shar jason | non-duality teacher & mentor

Non-duality means 'not two'; it is the English translation of the Sanskrit word Advaita. Advaita Vedanta is a spiritual tradition that teaches that the nature of reality is non-dual. This is the absolute reality: as the divine, we cannot divide ourselves into parts. There is only Us, and everything that exists is also Us.

When we are in the 'trance of separation,' we are caught in the belief of duality - the idea that we are separate from everything we perceive. The process of spiritual awakening reveals that this perception of division is illusory. The actual truth is non-duality: everything is us, and division is impossible.

A well-known metaphor for this is the ocean and waves. Waves seem like a distinct entity, but are always just the ocean, just water. The wave is an expression of the ocean, but not separate from it.

While this may sound abstract, it is not a concept to understand; it is revealed experientially through the awakening process. We see for ourselves that non-duality is the fundamental truth of reality.

Most of humanity is living in the trance of separation, sometimes called egoic consciousness - or ego for short. This means that consciousness is habitually identifying with the inner world of those body-minds, causing them to believe they are separate people.

Humans have a wonderful capacity to look within, known as self-reflection. This automatic function of mind creates the illusion that there is something there that we are looking at - we think it's ourselves! When we self-reflect, we see this ego process in action. A continual identification with thoughts, emotions and sensations. We innocently believe that the noisy and continual content that is arising is who we are. People in our world confirm to us that this is correct - you are a separate person (which is not true), further deepening our belief in separation.

We have become trapped in a world of self-concern, measuring ourselves against apparent others, causing desires and aversions. We can feel that something is off, we feel dissatisfied and unfulfilled, and we interpret that as needing more of what we like and less of what we dislike. But we can never fill the literal void within us.

Awakening begins when we start to question what is real and embark on a journey to discover our true nature. We realize we have simply forgotten who we are and now it is time to remember. Spiritual awakening is the process of surrendering what you are not and remembering what you have always been.

The end of seeking is the shift that is sometimes called the permanent mind awakening or liberation. Although we may have phases during the awakening process where we feel as though seeking has ended, this is typically just a rest period before it takes off again. The seeking is the looking for who we truly are, and the answer is not just a glimpse or taste of our true nature, but when it becomes a permanent way of being - until we are living awake. Then, the seeking is truly over.

If we try to stop seeking before it is ready, we will hinder our spiritual progress. Seeking can sometimes feel powerful and sometimes barely there, but as we progress through the embodiment phase of awakening and are nearing the end, the seeking energy will noticeably decline. It won't come from a place of despair but from a place of completion. This video explains when Shar Jason experienced the end of seeking.

This video talks about when Shar Jason stopped the search: https://youtu.be/04SR0PFXkno?si=n3XoZlSQBfgNvmsP.

Nervous system regulation is essential for the embodiment phase of awakening. It may have been of little consideration in the earlier transcendent phase, but once we cross the threshold and the identity structure is falling apart and we begin embodying awareness, if the nervous system is not regulated, we will notice complications and/or a lack of progress with our awakening.

As awareness is now being embodied and the physical form is being integrated into the awakening process (during the embodiment phase of awakening), the state of the body, including how much trauma it's carrying, and the state of the nervous system, become crucially important. If we're stuck in over-activation, freeze or dissociation, we will not be able to embody awareness. Nervous system regulation becomes the foundation of the embodiment phase of awakening and may require assistance from specialists such as Somatic Experiencing, Network Chiropractic or Craniosacral practitioners.

Emotional healing plays a key part in resolving the illusion of a separate self. Traumas, patterns, karma, and repressed emotions are stored within the physical body. The mind holds onto stories about what has happened, creating opinions, beliefs, and identities. This material, much of which is unconscious (meaning we have not yet accessed it), maintains the sense of a separate self. It creates the feeling that there is someone solid, with substance, within us who experienced it all.

As we move into the embodiment phase of awakening, the focus shifts to what is stored in the body, including repressed emotions and traumas. We meet these energetic knots and contractions with awareness, allowing for any repressed emotions to be released. The nervous system is permitted to express the fight-flight response, boundaries can be established, and words can be spoken that were not allowed when the event occurred. This allows for an unbinding of the patterns that constitute the separate self, causing the beliefs associated with those contractions to collapse along with them.

This video goes into depth on how to heal past emotions held in the body: https://youtu.be/OSo3xVRoNP8?si=8KKpmLnsRx58qoB4.

As we shift from the transcendent phase of awakening and begin embodying awareness, there are many changes and much spiritual growth. One area of growth is that although the identity - the false self - is deconstructing, there is still a human in existence, which is the divine in human form, and the human aspect needs to integrate and become a part of the awakening process.

It is the art of living "awake" while fully participating in relationships, work, and the physical world. Instead of escaping the human condition, you learn how to stay present and fully awake, never forgetting who you truly are, while still participating in typical human duties. We discover that awakening is not about getting out of the human experience, but instead, coming fully into it - and becoming a living paradox of formlessness in form: God as a vulnerable human.

