“Meditation offers us a rare opportunity to practice having an open heart in a truly safe environment where there's nothing we need to protect ourselves from. In meditation, we can practice letting down our guard, allowing ourselves to feel life fully and completely in each moment. This opens the door to deep and profound experiences that were previously inaccessible to us.” —Craig HamiltonWelcome to Episode 12 of our podcast series! In this episode, Craig takes us on a journey into the depths of awakened consciousness, exploring the profound transformation of the heart.In “Opening the Heart: Meditation as a Doorway to Emotional Freedom,” Craig delves into the beauty of an open heart, a hallmark of awakened awareness. As we awaken to our true nature, we often find our hearts opening in ways we've never experienced, touching us with both the splendor and the struggles of the world.Many of us on the spiritual path yearn for the expansiveness of an open heart, along with the deeper sense of connection and boundless compassion it brings with it. But embracing this level of sensitivity can feel daunting, stirring up feelings of vulnerability and overwhelm.In this episode, Craig explores how meditation can serve as a sanctuary for our hearts to open. Through meditation practice, we can create a safe space to cultivate radical empathy, embracing the full spectrum of the human experience with courage and compassion.Join us as Craig uncovers the transformative power of meditation for nurturing an open heart, allowing us to embrace life's joys and sorrows with empathy and grace.To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on https://www.MeditationChangesEverything.com. If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at: FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

“As people awaken, they become ambassadors for good. For an evolved morality that cares infinitely, and burns with a deep love for the greater good. Inherent in that care is an impulse toward oneness, unity, and wholeness. It feels like nothing is separate from me. I'm not separate from this whole. I care about the whole thing equally. That's how it manifests.” —Craig Hamilton In this episode, Craig explores one of the truly great mysteries of awakening—the profound truth of non-duality, or as it’s more commonly known: oneness. As spiritual seekers, most of us intuitively believe in the idea of oneness. Yet we live in a world that on the surface appears to be made up of separate things. The discovery of oneness or non-duality reveals to us that we are not in fact separate from the world and cosmos in which we find ourselves. Beneath the appearance of separateness and division, reality is a single, unified whole. But what does it really mean that, in its essence, everything is One? And what kind of meditation practice can open the door to this life-changing discovery? In this episode, Craig dives into the core of what non-duality really means, and sheds light on some of the most common misunderstandings surrounding the idea of oneness. He also addresses the question: “If everything has the same sacred essence, how do we account for the evil and destructiveness in our world?” Please note that this episode includes a 10-minute guided meditation. We encourage you to listen when you’re in a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com.

“Anybody who aspires to awaken to their true nature must be willing to let go of everything that provides them with security, certainty, and familiarity . It doesn’t mean it all goes away. We just have to let it go. We have to let go of our grasping onto anything at all. And that requires a passionate drive to awaken. We have to really want it.” —Craig Hamilton This episode is the first in a 3-part series where Craig explores what it means to anchor your practice in a set of foundational pillars. Once in place, these first principles of meditation make the difference between whether meditation is easy or hard and whether you get stuck on the surface or dive into the warm depths of your own meditative heart. Often when we approach meditation, we receive the instructions, sit down, and try to put them into practice. But for most of us, it’s not enough to merely follow the instructions. There’s a step we have to take before any of that if we want to reap the transformative fruits of our practice. We need to create a rock solid foundation for our practice. And when we do, it can make all the difference. In Part One of this series, Craig focuses on two foundations that can empower and fuel your practice: motivation and intention. When our motivation to practice is paired with a strong intention, it can light a fire within us, providing fuel and passion for our growth and development. Craig also explores how to get out from under the critical voice in our head—the one that often dominates and dampens our meditation. This helps us cultivate the playful, experimental, and curious spirit we need to nurture for our practice to deepen and thrive. To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com

“Spiritual awakening or enlightenment is about the discovery that we don't just have a human nature and an animal nature. We have a supernature. Which means there's another dimension of who and what we are that is a spiritual essence, a super essence.” —Craig HamiltonIn this episode, Craig explores what may be meditation’s greatest promise: the remarkable discovery of our superhuman nature. We’re all familiar with the idea of human nature. It governs our behavior as individuals and as a species. But is there another dimension of who and what we are that, once revealed, can empower and free us to live an extraordinary life? As Craig explores in this episode, meditation can be the key that unlocks the door to a “supernature,” unleashing a set of remarkable higher potentials that are already latent within us. These “supercapacities” include spontaneous wisdom, deep inner strength and resilience, heightened sensitivity and empathy, and dynamic creativity.Rather than laboring to develop these capacities one at a time, we can engage in meditative practices designed to open us to the source of all of these potentials, ultimately propelling us into a profound new experience of being alive. To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com.

