In this podcast episode, Loch explores the three main obstacles to awakening. As part of the Effortless Mindfulness Awakening Process, he emphasizes the importance of having a map, a method, and markers to help us understand where we are on the path at any given time. In Effortless Mindfulness, that map is called the Five Levels of Mind, and Loch spends time illuminating the different levels. He then goes on to pinpoint the three biggest obstacles that prevent us from truly awakening to and abiding in the deeper levels of our being.

The Three Main Obstacles

The first obstacle to awakening is that many people have an incomplete map of the awakening process. That means people often start on the path of awakening but don’t always have the necessary tools to follow through.

The second obstacle to awakening is our confusion around what to do with our common experience of ego identity. Many psychologies try to balance and strengthen our ego while many meditation systems ask us to see the ego as an illusion that’s unnecessary. Loch leads us in a glimpse to appreciate our “ego” or “problem solve” identity and then shift out of it as the center but to include it as a helpful part of us.

And the third major obstacle to awakening is spiritual bypassing and getting lost in the mistaken assumption that delightful spiritual experiences of pure awareness, no self, peace, and ecstasy are the end point of awakening. Instead, Loch emphasizes an awake, embodied, and heart-based connection to the community of life.

Loch unpacks these obstacles in depth. He stresses the importance of thanking and acknowledging all the parts of oneself, including protectors and exiles. He also highlights why off-the-cushion practices and entering flow are essential to integrating awakening into daily life, promoting a sense of peace, well-being, and optimal functioning.

Guided Glimpse Practice

(00:22:02) The episode features Loch offering a guided glimpse practice called “The Everyday Problem Solver Is the Obstacle.” These mindful glimpses serve as invaluable tools for experiencing ways to access the awake consciousness that is already here within all of us.

You can now explore all of Loch Kelly's practices and teachings on the new Mindful Glimpses app, found at https://lochkelly.org/mindful-glimpses. This innovative meditation and wellness app offers daily micro-meditations, step-by-step programs, and simple-yet-advanced tools for awakening.

Loch Kelly Bio

Loch is the creator of the Mindful Glimpses app and an award-winning author, psychotherapist, and nondual meditation teacher. He is known for his unique practical methods that support awakening as the next natural stage of human development. Backed by modern neuroscience and psychology, Loch introduces Effortless Mindfulness, which combines an ancient form of nondual meditation and IFS psychology that allows immediate access to our embodied awake nature which arises as our calm, clear, and compassionate healing capacity.

Connect with Loch:

Mobile App: https://lochkelly.org/mindful-glimpses
Website: https://lochkelly.org/
Podcast: https://lochkelly.org/podcast
Donate: https://lochkelly.org/donate

The Effortless Mindfulness Podcast is brought to you by our 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. Our mission is to make learning how to tap into your inner resources simple, teachable, and accessible to everyone.

Join Loch Kelly - creator of the Mindful Glimpses app - here as he welcomes Dr. Dan Siegel, a pioneering researcher and author in the field of interpersonal neurobiology. In this episode, they delve into Siegel’s interdisciplinary framework for understanding the mind and its relationship to the brain, body, and human connections.

Dr. Dan Siegel (Wheel of Awareness) introduces the concept of mind as an "emergent self-organizing process" of energy and information flow within and between individuals, drawing from collaboration across 40 scientific disciplines. Distinguishing mind from brain, he emphasizes its inclusion of subjective experience and awareness, beyond neural activity.

[1:10:03] The episode features Loch offering a guided practice called “Glimpsing Awareness.” These mindful glimpses serve as invaluable tools for experiencing ways to access the awake consciousness that is already here within all of us. This is a similar practice to the dan siegel wheel of awareness practice.

You can now explore all of Loch Kelly's practices and teachings on the new Mindful Glimpses app, found at https://lochkelly.org/mindful-glimpses. This innovative meditation and wellness app offers daily micro-meditations, step-by-step programs, and simple-yet-advanced tools for awakening.

