'The spacious groundless sense of being needs to become part of our nature, to be familiar territory and then awakening arrives by itself. The ultimate cannot belong to anyone nor can there be someone who is awakened.' Stephen talks us through his spiritual journey and realisations. From realising that there was no fixed reality when he was a child to having his earlier insights confirmed when he took LSD in his 20s. He was drawn to India and the 'Mother Ganges' where he discovered the teachings of S.N. Goenka. Spent time on many retreats with Sayama and other Buddhist teachers such as Stephen Batchelor and Christopher Titmuss. Formed the Israel Insight Society; distanced himself from Buddhism but fully embraced the teachings of the Buddha and still teaches around 15 retreats a year. Also works in the area of Palestinian/Israeli reconciliation. 'There is no way to peace, Peace is the way.' Can describe his lived experience with great precision and clarity; took part on a study which explored 3 stages:Stage 1 - ordinary sense of self and boundary Stage 2 - sense of dropping boundary to some extent Stage 3 - dissolution. In this interview he explains these stages in detail.
