SAND 2013 EUROPE SPEAKERS
Please check back the website; we will be announcing additional speakers.
Speakers Bios
RUPERT SPIRA
Artist and Non-duality TeacherFrom an early age Rupert was deeply interested in the nature of Reality. For twenty years he studied the teachings of Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Shankaracharya, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, twelve years ago. Francis introduced Rupert to the teaching of Jean Klein, Parmenides, Wei Wu Wei and Atmananda Krishnamenon and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience.
Rupert’s first book is "The Transparency of Things," subtitled "Contemplating the Nature of Experience,". His second book, "Presence Volume I The Art of Peace and Happiness and Presence Volume II The Intimacy of All Experience" has been currently released by Non-Duality Press. www.rupertspira.com
Menas Kafatos
Professor of Computational Physics and Director of Excellence at Chapman UniversityDr. Menas Kafatos is The Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Computational Physics and Director of Excellence at Chapman University. He received his B.A. in Physics from Cornell University in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972. After postdoctoral work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, he joined George Mason University and was University Professor of Interdisciplinary Sciences there from 1984-2008. He has authored and co-authored numerous books including The Conscious Universe, The Non-local Universe and Principles of Integrative Science. He is a recipient of the Rustum Roy Award from the Chopra Foundation, which “honors individuals whose devotion and commitment to their passion for finding answers in their field is matched only by their commitment to humanity” and the IEEE Orange County Chapter - Outstanding Leadership and Professional Service Award. He has been interviewed numerous times by national and international TV networks, newspapers and radio programs. http://chapman.edu/CS/pcse/faculty/kafatos.asp, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menas_Kafatos
ShantiMayi
For the past three decades, ShantiMayi has cast seeds of actualization into thousands of receptive, hearts and minds throughout the world. Her spirituality ripened in the light of a sublime affinity with her Spiritual Master, Shri Hansraj. Though her Master was Hindu and India was the ground of her ‘rite of passage’, ShantiMayi is not held within any particular tradition. She eclectically draws upon the quintessence of many traditions and though this is so, she speaks from her own direct experience, relentlessly pointing us back to ourselves. She says of herself, “ I am but a reminder, perhaps ... a poetic mirror”. http://shantimayi.com/
John Hagelin, PH.D.
President of the David Lynch FoundationPresident of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace
John Hagelin, Ph.D., is a world-renowned quantum physicist, educator, public policy expert, and leading proponent of peace. Dr. Hagelin received his A.B. summa cum laude from Dartmouth College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, and conducted pioneering research at CERN (the European Center for Particle Physics) and SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center). His scientific contributions in the fields of electroweak unification, grand unification, super-symmetry and cosmology include some of the most cited references in the physical sciences. He is also responsible for the development of a highly successful Grand Unified Field Theory based on the Superstring. But Dr. Hagelin is unique among scientists in being the first to apply this most advanced knowledge for the practical benefit of humankind. He has pioneered the use of Unified Field-based technologies proven to reduce crime, violence, terrorism, and war and to promote peace throughout society—technologies derived from the ancient Vedic science of consciousness. www.hagelin.org, www.davidlynchfoundation.org
Elisabet SahTouris, ph.d.
Evolution biologist and futuristElisabet Sahtouris, Ph.D-- internationally known as a dynamic speaker and media personality-- is an evolution biologist, futurist, author and consultant on Living Systems Design. Dr. Sahtouris shows the relevance of biological systems to organizational design in businesses, government and global trade. Her books include A Walk Through TIme: from Stardust to Us, Biology Revisioned, co-authored with Willis Harman, and EarthDance: Living Systems in Evolution. www.sahtouris.com
Pim van Lommel, MD
Cardiologist/AuthorPim van Lommel, M.D., born in 1943, graduated in 1971 at the University of Utrecht, and finished his specialization in cardiology in 1976. He worked from 1977-2003 as a cardiologist in the Hospital Rijnstate, Arnhem, the Netherlands, and is now doing full-time research on the mind-brain relation. He published several articles on cardiology, but since he started his research on near-death experiences (NDE) in survivors of cardiac arrest in 1986 he is the author of over 20 articles (most of them in Dutch), one book and several chapters about NDE. See also www.pimvanlommel.nl. In November 2007 his book ‘Endless Consciousness’ (Eindeloos Bewustzijn) was published in The Netherlands, which is a bestseller with more than 125.000 copies sold. The book was published in the English by Harper Collins in June 2010, entitled: Consciousness beyond Life. The science of the near-death Experience.
