Meeting the Goddess of Consciousness, Sally Kempton

The non-dual tantric traditions describe individual human consciousness as a fractal of the creative universal consciousness that is the source of all life. As such, it is the creative playground of subtle ‘feminine’ energies called shaktis, which can either contract consciousness or expand it. This insight has profound implications for practice, and is at the heart of deep feminine spirituality. In this class, we’ll look at practical and experiential pathways for expanding consciousness, based on the practice traditions of Kashmir Shaivism.
Sally Kempton is a powerful teacher of applied non-dual wisdom, known for her ability to kindle meditative states in others, and to help students apply non-dual awareness to practical life. She teaches teleclasses, retreats, and workshops, appearing regularly at conference centers such as Esalen and Kripalu. Sally is the author of Meditation for the Love of It, which one reviewer called “the meditation book your heart wants you to read.” She writes a regular column, Wisdom, for Yoga Journal, as well as a column called Meditation for Life on the Internet religious site Patheos.com. A former swami in a Vedic order, Sally trained for thirty years in the close company of two enlightened masters. Sally’s teachings are based on Kashmir Shaiva tantra, and combine the wisdom of that tradition with the practical understandings of contemporary psychology and Integral theory.
www.sallykempton.com

[@debramcgonnell3631]

Relistening this talk and practice is the gift that I needed today to honor this great teacher. Thank you, Sally. ❤

[@SJ_Waves]

So grateful for Sally Kempton ❤️ 😀

[@beejlobo]

So grateful for this great Being. She was the beautiful expression of the triple Goddess and i love how she used her fierce gentleness with all the man-splaining. Jai Ma Durgananda. 🙏🏼

[@BreatheFeelAwaken]

I love these teachings. When I have hosted or interviewed Sally on the topics of awakening, she is a favorite. She is a teacher of uniting the Divine feminine and Sacred masculine within. The Goddess piece relates to the the embodiment experience of feeling as gate to experiencing liberation. She is a voice for love and ecstasy as the path of awakening. If you have tasted he nectar of liberation, you know this energy and what is possible. It is truly not an intellectual process so I can see how there is resistance here on a mental level. Sitting with Sally in meditation is a whole different experience.

[@3877michael]

Much respect for where she reached.. The teachings have legs and can stand the test of time.. Loads of people have the Idea of Nonduality as a fixed measurable state.. Is sad because it is really both a void and absolutely inclusive of all states.. So the resistance is from a limited view quite polarized... We don’t transcend duality we embody it fully and for the west the Goddess is much needed to be embodied fully. The basic 4 steps of duality and polarity are first one poll exclusively then 2 the other poll embodied fully then 3 the embodiment of the middle with the first and second poll balanced and flexible.. When this balanced state is embodied then you can see clearly 4 it is not this or this... Without embodying the four states you have only a left brain idea of nonduality.. But nonduality is actually an absolute inclusivity of all states along with no states.. NO exclusions needed. No conditions required..

[@francisfischer7620]

Beautiful voice. Thank you for respecting the female voice, which is so much abused. You are a rare woman. Bless you.

[@lnbartstudio2713]

Many artists, as creative people of all kinds, will understand this. This is one exceptional way of describing the creative force that is manifested physically and is encountered and felt in the artist studio and also on the street day to day. For the creative person - 'artist' - this seems to be the difference between Seeing and Looking where seeing deepens intuitively and looking projects to only surfaces. How creative we all are !!! Thank you for this.

[@pencilporcelain]

A wonderful teacher. So grateful for this share of divine knowledge!!!

[@belletollz]

I loved the meditation she did so much I got her CD"doorways to the infinite" and am loving it. I love how body based it is , unlike so many meditation practices.

[@williamolenchenko5772]

Nice guided meditation. I have always enjoyed Sally Kemption (formerly Swami Durgananda).

[@francescobertoldi6188]

"She who creates, She who disguises herself, She who loves and She who awakens!"

[@lindavandewall4925]

Thank you for your wisdom Sally.

[@ardaraith]

That was beautiful. She leaps up in us!

[@kaiworleyphotography]

Beautiful talk and meditation, thank you :)

[@Trashette1]

My experience of God has been a female manifestation. Regardless of what anyone says to the contrary, this is my experience.

[@xhen12]

Trashette1 ❤️❤️❤️

[@waldwassermann]

Perhaps Male and Female are One and the same. ;-)

[@helenormes404]

Thank you, very powerful meditation x

[@linavu5834]

Kundalini awaken is the beginning of first step in a 1000+ miles journey

[@MareSimone1]

That was a lovely meditation... ended too soon.

