A panel conversation from SAND14 with with John Prendergast Ph.D, Karen Johnson, and Ellen Emmet. Moderated by Gail Brenner, Ph.D.
The conscious realization of our true nature reveals that who we are is pure being, the source of life that is at the heart of everything. We know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are not the separate, limited self de ned by beliefs, habits, stories, and identifications. Yet, this idea of ourselves—and the conditioning that supports it—lies deeply embedded in our minds, emotions, and bodies, and for most truth lovers, takes time to unwind. Even after awakening, these patterns continue to play out, despite our best intentions to notice them before they take hold. Traditionally, psychotherapy has offered a forum to help people ease their suffering. But offered from a conventional perspective, it is necessarily limited because it fails to directly explore the actual root of the problem—the identification as a separate person. Psychotherapy with a therapist who understands how we mistakenly identify as the separate “I” holds much potential to support and deepen awakening. Guided to see through attachment to stories and identify ways we resist what arises, we are offered the invitation to continually fall into the recognition of pure presence. Our panel of experienced practitioners will discuss how they work with trauma, emotions, conditioned habits, entrenched belief systems, and the body to facilitate releasing the identification as separate and living the realization of our true nature as ever-present, free of history, and infinitely at peace.
