What Are the Obstacles to Awakening?

Effortless Mindfulness with Loch Kelly

In this podcast episode, Loch explores the three main obstacles to awakening. As part of the Effortless Mindfulness Awakening Process, he emphasizes the importance of having a map, a method, and markers to help us understand where we are on the path at any given time. In Effortless Mindfulness, that map is called the Five Levels of Mind, and Loch spends time illuminating the different levels. He then goes on to pinpoint the three biggest obstacles that prevent us from truly awakening to and abiding in the deeper levels of our being.

The Three Main Obstacles

The first obstacle to awakening is that many people have an incomplete map of the awakening process. That means people often start on the path of awakening but don’t always have the necessary tools to follow through.

The second obstacle to awakening is our confusion around what to do with our common experience of ego identity. Many psychologies try to balance and strengthen our ego while many meditation systems ask us to see the ego as an illusion that’s unnecessary. Loch leads us in a glimpse to appreciate our “ego” or “problem solve” identity and then shift out of it as the center but to include it as a helpful part of us.

And the third major obstacle to awakening is spiritual bypassing and getting lost in the mistaken assumption that delightful spiritual experiences of pure awareness, no self, peace, and ecstasy are the end point of awakening. Instead, Loch emphasizes an awake, embodied, and heart-based connection to the community of life.

Loch unpacks these obstacles in depth. He stresses the importance of thanking and acknowledging all the parts of oneself, including protectors and exiles. He also highlights why off-the-cushion practices and entering flow are essential to integrating awakening into daily life, promoting a sense of peace, well-being, and optimal functioning.

Guided Glimpse Practice

[00:22:02] The episode features Loch offering a guided glimpse practice called “The Everyday Problem Solver Is the Obstacle.” These mindful glimpses serve as invaluable tools for experiencing ways to access the awake consciousness that is already here within all of us.

You can now explore all of Loch Kelly's practices and teachings on the new Mindful Glimpses app, found at https://lochkelly.org/mindful-glimpses. This innovative meditation and wellness app offers daily micro-meditations, step-by-step programs, and simple-yet-advanced tools for awakening.

Loch Kelly Bio

Loch is the creator of the Mindful Glimpses app and an award-winning author, psychotherapist, and nondual meditation teacher. He is known for his unique practical methods that support awakening as the next natural stage of human development. Backed by modern neuroscience and psychology, Loch introduces Effortless Mindfulness, which combines an ancient form of nondual meditation and IFS psychology that allows immediate access to our embodied awake nature which arises as our calm, clear, and compassionate healing capacity.

Connect with Loch:

Mobile App: https://lochkelly.org/mindful-glimpses
Website: https://lochkelly.org/
Podcast: https://lochkelly.org/podcast
Donate: https://lochkelly.org/donate

The Effortless Mindfulness Podcast is brought to you by our 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. Our mission is to make learning how to tap into your inner resources simple, teachable, and accessible to everyone.