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Your Deepest Ground: A Guide to Embodied Spirituality

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A guide to connecting with your deepest ground—a rootedness that supports authentic psychological healing and embodied spirituality.In John J. Prendergast’s decades of experience as a psychotherapist and spiritual teacher, the area of the body that’s most difficult for many people to connect with, given our experiences with trauma and survival fear, is our physical and energetic ground. This area in the lower belly and at the base of the spine corresponds with the root chakra in the Indian subtle body tradition, the lower dan tien in Taoism, and the hara in Japanese martial arts. While most spiritual traditions focus on opening the mind and the heart, they tend to avoid or undervalue the opening of the ground. Prendergast notes, “It remains largely unconscious and deeply defended.” However, with the correct understanding and quality of attention, we can consciously open our multidimensional ground and, as a result, experience a felt-sense of inner safety and stability that supports the full flowering of inner peace, freedom, and loving awareness—a truly embodied spirituality.Your Deepest Ground invites readers to take a deep dive into their personal, archetypal, and universal ground, and to see through the false ground of their early conditioning and limited identity. Using authentic anecdotes and conversations drawn from his teaching, and accompanied by refined sensing and inquiry practices, Prendergast guides the reader in a unique groundbreaking and ground-opening exploration.

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 11, 2025

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About the author

John J. Prendergast

12 books31 followers
I am a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and received my undergraduate degree from UC Santa Cruz and my M.A. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Integral Studies. I am licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist, happily married, and have an adult son. I have a private psychotherapy practice in San Rafael and am a former professor of psychology at CIIS.

My interest in “spirituality” preceded my formal studies in psychology. I began a regular meditation practice in 1970 and had a brief career as a Transcendental Meditation teacher before leaving that organization.

An unexpected dream with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, with whom I was unfamiliar, happened a month before his death in 1981. This led me to read his famous dialogues in I am That which became a life-changing event, orienting my spiritual investigation towards self- inquiry. Two years later I met Jean Klein (www.stillnessspeaks.com/jean_klein/), a European medical doctor and musicologist, who was a master of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmiri Shaivism. I studied closely with Jean until his death fifteen years later.

In 2001 I began studying with Adyashanti (www.Adyashanti.org) whose presence and teachings have been an essential catalyst for a series of profound openings that continue to unfold.

Other important teachers have been Sri Ramana Maharshi, Byron Katie and Mata Amritanandamayi (Ammachi).

My dear friend and colleague, Dorothy Hunt (www.dorothyhunt.org), who was asked by Adyashanti to share the dharma, has now invited me to do the same.

from http://listeningfromsilence.com/about...

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Lauren Chase.
180 reviews29 followers
December 28, 2024
I'm so glad I found this book. It's intelligent, insightful, filled with opportunities for reflection, deep work and healing. Author John J. Prendergast presents a synthesis of transpersonal psychology, spirituality/non-duality, somatic awareness, understanding of the etheric body and energy systems - and how all of these can come together to create room for a deeper sense of core grounding and embodied expansiveness.

The idea of "grounding" is pretty common in spiritual circles, and is a practice used to come out of the head or spiritual ethers and back to the self, the body, the present moment. The author takes this idea much further, working with the idea of the lower energy centers, but also helping the reader recognize and release held tension, false beliefs, and survival programming that keep us superficially grounded and still cut off from our deepest ground, our true inner knowing. He addresses the "existential terrors" we might carry - loss of self, loss of belonging, loss of safety, loss of life - and how to connect with these fears that we spend so much time resisting/avoiding and find deeper ground - a true sense of connection and safety that transcends the everyday - rooted in nonduality and a sense of transcendence and greater connection.

