Jeff Foster (spiritual teacher)

Jeff Foster (born 30 July 1980) is an English writer and public speaker.

Biography

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Foster was born in 1980 in London, England.[1] He studied Astrophysics at Cambridge University.[1] At the time he was overwhelmed by feelings of despair and loneliness,[citation needed] which eventually led to physical illness and a personal breakdown soon after graduation. He was convinced he was going to die.[1] Foster returned to live with his parents, reading and studying for a year on spirituality, searching for relief from his depression.[1] This ended in 2006 with the dissolution of the sense of separation, which he understood to be a spiritual awakening.

He wrote a book, Life Without a Centre (Non-Duality Press), and was invited to hold small gatherings.[1] Eventually, after having written several more books, the gatherings were supplemented with retreats and one-to-one sessions.[1]

In 2011, Foster wrote an article explaining why he no longer considered himself to be an "Advaita teacher" or "nonduality teacher," pointing out problems with the one-sidedness of contemporary "radical Advaita" teachings.[2] Instead of a strict impersonal philosophy, he started to embrace and emphasise the relative, human, personal existence in his writings and gatherings, a relativity which he felt was not in conflict with the impersonal Absolute.[2]

Works

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  • Life Without a Centre. Non-Duality Press. 2006. ISBN 978-0955399909.
  • Beyond Awakening: The End of the Spiritual Search. Non-Duality Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0955399978.
  • The Revelation of Oneness. Non-Duality Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0955829048.
  • An Extraordinary Absence: Liberation in the Midst of a Very Ordinary Life. Non-Duality Press. 2009. ISBN 978-0956309105.
  • The Wonder of Being: Awakening to an Intimacy Beyond Words. Non-Duality Books. 2010. ISBN 978-0956309181.
  • The Deepest Acceptance: Radical Awakening in Ordinary Life. Sounds True. 2012. ISBN 978-1604078558.
  • Falling In Love With Where You Are: A Year of Prose And Poetry on Radically Opening Up To the Pain and Joy of Life. New Harbinger Press. 2013. ISBN 978-1626257344.
  • The Way of Rest: Finding The Courage to Hold Everything in Love. Sounds True. 2016. ISBN 978-1622037919.
  • The Joy of True Meditation: Words of Encouragement for Tired Minds and Wild Hearts. New Sarum Press. 2019. ISBN 978-1999353537.
  • You Were Never Broken: Poems to Save Your Life. Sounds True. 2020. ISBN 978-1683645597.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Van den Boogaard, Han. "Alles is al volledig ontwaakt. Interview met Jeff Foster". Hanvandenboogaard.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  2. ^ a b Foster, Jeff (2019). "The birth and death of fundamentalism in nonduality and Advaita teachings". Life Without a Centre. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
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