If you want to awaken peace and love in daily life, pure awareness is always available as the background of all experience. Jonathan Robinson and Brian Tom O'Connor explore ingenious ways to tap into the ever-present stillness and joy of our true nature. Includes guided meditations with each podcast episode.

Awareness Explorers - Podcasts

165: Positive Psychology and Awakening
7/19/2024 - 43 min

In this episode we compare and contrast the techniques of positive psychology with the techniques of nondual awareness practices.

164: What to Do When You're Triggered
7/05/2024 - 50 min

In this episode we talk about what triggers you, what we normally do with triggers, and seven ways to make good use of them on the path to awakening.

163: Seye Kuyinu, Guest Explorer
6/21/2024 - 73 min

In this episode we talk to Seye Kuyinu about his book, This Glorious Dance: Contemplations About Who We Are, as well as about questions that explore our true nature, and a variety of topics such as anxiety, hypnotism, and contemplative practice.

162: What Makes a Good Human Being
6/07/2024 - 52 min

In this episode we explore what it means to be a really good human and the various factors and approaches that help create inspiring people.

161: Paul Austin, Guest Explorer
5/24/2024 - 64 min

In this episode we talk to Paul Austin about microdosing psychedelic substances to enhance productivity, mood, and spiritual awaking, and how these altered states can be transformed into altered traits.

160: How to Quiet Your Mind - Part 2
5/10/2024 - 52 min

In the second episode of this two-part exploration, Jonathan describes his favorite methods to quiet the mind and how he often uses them in a particular order for deepening quiet within himself.

159: How to Quiet Your Mind - Part 1
4/26/2024 - 45 min

In the first episode of this two-part exploration, Brian describes three different approaches to freeing ourselves from the grip of thought and runs through his favorite methods in each category.

158: Rastal, Guest Explorer
4/12/2024 - 75 min

In this episode we talk to Rastal about his journey from trauma and depression to fundamental wellbeing, his experience with a method from Jeffery Martin's Finder's Course, as well as how he navigates the many different levels of fundamental wellbeing, bringing it to the foreground of our experience.

157: Karen Thorson, Guest Explorer
3/29/2024 - 65 min

In this episode we talk to Karen Thorson about the interplay between health, pain, worry, responsibility, and being present with what is, as well as using the body for direct experiencing, and our unique paths among the various modalities for continuous explorations.

156: The Downsides of Awakening
3/15/2024 - 44 min

In this episode we explore the potential drawbacks of our spiritual journey, and how awareness of these drawbacks can help us to sidestep them.

155: Judith Blackstone, Guest Explorer, Part 2
3/1/2024 - 55 min

In this episode, we talk to Judith Blackstone about her new book, The Fullness of the Ground, different approaches to nonduality, and inhabiting the body as a way to connect to Fundamental Consciousness and the ground of being.

154: Free Will and Non-Doership
2/16/2024 - 42 min

In this episode we delve into the practical use of thinking that we have free will and the liberating implications of imaging that we do not.

153: A Sense of Mission
2/2/2024 - 42 min

In this episode, we talk about the benefits and potential drawbacks to aligning with and pursuing a sense of mission.

152: Rosalyn Rourke, Guest Explorer
1/19/2024 - 72 min

In this episode we talk to Rosalyn Rourke about her book, When Wisdom Arrives, the Enneagram, how to deal with feelings, and using more relatable terms that are not spiritual jargon to help people reduce suffering.

151: Identification and Disidentification
1/5/2024 - 45 min

In this episode we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of both identification and disidentification, and when it’s appropriate to use each in daily life and in our spiritual practice.

150: Sid Friedman, Guest Explorer
12/22/2023 - 66 min

In this episode we talk to Sid Friedman about how his technique—Effortless IFS—grew out of Internal Family Systems, and how we can heal contractions and life difficulties while celebrating the fulfillment inherent in our nature.

149: Abstinence and Indulgence
12/8/2023 - 51 min

In this episode we discuss the value of abstaining from various distractions and the potential value in fully indulging or experiencing the joy and sensations of the present moment.

148: Patricia Dennison, Guest Explorer
11/24/2023 - 53 min

In this episode, our guest, Patricia Dennison, offers something different. Five songs about nonduality, along with our discussion of putting nondual lyrics within the heart opening sound of simple guitar music and vocal harmony.