This book is so eloquent and insightful and really brought some things together for me in a potent way. I've spent years in spiritual and religious practice, many years in therapy recovering from trauma, and more recently exploring somatic healing practices and trauma-sensitive mindfulness. This book is situated at the intersection of all of these things and I deeply appreciate it. This book is definitely one for my personal library - to keep, go back to, reflect on, and actually use. I think it will be personally valuable in working through deeper layers of trauma recovery,  spiritual development, and healing the energy body. Highly recommended to anyone who's personal healing journey has been rooted in a combination of traditional therapy and personal spirituality, holistic therapists, individuals further along their ptsd recovery path and/or exploring somatic healing, or spiritual seekers and practitioners looking to establish a deeper sense of safety, connection, and personal peace.

ARC from NetGalley
512 reviews25 followers
January 31, 2025
It took me several weeks to slowly work my way through this remarkable book and I feel as though I have barely scratched the surface. This tome is the culmination of the author’s decades of study and experience as a psychology professor and psychotherapist. But it is so much more than an exploration of the human psyche - for as it integrates spiritual principles and practices, it is an invitation to pursue the truth of what it means to fully embody spirit-in-form as a human being.

According to the author, the greatest block to this embodiment is the fear/terror held in the root chakra. Most people hold unrecognized tension in the pelvic bowl due to this fear often related to trauma. While many practices have and do focus on opening the heart and clearing the solar plexus, the pelvic area remains largely unexplored in Western culture. Yet, the author proposes that this deeply defended energy center leads to our deepest ground of being, thus opening to a greater sense of “inner safety and stability,” and our true nature.

The book is filled with wisdom and insight reflected in the author’s personal experiences, dialogues with clients, Inquiry Exercises, and Meditation Practices. All that is required is a dedication to discovering Truth and a willingness to embrace vulnerability. No small task, but with great reward.

This is a book well worth revisiting providing the opportunity to go deeper over time in expanding from the personal perspective to the Universal ground of being.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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460 reviews18 followers
April 18, 2025
A masterful introduction to the „mystery“ of our lower belly
John Prendergast, a spiritual teacher for many decades, masterfully guides the reader in this comprehensive book to explore beyond the awakening of the mind and the heart. To go literally deeper to the lower belly, the hara in Japanese tradition, the Dan-Tien in Chinese traditon and our deepest ground.
Though a book it is more than just words to read: it rather invites the reader to first „taste“ what the deepest ground is about - Prendergast does the seemingly impossible and describes in masterful strokes and deeply resonating words that which can not be described and shares his lifelong experience with us.
In a second step he incorporates small, simple practices and meditations to guides us to experience the „mystery“ of the deepest ground for ourselves: powerful, literally beyond words.
I had to take some time for this journey and feel and experience the deepest ground as introduced by Prendergast.
I bow in gratitude.

I received an ARC. The review is left voluntarily.
Profile Image for Lydia Taylor.
2 reviews1 follower
December 27, 2025
This audiobook feels like a quiet but profound turning point. Your Deepest Ground doesn’t rush to elevate the listener into abstract spirituality it does something far more courageous by guiding us downward, into the places we’ve often avoided. John J. Prendergast’s voice and insight create an immediate sense of safety, as if you’re being accompanied rather than instructed. The way he weaves psychology, somatic awareness, and spiritual wisdom feels deeply respectful of real human experience, especially for those carrying trauma or long-held fear.