Stuart Hameroff, MD
Professor Emeritus, Departments of Anesthesiology and PsychologyDirector, Center for Consciousness Studies
The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Dr. Hameroff's research for 35 years has involved consciousness - how the pinkish gray meat between our ears produces the richness of experiential awareness. Studying anesthetic gas mechanisms, he focused on how quantum effects control protein conformational dynamics. Following an interest which began in medical school in the computational capacity of microtubules inside neurons, Dr. Hameroff teamed up with the eminent British physicist Sir Roger Penrose in the early 90s to develop a highly controversial theory of consciousness called orchestrated objective reduction (Orch OR). Dr. Hameroff began the international, interdisciplinary conferences on consciousness (Toward a Science of Consciousness) as Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona. He has published five books and well over 100 research articles, and appeared in the film What the Bleep do we know!!?? www.quantumconsciousness.org
Susan Blackmore
Freelance writer, Lecturer and BroadcasterSue Blackmore is a psychologist and writer researching consciousness, memes, and anomalous experiences, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. She blogs for the Guardian, and often appears on radio and television. The Meme Machine (1999) has been translated into 16 other languages; more recent books include Conversations on Consciousness (2005), Zen and the Art of Consciousness (2011), and a textbook Consciousness: An Introduction (2nd Ed 2010). http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk
Tony Parsons
A unified reality in which there are “not two” or there is “nothing apart” surely confirms the
illusory nature of separation. If separation is illusory, then any attempt to not be separate is rooted
in a dualistic perspective. So the basic principle of any guidance which attempts to transform an
illusory state of being separate into a state of at-oneness is based on the belief in a divided reality
and cannot therefore claim to be non-dual.
However, as long as oneness appears as a seeker with personal needs there will also arise
a personal response and guidance from others together with a description of their approach
to satisfying those needs. Teachings apparently happen together with recommendations and
processes to help the seeker change or be more open to a better experience. This personal guidance
assumes the existence of free will, choice and the ability and need to pursue a progressive path
leading to personal fulfilment.
The open secret perception is that what is ultimately longed for cannot be taught, given,
attained or known.
The view here is that the sense of seeming separate is an illusory state which drives the apparent
seeker to search for another illusory state called enlightenment. Any activity which supports
this construct is apparently only reinforcing and perpetuating the same dualistic illusion and
attempting to create personal experiences that can make the sense of separation more acceptable…
for a while.
It is all only oneness playing a game of hide and seek.
The open secret exposes what it sees as the myth of separation and personal enlightenment. It
will also attempt to describe the nature of what is and isn’t and point to the paradox of no thing
simultaneously appearing to be everything.
http://www.theopensecret.com/
Tarja Kallio-Tamminen
Natural PhilosopherTarja Kallio-Tamminen is a natural philosopher who focuses on the conception of reality, in particular the role and locus human beings are supposed to have in the universe. She has completed her degrees in physics (M.Sc.) and philosophy (Ph.D.) at the University of Helsinki focusing on the foundations and interpretations of quantum mechanics. The study disclosed an inescapable need for deep metaphysical changes in the prevalent paradigm of science. In recent years Kallio-Tamminen has become increasingly interested in yoga philosophy which does not recognize any fundamental gap between mind and body and thus does not resist the idea of personal growth and attainment of human objectives – which are prerequisites for proper life and ecologically sustainable future. Kallio-Tamminen has been working as an academic researcher, lecturer and science writer in Finland and in Sweden. Presently she running her own business . www.kalpataru.fi
Han F. de Wit
Dr. Han F. de Wit (1944) received his PhD in psychology from the University of Amsterdam in 1977. As a research fellow in 1976 at the University of California (Berkeley) he began to study the psychological insights and theories that can be found in the contemplative traditions of the world religions. This has brought him international acclaim as the founder of a new branch of psychology, called contemplative psychology. Trained as a Buddhist teacher by Chögyam Trungpa and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche he is also involved in the dialogue between western academic psychology and Buddhism. Among his writings are contemplative psychology and The Spiritual Path: An Introduction to the Psychology of the Spiritual Traditions, both published by Duquesne University press.
