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Welcome To Conversations Unbound!
Conversations Unbound is the home of the Living Unbound community, which consists of …. all of us.
Please feel free to ask questions, post comments, make suggestions, or otherwise start a conversation. We’ll be doing some of the same. As this section grows, we’ll have contributions from guest bloggers, have a Q&A section, and so on.
Please join in … and if there’s anything we can do to help you feel more at home, or to help you with Living Unbound, please let us know.
You are welcome to leave your thoughts and comments, and/or read existing comments, here. Thanks!
We look forward to hearing from you, talking with you, and supporting you in Living Unbound.

February 20, 2010
Living Unbound AYP Retreat Sept. 27-29 2013 @ Kripalu
Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health‎
Please join Mahasweta Mitra (Shanti, at the AYP Forums) and Doug Sandlin (Kirtanman. at the AYP Forums), co-founders of Living Unbound, and AYP asana instructor Rohini Nellore (Rohini, at the AYP Forums), Sept. 27-29, for a weekend retreat at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the beautiful Berkshires region of western Massachusetts.
Mahasweta Mitra
We will be offering a weekend introduction to Advanced Yoga Practices (the practices are advanced; you don’t have to be — no previous experience with yoga or meditation is required), and kirtan (yogic chanting / singing). For more information and/or to register.
Doug Sandlin
AYP Deep Meditation and Spinal Breathing are the foundations of the daily practices that we recommend via Living Unbound, and kirtan is an additional and highly-enjoyable activity and practice that is popular with attendees at our retreats. The asanas (body postures) will be led by Rohini Nellore, a certified yoga instructor who runs regular private and group yoga classes, and who has led our asana sessions at other AYP retreats — which always receive enthusiastic reviews.
Rohini Nellore
While this is an Advanced Yoga Practices retreat, the principles of Living Unbound are inherently part of our retreats — we always spend time both inside and outside of the retreat sessions discussing the teachings, techniques and resources that each of us can make use of in our daily lives outside of sitting practices, in order to enjoy peace, freedom and fulfillment — living unbound — ever more completely.
Participants at our other retreats have found them to be enjoyable, inspiring, fun, and in some cases, life-changing.
One of the main reasons for so many people finding benefit in our retreats is that we address the reality of the benefits of practices and perspective that some call spiritual in ways that are truly independent of any traditions. AYP and Living Unbound work equally well for people of all religion, and of no religion; for people with years of spiritual practice, and with none at all.
See what others have said about our AYP retreats.
Pennsylvania, 2010
Pennsylvania, 2011
Michigan, 2012
Michigan, 2013
As always, this weekend retreat will be both fun and profound — and will provide you with tools you can use beneficially, every day, for the rest of your life. Hope to see you there! If you know anyone else who might be interested, please feel free to forward this info — all are welcome.
If you have any additional questions, please use our contact form, or email info@livingunbound.net
September 1, 2013
New Study: Meditators Can Be Identified From Brain Images Alone
For anyone who may have been wondering if meditation truly creates lasting changes in the brain, a new peer-reviewed study shows that meditators can be identified from brain images alone — with roughly 95% accuracy.

April 11, 2013
Tripping Through Time (New Song)

Lyrics
Tripping through time like some kind of archetype
Lost in the layers of the lies of mind
Holding out hope for heavenly happiness
Drowning in the drama by dreams defined
Feeding the fears that are fueling the fantasies
Building the barriers to block the real
Wanting to wake up from worry and wanting
Hiding from wholeness with what we feel
Step out of the circle of Time
Into the circle of Love
Letting go is living the truth that it’s forgiving
That frees us from the fears we dreamed up
Step out of the circle of Death
Into the circle of Life
Letting go is living the truth that it’s by living
The love we are that makes us alive
Transcending time as artists and architects
Living and loving with lives of light
Holding out healing wholeness and happiness
Dissolving all the dramas by dreams defined
Fueling the freedom of fun and fulfillment
Being the beacons of all that’s real
Willing to wake up the worrying and wanting
Creating wholeness with love we heal
Step out of the circle of Time
Into the circle of Love
Letting go is living the truth that it’s forgiving
That frees us from the fears we dreamed up
Step out of the circle of Death
Into the circle of Life
Letting go is living the truth that it’s by giving
The love we are that makes us alive
**

The chorus was inspired by a quote from Rumi:
“Step out of the circle of Time, step into the circle of Love.”
July 29, 2012
Juggernaut
UPDATE July 29, 2012 — I completed recording Juggernaut, and uploaded to YouTube.

