The Awaken the World Initiative was founded in 2012 to create films and materials which are made available for free in over 30 languages for the awakening of humanity.
Daniel Schmidt
Daniel Schmidt is the creator of the award-winning films “Inner Worlds Outer Worlds,” and the ongoing “Samadhi” film series airing on Gaia and YouTube with over 20 million views. He founded the Awaken the World initiative in 2012 that produces films and materials which are made available for free in over 30 languages for the awakening of humanity. Recently he teamed up with Bill Free and Leif Heimbold to create the award-winning three part “Awakening Mind” series which is a documentary style format which includes interviews from the worlds leading teachers of awakening and liberation.
The Samadhi Center in Ontario Canada and the Awaken the World Initiative were created by Daniel as an outer reflection of his inner world. His approach to retreats combines self-inquiry with traditional forms of meditation so participants can have the opportunity to simultaneously realize their transcendent nature and to purify themselves of conditioned patterns so that the human vessel becomes permeable to their true nature.
In 2023 Daniel launched the online 7 day “I AM” retreat, an ongoing perpetual sadhana format which begins with techniques and guides participants towards the practiceless practice of true sadhana, which is a direct recognition of our true nature. His approach blends self-inquiry, time-honored meditation practices, and whatever dissolves illusion… be it ancient, modern, or spontaneously improvised.
Interviews with Dan
Path to Awakening with Daniel Schmidt
Daniel Schmidt Interview - Meditation, Self Inquiry, The Pathless Path of Awakening
Daniel Schmidt - The Pathless Path of Direct Experience!
Awaken the World! -- Meet Daniel Schmidt... he's doing amazing things!
Daniel Schmidt - Buddha at the Gas Pump Interview
Lilla Balint
Lilla: Online Operations Coordinator, Cosmic Nobody Division
Once identified as “Iboga Provider,” “Seeker of Truth,” and occasional “Overthinker Extraordinaire,” Lilla has since undergone a complete ego liquidation. She now identifies as… nothing in particular, which makes her unusually qualified to assist in literally everything… and simultaneously nothing at all. Her official job description includes:
- Whispering with the Self disguised as tech support
- Occasionally uploading videos that upload her in return
- Answering emails from seekers while secretly dissolving their identities
- Laughing at nothing, weeping at everything, and calling it “Tuesday”
Her unofficial role? Holding the energetic clipboard at the intersection of Presence and Pixels,
coordinating multidimensional admin tasks while remembering that none of it is real.
Favorite mantra:
“You don’t have to know.”
Current project:
Being a flute for the Infinite to play weirdly beautiful love songs through.
Future aspirations:
N/A. The future doesn’t exist.
Fun Fact:
She once fasted for 24 hours and met God disguised as a spoon
Jerome Giovinazzo
From a young age Jerome has been passionate about people and the human spirit, continuously endeavoring to learn deeper ways to connect with both himself and others. In understanding that the root of all our happiness comes from taking care of others, Jerome has dedicated his life to serving through his passions of yoga, meditation, coaching and cooking. Jerome has been fortunate to study with many great spiritual teachers in various lineages ranging from Tibetan Buddhism, Vedanta, and hatha yoga, to mention a few. Having completed a 2 year solitary yoga & meditation retreat deep in the mountains of southern Arizona, Jerome realized the power of going inward, which enables each of us to create the change we want in our lives. His teachings are predicated on the idea that how we experience the world in our daily lives is dependent upon our how we treat others, including ourselves; everything is essentially a blank movie screen upon which we project our reality — if we want to change the “movie”, then we must change change our behavior of body, speech & mind. Helping people achieve their dreams of health & happiness, Jerome brings joy, humor, and sincerity into his sessions. Jerome’s cooking for the retreats at the Samadhi Center reflects his wisdom that the key to happiness is in service to others. Check out this video to get a sense of his humor and love for cooking.
Tayama
Tayama is a breath facilitator trained in numerous modalities. Her role is to guide participants through deep inner release of conditioned patterns. Tayama is also a technical ninja and gets to apply her ninja skills at the online IAM retreats as the tech host.