Tim Freke
Groundbreaking scholar, best-selling author, standup philosopherBestselling author and standup philosopher Tim Freke is the author of more than 30 books on many spiritual traditions that have been translated into 15 languages, including a top 10 international bestseller and Daily Telegraph 'Book of the Year'. In his latest book The Mystery Experience he articulates a revolutionary 'paralogical' approach to spiritual awakening, which is free from superficial woo-woo and sits alongside deep science to inform human understanding. Tim has been exploring the deep awake state since he was 12 years old and is able to guide others directly to it. He is a passionate and playful communicator with a contagious enthusiasm for exploring the mystery of life. Tim presents experiential mystery experience retreats and entertaining evenings of standup philosophy throughout the world. To find out more visit www.TheMysteryExpereince.com
Unmani
Teacher and Author Unmani points very directly to who you really are beyond all the words and concepts. If there is a readiness to hear this, then there is a possibility to investigate the reality of everything that you have ever believed in. Realizing more and more that your whole life is based on an assumption of who you think you are, there is a total freefall into not knowing. Unmani travels around the world offering spontaneous and uncompromising nondual Meetings and Retreats in 'Not-Knowing'. These Retreats have an intensely intimate flavor as Unmani invites you to wake up to the way it actually is beyond all your hopes and fears. In having a dialogue with Unmani there is no escape from the unknowable reality of life.Unmani is the author of two books ‘I am Life itself’ and ‘Die to Love’ and is now writing a third book. www.die-to-love.com
Mark Matousek
AuthorMark Matousek is the author of two award-winning memoirs, Sex Death Enlightenment: A True Story (an international bestseller) and The Boy He Left Behind: A Man's Search For His Lost Father (Los Angeles Times Discovery Book), as well as When You're Falling, Dive: Lessons in the Art of Living. A featured blogger for Psychology Today (where his Ethical Wisdom column appears weekly), and the Huffington Post, he has contributed to numerous publications including The New Yorker, O: The Oprah Magazine (where he was contributing editor), The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Yoga Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Details, AARP, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review (contributing editor), and many others. A popular lecturer and writing teacher, he is the Creative Director of V-Men (with Eve Ensler), an organization devoted to ending violence against women and girls, and has just published a new book, Ethical Wisdom: The Search for a Moral Life.
Igor Kufayev
Artist and Advaita Tantra Teacher Igor Kufayev has been sharing his revelations into the essence of Being since 2002. Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and classically trained in art from an early age, he was recognized as something of a prodigy. A one time student at the St Petersburg's Academy of Fine Arts, he had his first solo exhibition at the age of twenty five and by his early thirties enjoyed an international art career in London. At the age of thirty six Igor had undergone a radical transformation of consciousness which subsequently blossomed into spontaneous unfoldment of Grace. He abandoned his art career and for the next few years continued long hours of meditation, integrating expanded state of awareness throughout all his interactions. Igor points to the integral process of Self-realization where all cognitive and mental processes are orchestrated by awakened Latent Energy - the Creative Potentiality of Pure Awareness - and it is the physiology with its nervous system, that acts as a support for individual consciousness to mature into full Enlightenment. It could be said that his methods are rooted in Tantra, having studied such diverse traditions as Vedanta, Tantra, Sufi and Zen he remains elusive to categorization. Saying that: ”Abiding in a state of spontaneous absorption transcends the boundaries of any given truth based on intellectual grasp of ultimate reality… http://igorkufayev-vamadeva.com
Ellen Emmet
Movement Therapist Ellen met her spiritual teacher Francis Lucille 15 years ago and studied with him for many years before beginning to teach. She is a licensed transpersonal psychotherapist with a background in movement and somatic therapies. She holds Masters Degrees in Dance Therapy (NYU, NY) and Transpersonal Psychology (JFK, CA) and has a private practice in England where she lives with her husband Rupert Spira. www.ellenemmet.com
Tim van der Vliet
Tim van der Vliet is the author of Spiritual Awakening (the easy way) which will be published in Autumn 2013 by Hay House. Tim had a career as an option trader in the pit of the option exchange in Amsterdam. After that he worked as a researcher mathematically predicting the direction of the stock market. He worked with the finest minds, many with a PhD in quantum physics and mathematics. This is where Tim developed his spirituality based on pure logic. He is among others inspired by John Forbes Nash, a famous mathematician and Nobel price winner. Grounded spirituality is Tim's trademark. He often uses everyday life examples in his philosophy and his talks, which are most of the time about living intuitively.
