Awakening Now

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Today I share a very simple way of looking at experience.
Using a drawing of two lines, we explore what is here in direct experience.
One line represents life as it is happening — movement, thoughts, sensations, everything that appears.
 The other points to simple being — the sense of presence, the knowing that you are here.
Between these, there is what we often take ourselves to be — a kind of “bundle” made of reactions, thoughts, and patterns. This bundle seems to be the one living life, making decisions, trying to control what happens.
In the talk, we look at this directly.
In this episode, we continue that exploration in a live Q&A.
A participant describes their experience using the image of a lotus and scribbled lines — something clear and present, and the movement of thoughts appearing over it.
From there, we look more closely.
Is there something underneath that needs to come forward? Or is that another way of thinking about what is here? Again and again, the attention returns to what is actually happening.
Thoughts appear. Reactions happen.
 A sense of “me” seems to form in the middle as a relationship.
But when this is looked at directly, what is really there?
There is a simple shift in seeing — from being caught in the movement, to noticing what is always here.
Music by Valdi Sabev.
In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.
Coming this April, an 8-week Experience of Guided Self-Inquiry to see through the illusion of a separate self. More info here:
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In this episode of Awakening Now, I speak with Ananta Kranti about awakening and what the word actually points to.
When Ananta first began sharing this message, awakening was described very simply — waking up from the dream of being a separate self. Today, the word is used in many different ways, and this can create confusion about what is being pointed to.
We explore how the message has evolved over time, and what can be lost when the recognition of what we are becomes mixed with ideas, identities, or concepts.
Ananta shares about the shift that happened while she was in prison, and how a moment of complete exhaustion and letting go revealed something that could not be taken away.
We also speak about current trends in the spiritual space — the movement between recognizing awareness and working with the human experience. There is a natural place for both, and also a risk of losing clarity when the foundation is not seen directly.
We look at projections onto teachers, the expectation of perfection, and the possibility of recognizing freedom exactly as life is now.
This is a grounded conversation about awakening, identity, and the living recognition of what does not come and go.
Music by Valdi Sabev.
 In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.
Support the show
Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

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In this episode of Awakening Now, Ilona Ciunaite speaks with psychotherapist and author Robert Saltzman about awakening, the illusion of a separate self, and what actually changes when the sense of a personal controller is questioned.
Rather than presenting awakening as a dramatic transformation, Robert describes it as a shift in perspective. Life continues as it always has — with relationships, pain, aging, and uncertainty — yet the belief that someone inside is running everything begins to loosen.
The conversation explores spiritual seeking, the difference between intellectual understanding and direct seeing, and the simple act of looking at what is actually happening in experience.
At one point the dialogue takes an unexpected turn. Robert describes an experiment in which he began asking an AI system the same kinds of questions he would ask a therapy client. The coherence of its responses led him to wonder: when language makes sense, do we automatically assume there must be a conscious self behind it?
A thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation about identity, language, uncertainty, and the freedom of not needing final answers.

 Music by Valdi Sabev.
 In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared. 
Visit his channel for more calm and relaxed music
https://www.youtube.com/c/ValdiSabev/featured

Support the show
Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

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If there is no mind, why does it feel so loud?
In this episode I look at what we call “the mind” as a living stream of thoughts appearing. Images, commentary, expectations about awakening, ideas about how this should feel and what should happen next.
We explore thinking by looking at it directly. Thoughts arise. They move. They dissolve. And it becomes clear that there is simply experience unfolding.
Some thoughts pass lightly. Others carry emotional charge. We look at how old hurt can still live in the system, and how protection forms around it. Over time, that protection shapes identity — “I am shy,” “I am not worthy,” “I am ashamed.”
Like a rubber band stretched between pain and the desire for relief, tension builds. When hurt receives attention and space, the energy settles. The story softens. Identity loosens.
Attention gently returns to direct experience — sensation, sound, color, breath. Life is already here before thought describes it.
This episode is an invitation to see thinking as part of the flow of experience, and to recognize what remains present through it all — simple awareness, here and now.
Music by Valdi Sabev, Visit his channel for more calm and relaxed music
 https://www.youtube.com/c/ValdiSabev/featured

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Websites
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In this episode of Awakening Now, I sit down with Angelo DiLullo to explore the myths that quietly shape how people think awakening is supposed to unfold.

We look at the belief that awakening should resemble someone else’s story, feel pleasant, bring special abilities, or resolve the human experience once and for all. Angelo points directly to how these expectations form without being questioned — and how they create unnecessary confusion when real experience doesn’t match spiritual narratives.

We also explore the myth that something has gone wrong when awakening feels difficult, and the assumption that safety or stability must be established before truth can be seen. Rather than offering new ideals, the conversation stays close to what is actually happening in the body, emotions, and daily life.

This episode is for those who feel sincere in their inquiry yet unsure why things don’t look the way they expected. It’s an invitation to notice what may already be quietly obvious when comparison, fantasy, and self-judgment fall away.
About the Guest:
Angelo DiLullo, MD, is an anesthesiologist, spiritual teacher, and author. Following a profound awakening at age 24, he recognized how thoughts shape perception and that suffering is not inherent to life. Since then, he has guided others toward the recognition of natural, non-separate awareness.

Music by Valdi Sabev, Visit his channel for more calm and relaxed music 
https://www.youtube.com/c/ValdiSabev/featured

Support the show
Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com