Many spiritual paths ask us to leave the ego,
the sense of a separate, personal self, behind.
The problem isn't the ego but the fact that the
ego does not see itself as the beauty it truly is!
-Jason Shulman-
the sense of a separate, personal self, behind.
The problem isn't the ego but the fact that the
ego does not see itself as the beauty it truly is!
-Jason Shulman-
Dear Friends,
I'm so happy you're here!
There are many layers to what you'll find here, but the most important thing is something we're profoundly in need of : A non-dual view in which you, as an individual, truly matter.
One that shows us how astonishingly real we are, how significant the world is simply because it exists. A view that wakes us up to being more than just separate - always separate and one. To being more than personal, not subtracting anything but adding in more of what we are, so expanding our consciousness reveals our wholeness.
One that leaves behind dogmatic notions of Ultimate Truth, freeing our minds to consciously choose how we interpret spiritual experience. Now we're free to explore a new vision of non-duality that celebrates the separa as the vehicle connects us deeply with one another, as individual expressions of one universe, evolving into an intimate relationship with itself.
One that moves beyond both science and spirituality that diminishes human beings, and trivializes our precious reality.
non-dual spiritual terrain both attracts newcomers and and spits there's an equally crowded exit gate of those who are disillusioned by
My deepest desire is to share an experience of reality that is secured in the relationship, the inter-connection between all things, that nestles us in the vast interconnected web of life, a part of the whole that we know
f that wouldn't be right to call non-dual, but more like uni-dual, because it's being part of a "oneness of multiplicity" in which we can play a role in the universe coming to realize itself as us, and discover how human connection, relationship, and life itself changes when we experience ourselves not as a formless ground of Being we dissolve into, but as that ground of Being blooming as human.
a conscious relationship with itself as human. And I hope I can help others by sharing how I emerged from self-negating non-duality with a dramatic shift into the glorious both/and of oneness and separateness co-dependently arising, and the transcendent right here in the immanent, the beyond within.
There are many layers to what you'll find here, but the most important thing is something we're profoundly in need of : A non-dual view in which you, as an individual, truly matter.
One that shows us how astonishingly real we are, how significant the world is simply because it exists. A view that wakes us up to being more than just separate - always separate and one. To being more than personal, not subtracting anything but adding in more of what we are, so expanding our consciousness reveals our wholeness.
One that leaves behind dogmatic notions of Ultimate Truth, freeing our minds to consciously choose how we interpret spiritual experience. Now we're free to explore a new vision of non-duality that celebrates the separa as the vehicle connects us deeply with one another, as individual expressions of one universe, evolving into an intimate relationship with itself.
One that moves beyond both science and spirituality that diminishes human beings, and trivializes our precious reality.
non-dual spiritual terrain both attracts newcomers and and spits there's an equally crowded exit gate of those who are disillusioned by
My deepest desire is to share an experience of reality that is secured in the relationship, the inter-connection between all things, that nestles us in the vast interconnected web of life, a part of the whole that we know
f that wouldn't be right to call non-dual, but more like uni-dual, because it's being part of a "oneness of multiplicity" in which we can play a role in the universe coming to realize itself as us, and discover how human connection, relationship, and life itself changes when we experience ourselves not as a formless ground of Being we dissolve into, but as that ground of Being blooming as human.
a conscious relationship with itself as human. And I hope I can help others by sharing how I emerged from self-negating non-duality with a dramatic shift into the glorious both/and of oneness and separateness co-dependently arising, and the transcendent right here in the immanent, the beyond within.