Background from 2011:
I decided to try my hand at a bit of home recording. It’s still very rough, but I like the general feel of the song, and the lyrics – and so, wanted to go ahead and share it.
Listen to Juggernaut (Rough Cut, from 2011).
(Click the link above, and then click the Play arrow manually.)
Enjoy!
Lyrics
(spoken)
Aum tryambakam yajamahe
Sughandhim pushti vardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhanan
Mrityor mokshiya mamritat
*
Running out of space
Running into time
A cog in the juggernaut of artificial mind
Running out of me
Running into you
Running into all the things we should and shouldn’t do
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We lost our freedom
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We have control now
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We are not perfect and complete
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We’re not here now
Aum Namah Shivaya
Running out of bodies
Running into mind
Running into memories we’d rather leave behind
Running out of life
Running into death
Running ‘round in circles to be sure that we forget
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We are not living
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We’re not unbound now
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We are not all and only whole
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We’re not home now
Aum Namah Shivaya
*
(spoken)
Caitanyam Atma
Jnanam Bandhah
Yonivargah Kalasariram
Jnanadhistanam Matrka
Udyamo Bhairavah
Sakticakrasamdhane Visvasamharah
**
The six sutras (spoken, at the end of the song) above are from the Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta.
They are the first six sutras of the first section, translated as follows:
(exact translation/exposition mine.)
1.1 Caitanyamatma
Our (true) Self is Living Unbound.
1.2 Jnanam Bandhah
(objective) Knowledge is bondage.
1.3 Yonivargah Kalasariram
Source (language, concept)-derived classifications create the body/experience of limitation.

1.4 Jnanadhistanam Matrka
The hidden Mother (source) is the place of (objective) knowledge.
1.5 Udyamo Bhairavah
The upsurge (infusing) of awareness is Bhairava
Bhairava is the Terrible form of Shiva.
The Destroyer (of language/concept derived limitation).
The Creator (of Living Unbound).

1.6 Sakticakrasamdhane Visvasamaharah
When the wheel of energies (objectivity and subjectivity) unite, the (objective-only) Universe dissolves and (our true nature) Living Unbound is Realized.
The mantra at the beginning of the song is the Mahamritunjaya Mantra – the Great Mantra of Victory Over Death, chanted to Lord Shiva.
For a somewhat more traditional chanted version, click here.
Aum tryambakam yajamahe
Sughandhim pushti vardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhanan
Mrityor mokshiya mamritat
AUM. We worship and adore you, O three-eyed one, O Shiva.
You are sweet gladness, the fragrance of life, who nourishes us, restores our health, and causes us to thrive.
As, in due time, the stem of the cucumber weakens, and the gourd is freed from the vine.
Free us from attachment and death, and do not withhold immortality.
Interesting side note – I sang this song acapella at our AYP Yoga Retreat last fall (2010), and the next day, one of our attendees mentioned having a first-ever vision of the form of Lord Krishna, known as Jagganath.
I couldn’t help but notice the similarity in sound between Jagganath and Juggernaut (a title I had given the partial lyrics to the song above in 2008), and so, Googled, and found this Wikipedia article on the word Juggernaut, which, among other things, states:
“The word is derived from the Sanskrit जगन्नाथ Jagannātha^[1] (meaning “Lord of the Universe”), which is one of the many names of Krishna from the ancient Vedic scriptures of India.”
I was wondering a bit, understandably, then, about the Shiva/Bhairava focus of the song, since Jagganath is cited as a form of Krishna … and fortunately Google, and the government of the Indian state of Orissa (Odisha), where the largest Jagganath temple is located) were available to help me out:
“In various other tantric texts, Vimala, the Pitheswari of Puri is described as Bhairavi and Jagannath as Bhairava.”
(Emphasis mine.)
Source.
July 29, 2012
Want Ongoing Peace? It’s As Easy As AYP! (Interview with Carson Zi)
If you’re interested in ongoing peace, via a simple, daily program, please listen to the following interview (link below) with our friend, fellow AYP contributor, and fellow AYP Retreat teacher, Carson Zi.
Listen to Internet Radio with VividLife Radio on Blog Talk Radio
In this interview, Carson discusses the ongoing benefits in his daily life, from his Advanced Yoga Practices (AYP) routine – and please note: it’s the practices that are advanced – you don’t have to be. He also tells his story, which is one of the more dramatic examples of how effective practices can take any of us from the depths of despair, or from the volatility of life’s daily ups and downs, to the peaceful reality that is actually our inherent nature.
In a few short years, Carson went from immersion in horrific heroin addiction, to a failed suicide attempt, to discovering AYP, to continual improvement in his experience of ongoing peace and fulfillment in daily life. Not long after starting AYP, Carson began to notice some fairly dramatic results, including the ability to stop a high daily dose of methadone (prescribed for treatment of heroin addiction), without experiencing any withdrawal symptoms, something even his doctor couldn’t believe. Even more dramatic, though, has been the ongoing improvement of Carson’s experience and quality of life, which is continuing even now.
As Carson says, “Yoga saved my life.”
Today, Carson enjoys a happy life, and contributes to the world around him by sharing AYP with others, which includes leading AYP retreats that can help any of us realize the power of ongoing inner silence, and to deepen both our practices, and our living experience of ongoing peace.