David Ellzey
Global Entertainer
“The Sound of One Hand Laughing”
After receiving a standing ovation at last year’s conference, David is glad to be a part of this important event once more and in Europe. As a performer, humorist, #1 Best Selling Author, and speaker, David has inspired a quarter of a million people worldwide to laugh and uncover a boundless sense of being. He’s performed globally from Hiroshima to The United Nations Society of Enlightenment and Transformation ~ to Mother Theresa’s orphanage. At an early age, he studied how to create worlds in space and silence through the ancient art form of pantomime under the teaching of a Kabbalah master. David is known for his hilarious physical performance skills, humorously enlightened characters, and astute commentary on this human journey of awakening. His new book, The Ocean of Now, endorsed by Dr. Christiane Northrup, focuses on the boundless benefits and joy of living in the present moment. Authors such as Norman Cousins, Michael Beckwith, Susan Jeffers and more have endorsed David’s transformational work worldwide.
http://www.davidellzey.com/
Ulisse Di Corpo
Degree in psychology and in experimental psychology, PhD (specializzazione) in statistics and social research, works in the field of social research and provides methodological support and software tools to researchers. In 1977 he developed the vital needs theory, which was the subject of his thesis in psychology and statistics, and since 1977 he has been working on the law of syntropy. www.sintropia.it
Meriel Gold
www.drawnhome.co.ukWhat Meriel Gold (Hoare) finds she loves about drawing and painting is
the “stop” as her brush or hand touches the canvas or
paper, like a kind of rest. It seems in this pause or rest that we
are, as it were, drawn home into the quietness of ourself, which she
feels is what we are all really yearning for, and which infact, is always here, just waiting to be noticed!
Meriel has been painting and drawing all her life. She studied at the
Slade School of Art in London, with Oscar Kokoshka in his School of
Seeing in Salzburg and with Cecil Collins.
Catherine Pépin, Ph.D.
Theoretical Physicist, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Saclay, FranceCatherine is a senior research scientist at the Institut de Physique Théorique, CEA-Saclay, France. Former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, PhD, she has been a MIT and Oxford post-doctorate. She works as a quantum field theorist in the field of condensed matter physics. This very challenging field requires a passion for mathematical abstraction as well as the desire to push the investigation of the quantum aspects of matter in details. She belongs to the tradition pioneered by the Fathers of Quantum Mechanics like Schrödinger or Pauli for whom the notion of separation between Science and Mystical experience is an illusion. At the San Rafael SAND conference in 2012 she met her current spiritual Teacher, Francis Lucille.
Marlies Cocheret de la MoriniEre, MA
With love, directness, and humor, Marlies invites our spirituality down from the clouds right into this human body experience. For more than 15 years she has been ushering seekers into the mysteries of awakened sexuality and living the divine in the body. Marlies works as a spiritual teacher, psychologist, a certified Hakomi therapist and a certified tantric educator internationally. She has been offering satsangs and retreats since 2000 when Adyashanti asked her to teach. Marlies is interviewed in ‘Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Wisdom’ by R.M. Robinson. www.marliescocheret.com.
Hans Laurentius
Hans Laurentius was originally trained as a spiritual therapy teacher (’94-’98). However in this same period advaita crossed his path and ended the search. Between ’98 and 2009 he organized hundreds of satsangs, weekend workshops and retreats, published six books, eight satsang cd’s and many articles. Since 2010 he mainly focuses on teaching people how to really feel or experience things completely. Consciousness never fights against or runs away from any experience so in regaining ones natural abilities one can become a real human being, instead of remaining in a child like awareness (or sleepwalking state) based on fear and avoidance. He now mostly works on an individual level, but has started giving satsang again. Individual sessions can be given in English. More info: www.hanslaurentius.nl.
Roeland de Looff
Roeland de Looff is a Master of Arts. He has studied social sciences at Utrecht University. He has specialized in the relationship between non duality and science. His main sources of inspiration are Albert Einstein, different neuro-scientists, Nisargadatta Maharaj and UG Krishnamurti. In his book 'You are Oneness' he writes about how science reveals that there is one energyfield only. The 'me' arises out of that energyfield. It is a tiny part of that. There is no independent me that is separate from that one energyfield. His website is www.youareoneness.com. Dutch website www.jijbenteenheid.nl.
