Most people don\u2019t know this about me, but I\u2019ve spent the past 6 years on an obsessive journey with spiritual awakening.<\/p>\n
AKA non-dual realization. Self-transcendence. Or the infamous, oft-misunderstood \u201cE\u201d word (rhymes with binlightenment).<\/p>\n
I know, I know\u2026it sounds like mystical bullshit. But it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a very real, tangible experience that many people around the world are undergoing. And that neuroscience is beginning to corroborate.1I fully believe that in a few decades, once science catches up, this will be as mainstream and widely accepted as meditation is today. But right now, we\u2019re in the same place meditation was a few decades ago: a practice that most Westerners haven\u2019t heard of or didn\u2019t see the benefits of.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Most books I read on the topic, from authors with names like Eckhart Tolle or Adyashanti, talk about the experience in very subjective, lyrical, and even poetic ways.<\/p>\n I actually prefer that approach, but as a man of science, I\u2019ve always wanted to see this topic explored in a more empirical, objective way. To me, science and spirituality were never at odds – just different ways to explore the same truth.<\/p>\n However those perspectives seemed few and far between. Especially from a contemporary voice that I could relate to.<\/p>\n And then came \u201cWaking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n Imagine my surprise when one of the most prominent atheists of our time, a neuroscientist with a penchant for intellectual debate and skewering irrational thought, ended up releasing an entire book about my favorite topic ever: <\/p>\n Non-duality. Awakening. Spirituality without religion.<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t read it yet and have an interest in the subject, I highly recommend it. It\u2019s fascinating to hear an atheistic neuroscientist explore the subject of consciousness, meditation, psychedelics2Harris writes an amazing chapter on the possibilities and pitfalls of using drugs for spiritual exploration, which you can read an excerpt from here: Drugs and the Meaning of Life<\/a><\/span><\/span>, and self-transcendence from both a scientific and personal perspective.3I fully believe this was a watershed moment for spirituality. Harris finally bridged a gap between ancient Eastern wisdom and modern Western thought. A huge first step in making this truth accessible to the mainstream.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In the book, Harris explains what he, and many ancient spiritual traditions, mean by \u201cwaking up\u201d:<\/p>\n The feeling that we call \u201cI\u201d is an illusion. There is no discrete self or ego living like a Minotaur in the labyrinth of the brain. And the feeling that there is \u2014 the sense of being perched somewhere behind your eyes, looking out at a world that is separate from yourself \u2014 can be altered or entirely extinguished<\/u>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n My goal in this chapter and the next is to convince you that the conventional sense of self is an illusion\u2014and that spirituality largely consists in realizing this, moment to moment.<\/u> There are logical and scientific reasons to accept this claim, but recognizing it to be true is not a matter of understanding these reasons.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He then goes on to explain that it\u2019s not about intellectually understanding this, but experientially realizing it through practice:<\/p>\n Like many illusions, the sense of self disappears when closely examined, and this is done through the practice of meditation. Once again, I am suggesting an experiment that you must conduct for yourself, in the laboratory of your own mind, by paying attention to your experience in a new way.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He details his own decades-long journey of exploring this. And working with a Tibetan Dzogchen master who\u2019s able to skillfully point out this truth with simple directions, as straightforward as tying a shoe:<\/p>\n I have been in the presence of several of the most revered Tibetan lamas of our time while they were ostensibly teaching Dzogchen, and most of them simply described this view of consciousness without giving clear instructions on how to glimpse it. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The genius of Tulku Urgyen was that he could point out the nature of mind with the precision and matter-of-factness of teaching a person how to thread a needle and could get an ordinary meditator like me to recognize that consciousness is intrinsically free of self. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I came to Tulku Urgyen yearning for the experience of self-transcendence, and in a few minutes he showed me that I had no self to transcend.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But the one thing Harris never does is actually lead you through the practice itself.<\/p>\n He never shows you how to glimpse this. How to perform this self-inquiry.<\/p>\n Or even point you in a direction to go in.<\/p>\n For a book called, \u201cA Guide to Spirituality without Religion\u201d, it\u2019s not much of a guide.<\/p>\n So most people who read this book, but were new to the topic, had no idea what to do once they finished.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s you, then fear not. That\u2019s what this piece is here for.