“Awakened consciousness is always deeply at ease. It's very open and fluid and flexible. And that's something we can sit down and practice. We don’t have to focus on our breath or repeat a word, or try to be mindful of every little sensation. Instead, we can use our meditation as a dynamic, active experiment in consciousnesses where we are making space for spiritual awakening to happen, to reveal itself.”—Craig Hamilton

We’ve all had moments of deep clarity and peace—only to watch them slip away. We’re often told these glimpses are fleeting, or that lasting awakening takes years—maybe even a lifetime—of dedicated practice. But what if that’s not the whole story?

In Direct Awakening: Four Meditations to Illuminate the Way, Craig invites you to explore a different way of approaching awakening. Instead of waiting for it to happen, what if we could practice being awake right now? This question led Craig to develop The Practice of Direct Awakening—a method that transforms meditation from a passive exercise into an active engagement with awakened consciousness.

Rather than following traditional meditation techniques that focus on quieting the mind or observing thoughts, Craig shares four direct awakening practices—subtle yet powerful shifts that open the door to deeper awareness. These inner postures invite us to move beyond the idea that awakening is something distant and instead experience it as something we can cultivate moment by moment.

This episode features a 25-minute guided meditation designed to take you beyond theory and into direct experience. If possible, find a quiet, comfortable space where you can fully immerse yourself in the meditation. 

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. 

Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

Discover More about Craig’s Awakened Life MeDirect Awakening: Four Meditations to Illuminate the Way

“From one point of view, spiritual practice is always a postponement of awakening, because awakening is about embracing our true nature exactly as we are right now. Yet, from another point of view, if we don’t practice with intensity, if we don’t undertake a conscious effort to embrace the truth of our inherent freedom, then awakening is probably only going to ever show up in fleeting glimpses because the habit of denying our true nature is so strong.” 
—Craig Hamilton

For so many of us on the spiritual path, practice is everything. We meditate, we cultivate mindfulness, we refine our character—trusting that these efforts will lead us to awakening. And yet, in rare moments of profound clarity, we may glimpse a surprising truth: the very idea that we need to ‘get somewhere’ might be the only thing keeping us from seeing what’s already here.

This episode examines the delicate balance between effort and surrender, discipline and grace, and how to engage in practice without turning awakening into a future goal. Craig shares how we can approach this paradox in a way that makes space for awakening to happen naturally.

He also leads a guided meditation on surrender—an invitation to let go of striving, release resistance, and recognize the profound simplicity of being. Working with this practice offers a deeper understanding of how to embrace meditation while staying rooted in the truth that awakening is always, already here.

To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. 

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

Discover More about Craig’s Awakened Life Membership Program
https://craighamiltonglobal.com/awakened-life/

“The reason spiritual awakening is so incredibly rare on this planet isn't that nobody wants to awaken. It's that those of us who want to awaken also want something else that's in conflict with awakening. We want security. We want to stay in control. We want to keep our self-image intact. As long as this division is in operation within us, we will not be a space within which awakening can truly occur and take root. This is why it’s so important to resolve this inner conflict and unlock the transformative power of an undivided heart.”
—Craig Hamilton

In “The Undivided Heart: Releasing Our Resistance to Awakening,” Craig explores one of the more complex obstacles on the spiritual path—our unconscious resistance to waking up.

There’s a part of us that longs to awaken, and another part that’s afraid of what it might require. While spiritual awakening offers a life of freedom, joy, and clarity, it also calls for a radical openness. This level of vulnerability can feel overwhelming, even unsafe, causing us to resist the very transformation we deeply desire.

This inner conflict is what keeps us stuck. In this episode, Craig explores why this happens and how we can resolve this struggle and unlock the miraculous power of an undivided heart.

