on to stay in a monastery for 5 years and then lived as a hermit for a year in a caravan. He later married and had two children and now travels and talks with people. He says, 'My character just fell into the ocean.'
Awakenings » Prajna Ginty - 'The Edge Of Grace' - Interview by Renate McNay
Prajna is a Mother, Spiritual Teacher and Author of the book, 'Edge of Grace - A Seeker's Path to the Heart of Liberation.' She was on top of the 'Enlightenment Mountain' and spent 7 years in Samadhi when she was thrown by spirit into a cauldron of transmuting fire. A long walk in the dark night began where she felt she cannot live this life anymore. One night she went close to the Cliff and began jumping when something picked her up saying, 'this is your purpose and the life to live,.you're staying, go home.' Prajna explains: 'I want everyone to know that regardless of their circumstances they can directly experience wholeness, return to the deepest peace and live in freedom'.
Awakenings » Richard Bates and Blue Marsden - 'From Fear To Oneness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Richard is author of 'The World Is My Mirror' recently published on Non-Duality Press. Blue's book is coming out in Spring 2013 on Hay House and is called Soul Plan: Reconnect With Your True Life Purpose.' They both talk about their lives and how they once had fear and anxiety which have disappeared, now that they have discovered who they really are. Richard: "One day I just saw that separate people, places and objects out there in the world, separate from anything else is untrue". Blue: "I experienced a far deeper and unfolding realisation of my essential lack of individuality".
Awakenings » Russel Williams - 'Looking Through The Horse's Eyes' - Interview by Iain McNay.
Russel was born in 1921 in a very poor family. He was orphaned at 11 and came close to death many times. In the second world war he took part in the Dunkirk evacuation and lived through the Blitz. He was never afraid. He joined a circus after the war and worked with the animals. It was here that he suddenly became aware that, 'I am the horses, dogs, the lion, the trees - everything is true nature.' He hasn't had any unwanted thoughts since he was 29 years old. 'The only way to attain experience is to come to complete emptiness; that is to come to the end of the thought mind. But you will find that the emptiness was never empty because it is a potential for all that may come to be. We enter into an area of extremely fine aspects of consciousness that dissolves into itself and loses duality. And then there is only 'that.' Everything leads back to this emptiness. No form of understanding can connect you to this. It has to be seen within itself. The peace that passes all understanding that is emptiness. It is completely fulfilling in itself. You can just BE instead of think.'Russel has a book available written with Steve Taylor, 'Not I, Not Other Than I: The Life and Teachings of Russel Williams'.
Awakenings » Satyananda - 'The Bliss Of Truth' - Interview by Iain McNay
Satyananda speaks of inner peace. His answers and interactions reveal what is most sacred and elusive but, paradoxically, also obvious. To meet him is to give yourself the challenge of focusing on the indescribable reality of your own essence. In that space everything stops. The mind stops. Thoughts stop. Knowledge stops and what remains is empty and clear. This clarity gives you freedom and peace and a new perspective for the demands of a busy life. Satyananda was born, Bernardo Lischinsky, in Uruguay in 1964. At the age of 22 he came to Europe to travel. Here, he was introduced to the way of 'self-enquiry' as taught by Sri Ramana Maharshi. The name Satyananda, which means 'the bliss of truth' was given to him by his teacher. Since that time, he has offered his life in the service of Peace. Many people have been attracted to his Satsangs and been inspired to cultivate his liberating insight in their own lives. In this interview he talks about his life and his work.
Awakenings » Shawn Nevins - 'The Way Of Subtraction' - Interview by Iain McNay
Shawn is author of four books including 'Subtraction: The Simple Math Of Enlightenment.' In the foreword he says, 'This book answers the question of how to find out the answer to who and what you are beyond any shadow of a doubt.' His spiritual search ended on December 28th 1999 having started 7 years earlier. During that time he meditated for thousands of hours, fasted, prayed, retreated, met spiritual teachers, and never gave up. His primary teacher was Richard Rose but he also spent time with Bernadette Roberts, Douglas Harding and others. His breakthrough came when he read through a transcript of a talk by Franklin Merrell-Wolff. Shawn's story has many ups and downs. His sincerity during his search shines through and his many realisations on his path are tangible.