Absolutely. Although your life may be different than it was prior to permanent awakening, you will live out your human duties in a very ordinary way: "chop wood, carry water." You will be significantly changed by the intense metamorphosis that took place during the spiritual awakening process; therefore, what you enjoy doing -including the work you do - will likely be different. What exactly changes varies from person to person.

Career or business is usually the biggest change that is experienced. It is challenging to work in areas that are not in alignment with being awake, such as industries or teams that support hate or destruction to the people of the planet. Additionally, working in a mind-heavy role, a role with large amounts of multitasking, or a very noisy environment might become a problem. You will instead be guided to work in an area that is in alignment with awakening, should you need to work for survival.

So yes, you can function normally in the world and survive well, but your life may look very different than it did when you were seeking.

Meditations that support the spiritual awakening process could be divided into two overall categories: transcendent meditations or embodied meditations. A meditation that supports awakening is one that focuses on accessing your true nature - awareness/emptiness/presence - it goes by many names. We can access our true nature in a transcedent way, which means we transcend our personal story, identity, traumas, everything that makes up the illusory self, and tap into who we truly are. This is typically where most people begin. For example, noticing the awareness of the thoughts and learning how to sink deeper into that witness position is certainly an awakening meditation, but it will typically be transcendent in nature.

Now, if we instead focus attention on the body, from the heart down, when we meditate, creating an anchor in the physical form, then the meditation will start to become embodied. The Zen tradition is an example of an embodied meditation, following the breath. It brings conscious attention to the awareness that is in the physical form, not just the awareness that exists in a transcendent way.

This is an essential transition in our practice that starts to allow awareness to become conscious and embodied.

This video goes into depth on how to do embodied meditation: https://youtu.be/XC5vtuNXRmg?si=kQgs-uo97bfavIAt.

During an authentic spiritual awakening, we reach a stage where we begin embodying awareness - a deeply physical process. While the earlier transcendent phase may have felt quite energizing, the transition into this deeper stage is often exhausting.

Profound changes are occurring at the physical level, specifically within the nervous system and body, as well as within the mind, emotions, and energy body. As we heal long-held repressed emotions and the contractions of trauma or patterns held in the body and nervous system, it takes a significant toll on our energy. Shifting one of these somatic karmic knots can require days of recovery. This is an intense process, particularly for those with significant trauma to integrate.

Furthermore, as we become more conscious, we start to feel the actual weight of carrying false stories and karmic baggage. This 'density' becomes heavy and tiring. Additionally, as our 'doer energy' depletes, our baseline energy naturally drops. We may also shift out of an overactive nervous system or high anxiety levels that also gave us energy that is no longer there.

During the embodiment phase, it is essential to prioritize self-care. Listen to the body: take naps, move slowly, and rest as much as possible.

Most of humanity is living in the trance of separation, sometimes called egoic consciousness - or ego for short. This means that consciousness is habitually identifying with the inner world of those body-minds, causing them to believe they are separate people.

Here are some ways identification occurs when operating from ego:

- When a thought arises and is believed to be true, then we are caught. Thought after thought will appear, and we'll be lost in this trance of the mind until its cycle completes. The mind has well-worn pathways established from collective and personal conditioning. If these thoughts are not examined, outward and inward stimuli will trigger the conditioning and the thought patterns indefinitely.

- Along with being caught in the mind's trance, we are believing that there is a separate self that is having the thoughts.

- These thought patterns activate emotions and that gives us a deeper sense of who we think we are. We may have the thought that "all people are mean" and then feel scared, lonely and angry. The emotional response makes the belief seem even more true.

- We attach to the body - we may identify with an illness, pain, sensations in the body, or our appearance - attractive, fit, overweight, unusual.

- We unknowingly create an idea of the image we present to the world and then fight to maintain it. I am beautiful, I'm kind, I'm funny, I am unique...

All of this sticky push and pull of egoic consciousness, keeps reinforcing the illusion that there is a solid, separate self, located somewhere inside the body.

This video goes into depth about many different aspects of ego: https://youtu.be/mrH-sGyGzmU?si=dUBNDc3fjRH-xNWV.

The embodiment phase refers to a deeper stage of the awakening process where the identity structure begins to collapse and we begin embodying awareness.

This is a fascinating yet challenging period where the body is purified of stored traumas, patterns, repressed emotions, and karma - effectively preparing the form for permanent, abiding awakening. With a focus on trauma release, nervous system regulation, and embodied meditation, this phase acts as a true metamorphosis. It integrates the formless and form, your divine self and the human.

This video goes into detail about the key aspects during the embodiment phase of awakening - https://youtu.be/mvKORpdoXrQ?si=zQQHo-2Ax2SmqBVX.