Send me your thoughts in a Text Message

In this episode of Awakening Now, I speak with Ananta Kranti about awakening and what the word actually points to.

When Ananta first began sharing this message, awakening was described very simply — waking up from the dream of being a separate self. Today, the word is used in many different ways, and this can create confusion about what is being pointed to.

We explore how the message has evolved over time, and what can be lost when the recognition of what we are becomes mixed with ideas, identities, or concepts.

Ananta shares about the shift that happened while she was in prison, and how a moment of complete exhaustion and letting go revealed something that could not be taken away.

We also speak about current trends in the spiritual space — the movement between recognizing awareness and working with the human experience. There is a natural place for both, and also a risk of losing clarity when the foundation is not seen directly.

We look at projections onto teachers, the expectation of perfection, and the possibility of recognizing freedom exactly as life is now.

This is a grounded conversation about awakening, identity, and the living recognition of what does not come and go.

Music by Valdi Sabev.
In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.

Support the show

Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

Send me your thoughts in a Text Message

In this episode of Awakening Now, Ilona Ciunaite speaks with psychotherapist and author Robert Saltzman about awakening, the illusion of a separate self, and what actually changes when the sense of a personal controller is questioned.

Rather than presenting awakening as a dramatic transformation, Robert describes it as a shift in perspective. Life continues as it always has — with relationships, pain, aging, and uncertainty — yet the belief that someone inside is running everything begins to loosen.

The conversation explores spiritual seeking, the difference between intellectual understanding and direct seeing, and the simple act of looking at what is actually happening in experience.

At one point the dialogue takes an unexpected turn. Robert describes an experiment in which he began asking an AI system the same kinds of questions he would ask a therapy client. The coherence of its responses led him to wonder: when language makes sense, do we automatically assume there must be a conscious self behind it?

A thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation about identity, language, uncertainty, and the freedom of not needing final answers.

Music by Valdi Sabev.
In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.

Visit his channel for more calm and relaxed music
https://www.youtube.com/c/ValdiSabev/featured

Support the show

Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

Send me your thoughts in a Text Message

If there is no mind, why does it feel so loud?

In this episode I look at what we call “the mind” as a living stream of thoughts appearing. Images, commentary, expectations about awakening, ideas about how this should feel and what should happen next.

We explore thinking by looking at it directly. Thoughts arise. They move. They dissolve. And it becomes clear that there is simply experience unfolding.

Some thoughts pass lightly. Others carry emotional charge. We look at how old hurt can still live in the system, and how protection forms around it. Over time, that protection shapes identity — “I am shy,” “I am not worthy,” “I am ashamed.”

Like a rubber band stretched between pain and the desire for relief, tension builds. When hurt receives attention and space, the energy settles. The story softens. Identity loosens.

Attention gently returns to direct experience — sensation, sound, color, breath. Life is already here before thought describes it.

This episode is an invitation to see thinking as part of the flow of experience, and to recognize what remains present through it all — simple awareness, here and now.

Music by Valdi Sabev, Visit his channel for more calm and relaxed music
https://www.youtube.com/c/ValdiSabev/featured

To receive the link to the next meeting subscribe to my newsletter here https://zcmp.eu/ArU9

Support the show

Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

Send me your thoughts in a Text Message

In this episode of Awakening Now, I sit down with Angelo DiLullo to explore the myths that quietly shape how people think awakening is supposed to unfold.

We look at the belief that awakening should resemble someone else’s story, feel pleasant, bring special abilities, or resolve the human experience once and for all. Angelo points directly to how these expectations form without being questioned — and how they create unnecessary confusion when real experience doesn’t match spiritual narratives.

We also explore the myth that something has gone wrong when awakening feels difficult, and the assumption that safety or stability must be established before truth can be seen. Rather than offering new ideals, the conversation stays close to what is actually happening in the body, emotions, and daily life.

This episode is for those who feel sincere in their inquiry yet unsure why things don’t look the way they expected. It’s an invitation to notice what may already be quietly obvious when comparison, fantasy, and self-judgment fall away.

About the Guest:
Angelo DiLullo, MD, is an anesthesiologist, spiritual teacher, and author. Following a profound awakening at age 24, he recognized how thoughts shape perception and that suffering is not inherent to life. Since then, he has guided others toward the recognition of natural, non-separate awareness.

Music by Valdi Sabev, Visit his channel for more calm and relaxed music
https://www.youtube.com/c/ValdiSabev/featured

Support the show

Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

Send me your thoughts in a Text Message

In this episode of Awakening Now, Ilona Ciunaite is joined by Steven D’Souza — author, leadership guide, and creator of Leading From the Dark — for a deep conversation about shadow work, awakening, and becoming more human.