Lothar Schäfer, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) of Physical ChemistryLothar Schäfer is a Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) of Physical Chemistry
at the University of Arkansas. His research in the areas of Physical Chemistry, Electron Diffraction, Applied Quantum Chemistry, and Computational Chemistry
led his team to develop the first real-time gas electron diffraction instrument in which diffraction data are recorded on-line, enabling the first pulsed-beam, Time-Resolved Electron Diffraction studies of laser-excited molecules. Additionally, they performed the first quantum chemical geometry determinations of peptide molecules, predicting structural trends in proteins a decade before they were experimentally observed.
He is the author of the book, "In Search of Divine Reality - Science as a Source of Inspiration which has been translated in Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Since 1998, Dr. Schaffer has given more than 160 public lectures in the US and abroad. He has been a guest on CUNY-TV and Chopra radio.
Jeff Warren
JournalistJeff Warren is an award-winning journalist, public speaker, and meditation teacher. He is the author of The Head Trip (Random House 2007), a travel guide to sleeping, dreaming and waking consciousness that critics called “enchanting,” “hilarious,” and “long.” Jeff has written for The New York Times, The New Scientist, Discover, and The Globe and Mail among others. He currently writes a regular column – “Inscapes” – for Psychology Tomorrow. Jeff is the President of The Consciousness Explorers Club, a meditation adventure group in downtown Toronto. He wears a pith helmet during all meditation sits and advises his students to do the same.
Éric Baret
Without either diploma or culture, Éric Baret has no special competence. Touched by the non-dual tradition through Jean Klein's teaching, he proposes that one turns towards listening, free of any notion of gain. Nothing taught, no teacher.Meetings for the joy of being nothing. http://www.bhairava.ws/
Prajnaparamita
Born and living in the Netherlands, Prajnaparamita has been in search of her true nature all her life. Initially investigating and studying psychology, religion and philosophy, she eventually met a truly awakened soul and surrendered her heart, her mind and her life. Over several decades Prajnaparamita received a rich vista of non-dual teachings: Advaita Vedanta, Mahayana Buddhism, Zen and Ch'an. After her enlightenment, more than a decade ago, Prajnaparamita was assigned by her spiritual Master, ShantiMayi, to be a Guru herself and 'spread the light all over the world.' Since then she has unceasingly offered satsang and intensives worldwide, inspiring all who are longing to awaken to their inherent Buddha nature. Her teachings are no teachings really. In the togetherness of the satsang, in her response to questions being asked about all aspects of life, there is a spontaneous expression of universal truth, as an ongoing encouragement to come to rest in natural peace. http://www.prajnaparamita.nl
Paul Smit
Who is Paul Smit? There is actually no Paul Smit! However, there is consciousness and within this consciousness, a body / mind system called Paul Smit arises. In this game called ‘life’ this appearance Paul Smit plays its role. As a teenager he had a love for philosophy and in 1999 he graduated with an essay about ‘the evolution of the human consciousness.’ He realized that our free will is an illusion. When nonduality came on its path, it became clear to him that one thing was overlooked. Namely, that our individuality is also imaginary! This insight led to a profound sense of liberation. About nonduality he wrote the books. ‘Het Kosmisch Plan’, ‘De zoektocht naar Tao’, ‘De 10 flirtgeboden’, ‘Praten over bewustzijn’, ‘Nondualiteit voor managers’ en ‘Verlichting voor luie mensen.’
Rita Venturini
Neuroscientist, ArtistRita is constantly curious of the place were you can lose yourself into the Self. She has explored this from many perspectives painting, sculpting, dancing, moving and researching. What is that creates the sense of self in our mind? What is that can allow us to let it go? She is engaged in practicing this while also understanding its mechanisms. At the moment she is looking for how our sense of confidence has a role in this puzzle at the Center for the Unknown in beautiful Lisbon, Portugal. You can find some of the ways she plays with these ideas at www.blueheartplanet.org
EMMANUEL DROUET Ph.D.
