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This Zen Teacher's Surprising Response To my Awakening | Henry Shukman

Simon Mundie | Awakening Meets Real Life

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'The mind is not invited to the party' - Henry Shukman and Simon Mundie discuss Kensho.

Henry Shukman and I discuss spiritual awakening, the dark night of the soul, and why the thinking mind can’t grasp what awakening really is. Drawing on my own direct experience, this is about what happens when identification with thought falls away—and awareness recognises itself.

The dark night isn’t just suffering—it’s a stripping away of everything you think you know. And in that space, something deeper can be realised. But the mind can’t get there. In fact, trying to understand it is often what keeps you stuck.

In this video, we explore:

Why the mind can’t understand awakening
The real meaning of the dark night of the soul
What happens when you stop identifying with thought
Non-duality and awareness waking up to itself
Overthinking, suffering, and letting go of control
Why awakening isn’t about getting rid of “you”

If you’re caught in overthinking, seeking, or trying to figure life out—this may point you beyond the mind.

#awakening #nonduality #spiritualawakening #darknightofthesoul #overthinking #selfinquiry #innerpeace #consciousness #spirituality #selfawareness

20 Comments

@IAmSimonMundie Creator 6 months ago Pinned

Are you willing to leave your mind at the door? Would love to hear your thoughts, ironically.

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@JGCanning 6 months ago

Lovely! Is there more to this conversation that is forthcoming on your channel, or was this just a very brief exchange? Henry is such a great communicator and so much fun to listen to. Thanks Simon!

@tarablack1518 6 months ago

A glimpse from divine eyes

@jefftemplin778 6 months ago

‘Transcending it by loving it!‘ A core concept of Paul Selig’s “guides.” Well put!

@donttellme4341 6 months ago

This is great! Thank you Henry and Simon

@BabaDontKnow 6 months ago

The Supreme Reality is all inclusive and all embracing.

@GaryGreenfield-j6v 5 months ago

A very interesting and worthwhile dialogue.

@777Morganna 6 months ago (edited)

Awww, love this 🥰. Everything just wants to be seen and appreciated as it is X

@chuck9112 6 months ago (edited)

I really wanted to be part of your conversation rather than only listening to you. I was in what you called emptiness for 2 weeks. I didn't know how I would be able to go back to work. I did very busy and hard construction type work and also dealt with customers. So I so to speak, woke up,put myself back on, and my experience faded after some time. Now I want to get back there 😊

@dukevuda 6 months ago

People seem to get obsessed with thoughts being wrong, or bad, or preventing them from this idea of awakening, this idea of enlightenment. Just become one with the experience of the moment, if no mind then that’s correct, if thinking then that’s correct. Saying you don’t want thoughts is like saying you don’t want leaves on trees, or breeze on the ocean. Just don’t identify or attach to them, they come, but they aren’t of themselves you, they are part of the experience. Emptiness is also an idea. Getting emptiness is an idea. Gotta put that down.

@casanorteportones6115 6 months ago

Gracias❤

@andrewharris9105 6 months ago

Wow brilliant insight

@InfiniteNothing 6 months ago

beautiful! and yeah core shame is a big one for me as well

@enlightenment-club 6 months ago

The imagined individual imagines thinking to imagine its own existence. In reality there is no thinking already. There is only enlightenment. Thinking is not reality. Reality doesn’t know thinking. Thinking never happened.
A thought is nothing.
Thought is imagination.

@peggygates6565 6 months ago

"Thinking always manifests the human world. No-thinking manifests where resides Buddha, Jesus, and also my son who died suddenly at 14". Japanese Zen Roshi voiced this to me at retreat while I was in deep grief.

@martingarreis 6 months ago

Two lovely beeings 😘☺️

@Beveryhonest 5 months ago

Just direct experience.. no doctrine no mind can enter. It just IS

@mamaBucketvfx 6 months ago

Wonderful !!, Also looking forward to a vid of your retreat experience that led to Kensho

@JohnRogers108 6 months ago

This is a wonderful segment from the equally wonderful full conversation that I just had a chance to watch a couple of days ago. So relatable. To answer your question, I have actually been telling people, "You don't have to leave the mind behind, just make it sit in the back seat. Let it come along for the ride. And if it keeps saying, 'Are we there yet?" just realize that's part of the mind's job. Telling the mind to shut up is an unnecessary exercise in futility. Don't mind the mind!" And at some point, the mind relaxes and there is that almost indescribable, infinitesimal moment of Grace....🙂 (In my case, it happens that the initial shift at the age of 17 and the experiences immediately afterward were very similar to what Henry describes in the full conversation! 😀)