Jonny Drury

At the age of five I had a clear and distinct recognition of there being a reality behind what was being presented by everyone around me and I had a sense of a puzzling, fundamental lack in the material world.

It was the first trap of the ego.

I spent my formative years trying to escape, to shake the mould and yearning for that first recognition and a deeper life using consciousness shifting techniques such as yoga, alternative paths and plants, I then spent over 20 years in a strict full-time Sufi order, undertaking several overland pilgrimages and retreats including a 40-day khalwa (solitary seclusion), during which I realised the truth that those early childhood glimpses were pointing to.

Further arduous training in Vipassana (silent insight) and Atma Vichara (Self-enquiry) led eventually to seeing the separate self as a mirage, and the searching stopped. I had to search in order to know searching is futile.

Further integration at social level produced a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and ADHD and I apply this contextual knowledge directly into fully inclusive support work for groups and individuals. I have been fortunate to have several true guides including Sheikh Nazim Adil and more recently Peter Fenner and Ariana.