Awakenings » Steve Ford - 'An Invitation to Being' - Interview by Iain McNay
'When we are not projecting thoughts or emotions, all we are is an opening for being - for true expression.' In this interview Steve tells the story of his awakening during a 12 Step programme course.
Awakenings » Sundance Burke - 'Free Spirit' - Interview by Iain McNay
In 1982 on a business trip, Sundance Burke radically awakened with Satoshi (Osho) and Sunyata, named the Rare Born Mystic by his friend Ramana Marshi, whom he met through happenstance alone. He spent many years integrating that profound spiritual realization. In 1988, he met his wife, Advaita Satsang teacher, Katie Davis, who had radically and spontaneously awakened in 1986 without spiritual practices or teachers. In fact, she had no intellectual reference whatsoever for what had occurred and the integration took twelve years. Subsequently, they studied the works of Advaita Vedanta, ancient scriptures and the works of traditional sages and contemporary teachers. In 1998, they became close friends with Eckhart Tolle, who encouraged them to share their teachings. They were invited to travel with him for two months on his first Power of Now Tour. In 2004, Eckhart encouraged them to write their books, "Free Spirit" by Sundance Burke and "Awake Joy" by Katie Davis, published in February 2008. Sundance Burke travels worldwide to share the message of conscious freedom and causeless joy in the form of Free Spirit talks in spiritual gatherings and in Advaita Satsang, in intensive retreats and silent retreats. He has been offering Advaita Satsang since 1999. In this interview he talks in detail about his awakening and its integration.
Awakenings » Tess Hughes - 'The Non-Event Of No Self' - Interview by Renate McNay
Fear of death through an experience when she was only eight, set Tess off on a journey to find the meaning of life. After 30 years of inquiry into her mind and experience she woke up to find there was NO SELF. From reading the work of Saint Teresa of Avila and through her personal experience, Tess has come to see that the most difficult obstacle on one's own path is the overcoming of self-esteem. She also believes that taking full responsibility for your own Awakening will set us free.
Awakenings » Tim Freke - 'How Long Is Now?' - Interview by Iain McNay
Tim is a passionate and entertaining voice for our collective awakening, whose enthusiasm for life is contagious. He's clear, irreverent, down-to-earth and not remotely interested in setting himself up as some sort of 'guru'. His controversial books and animated live performances have inspired many thousands of people throughout the world. He has an Honours Degree in philosophy and is an internationally respected authority on world spirituality. He has spent his life exploring the expanded state of consciousness he calls 'the magical mystery experience' or being 'deep awake' or 'lucid living' and he has a unique talent for helping others to experience this amazing state for themselves. He is the author of over twenty books that have established his reputation as a groundbreaking scholar and original free-thinker. He is best known for his groundbreaking work on Christian Gnosticism with his close friend Peter Gandy, including "The Jesus Mysteries", which was a top 10 best-seller in the UK and USA, and a 'Book of the Year' in the UK Daily Telegraph. Tim is the founder of The Alliance for Lucid Living and on the board of advisors for Team Humanity; organisations dedicated to our collective awakening. He is often featured in documentary films and chat shows broadcast by the global media such as the BBC and the History Channel. In this interview he talks about his realisations, awakenings and how he integrated these in his life. His new book is called "How Long Is Now" and is the basis for the interview.
Awakenings » 'What is Enlightenment?' with Paul Smit, Tim Freke and Gary Weber. Moderated by Iain and Renate McNay
This panel explores what the terms people use actually mean; Enlightenment. Awakening; self-realisation, Non-dual. Absolute Reality etc.. how does it all fit together? Does it fit together? People say they have experienced or live in these different states; is there some kind of map or understanding that brings them together.
Traditions » Aloka David Smith - 'The Awakened Mind Is Born' - Interview by Iain McNay
Practicing Buddhist for 40 years who began training with Zen, practicing with the Venerable Myokyo-ni, at the Buddhist Society in London for 5 years. He then travelled to Sri Lanka in 1980 where he lived for three years as a Theravada monk. While there his spiritual breakthrough took place and it is that, that formed the framework of his first book, 'A Record of Awakening.' He then returned to London and matured by living on his own for a number of years. He has written 4 further books, 'Dharma Mind Worldly Mind' 'A Question of Dharma' 'The Five Pillars of Transformation' and 'Blue Sky, White Cloud.' 'At the moment of 'coming back to life' after awakening the 'awakened Mind is born'. Before awaking there is only the ordinary mind, a mind that is always deluded. After years of practice this mind develops wisdom into the nature of itself and becomes more and more refined in that respect until it finally reaches the point where it cannot know any more about itself and falls into equanimity. There is a popular misconception that with awakening the everyday ignorant mind is swept away leaving just the pure wisdom of enlightenment. There remains a paradox which many find hard to accept, the transcendental is awakened but shortly after that, the small mind comes back with all its ignorance and power - everyday living doesn't change much at all. The practice that takes place afterward, the 'breakthrough' is precisely about these two.'