Funnily enough when he started studying the sciences, Emmanuel thought he was researching the mysteries of the material world, which, up to a point is true; but the deeper he looked and looks, the more he sees that everything which is so –called material ie of matter, relies entirely on that which lives it. Recently, he has noticed more that the patterns of behavior of microorganisms, follow similar patterns, as our own lives… ie something meets something else… and can go on morphing into other forms. Depending on the reactions of all these meetings, it turns into phenomena which in some cases we call good and others bad. Eventually and bizarrely, witnessing this play of life at a microscopic level, reminds him of characters in Shakespeare’s plays. Based on clinical observations, Emmanuel Drouet pioneered experiments about the positive role of some viruses (human herpes viruses, human endogenous retroviruses) on human health. His studies shed a new light on microbial agents, behaving alternatively in a cooperative or destructive way depending on the environment they find themselves in. Emmanuel explains how this shows us the same life living the 'universality' of biological patterns manifesting in nature throughout all the magnitudes. He has published over 65 book chapters and journal articles in clinical microbiology and immunology as well as fundamental biology.
Matthew Schoening
Electric CelloMy name is Matthew Schoening (Shane-Ing). I play electric cello through a complex process of live looping. This means that I can record myself live, and instantly play back what I just recorded, while playing on top of it or adding to it. This results in a solo performance that can sound like a full band, or even an entire symphony. For more info please visit: http://www.soloelectriccello.com/
Joost Breeksema
President, Open FoundationFounded in 2007, the OPEN Foundation is an non-profit interdisciplinary organisation that stimulates serious scientific research into all aspects of the psychedelic experience. One of OPEN's foremost goals is to draw the attention of academic researchers towards this promising scientific subject, by organizing lectures and conferences at universities, such as Mind Altering Science in 2010 and the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research in 2012. OPEN believes in spreading objective information on both the potential and the risks of psychedelics, and intends to decrease the scientific taboo that still surrounds the study of psychedelics. The OPEN Foundation also functions as a central node in an ever increasing network of national and international experts in the field of psychedelic research and treatment. A central focus in the coming years will be the facilitation and funding of psychedelic research in the Netherlands, thereby lowering the threshold for researching psychedelic substances and their potential application in therapy. http://www.stichtingopen.nl/en/
Bernardo Kastrup
Bernardo Kastrup has a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering and has worked as a scientist in some of the world's foremost research laboratories, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the "Casimir Effect" of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has authored many scientific papers and three philosophy books: Rationalist Spirituality, Dreamed up Reality, and Meaning in Absurdity. Bernardo has also been an entrepreneur and founder of two high-tech businesses. Today, he holds a managerial position in the high-tech industry. In parallel, he maintains a philosophy blog and is busy writing a fourth book; a grand synthesis of his metaphysics. Bernardo has lived and worked in four different countries across continents. He currently resides in the Netherlands. http://www.bernardokastrup.com
RICHARD LANG
Richard Lang spends most of his time working to make more available the Headless Way – a modern, experimental way home to who we really are. Richard discovered headlessness in 1970 when he met Douglas Harding, author of On Having No Head. They became friends. Since then he has travelled widely giving hundreds of workshops, written two books and produced a CD and videos that share the headless way experiments. He is part of a world-wide community of friends who value headlessness. Richard set up headless.org and is encouraged by the growing numbers of people who visit, do the experiments, and see who they really are.http://www.headless.org/
Nathalie Delay
Artist and Non-duality TeacherShaivism of Kashmir, and particularly its Pratyabhijñâ (recognize and realize the Self spontaneously) lineage, is a non-dual authentic tradition. Nathalie began teaching in 2007, at the request of Daniel Odier, her master, after thirteen years of study and practice with him. She is a painter and her creative subtleness can be found in her original and spontaneous way to teach. She embodies perfectly the ideal of Pratyabhijna, which resorts to no ritual, no form and no stratagem, but proposes a direct dive into the source of the Self. She is teaching in Europe, California and Canada, offering evening satsangs, weekend workshops and intensive weeklong retreats. www.nathaliedelay.com
James Parker
James apprenticed in the magic arts from the age of ten, during his teens he performed on stage and television and in his twenties won many magic awards. It was here that he started meditating and understanding life intensively, exploring philosophical teachings such as Zen, the independent philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti and many works within this non dual field. Over the years James has been studying life from many different perspectives, and this process has steered him towards creating a unique style of magic coined philosophical illusion. He is ‘now’ performing his new show ‘In Search of the Miraculous! An Evening of Philosophical Illusion’, sharing his experiences and demonstrating this mysterious and inscrutable phenomena. James sees that magic is a serious art because it questions the very foundations of human perception. http://www.jamesparkermagic.co.uk
Lisa Cairns
Lisa talks worldwide with people about non-duality. Oneness. The aliveness that always is - no matter what is imagined in it – subject/object, good/bad, right/wrong, beauty/ugly, me/you. It has always been this – life undivided – with a bittersweet daydream of separation. She points to the illusory dream of “I” which seems to give the energetic appearance of separation from life itself, and to the boundless freedom that has always been here – that never left and was never lost. www.lisacairns.com
Gary Weber
Gary Weber has a Ph.D. in physical sciences and worked in national labs, industry, and academia in R&D and management. Simultaneously, he completed over 20,000 hrs of self-inquiry and yoga, culminating with the sudden falling away of the “I” and the loss of self-referential thought, desires and fears. Since then, he has taught, authored “Happiness Beyond Thought: A Practical Guide to Awakening”, a blog and several articles and made many presentations on nonduality and neuroscience at various conferences and universities. He has been a subject and collaborator in cognitive neuroscience and meditation studies at Baumann Institute, IONS, CSNSC, Yale and NYU. www.happiness-beyond-thought.com.