What stayed with me most was the emphasis on grounding as the missing link in many spiritual paths. The practices are gentle, the teachings accessible, and the anecdotes quietly powerful. By the end, this felt less like an audiobook I finished and more like a relationship I began with my body, my sense of safety, and my own lived spirituality. It’s rare to find a work that feels this embodied, compassionate, and enduring.
1 review
August 4, 2025
I'm blessed to have this book in my life. Having sat on retreats with John, I can say John's is a powerful and kind soul-and that soul shows up in this book. He guides the reader back home to deep parts of self, and I am excited to have this book as a lifelong resource to return to again and again, as a guide back home to my own deepest ground. I enjoy bouncing between the audio version and the written text; hearing him read his own words transmits what he points to with the gentleness of his spirit, while reading the text at my own pace allows me underline and take notes (so many powerful statements and offerings, almost every page is annotated!). I am so grateful that through the book, John shares his wisdom and guidance on this nuanced and profound aspect of self-discovery, truth, and living from the deepest part of oneself.
Profile Image for Karen Trevino.
3 reviews2 followers
December 27, 2025
Listening to Your Deepest Ground felt like being invited into a deeper layer of myself that I didn’t even realize I’d been neglecting. Prendergast names something many spiritual seekers sense but can’t articulate: how easy it is to bypass the body while chasing insight. His exploration of the ground physically, emotionally, and energetically feels both ancient and refreshingly honest, rooted in decades of real clinical and spiritual experience.

The audiobook unfolds with patience and humility, offering practices that feel genuinely doable rather than idealized. There’s no pressure to “heal” or “transcend,” only an invitation to listen and soften. By opening to the ground, I found a surprising sense of steadiness and trust arising naturally. This is the kind of work that continues quietly long after the final chapter ends.
1 review
November 18, 2025
I’ve been following John Prendergast’s work for many years, and *Your Deepest Ground* has touched me more deeply than any of his previous books. His writing is heartfelt, clear, and beautifully accessible — the kind that invites you to slow down and listen inwardly. What moves me most is how openly he shares his own spiritual path and the experiences of his students and clients. It’s rare to find this much authenticity and humility in a spiritual teacher.

Each chapter includes “Inquiry Meditations” that gently guide the reader toward direct experience, not just understanding. When practiced, they truly lead to profound shifts in awareness. This isn’t just another spiritual book — it’s a living guide to embodied spirituality. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Profile Image for Kiera Hodgson.
3 reviews6 followers
December 27, 2025
What struck me immediately about Your Deepest Ground is its sincerity. This isn’t a book trying to impress or overwhelm it’s a guide that meets you exactly where you are. Prendergast speaks with clarity and warmth about the lower belly and base of the spine as sacred territory, areas shaped by survival, fear, and conditioning, yet holding immense potential for healing and freedom.

The teachings feel deeply embodied, especially in audio form, where the pacing allows the insights to land in the body rather than just the mind. The integration of trauma awareness with spiritual inquiry is handled with great care. This audiobook offers something rare: a path toward awakening that feels grounded, humane, and profoundly kind.
Profile Image for Sophie West.
3 reviews8 followers
December 27, 2025
Your Deepest Ground feels like a necessary correction to years of disembodied spirituality. Prendergast brings attention to the root of our experience where fear, identity, and resilience are stored and shows how opening to this ground can transform not just meditation, but daily life. His decades of experience shine through in the gentleness of his approach and the depth of his understanding.

The audiobook format enhances the material beautifully, allowing pauses for reflection and embodied sensing. Nothing feels rushed or prescriptive. Instead, there’s a steady invitation into presence, honesty, and trust in the body’s wisdom. This is a book that doesn’t just inform it quietly reshapes how you inhabit yourself and the world.
5 reviews
May 31, 2025
definitely worth reading and then rereading🙏🏼

This is the 3rd book of John’s I have read-the first, Listening from Silence, was part of my initiation to healing the deepest parts of my wounded “self”, Then came his second book which provided in greater insight and practices to heal more and open my heart more deeply-Finally with Your “Deepest Ground” There is wisdom and a path to connect with greater intimacy and vulnerability- I discover more and more through John’s teachings the groundless ground. One of the clearest embodied spiritual teachers. Worth reading and re-reading .
1 review
August 3, 2025
"Your Deepest Ground,"along with "In Touch" and "The Deep Heart," live on my main book shelf so I can easily return to them over and over! All three of John's books speak directly to the heart. There is resonance, lucidity, and luminosity. I've underlined many meaningful pieces that serve as beautiful quotes that I share with friends, and as invitations to return to inner knowing. The meditations and inquires are helpful. I have even recorded some of them so I can listen to them as I walk. They invite an immediate opening and falling away. What is our deepest knowing? I'm grateful to John for guiding us more deeply into our bodies, and into the deep heart.
Profile Image for Linnea W..
24 reviews3 followers
January 13, 2026
John J. Prendergast offers a rare and essential contribution to modern spiritual literature. While many teachings emphasize transcendence, Your Deepest Ground emphasizes embodiment showing that true freedom arises not by leaving the body behind, but by fully inhabiting it.

