If you’ve ever wondered about the cause of stress and how to find relief, this conversation with Clare Dimond reveals the mind-blowing truth. Her books are potent wake up calls that have deeply impacted me, and I was thrilled to connect with her personally.
We talk about our normal human insanity, the self, how the mind works, and the misunderstandings that create stress and suffering. Clare asks deep questions that point to the nature of what we really are: not our body, personality or thoughts, but the infinite creation before that.
I dropped into a state of calm just listening to Clare’s simple explanations of sometimes difficult spiritual concepts. If you’re a fan of the Three Principles, Non-Dualism and philosophical inquiries into the nature of the self, you’re gonna love this one!
Here’s some of what we explore:
- Why we create a “cage of belief” and how to bust out of it
- The chapter of Real that blew Steph’s mind and provoked a powerful insight
- The common human insanity
- Why control really doesn’t exist
- The secret to effortless change where habits, addictions and undesirable behaviors drop away
- The simple path of enlightenment
- Letting go of the self for freedom and changing the world
NOTE: The summary of our conversation below does not do it justice, as these words can never express the feeling adequately. I invite you to listen to the podcast with nothing on your mind, and see what happens.
Listen to the podcast here:
“The idea of the self as separate, isolated and controlling IS stress. That is where stress begins – with the self construct. And it is where it ends – with understanding, honouring and compassion for everything that led to that creation.” – Clare Dimond
The Cause of Stress & How to Feel Safe
The idea of the self is the root cause of stress. When our self-concept is threatened, we must constantly work to protect the beliefs that create it. Our attempts to control drain our energy and create stress. We live in a cage of beliefs maintained by living in shoulds and pressure.
Stress is an indicator that something is out of alignment with our human system. When our confusion about the self eases, it creates space, sanity and possibilities. Only then can we respond optimally to what’s happening in our lives.
We’re born as pure consciousness and love in human form. As we grow, we’re conditioned about our identity and beliefs are accepted. Because our self-concept is invented, it is inherently insecure and created from a sense of lack and incompleteness. This leads to an endless, unfulfillable search for security through our external environment where it can never be found.
Relinquishing control brings true freedom. In order to preserve the separate self, we attempt to control everything, and the thought of giving up control is terrifying. It seems as if either you’re in control or you’re completely powerless.
Behavior change happens effortlessly when the illusion of the self is seen. When we see that control is an illusion and know ourselves as the space witnessing our human drama, conditioning changes, habits fall away, addictions end, conflicts are resolved because they don’t make sense anymore. The search ends because there is nothing more to get, and life can be lived as pure expression and creativity.
There are 3 stages in natural human evolution. It seems that all humanity is on this path, as there are more and more teachers and guides showing the way.
- A baby is born without any concepts, possessing a powerful mind primed for imagination and projection. It is only the watching space voicing its needs, without the confusion of a self-concept.
- As the baby grows, concepts begin to develop and are believed. The sense of separateness evolves, allowing for language, time and the ability to manipulate the world. This provides an evolutionary advantage with the complication of stress when the self-concept needs to be preserved at all costs.
- The human moves into mental and spiritual maturity where concepts are understood as useful, but there’s no confusing them with reality. When we understand the power of the mind without being driven by it, we are sane and the system is aligned with the whole of life.
Enlightenment is the falling away of beliefs, control and the weight of everything we carry, bit by bit or all at once. We let them go easily when they’re no longer believed, and it brings huge relief.
“Stress is a resistance to what is and the idea that this should be different; it’s an argument with reality.” – Clare Dimond
Meet Clare Dimond, Coach, Consultant & Author
Clare’s always been fascinated by human behaviour and its relationship to thought and belief. Initially from the perspective of trying to cure her own anxiety, limitation and lack of ease, and then from a more universal or philosophical perspective.
Her career has had two prongs: global marketing for agencies, corporates and her own consultancy, alongside that, psychology, neuro-linguistic programming, clean language, yoga, meditation and hypnotism.
Clare now uses all of this experience and study to understand the root of human suffering and how the mind’s activity can settle to reveal the peace and freedom that lies beneath.
Over the years Clare works with one-to-one clients and groups in different ways. Her work combines two approaches: 1. engaging the conscious intellect in the logical exploration that the reality of self and other is a construct of perception 2. amplifying the deep unconscious knowing through bespoke subliminal recordings.
She runs monthly on-line programmes including such topics as change, stress, relationships, money and health and has written six books as part of the ‘Getting REAL’ series.
Connect with Clare
Website: https://claredimond.com
Free, Intro (Clare’s story featured on the Wild Creation Stories Podcast) https://theawakenedbusiness.com/free-by-clare-dimond/
Books (including those mentioned, Free and Real) https://claredimond.com/books/
_____________________________
Subscribe to the Wildspire podcast: https://theawakenedbusiness.com/wildspire-podcast