Steven describes the shadow as “the me I don’t see,” and together we explore how it shows up through projection, strong emotional reactions, and repeating patterns that feel disproportionate to the moment. We look at how shadow material often reveals itself first in the body — as tightening, guarding, contraction, or emotional charge — and how these signals can become doorways to integration rather than problems to fix.

The conversation moves through Steven’s own spiritual journey, from a traditional Catholic upbringing and time exploring the priesthood, to decades of work with leaders and organizations around the world. He shares how he approaches shadow work through multiple lenses — psychological, biological, systemic, and spiritual — and why the “dark” can be a place of transformation, like a seed in the earth or a baby in the womb.

This episode is for seekers who have seen clarity and still meet contraction, for leaders interested in depth and maturity, and for anyone sensing that wholeness includes the parts that were once denied or exiled. The invitation throughout is simple: meet what arises with curiosity, safety, and compassion. Steven’s final word for the path is love.

Steven’s website is:

Leading From the Dark
👉 https://leadingfromthedark.com

That’s where he shares his work on shadow, leadership, and negative capability, and where people can sign up for his newsletter or learn about talks and retreats.

Music by Valdi Sabev
Visit his channel for more calm and relaxed music
https://www.youtube.com/c/ValdiSabev/featured

Support the show

Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

Send me your thoughts in a Text Message

In this episode, I invite you to look directly at the sense of self — not as an idea or a belief, but as lived experience.

Before thoughts arise, before emotions move, before any story about “me” appears, there is a simple knowing of being here. A sense of existing. A feeling of “me.” This sense of self is so familiar that it is rarely questioned and often taken for granted.

Together, we explore what this sense of self actually is. Where it appears in the body. How it shows up as sensation, pressure, orientation, or effort. How it organizes experience and creates the feeling of being at the center of life.

You’re invited to notice how the sense of self becomes especially clear in moments of pride or hurt, and how easily identification forms around these sensations. We look at how the sense of “me” can feel solid and personal, and what happens when it is met directly with attention.

This is not about getting rid of the sense of self, fixing anything, or changing experience. It’s about seeing clearly. When the sense of self is looked at directly, something often softens. Identification relaxes. What remains is openness, presence, and a quiet knowing that does not come and go.

Nothing here needs to be believed. This is an invitation to look for yourself.

Music by Valdi Sabev, Visit his channel for more calm and relaxed music
https://www.youtube.com/c/ValdiSabev/featured

Support the show

Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

Send me your thoughts in a Text Message

After awakening, many people expect the body to relax and life to feel settled. The belief in a separate self has dropped, so ease should naturally follow. Yet for many, the body still contracts. Emotions rise. Old protection remains. This often creates confusion and self-doubt.

In this episode, I speak about why this is a natural part of awakening, and why nothing has gone wrong.

Seeing through the self illusion is a mental recognition. A belief drops. This shift is often quiet and simple. But the nervous system does not reorganize instantly. The body may still carry years of contraction and learned protection that now begins to unwind.

Awakening is not only about clarity in the mind. It is also about allowing the system to feel safe enough to open. When the imagined character no longer needs protection, old defenses can soften. This process can feel uncomfortable at times, even though it is part of integration and healing.

If you have already seen the truth but still feel tight, guarded, or unsettled, this episode offers reassurance. The absence of ease does not mean awakening failed. It may simply mean the body is learning that it is safe to relax.

Support the show

Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com

Send me your thoughts in a Text Message

Many people on the spiritual awakening path reach a moment where understanding is no longer enough.

You may clearly understand non-duality, awakening, or the self illusion intellectually. You may know the language, have had glimpses, and seen moments of clarity. And yet something hasn’t shifted. There is still confusion. There is still a sense of “me.” And that can feel deeply discouraging.

In this episode of Awakening Now, I share an unedited recording from a live Zoom meeting where I respond to an email that says: “I understand this intellectually, but I don’t feel it.” What I hear is not failure, but honesty — a turning point where the old strategy of seeking through understanding begins to collapse.

I speak about why seeing through the self illusion is not an emotional experience, and why clarity is not a feeling. Confusion, doubt, frustration, and a sense of “me” can still arise after awakening, and they do not mean you didn’t see.

This conversation explores the difference between direct pointing — seeing through the illusion of a separate self — and meeting what continues to arise after that recognition. Old emotional patterns, sensations, and conditioning don’t mean you’ve gone backwards. Often, they are the next layer asking to be met.

If you feel stuck after awakening, exhausted from seeking, or confused about why insight hasn’t brought lasting peace, this episode offers clarity, reassurance, and a grounded understanding of what is actually happening.

Support the show

Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com