『Letters to the Sky』のカバーアート

Letters to the Sky

Letters to the Sky

著者: Adam Rizvi & Stephan Downes
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Letters to the Sky is a podcast about waking up to what you are. We explore awakening and nonduality through honest conversation, irreverent humor, and stories drawn from many traditions and our own lives. Instead of fixed answers, we invite listeners into direct inquiry. Be right where you are. No dogma. Just the ongoing experiment of seeing through illusion and resting in what remains.

© 2026 Letters to the Sky
スピリチュアリティ 個人的成功 哲学 社会科学 自己啓発
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  • I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj: Abide in “I Am,” Non-Dual Awakening & the Fire of Earnestness
    2026/06/09

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    I Am That (Nisargadatta Maharaj): Abide in “I Am,” Non-Dual Awakening & the Fire of Earnestness


    In this episode, Dr. Downes and Adam Rizvi discuss Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj’s Advaita Vedanta classic I Am That and his non-dual teaching to “abide in the I AM.” They describe Nisargadatta’s background as a Bombay cigarette vendor, his fiery demeanor, and how he realized freedom after three years of single-pointed trust in his guru’s simple instruction, without mantras or scripture. They explore key ideas from the book’s Q&A dialogues: the “inner teacher” as the witness of mind, the shift from identifying as a body moving through time and space to recognizing all experience arises in awareness, and the importance of repeatedly returning to the immovable sense of being. They also unpack “earnestness” as intense longing—orientation, intensity, sincerity, and consistency—and recommend reading short passages nightly.



    00:55 Introducing I Am That

    01:19 Who Was Nisargadatta

    04:02 Why This Book Matters

    05:27 Lineage and Anti Scripture

    08:00 Abide in I Am Practice

    11:51 Effort and Awareness

    14:32 Reading a Key Passage

    18:59 Time Space as Experience

    25:36 Making It Practical

    28:52 Habit of Returning

    30:03 Earnestness and Desire

    31:34 Inner Renunciation

    33:36 Awakening Drive Question

    34:30 Earnestness Explained

    37:19 Fire for Awakening

    41:10 Embers Into Intensity

    43:17 Mystics Across Traditions

    46:13 Sufi Ishq and Fana

    47:55 Quote Off Returns

    48:54 Beyond God Concept

    54:06 Reading Practice Tips

    56:20 Closing and Cigarettes



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    Copyright 2026 by Letters to the Sky

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    59 分
  • Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: Do You Need a Religion to Wake Up?
    2026/05/26

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    Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: Do You Need a Religion to Wake Up?

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    Every spiritual tradition hands you a map. Patanjali's eight limbs. Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle. The Four Noble Truths. Lojong mind training. But here's the question nobody asks: What good is the map if you don't know how to drive a car?

    In this episode, Stephan and Adam dig into what spiritual maps are really for, and when staring at one becomes the obstacle itself. They get into why discipline and restraint are the most skipped steps in Western spirituality, what actually happens when the surface mind quiets down (hint: it's not peace), and why the why behind your emotions matters less than you think.

    Topics covered:

    • Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the eight limbs, and yogas chitta vritti nirodha
    • Lojong mind training and transforming difficulty into the path
    • Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle and the non-linear nature of the journey
    • Sengcan's Hsin Hsin Ming, the Zen case for dropping preferences entirely
    • A Course in Miracles on forgiveness as stillness
    • Why Neo-Advaita can leave you stuck

    Questions, topic ideas, or books you want us to read: letterstotheskypodcast@gmail.com


    00:00 Back After Hiatus
    00:21 Lost Episode Story
    01:20 Do We Need A Map?
    02:57 What Counts As A Map?
    05:50 Different Destinations
    09:09 Map Versus Road
    11:04 Spiritual Stages And Ego
    14:13 Inner Roads Of Practice
    16:09 Ethics As Foundation
    26:54 Meditation Clicks Over Time
    30:48 Quiet Mind Brings Pain
    34:21 Therapy Versus Inquiry
    35:41 Why Knowing Why Fails
    36:51 Karma Reincarnation Context
    39:17 View Path Fruit Framework
    42:40 Mind Training Maps
    45:15 Shoes Frustration Practice
    48:54 Feel Fully Drop Resistance
    53:22 Forgiveness No Preferences
    01:00:34 Signs of Progress
    01:04:17 Map Question Wrap Up

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    Copyright 2026 by Letters to the Sky

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    1 時間 10 分
  • Awakening Without Bypassing: Integration, Emotions, and the Ground of Safety
    2026/02/16

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    In this episode of Letters to the Sky, Stephan and Adam speak with Dave Biggs, a UK-based nondual teacher whose path grew out of a highly controlled religious upbringing, childhood trauma, and years of anxiety, panic disorder, addiction, and a bipolar diagnosis. Drawing on his experience supporting others in distress through the NHS and Samaritans, Dave explores why awakening can become a subtle escape when intense suffering makes the idea of “no self” feel like a final hope—and how that denial eventually crashes.


    Together, they unpack the overlooked work of post-awakening integration: the way emotions can become more raw and intense when resistance falls away, why kindness and gentleness still matter, and how labeling and story-making can trap sensations instead of letting them move through. Dave describes an “absolute” ground of unconditioned awareness as a stabilizing landing pad—like a starter before the main course—that makes it possible to face trauma without bypassing the human experience. The conversation closes with Dave sharing brief details of his childhood split between Jehovah’s Witness fear and his father’s atheism, his long search to disprove a malicious God, and the eventual recognition of an unconditionally loving presence, along with ways to connect with him at dualitydetox.com.


    00:00 Welcome

    01:00 How They Met Dave: Voice Memos, Nonduality Groups & Shared Language

    02:07 Dave’s Background: Trauma, Mental Health, and Teaching Without Bypassing

    05:53 The Trap of ‘No One Here’: Spiritual Bypassing, Denial, and the Crash

    11:54 Real Self-Realization: Ordinary, Subtle, and Noticed by the Absence of Suffering

    13:46 Integration Mechanics: Momentum After Awakening & the ‘Last 5%’ of Work

    16:41 Emotions After Awakening: Anger, Grief, Tears, and Feeling It Fully

    19:24 Letting Emotions Move: Disney Tears, Accessibility, and Dropping the Labels

    22:58 The ‘Child Catcher’ Metaphor: Stop Netting Feelings and Naming Them

    27:02 Mind’s Story-Making vs Witnessing: Grasping, Aversion, and Waves Passing Through

    30:18 Groundlessness & Ultimate Truth: Returning to What We Are

    32:00 The “Landing Pad”: Unconditioned Awareness as the Base

    34:08 Starter vs Main Course: Letting Experience Move Through You

    37:02 Macbeth, Despair, and Finding the Ground Beneath the “Sound and Fury”

    40:32 Post-Awakening Reality Check: Emotions Don’t Disappear

    41:49 Why the Ground Makes Healing Possible (and the Hand Analogy Explained)

    44:14 Healing Is Reachable: Safety, Integration, and Trauma Unraveling

    46:23 When Pain Becomes Identity: The MS Patient Story

    49:30 Dave’s Lived-Experience Work & Dropping the Trauma “Performance”

    54:40 Dave’s Childhood & Awakening Turning Point (High-Level Story)

    59:27 Wrap-Up: Keep Doing the Work + Where to Find Dave



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    Copyright 2026 by Letters to the Sky

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    1 時間 3 分
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