147: Beyond Belief
11/10/2023 - 58 min

In this episode, we explore how limiting beliefs happen and how to go beyond them into a more expansive experience of life.

146: Sam Gow, Guest Explorer
10/24/2023 - 58 min

In this episode we talk to Sam Gow about the nature of awareness, the experience of the sense of self, and how to soften doing, so that you rest in being.

145: Gareth Duignam, Guest Explorer
10/13/2023 - 60 min

In this episode, we talk to Gareth Duignam, who specializes in describing and sending various forms of transmissions for spiritual awakening.

144: Getting Curious about Cutiosity
9/29/2023 - 47 min

In this episode we explore two different aspects of curiosity, outer curiosity as a way of enhancing life and relationships, and inner curiosity as a way of spiritual growth and discovering your true nature.

143: Self-Criticism
9/15/2023 - 44 min

In this episode we explore the problem of self-criticism and various ways to go beyond that nagging voice in your head.

142: Lee Holden, Guest Explorer
9/1/2023 - 56 min

In this episode we talk to Lee Holden about Qi Gong, his teacher, Mantak Chia, and how to use Qi Gong to transform stress into vitality, through building energy in the body, emotional balance, clarity of mind, and spiritual awareness.

141: Catherine Ingram, Guest Explorer
8/18/2023 - 58 min

In this episode, we talk to Catherine Ingram about empathic activism, effortlessness, how to stay sane in a crazy world, and her teachers, Papaji and Leonard Cohen.

140: Motivation and Identity
8/4/2023 - 44 min

In this episode we discuss the interplay between identity and motivation, including how certain motivations may be more helpful than others on the journey of awakening.

139: Joan Tollifson, Guest Explorer
7/21/2023 - 58 min

In this episode we talk to Joan Tollifson about the simplicity of being present, and the value of movies, teachers, meditation, and different types of inquiry.

138: Tuning Your Inner Radio Stations
2023/7/7 - 49 min

In this episode we use a radio station analogy to explore how different frequencies can be harmful or helpful towards peace and happiness, and how to tune away from some and towards others.

137: Mind Ploys
2023/6/23 - 53 min

In this episode, we describe various ways our mind tricks us into missing reality and our true nature.

136: Adyashanti Encore
2023/6/9 - 55 min

An Encore presentation of our interview with Adyashanti from 2019. In this episode we talk to Adyashanti about spirituality as living in a state of discovery, and ways to tap into silence in daily life.

135: Roger Walsh, Guest Explorer
2023/5/26 - 68 min

In this episode we talk to Roger Walsh about a wide range of topics, including shamanism, nonduality, how to respond to global crises, and practices in all religious traditions.

134: AI and Awakening
2023/5/12 - 62 min

In this episode, we discuss how new technologies such as artificial intelligence can be used to help or hinder awakening and human happiness.

133: No Self or Better Self
2023/4/28 - 52 min

In this episode we debate the relative advantages of improving the individual self vs. transcending the individual self.

132: Gangaji, Guest Explorer
2023/4/14 - 59 min

In this episode we talk to Gangaji about her teacher Papaji, how to bring freshness to the teaching, as well as surrender, vigilance, and getting free of the narrative self.

131: Hale Dwoskin, Guest Explorer
2023/3/31 - 65 min

In this episode, we talk to Hale Dwoskin about The Sedona Method and how it has evolved from a technique to let go of painful or unwanted feelings into a truly nondual method to help you realize that there is no separation.

130: Human Awakening Environments
2023/3/17 - 50 min

In this episode we discuss the best social environments that are supportive of awakening and inspiring experiences of oneness.

129: Is Anything True?
2023/3/3 - 49 min

In this episode, we help with letting go of the mind by exploring the limitations of the intellect in evaluating, understanding, and knowing reality.

128: MDMA and Love Training
2023/2/17 - 53 min

In this episode Brian interviews Jonathan about his research and experience in how to use MDMA, better known as ecstasy, as a medicine for couples therapy, overcoming PTSD, and as training wheels for learning how to stay in an expanded and loving state of consciousness.

127: Andrew Harvey, Guest Explorer
2023/2/3 - 63 min

In this episode Jonathan talks to Andrew Harvey about the necessity of combining activism with spiritual practice in order for it to be balanced, effective and truly helpful to you and to the world.

