141 episodes
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What if the version of yourself you're trying to become is the very thing standing in the way?
In this conversation, Ilona speaks with Giotto De Filippi about enlightenment as realization rather than achievement. Giotto walks through the beliefs that quietly run our lives, the idea that things should have gone differently, the sense of being in control, the identity we build and defend, and what it looks like to stop taking those stories as absolute truth.
They talk about the difference between spiritual practice done to feel more special and the kind of honest seeing that actually loosens those stories. Giotto also shares why he considers the spiritual ego trap one of the hardest to escape, since there's rarely a single event that breaks it open.
This episode is for anyone who has sensed that awakening isn't about becoming a better version of themselves, but about questioning what they've been calling true all along.
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Music by Valdi Sabev. In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.
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http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com - Send me your thoughts in a Text Message
What happens when someone who spent years questioning everything stops arguing and starts listening.
In this episode, I sit down with Sam Kukathas, a former academic philosopher who spent over a decade as a skeptic before finding he could work with the human voice as a kind of frequency, bringing people back into their own body and their own knowing. When I ask him what he actually does, he stops explaining and offers to show me instead.
We talk about readiness, about the difference between searching for something outside yourself and remembering what's already here, and about what happened the day a voice moved through him that he hadn't expected and couldn't fully explain. Sam also leads a short experience during our conversation, so it's worth finding a quiet moment to listen.
If you've ever sensed that the teacher, the method, or the next insight isn't where the answer lives, this conversation may land somewhere familiar.
About the Guest:
Sam Kukathas is the creator of Neuro-Resonance Optimisation and the founder of Soul Purpose Leaders and Resonance OS. With a background in academic philosophy, his work explores the human voice as a frequency that can open us to who we already are. He was recently named one of the Top 5 Spirituality and Mindset Leaders Creating Extraordinary Impact by the High Impact Awards.
Find Sam:
Website: www.soulpurposeleaders.com
Resonance OS: www.resonanceos.io
Instagram: www.instagram.com/samkukathas
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If you want to explore this more deeply, I’ve put everything together here. You’re welcome to subscribe to my email list and be the first to know about the next round of Seeing Through the Separate Self Experience.
https://zcmp.eu/1XWa
Music by Valdi Sabev. In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.
Support the show
Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com - Send me your thoughts in a Text Message
What happens when the person who taught you the most about awakening is also the one who needed you to stay small?
In this conversation with Nicole Wordlaw, we explore the difference between the awakening we imagine, permanent, painless, almost superhuman, and the one that actually happens, ongoing and fully human. Nicole speaks openly about a cage that formed in her mind long before she met her teacher, and how that same cage was later reflected back to her inside a devoted spiritual relationship. We talk about rest as an unexpected teacher, the quiet work of giving herself permission, and what it means to stop looking for a final arrival.
About the Guest
Nicole Wordlaw is an African American clinical psychologist, longtime meditator in the Buddhist tradition, spirited coach, and the author of Waking Up Alone, Navigating the Narrow Passage Through Master-Slave Narratives. Her training at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley honed her thinking mind. But the wisdom she needed did not come from a book, nor did it come from staying away from the difficult. The wisdom she needed arose from spirited practice, practices that illuminated the quiet, still voice that always sounds like Love. She lives with her two children and partner on the Indigenous lands of the Monacan people in Virginia.
Website: https://www.nicolewordlaw.com/
Substack: https://nicolewordlaw.substack.com/
Book Waking Up Alone: https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Alone-Navigating-Master-Slave-Narratives/dp/1591813735
Join my email list: https://zcmp.eu/1XWa
Music by Valdi Sabev. In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.
Support the show
Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com - Send me your thoughts in a Text Message
There's a question the voice in your head has never been able to answer. Most of us have never actually asked it.
In this episode, the second part of a live Zoom meeting, I work directly with four people, each caught in a different version of the same voice. Shame that's become an identity. Guilt over other people's feelings. The quiet certainty of not being good enough. An inner critic that still feels completely real even when it's seen clearly. Each time, we ask the voice one simple question, and each time, something in it goes quiet.
These live meetings happen every third Thursday of the month, and everyone is welcome to join. Sign up to my newsletter to receive the link.
If you want to explore this more deeply, I've put everything together here. You're welcome to subscribe to my email list and be the first to know about the next round of Seeing Through the Separate Self Experience. https://zcmp.eu/1XWa
Music by Valdi Sabev. In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.
Support the show
Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com - Send me your thoughts in a Text Message
The voice in your head has been talking your whole life. But have you ever actually stopped and asked it who it's talking to?
In this live meeting, we look directly at the voice in the head, not as something to argue with or quiet down, but as something worth seeing clearly. We trace how it turns into the inner judge, why it can be so convincing, and where this pattern actually came from in the first place.
Rather than trying to fix what the voice says, this conversation points somewhere simpler: seeing it for what it is. Partway through, I bring in a question I use often in Deep Looking. Mind, are you at peace? It's simple, and it opens something.
If you've ever felt caught between believing this voice and hating yourself for believing it, I think this one will speak to you.
If you want to explore this more deeply, I've put everything together here. You're welcome to subscribe to my email list and be the first to know about the next round of Seeing Through the Separate Self Experience. https://zcmp.eu/1XWa
Music by Valdi Sabev. In loving memory and gratitude for the music he shared.
Support the show
Websites
http://ilonaciunaite.com
http://liberationunleashed.com
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About Awakening Now
Join Ilona Ciunaite for honest conversations and guided explorations into the nature of self, consciousness, and awakening. This podcast is for those who are looking not just to understand awakening, but to see it — directly, in their own experience.Each episode invites you to slow down, inquire, and notice awareness itself. Through guided Deep Looking sessions and dialogues with teachers, authors, and fellow explorers, Ilona opens the door to what many call spiritual awakening — seeing through the illusion of self, and discovering peace that doesn’t come and go.You’ll explore: – Self-inquiry and direct experience – Deep Looking and seeing beyond the mind – The process of awakening and integration – Presence, awareness, and the end of seekingIlona Ciunaite is a guide, author, and co-creator of the Liberation Unleashed community. For over 14 years, she has been helping seekers all over the world discover freedom through direct experience.If you are ready to look within, this podcast offers clear guidance and grounded conversation — simple, sincere, and free of spiritual jargon
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