[@RasiliOConnor]

For anyone searching the name of the goddess spoken of by Sally @14:51~ 'Bhuvaneshwari'

[@kaiworleyphotography]

Thank you! I have just been trying to find her name :)

[@Umi-imU-We-Are-One]

It is very revealing that most of the resistance, and negative comments are coming from men

[@ThePlugTurtle]

its revealing how all the positive comments are from women, putting feminimity on as pedestal is rediculious, gender is nothing but god given circumstances and has nothing to do with spirituality/enlightenment

[@septillionsuns]

very telling, yes.

[@nesovicmarko]

do you even know why there are "negative comments"? because Shiva is literally "the Lord who is half female", and suddenly consciousness is feminine? it's a limitation of english language, because when you refer to 'consciousness' as 'that' in sanskrit it has a female denominator. The speaker ENTIRELY missed the point, so that this talk is not about Kashmir Shaivism but on FEMINISM which is absolutely DISGUSTING. It's like telling a story about holocaust on a childrens' birthday party.

[@nesovicmarko]

1 more thing. why have the nondual masters worshipped the feminine goddess? because it is LITERALLY 'awareness of light' (vimarsha) which takes you to 'THE light' (prakasha)... metaphorically speaking, the mother introduces you to the father. has nothing to do with GENDER

[@septillionsuns]

+alio op she is saying that she is using the female aspect /in this discourse/. she is not limiting. she is speaking /an aspect/. What of shakti? Obviously the feminine aspect/goddess aspect of consciousness challenges your vain notions of pride. Good.

[@MPress-nd5bv]

It's undeniable that the birthing process of both the physical and the spiritual have their beginnings through the Goddess or Mother. The founding religious patriarchs were in truth, practicing Matriarchal spirituality ( direct spirituality), which is the transpersonal awakening process known as "baptism" - the re-birthing of our divine nature... union with source consciousness.. - Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and of spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit - John 3:4

[@ericfagan3021]

Goddess bless

[@jkm3297]

Very nice meditation

[@aracknidd]

Don Jaun of Carlos Castaneda, says the inorganic world of individualized entities that form non-ordinary reality are basically female and that male energy is relatively rare in this huge domain. However, he says that the practice of the 'Fire Within' changes the seer perhaps like ascension and that this experience would actually lead to non-dual consciousness. For me, I am sticking to the idea in yoga philosophy where it is said that God is “sat chit ananda” (existence consciousness bliss).

[@CT2507]

yoga is not compatible with the books of Carlos Castaneda. Castanedas path of the Brujo, sorcerer, is demonic witch craft and leads to an opening up towards darkness. all the initiations in his books involve, fear, confrontations with dark beings with the risk of dying, and other dark tendencies. yoga distances itself from all of that.

[@lnbartstudio2713]

Hello Shakti ! I see you are offering a bad hair day in many of the comments below! Thanks sincerely for reminding us, through the viciousness they show, that bliss itself is provoking the heart of desire however unskilled it may be !.

[@sawtoothiandi]

when the scales tip too far to one side as they have done for millennia/by necessity by law/they will tend to tip the other way/and rightly so. i look forward to the future with pleasure

[@gregorybaillie2093]

The Brahmin controlled sect of Kashmir Shaivism was only a small part of Shaivism which had many schools. The other schools were mainly egalitarian, women and men were on the same footing as were all castes of Indian society to the point you could not stay in the congregation and maintain caste. The Brahmin dominated conservative arm of Tantra maintained socially accepted norms like a caste system and the rejection of women as teachers of Tantra.

[@Ellenweiss1]

I think these negative comments are a sad commentary on our truly deep disconnection from the forces of the Goddess. It's really a manifestation of the incredible rule of an overly masculinized society. It's so unconscious....we don't even realize how much we need this side of the scale to rise up and come forth. Can we face the great imbalance of the society we live in....and open to the force of the great Goddess.

[@Jamie_Case]

Nonduality transcends masculine and feminine. This is a nonduality channel, so why are you talking about divisive concepts such as masculine and feminine? Objections to this talk are not from a masculine perspective. They are from a nondualistic perspective. As this is a nonduality channel and the talk info references nonduality, I feel these objections are justified. You and Sally are bringing gender issues into an area which does not recognise gender identity.