Yasmin Bar-Dor
Yasmin Bar-Dor, artist and Certified Breema Instructor at the Breema Center in Oakland, California, has been presenting “Breema: The Art of Being Present” for the past thirteen years at conferences, universities, and to different groups all over the U.S. and internationally. When Yasmin discovered Breema in 1998, she found that this teaching offered her a road map to truly enter into the essential questions she had been exploring all her life. As a lifelong student of Self-understanding, Yasmin is enthusiastic about introducing Breema’s practical philosophy and working with others in an atmosphere that’s supported by Breema’s principles of No Judgment and Mutual Support.
Chiara Robbiano
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University College UtrechtDr. Chiara Robbiano is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University College Utrecht (NL). She published the book Becoming Being. On Parmenides' transformative philosophy, and many articles on Ancient Greek Philosophy (see also: http://files.chiararobbiano.net/cv/CVCR.html). She teaches and researches in the fields of Western and Comparative Philosophy. She has always been interested in the method used by philosophers to transform their audience. She is now working at a comparison of Parmenides' and Shankara's methods to let their audience unlearn mental schemes (like space, time, subject–object) that fragment reality —so that they attain the non-dual experience of Being/Brahman. She also uses neuro-scientific findings to shed light on philosophical categories.
TANG
Pointing to the invisible with music is easy by simply touching the heart. Tang performs with his favorite instruments: Piano + Voice telling stories about life and the peaceful inner world deep inside of us. Bringing Classical Music and Jazz into Piano Rock & Pop may describe his musical style. Tang worked as an performing artist, studio musician and producer in the 80ties and 90ties before his perspective on life changed radically – resulting in giving seminars and workshops about »Creating Personal Reality« and later - after meeting with the Dalai Lama - about »Perfectly Happy without Desire«. Living and growing with his two young sons gave him a different focus in life. He stopped traveling, but wrote two spiritual books during that time. Now it seems like music is strongly finding its way back into Tang’s life. In 2013 he will start playing live concerts again. German website: www.tangsworld.de
Emma Devi
Emma is a professionally trained dancer however her favorite dance has always been the free style trance-dance experienced beyond the steps and routine moves. She sees dance as a tool to embrace and rekindle the inner radiance and how to allow the body to realign within. Emma's spiritual quest began in her late teens when she was introduced to meditation and holistic way of life. She is a certified kids yoga teacher, nutritionist and a mother of two. Emma is a keen chef who implements her interests in Ayurveda and conscious eating, which she skillfully combines with her daily chores whilst traveling Central Asia, Europe and Central America with her spouse and teacher Igor Kufayev.
Alexandre Quaranta
Alexandre studied philosophy with great passion and has a special interest for eastern doctrines, transpersonal psychology and the phenomenology of non-ordinary states of consciousness. His passion for movies has also led him to study screenplay writing and editing. Besides this, he has developed an original workshop on lucid dreaming and dream yoga that he teaches since 1993, and he also offers workshops on meditation, yoga nidra and some specific adapatation of tantric yoga. He has written two books on contemplation, pure self awareness and lucid dreaming. These books are available in French, may be soon in english. He lives in South of France. www.iamdreaming.com (update in progress).
