It's not enough to "wake up" spiritually. To live authentically, we also need to "wake down."

As awakening progresses, we naturally experience a process that feels like a descent within to deeper levels.

As we process unconscious beliefs and traumatic experiences, we access our true ground, and an abiding trust.

This is Part One of a two-part series.

John J. Prendergast is a brilliant outlier in the fields of spirituality and mental health. As a teacher, writer, therapist, and retired adjunct professor of psychology, he bridges western psychotherapy with the perennial teachings of nondual philosophy. His unique work focuses on the powerful process of "waking down," which emphasizes embodied insight — the illumination of emotions, relationships, and ordinary life — more than transcendental awareness. The author of several books, including Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality and The Deep Heart: Our Portal to Presence, he offers residential retreats in the U.S. and Europe, as well as online workshops and teaching. In this two-part interview, we talked about the wisdom at our core, and how to tap into our deepest ground.

Mark Matousek: I'd like to begin with your insights into “waking down," a phrase I have never encountered before. What do you mean by waking down?

John Prendergast: I actually borrowed the term “waking down” from Saniel Bonder because it was very resonant for me. We are all familiar with the term waking up, of course. Waking up is actually part of the journey to waking down, which is the realization that you and I are not who we take ourselves to be, (especially not our stories, thoughts, and beliefs). As that realization becomes clear, we often experience a sense of tremendous freedom and space. Frequently, however, the experience tends to localize around and above the head; it has a celestial, sky-like feeling to it. Very often, people believe that's it,........

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