Do you wonder about the practice of self-inquiry or surrender?  Have you ever wished for an opportunity to dig more deeply into these practices? We are delighted to announce that Akilesh Ayyar has agreed to do a mini-series on these very topics.  This will be a chance to bring your questions to Akilesh and work on them together. These satsangs are ones where the attendees will engage in coached sessions of self-inquiry and surrender, the supreme paths to nondual Self-Knowledge. Akilesh suggests (but does not require) that attendees watch the earlier interview he did with Awakening Together, and consider familiarizing themselves, at least a little, with his website, Youtube, and/or books. You can find the link to his interview here. And you can visit his website at  http://www.siftingtothetruth.com/

The 3 part mini-series will be held in the Sanctuary on:

• Sunday, January 30, 2022 8-9 p.m. ET
• Sunday, February 6, 2022, 6-7 p.m. ET
• Sunday, February 13, 2022, 8-9 p.m. ET

Akilesh Ayyar is a spiritual mentor and writer who has been engaged with the Hindu school of Advaita Vedanta (nonduality) for over 20 years. He specializes in a modern interpretation of Sri Ramana Maharshi’s ideas as a path to ultimate truth and liberation. He has written two books on self-realization, How to Find What Isn’t Lost, and, more recently, Spiritual Dialogues with Akilesh: Q&A on Liberation and Truth. He has graduate degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University, the City University of New York, and Harvard Law School. He has taught and has presented at Science and Nonduality, Nothing Conference, InciteSeminars, HealHaus, Maha Rose, the New York Self-Inquiry group, and elsewhere.

Thoughts of Awakening # 295

To resist anything
is to listen to chatter.

Silence is acceptance.
Silence is willingness-flow.
Silence is being.
Being is happiness.

~From our Holy Spirit

This course is 3 weeks long.

What would happen if you were to allow everything to be exactly as it is? If you gave up the need for control, and instead embraced the whole of your experience in each moment that arose? In the 14 years that he studied Zen, Adyashanti found that most seasoned meditators had used the practice as “an end instead of a means to an end.” What he ultimately realized was that only when you let go of all techniques – even the concept of yourself as a meditator – will you open to the art of True Meditation, dwelling in the natural state.

In this course you will:

1. Observe your attempts at control within your environment and experience, and practice releasing control through letting all things be as they are.
2. Experiment with meditation and inquiry to discover what results in flashes of realization for you.
3. Look at the difference between the personality and the Self, and realize what blocks you from having a fully harmonious relationship with the personality.

Homework Begins: Tuesday Section; January 25 OR Wednesday Section; January 26

Individual Homework Time Commitment: 30-45 minutes per day, 7 days per week

Structure of Course: Three weekly 2-hour sessions

Class Times: Tuesdays, 10 am-12 pm ET beginning February 1  and ending February 15, 2022 (Facilitator: Rev. George Maddox) OR Wednesdays, 6-8 pm ET, beginning February 2 and ending February 16, 2022. (Facilitator: Rev. Kelly Barber)

Holiday Breaks: No breaks are scheduled

Cost:  $90

Texts required:  True Meditation by Adyashati — If you make your book purchase through Amazon Smile and select Awakening Together as your designated charity, a small portion of your purchase will be donation to Awakening Together

Format: Classes will be held live on a Zoom Link weekly.

REGISTRATION CLOSED

Learn more about True Meditation here.