Delson Armstrong - Awakening Beyond Spiritual Idealization

Delson Armstrong is a maverick meditation teacher and author. At the age of 16, disillusioned with conventional life, he embarked on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas, where he spent 6 to 8 hours a day practicing various forms of meditation, studying sacred texts, and receiving guidance from masters across multiple lineages.

Through this intensive training, Delson developed the rare ability to enter nirodha-samāpatti—a meditative state marked by the complete cessation of perception and feeling—for extended periods of time. These claims have been rigorously examined through neuroscience research, with findings published in a 2023 paper titled Cessation of Consciousness in Meditation.

He is also the author of A Mind Without Craving and a five-volume series on dependent origination. Delson currently teaches the Optimal Mind System, a synthesis of diverse practices designed to align the body, mind, energy, heart, and consciousness to catalyze deep insight and transformation.

Although deeply informed by traditional models of awakening, Delson takes a universal approach and does not adhere to any single doctrine or path. He believes that idealized systems rooted in specific cultural norms and structures must be reimagined and innovated to meet the needs of our modern world.

In this episode, we explore Delson’s experience working with and integrating different traditions and spiritual practices, how coming across integral theory has helped him recontextualize the spiritual path, whether it’s possible to end suffering, the relationship between psychedelics & meditation, the pro’s and con’s of being open about spiritual attainments, creating healtheir dynamics with spiritual teachers and going beyond spiritual idealization.

🔗[Links & resources] 🔗

• Delson’s personal site
• Listen to Delson’s Dharma talks on his YouTube channel
• A Mind Without Craving by Delson Armstrong
• Dependent Origination series by Delson Armstrong
• Delson Armstrong, Guru Viking interviews
• Tales from Nibbana with Dor Konforty & Delson Armstrong
• Ending Guru Worship for True Liberation by Delson Armstrong

📝[Show Notes] 📝

0:00 - Introduction
2:43 - Artem’s experience following Delson’s journey
7:02 - Sutra, Tantra, and going beyond traditional teachings
13:29 - The impact of cultural context on spiritual practices
22:28 - The fallacy of the superior path
27:50 - Letting go of idealistic views
33:31 - The Impact of Integral Theory (Integrating no self and true self)
37:12 - Is there an end to suffering?
50:47 - Delson’s desire to master and integrate a wide variety of teachings
56:42 - Rigpa vs Cessation
1:02:38 - The micro-phemenology of cessation
1:04:21 - The relationship between psychedelics, spirituality, and meditation
1:22:00 - The pros and cons of being open about spiritual attainments
1:29:11 - Creating healthier dynamics between spiritual teachers and students
1:37:44 - Final message

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