The End of Suffering: Monthly Satsang starts August 1st in Oakland

Are You Done with Trying to Fix, Change, Improve Yourself?

In other words, are you ready to stop suffering? To wake up from the dream that somehow, you are in control?

The attainment of enlightenment from ego’s point of view is extreme death,
the death of self, the death of me and mine, the death of the watcher.
It is the ultimate and final disappointment. 
– Chogyam Trungpa from The Myth of Freedom

I am sending this out to my dear community.  Among you are clients, mentees or just the curious; those who understand that I am holding both the non-dual and dual Realities simultaneously in our work together.

If you feel the need for satsang, a meeting in Truth and Consciousness, or you are interested in the spiritual teachings I have to offer, this email is sent heart to heart.

For the past two years, I've been meeting in satsang with a small group of folks online. It is now time to meet in person!

In my own experience, it is one thing to read about awakening and the end of suffering in a book. It is another to practice meditation, mindfulness, beingness, and so forth. And, it is another entirely to commune directly with an awakened guide. Someone who has been there, with their head in the tiger’s mouth. And someone whose head has been lopped off by the Master.

If you’re at the end of your rope, if you’ve tried everything and NOTHING is working. If you keep striving, seeking, practicing and still feel a sense of frustration, a deep dissatisfaction or even misery. If you want off the wheel entirely, to be FREE, even in bondage. To be AT PEACE.

This is what awakening has brought in my life, and I wish to share this with you. Indeed, I have to share it! I have received a gift and it is beyond time to speak up and out.

First Monthly Satsang in Oakland ~Thursday, August 1st!

These talks will be held monthly, on the first Thursday of each month, in-person in Oakland.

Thursday, August 1st

Where: Grand Lake, Oakland (address given upon RSVP)

When: 7pm to 8:30pm Pacific

Cost: $20 suggested donation (no one turned away due to lack of funds)

I will have a non-dual topic in mind, a jumping-off point of something to share and discuss. Most importantly, I welcome your dialog and your questions.

It is through having all your questions answered (jnana) that the ego is ultimately exhausted from trying, and the liberation can drop into the heart. Bhakti (devotion, the path of love) is another way this occurs, through relationship with the teacher, the teaching, grace itself.

This satsang is for sincere seekers! The focus will be on non-dual understanding. Individual spiritual counseling or intuitive consultations will be by appointment, separately as per usual.

To Register: Simply reply to this email. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about location and attending the meeting.

   

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE.

I am looking forward to meeting you in Presence and Truth.

With love,

Erin

Click here to listen to the audio of a live online satsang with Erin:

“The end of suffering” – March 1,2018

 

For background reading:

Short awakening story available for $2.99 on Amazon Kindle

Ramesh’s Grace: A Simple Story of Waking Up by Erin Reese

FREE GIFT BOOK! Download here for the next two days, July 26 and 27^th

A bit of background: 
Many of you know a bit of my own story. Here’s a bit to remind us of the playing field...

I was deeply suffering before I met my Teacher, Ramesh Balsekar, an advaita (non-duality) master in India. I was lucky enough to receive transmission from him over the last two years before he died. My experience is that once I had my questions answered intellectually, with no more arguing with what is, what could be - knowing that it is all part of the inextricable whole ("God's will"/ cosmic law/ existence unfolding), I was able to endure whatever pain was arising in me.

For me, the pain was mostly psychological and involved my utter and complete failure to be happy in relationship. I had been suffering for 20+ years in this department and had totally exhausted myself with working on myself and trying everything, and then stopping, and then trying... I was beyond miserable. This was primarily regarding relationships, but also had to do with my complete dissatisfaction with 'the world' and 'work' and the Bay Area, etc.

At that time, 2007, through a true surrender and falling away of all else, all other desires in my life (because I was ready to die - not to commit suicide, but to die, to end it all), I was led by a thread to my Teacher, who over the next 2 years was my intellectual (jnana) teacher and ultimately the teaching pierced my heart (bhakta). By 2009, there were no further questions and I was totally relieved of intellectual, identified suffering. In early 2011, I experienced a falling away of the identification with the separate self (the 'me' thought) which has not returned.

You may ask... how to be with it and support the process? I would say, continuously dialog, ask your questions, with me and/or another non-dual teacher who has gone through it. Often, the ego has to experience total exhaustion and there often needs to be an apprehension of the whole, a complete seeing, for the falling away of identification to occur. In my experience, this happens in regular intensive satsang/meeting with Truth. That's why I suggest we continue to meet regularly. I suspect there will be a transmission of grace, but there is no guarantee.

Let’s get to the heart of it.

“Events happen, deed are done. But there is no individual doer or experiencer thereof.” ~ The Buddha