I am sure all of us who are on this path have had the experience of trying to put into words our experience and finding we can't. It can be frustrating. This short video explains why we can't really describe our experience with this medicine. It reminds me of the quote from the Tao Te Ching: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao" (trans Stephen Mitchell)

The seeker and what is sought are the same. To begin with, you do not exist in the way you think you do. The person you take yourself to be is an idea, a thought, a temporary form. Here is an analogy: Most of the waves in the ocean long to reach the ocean. But when some of the waves discover that their own nature already is the ocean, something decisive happens. In that very moment, the wave ceases to be a wave. The search comes to an end. There is no longer anyone who asks, anyone who seeks to arrive, anyone who speaks of existence. The human being is the same. A temporary expression, a form that arises and disappears. A temporary movement in the all-pervading consciousness, which for a time appears to limit itself through ignorance, through a dream-like experience of being separate. When this limitation ends, when the dream dissolves, it is called enlightenment. But in truth, it was never about an individual becoming enlightened. It has always been about the all-pervading consciousness recognising itself. There are no separate individuals. There never have been. Therefore, no one has ever become enlightened, and therefore no one ever will. What is, has always been what is.

"As long as you believe in God, you remain separate, and fear survives.” This is not an attack on the sacred — it is an exposure of illusion. Belief creates distance. The moment God becomes an object of belief, something outside you, separation is born. And where there is separation, fear naturally survives: fear of judgment, fear of punishment, fear of losing grace, fear of being unworthy. Mystics never asked you to believe. They asked you to see. In the silence of true seeing, God is not “there” and you are not “here.” The division collapses. Fear cannot exist without distance. Fear needs a gap — between you and life, you and truth, you and existence. This is why mystics dance, sit in silence, laugh, disappear. Not because they believed — but because belief dissolved. Attributed to the spirit of Rumi, this insight points beyond religion, beyond theology, beyond ideology. It invites you to drop belief and enter intimacy with existence itself. No belief. No fear. Only presence. If this resonates, sit with it — don’t agree, don’t disagree. Let it work in silence. Source Mystical insight inspired by the non-dual tradition and the spirit of Rumi’s teachings on direct experience over belief.

... constantly requiring their parents attention. And we, as good parents, give them our total attention.

We are excited to announce a 10-Step program to our Shangriballa community. Are you tired of constantly searching for inner peace, only to feel like you’re continually fighting your own mind or body? Maybe you've tried meditation, but you still feel like there's a separate "you" inside, stressed, anxious, and trying to keep it all together. You're ready to move beyond basic coping and address the fundamental source of that struggle. The best part? This entire 10-Step journey is entirely FREE for the Shangriballa community! This is our gift to help you experience a seamless, effortless life directly. That's precisely what this program, led by Patrick Boulan and Lisa Silva, is designed for. Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced meditator, this journey is your next essential step. Introducing: The 10-Step Journey into Pure Awareness This isn't another course on fixing yourself. It’s an experiential inquiry into the simple, liberating truth of Non-Duality—the realisation of not-two. Over 10 steps, we’ll dismantle the core illusions that create suffering, using your own direct experience as the guide. Each session includes a core conceptual teaching, immediately followed by a custom-guided meditation designed to create an expansive and profound experience for all levels. **The Secret to True Freedom** Step 1 focuses on the course's foundation, introducing basic non-dual teaching and meditation practices. It will include our anchor-setting program, which will serve as a foundation for the rest of the course. We are establishing your Unchanging Container (Step 2)—the spacious awareness that is already whole and peaceful. Everything else happens in this space. Then, we systematically lighten the grip of your deepest identifications: - You'll Bypass the Mind: We’ll spend a crucial week at The Doorway of the Senses (Step 3), tuning into raw, unlabelled input. You see the world vividly, free from the mind’s usual commentary. - You'll Drop the Story: We’ll examine The Narrative of Self (Step 7) and identify the subtle, constant thought that creates the "me." When the I-thought stops, you discover the vast, silent dimension of your being. - You'll Dissolve the Body: A massive shift happens in The Myth of the Body (Step 8), where we stop seeing the body as a fixed object and realise it's just a dynamic flow of pure, shifting sensation. When you stop identifying with the body, the pain and limitation instantly become less personal.