We very much enjoy working with Carson at our AYP Allentown retreat and at the AYP Support Forums. If you are interested in joining us (Doug, Shweta and Carson), at our annual AYP Retreat in Allentown, Pennsylvania, it is taking place on the weekend of September 16-18 at the Mensch Mill Retreat Center. For a bit about what these retreats are like, here are some retreat experiences and reports from last year’s retreat.
Carson has contributed here at Living Unbound as well, via the following articles:
Asanas, Yoga and Living Unbound – Why Yoga Is More Than Just Asanas
and
Asanas, Yoga and Living Unbound – The Asana Routine
You can also visit Carson’s main website, Blissed Yoga.
As mentioned in the interview, like physical exercise, the practices of AYP involve brief daily practices which then yield results throughout the day. If you are also interested in ways to enhance your daily experience of ongoing peace via simple teachings, techniques and resources that you can use throughout the day as well, beyond the daily practices of AYP, that is what Living Unbound is for, and we invite you to take a look at the Living Unbound lessons, as well.
Ongoing peace truly is available — and we invite you to join us, and find out for yourself.
June 2, 2011
Advaita Already – Living Unbound & Non-Duality
Many of us have heard of Advaita, or “Non-Duality”. There are many people, with different styles of writing, teaching and speaking, etc. – articulating the reality of wholeness – non-duality – Advaita – in their own unique way.
One of the most interesting things about some of the newer non-dual teachers, is that they are so grounded in awareness of-as wholeness, they don’t even see themselves as teachers, but rather, just one aspect of the wholeness — exactly as each and all of us every actually are, now.
They also hang out on Facebook – and seem to be quite open to making new friends.
Here’s a sampling, for those who may be interested, and/or inspired.
Bentinho Massaro & Benjamin Smythe
Bentinho Massaro
Benjamin Smythe
Known as “The Bens” on Facebook, these two are utterly identical ….. except for the parts that are seemingly not ….. check them out, and see if you can detect any differences — and/or the wholeness inherent in the expressions of both.
Enjoy.
Scott Kiloby
Scott, like Bentinho and Ben, is a regular guy — different — yet the same — as “the Bens”.
Same message. Slightly different style. Potentially liberating import.
Jeff Foster
The video below pretty much says it all; so much so, in fact, that Benjamin Smythe, at one point, referred “all further questions” … to that video.

