For many years, I explored the idea of not being my body.

I was seeking the out of body experience, the transcendence of the limitations of time and space, and of course everything I didn’t like about the world and my life. Over time, I came to see that this was an expression of my suffering, my trauma. Life was hard, difficult things happened and difficult emotions arose.

A spirituality that promised perfection, enlightenment, freedom from suffering and a way of simply transcending the whole messy, screwed up world sounded really good to a kid who grew up under Apartheid in South Africa, went to a school system that enacted corporal punishment (caning) for misbehavior or poor test scores, and struggled  through the dysfunction of my family of origin

The problem is that the world doesn’t go anywhere, and our psychological issues, emotional vulnerabilities, and trauma history seem to actually remain untouched by spiritual beliefs and practices that disconnect us from reality, our bodies and our feelings.

When I was exposed to Buddhist vipassana meditation via the wonderful work of Jack Kornfield, I started what I think of as the “real work” of being present in my body, becoming more aware of my emotions and facing the demons I had avoided for the first five or six years of “spiritual bypass.”

Now, having learned more about the way the brain senses the body via neuroscience, as well as somatic psychology’s discoveries about how we heal trauma, I have created this video that introduces you to vipassana meditation in what I find to be the most accessible and effective way.

Please enjoy and share! You can start with this video, but bear in mind that it is the fourth free meditation video in a series that gradually builds up your inner work tool kit!