135. Ilona Ciunaite and Elena Nezhinsky

Ilona Ciunaite and Elena Nezhinsky are the founders of Liberation Unleashed, an international network of people dedicated to guiding people to awakening from the illusion of separation. Both Ilona and Elena have seen through the illusory nature of the apparently separate self, which is nothing more than a mental construct—a concept that when thoroughly questioned clearly reveals that there is nothing behind the word 'me' at all. Ilona was born in Lithuania and now lives in the UK. She has a degree in psychology, but has never worked in the field; instead she works as a tattoo artist, running her own studio together with her husband. She is a simple and ordinary human with a mindset to focus on freedom for herself and those who find her. Her blog, "Marked, Eternal", is a collection of articles and conversations that demonstrate how easy it is to see that there is no self when one is ready and willing to look. She has always been interested in the 'mind' as such and enjoyed studying the subject from different angles. Observing her own mind led to a deep understanding of how the mind works, how to overcome confusion, and free it from feedback loops. She has been a seeker like many others but had never attended a retreat or satsang until after awakening. Elena Nezhinsky met her close friend and a senior teacher of the Gurdjieff Way in 1998, and since then began a serious investigation of the mind and feelings, and searching for the truth of being. The sudden death of her teacher brought her to a Vipassana meditation practice of mind purification, which she did diligently for 7 years in frequent silent retreats. After leaving Vipassana she found Adyashanti and spent a week in retreat with him, which made her ponder that there are other ways to awakening. In 2010 Elena woke up to the reality of "no-self" with the help of Direct Pointing. Since then she has been helping others to awaken and see the truth of anatta - no-self with the same method. Liberation Unleashed is a rapidly expanding, international project that brings seekers together with those who have awakened and are dedicated to guiding or simply share experiences in a community that is based on honesty and love. There is no greater joy than bringing joy to other hearts and celebrating the gift of freedom. Interview Recorded 8/18/2012 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introducing Elena and Ilona and their work in "Liberation Unleashed" 00:02:54 - The Silence of the Voice in the Head 00:06:20 - The Illusion of Seeking and Chaos Outside 00:11:34 - The Illusion of the Self 00:15:40 - Degrees of Seeing and Fullness Experiences 00:19:40 - The Journey Towards Self-Realization 00:23:43 - The Process of "Falling" 00:27:38 - Dissipation of Fear and Attachment 00:34:11 - Different Types of Meditation 00:38:44 - The Illusion of Reaching Back for States 00:42:50 - Crossing the Gate of Self 00:45:49 - Working with Beliefs and Identifications 00:49:45 - Experiencing the Illusion of Self 00:55:16 - The Simplicity of Awakening and Language Barriers 00:59:38 - The Complete Package of Embodied Realization 01:03:10 - Sensations in the Body 01:07:33 - The Purpose of the Useful Talk Group 01:11:39 - The Existence of the World and the Tree 01:13:57 - The Nature of Consciousness 01:17:54 - Misinterpretation of Tony Parsons' Words 01:21:16 - The belief in a separate Self 01:24:07 - Trust in the Flow of Life 01:28:12 - Liberated from Illusion of the Separate Entity 01:31:45 - Discussion about Bentinho's Approach to Self-Realization 01:35:24 - The Evolution of Teaching Techniques 01:39:19 - Opening of the Heart 01:42:16 - Words as Little Signposts 01:46:00 - Using Different Approaches in Guidance 01:49:38 - The Meaning of Maya and a New Application 01:52:24 - Effortless Contribution and Gratitude from the Community 01:56:20 - Where to find these interviews