Traditions » Brad Warner - 'Hardcore Zen' - Interview by Iain McNay
Ex-punk band bass player and author of several books including 'Hardcore Zen' 'Sit Down And Shut Up' and 'Zen Wrapped In Karma Dipped in Chocolate', Brad explains that 'If you question everything thoroughly enough, the truth will eventually hit you upside the head and you will KNOW. But here's a warning: It won't be what you imagined. It won't even be close.'
Traditions » Burgs - 'The Flavour of Liberation - Part 1' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Beyond The Veil' and 'The Flavour Of Liberation - Volumes One, Two and Three.'

Has been teaching meditation in Europe and Asia since 1998. He initially trained as the main assistant to the Balinese meditation teacher and healer Merta Ada and helped him set up his Meditation school in Indonesia. The Healing meditation practices he learnt during this period, heavily influence Burgs' current teaching practice, which have a strong emphasis on the application of meditation in the maintenance and cultivation of physical and mental health. While learning from Merta Ada, he also trained in Chi Kung with a number of well-known Taoist teachers in Asia, and today integrates many of these practices into his teaching system. Went on to learn meditation from the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw in Burma. He was personally tutored by the Sayadaw, and became the first Westerner to complete the entire series of 40 Samatha meditation practices as described by the Buddha.

After disrobing as a monk in Burma, he was asked to visit the Tibetan Light Master, His Holiness Dodrupchen Rinpoche, who gave him the direct Dzogchen Mind Transmissions and subsequently recognised his attainment of some of the highest levels of Dzogchen practice. Since then, Burgs has been teaching both meditation and Chi Kung in the UK. He has a deep grounding and understanding in all aspects of meditation and energetic cultivation, and has a profound appreciation of how different spiritual practices and traditions fit together as a whole. He can directly perceive the mechanics of the mind and body, and can help elucidate the relationship between these aspects of ourselves.

Traditions » Burgs - 'The Flavour of Liberation - Part 2' - Interview by Renate McNay
Author of 'Beyond The Veil' and 'The Flavour Of Liberation - Volumes One, Two and Three.' Has been teaching meditation in Europe and Asia since 1998. He initially trained as the main assistant to the Balinese meditation teacher and healer Merta Ada and helped him set up his Meditation school in Indonesia. The Healing meditation practices he learnt during this period, heavily influence Burgs' current teaching practice, which have a strong emphasis on the application of meditation in the maintenance and cultivation of physical and mental health. While learning from Merta Ada, he also trained in Chi Kung with a number of well-known T aoist teachers in Asia, and today integrates many of these practices into his teaching system. Went on to learn meditation from the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw in Burma. He was personally tutored by the Sayadaw, and became the first Westerner to complete the entire series of 40 Samatha meditation practices as described by the Buddha. After disrobing as a monk in Burma, he was asked to visit the Tibetan Light Master, His Holiness Dodrupchen Rinpoche, who gave him the direct Dzogchen Mind Transmissions and subsequently recognised his attainment of some of the highest levels of Dzogchen practice. Since then, Burgs has been teaching both meditation and Chi Kung in the UK. He has a deep grounding and understanding in all aspects of meditation and energetic cultivation, and has a profound appreciation of how different spiritual practices and traditions fit together as a whole. He can directly perceive the mechanics of the mind and body, and can help elucidate the relationship between these aspects of ourselves.
Traditions » Burgs - 'The Silence is Always There' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Beyond The Veil' and 'The Flavour Of Liberation - Volumes One, Two and Three.'