[@nesovicmarko]

I think you're talking out of your ass, because: Shakti isn't gonna "fix" "our society" any more than Shiva is going to. people came to this video to learn more about very unavailable Kashmir Shaivism, not on some feminist who through misunderstanding of the subject-matter promotes her world view which is full of injustice. Literally no one came to this video to listen about problems in our society, I promise you.

[@3877michael]

Hilarious Danichi.. What a skewed view of nonduality you are polarized toward.. Nonduality does not exclude anything nor does it need to transcend or reject anything.. So judging does not occur .. If you can grasp a state of absolute inclusivity and unconditional love then you are on track.. So to be exclusively nondual is the same as being exclusively dual.. And to place conditions and judgment about a state is “I love this and hate that”, kinda blows the whole unconditional aspect of nonduality.. Good job.. Hah So funny...

[@QueensLadyDay]

@@Jamie_Case Excellent response! Sally Kempton has gone WOKE! 😢

[@Jamie_Case]

I deleted my previous post, and I apologise for using offensive language, but nonduality cannot have a feminine aspect or any aspect which represents any kind of polarity (as the feminine does) I don't have any problem with the feminine aspect of consciousness, but nonduality transcends masculine and feminine, so why mention nonduality if you don't understand what it means.

[@nesovicmarko]

I'm triggered by this video and even more by the comment section (I'm a man). You shouldn't apologize

[@septillionsuns]

+alio op "triggered" how cute. what if you are meant to be triggered. absorb this perspective. accept it as a perspective and move on.

[@nesovicmarko]

youre patronizing again

[@septillionsuns]

you're the one patronizing. expand. your neurosis is toxic.

[@lnbartstudio2713]

Alio - Isn't "triggered" exactly the realm of Shakti? Congratulations. Now you have a thoughtful name for it.

[@jaibhimadevi5805]

I will admit, having never heard of Sally Kempton before, I had clicked upon this with some skepticism, as there is a surplus of both pseudoscience, as well as New-Age-ified pseudo-Shaktism about. However, hearing her reference both Whitehead and Kaufmann (two thinkers I've admired yet find hard to bring up converationally) in reference to her developing understanding of Devi clicked immediately. Perhaps Kempton is not directly descended from Aṃbhṛnī, but do not discard her bhava based on her appearance and "PBS-guru" outward manifestation.

[@mirrorimage5423]

Grasping for bliss is grasping, nothing less. God or Goddes, what does it matter? Never mind! Knowing anicca is enough.

[@buddhastaxi666]

I get non duality...but now who do i talk too?

[@waldwassermann]

To Self.

[@OnlineMD]

Husbands sit around sipping tea and wondering what to do. Wives MOVE and get things done. Shiva is consciousness while Shakti (pronounced shuck-thi and NOT Shaak-tee) is energy. They are inseparable, like a coiled electrical cord....

[@waldwassermann]

It is simple and allow me to use the word GOD. GOD celebrates itself as Male and Female so not to be alone. The purpose of GOD is LOVE.

[@raghavarvoltore6517]

ok

[@MikeJunior94]

I thought the name of this channel was "SCIENCE" and nonduality.

[@ddot99]

sure is. thats a broad spectrum, isnt it?

[@MikeJunior94]

+Dan Smith Well yea and I love idealism and everything, but this talk is just pure bullshit, not supported by any good evidence.

[@ddot99]

+BecomingMike she is not supporting a therom, or theory, in which you would seek evidence, as basis.. you are missing it, my friend. just enjoy w/ an open heart, and appreciate

[@MikeJunior94]

+Dan Smith I honestly can't. If something is not supported by evidence, I simply can't believe it.

[@MikeJunior94]

+AlephBetBlog_Org I have studied the Bible in great extent and there is no such concept as a male and female combination of God. Secondly, pretty much every sentence assumes a whole load of things and most of it is nothing but word salad. An example of this would be: "Letters of programming enter the mother (MATER / MATRIX) and you get a Son (Cosmos). From this template of WORD, all things are. What writes WORD? Aleph Bet!!" Like seriously dude, this is nothing but drool (with all due respect). And let us not forget the Bible is mostly constituent of fables and legends. Drawing from it as if it is a source of accurate information, especially a mystical one, is nothing but quackery in light of modern Bible scholarship.