126: Conditions and Conditioning
2023/1/20 - 55 min

In this episode we talk about how the conditions we place on our experience veil the happiness and peace that make up our true nature.

125: Victor Burkhart - Guest Explorer
2023/1/6 - 57 min

In this episode we talk to Victor Burkhart about being a conduit for truth and the excitement and newness of constant discovery on the spiritual journey.

124: Spiritualizing the Holidays
2022/12/23 - 43 min

In this episode we talk about how to create sacred time, and the advantages and pitfalls of the various ways of bringing joy and peace to the holidays.

123: Awareness Adventures
Jonathan interviews Brian about his new book
2022/12/9 - 46 min

In this episode, we chat about Brian's new book, Awareness Adventures, and discuss such topics as the use of imagination, the core wound, and Brian's newest games for awakening awareness.

122: Jac O'Keeffe - Guest Explorer
2022/11/25 - 63 min

In this episode we had great fun talking to Jac O'Keeffe about the interplay of stillness and humanness and how to deepen with each of them, including what is deeper than nonduality.

Jac O’Keeffe is a spiritual teacher, leader and author of books Born to Be Free and How to Be a Spiritual Rebel. Her teachings include pointers to prior to the nondual state, and she is clear that nondual awareness is a stepping-stone and not a destination. She has a high sense of perception that she uses to expose, unravel and heal what creates blockages on her students’ spiritual path. Her teachings cultivate wisdom, honesty, and integrity.

Jac’s work is driven by her capacity to envision the possible future of spirituality. She is a founding member of the Association for Spiritual Integrity (ASI), an organization with a mission to bring high levels of integrity to the culture of spiritual leadership.

121: C. von Hasset - Guest Explorer
2022/11/11 - 51 min

In this episode we talk to C von Hassett, author of Entering the Mind, about Dzogchen, a radical wisdom practice which points us towards the recognition of the open, expansive nature of our own innate mind in its natural state.

120: Marianne Williamson - Guest Explorer
2022/10/28 - 48 min

In this episode we talk with Marianne Williamson about the power of love, the value of A Course in Miracles, the importance of activism, and her experience of running for president.

119: A Psychedelic Debate
2022/10/7 - 50 min

In this episode Brian takes a skeptical view of the use of psychedelics while Jonathan describes their potential uses in overcoming psychological or spiritual blocks.

118:The Middle Way
2022/9/23 - 47 min

In this episode we talk about finding a middle way of peace and sanity in between the various extreme polarities presented to us in modern day life.

117: Angelo DiLullo - Guest Explorer
2022/9/14 - 80 min

In this episode we talk to Angelo DiLullo about awakening, liberation from suffering, and his book, Awake: It’s Your Turn.

116: Lesley Skylar - Guest Explorer
2022/8/26 - 74 min

In this episode we talk to Lesley Skylar about the liberation that lies beyond initial awakening, the deconstruction of identification, and the depth of our being as pure consciousness.

115: Myths of Enlightenment
2022/7/27 - 49 min

In this episode we outline ten of the most persistent myths about awakening and take a look at what’s true and false about each.

114: The Qualities of Awakening
2022/7/27 - 55 min

In this episode we explore the qualities inherent in awake awareness, and the value and potential pitfalls of tapping into various higher qualities directly.

113: Jim Dreaver - Guest Explorer
2022/7/15 - 43 min

In this episode we talk with Jim Dreaver about his new book, Untriggerable, his enlightenment experience, and what he learned from his nondual teacher, Jean Klein.

112: The Enlightment Project
2022/7/01 - 52 min

In this episode Brian interviews Jonathan about Jonathan’s new book, The Enlightenment Project, in which he shares poignant stories and valuable methods which he has learned from interviewing a hundred teachers.

111: Ted Strauss, Guest Explorer on Whole Being Coaching
2022/6/17 - 62 min

In this episode we explore the concept of coaching to help us with Whole Being Awakening, and the various aspects of our lives, including, spiritual, body, emotions, mind, and uniqueness.

110: Exploring the Art of Exploration
2022/6/3 - 50 min

In this episode we explore ways to explore topics with your friends and family, including specific obstacles to avoid and methods to use.

109: Reverence, Awe, and Devotion
2022/5/20 - 47 min

In this episode, we talk about the dangers and the value of reverence, awe, and devotion, and how we might bring them into everyday life.