Has been teaching meditation in Europe and Asia since 1998. He initially trained as the main assistant to the Balinese meditation teacher and healer Merta Ada and helped him set up his Meditation school in Indonesia. The Healing meditation practices he learnt during this period, heavily influence Burgs' current teaching practice, which have a strong emphasis on the application of meditation in the maintenance and cultivation of physical and mental health. While learning from Merta Ada, he also trained in Chi Kung with a number of well-known Taoist teachers in Asia, and today integrates many of these practices into his teaching system. Went on to learn meditation from the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw in Burma. He was personally tutored by the Sayadaw, and became the first Westerner to complete the entire series of 40 Samatha meditation practices as described by the Buddha.

After disrobing as a monk in Burma, he was asked to visit the Tibetan Light Master, His Holiness Dodrupchen Rinpoche, who gave him the direct Dzogchen Mind Transmissions and subsequently recognised his attainment of some of the highest levels of Dzogchen practice. Since then, Burgs has been teaching both meditation and Chi Kung in the UK. He has a deep grounding and understanding in all aspects of meditation and energetic cultivation, and has a profound appreciation of how different spiritual practices and traditions fit together as a whole. He can directly perceive the mechanics of the mind and body, and can help elucidate the relationship between these aspects of ourselves.

Traditions » Cynthia Bourgeault - 'Seeing With The Eyes Of The Heart' - Interview by Renate McNay
The Reverend Cynthia Bourgeault is a modern day mystic, Episcopal priest and writer. She divides her time between solitude and traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian Contemplative and Wisdom Path. Author of several books including, "Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening", "Wisdom Jesus", "The Meaning of Mary Magdalene", "Love is Stronger than Death". In this Interview Cynthia tells us how her Christian Life began encountering the presence of Jesus when she received her first communion and then how she started searching for the missing message in the Church. Very important teachers were Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. She studied the Sacred Dances and Movements which threw her at times into a Rabbit Hole. She also talks about Freedom and the willingness to bare our suffering, GOD's Love, Solitude and Silence.
Traditions » Daniel Brown - 'The Great Way' - Interview by Iain McNay
Daniel is Director of The Centre for Integrative Psychotherapy, Newton, MA and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School. Author of 14 books including "Transformations of Consciousness" (with Ken Wilbur and Jack Engler), and a book on Mahamudra, "Pointing Out the Great Way: The Mahamudra Tradition of Tibetan Meditation-Stages" (Wisdom Publications), and two books on public dialogues with H.H. The Dalai Lama. He studied meditation practice for 38 years, including Patnajali's Yogasutras with Mircea Eliade; Burmese mindfulness meditation with Mahasi Sayadaw in Rangoon, and many other Burmese and Western teachers of mindfulness. Indo-Tibetan concentration and insight meditation with Geshe Wangyal, Denmo Locho Rinpoche, and Yeshe Tapkay; he learned the Mahamudra from numerous Tibetan lamas. He spent 10 years translating meditation texts from Tibetan and Sanskrit, including translating Tashi Namgyal's commentary on Mahamudra, Moon Beams, as well as translating most of the Mahamudra meditation practice texts in Jamgon Kongtrul's great collection of meditation texts, "The Treasure of Instructions". As a Western psychologist, he spent 10 years conducting outcomes research on beginner and advanced meditators and has taught meditation retreats for 18 years.
Traditions » Dennis Moorby - 'Freedom Through Path Of The Jhanas' - Interview by Iain McNay
Dennis was a successful business executive in London when he went with a friend to India and looked into the eyes of his friend's Guru. He saw a really happy man with sparking eyes. He returned home to find his wife of 17 years wanted to leave him and he was no longer motivated to do his high powered job. He went on a spiritual adventure which culminated in his creating his own 'cave in the mountains' which was in fact an apartment in a small German village. There he spent 18 months meditating for 8 hours a day working through the path of the Jhanas as outlined by Ayya Khema, until he found freedom.
Traditions » Derek Thorne - 'The Yoga Path To Non-Duality' - Interview by Iain McNay
Derek is a yoga teacher, writer, poet and lecturer who is the Spiritual director of the YogaLiving community based near Bath in England. He has practiced Yoga for 40 years and has also trained many yoga teachers.. Since 1997 has committed to Atma Vichara and the Jnana Yoga approach as given by Sri Ramana Maharshi. Alongside an ongoing professional life in the health service he now devotes his time to making that teaching accessible to all who seek it and to the development of the YogaLiving Community. In this interview he talks about his life and his work.
