The MindThatEgo Podcast Ricky Derisz

Ellen Emmet returns to the show. Ellen is a psychotherapist and facilitator of Authentic Movement. Our first conversation in episode 29, Nonduality and the Shadow, covered psychological aspects of the awakening.

This time we focus on Ellen’s teaching of the Awakening Body and yoga meditations in the tradition of nonduality and Kashmir Shaivism. This is an exploration of our true nature at the level of tactility and feeling.

We discuss gentle practices to relax the somatic sensation of separation and re-enliven the senses, the undefinable nature of tantra, how listening to sensation differs from hedonism and sensory indulgence, embodying vs. intellectualizing, method vs. devotional practice, the pros and cons of self-trust, valuing intuition, embracing not knowing, plus much more.

And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!

Resources


Ellen Emmet’s website: https://www.ellenemmet.com/
Ellen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theawakeningbody/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ellenemmet

This episode will answer the ultimate question to life, the universe and everything. Or maybe not quite everything, but I couldn’t miss the only chance to reference the number 42 from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

That being said, Jane Clapp does answer many questions I had about the inner universe. Jane is a distinguished Jungian analyst who formed Jungian somatics from over 20 years of clinical experience. Exploring the interplay of body and psyche, she specializes in developmental and complex trauma through a mythological and embodied lens. 

Our conversation includes somatic symptoms as symbols from the unconscious, developing ego strength, misconceptions about ‘shadow work,’ how skilled guidance can highlight blind spots, dreams as compensating for psychic imbalances, individual and cultural complexes, the tension of opposites and the transcendent function, and the risk, reward and necessity of differentiating from group mentality on the journey of growth.

And just a reminder before we jump into the conversation to please like, rate, subscribe and share to help more people access the podcast. Enjoy!

Resources:

Jane’s website: https://www.janeclapp.com/
Jane’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jungiansomatics/

Har-Prakash Khalsa started as a student of Zen meditation in 1984 and went on to become a certified Kundalini Yoga instructor and teacher of Mindfulness meditation in the systematic style of Shinzen Young (whom Har-Prakash has studied intensively with since 1999).

He has written Cultivating the Jewel of Mindfulness, a comprehensive practitioner curriculum, offers private online mindfulness coaching, and supervises solo retreatants at his off-grid farm near Owen Sound, Ontario.

Our conversation covers the spectrum from suffering to enlightenment, from core wounds to Buddha nature, in an approach that will resonate with seasoned practitioners and those looking to relate better to themselves and others. Topics include the value of introspection, the scale of meaning, cultivating wholesome states, embracing the full human experience, and the key markers of balanced awakening.

Resources


Har-Prakash’s website.
Shinzen Young’s Expand Contract YouTube channel.

I’m joined by Judith Blackstone. Judith has 35 years experience as a psychotherapist and teacher of the realization process, a direct path for realizing fundamental consciousness, as well as the application of nondual realization for psychological, relational and physical healing.

She currently has seven books in publication, including her latest, The Fullness of the Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spiritual Awakening.

Judith explains the importance of inhabiting the body and developing a strong connection to the core, to integrate the fullness of the self, cultivate wholeness, and connect deeply to life, rather than dissociate or numb through misguided attempts at transcendence.

We discuss the value of modalities such as talking therapy, somatic work, and meditation, the risks of catharsis, maintaining boundaries as consciousness expands, as well as subtle distinctions between non-dual awareness and energetic dimensions.

Resources


The Realization Process website.
Judith's writing and media.

I’m joined by Dr. Harald Atmanspacher, a theoretical physicist with more than three decades of experience in interdisciplinary research. He is known for his work on complex systems, the philosophy of science, mind-matter relations, consciousness, and quantum theory.

Harald co-authored Dual-Aspect Monism and the Deep Structure of Meaning with Dean Rickles, which forms the basis of our conversation. We look at the differences in philosophical frameworks, including dualism, materialism, idealism, and how dual-aspect monism links to synchronicity, where events transcend the mind-matter boundary, connected through meaningful coincidence.

I ask Harald how this model fits with non-dual approaches, such as Advaita Vedanta, and how practices such as meditation could open the door to dimensions beyond mind and matter, into what Carl Jung referred to as the psychoid.

Dr. Michele DeMarco, an award-winning writer and author of Holding Onto Air: The Art and Science of Building a Resilient Spirit. Michele is a trained therapist, clinical ethicist, and researcher. Her research includes moral injury, psychology, trauma, neuroscience, and somatic and creative art therapies, world wisdom and spirituality. She has taught Creative Nonfiction and Conflict Transformation at California Institute of Integral Studies. We focus on the subject of Michele’s series: How to Tend and Befriend Conflict.

If we accept conflict is natural and necessary, what transformation becomes possible? We explore the errors of conventional conflict resolution, how to connect to the body’s wisdom, detecting underlying issues, defense mechanisms, and the five conflict styles. We then go deeper into the nuances, such as accommodating other points of view without losing integrity, opening to feedback, and giving and receiving grace.

I found our conversation immensely invaluable and I’m sure, if you’re also human and struggle with other humans, you will too. Enjoy!

Resources and References:


Michele’s website: https://micheledemarco.com/
Psychology Today blog ‘Soul Console’: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/soul-console
Medium blog: https://michelejdemarco.medium.com/
Book: Holding Onto Air: The Art and Science of Building a Resilience Spirit
Conflict Styles Assessment Tool: https://www.usip.org/public-education-new/conflict-styles-assessment