Drawing from multiple traditions while remaining grounded in direct experience, Prendergast skillfully guides readers toward a deeper relationship with their physical and energetic foundation. The book’s insights are subtle, practical, and deeply transformative. For anyone who has experienced spiritual insight without lasting integration, this work offers a profound corrective.
Profile Image for Jennifer W..
24 reviews2 followers
January 13, 2026
This is a wise, mature, and deeply reassuring book. John J. Prendergast addresses the longing for inner safety that underlies much spiritual seeking, and he does so with honesty and humility. His exploration of the “false ground” of conditioning versus the true ground of being is both illuminating and liberating.

The personal anecdotes and dialogues drawn from his teaching bring the material to life, making complex inner dynamics feel relatable and human. Your Deepest Ground is an invaluable guide for anyone interested in healing at the root level and cultivating a spirituality that is stable, loving, and fully embodied.
1 review
Read
August 29, 2025
This book is wonderful - it says more on the subject of embodied spirituality than I have read before. It is beautifully written with meticulous clarity.
John offers a monthly on-line Zoom session absolutely free to those who buy the book, sometimes with a meditation or a talk, and then a Q and A. It's an opportunity to go even deeper into the book.
I highly recommend this book and the online book group. You can join the group on-line at any time until December 2025 and have the great pleasure of being in Presence with John.
Profile Image for Chad Stclair.
9 reviews
Read
January 21, 2026
This book fills a gap I didn’t even realize existed in my spiritual practice. While so many teachings emphasize transcendence, Your Deepest Ground brings attention to what has long been neglected: embodiment, safety, and rooted presence. John J. Prendergast writes with clarity, humility, and deep experiential wisdom. I found myself slowing down, sensing more, and feeling genuinely supported rather than pushed toward an ideal. A profound and practical guide for anyone seeking a spirituality that lives in the body, not just the mind.
12 reviews
August 3, 2025
I loved this book. As a person with a longtime spiritual practice, I felt this to be a mature and wise book. His discussion of the principles and practices he offered were intelligent and compassionate. I read it originally but ordered the audio version so I could listen to the inquiry prompts in real time. I have also listened to most of it a second time. His wisdom and compassion shine on every page.
1 review
August 10, 2025
When the student is ready, the teacher appears. John is a genuine, deft, caring, warmhearted, emotionally attuned clear teacher and writer. The meditative inquiries offered in the book are precisely what I need now. Delving deeper, after literally decades of what I thought was deep diving, is not always easy. John's words to trust the process ring true. John's trilogy is a gift to all of us in this cluttered spiritual marketplace. A deep bow and heartfelt thanks.
1 review
November 4, 2025
John Prendergast’s generosity and thoughtfulness are richly present in this book. I appreciated the attention to ‘below the heart’ inc. but not limited to the solar plexus and belly area. A lot to explore- and these explorations are skillfully accompanied by guided meditative inquiries. I also appreciated the nuancing of Jung’s vs./and Eastern ‘spiritual’ articulations. I may buy the audiobook as better fit re guided inquires.
Profile Image for Amanda Aviles.
7 reviews1 follower
January 21, 2026
What moved me most about this book is its gentleness. Prendergast doesn’t ask the reader to “fix” themselves or transcend their humanity. Instead, he invites a deep listening to the body and the ground beneath our experience. The exploration of the lower belly and base of the spine felt both ancient and refreshingly modern. This book helped me feel safer in myself something no other spiritual text has quite done.
Profile Image for Barbara Graham.
Author 4 books68 followers
July 15, 2025