Traditions » Elias Amidon - 'The Sufi Way' - Interview by Iain McNay
Elias Amidon is co-director of the Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit which runs national and international training programs in support of human rights, citizen peacemaking, environmental ethics, and indigenous cultures. During the 90's he taught in the masters program of Environmental Leadership at Naropa University in Colorado; he is a trained wilderness quest guide and has led quests for over 12 years. Elias is a Murshid, senior teacher, and lineage holder of the International Sufi Way, an inner school in the lineage of Indian Sufi master Inayat Khan. Over the years he has studied and practiced Sufism in America, Europe, India, North Africa, and the Middle East. He is also initiated into the Qadiri Sufi order and the Soto Zen Buddhist order of the White Plum Sangha. In this interview he talks about his life, the Sufi way and how the deepening of one's inner life and the deepening of one's life in the world is a single process. His life's primary dedication is to be able to access and sustain the clear presence of simple being pure awareness with ease.
Traditions » Jason Shulman - 'A Path To An Awakened Soul' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Kabbalistic Healing' and of 'The Instruction Manual For Receiving God', he is the Founder of 'A Society of Souls' The School for Non-Dual Healing and Awakening.' Jason talks about his life and the non-dual Kabbalistic healing process he has developed. He says: 'Kabbalah healing is not transmitted energy, it is working with conditions of unity that are prior to energy.' 'Duality is also Oneness, duality is reality. Thus the ego has within it the kernel of oneness.'
Traditions » Martine Batchelor - 'Clap. Where Did The Sound Go?' - Interview by Renate McNay
Martine is a Buddhist meditation teacher and author of several books including: "Meditation for Life," "Women in Korean Zen," 'Let Go - a Buddhist guide of breaking free of habits.' From a young age she wanted to change the world. Reading the "Dhammapada" was a turning point and instead of trying to change the world she decided to change herself. She went hitchhiking to India to learn meditating and ended up in a Korean buddhist Monastery where she decided to become a nun. She stayed there for 10 years under the guidance of Master Kusan Sumin exploring "hwadus" and meditating.
Traditions » Miek Pot - 'Into The Great Silence' - Interview by Renate McNay
Miek was living a full life when she spontaneously decided to enter one of the strictest Monasteries within the Catholic Church - the Carthusian Order - where life was lived in SILENCE according to the "Desert Fathers". In the Solitude of her hermitage Miek lived her life in silence for 12 years with great discipline and focus on her practice; without that one is soon left at the mercy of the "Demons" of one's mind; without structure one can go mad. After 9 years she had her great Awakening, her perspective completely shifted and her old image of God was smashed. It took her 3 years to leave the Solitude and Silence and go back to the "Market Place" and live her Awakening. She is now a Guide to help people find their own way into the Great Silence.
Traditions » Nicholas Vesey - 'Developing Consciousness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 'Developing Consciousness - A Roadmap of The Journey to Enlightenment.' Nicholas Vesey worked as copywriter for Saatchi and Saatchi before having a life changing experience after returning from the Himalayas. Eventually he decided to join the 'only real God business in town' and became an Anglican Priest. He tells a fascinating tale of his journey, realizations and integrations.
Traditions » Paul Harris - 'Postcards From Beyond' - Interview by Iain McNay
Paul suffered from depression and was full of fear and self-doubt when he was younger. His saviour at that time was Indie music and his guitar. He then spent time in India and at one time just 'gave up.' 'The release was truly remarkable. It was like I was freed from my body completely. From the root of my being all the way above my head I just opened up completely. I was no longer 'Paul' or even human.' But his depression came back again in time and he was again miserable and unfulfilled. He found the Aukana Buddhist Monastery in Wiltshire in the UK and moved in for full time training. He meditated for 4 or 5 hours a day and developing mindfulness. For 9 years he pretty much lived on an acre of land. He now leads the monastery. 'I teach the way I have travelled so I know it works. The enlightened mind does not crave for life to be different.'
