Your Deepest Ground

A Guide to Embodied Spirituality

By: John J. Prendergast PhD, Rick Hanson PhD -foreword by

Narrated by: John J. Prendergast

In John J. Prendergast's decades of experience as a psychotherapist and spiritual teacher, the area of the body that's most difficult for people to connect with, given our survival fear and trauma, is our physical and energetic ground. This area in the lower belly and at the base of the spine corresponds with the root chakra in the Indian subtle body tradition, the lower dan tien in Taoism, and the hara in Japanese martial arts. While most spiritual traditions focus on opening the mind and the heart, they tend to avoid or undervalue the opening of the ground. Prendergast notes, "It remains largely unconscious and deeply defended."

This guide invites you to take a deep dive into your personal, archetypal, and universal ground, and to see through the false ground of your early conditioning and limited identity. Throughout Your Deepest Ground, Prendergast shares: accessible teachings to help you connect with your ground; sensitive awareness to the trauma we're often holding in this part of our physical and energetic body; sensing and inquiry practices to work with your own body and life; and anecdotes drawn from his teaching that show the power of this work. By consciously opening to our ground, we can experience a felt sense of safety and stability that supports the full flowering of inner peace, freedom, and loving awareness—a truly embodied spirituality.

©2025 John J. Prendergast; Foreword copyright 2025 by Rick Hanson (P)2025 Tantor Media

Deep presence with wise practicality.

This is a wise and practical book. Because it is read to us we can use the inquires over and over.

The embodied knowing of the deepest ground

John Prendergast has been an important teacher for me in the past 5 years. He has a wisdom that my being really welcomes. I loved The Deep Heart and have listened many times but this book explores a very important and existential knowing of the inner ground. That phrase may seem conceptual to you, but John offers specific meditations and inquiries for the readers to have their own experience of this ground.

His narration of the book is like a transmission for me. Very recommended book.

Awakened love

This is a fascinating, clear, bright, and loving articulation of awakening on many different levels. I have been listening to it repeatedly and each time I gain new insights and understanding.
This is a must read for people who are serious about healing and awakening… For themselves and for all beings

Beautiful pointing

Dr. Prendergast is one of my favorite nondual teachers. He has such a wonderful energy and has an uncanny knack for holding space, even in an audiobook…

Spiritual psychotherapy

It’s such a rare combination of deep spiritual teaching and psychological wisdom. It offers so much understanding of our human struggles on the path of self realisation and offers very practical and compassionate ways to help ourselves. Loved it!