108: Scott Kiloby, Guest Explorer
2022/5/6 - 57 min

In this episode we talk to Scott Kiloby about addiction, his unique inquiry methods, and ways to awaken from identification with our core deficiency.

107: Wide Open Humility
2022/4/22 - 52 min

In this episode we talk about the value of humility, the many obstacles to it, and how various paths can help to nurture an openness free of arrogance and self-importance. Includes a guided meditation to help you peel the layers of ego knowingness and self-protection and uncover true humility.

106: Are Spiritual Transmissions Helpful?
2022/4/8 - 45 min

In this episode we look at what transmissions are, whether they can lead to awakening, and how one can open to them more deeply. Includes a guided meditation leading us step-by-step through receiving and then giving transmission to another person.

105: Arthur Aghajanian, Guest Explorer
2022/3/25 - 57 min

In this episode we talk to Arthur Aghajanian about Christian mysticism and its relationship to nonduality. Includes instructions on how to do the contemplative Christian meditation known as The Centering Prayer.

104: The Value of Spiritual Experiments
2022/3/11 - 49 min

In this episode we outline several ways to experiment with spiritual principles to help discover your obstacles to awakening. Includes a guided meditation imagining a day through three different experiments.

103: Lisa Carrillo, Guest Explorer
2022/2/25 - 58 min

In this episode we talk to Lisa Carrillo about synthesizing psychology and awareness in a way that helps us see through our thought-based identity into True Being. Includes a guided meditation for noticing the benevolent presence which is already here and is beyond thought.

102: Powerlessness and Uncertainty
2022/2/11 - 47 min

In this episode we talk about how to make friends with powerlessness and uncertainty, and how letting go of resistance is the way to greater peace. Includes a guided meditation using a systematic way to become more okay with these difficult feelings.

101: Anna-Lisa Adelberg
2022/1/28 - 68 min

In this episode we talk to Anna-Lisa Adelberg of the Luminous Awareness Institute about how various aspects of healing and awareness can combine to embody a richer and deeper expression of awakening. Includes a guided meditation leading us through the experience of awareness of interconnected oneness, taking us from borderless formless awareness to fullness awareness.

100: Greatest Hits and Your Questions
2022/1/14 - 54 min

We celebrate our 100th episode by reviewing some of the key insights of the last three years of Awareness Explorers, and by answering questions from our listeners. We'd like to thank these listeners for sending in their excellent questions and giving us the opportunity to reflect on them in this episode: Sharon, Lisa, Ajay, Spencer, Joshua, Doug, and Debra. Thanks!

099: Your Relationship with Thoughts and Emotions
2021/12/31 - 51 min

In this episode we talk about how to change your relationship with your thoughts and emotions and identify with pure awareness. Includes a guided meditation that takes you step by step from full identification with an emotion to full connection with awareness.

098: Judith Blackstone, Guest Explorer
2021/12/17 - 57 min

In this episode we talk to Judith Blackstone about The Realization Process, and practical methods for fully inhabiting your body as a way of connecting with fundamental consciousness. Includes a guided meditation to help you attune to the central core of the body by tuning into the head, heart and pelvis.

097: If Life is a School...
2021/12/3 - 49 min

In this episode we reflect upon the benefits of seeing life as a curriculum to learn certain lessons and how that interacts with our true nature as awareness. Includes a guided meditation in which you are given the opportunity to review events from your past through the lens of what there was to learn from them.

096: Being Yourself
2021/11/19 - 50 min

In this episode we describe various layers and aspects to being more fully your ego personality as well as your higher universal self, including obstacles in the way to being each, and how to gently overcome them. Includes a guided meditation showing how the universal self can set the individual self free.

095: John Prendergast, Guest Explorer
2021/11/5 - 59 min

In this episode, we talk to John Prendergast about a somatic and heart-based approach to opening up to different levels of beingness. Includes a guided meditation taking us through deepening layers of peace from groundedness to open heartedness.

094: Time and Timelessness
2021/10/22 - 49 min

In this episode we explore the illusion of time, the reality of the present, and how to embrace more fully the only moment we live in—now. • Includes a guided meditation that uses phrases that point to the illusion of past and future and the portal of this eternal present moment.

093: Witness Consciousness
2021/10/8 - 48 min

In this episode we talk about the many levels of witness consciousness and the many ways to experience it in daily life. Includes a guided meditation to help you merge the witness and the witnessed into simply witnessing.

