06/07/2026
Over dinner this weekend, I told a friend about a consciousness retreat I’m attending in October, led by a teacher trained by Peter Ralston.
She asked what I’d be doing there. I said self-inquiry, meditation, discussion. She asked what self-inquiry was. Ooh I thought this would be a great video!
So here’s the video.
Self-inquiry is a practice for knowing the true nature of who you actually are. You sit with questions like who am I or what am I — with real intention, without dodging. Not answering fast. Just staying with it.
Try it: set a timer for 15 minutes. Pick one question. Sit with just that one question — you can move to a different question another day or another week.
What comes up first is usually your name or a story. But that’s not it who you really are.
Karla is a name. A sound your mouth makes. So then — who’s here, underneath that?
This is what real spirituality actually is. Not belief. Not aesthetics. Getting more honest and more connected to what’s actually true about you.
Spirituality without this kind of inquiry isn’t really spirituality.
I do this practice while driving, or whenever I notice I’m caught in a thought loop. It’s one of the most useful & liberating tools I have.
“The truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free.”
-Ekhart Tolle
That line triggered my first real awakening experience, about 15 years ago. I didn’t fully understand it then.
I just could see for the first time that I was creating my own suffering and it blew my mind. I couldn’t see why yet but that moment cracked something open. I’ve been going deeper ever since.