“Spiritual equanimity is not about feeling content with the world, it’s about being content no matter what you’re feeling. It’s about being at ease whether you feel easeful or not. And we all have access to this. It’s part of our true nature.” —Craig HamiltonNearly all of us aspire to be more centered and grounded, especially when the strong winds of chaos or crisis threaten to pull us off track.On the spiritual path, this quality is often referred to as equanimity. When we learn how to access equanimity in meditation, we suddenly find we can remain centered, non-reactive and present no matter what happens to us, even when we feel triggered by events in the world. This enlightened capacity gives us the ability to navigate life’s challenges with wisdom, compassion and strength. But where does this extraordinary capacity come from? In this episode, Craig challenges the common assumption that equanimity means being detached from what happens in this world, and explains how true equanimity arises when we become rooted in something much deeper, more profound, and ultimately sacred that underlies everything that happens.Listen as Craig shares three different ways we can access this profound capacity, inviting you to step directly into the unshakeable core of who you already are.To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s approach to meditation, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com.

“As we get deeper into it, we begin to realize that the real benefits of meditation ultimately transcend any of our personal wants, needs, and desires and we’re really awakening and evolving as part of a greater process that's happening in consciousness and in life and in the cosmos. The real benefits are for the whole.” –Craig Hamilton For many of us, the desire for inner peace, greater wisdom or spiritual enlightenment is what called us onto the spiritual path. However, meditation teachers frequently warn us that wanting any results from our practice can actually take us off course and prevent us from accessing the extraordinary potential of genuine awakening. This presents us with both a fascinating paradox and a sacred opportunity. In this episode, Craig dives into the heart of this apparent paradox, inviting us to discover for ourselves what it means to meditate without any agenda whatsoever. During this 20-minute guided inquiry and meditation, he asks us to consider, “why does wanting something become an obstacle in meditation, and what would it be like to give ourselves to the meditation for its own sake, wanting nothing in return?” Then, he guides us into an experience of the freedom and fullness that comes from not needing anything at all.  If you haven’t already, we also encourage you to tune in to our previous episode, The Life-Changing Power of Letting Go: Part One, in which Craig creates a powerful, evolutionary context for this practice, illuminating how letting go of wanting can connect us to a deeper imperative to evolve for the greatest good. To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com.  If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s meditation experiments, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com.

“Spirituality is no longer about leaving the world. It's about letting go of the world inwardly so we can become a spiritual revolutionary in the world. So we can bring forth a revolution of the human spirit and become an evolutionary actor.” –Craig Hamilton Letting go of our attachments can free us to do the right things for the right reasons. But it doesn’t stop there — there's a bigger reason to let go! Ultimately, we let go to become available to a source beyond our personal wants. As Craig says, we open to the “exhilarating energy and creativity of the evolutionary impulse.” In this week’s episode, Craig shines a light on what it really means to “let go” in meditation. He illuminates the often subtle ways in which our preferences and desires can distort our perception, and how the meditative practice of letting go of wanting opens the door to an extraordinary life aligned with our highest values and empowered by the impulse of evolution itself. As we release the need to control reality, we discover ourselves to be naturally, inherently and passionately committed to uplifting the world around us. To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. Also, if you’d like to try a guided meditation with Craig on letting go, check out this short meditation on his blog, Guided Meditation: The Art of Letting Go.  If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s meditation experiments, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com.

“When you’re awake to your true nature…there’s a fundamental satisfaction that’s untouched by anything that happens. It doesn’t stop you from being an evolutionary force in the world — quite the opposite. It can make you quite the evolutionary revolutionary but all from a place of profound contentment with what is.” There are hundreds — possibly thousands — of different kinds of spiritual experiences. They can be wonderful and transformational, and propel us on the spiritual path. Spiritual awakening, however, is not any of these experiences. It is a very particular kind of realization of who we are beyond any experience. What happens after spiritual awakening changes the way we experience everything going forward. In this week’s episode, Craig shares two life-altering insights at the core of spiritual awakening. When these insights come together, they not only transform our understanding of who we are — they revolutionize our entire experience of being alive. Listen to discover how spiritual awakening changes the ways we interpret experiences, explore ideas, relate to others, make choices, envision future possibilities, and more. Craig also explores how we can practice living from the posture of awakening right now — because it’s already who we are. To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s meditation experiments, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com.