<\/p>\n So the first thing you need to know is that you\u2019ve stumbled onto a topic called non-duality<\/strong> (meaning: not-two, the living realization that there\u2019s no separation between you and everything else). <\/p>\n There are tons of teachers on the subject, the most famous being Eckhart Tolle and Adyashanti, but I\u2019ve personally found the smaller teachers more helpful to my own journey.<\/p>\n But for you \u201cWaking Up\u201d readers, there\u2019s a specific teacher I want to introduce you to. And he also happens to be one of my personal favorites:<\/p>\n Loch Kelly.<\/p>\n Kelly is a psychotherapist who studied with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, the exact same Dzogchen master that Harris studied with.<\/p>\n Kelly even quotes Sam Harris in his excellent book, \u201cShift Into Freedom<\/a>\u201d:<\/p>\n Sam Harris, a neuroscientist and author of Waking Up, who also studied with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, writes about how valuable this learning experience was for him: \u201cTulku Urgyen simply handed me the ability to cut through the illusion of the self directly, even in ordinary states of consciousness. This instruction was, without question, the most important thing I have ever been explicitly taught by another human being.<\/u> It has given me a way to escape the usual tides of psychological suffering \u2014 fear, anger, shame \u2014 in an instant.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Unlike Sam though, Kelly actually leads you through these instructions, step-by-step.<\/p>\n If you wanted to explore the same Dzogchen method of teaching that Harris was exposed to, I believe Loch Kelly is the clearest, most accessible way for a Western audience.<\/p>\n I highly recommend picking up his book, \u201cShift Into Freedom<\/a>\u201d, which is filled with tons of different pointing exercises.<\/p>\n The exercises may be a little difficult to do while reading though, so if his book resonates with you, then check out his Youtube videos<\/a> (I actually helped him produce this animation<\/a>), online courses, or listen to his audiobook<\/a>4If you want the audiobook exercises, get the SoundsTrue version<\/a>, not the Apple version. The Apple audiobook doesn\u2019t split the mp3\u2019s into different chapters, which is a pain to deal with.<\/span><\/span> so he can guide you through the exercises with his voice.<\/p>\n If any part of the exercises resonate with you (even if you\u2019re not sure you\u2019re doing them right), I highly recommend seeing him in person. He does sittings and retreats often in New York and California.<\/p>\n I personally experienced huge shifts when seeing him in person, in ways that I didn\u2019t get from the book and online courses. So consider going to one of his sittings if it calls to you.<\/p>\n But if it doesn\u2019t, don\u2019t worry about it.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t think this is the only way. Or even the \u201cbest\u201d way.<\/p>\n In the journey of awakening, there is no such thing as a \u201cbest\u201d way. There\u2019s only the \u201cwhat\u2019s-best-for-you-right-now\u201d way.<\/p>\n There are many, many other approaches to exploring this topic. Different methods and teachers will or won\u2019t resonate with you – and at different times in your journey.<\/p>\n Here are just a few of the many teachers that\u2019ve helped me: Eckhart Tolle<\/a>, Rupert Spira<\/a>, Adyashanti<\/a>, Fred Davis<\/a>, Lisa Cairns<\/a>, Salvadore Poe<\/a>.<\/p>\n The most important thing is that you continue to pay attention to what resonates. And to follow that.<\/p>\n As soon as something stops resonating, then it\u2019s time to start exploring in another direction. If you ignore this because you think you\u2019ve found \u201cthe best\u201d teacher, or \u201cthe ultimate\u201d teaching, then you\u2019re just getting caught in dualistic mind games once again.<\/p>\n Break free from that. <\/p>\n Trust your gut\/heart\/instinct over your mind. That\u2019s the only way to walk your unique non-dual path.<\/p>\n As for me, Loch Kelly was a crucial part of my awakening journey for two years. But at my last retreat with him, I could feel that my time with him was over – at least for now.<\/p>\n So I continue to move forward, being led by my heart, into this ever-deepening, constantly rewarding, journey of awakening. <\/p>\n And I gotta admit – it\u2019s amazing how sweet life can be once you remove yourself from it.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t take my word for it. Find out for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most people don\u2019t know this about me, but I\u2019ve spent the past 6 years on an obsessive journey with spiritual awakening.<\/p>\n AKA non-dual realization. Self-transcendence. Or the infamous, oft-misunderstood \u201cE\u201d word (rhymes with binlightenment).<\/p>\n I know, I know\u2026it sounds like mystical bullshit. But it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a very real, tangible experience that many people around the world are undergoing. And that neuroscience is beginning to corroborate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jaeminyi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/atheist-neuroscientist-explores-enlightenment-2.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p79mZF-Bx","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2327"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2531,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327\/revisions\/2531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jaeminyi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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What to Do After Reading \u201cWaking Up\u201d<\/h2>\n
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