Dr. Dan Siegel is an educator and author, renowned for his work in interpersonal neurobiology. He serves as the executive director of the Mindsight Institute and is a founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. With over fifteen books and five New York Times bestsellers to his name, Siegel's contributions span a multitude of languages and disciplines, focusing on the mind and mental health. He earned his degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his postgraduate training at UCLA, specializing in pediatrics, adult, adolescent, and child psychiatry. Siegel's research explores the intricate relationship between relationships and our autobiographical narratives, shaping our development across the lifespan.

Loch Kelly is the creator of the Mindful Glimpses app, award winning author, psychotherapist, and nondual meditation teacher known for his unique practical methods that support awakening as the next natural stage of human development. Backed by modern neuroscience and psychology, Loch introduces Effortless Mindfulness, an ancient form of nondual meditation that allows immediate access to our embodied awake nature which arises as calm, clarity, and compassion.

Join Loch Kelly for Effortless Mindfulness Level One:

An Introduction to the Five Levels of Mind
>> Register for EM Level One
https://lochkelly.org/em-level-1-training

Connect with Loch:

Mobile App: https://lochkelly.org/mindful-glimpses
Website: https://lochkelly.org/
EM Course: https://lochkelly.org/em-level-1-training
Podcast: https://lochkelly.org/podcast
Donate: https://lochkelly.org/donate

The Effortless Mindfulness Podcast is brought to you by our 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. Our mission is to make learning how to tap into your inner resources simple, teachable, and accessible to everyone. If you enjoyed this, would you please write a review and rating for us on your favorite podcast platform.

In this episode, Loch introduces a pillar of the Effortless Mindfulness model called the Five Levels of Mind. He refers to these five levels as Everyday Mind, Subtle Mind, Awake Aware Mind, Unity Mind, and Heartmind. In this show, Loch explores and unpacks how the first two levels of mind involve working with the body and mind to calm and stabilize them. The next three levels of mind make up a second tier, so to speak, providing access to a deeper sense of fundamental well-being, compassion and wisdom. Effortless Mindfulness really begins with the shift into the awake aware mind—an awareness-based way of knowing that exists prior to thought and can use thought as needed. Then the next two levels allow us to embody and live from a more connected feeling of flow. This episode provides tools, tips, and insights for how you can tune into your already awake mind, shift through the deeper levels of mind, and navigate your own consciousness with greater compassion, clarity, and loving flow.

You can join Loch Kelly for a special FREE live workshop.

3 Common Obstacles to Awakening That Are Impeding Your Meditation Practice

And How to Break Through to the Next Level with Compassion and Flow

>> Register for the live workshop

Every great meditative tradition the world over has major maps of the significant steps or stages in meditation as their tradition has come to understand and practice them. And what significant research has demonstrated is that virtually all of them follow the four or five major natural states of consciousness given cross-culturally and universally to all human beings. ~ Ken Wilber, Integral Philosopher and Author

[25:48] The episode also features Loch offering a guided practice called Knowing From Heart-Mind. These mindful glimpses serve as invaluable tools for experiencing ways to access the awake consciousness that is already here within all of us.

Loch Kelly is the creator of the Mindful Glimpses app, award winning author, psychotherapist, and nondual meditation teacher known for his unique practical methods that support awakening as the next natural stage of human development. Backed by modern neuroscience and psychology, Loch introduces Effortless Mindfulness, an ancient form of nondual meditation that allows immediate access to our embodied awake nature which arises as calm, clarity, and compassion.

Connect with Loch:

Mobile App: https://lochkelly.org/mindful-glimpses

Website: https://lochkelly.org/

Podcast: https://lochkelly.org/podcast

Donate: https://lochkelly.org/donate

The Effortless Mindfulness Podcast is brought to you by our 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. Our mission is to make learning how to tap into your inner resources simple, teachable, and accessible to everyone.

Chapters

00:00

Introduction and Overview

03:00

Exploring the Five Levels of Mind

06:54

Dropping into the Awake Aware Mind

08:07

Recognizing the Unity Mind

11:59

Embodying the Heart Mind

18:08

Tuning into Already Awake Awareness

23:18

Conclusion