Traditions » Peter Fenner - 'Awakening Unconditioned Awareness' - Interview by Iain McNay
Peter had the good fortune to meet the Tibetan Lama Thubten Yeshe, founder of the Foundation for the Presentation of the Mahayana Tradition in 1974. Lama Yeshe accepted him as his student and in 1978 he was ordained as a monk. In 1983 he completed a PhD in the philosophical psychology of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism. His other teachers included Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Thubten Loden, Geshe Lhundup Sopa, Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and Sogyal Rinpoche. After nine years as a celibate monk, Peter handed back his ordination. As a postmonastic he embarked on an intensive exploration of Western forms of healing and therapy. In 1986 he began offering adaptations of Mahayana wisdom to mental health professionals. His workshops integrated Buddhist Non-Dual wisdom with an understanding of group dynamics. He subsequently founded the Center for Timeless Wisdom, a Californian non-profit organization, which offers contemplative dialogues and retreats in Australia, USA, Europe and Israel. In response to requests from the many mental health professionals who attended his workshops, Peter has taught the principles and practices for a Non-Dual psychotherapy. He also offers individual counselling sessions to clients in many countries. Peter's books include "Radiant Mind - Awakening The Unconditioned Awareness" (Sounds True, 2007) "The Ontology of the Middle Way" (Kluwer, 1990) "Reasoning into Reality" (Wisdom Publications, 1994) "Essential Wisdom Teachings" (with Penny Fenner, Nicolas-Hays, 2001) and "The Edge of Certainty: Paradoxes on the Buddhist Path" (Nicolas-Hays, 2002). "Sacred Mirror: Non-Dual Wisdom and Psychotherapy" (Editor, Omega Books, 2003). His psychological essays have appeared in journals such as the Journal of Contemplative Psychotherapy, Revision, Journal of the International Association for Spiritual Psychiatry, Psychologia (Tokyo).
Traditions » Philip Roderick - 'The Beauty Behind The Beauty' - Interview by Iain McNay
Anglican priest, percussionist, educator and author, Philip started the 'Quiet Gardens Movement' and 'Contemplative Fire.' Here he talks about his life and the pointers that appeared to direct him along the way to the Christian Faith. He says: 'Silence and solitude are precursors to service.'
Traditions » Reggie Ray - 'Finding Realization In The Body' - Interview by Renate McNay
Dr. Reginald "Reggie" Ray is the Founder and Spiritual Director of the Dharma Ocean Foundation. He met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970, a few weeks after his arrival in the US, and became one of his first American students. After spending time in India he moved to Colorado where he became the first full-time faculty member and chair of the Buddhist Studies. From the beginning of his study with Trungpa Rinpoche, Reggie held many roles in Rinpoche's lineage - student, scholar, meditation instructor, and teacher. Reggie has always combined his study and teaching with a strong meditation practice, including daily practice and annual solitary retreats of 1-3 months each year. He has accumulated some 6-7 years in solitary retreat, in which he has explored all of Trungpa Rinpoche's practice teachings. He has also explored somatic teachings east and west, traditional and modern, such as Yoga and Qi Gung (which he practices today) and traditions such as the work of Gerda Alexander, Rolfing, and Hakomi therapy and therapeutic techniques. He now incorporates much of the wisdom of these earth-based lineages and traditions into his teaching, because, as he says, Vajrayana is essentially an earth-based tradition already. Reggie has written extensively and is the author of several books including "Indestructible Truth", "Secret of the Vajra World" and "Touching Enlightenment - Finding Realization in the Body." "To be awake, to be enlightened, is to be fully and completely embodied. To be fully embodied means to be at one with who we are, in every respect, including our physical being, our emotions, and the totality of our karmic situation."
Traditions » ShantiMayi - 'In Our Hearts We Know' - Interview by Iain McNay
ShantiMayi is a rare being in that she embodies that living 'Principle' that resides within us all. She is the only westerner, as well as the only woman ever to carry the grace of her lineage of exceptional Indian sages around the entire world. This lineage is said to date back to the beginning of this universal cycle and exists solely for the purpose of the enlightenment of all beings. Her talks are forums of inspiration where she and the assembly have an opportunity to address the concerns questions and discoveries that people bring to this precious time. Central to every meeting is a spiritually stimulating exchange among sincere people. ShantiMayi eclectically draws upon the quintessence of many traditions: Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, and the Aboriginal Tribes of the Americas and Australia. Though this is so, she speaks from her own direct spirituality and points us back to ourselves. She says she is not religious and is not against religion as such. Whatever awakens us to 'Truth' is in fact 'the way'. It is our own spiritual discovery, from within us and in our lives that brings us to the light of our heart-wisdom. ShantiMayi inspires to enliven the wonderful potential within us all. In this interview she talks about her life and her work.
