Effortless Mindfulness and Loch Kelly's approach to nondual awareness
Here are some notes taken down while going through Loch
Kelly's "Effortless Mindfulness" material. I did visit some of this
material (the audio book "Effortless Mindfulness Now" and "Shift
into Freedom") several years back, but at that time likely didn't
understand the import of what was being explained.. or didn't take the time to
really appreciate where LK was coming from.
Now, revisiting Loch Kelly's material, I can say it's 10 out
10 in terms of practical import aimed at delivering a taste of nondual, open,
spacious awareness without the trappings of "containment" or
"encasement" that most other nondual approaches entail.. further Loch
Kelly brings something unique and new to the table in terms of tackling the
issue of contained awareness or "I-am"ness that resides in a body or
mind or self. This issue is a real sticking point for probably 90% or more of
nondual aspirants, as it lends itself to living and experiencing life in a quasi-nondual
way, but with a sort of "godlike" individual flavour.. the aspirant
thinks they've attained some no-self, nondual awakening, when in fact, it's the
egoic entity that's taken on a new form of consciousness or appropriated
awareness that still functions in a completely individualistic and conditioned
way. This will be explained more below.
For access to Loch's teachings, I would recommend going
through:
1. Shift Into Freedom (audio book, audible)
This audiobook was created before the Effortless Mindfulness
audio and book. It contains some of the basic ideas and approaches that LK uses
later in more detail. It's also a good, practical way to encounter a large
number of short meditations (or 'glimpses' as LK uses the term). The whole
audio is around 3.5 hours and not too onerous, however, it should be done in
small chunks as to fully appreciate each exercise. The only danger here is that
it becomes too much of a 'doing' and smorgasbord of short meditations, which
can leave some people a bit tired or bored or thinking 'ok, so what's next..'
2. Effortless Mindfulness (audio book, audible)
This audiobook is very well done, and really going into
detail with the main practice of unhooking awareness from thinking and the ego,
and getting a taste of spacious, non-localised awareness.. it's probably the
closest thing to a nondual sense of awareness that one can hope for with these
sorts of DIY approaches. Repeated over, you have a good chance of getting the
insight that awareness isn't personal or localised or an object or something
that needs to be worked at. LK uses his own ideas of 'foundations of effortless
mindfulness' as a theoretical base for the approach.
3. The Way of Effortless Mindfulness
This is a book, published later than the audio
courses/programs, and goes into a good amount of detail on the background of
the author and the teaching approach. It could be read and used over an
extended period of weeks and months. Each chapter contains glimpse exercises
and can really be used for a self-directed meditation program over weeks. It's
well worth getting and going through as it works well with the audio programs
and other media.
4. Podcasts, YouTube
Loch Kelly has been gracious enough to post a large amount
of material, interviews, explanations etc. all free online via podcast
interviews, YouTube etc. He doesn't hold back with his approach or ideas, and
you can gain a lot from going through online material in order to form a solid
idea of what LK means by his various terms and wording and his general approach
to nonduality.
Things I like about Loch Kelly's approach and teachings:
+ Highly practical and usable in everyday life. No long
sitting sessions, and uses the approach of short and frequent sessions rather
than extended long sessions
+ Well explained exercises and practices
+ Neutral / secular approach that can be used regardless of
background
+ Plenty of content available freely online
+ Offers further courses for those wanting to go deeper into
the teaching
General side note- There are a few issues that I personally have with purely secular / non-devotional approaches that are aimed at westerners looking to enter into the waters of nonduality without much recommended prior work or preparation. I also have some reservations about relying on nondual teachings and approaches to sort out one's life situation or level of psychological awareness, compassion, relationships etc. I won't list them here, however, I do recommend Loch Kelly's material completely, and it's a well planned and thought out approach in bringing something practical and unique to the nondual approaches table that's completely suitable for westerners and unaffiliated aspirants. Loch Kelly's approach certainly has a lot more 'good' points than 'bad' points, and is very well suited to those who've done a true try and test of basic mindfulness and/or meditation and are looking to explore nondual approaches as a compliment to their practice and journey.
Loch's official website:
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