Have you ever had the sense that the “you” you think you are might not be the whole story?
This channel is for people who are genuinely curious about that question. Not as philosophy, but as a real look into direct experience.
Ilona Ciunaite is the author of Liberation Unleashed and co-founder of the Liberation Unleashed community, where thousands of people have explored the process of seeing through the sense of a separate self. On this channel she guides that same process through honest conversation, self-inquiry, and a practice called Deep Looking, a way of meeting what arises in experience directly and openly.
This is also the home of the Awakening Now podcast, where Ilona talks with teachers, authors, and people further along the path, all in service of the genuine seeker who is actively in the process of waking up.
You can come as you are. No meditation background needed, no spiritual framework required. Curiosity is enough.
Ilona Ciunaite
There's a free meeting coming up, and you're warmly invited.
Once a month, I open a space on Zoom for anyone who is seeking, wondering, or simply curious about what it means to see through the illusion of a separate self. We sit together, we look, and we meet whatever is here. You don't need any background or any experience. You only need to come as you are.
These meetings are gentle. Sometimes we explore a question together, sometimes someone shares what they're moving through, and we look at it in real time, and sometimes we simply rest in the quiet of being met. Whatever happens, you're welcome to listen, to speak, or to stay silent. There is no wrong way to be here.
If something in you has been longing for peace, or if you've been carrying a quiet tiredness from years of searching, this is a soft place to begin. Come and see what opens when you stop and simply look.
18th of June at 7pm Mauritius. All info and access link are on this page.
ilonaciunaite.com/events/
I would love to see you there.
With love,
Ilona
1 week ago | [YT] | 26
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Ilona Ciunaite
In 2018 I was living at the end of a road in a jungle in Mexico, filming my first videos on a phone with barely any storage and 5 megabits of internet. It took a day and a half to upload seven minutes of video. I had no idea what I was doing. I just had a message that needed to come through, and something inside that kept saying, keep going, this is right.
Today, this channel has reached 5000 subscribers.
I wrote the full story of this journey, the struggles, the podcast, the guests, and what keeps me showing up. It's on the blog and the link is in the comments.
Thank you for being here. This channel exists because you are in it.
1 week ago | [YT] | 113
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Ilona Ciunaite
Jim Newman's interview is making some waves: 5,000 views and so many rich comments. Thank you for watching and for engaging so honestly. Something is clearly being stirred, and that is exactly the point.
Whatever arises in you when you hear this message, agreement, irritation, confusion, relief, that is an invitation. Not to fix it or resolve it, but to look at it. What is here? What is reacting? That is where the real inquiry begins.
Jim Newman, as a character, is neither right nor wrong. It is all included :) What matters is what the message does in you. That movement, that friction, that question that won't quite settle, that is something to work with. Follow it.
If something opened up for you, great. If questions arose, even better, you have something real to look at now. And if none of it landed and you're just having a regular Tuesday, that's perfectly fine too. Enjoy your day.
1 week ago | [YT] | 42
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Ilona Ciunaite
Maybe you’ve had glimpses.
Moments where the separate self seemed to disappear for a while. Moments of openness, peace, clarity, or deep connection. And maybe part of you thought, “This is it.”
But then the old identity returned. Emotional patterns returned. Contraction returned. And the search quietly became about trying to get back to an experience that already passed.
In my new conversation with Loch Kelly, we explored why so many seekers become stuck after the first glimpse — and why the shift may actually be much closer and more ordinary than the mind expects.
We spoke about embodiment, emotional healing, awareness, dissociation, and what it means to live awake in ordinary life instead of chasing states.
Loch also guided several direct experiential glimpses live during the conversation itself.
This was one of the clearest and most grounded conversations I’ve had on channel.
New episode now live.
1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 38
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Ilona Ciunaite
The doors to the 8-week experience of guided self-inquiry are closing in 24 hours.
If you feel a quiet pull toward this, you don’t need to rush or force anything. There will be other rounds. You can always join when the timing feels right for you.
And at the same time, there are moments when you recognize that something is already aligned. A simple sense of yes. If that is here for you now, this is your last day to step in.
This is a space for those who are ready to look directly. To move from understanding into seeing.
If that speaks to you, you are welcome.
ilonaciunaite.com/course/seeing-through-the-self-i…
2 months ago | [YT] | 9
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Ilona Ciunaite
We’re meeting today at 7 pm (Mauritius time).
In this meeting we will look directly at what is here, and explore what it means to see through the illusion of a separate self. This is not about theory or ideas, but about noticing your actual experience.
I’ll also speak about the upcoming 8-week guided self-inquiry experience — how it is structured, what you will be exploring, and how it supports clear seeing.
If you have questions, doubts, or curiosity, you are welcome to bring them.
If you don’t have the link yet, send me an email and I’ll share it with you.
ilonaciunaite.com/events/
2 months ago | [YT] | 11
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Ilona Ciunaite
Do you know what is the most common question people come to me with?
“I understand this… but nothing has really shifted.”
There comes a point where more information doesn’t help.
The old way of seeking stops working, and it can feel like hitting a wall.
What is needed is simple: to look for yourself. The question is HOW?
Guided self-inquiry is the fastest way to see through the illusion of a separate self, because it keeps attention in direct experience.
On your own, inquiry easily turns into thinking. Old thought loops repeating themselves. With guidance, the questions point straight to what is here.
Nothing new is added, what is unnecessary simply falls away.
I created an 8-week experience for seeing through the self illusion.
A space to look directly, gently, and honestly, so that YOU can see for yourself.
If you’d like to hear when it opens, you can join the list here:
bit.ly/40QDjTU
2 months ago | [YT] | 20
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Ilona Ciunaite
At tomorrow's Zoom meeting, I’ll be sharing something very simple that can help you see what the shift in perception actually is.
It becomes clear why working on problems doesn’t bring lasting peace, and how the shift happens in where you are looking from.
If you’d like to receive the details and join live, you can sign up here:
zcmp.eu/ArU9
You’re welcome to come and explore this with me.
3 months ago | [YT] | 25
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Ilona Ciunaite
I had a fascinating conversation with Robert Saltzman.
Robert describes an experiment where he began asking an AI the same kinds of questions he would ask a therapy client. The responses were coherent enough that it raised a deeper question:
When language makes sense… do we automatically assume there must be a self behind it?
You can watch the full episode here.
https://youtu.be/ELLs407ZtEQ
I’d love to hear what you think.
3 months ago | [YT] | 25
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Ilona Ciunaite
A quick reminder of a Zoom meeting today. If you haven't participated before and do not have the link, email me at admin@ilonaciunaite.com to receive it. And subscribe to my email list if you'd like to be reminded of the coming times. zcmp.eu/ArU9
Looking forward to meeting you.
3 pm London
4 pm Paris
7 am San Francisco
10 am New York
4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 25
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