Nukunu
Nukunu was born 1947 in Denmark, he holds a Bachelor in Philosophy and a Master in Social Science. He has worked as a psychotherapist and given lectures on Gestalt, Psychodrama, Primal Therapy, N.L.P. and Meditation for 35 years. Over that period of time he was student of living teachers like Osho Rajneesh, Punjaji, Hansraj Maharaji. After a radical awakening experience in March 1995 his work gradually changed and got focus on transmitting the non-dual. This work is the most important in his Satsangs, courses and Meditation Retreats. Although he doesn’t belong to any religion or particular spiritual path he uses what he likes in the different spiritual traditions.
Filippo Carli
FilmmakerRome 30 04 1966, photographer since 9 years old, painter from 1988 to 1997, filmaker from 1999. In his work he stay close to reality, mirroring back a symbolic vision of life. Through the images he try to renew the contact with the silent mind and the living moment.
Paul van der Sterren
Paul van der Sterren was born in Holland in 1956. While in High School he became infatuated with the game of chess and when he left school he became a professional player. After a long and fairly successful career he quit the tournament circuit in 2001 and started writing (chess) books. While still an active player he began practicing Buddhist vipassana meditation in 1998 until this suddenly came to an end in 2006. Since then spiritual seeking has disappeared from his life although he remains interested in the phenomenon. His book Verlichting in een lege verpakking (Enlightenment in an empty box) reflects on this process. http://paulvandersterren.nl.
Mauro Bergonzi
Mauro Bergonzi has been teaching Religions and Philosophies of India at the Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale” since 1985. He is also a member of I.A.A.P. (International Association for Analytical Psychology) and of C.I.P.A. (Centro Italiano di Psicologia Analitica). He is author of academic essays and articles on Oriental Philosophies, Comparative Religion, Psychology of Mysticism and Transpersonal Psychology. Since 1970, he has practiced meditation (mainly within Buddhist, Taoist and Vedānta traditions), always preserving a non-confessional and non-dogmatic approach. After a natural and spontaneous fading out of both seeking and the seeker, only a radical non dualism prevailed in him. In this respect, his long-standing familiarity with the teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj, Jiddu Krishnamurti and Tony Parsons was crucial. In the last ten years, he has been invited to give regular sat-sang in Italy. A survey of the non dual communication occurring in these meetings has been published in the book Il sorriso segreto dell’essere (Mondadori).
Jarrah
This is naked music from stillness to storm, perspective from the infinite, fire and tenderness that feeds the soul. A nourishing bitter-sweet love affair with inner peace and the mystery of our existence.
Jarrah’s voice is music from the inside out, with rough edges which crack and melt into sweet clarity – leaving you with nothing but the simple truth.
RIK SPANN
M.A. Rik Spann is an Amsterdam-based musicologist, musician, performer and conceptual artist. He is the founder of Inner Rocket Science and Get Up & Rock!, two organizations that combine science, psychology, art, music, theatre and business consultancy to offer a unique blend of services and products, aiming at solving personal and organizational issues by focusing on underlying mental aspects. After more than 1500 shows, exhibitions and training/coaching sessions in more than 10 countries his performances – according to his fans referring to the likes of John Cleese, Andy Kaufman, Bobby McFerrin, Harold Pinter et al – offer valuable insights, after at first leaving the audience in a state of slight, pleasant confusion.
Amoda Maa Jeevan
Amoda offers a gentle yet uncompromising pointer to authentic freedom. Her message of Radical Awakening has evolved out a direct experience of awakened presence amidst a "dark night of the soul". Today this non-dual awareness is embodied as a living reality amidst the mystery of life and she offers satsangs and retreats to a growing global community. Amoda is the author of How to Find God in Everything and Change Your Life, Change Your World and is currently working on a third book called Radical Awakening. She is also the founder of the Foundation for Conscious Change, a non-profit organisation that supports her teaching. http://www.AmodaMaaJeevan.com
Dj Shanto
Dj Shanto is the founder of the Club Lite in Amsterdam. He has been part of the Dutch dance scene for many years and became well known for popular dance parties like "Nataraj" and "Techno on bare feet." Dancing to Dj Shanto beats is an adventurous trip to an unknown destination. www.nataraj.info