“The main event of a human life is the fact of awareness, and yet we almost never notice its existence. We’re always focused on things that arise within awareness. But something extraordinary happens to us when we learn to bring our attention to the seat of awareness itself.” At the heart of meditation lies the mystery of our own awareness. When we allow our attention to release its fixation on the outer world of objects, we begin to become aware of the vast expanse of awareness itself. In this episode, Craig guides us on an experiential journey into the nature of our own awareness. He asks us to consider the relationship between our outer reality and the mysterious inner world in which that outer reality is experienced. Then, he invites us to explore one of the greatest mysteries of the inner world — the self. Who really is the self and is it any different from consciousness? What would happen if we allowed ourselves to be fully captured by consciousness, or awareness, itself? This episode includes several periods of meditation, so please plan to listen when you are in a safe, quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.  To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. For a deeper experience of Craig’s approach to meditation, consider joining our Awakened Life membership program which offers in-depth guidance, a meditation workshop, and a live online retreat with Craig. Register today to receive your first month for 50% off at AwakenedLifeMembership.com.

“Meditation is not about having a profound experience every time you practice. It’s about consistency and openness to possibility. It invites an ongoing revelation that arises mysteriously until it ultimately overtakes us with its power.” – Craig Hamilton  Spiritual practice offers us various gateways through which we can directly experience the profound freedom of awakened consciousness. In this episode, Craig leads us through a series of “meditation experiments” that guide us beyond the mind’s obstructions into this remarkably accessible experience of inner freedom. He then shares how meditation practice allows us to access and express awakened consciousness more consistently in our daily lives.  In this episode, we’re offering something experiential. As Craig leads us through several inquiries and periods of guided meditation, he encourages us to notice that meditation is actually always already happening. In any moment, we can recognize that nothing is ultimately missing and that nothing needs to be known by the mind for us to access the freedom of our true nature.   Please don’t attempt to listen to this episode while driving or doing anything else that requires your attention. To get the full benefit of the guided meditations, we encourage you to listen when you are in a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.   To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s meditation experiments, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com.If you would like to share your experience of the podcast or have questions about Craig's teachings, please feel free to email us at support@craighamiltonglobal.com.

“You don’t need to have a quiet mind to meditate. In fact, having a quiet mind really limits the potential of your meditation because meditation isn’t about just sitting in a still, calm, empty place. It’s a path for gaining insight into the nature of the mind — insight into the nature of reality.” – Craig Hamilton  In this episode, Craig explores what it really means to be “free from the mind” in meditation. You’re probably familiar with the idea that meditation is about going beyond the mind, but how do we actually do this? And why does it often seem so difficult?  Craig shares three perspectives on one of the most common confusions people encounter when starting a meditation practice—the misconception that the goal in meditation is to have a quiet mind.  Craig confronts us with the fact that the only reason we find it hard to let go of the mind is that we’re interested in what the mind is telling us. What if we became even more interested in what lies beyond the mind?  To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. For a deeper experience of Craig’s approach to meditation, consider joining our Awakened Life membership program which offers in-depth guidance, a meditation workshop, and a live online retreat with Craig. Register today to receive your first month for 50% off at AwakenedLifeMembership.com.If you would like to share your experience of the podcast or have questions about Craig's teachings, please feel free to email us at support@craighamiltonglobal.com.

“Meditation contains the seeds of a revolution that can transform every aspect of our lives, and ultimately all life on Earth.” – Craig Hamilton   Can meditation really change everything? It’s a big claim — and in our inaugural podcast episode, Craig invites us on a journey into this possibility. He guides us beyond meditation’s many practical, emotional, cognitive, and relational benefits to the “supercapacities” of awakened consciousness that can serve us and our world.  What happens when we shift our relationship to meditation itself — from seeing it as a practice for health and wellbeing to a daily doorway into spiritual awakening? What changes in our lives when we begin living from the depths of our true nature, in touch with the inherent meaning of life and connected to our highest virtues?  In this episode, you’ll hear about some of the extraordinary capabilities that start to emerge when we awaken. You may also sense how our actions in the world can become exponentially more significant than they were prior to the emergence of awakened consciousness within us. Craig also explores why meditation is one of the most potent practices we have to catalyze spiritual awakening and how it offers us an opportunity to give all of our attention to practicing being awake.  To access the full transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on MeditationChangesEverything.com. For a deeper experience of Craig’s approach to meditation, consider joining our Awakened Life membership program. Each month, you’ll receive four guided meditations, a meditation workshop, and a live online retreat with Craig. Register today to receive your first month for 50% off at AwakenedLifeMembership.com.If you’re interested in exploring more of Craig’s meditation experiments, you’re invited to tune in to a 90-minute online workshop Craig will be hosting called Meditation 2.0 – The Miracle of Direct Awakening. Register for free at FreeMeditationWorkshop.com.If you would like to share your experience of the podcast or have questions about Craig's teachings, please feel free to email us at support@craighamiltonglobal.com.