The Direct Way

Book excerpt: Join renowned spiritual teacher Adyashanti for a practice-based journey out of the thinking mind and into the awakened awareness beyond perceptual reality. For renowned teacher Adyashanti, every single moment contains a doorway into spiritual awakening. But what does it actually mean to “wake up” to the truth of reality? And what does it take to recognize these opportunities? In The Direct Way, Adya (as his students call him) offers a sequence of 30 practices intended to connect with and cultivate ever-greater awareness of the unseen dimensions of your being. From the simple expression of “I am,” to an exploration of the Spiritual Heart, and all the way into the fundamental ground of being, these exercises emphasize that the process of awakening takes “many small glimpses, experienced many times.” Adya concludes with practical pointers on how to integrate transcendent experiences into the everyday fabric of life—including your career, personal goals, and intimate relationships. Here you will discover: How to dis-identify from conceptual, ego-based thinkingPerceiving the ego as a tool to navigate consciousness rather than an obstacleThe “knowing yet empty” quality of foundational awarenessThe surprising route to realizing awareness of the Spiritual HeartFeeling through the Spiritual Heart as a way to experience true interconnectionThe meaning of the Zen teaching phrase, “This very body is the Buddha”Exploring the exhilarating paradox of Being and BecomingHow to establish anchor points to stabilize your journey into the Ground of BeingWhat it means to live each day with “enlightened relativity”How awakening puts control of your experience in your hands—but also the responsibility for it No one experiences awakening quite the same. With The Direct Way, join Adya to discover pathways toward an awareness as wide as the sky and as personal as your innermost heart.