Loch Kelly on Awareness, Freedom, and Effortless Mindfulness

Host Michael Taft speaks with Loch Kelly on nondual practices, contemporary forms of ancient awareness techniques, dzogchen, mahamudra, advaita, the role of psychotherapy in awakening, the need—or not—for a guru, open-hearted awareness, internal family systems therapy, and more.Loch Kelly is an author, meditation teacher, psychotherapist, and founder of the non-profit, Open-Hearted Awareness Institute. Loch teaches in a non-sectarian lineage based in the earliest non-dual wisdom traditions, modern science, and psychotherapy.Loch Kelly’s WebsiteSupport the Deconstructing Yourself podcast via Patreon.Show Notes:00:43 - Intro03:05 - Loch’s meditation background06:59 - Shifting from concentration practice to choiceless awareness practice10:01 - Meeting Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche12:23 - The experience vs explanation of ‘pure awareness’ in different traditions14:38 - Mahamudra15:31 - The dualism in stopping halfway at ‘pure/spacious awareness’17:54 - Recognition vs realization20:02 - The possibility of ‘awake awareness’ in different traditions22:53 - Contacting nondual awareness24:00 - How can awareness be aware of awareness, if you are not aware from awareness?28:10 - The contemporary teaching of unhooking ‘local awareness’34:42 - The vipassana model/map vs natural awakenings37:42 - Upgrading the mahamudra map and instructions (from ‘pure awareness’ to ‘awake awareness’) 43:07 - The four or five levels of the mind in mahamudra (1. everyday mind, 2. subtle mind, 3. pure awareness, 4. simultaneous mind, 5. open-hearted awareness/bodhicitta)46:13 - Thoughts and emotions in ‘open-hearted awareness’50:09 - Teaching moving from ‘spacious awareness’ to ‘awake awareness’56:02 - Wonder, freedom, and joy in wisdom mind01:02:14 - Postural yoga and pranayama in mahamudra01:05:18 - Integrating ‘one-pointed awareness’ into the ‘field of awareness’01:08:37 - Psychotherapy as a “preliminary” practice01:10:42 - The “crazy yogi”: waking up without growing up01:13:32 - The healing power of ‘open-hearted awareness’ in IFS (Internal Family Systems)01:16:40 - The role of the guru in different traditions; “energetic transmission”01:21:37 - Don’t stop halfway and come on in the water!01:27:30 - Teaching vipassana in a nondual way01:32:47 - Loch’s latest teaching- and personal inquiries01:35:14 - OutroWhat does nondual mean?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.