In this podcast Jimmy Wightman & Stephen Mugen Snyder Sensei discuss the reality of authentic awakening, also known as kensho or satori. In this context, awakening refers to an event that happens in consciousness that reveals the nondual truth of reality. It’s a dramatic shift that goes right to the locus of identity, opening to nonduality.

Jimmy & Stephen get specific about what awakening means within different traditions & how awakening is expressed within consciousness. They also discuss the pitfalls of awakening and how the personality can change after an awakening experience. They also talk about the post-awakening state and what you should do after a life-changing shift in consciousness in order to integrate and embody the realisation.

Finally, the pair discuss Stephen's new book: Liberating the self - Buddhist Practices for an Authentic Life.

Jimmy Wightman is the host of this podcast. The guest, Stephen Snyder, is a meditation teacher who began practicing in 1976. Stephen is a recognised master of the Jhanas, which are the absorption states entered through deep concentration taught by the Buddha. He’s also a Zen master, authorised to teach in both the Soto & Rinzai schools of Zen.

Stephen Snyder links:

Website: https://awakeningdharma.org

Stephen’s Interview series: https://youtu.be/bE9oaKl_hPc?si=MrjnWJ_tYKEvhGi8

Jimmy Wightman links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delve_Deep_Meditation

Instagram: @that_meditation_guy

Website: https://www.delvedeep.com

The guided meditation starts at 05:00. In this guided meditation I'll show you how to cultivate exquisite presence by effortlessly holding the entire body in awareness. This is a simple and effective practise that will increase your mindfulness knowledge and skill. This is a great way to develop access concentration, which is the level of concentration needed to enter Jhana (the Jhanas are the deep states of absorption taught by the Buddha). This is also a fantastic way to calm the mind-body system, release stress and tension, and learn how to feel emotions without reacting to them.

In the intro (teaching part) of this meditation I explain the 5 most common blockages or obstacles in mindfulness. I also give advice on how to overcome them. This will help you to sit longer and feel more in control during your practise. The Buddha also taught about these blockages. In the Pali cannon they are known as the 5 hindrances to mindfulness.

I hope you enjoy this practise. Feel free to contact me and let me know how it feels for you.

Instagram: @that_meditation_guy

Website: https://www.delvedeep.com

The guided meditation starts at 04:00. Before that is the explanation. In this guided meditation I will show you how to contact and rest in the pure I AM sense. That's the fundamental alive presence that is there before any ego identity is conjured by the mind.

When you say "I AM" the mind will often add something on that defines you. For example: "I am hungry" or "I am a good person" or "I am a Mum."

This meditation is all about learning to disidentify from all the constructed mental identities added to the "I am" in order to become fully immersed in the open, alive, awake sense of presence that has (and will) always be here. This can lead to awakening and a direct experience of nonduality.

You will like this style of meditation if you enjoy the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, Jack Kornfield, Adyashanti, Angelo Dillulo, Shinzen Young, Michael Taft, Gangaji, Sam Harris, Henry Shukman and Loch Kelly.

Enjoy.

Instagram: @that_meditation_guy

Website: https://www.delvedeep.com

Guided meditation starts: 05:17. In this guided meditation I will explain what the enlightenment contemplation technique is. I will explain where it comes from (Charles Berner) and the context from which I've taken it (the Enlightenment Intensive retreat).

Please note, although the name sounds like clickbait I promise it's not. It's a technique adapted from Zen Buddhism and has a track record for bringing awakening (known as kensho or satori) to practitioners.

This is a self inquiry method that works as a guided meditation and is based on the millennia long tradition of asking the question: "who am I."

Instagram: @that_meditation_guy

Website: https://www.delvedeep.com

The guided meditation starts at 04:10. Before that is the explanation. In this guided meditation I'll show you the correct way to practice mindfulness of breathing, also known as Anapana Sati in Pali. This style of meditation was taught by the Buddha as a gentle way to calm the mind and relax the body.

Many mindfulness teachers use this style of meditation as a starting point for deeper practice, such as Adyashanti, Eckhart Tolle, Michael Singer, Shinzen Young, Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield and more.

Instagram: @that_meditation_guy

Website: https://www.delvedeep.com

In this guided meditation, we will revisit the "See, Hear, Feel" mindfulness technique. In a previous session, I gave you a guided tour of the senses where we used mindful awareness to explore seeing, hearing and feeling sequentially. You find this guided meditation easier if you have been through that, but if not it's no problem. You can still follow along.

The reason for revisiting this technique is because of it's versatility. Once you have the basics down, you can use this technique anytime you like without needing a guided audio. You can do it while sitting in stillness or while going about your daily life. Doing this will train your mind to rest in the reality of the senses (what you can see, hear and feel) in the present moment rather than ruminating or being habitually lost in thought.

Doing this technique as much as possible will change the way your mind works. It is like an upgrade to the operating system of your mind. It makes you more present and alive in the senses and you can do it with your eyes open on the go so it is really really easy.

Instagram: @that_meditation_guy

Website: https://www.delvedeep.com

In this guided meditation, Jimmy (aka @that_meditation_guy) shows you how thoughts arise in the mind as either visual images that seem to be projected onto a mental screen or auditory sensations such as the inner monologue. By practicing this technique, you will teach the mind the disidentify from thoughts and in so doing, you will be less likely to get lost in the thought stream. You will learn how to step back from thought activity, and become the witness. This is extremely useful if you are prone to rumination, or anxious thought patterns. Even if you are not struggling with those issues, being able to notice thoughts as empty mental phenomena, rather than being lost in the story that the mind is telling, is a great skill to have. This skill is known as meta-cognition and is something you can develop with practice. Thoughts are never a problem in meditation, regardless of the technique being used. However, in this meditation, they are particularly useful. To use a software analogy, this technique makes thinking a feature of the meditation rather than a bug. Often when people meditate they find thoughts to be a nuisance (like a bug in a piece of software, something to be fixed) but in this guided meditation thoughts are an opportunity to gain insight into the nature of the mind. They are a feature that enhances the meditation experience.

Instagram: @that_meditation_guy

Website: https://www.delvedeep.com

On this episode, Jimmy (aka @That_Meditation_Guy) takes you through a meditation to systematically relax your body using a combination of body awareness and breath. This is useful if you are struggling with stress or having a hard time settling down into a meditation. This is also useful if you are struggling with sleep. Just use this meditation before bed time to relax the body and soothe the mind.

Instagram: @that_meditation_guy

Website: https://www.delvedeep.com