Things are not always as they appear. Getting past surface appearances and developing a clear awareness of what’s truly real in life is the theme of this fascinating conversation with author and teacher Eli Jaxon-Bear. A civil rights and anti-war activist, he decided that overcoming prejudice and violence required starting with oneself, finding “the love that you are” and making a commitment to “stay true to it in such a deep level that it passes on one-by-one.”

Jaxon-Bear is the author of “Sudden Awakening.” He has extensively studied the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, legendary master from India who died in 1950 and whose disciples continue teaching today. Maharshi relied on a philosophy called “self-enquiry” which urges students to focus on a simple, but mind-blowing question: Who am I?

If you’re willing to turn your back on your own selfish agenda, so as to find what’s real, in that you wake up. And you become a servant of life, you become a servant of love—instead of a servant of me and my desires and my preferences.”

—Eli Jaxon-Bear