[@SebastianTaeggi]

This seems to me (after only a few minutes of listening) to be just another belief system. Entertaining, sure. But neither this talk nor those from Igor Kufaiev raise any interest to delve any deeper into Kashmir Shaivism. If this resonates with someone, by all means they should follow up with it. I suggest however that there are more direct paths which don't require belief in any system.

[@nesovicmarko]

I am incredibly saddened to hear that, for I have only yesterday found the word Pratyabhijna and its meaning. I'll bring a quote from a source as banal as Wiki: Pratyabhijna affirms that the universe appears as an abhasa in the mirror of supreme consciousness, samvit, but unlike a physical mirror which needs an external object to form a reflection, the image in the mirror of samvit is projected by samvit itself - this activity is called Svātantrya, power of will. In other words, the universe appears inside samvit because Shiva so desires. Advaita Vedanta proposes a somewhat similar theory of universe as an illusion superimposed on consciousness. The difference in Pratyabhijna is that the cause of manifestation is not an eternal separate principle of ignorance (avidya), but the will of Shiva, and the creation itself is ontologically real, not just an illusion.[31] It is made of abhasas, which are nothing but the ideation of Shiva appearing as empirical objects [32] ... The soul, jivatman is the projection of Shiva in manifestation. When taking on the five limitations (kancukas) the infinite spirit appears as integrated in space and time, with limited powers of action and knowledge and a sense of incompleteness. ... ...Through the third impurity - karma mala - the subject has the illusion that he is the doer, though, limited in power. Atman, by contrast, when acts, is identified with Shiva and acts as a part of Shiva.[45] That is why the limited soul is described as enslaved (pasu) while Shiva is the master (pati). By purification of the three impurities the limited soul too can recognize (pratyabhijna) his real nature, becoming pati himself.

[@vasundharak9536]

There’s a difference between belief system and consciousness. Beliefs are available to everyone. Consciousness graces those that seek from a true place.

[@nesovicmarko]

at first I didn't understand what the comments of criticism were about cause I thought 'yay, Kashmir Shaivism, this can't be bad', but then I quickly figured that this lady entirely missed the point. she goes so far to say that consciousness is feminine? even shiva is not male as such, he is the 'Lord who is half female', so this talk about Goddesses and the mentions of disconnections from Her is just absolute nonsense. sadly, even kashmir shaivism can become a farm of ideas for new-agers to chew on...

[@themultiverseiscallingbvig4092]

good try.when one realizes that one is one with source one understands all is temporary liquid and electric signals happening in the brain.Goddess consciousness is having unconditional love and respect for your mother.This lady sounds like someone who returned from some illusion and is overwhelmed by a new form if segregation.Total polarity.NETI NETI.Sorry.

[@3877michael]

Well she is more inclusive than you.. You are implying that is this way and not that.. Or you love this and not that.. Neti Neti is to embody what ever state or polarity you are in and see beyond into the void so in practical actual process Neti Neti is inclusive of what is AND what is beyond.. And what is beyond is the “more” of absolute inclusivity and unconditional love.

[@diane2188]

Unbelievable how the first question is a perfectly awful mansplainer.

[@dgm4ever]

I made it to almost five minutes. I'm sorry this is unwatchable.

[@ddot99]

hmm.. interestingly enough, i find the comment section herein to be unreadable. i guess thats why this delightful woman is speaking and entertaining @SAND, and the commenters are foolishly disregarding what is of value, here, from home base. unfortunately, i responded to a comment earlier so have been plagued w/ the notifications of each ignorant and unappreciative comment, thereafter. in any event, namaste, i wish u all the best in your seeking of wisdom

[@dgm4ever]

+Dan Smith You can't have found it that "unreadable" if you keep coming back here and making replies. No one is forcing you to read the notifications that pop up. And by the way, the fact that she is speaking at SAND means absolutely nothing about her qualifications. That place is a mutual admiration society filled with people very much attached to identity, such as this woman hyperemphasizing gender in the field where it perhaps matters the least.

[@ddot99]

+Don Moore ok. love&blessings

[@TheKetsa]

feminism... the pay gap... the divine as mother . . . secret goddess... Where is the science and non-duality ? This talk is designed for a "Dogma and Polarity" gathering.

[@armani3234]

Only wish the gender is not included in this. Keep dividing people.

[@lkstar75]

There is feminist "spirituality" now? Oh my, no thanks.

[@ghostlip1]

She lost me at the debunked gender pay gap. At least I'm no longer tempted to buy her books.

[@linavu5834]

Kundalini awaken is the beginning of first step in a 1000+ miles journey