🌀 Discover radical freedom and effectiveness in any situation
Living in Adi Da's community, the guru model of spirituality, the option method for happiness and a radically liberating orientation to life.
Imagine you could be awake to every experience without needing to change it or stabilize it.
What would it be like to inhabit each self that arises without clinging to it or pushing it away?
What if every moment is already complete?
Such prompts may seem fantastical until we come across someone who helps us see further into what is possible.
is a practitioner with an eclectic background that spans Reichian Breathwork, Cybernetics, Unschooling, Dzogchen & Improv.I first met Ari in Evolving Ground (eG) - an online meditation community we are both a part of.
Through a few brief interactions and my readings of his posts on the eG forum, it was clear that Ari was an experienced meditator and a deep thinker.
Then I began reading his substack and started to get my mind blown. 🤯
I’ve had tastes of what Ari was pointing to but I’ve never seen anybody write about phenomenological experience with such precision and clarity.
Ari kindly agreed to come on my podcast to speak about what he calls searchless responsiveness - a radically liberating orientation to life.
Click the video below to tune into our wide-ranging conversation where we explore Ari’s experience living in Adi Da’s community, the guru model of spirituality, the option method for happiness, self & identity, unconventional approaches to parenting and so much more.
Memorable Quotes 🗣️
The Guru Model of Spirituality:
"The guru model always seems to produce bad dynamics, not necessarily due to the teacher’s fault, but something about the model itself. Even high-reward spiritualities carry high risks. In the 70s, we were more tolerant of risks, which led to intense spiritual experiences, though they often came with adverse effects."
"Imagine if doctors were culturally considered to be always right, with no room for challenge or objection. That’s akin to the guru model. An evolved model would support personal autonomy without authoritarianism baked in."
The Option Method for Happiness:
"Unhappiness is just the belief that there are conditions required for our happiness. Happiness needs no conditions; it’s intrinsic. The release of unhappiness, then, is releasing the belief that any conditions are needed to be happy."
"It’s not like CBT, which aims to replace a frame with a more useful one. The Option Method doesn’t seek to replace beliefs—it only aims to dissolve ones that limit happiness by holding conditions."
“It’s okay to be wanting & feeling whatever you are wanting and feeling”
Self & Identity:
"Self is like a city that’s always changing. Parts remain continuous, others change. Identity is often an attempt to fix aspects of this endlessly shifting pattern, which creates friction in responsiveness because what was once suitable may no longer be so."
"Identity isn’t intrinsically problematic. It can serve as a generative force, like embracing the identity of a podcaster to guide your actions. The real issue is when identity becomes compulsive—a rigid structure that refuses to evolve with circumstances."
Searchless Responsiveness:
"Searchless responsiveness is about having an agenda but without compulsion, fluidly moving in a direction and responding to the world without feeling an absolute existential necessity."
“Searchless responsiveness means embracing every state you find yourself in as part of the experience. It’s not a state of cessation but a full acceptance of all states, even those with directionality pushing you toward other states."
Dive Deeper 🤿
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Yeah!