To share how this helped me dis-entangle from nihilistic non-dualisms, and to offer this as an alternative to liberation through self-negation or "ego death. " I want to share the experience of being Being in bloom in which the spiritual is the material and vice versa, and we find sacredness in everything including the most painful emotions we've tried to transcend and exclude. The focus shifts from collapsing form into formlessness to the evolution of formlessness flourishing into (and as) form, and the grand trajectory of Being becoming, which has miraculously led to the mystery of us. A third thing opens to us when the co-arising of separateness and oneness co-arise becomes a palpable experience. A "oneness of multiplicity" giving rise to the revelation of how significant each of us are, simply because we exist, as unfathomable expressions of one universe that's evolved not to simply dissolve back into it's formless origin, but to see itself with human eyes.
It took awhile for me to realize that there are non-dual paths that don't include de-realization and de-personalization, and which support individual and collective human flourishing. That reveal how our personal selves are integral parts of the greater whole of what we are, a whole that has a hole in it if you're taken out of the picture. There are non-dual paths that reveal how our bodies, minds, souls aren't merely illusions, but manifestations of whatever words you use for god. Paths that reveal how oneness doesn't require your non-existence as a person, or the collapse of subject and object. This is the non-duality of co-dependent origination, wholeness that excludes nothing, instead holding more, not trying to excise parts of ourselves but embracing them with tenderness and self-compassion. We become more inspired to turn towards them when we recognize our painful emotions as expressions of the divine. A path on which we don't look through form to see its true nature, because we look right at its true nature as formlessness enformed.
It took awhile for me to realize that there are non-dual paths that don't include de-realization and de-personalization, and which support individual and collective human flourishing. That reveal how our personal selves are integral parts of the greater whole of what we are, a whole that has a hole in it if you're taken out of the picture. There are non-dual paths that reveal how our bodies, minds, souls aren't merely illusions, but manifestations of whatever words you use for god. Paths that reveal how oneness doesn't require your non-existence as a person, or the collapse of subject and object. This is the non-duality of co-dependent origination, wholeness that excludes nothing, instead holding more, not trying to excise parts of ourselves but embracing them with tenderness and self-compassion. We become more inspired to turn towards them when we recognize our painful emotions as expressions of the divine. A path on which we don't look through form to see its true nature, because we look right at its true nature as formlessness enformed.
Anyone interested is invited to explore all of this philosophically and experientially within a paradigm of emergent spirituality* which integrates science and spirituality in a new way, leaving behind the worst of them and carrying forward the best, dispensing with both scientific and spiritual reductionism, so that we can experience and revel in the process of evolution as the process of Being becoming;
Neo-Advaita Awareness
In tandem with exploring this new paradigm of non-duality, I'm spreading awareness and encouraging a wider conversation about the dangerous elements of Neo-Advaita and "instant enlightenment, by sharing from my experience and that of many others, the forms of profound suffering that await so many of us who lose vital parts of our lives and selves in them. With so many people being hurt, this is a heart-felt plea to join us in understanding which aspects of these teachings, that in the name of ending suffering, are inadvertently causing so much affliction, so that we might be able to minimize the harm.
I'd wanted to move on from the eventual horrors of Neo-Advaita completely, but after this extreme ego dissolution path which initially offered radical freedom, led to deep soul loss a blurring of the line between mystic and psychotic, I've heard from so many others who were also deeply harmed and found that the sacrifices outweighed the gains, having led to profound new forms of suffering, that affected not only them but people close to them. Contemplating sucHaving discovered this, I hope to give us a voice, sharing what we've been through and giving us a way to connect with each other. Together, we can evolve beyond imbalanced spiritual paradigms that belittle us, and welcome ourselves back into our hearts, minds and bodies, now as entirely real unividuals, paradoxically separate and one.
Read more about my experience, the world of Neo-Advaita, and bringing people together who have been harmed by it.
I'd wanted to move on from the eventual horrors of Neo-Advaita completely, but after this extreme ego dissolution path which initially offered radical freedom, led to deep soul loss a blurring of the line between mystic and psychotic, I've heard from so many others who were also deeply harmed and found that the sacrifices outweighed the gains, having led to profound new forms of suffering, that affected not only them but people close to them. Contemplating sucHaving discovered this, I hope to give us a voice, sharing what we've been through and giving us a way to connect with each other. Together, we can evolve beyond imbalanced spiritual paradigms that belittle us, and welcome ourselves back into our hearts, minds and bodies, now as entirely real unividuals, paradoxically separate and one.
