Bentinho Massaro, Jeannie Zandi and Kenny Johnson. Moderated by Jerry Katz.
Bio
Kenny Johnson
For thirty-one years Kenny Johnson's most fervent desire was to hear his name "ringing in the streets" as a hustler, thief, and pimp. Beginning in his early teens, he was arrested thirty-seven times and spent the majority of those years in prison. Running parallel with that desire was a persistent seed of spiritual longing that would not leave him alone. In 1995, while still behind prison walls, Kenny experienced a spiritual awakening so profound that it transformed not only his prior conditioning as a criminal but his very field of consciousness. In the vast stillness that overwhelmed his mind and heart, he witnessed with intimate clarity the bondage the entire human experience is subject to and exactly where eternal freedom can be found. As a speaker and an author, he now shares that understanding intimately with his audiences. Kenny is currently the founder of "This Sacred Space," a non-profit organization that facilitates meditation and self-inquiry groups both in and out of prisons. Kenny is the author of the newly relsead book "The Last Hustle".
Jerry Katz
In 1998 Jerry Katz started a movement he calls “people’s nonduality” which is known by an accessibility to nondual people and teachings with openness and friendliness to all traditions and perspectives, while the movement itself is not affiliated with any particular guru, teacher, tradition, supporter, or academic program. This people’s nonduality was initiated through the website Nonduality.com and the email forum Nonduality Salon (and other avenues later on). Milestones in Jerry’s spiritual biography include initiations into his realization as I Am, the dissolving of I Am, and the advent of people’s nonduality. He holds an M.S. in biology from the University of New Mexico and is editor of One: Essential Writings on Nonduality.
Bentinho Massaro
Bentinho Massaro started seeking for Enlightenment around the age of 16. He did so by intensely seeking for some kind of permanent state and hoped to attain that through reading a lot of books, meeting teachers, going to India and practicing all kinds of meditations. In a sense he never succeeded in his quest for 'enlightenment', and yet he discovered exactly what he was actually looking for... He noticed directly more so every single day, that every single one of his experiences never really left a mark anywhere. Nothing ever sticks in this natural space of being. Every experience was recognized to be an effortless, translucent coming and going within awareness. Even 'enlightenment' turned out to be an idea coming and going intermittently, with no actual reality to it other than being a thought arising in what is truly always present... Awareness.
The freedom that this recognition released, became more self-evident by the day, and so continuously subtle ideas and mis-perceptions started to dissolve in this clear light of awareness. The seeking-tendency relaxed as well, since it was now obvious that there had never been any other place, state or experience, than this natural presence of awareness. Nothing is ever known outside of this moment, and so there was nothing to achieve outside of this moment. The imaginary sense of separation, also dissolved. Now every experience is naturally pervaded by the loving presence of free awareness. Website: www.free-awareness.com
Jeanne Zandi
Jeannie is a revolutionary of the heart, a mother, poet, and writer who embodies the spiritual warrior, tender sister-friend and embracing mother. She invites all into now to discover the true life we are meant to live, as Love, through surrendering to the Unknown. Jeannie has an M.A. from Naropa University in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology. http://www.jeanniezandi.com
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