Swami Sankarananda is a simple pilgrim, as well as a wise teacher who radiates peace, love and joy to all he encounters.

Not all that long ago, though, before he was a Swami (Hindu monastic), he was caught up in the madness of the world and the madness of the mind, living a largely self-centered and ultimately unsatisfying life. A life that collapsed when it dawned on him that he would never find happiness by living this way, and he fell into a suicidal depression that lasted several years.

Swami shares this incredible true story, explaining how the light of grace miraculously lifted him out of despair and into true freedom, happiness and love; a happiness and love that is not personal but is inclusive of all.

It is a story that takes us from the jet-setting life of the worldly and influential businessman to an ashram in India learning at the feet of awakened sages and saints to a coast-to-coast walking pilgrimage across the United States cultivating a deeply transformative faith.

It is an illuminating, inspiring and entertaining tale that Swami infuses with amusing anecdotes and insightful observations alongside deeply practical wisdom for how we too can go beyond the limited mind and into the limitless Self.

It is a saga that takes us from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light; finding in the end that the light has always been here, all along.

To contact Swami, or to learn more about him, his mission, and the retreats he offers, visit divinegraceyoga.org.

Swami is active on facebook at facebook.com/shankar.ananda.11, and you can explore his teachings on YouTube at youtube.com/user/ompeaceandlove.

The website for Inflections of the Mystic Message is at mysticalmessenger.com

"Beginner’s Mind" is a phrase used in Zen to point to that state of innocent simplicity that exists before our discriminating mind parses the indivisible One into the ten thousand things. In Christian terminology we might call it living in the paradise of the Garden of Eden before our fall from grace.

Conceptually, it can seem difficult to understand and impossible to realize. But intuitively understood by the True Self it is effortless, joyful and simple.

In this half hour guided meditation we attune to that simplicity and joy. We return to our beginner’s mind. We remember what it is like to live in our natural grace.

Simply by utilizing the tool of the breath — that fundamental ever-present movement of life — we see that grace is always here. We recognize that each and every moment is an invitation to peace. We start to experience how each moment is an opportunity to let go of our restless ego and participate in the miracle of awakened being.

This meditation brings the perplexing concept of enlightenment into something practical and experiential, as we attune to the liberated awareness that is always and already present. This is in stark contrast to the spiritual seeker’s often natural instinct of turning enlightenment into a future goal. Which, as the awakened teacher Byron Katie points out so beautifully, is both misguided and impossible:

“People think that they need to get 'enlightened' in order to be free, and nobody knows what enlightenment is. Yes, it’s in the sacred texts, and yes, this guru or that lama says he has attained it, but that’s just a concept; it’s the story of a past. The truth is that there’s no such thing as enlightenment. No one is permanently enlightened; that would be the story of a future. There’s only enlightenment in the moment. Do you believe a stressful thought? Then you’re confused. Do you realize that the thought isn’t true? Then you’re enlightened to it. It’s as simple as that. And then the next thought comes, and maybe you’re enlightened to it as well, and maybe not.”

This accessible and expansive half hour guided meditation inhabits Katie’s essential teaching, and shows the way to embody meditation as a practical commitment. Make the investment to sit for 30 minutes, and reap the tremendous benefits that come from awakening from the mind’s dream into the pure awareness of being.

“Enlightenment,” says D.T. Suzuki, “is the absolute reason of the universe.”

Enlightenment, according to Sadhguru, is the one and only cure for the one and only malady that ails us: ignorance of our true nature.

Countless saints, sages, and spiritual teachers from all corners of the world echo these claims from throughout the ages, hailing enlightenment as the inevitable end to our struggles, and the very goal and purpose of life.

So what exactly is enlightenment? What is spiritual awakening according to those who have awakened? What does enlightenment tell us about who we are, and how to live?

Join Brian Clark for an in-depth exploration of this fascinating universal phenomenon, as he shares a bit of his own journey of spiritual discovery alongside awakening stories and enlightening teachings from a wide array of liberated beings, spanning the religious and secular spectrum.

Not only is enlightenment the key term to understand in order to go beyond the dogma of religion into the experiential essence of engaged spirituality, but a glimpse of its truth has the power to transform your life more radically than can be imagined.

It can not be overstated.

Enlightenment is the realization of all that is true, and the destruction of all that is false.