Traditions » Sheikh Burhanuddin - 'The Journey Of A Modern Sufi Mystic'' - Interview by Iain McNay
Sheikh Burhanuddin talks about his fascinating journey and experiences along his way to become a Sheikh under the guidance of his master, Sheikh Nazim. From an early age when he was very drawn to be in nature he soon committed his life to finding a master who could guide him on his path. His spent time on different 'seclusions' which were very influential and helpful him with many realizations. He also had a session with spiritual healer Stephen Turoff which triggered a very deep state which lasted for nearly 3 years. He goes on to explain the Uwaysi System which is now an integral part of his teaching.
Traditions » Simon Small - 'Contemplation' - Interview by Iain McNay
Simon is author of 'From The Bottom Of The Pond - The Forgotten Art Of Experiencing God In The Depths Of The Present Moment' and 'Star Pilgrim - A Story of The Deepest Mysteries of Existence.' He talks about his journey through different paths before he was ordained as a Priest in The Church Of England. Mindfulness, Contemplation, Stillness and Prayer are his practices and he talks about what these mean in his life
Traditions » Stephen Fulder - 'Awakening Arrives By Itself' - Interview by Iain McNay
'The spacious groundless sense of being needs to become part of our nature, to be familiar territory and then awakening arrives by itself. The ultimate cannot belong to anyone nor can there be someone who is awakened.' Stephen talks us through his spiritual journey and realisations. From realising that there was no fixed reality when he was a child to having his earlier insights confirmed when he took LSD in his 20s. He was drawn to India and the 'Mother Ganges' where he discovered the teachings of S.N. Goenka. Spent time on many retreats with Sayama and other Buddhist teachers such as Stephen Batchelor and Christopher Titmuss. Formed the Israel Insight Society; distanced himself from Buddhism but fully embraced the teachings of the Buddha and still teaches around 15 retreats a year. Also works in the area of Palestinian/Israeli reconciliation. 'There is no way to peace, Peace is the way.' Can describe his lived experience with great precision and clarity; took part on a study which explored 3 stages:Stage 1 - ordinary sense of self and boundary Stage 2 - sense of dropping boundary to some extent Stage 3 - dissolution. In this interview he explains these stages in detail.
Traditions » Stephen Snyder - 'The Transformative and The Transcendent' - Interview by Iain McNay

Stephen is the co-author of 'Practicing the Jhanas: Traditional Concentration Meditation as Presented by the Venerable PA Auk Sayadaw.' He has been a Buddhist practitioner for over 40 years. In the 70's he read 'Three Pillars Of Zen' which started him on his path of meditation and then a few years later he had a significant awakening experience which showed him the nature of reality. He discovered the Jhana path of meditation and found he strongly connected with that. He now works with Tina Rasmussen teaching meditation and is also a practicing lawyer. He has found that it is really important to work on the Transformative and The Transcendent and talks in detail about this in the interview

Traditions » Tina Rasmussen - 'Living The Enlightenment Drive' - Interview by Renate McNay

Tina teaches Jhana Meditation and helps students recognise their deeper nature, both on the cushion and in daily life. She wrote the book "Practicing the Jhanas" with her teaching partner Stephen Snyder. She also worked as an organisation development consultant and coach for more the 25 years and published several books on humanistic business practices. Tina learned to meditate at age 13 and had been attending long silent meditation retreats. For years she practiced in Buddhist and Non-Dual traditions. She had a natural talent for concentration meditation and undertook an intensive year-long solo retreat during which a profound awakening to true nature occurred. After life-changing experiences Tina felt the strong pull to become a "cave yogi" but as the awakening matured, it was compelling to her to function in the world from an awakened perspective. She was the first Western Women who completed the entire Samatha path including the eight Jhanas and was authorised to teach by Burmese meditation Master Ven.Pa Auk Sayadaw. She is also practicing the "Diamond Approach" by H. A. Almaas.

^top
 

All rights reserved 2017 - any problems, contact 12testing (scripting & maintenance)
Site design webcrafts.nl