Living Realization with Adyashanti and A H Almaas

Zaya Benazzo, cofounder of Science and Nonduality, hosts a conversation between Adyashanti and A. H. Almaas, founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-realization. Adya and Almaas discuss what it takes and how it is to live one's realization - to be in the world, but not of it. Transcendence is one stage of the spiritual journey, the other is actualization or embodiment.

The Journey of Self-Discovery and Growth

• The real journey of awakening is not just experiencing moments of realization, but sustaining and living from that understanding in all aspects of our lives, which requires humility and determination.
• Being completely and absolutely honest with ourselves is difficult but vital for personal growth and awakening.
• Honesty is the first step towards self-realization, but it's a journey that requires us to examine our experiences and reactions with clarity and without judgment.
• Clarification and maturation are two important processes in spiritual growth, where the mind and consciousness evolve to become more capable of expressing the true nature of being.
• Love is intimately linked with the ability to be honest with oneself and fully accept one's own humanity, which then allows for acceptance of others.
• Awakening is not just about clarity and light in the head, but also about the awakening of the heart and belly, where love, tenderness, and nectar-like experiences can be felt and expressed.
• The spiritual journey leads to simplicity, where one realizes that they are nobody and can find freedom in the ordinary moments of life.

The Nature of Awakening and Realization

• Realization is a fundamental shift of identity that breaks free from rigid psychological and physical structures, allowing for a deep connection with all of existence or a sense of absolute pure awareness.
• Awakening is like waking up from sleep, where you realize that reality is different and doesn't have the same conventional features.
• The experience of awakening feels as though the whole world is woken up, challenging the notion of individual awakening.
• Confused states of being are not satisfactory to reality, as they do not align with the awakened nature of human experience.
• Realization is not a static endpoint, but a continuous journey of further realization, with many quantum leaps along the way.
• The deep rest of not struggling or seeking in the conventional sense and the adventure and joy of existence always revealing itself.