092: Colin McMorran, Guest Explorer
2021/9/24 - 53 min

In this episode we talk to Colin McMorran about transpersonal therapy, disidentifying from thought, and using analogies and metaphors for transcending the illusory self. Includes a guided meditation bringing us down into the spacious room of inner silence and then bringing that silence back into everyday life.

091: The Value of Self-Love
2021/9/10 - 52 min

In this episode we talk about obstacles to self-love, and we offer practical ideas and methods to cultivate self-acceptance, compassion, and kindness. Includes a guided meditation for moving from a part of ourselves that we don't like to an experience of openness, tenderness, and compassion.

090: Getting Love, Giving Love, and Being Love
2021/8/27 - 44 min

In this episode, we talk about different types of love, the obstacles to love and methods to uncover the love of our true nature. Includes a guided meditation using the mirror analogy to reveal how to connect to the love that we are.

089: Chris Niebauer, Guest Explorer
2021/8/13 - 65 min

In this episode we talk to Chris Niebauer, PhD. about his book, No Self, No Problem, and the parallels between recent discoveries in neuropsychology and spiritual practices such as Buddhism and Nonduality. Includes a guided meditation taking us through a series of questions to help us let go of who we are not.

088: Overcoming Your Judgmental Mind
2021/7/30 - 55 min

In this episode we discuss the pitfalls of having a judgmental mind, and present simple methods to use when judgment arises. Includes a guided meditation in which five phrases are used to help you transcend your judgmental nature.

087: Inquiring into Inquiry
2021/7/16 - 54 min

In this episode we inquire into the five different types of inquiry, and how each can be used to connect with deeper peace and happiness. Includes a guided meditation using questions to lead us into an experience of our true identity.

086: Deepak Chopra, Guest Explorer
2021/7/2 - 47 min

In this episode we talk to Deepak Chopra about his latest thoughts on awakening, consciousness, and his book, Total Meditation. Includes a guided meditation leading us to see how we are in everything, and how every experience includes, and is, the background of awareness.

085: Eric Zimmer, Guest Explorer
2021/6/18 - 68 min

In this episode we talk to Eric Zimmer, host of The One You Feed podcast, about how to create good spiritual habits through support, emotional regulation, acceptance, and finding the middle way. Includes a guided meditation helping us to experience body sensations, hearing, and breathing in one field of awareness.

084: Stepping Out of Your Story
2021/6/4 - 48 min

In this episode we explore how our minds continually create stories about ourselves, others, and the world, and we present many methods for stepping out of our stories and into inner peace. Includes a guided meditation to help you step out of stories that block you from peace, and instead enter into the stream of eternal presence.

083: Lion Goodman, Guest Explorer
2021/5/21 - 75 min

In this episode, we explore all things about beliefs with Lion Goodman, such as how they affect us, how to change them, and how to try on new beliefs that might help with awakening. Includes a guided meditation to help you let go of a limiting belief and try on and integrate a more beneficial belief.

082: Zoom with You
2021/5/7 - 65 min

In this episode we're joined by a group of listeners to explore what helps and hinders them on the path of awakening, including how and when to share spiritual ideas with others. We're sending our deep thanks for your wisdom and eloquence to all those who joined: Ajay, Barbara, Boris, Brent, Clint, Donna, Eliza, Elizabeth, George, Glynnis, Haran, Jana, Melanie, Robert, Steve, Tatini (and anyone else whose names we didn't catch.)

081: Pure Experiencing
2021/4/23 - 45 min

In this episode we talk about what pure experiencing is, what it feels like, what prevents it, and how to enjoy it in daily life. • Includes a guided meditation using the visual sense to guide you to the peacefulness and joy of pure conscious experience.

080: Tami Simon, Guest Explorer
2021/4/9 - 56 min

In this episode we talk to Tami Simon, the founder and CEO of Sounds True, about her personal practice, what she's learned from leading Sounds True, and various wisdom she's received from interviewing dozens of teachers. • Includes a guided breathing meditation from Tami on connecting with and filling your body with the natural upflow of energy from the Earth.

079: Endarkenment
2021/3/26 - 47 min

In this episode we discuss the freedom of not trying to be spiritual and allowing your shadow to show up as a path to greater awareness. • Includes a guided meditation to imagine how you would be different if you could be free of fear and inhibitions.