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

Discover More about Craig’s Awakened Life Membership Program
https://craighamiltonglobal.com/awakened-life/

“If we want to live our lives immersed in the mystery of awakened consciousness, we need to give up the idea that we could ever know this mystery with our mind. This means we have to give up trying to know it with the mind, trying to get a handle on it in any way. If we want that extraordinary dimension to become the source of our life, we must learn to live in the innocence of a beginner’s mind.”
—Craig Hamilton

We’ve all heard it said that spiritual awakening requires us to leap into the unknown—to go beyond the mind and discover who we are beyond our familiar reference points. But what does this really mean?

In “The Power of Not Knowing” Craig explores one of the most subtle but persistent traps we face on the spiritual path: our deep need for certainty.

We often experience life as insecure and unpredictable, and the need to "figure things out" becomes a way of navigating an uncertain world. However, on the spiritual path, this compulsive drive for certainty leads us in the opposite direction of where we’re trying to go. 

Craig unpacks this paradox, illuminating what it means to embrace the unknown in your meditation practice and the transformative freedom that comes with the courage to step into it.

This episode includes a 12-minute guided meditation, so we encourage you to listen when you can avoid distractions and give yourself the space to be fully present.

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

Discover More about Craig’s Awakened Life Membership Program
https://craighamiltonglobal.com/awakened-life/

​​“The practice of Direct Awakening is always only about this moment. It's always only about awakening in this moment of practice. So we need to come to our practice with the full optimism and audacity that this moment is the moment that I awaken. There's nothing that could get in my way.” —Craig Hamilton

In this episode, Craig sheds light on an often-overlooked aspect of meditation—the mindset we bring to the practice.

While technique gives us the structure, it’s the mindset that brings energy and direction to our meditation. Most of us focus on getting the technique right, asking questions like, "Am I doing this correctly?" But the attitudes and mental dispositions we bring to each session are equally essential.

Craig explores two powerful meditation mindsets: audacious optimism and intentionality. These aren’t just subtle refinements—they’re transformative forces that can unlock greater depth, clarity, and alignment in your practice. By embracing these mindsets, you can infuse your meditation with a dynamic energy that accelerates your spiritual growth.

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

Discover More about Craig’s Awakened Life Membership Program
https://craighamiltonglobal.com/awakened-life/

“An awakened life is a life in which we're no longer centered in the cognitive mind, we're no longer centered in the thought stream. Ultimately, the spiritual path means trusting enough to let go of the mind and allow a deeper consciousness, a deeper wisdom, a deeper kind of guidance system to start to operate within us that isn't something you can control, and isn't something you can understand with your mind.” —Craig Hamilton

This episode is the second in our series exploring the most common obstacles to deep meditation–and how we can move beyond them. In Obstacles to Awakening Part Two: The Mind, Craig focuses on what may be the biggest challenge for meditators—our busy, restless minds.

The mind is our constant companion. It helps us interpret and make sense of the world. But when we sit down to meditate, the mind often feels like it has a will of its own. Memories, worries, creative ideas, and unfinished tasks seem to parade through our awareness, grabbing our attention, and becoming a source of frustration for many of us. 

It's easy to see the mind as the greatest obstacle to our practice. But what if there’s another way to approach it? 

In this episode, we’ll explore why the mind might not be as insurmountable as it seems. Craig shares three distinct perspectives that can help you come to peace with the mind, moving beyond its noise and distractions to discover a deeper, more grounded presence in your meditation practice.

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

Discover More about Craig’s Awakened Life Membership Program
https://craighamiltonglobal.com/awakened-life/

“One reason meditation is such a powerful tool on the spiritual path is that it’s a safe place to completely give up control. You can sit down, and just let go…and let go…and let go. You can let go of every attempt to control reality, every attempt to control your inner experience, every impulse to control how you feel, every attempt to control the mind. This radical practice of relinquishing control in meditation is a very direct way to start to get a taste of what it means to be truly natural.” —Craig Hamilton

Spiritual teachings often describe the goal of the path as entering into a “natural state”—a way of being that’s utterly easeful, uncontrived, and completely genuine. This natural state allows us to simply be ourselves, without effort, flowing with life as it unfolds. 