Alex Litardo
At the age of 15, the book Sidharta, by Herman Hesse, marked the beginning of Alex’s spiritual quest. During those years, the teachings of Jung, Krishnamurti, Huxley as well as entheogens and chemical experimentation briefly revealed powerful periods of communion with the whole, which marked his life forever. Immigrating to the States at the age of 20, studies, jobs, family obligations, and a digital imaging career unfortunately veiled his spiritual path for years. Towards the turn of the century, a conscious decision to simplify life and make his work activities independent, Alex refocused his exploration on the nature of reality and being. A revelation about the coherence between quantum physics and spiritual teachings fostered a resurgence of his inner quest, gaining deep understanding and insight through the consistent, interdisciplinary and powerful presentations of Dan’s teachings and guidance. Today, Alex is profoundly grateful to be part of the ATW initiative, managing the development of online resources, communications and translation projects.
Jason Secord
Born in New Brunswick, Jason was interested in the deeper exploration of life from an early age. He
studied to be a massage therapist at the age of 20 and continued his studies into the present day.
Areas of focus have included Yoga, meditation, Qigong, shamanism and transpersonal psychology. For
the past 15 years he has taught yoga, meditation along with workshops. His philosophy is that life itself
is our teacher. He brings what he has learned through his own healing journey to his teachings.
Jason teaches weekly online yoga classes with his own non-dual approach. If you are interested in live weekly zoom sessions, please reach him at jsglobetrotter@hotmail.com
Chad Charles
Having grown up in a ‘New Age’ household, Chad has been steeped in esoteric influences and alternative healing therapies from a young age. With that, he has adventurously pursued many modalities and experiences along the direct path, with dark room, vision quests, meditation, psychedelics, tantra, sound and light experiments, and energy cultivation through stillness, movement, and Eros. With the many fingers pointing to the ineffable and non-dual, his early childhood kundalini awakenings, experience with epilepsy, and a penchant for entering into and mastering trance states have all pointed him towards the One.
Eventually, from the mid-2010’s, he has chosen to share and offer the practices that have most informed his own path, conscious connected breathwork and 5-MeO-DMT, in both ceremonial and therapy contexts. He has brought 5-MeO-DMT to the I AM retreats at the Samadhi Centre and offers breathwork experiences online through the ATW community.
ATW Daily Meditations Hosts
The Awaken the World online Meditation Community was formed as a supportive, inclusive virtual space which provides an incentive to begin and maintain or deepen a regular practice. All are welcome to join us for these free, drop-in gatherings. Here are some of the original hosts who’ve held this space for many years.
Sibasis Sahoo
After hundreds of experiences in 2017 that science could not explain, I was forced to turn inward and realized the inward is a mess as well.
Turning inward and facing myself, started a transformation that still continues. This was surrender.
If we can begin to understand what we are without trying to change it then what we are begins to undergo a radical transformation.🙏
Akram Mahani
It has been a true blessing and a privilege to host some of the daily silent meditations. These have helped me deepen my own practice.
Plus, I feel I’m part of a community of seekers who come together everyday for a common purpose. I greatly appreciate the opportunity!
Traudel Deffner
After 2 years of regular participation in the daily silent meditations, it now came about that I am allowed to help as a host to keep the meditations going. The biggest challenge for me is the handling of the digital tools – while staying in silence has proven more and more to be bliss and a blessing as well as a deepening of clarity and love. I appreciate this group very much, many thanks to all who participate!
Dianne Maltais
Resting in the silence and sweetness of simply being. Sharing this space, this moment, and a quiet understanding. These daily meditation, and being one together, have become an anchor to reality for me — a place to untangle, to observe, to deepen. In stillness, something essential is remembered.
I warmly invite all who seek peace, clarity, or simply a place to be — to just sit with us.
“In silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves.”
— Rumi
Silvina Alterman
I am a psychologist living in Argentina. Over thirty years ago, I incorporated the transpersonal and spiritual dimension into my personal and clinical work. Based on experiences with non-ordinary states of consciousness with plants and breathing, I began to practice meditation and self-inquiry consistently and steadily.
Here, I feel at home, honored and grateful to participate in this loving community space whose purpose is to awaken global consciousness.
