As a child, I had many experiences of the limitless side of my Being, but perhaps nothing extraordinary. I think most people have such experiences quite naturally. As I grew older, I felt increasingly overwhelmed by my own wounds and by all the separation and denial I felt inside and out. By the time I left grammar school, I was confused and repressed. But I was telling myself and the world I was fine and everything was OK.
By the time I’d reached my teens, I was in crisis and I found myself reaching out for something beyond the ordinary world. I began my spiritual search (as did many of my peers) reading books by J. Krishnamurti, Yogananda, Carlos Casteneda, Ram Dass, and Richard Bach. Soon thereafter, I began using hallucinogens as a tool in my self-inquiry process. I glimpsed my future realization in this life, but I also saw that I couldn’t reach it through drugs. At 17, I took initiation into TM and began to practice regularly. After meeting Maharishi, I found myself preparing to become a TM teacher. I took years of training, (over a year in deep meditations and fasting in the Switzerland), spent lots of time with Maharishi, and finally was endowed by him with the knowledge I needed to initiate others. I taught TM to hundreds of seekers, thinking that this simple technique would eventually bring them (and myself) freedom. It was around this time that it became perfectly clear to me that, until I and many others around me had awakened into some fundamental self-recognition and integrity of Being, nothing else was going to make the world any better.
Website: trilliumawakening.org
Batgap interview with Ted Strauss and Carole Griggs
Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.
YouTube Video Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction and Background
- 00:03:34 – The Magical Encounter at the Fair
- 00:06:09 – Falling in Love and Kissed Feet
- 00:08:58 – A Friendship Begins
- 00:12:06 – The Depth of the Heart
- 00:15:14 – The Tantric Challenge of Coming into the World with Awakened Consciousness
- 00:18:18 – The Awakening of Consciousness
- 00:21:30 – Cultivating the Recognition of Consciousness Embodied
- 00:24:16 – Different Experiences of Awakening
- 00:27:04 – Beyond the Ultimate Awakening
- 00:29:36 – Introduction of Samuel Bondar and his role in awakening
- 00:32:22 – Overcoming Pain and Suffering
- 00:35:19 – The Avoidance of Duality and Fundamentalism
- 00:38:13 – The Discomfort of Being Human
- 00:41:24 – Being with Discomfort
- 00:44:47 – The Evolution of Human Consciousness
- 00:48:02 – The Process of Disillusionment and Surrender
- 00:51:04 – The Rot Out of Illusion
- 00:54:02 – Evolution and Growth in Spiritual Development
- 00:56:56 – The Genius of Being is Guiding the Shell
- 01:00:12 – Evolution of Relationship Dynamics
- 01:03:30 – Partners in Waking Down
- 01:05:48 – The Three Components of Waking Down
- 01:08:44 – The Importance of Awakening in Personal Growth
- 01:11:25 – Reflections on the Awakening Experience
- 01:14:34 – The Breakthrough Moment
- 01:17:25 – Falling Into Embodiment
- 01:19:59 – Awakening and Centers of Consciousness
- 01:22:36 – Wrap-up and Final Thoughts
- 01:24:53 – Embracing Spiritual Variety
- 01:27:15 – Closing Credits
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