Loch Kelly – BHNN Guest Podcast – Ep. 25 – Effortless Awareness with Stephanie Nash

In this podcast, Stephanie Nash interviews Loch Kelly about his unique Shift Into Freedom glimpse method of meditation.

Stephanie Nash is a Mindfulness Coach and Integrative Counselor who is an expert in the Unified Mindfulness system developed by Shinzen Young (with whom she has worked closely and) whose techniques and strategies have become an integral part of her personal experience as well as her teaching.  Learn more at strategic-mindfulness.com.

Show Notes

Effortless Awareness (Opening) – Stephanie and Loch talk about some of the alternative approaches to traditional mindfulness and meditation available to practitioners. Loch shares the principles of effortless mindfulness that allow anyone to uncover the innate qualities of open-hearted awareness.

Find out more about Effortless Awareness at the Open Hearted Awareness Institute

A Direct Path (15:55) – Loch and Stephanie explore direct nature of these practices of effortless mindfulness. They look at the methods of entering into spacious awareness that pull us out of our ordinary thinking mind.

“It isn’t like this practice is for people who have been on the spiritual path for years, someone could walk in and have never have done anything and go through this, its direct in that way.” – Stephanie Nash

Joseph Goldstein introduces the four abidings of mindfulness found in The Satipatṭhāna Sutta and launches an investigation into how they provide a direct pathway to liberation on Ep. 55 of the Insight Hour Podcast

Dropping In (29:20) – We learn exercises for shifting our awareness from identification with the mind. Loch reflects on the connection that we form with our Heartmind which cultivates a greater sense of equanimity and awareness.

“You don’t have to go out in a physically silent place to retreat, although that is a nice thing to do once in a while. In this training you find the silence that is already here and the stillness no matter where you are. Just find it now and then you can find it anywhere. Once you find it you realize that it is not only silence but its silence and space that is awake and embodied, dancing as energy and interconnected with everything.” – Loch Kelly  

Awakening Based Therapy (44:15) – Loch talks about some of the training that is available to traditional therapists and psychologists which integrates direct mindfulness practices into their methodology.

Art via OlyaOK