Read more about my experience, the world of Neo-Advaita, and bringing people together who have been harmed by it.
You don't get to oneness by erasing yourself,
that would be oneness with a hole in it!
-Tim Freke-
You don't get to oneness by erasing yourself,
that would be oneness with a hole in it!
-Tim Freke-
Stepping out on a Fall morning, struck by the very reality of the world. I hear Nisargadatta's voice echoing through time, "Refuse this dream the stamp of reality!" But I can no longer heed his call because today life is no longer just a dream, not a bubble to burst, but dramatically, mind-blowingly real, and in the light of this precious isness, everything radiates significance. My soul flutters with delight watching god interact with itself everywhere I look. Everyone a piece of god that contains all of god. Then, I hear Ram Das's lovely voice whisper, "Everything is god in drag!" but now it's not quite right, because now I see that god doesn't wear masks, and the world is not just an appearance. This world of form no longer conceals god, but reveals him/her/it everywhere, all of this is the revelation of god, it IS god expressing itself in infinite ways, god, the multi-faceted! I smile to myself because today I don't need to peel anything back or strip anything away to look upon god's (many) face(s).
Stepping out on a Fall morning, struck by the very reality of the world. I hear Nisargadatta's voice echoing through time, "Refuse this dream the stamp of reality!" But I can no longer heed his call because today life is no longer just a dream, not a bubble to burst, but dramatically, mind-blowingly real, and in the light of this precious isness, everything radiates significance. My soul flutters with delight watching god interact with itself everywhere I look. Everyone a piece of god that contains all of god. Then, I hear Ram Das's lovely voice whisper, "Everything is god in drag!" but now it's not quite right, because now I see that god doesn't wear masks, and the world is not just an appearance. This world of form no longer conceals god, but reveals him/her/it everywhere, all of this is the revelation of god, it IS god expressing itself in infinite ways, god, the multi-faceted! I smile to myself because today I don't need to peel anything back or strip anything away to look upon god's (many) face(s).
My trajectory, in a nutshell
Driving through the Arizona desert, I'm in the passenger seat staring out at the mountains slowly streaming by, trying to recall how it felt to merge with my surroundings back when becoming one with everything meant disappearing, meant swiping myself out of the picture and dissolving into thin air, becoming nothing and everything. Well, everything except for me, except for somebody. Only in hindsight can I say that most of the time when following those non-dual pointers, I wasn't actually becoming one with everything, I was disappearing into it and there's a world of difference between the two.....Read More
I am more interested in what we can do together than in what I can do alone. So please, send me your thoughts, questions, and ways we can collaborate!
Please share your story with me if you feel called to. It's true "you're not your story," but that's because you are more than your story, not less. I would love to hear yours, and validate it.
As a Spiritual Emergence Coach, I'm certified by IMHU to facilitate peer support groups for those going through a spiritual crisis of any kind, and especially those related to Neo-Advaita.
Please share your story with me if you feel called to. It's true "you're not your story," but that's because you are more than your story, not less. I would love to hear yours, and validate it.
As a Spiritual Emergence Coach, I'm certified by IMHU to facilitate peer support groups for those going through a spiritual crisis of any kind, and especially those related to Neo-Advaita.
*Some modern non-dualists have started using the term evolutionary, but this is very different from what I mean by evolutionary.
In their view, the formless ground of Being evolved into form in order to collapse back into formlessness, rather than to experience itself, partake in itself in and as the world of form, and explore its potential to flourish as the form it has become.
In order to live in this world, you must do three things: to love what is mortal, to hold it against your bones...and when the time comes to let it go..let it go - Mary Oliver