276. Stephan Bodian - a podcast by Rick Archer

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 1/24/2015Second BatGap interview with Stehpan.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.YouTube Video Chapters:


00:00:00 - Introduction and Background of Stephen Bodian00:03:31 - Embracing everything and the paradoxes of truth
00:07:36 - The Backward Step00:10:46 - Cultivating Mindfulness and Discovering Innate Qualities
00:14:15 - The beauty of presence and mindfulness00:17:47 - Discovering Rest as Awareness
00:21:43 - The Effects of Spiritual Practice on the Brain00:25:09 - Finding our Way through Intense Experiences
00:28:27 - Embracing the Ego and Bringing Compassion00:31:50 - The Importance of Mental Health Awareness
00:35:05 - The Mind and Stillness00:38:26 - Finding Order in Chaos
00:41:01 - Spacious awareness versus detached observing00:43:47 - The Misunderstanding of Witnessing
00:46:29 - Turiya: The Natural State00:49:01 - Witnessing and Emotions
00:51:41 - The Pitfall of Suppressed Emotions in Mindfulness00:54:22 - Psychotherapy and Awakening
00:57:09 - The Power of Resting as Awareness00:59:41 - Evolution of Spirituality
01:02:27 - Moving Towards Perfection01:04:53 - Learning from Life
01:07:28 - Emotions and Enlightenment01:10:06 - Drawn into the Silence
01:12:54 - The Razor's Edge
01:15:54 - The Integration of Form and Emptiness01:18:41 - Awakening and Influence
01:21:25 - The Misunderstanding of Awakening01:24:07 - The Pitfalls of Intellectual Understanding in Non-duality
01:26:50 - The Mystery of Love01:29:25 - Supporting the Channel with Donations

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