… and just notice: despite the variety in expression, none of them express any doubt; none of them express any belief in anything — everything they say is simple, verifiable observation, being articulated from experience, and in awareness.
This is what Living Unbound in reality looks like.
This is the very real, very actual Freedom Beyond Imagination; Living, Unbound.
And it’s always equally available for us all; it’s what we are —- we are the wholeness, now — Advaita, already!
Reference Sites:
Bentinho Massaro – Free-Awareness.com
Benjamin Smythe – Benjamintsmythe.com
Scott Kiloby – Kiloby.com
Jeff Foster – Life Without A Centre
Marcos Cortes (appearing with Jeff in the video, above) – http://www.satsang.es
**
September 9, 2010
Adyashanti on Freedom From Separation
Some powerful yet down-to-Earth pointers from Adyashanti on Freedom from Separation.
The dream of separation is unenlightenment, is bondage, is error; wholeness is reality, now.
September 9, 2010
Poems by Mirabai
"Devotion" ~ by Shweta Mitra (July 2010)
O My Mind
O my mind,
Worship the lotus feet of the Indestructible One!
Whatever thou seest twixt earth and sky
Will perish.
Why undertake fasts and pilgrimages?
Why engage in philosophical discussions?
Why commit suicide in Banaras?
Take no pride in the body,
It will soon be mingling with the dust.
This life is like the sporting of sparrows,
It will end with the onset of night.
Why don the ochre robe
And leave home as a sannyasi?
Those who adopt the external garb of a Jogi,
But do not penetrate to the secret,
Are caught again in the net of rebirth.
Mira’s Lord is the courtly Giridhara.
Deign to sever, O Master.
All the knots in her heart.
***
In A Sudden
In a sudden,
the sight,
Your look of light,
stills all,
The curd-pot
falls to
the ground.
Parents and
brothers
all call a halt.
Pry out, they say,
this thing from your heart.
You’ve lost your path.
Says Mira:
Who but you
can see in the dark
of a heart?
***
Devotion-Krishna
I WRITE OF THAT JOURNEY
I remember how my mother would hold me.
I would look up at her sometimes and see her weep.
I understand now what was happening.
Love so strong a force
it broke the
cage,
And she disappeared from everything
for a blessed
moment.
All actions have evolved
From the taste of flight;
the hope of freedom
moves our cells
and limbs.
Unable to live on the earth, Mira ventured out alone in the sky –
I write of that journey
of becoming as
free as
God.
Don’t forget love;
it will bring all the madness you need
to unfurl yourself across
the universe.
***
I Have Found
I have found, yes, I have found the wealth of the Divine Name’s gem.
My true guru gave me a priceless thing.
With his grace, I accepted it.
I found the capital of my several births;
I have lost the whole rest of the world.
No one can spend it, no one can steal it.
Day by day it increases one and a quarter times.
On the boat of truth, the boatman was my true guru.
I came across the ocean of existence.
Mira’s Lord is the Mountain-Holder,
the suave lover, of whom I merrily, merrily sing.
August 4, 2010
Divine Love Reigning
“Divine Love Reigning” ~ By Shweta Mitra, May 4th 2010.
26 years back I had worked on 2 water colors posted here and here, however after that, I have not touched a paint brush till I worked on this painting. . The painting isn’t originally mine; the general scene and theme come from another artist. However, the overall look and feel, the colors and vibe, etc., are very different from the original, and represent a fresh interpretation of Radha and Krishna. And although this is not an original Shweta Mitra painting, it is one that has flowed from the heart and stillness. It was lovely to watch the colors merge and create a beautiful Radha and Krishna. I really wish I could say I created this… but any time my mind was actively deciding what to do, the paints and colors just did not flow… then I stopped… became silent… asked the divine/stillness to paint… and everything… the colors, the shades, the paint, the brush strokes… it all just flowed beautifully. I don’t think I have experienced anything like this before.
I hope you enjoy the stillness that went into this painting… the cosmic romance of Radha and Krishna.
I have this one posted at the Inspiration section too, along with a beautiful poem By Katrine Kristiansen called The Fragrance. Katrine and I independently started working on these pieces about a month ago, without knowledge of each other’s efforts. I was looking for a poem to go with my painting, and she was looking for a painting to go with her poem. We were pleasantly surprised when we did share our creations with each other, and saw how beautifully they fit together.
I also want to thank my aunt who introduced me to painting when I was really young and my friend and current art teacher for all her help with this painting… she helped me pick up a brush and paint again after 26 years.
I’ll end this post with these words from Richard Norman Schooping’s song “Be Here Now”. VIDEO: (Song) Be Here Now
Everything’s because of you and the things you do, my beloved
Yeah everything is flowing fine as we dance beyond rhyme, my beloved
You calmed the storm inside of me and now I’m free, my beloved
So now I let the battle go and watch you run the show, my beloved
All I want to do is sing of the joy you bring, my beloved
Praying that these songs awaken those who feel forsaken, my beloved
July 25, 2010
Truth Hath No Confines – New Living Unbound Video (Captain Ahab, Moby Dick & Living Unbound)

“Truth Hath No Confines“
~Captain Ahab, in Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby-Dick.
Many of us may recall Moby-Dick as required reading in high school, and/or at least know the outline of the story:
A Nantucket whaling-ship captain named Ahab seeks revenge for getting his leg chomped off by a White Whale named Moby. Drowning ensues. Moby gets away. The End.
Many people have wondered why Herman Melville ended his somewhat strange tale of Ahab vs. the White Whale on such a tragic note.
What’s the message?
To paraphrase Jed McKenna: What could be the message?
And, by the way, very special thanks to Jed McKenna for pointing out the facets of Moby-Dick which resulted in the video below.
What facets?
Those are best described in the video.
Please take a few minutes to watch — and please let us know what you think.
Suffice it to say that if you haven’t read Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment by Jed McKenna, your views about Moby-Dick may just be changing rather radically in the next few minutes (if you watch the video, that is).
Jed McKenna posits some rather staggering and radical ideas about Moby-Dick, which are highlighted in our newest video.
The most staggering and radical aspect of all, though, it that having just re-read Moby-Dick, and viewing it afresh, per Jed McKenna’s amazing insights — it appears he’s either largely, or completely, correct, with respect to his amazing, Living Unbound-related insights, not only about the story of Moby-Dick, but about the book’s author, Herman Melville.
And even “partially” (correct) would make Moby-Dick an infinitely more interesting and important story than most of us could ever have imagined.
Being a bit about spiritual symbolism ourselves, as well any and all resources that can help us all with Living Unbound, we’re now going to be studying Moby-Dick in greater detail as well, with the intention being to expand upon Jed McKenna’s initial insights.
We’ll keep you posted.
Resources:
July 14, 2010