443. Shakti Caterina Maggi

Shakti Caterina Maggi has been sharing a message of awakening to our true nature as One Consciousness since 2003, with workshops and meetings held in Italy, Europe, and around the world. Although in the vein of the Advaita and non dual tantric tradition, Shakti shares a very contemporary approach to self-realization and reveals the real possibility of seeing what we are and embodying it in our everyday life with clarity, wisdom and humor. The first glimpses and non-definitive openings to the Self and the true nature of reality began to occur for her at a very early age. At around 27, these temporary windows of our true nature brought her to a state of great inner openness, without having the cognition that what was happening was called “awakening” or “enlightenment” in other cultures. In January 2003, while working as a financial reporter in Milan, she had the first experience of kundalini awakening. “Everything vibrated from its infinite nature: my body, the room, the bed I was on were all a unique vibration of love that expanded and dissolved itself in a space without borders. I was myself and at the same time I was no longer me, Existence itself was my nature. After about two hours everything disappeared into nothingness and I was surprised to wake up in the morning still alive. Honestly, I was certain I was going to die that night. Now there was something vast and completely silent that looked at a funny little me, acting like a cartoon character, moving but also loving. “ For the first time, she realized she needed a spiritual guide. Knowing that all this had occurred without her conscious desire or intentional action, she simply waited for life itself to deliver someone able to clarify what was unfolding. Four months later, she met Bodhi Avasa in a satsang in Milan, and after only five days she encountered a definitive experience of self-recognition. “I suddenly realized that Caterina had never existed. It was just a thought of My Mind, and that My Mind was the Divine Mind. No separate identity existed, but only a single Self, empty and aware, from which Existence itself was born as in a dream. “ It took a few months for this quantum leap to stabilize, as mind and body were traversed by profound and transformational understandings. Encouraged by Avasa, she soon thereafter started to share her experience, although it was only in 2011 that she began to hold true satsang. The process of integration of the awakening, and purification from what Ramana Maharshi referred to as vāsanas (latent tendencies), required several years, allowing her to develop a deep understanding of the path that takes place after awakening and its integration into daily life. Website: Website Facebook YouTube Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Transcript of this interview. Interview recorded February 15, 2018. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction and Background of Shakti Katarina Maggi 00:04:25 - The Power of Synchronicity 00:08:46 - Early Experiences and Love for God 00:13:39 - Insights Before Sleep 00:18:07 - Meeting the Teacher 00:22:41 - Dissolving Identification and Conditioning 00:27:38 - The Delightfulness of Being Human 00:31:54 - Acting without Attachment to Results 00:36:15 - Awakening to Truth 00:40:11 - Appreciating the Glory of Life 00:44:58 - Life's Unexpected Paths 00:48:57 - Embracing the Darkness and Discovering the Beauty 00:53:03 - Love and Relationships in Awakening 00:57:46 - Awakening in the Heart 01:02:52 - The Illusion of Separation and Duality 01:05:53 - The Experience of Teaching from the Heart Level 01:09:55 - Meeting Darkness and Light in Neutrality 01:15:22 - The Attitude of a Beginner 01:19:56 - Embodying Awakening 01:24:51 - Living Life in Awareness 01:29:02 - Integrating Words and Consciousness 01:33:00 - Life as the Guru 01:37:06 - The Appearance of Beingness