Meet Peter Cutler—Zen monk, mystic, artist, author, and spiritual teacher—a true catalyst for awakening consciousness. Peter’s journey is not just one of deep personal enlightenment but a profound mission to help others connect with their own True Nature, the awakened consciousness that lies dormant within. His story is a testament to the enduring quest for spiritual realization, beginning with a life-changing awakening at the age of 22, followed by a 40-year journey to rediscover the lasting state of unity and love that transcends the illusion of separation. Peter’s presence alone often brings an energetic transmission that stirs this hidden awareness in those around him. Through his Living Awake Groups, individual sessions, and retreats, Peter offers seekers a unique pathway to awakening. His Zen paintings, imbued with spiritual energy, further extend this transmission, making his work a fusion of art and spiritual teaching. In this Mystic Mag‘s interview, Peter shares his insights on living in awakened consciousness, how we can all rediscover this light within, and the importance of dissolving the illusions that keep us from experiencing true freedom and love.
Can you share a pivotal moment in your journey where you realized your calling as a spiritual catalyst and how it has shaped your path as a mystic and teacher?
There were many pivotal moments that changed the direction of my entire life. As a very young child, perhaps two or three, I would wander out into the woods next to my house and feel the oneness of everything. Later, when I first heard the word “God”, I came to think of it as the “presence of God”.
By the time I turned twelve, I forgot this and became interested in girls and my place in the world as a person and an artist.
But at age twenty-two, a strange thing happened to me. By then I had become a bitter, angry, and self-centered young man struggling to make a name for myself as an artist. I was with my brother at an alcohol treatment center for my mother, who was an alcoholic. I was getting progressively angrier listening to the stories of how alcoholics had damaged the lives of their families and people who loved them, just as my mother had done. I packed my bag and decided I would leave the next morning.
The next morning, I woke up and that bitter, self-obsessed person was nowhere to be found. What was there in its place was not a person at all. It was a vast, all-encompassing love. I wasn’t even aware I had a body. I had no clue why or what had happened. I only knew that up until this time, I had never felt even close to this good in my entire life.
And I wasn’t the only one affected by this. This vast energy of love had the power to heal all the people around me. The alcoholics, their family members, the staff, and even a stewardess who sat next to me on my flight home were drawn to me like moths to a bright light. They would tell me their most intimate stories and cry as I held them. I don’t remember if I ever said a word to them. The energy alone seemed to heal them. Most of the people were attracted to this energy, but it scared the hell out of my mother and my wife. They could not take its power and attempted to resist it. There was no question that it was 180 degrees from the person they knew.
I didn’t know what I was, but I loved it. Ten days later, the dream of my personal self began to re-emerge. You can’t imagine my disappointment and desperation to return to that state of pure bliss. From that time on, the focus of my life was to return to that state of being. I didn’t know then that it was always here.
As I write this, this body/mind is seventy-five years old. Many years and experiences have passed since that first glimpse into my True Nature. Even more powerful and seemingly miraculous openings have occurred as part of the natural unfolding of the awakening process. But that would take a book and not a short article. I’ve probably expressed some of this on the website, videos, and Satsangs.
We will never really know why these things happen, other than we are only opening from a very limited dream to our unlimited True Nature.
As someone who delves into both written and visual forms of expression, how do you find these mediums complement or diverge in conveying spiritual insights to your audience?
Everything flows from this infinite being, which is the source of all existence. As a person, I have nothing to do with it. When the person is out of the way, the writing or art or music flows by itself. For that reason, I would not sign my paintings, as it was clear I did not create them. After multiple requests from galleries and people who bought the paintings, I finally relented, justifying it as I was the one who bought the painting. There is no difference between the media. They all have the same author, and it is not me.
What type of services do you offer?
You could say healing and spiritual guidance. These are done individually and in groups through Satsang or Silent Transmission. In the end, healing and spiritual guidance are really the same thing. And both come from the same place, the silence of limitless being, which is often expressed in the dream of form as unconditional love, light, peace, and bliss. Like the answer to the question of various media above, I don’t do anything. This pure presence flows through me when I am not in the way. By me in this case, I am referring to the illusion of a separate, individual person.
How do you navigate the balance between guiding others on their spiritual journey while also allowing them the autonomy to discover their own truths?
I rule with an iron fist. Just kidding. What people need comes from inside them, not from me. I am just a vehicle. Because I am not attached to or identified with this body/mind/person, I can feel what is in other body/mind/persons, as I am that too. But this body/mind/person does not really have the autonomy we like to think it does. This is a dream character in a dream. What kind of autonomy does a dream character really have? It thinks it does. It seems to. But all of it is really the ebb and flow of pure being, the source of all of this. When we understand and accept this, there is enormous relief and a lot of peace in our lives.
Your work often touches on the concept of the “awakened consciousness.” Could you elaborate on what this means to you and how individuals can begin to tap into it in their daily lives?
Awakened consciousness is the realization and experience of the underlying substratum and source of all existence. Imagine what was here before the universe, form, energy, and everything we know, think, and perceive was here. It is not nothing. Yet it is not a thing. It is not a void. There is no thought that can describe it. We call it God, Brahman, Emptiness, Consciousness, the Source, or Being, but no name can touch it. The experience of it is pure, unchanging bliss. We experience this in what we call Nirvakalpa Samadhi, the dropping away of the dream. When this is experienced often enough and long enough, the realization and experience maintains itself even in the presence of the dream and we are no longer distracted by body, mind, form, or the illusion of a separate self. In my case, this took many years. For most body/mind/self dream vehicles, it doesn’t happen at all. Why and how it happened for me, I honestly have no idea. As a person, I did not make these experiences happen, nor would I know how. All I can say is that they happen when the vehicle is ready. Mostly, that means ready to get out of the way.
The more we are willing to let go of our tight grasp and attachment to the dream, the more likely our awakening from the dream is. This letting go is what spiritual practice is all about. Meditation, mantra practice, energy work, attending Satsang with an awakened being where we can directly experience this energy are all useful ways to assist in letting go. And all of it really depends on our willingness to let go. If we are truly willing enough, we don’t need practice.
As a mystic and spiritual teacher, what advice would you give to someone who feels lost or disconnected from their spiritual path, unsure of where to begin or how to rekindle that inner spark?
I would recommend they contact me through my website for an individual session. Attending Satsang regularly is also useful. The energy is cumulative. I offer individual sessions and Satsang on Zoom. All the information is on the website. I would also suggest honoring your inner calling, your inner intuitive resonance. If it is not to me, there are others who are just as helpful. It is important that they live as this non-dual being and not as a separate personal self. Otherwise, they only have intellectual knowledge and not the important energy that is the real teaching. My friend Teja Anand is very good. And I just came across Pamela Wilson who also resonates with this experience of pure being and love. I am sure there are more who live in this state of being, but surprisingly few in this very crowded field of nondual spiritual teachers.
You can contact me through my website https://n-lightenment.com
And watch videos on my YouTube channel The Enlightened Way https://www.youtube.com/@NlightenmentForYou
The videos are all free and watching the videos will give you a good indication of whether you resonate with me or not. Pay more attention to that than whatever I say. If you don’t experience the resonance, keep looking until you find that resonance. That is how you find a teacher. You may have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the prince. Keep at it. You will. The True Teacher is the Sat Guru. That is the guru that is inside you. But good external teachers can help you find this True Teacher within. Good luck and enjoy your journey.
