The SAND Conference

The SAND Conference

Once a year in the US, the Science and Nonduality conference (SAND) is held in the fall in California.

I’ve been invited to speak there on my Stages model this October. It will be an interesting dynamic. For one, there will be researchers who will be very interested in a robust model of the post-personal stages, brought out of ancient texts and framed in modern terms. For example, Sofia University, where they teach Transpersonal Psychology, tends to be influenced more by current Buddhist thought than Vedic. The neo-advaitists will also be well represented. That group tends to either not believe in stages (a single shift) or discourages stages as a conceptual barrier to Being. What that misses of course is that a concept of no stages is a barrier just like a concept of stages.

For the new spirituality to go mainstream, this meeting with science, the language of the west, is a key stepping stone. And the two are not foreign. While science divided from religion to find it’s own path, earlier advanced spiritual approaches have taken a systematic way of studying and developing the inner side of life. For example, one of the 6 systems of Indian philosophy (also known as the Upangas or Darshanas) is Nyaya, a form of logic more advanced than western science. It is the framework from which Yoga, Vedanta and other such schools arose.

This is a conference with a number of famous scientists and spiritual teachers, typically very polished. In this crowd, I’m the unknown so will have just a small part to play. But it’s a great opportunity to get the message out in some small way.

Rick Archer of Buddha at the Gas Pump fame has offered to introduce me. He’s well known at SAND, so that’s a big plus.

It will also be a lot of fun. Spending time exploring perspectives, meeting colleagues, and seeing a few friends I know there. We’ll see how it unfolds.
Davidya

PS – and yes, it will encourage me to finish that first short book I’ve been working on for so long. You’ll see it here first.

Last Updated on November 6, 2018 by Davidya

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16 Comments

  1. John

    Great minds as there are, I sometimes wonder how much ego exists in the ‘famous scientists and spiritual teachers’ camp.

    Really looking forward to that book of yours. Will it physical or virtual?

    J

  2. Hi John
    Yes, many are still in the ego. And some who are not are are invested in a model they were taught or they developed based on their own experience.

    None of that negates what they have to offer. But it can create a field of competing theories that serve the mind rather than pointers that go beyond it. Its a tricky balance, furthering understanding without becoming invested in that.

    I plan to publish the initial works digitally. It’s simpler and cheaper. If demand is sufficient, I’ll look at print.

  3. David, underestimate yourself not: “In this crowd, I’m the unknown so will have just a small part to play”. Being there may be far grander than the mind can conceive.

    We, back home, will cheer you on! 🙂

  4. Thanks, Eddie. At this point, the details are yet to play out. How the scenario will unfold is anyone’s guess. Will my talk be recorded? Will that be promoted? And so forth.

    But I do have a placement online that not everyone gets. Speakers there are a teaser to attract participants. And they’re each being advertized on Google. Not something I’ve ever done. This and the mention of the upcoming BAT interview – both months away – is already attracting new traffic, subscribers, and correspondence.

  5. Well – today I booked the flights and registered my topic at the conference. Another step closer.

    Plus had an interesting insight that may help take the topic up another level. Will share that on the blog when it’s digested. 😉

  6. Pingback: Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview - Davidya.ca

  7. Pingback: Our Natural Potential talk @ SAND | Davidya.ca

  8. Kjetil W M

    Hi David

    How did you experience the conference and your talk there? I have seen your talk a couple of times, and it is great. It should have made a great impression on/contribution to the conference.

    1. Hi Kjetil
      Keep in mind that this was a large conference with over 100 presenters. The main hall had the name-brand speakers, then there were another 7 rooms downstairs. I spoke at 3 of the annual conferences – my own talk and twice also spoke on a panel. The Second BATGAP interview was during the 3rd.

      The first year, I gave my stages talk, the second time I gave the stages talk with a more non-dual emphasis, and the third time I gave my levels talk.

      The most successful talk was the second as I got a good room and time so there wasn’t much competition. The questions went longer than the talk. The least successful was the 3rd talk as I got a tiny room, a small time slot, and at the same time as someone famous who rarely spoke publically.

      Far more people have seen the talks online after and the venue increased their credibility.
      The greatest personal benefit was the networking. I’d had my first BATGAP interview a short time before this first time. I met a number of people I’d only known online and Rick Archer connected me with many others. Some have stayed friends since.

      Here is some stories from this event. There are similar posts for the other 2.
      https://davidya.ca/2015/10/29/some-sand-stories/

  9. Kjetil W M

    Thanks, very interesting to hear. I think yours and Lorn/Lucias model is complete, and it is accompanied by very many people awakening around Lorn/Lucia and you, so the impact of this should be noticed all over the spiritual community? Great about the networking side. I have watched the Sofia panel-discussion, it was very interesting and uplifting. But now the SAND has ended as far as I understand, it is only on their webpage relating earlier years until around 2023? Do you know the reason?

    1. Thanks, Kjetil
      Well – the model is based on the deep wisdom of one of history’s most illustrious sages. 🙂
      I have found that some spiritual teachers have adopted the model and, in recent scientific research on the process, a significant % of subjects used this model to frame their experience. So it is getting some adoption. But there are issues with wider adoption, some of which I discussed recently:
      https://davidya.ca/2025/06/04/stages-or-process/

      SAND continues, but not with the in-person conferences. They were losing money on them, then the pandemic sealed it. They’ve done some online classes and workshops and have released a few films (the founders are filmmakers). This is their current effort:
      https://theeternalsong.org/

      But they’re not the gathering of scientists and spiritual teachers they once were. 🙁

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