Seamlessly weaving together depth psychology with profound spiritual insights, John Prendergast's Your Deepest Ground lays out a clear and practical roadmap for anyone seeking to transform the fear and negative core beliefs that keep them from embracing their innate wholeness. I can think of no wiser companion for the journey, one that I know I'll return to again and again.
3 reviews1 follower
August 3, 2025
If you are looking for a heart and ground opening transmission of the truth that you are, here’s your deal.
You not only learn to ask fundamental questions to shake your core beliefs, but receive unconditional love, shaped by gentle humor and grace.
It’s a goodbye to spiritual bypassing and a welcome to embrace our true ground of being.
3 reviews
January 21, 2026
Your Deepest Ground is a rare integration of psychotherapy, somatic awareness, and spiritual inquiry. Prendergast’s understanding of trauma and survival fear brings a much-needed compassion to spiritual work. The practices are subtle yet powerful, inviting presence rather than effort. This is not a book you rush through it’s one you return to, allowing its insights to settle and unfold over time.
Profile Image for Linda Lucky.
8 reviews
January 21, 2026
As someone with a long background in meditation, I found Your Deepest Ground both illuminating and humbling. It revealed how much my practice had unconsciously bypassed the body. Prendergast’s teachings on the “false ground” of conditioning versus the true, living ground were especially impactful. This book doesn’t offer quick answers it offers a deeper orientation toward being.
7 reviews
January 21, 2026
John J. Prendergast writes with the authority of lived experience, not theory. The anecdotes and dialogues throughout the book made the teachings feel intimate and real. I appreciated how he weaves together Eastern traditions with Western psychological insight without diluting either. The result is a grounded, mature spirituality that honors complexity, vulnerability, and embodiment.
4 reviews
January 21, 2026
This book feels like a quiet companion rather than a set of instructions. The sensing and inquiry practices are subtle, precise, and deeply respectful of the reader’s nervous system. I found myself noticing shifts in how I relate to fear, stability, and presence. Your Deepest Ground is especially valuable for anyone who has felt destabilized or unmoored by traditional spiritual practices.
3 reviews
January 21, 2026
Prendergast’s emphasis on inner safety is transformative. Rather than striving for awakening, he points toward a felt sense of groundedness that allows awakening to emerge naturally. The concept of “opening the ground” clarified so much of my own spiritual and psychological struggles. This is a wise, compassionate book that meets the reader exactly where they are.
3 reviews
January 21, 2026
Few books manage to bridge depth psychology and spirituality with such elegance. Your Deepest Ground speaks directly to the embodied realities of trauma, fear, and survival while still opening into spacious awareness and love. It’s a mature teaching, best suited for readers ready to slow down and listen deeply. I found it both stabilizing and liberating.
Profile Image for Jacob Levine.
10 reviews
January 21, 2026
This is not a book about becoming better or more spiritual it’s about becoming more real. Prendergast’s exploration of the ground as personal, archetypal, and universal is beautifully articulated. The writing is clear, grounded, and free of spiritual jargon. Reading it felt like being guided by someone who truly understands the human condition.
Profile Image for Michael Perkins.
9 reviews
January 21, 2026
Your Deepest Ground offers a missing foundation for spiritual growth. By bringing awareness to the lower body and the deeply defended layers of experience, Prendergast helps restore a sense of wholeness often lost in spiritual seeking. This book has changed how I relate to meditation, therapy, and everyday life. A quiet masterpiece that reveals its depth over time.
Profile Image for Lyn D Rose .
1,388 reviews21 followers
February 28, 2025
This guide helps you to connect with your deepest ground, a rootedness that supports authentic psychological healing and embodies spirituality is very engaging. I found it to be very informative and helpful. I recommend reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews