As a child, I had many experiences of the limitless side of my Being, but perhaps nothing extraordinary. I think most people have such experiences quite naturally. As I grew older, I felt increasingly overwhelmed by my own wounds and by all the separation and denial I felt inside and out. By the time I left grammar school, I was confused and repressed. But I was telling myself and the world I was fine and everything was OK.

By the time I’d reached my teens, I was in crisis and I found myself reaching out for something beyond the ordinary world. I began my spiritual search (as did many of my peers) reading books by J. Krishnamurti, Yogananda, Carlos Casteneda, Ram Dass, and Richard Bach. Soon thereafter, I began using hallucinogens as a tool in my self-inquiry process. I glimpsed my future realization in this life, but I also saw that I couldn’t reach it through drugs. At 17, I took initiation into TM and began to practice regularly. After meeting Maharishi, I found myself preparing to become a TM teacher. I took years of training, (over a year in deep meditations and fasting in the Switzerland), spent lots of time with Maharishi, and finally was endowed by him with the knowledge I needed to initiate others. I taught TM to hundreds of seekers, thinking that this simple technique would eventually bring them (and myself) freedom. It was around this time that it became perfectly clear to me that, until I and many others around me had awakened into some fundamental self-recognition and integrity of Being, nothing else was going to make the world any better.

Website: trilliumawakening.org

Summary and transcript of this interview

Interview recorded June 12, 2010

Batgap interview with Ted Strauss and Carole Griggs

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction and Background

00:03:34 - The Magical Encounter at the Fair

00:06:09 - Falling in Love and Kissed Feet

00:08:58 - A Friendship Begins

00:12:06 - The Depth of the Heart

00:15:14 - The Tantric Challenge of Coming into the World with Awakened Consciousness

00:18:18 - The Awakening of Consciousness

00:21:30 - Cultivating the Recognition of Consciousness Embodied

00:24:16 - Different Experiences of Awakening

00:27:04 - Beyond the Ultimate Awakening

00:29:36 - Introduction of Samuel Bondar and his role in awakening

00:32:22 - Overcoming Pain and Suffering

00:35:19 - The Avoidance of Duality and Fundamentalism

00:38:13 - The Discomfort of Being Human

00:41:24 - Being with Discomfort

00:44:47 - The Evolution of Human Consciousness

00:48:02 - The Process of Disillusionment and Surrender

00:51:04 - The Rot Out of Illusion

00:54:02 - Evolution and Growth in Spiritual Development

00:56:56 - The Genius of Being is Guiding the Shell

01:00:12 - Evolution of Relationship Dynamics

01:03:30 - Partners in Waking Down

01:05:48 - The Three Components of Waking Down

01:08:44 - The Importance of Awakening in Personal Growth

01:11:25 - Reflections on the Awakening Experience

01:14:34 - The Breakthrough Moment

01:17:25 - Falling Into Embodiment

01:19:59 - Awakening and Centers of Consciousness

01:22:36 - Wrap-up and Final Thoughts

01:24:53 - Embracing Spiritual Variety

01:27:15 - Closing Credits

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