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Jon Bernie

Modern Advaita

Teaching

Meditation, nondual self-inquiry and embodiment, with a sense of humour: he points attention back to what he calls the already enlightened state at the core of human experience, and includes the body, emotions and relationships instead of transcending them. 1, 3, 12

Who it is for

For people who want to combine nondual self-inquiry and meditation with healing and the body, without leaving ordinary human life out of awakening.

Life and places
  • In his own account he began to meditate as a teenager in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s, later lived at San Francisco Zen Center and became an ordained monk living at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. 1, 2
  • He met Adyashanti in 2001, who formally invited him to teach in 2002; he has maintained a private practice since 1981 and has trained in the Alexander Technique, Zero Balancing and Qigong. 1, 2
  • He teaches in the San Francisco Bay Area and online under the name Inspired Aliveness. 3, 6

Where to start

  • His short talks on his YouTube channel, linked from his website, for example The Presence That You Are (2022), a talk of about eleven minutes that ends in silence. 6, 11, 12
  • The Unbelievable Happiness of What Is (2017), a collection of short teachings on letting go of beliefs about oneself and life, with a foreword by Adyashanti. 5, 9, 10
  • His short written teachings on his website, such as The Role of the Mind (2009). 7, 8
Public context
  • Adyashanti formally invited him to teach in 2002, according to his website, his publisher and the Omega Institute; in 2021 Open Gate Sangha, the organisation of Adyashanti's teachings, listed him among the students Adyashanti invited to share the Dharma. 1, 4, 9, 13, 14
  • Clear Water Sangha, a non-profit organisation, was established to support his teaching. 6

Documented teaching relationships

  • Invited to teach by Adyashanti

    Jon Bernie's website and the Omega Institute say that Adyashanti formally invited him to teach in 2002. A 2007 version of the English Wikipedia article on Adyashanti lists him among the teachers Adyashanti invited to teach.

    Self-reported · inspiredaliveness.com , eomega.org , wikipedia2007.classicistranieri.com

  • Learned personally with Jean Klein

    Jon Bernie calls Jean Klein his first teacher and, on his website, his root guru; he met him in the mid-1980s.

    Self-reported · eomega.org , inspiredaliveness.com

  • Personal encounter with H. W. L. Poonja (Papaji)

    Jon Bernie says that Papaji invited him to come and see him and that he spent about six weeks with him in India in 1991.

    Self-reported · eomega.org

  • Learned personally with Jack Kornfield

    Jon Bernie writes that during his last years at San Francisco Zen Center he began sitting with Jack Kornfield, and that after leaving Zen Center he continued studying closely with him for a number of years, attending many long retreats with his group.

    Self-reported · inspiredaliveness.com

  • Personal encounter with Robert Adams

    Jon Bernie writes that he met Robert Adams at satsang in Sedona, stayed with him for the rest of that weekend and later went back to spend a couple of weeks with him.

    Self-reported · inspiredaliveness.com

Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.

Sources
  1. About Jon Bernie · Inspired Aliveness His own website accessed 19 Oct 2026
  2. Jon's Journey · Inspired Aliveness Autobiographical account on his own website accessed 19 Oct 2026
  3. Inspired Aliveness His own website; current gatherings and online retreats accessed 19 Oct 2026
  4. Jon Bernie · Omega Institute Teacher biography on the website of a retreat centre where he has taught accessed 15 Oct 2026
  5. Books · Inspired Aliveness Book page of his own website, with the descriptions of his two books and the forewords by Adyashanti; read in full. accessed 19 Oct 2026
  6. Clear Water Sangha · Inspired Aliveness Page of the non-profit organisation that supports his teaching, on his own website; links his YouTube channel. accessed 19 Oct 2026
  7. Articles · Inspired Aliveness List of his written teachings on his own website. accessed 19 Oct 2026
  8. The Role of the Mind · Inspired Aliveness His own article of 21 May 2009 on his website; read in full. accessed 19 Oct 2026
  9. The Unbelievable Happiness of What Is · New Harbinger Publications (archived copy) Publisher's page of his book (imprint Non-Duality), read as a web.archive.org copy of 21 July 2025 because the live page blocks automated access; publisher's description and author biography. accessed 19 Oct 2026
  10. The Unbelievable Happiness of What Is · Open Library Catalog record of the 2017 edition (Non-Duality Press, an imprint of New Harbinger Publications). accessed 19 Oct 2026
  11. Jon Bernie (YouTube channel) His YouTube channel, linked from his website and from the Clear Water Sangha page; list of videos read. accessed 19 Oct 2026
  12. The Presence That You Are - Jon Bernie (YouTube) Talk published on his own YouTube channel on 12 July 2022 (10:42); heard in full through our transcript and compared with YouTube's automatic captions. accessed 19 Oct 2026
  13. Resources · Open Gate Sangha (archived copy) Page of Open Gate Sangha, the organisation of Adyashanti's teachings, listing the students Adyashanti invited to share the Dharma; read as a web.archive.org copy of 22 June 2021 because the live site blocks automated access. accessed 19 Oct 2026
  14. Jon Bernie · Open Gate Sangha (archived copy) His entry in the list of Open Gate Sangha, the organisation of Adyashanti's teachings; web.archive.org copy of 17 May 2021. accessed 19 Oct 2026

Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 19 Oct 2026.

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E-mails about gatherings with Jon Bernie: coming soon.