"Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death,
life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.
Now here's Tom with the weather."
—Bill Hicks
The En-Lightening of Judy Cohen
For many people, life is serious business. Often painful, scary, confusing, hopeless, there's nothing light about it.
Judy Cohen was one of these folks.
From the outside it looked like she had it together. Over the years she’d been a clinical psychologist, a successful serial business entrepreneur, a competition-winning dancer, a painter, a stable-long-term-relationship-maintainer, and a rescuer of kitties.
Seems like the stuff happiness is made of, right?
Yet for Judy it felt like nothing but pain.
Somehow her experience was depression, hopelessness, guilt, failure and shame.
Desperate to feel better, she tried everything: years of therapy, anti-depressants, meditation, Codependence 12-steps, food, self-help and positive thinking.
Nothing worked more than briefly.
The quest for relief led to Judy’s becoming a Certified Facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie, then a Certified Senior Facilitator-Trainer of Scott Kiloby's Living Inquiries, then a trained guide in a few other non-duality self-help methods too.*
And while these methods had their advantages, they also had limitations; some, quite a bit of limitation. So none was somehow… enough. The search continued on…and on… and…
Rupert Spira, Adyashanti, Gary Tzu, Sam Harris, Pema Chodron, Raphael Cushnir, UG Krishnamurti, Alan Watts….
Yikes. It was never-ending, that life within theoretical boxes.
Luckily Judy eventually came to see that the methods she was trained and certified in actually perpetuated, as in the opposite of helping to relieve, the sense of self as damaged. She saw clearly that the sense of self at all was strengthened and maintained by all that methodology.
So she ditched it… all the education, training and certification.*
She began to think for herself. Her own way became clear.
Giving Up Awakening?
Several awakening experiences happened but that was never Judy’s goal or interest. She wanted only to feel better. And contrary to popular myth, these awakenings didn’t put an end to “unpleasant” and “uncomfortable” feelings.
So then, all the seeking, all the inquiry, the desperation to improve and feel better and shift, was for… well, what, exactly?
Eventually Judy realized: What if every experience was an awakening? What if she could give up seeking because… This. Is. It.
And if that was so, then… what could any teacher or technique give her that wasn’t already here, that she didn’t already have?
That giving-up brought relief, contentment and easier everyday life. (Not to mention more free time.) Fewer things rattled, and when reactivity happened it was surrendered to, it passed, it was not a big deal.
Life was more fun. There, at last, was that lighten-ing. Talk about miracles.
Which is why Judy now helps other people lighten up too.
In a fun, direct and no-jargon way, she helps world-wide clients integrate their actual real-life situations (whatever they may be) with all the spiritual understanding and realization they’ve already discovered. When nothing clients have tried has worked, Judy’s practical, cut-to-the-chase non-dual approach helps them notice the sweetness of the already-here experience.
Clients discover for themselves how problem-making in any form perpetuates itself and the Self.
They discover the all-important “And Also”… that they can be flawed, imperfect humans, AND ALSO- not broken.
Darkness lifts. The dreamer wakes up. Feeling better happens. En-lightening happens.
And isn’t that ultimately what so many of us want?
Judy’s available for a free consultation if you want to see if a lighter life is possible for you.
* Stating again to be clear: Judy is no longer a Certified Facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie or a Senior Certified Facilitator-Trainer of Scott Kiloby's Living Inquiries.