But how do we achieve this profound simplicity? Though it sounds like it should be easy, being natural is often challenging in practice. Most of us have spent a lifetime cultivating habits of control, striving to shape reality to fit our will. How do we let go of these tendencies and truly embrace a natural way of being?

In this episode, Craig shares an approach to meditation designed to easefully open the door to this profound naturalness. By learning how to let go of any attempt to control your experience, you’ll discover what it means to surrender to life without resistance.

The podcast includes a guided meditation, so please set aside a quiet space to be fully present and open to this transformative journey.

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

Discover More about Craig’s Awakened Life Membership Program
https://craighamiltonglobal.com/awakened-life/

“Spiritual awakening brings us into direct contact with reality. When we’re awake, our lens is no longer distorted, and our heart is no longer shut down and defended. We are now fully here, which means that our awareness is fully present, our heart or feeling sense is fully available, and all of our humanity is able to show up in each moment.” —Craig Hamilton

In this episode, Craig dives into a profound question: What would it mean to be fully in contact with life? Is it possible to meet each moment with a truly open heart and mind?  Most of us understand the value of being open-hearted and open-minded, but years of conditioning often lead us to stay guarded, clinging to certainty. 

Can meditation help us unlock the secret to genuine openness? Imagine living with an undefended heart, where the need for self-protection has fallen away, leaving us free to meet each moment of life with our whole self.

Craig explores this possibility and offers insights into how this shift is possible. He also leads a guided meditation to help expand awareness and dissolve old limitations, bringing us into a full-hearted embrace of the present moment.
We encourage you to listen when you can give yourself the space to be fully present and distraction-free, so you can explore this transformative practice. 

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

Discover More about Craig’s Awakened Life Membership Program
https://craighamiltonglobal.com/awakened-life/

In today’s world, it can feel like there are endless options for meditation—each promising a slightly different path. With so many different meditation techniques available to us, it’s easy to feel a bit uncertain about what to actually do when we sit down to meditate.

In this episode, “Meditation Can Be Simple: Three Doorways to Awakening,” Craig clears away the noise and shares a 3-step approach that’s both powerful and easy to follow. He distills the practice of meditation into three simple instructions, guiding you toward the profound depths of your true nature.

These practices are adaptable to any stage of your journey—whether you’re brand new to meditation or have been on the path for a while. And they can be practiced on their own or all together, depending on what resonates with you. 

This episode is a guided meditation workshop, so set aside some time to listen when you can relax and be fully present.

If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

“Awakening is the discovery of consciousness without limits, of a self without limits. It's the discovery that what we are is much vaster than our mind can contain. So if we're attached to a small little story of self that we're invested in maintaining, there's no room and there's no way for us to really open to and let go into the enormity of the super consciousness that is our true nature.”
—Craig Hamilton

This episode is the first in our "Obstacles to Awakening" series, where we explore the most common challenges to deep meditation and how to overcome them. Craig begins by diving into what many view as the greatest barrier on the spiritual path—the human ego.

We’ve all heard that having a healthy, strong ego is essential for living a productive, fulfilling life. So, why, then, does the ego get such a bad rap when it comes to our spiritual path?

In this episode, Craig offers practical insights into how our attachment to self-image can hinder our growth, awakening, and even our perception of reality. Tune in to learn how to move beyond this internal obstacle and discover new ways to deepen your meditation practice and spiritual journey.

If today’s episode has you curious about what you can do to break free from the grip of the ego, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called: The Key to Evolving Beyond Ego — How to Make the Change that Changes Everything. In this workshop, he'll share essential tools and practices that have helped thousands make the leap out of ego and into the kind of spiritual life they’ve always sensed is possible. Register for free at: evolvebeyondego.com.
https://evolvingwisdom.com/ie/global/integralenlightenment/free-online-class/