276. Stephan Bodian

Stephan Bodian is a teacher in the nondual wisdom tradition of Zen, Dzogchen, and Advaita Vedanta and the founder and director of the annual School for Awakening, an intensive six-month program of exploration and study. His offerings are noted for their humor, warmth, spontaneity, and intimacy and combine direct pointers, lively dialogues, silent sitting, and guided self-inquiry. He’s the author of several books, including Wake Up Now: A Guide to the Journey of Spiritual Awakening and Beyond Mindfulness: The Direct Approach to Lasting Peace, Happiness, and Love. Stephan spent a decade practicing Zen intensively as a monk but left the monastery because he sensed that the rigorous practice of meditation was obscuring the truth he was seeking. After studying Dzogchen for several years, he met his guru, Jean Klein, a European teacher of Advaita Vedanta, who told him to stop meditating and instead discover the meditator. Shortly after meeting Jean, he had a profound awakening to his true identity as timeless presence. After Jean’s death, Stephan met Adyashanti, and in 2001 Adya gave him Dharma transmission and invited him to teach. Trained as a psychotherapist, Stephan also offers individual spiritual counseling and mentoring sessions to people throughout the world. His approach blends direct, experiential, nondual wisdom with the insights of Western psychology to support students in realizing who they really are while inquiring into the stories and patterns of thinking and behaving that continue to cause suffering. Website: stephanbodian.org Other books: Meditation For Dummies, w/Audio CD (Also available in various languages.) Timeless Visions, Healing Voices: Conversations With Men & Women of the Spirit Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Transcript of this interview Interview recorded 1/24/2015 Second BatGap interview with Stehpan. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Background of Stephen Bodian 00:03:31 - Embracing everything and the paradoxes of truth 00:07:36 - The Backward Step 00:10:46 - Cultivating Mindfulness and Discovering Innate Qualities 00:14:15 - The beauty of presence and mindfulness 00:17:47 - Discovering Rest as Awareness 00:21:43 - The Effects of Spiritual Practice on the Brain 00:25:09 - Finding our Way through Intense Experiences 00:28:27 - Embracing the Ego and Bringing Compassion 00:31:50 - The Importance of Mental Health Awareness 00:35:05 - The Mind and Stillness 00:38:26 - Finding Order in Chaos 00:41:01 - Spacious awareness versus detached observing 00:43:47 - The Misunderstanding of Witnessing 00:46:29 - Turiya: The Natural State 00:49:01 - Witnessing and Emotions 00:51:41 - The Pitfall of Suppressed Emotions in Mindfulness 00:54:22 - Psychotherapy and Awakening 00:57:09 - The Power of Resting as Awareness 00:59:41 - Evolution of Spirituality 01:02:27 - Moving Towards Perfection 01:04:53 - Learning from Life 01:07:28 - Emotions and Enlightenment 01:10:06 - Drawn into the Silence 01:12:54 - The Razor's Edge 01:15:54 - The Integration of Form and Emptiness 01:18:41 - Awakening and Influence 01:21:25 - The Misunderstanding of Awakening 01:24:07 - The Pitfalls of Intellectual Understanding in Non-duality 01:26:50 - The Mystery of Love 01:29:25 - Supporting the Channel with Donations