DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
INVISIBLE GURU FORUM
HTML https://jedmckenna.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Truth Realization
*****************************************************
#Post#: 43372--------------------------------------------------
Where to Find Me, and Who to Find Me As
DIR By: Zara Songull
Date: September 11, 2026, 2:18 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Hello old friends,
I am writing to let you know I'll be offering a live version of
mine and Jed's class starting this November. But it won't
exactly be "me" who is offering it. Here is a bit of a story,
followed by some info about the upcoming training, and about how
to follow my work if you wish to do so.
---------------------------------------------------------
Once upon a time, I left my old life behind. It wasn't entirely
by choice. I had made an epic mess, and made a few enemies in
the process. I sought out a place to work on myself for a few
years, and in the process found my way to Jed in Cambodia.
I had adopted a new name, Lazarus Long, after one of my favorite
fictional characters. When I discovered Jed McKenna was also a
made up name, I could tell I was in good company. Most people
only play one character their entire lives, and believe the
character is them.
As Jed and I started getting up to things together, I proposed
that we create a more advanced course, building on the ideas in
his Navigator Series (now called The Unimportant Course). We
weren't sure, initially, whether I would list myself as a
co-author, or whether it would all be credited to the imaginary
Jed McKenna. I was moved by Satoshi Nakomoto, the inventor of
Bitcoin. He worked entirely under an alias, created something
new in the world, and then disappeared, leaving only his
creation behind. I took inspiration in the idea that I could
give my work to the world without attaching it to my name, my
face, or my personality.
When Jed realized he was dying, he asked me to take care of his
students and his community. It was clearly the right thing to
do, but I was ambivalent about taking on the job. I had gotten
used to the idea of being anonymous, and this was kind of the
opposite. A solution to the dilemma came almost immediately. I
could offer the job to a new character. I rearranged the letters
in Lazarus Long, and Zara Songull was born. Lazarus may have
been ambivalent, but Zara was thrilled to take the reins.
It took me several more years, in Jed's absence, to finish the
work we had started together. He always thought I should write a
piece called Becoming Jed, about how I merged into the strange
multi-part collective known as Jed McKenna. Instead, I became
Zara.
I recently decided to reclaim my old identity: the artist
previously known as Steve Bearman. Steve, flawed as he was, was
a pretty interesting dude, up to some cool things. I am uniquely
positioned to give him an upgrade by integrating a decade of
Lazarus Long and Zara Songull into the old Steve persona. We'll
see what kind of identity alchemy results.
What's in a name? These days, no matter what anyone calls me, it
all feels like we're pretending. You can call me "Steve". I'll
call you whatever you're used to being called. And we can share
a knowing wink as we remember that no name has ever been
anything but an alias. We'll enjoy the characters we're playing,
while remembering that we are also the actors, directors, set
decorators, and audience members.
All this is to say that you'll see my name has changed on the
Turning Into Nothing site. For some of you, who have been
imagining that I'm a woman named Zara, you can now switch to
imagining that I'm a man named Steve.
One advantage Steve has over Zara is that he can appear in 3D
and lead live courses and trainings. Letting Go of Everything
will soon launch a live version, taking place in the US, in
California, starting this coming fall. It will be called Free
Mind.
---------------------------------------------------------
FREE MIND: A Year-Long Experiment in Letting Go of Everything
For the first time, I will be offering a year-long, in-person
training based on Letting Go of Everything. This new adventure
will be called Free Mind. It will take place in Northern
California over the course of eight 3-day residential
mini-retreats, approximately once per month, each weekend
building upon the previous. I realize the people on this forum
are all over the world, but in case you happen to be close by,
or want to move to California for 8 months to take part, please
click the link below to find out more.
[center]
HTML https://www.stevebearman.com/freemind[/center]
---------------------------------------------------------
How to Stay Connected
This forum mostly just functions as an archive. If you want to
stay connected with me, please join my Substack mailing list.
It's free, and you'll get all my new articles and announcements
about events I'm leading.
[center]
HTML https://stevebearman.substack.com/subscribe[/center]
If you want to get a vibe for what kinds of things I'm writing
these days, here's a link to my most recent article. Much more
is on its way . . .
[center]
HTML https://www.stevebearman.com/blog/spiritual-awakening-isnt-spiritual[/center]
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for being with me on the journey of discovering who, and
what, we really are.
Love,
Zara, and Lazarus, and Steve
#Post#: 43374--------------------------------------------------
Re: Where to Find Me, and Who to Find Me As
DIR By: Zara Songull
Date: September 11, 2026, 2:26 am
---------------------------------------------------------
. . . but feel free to keep calling me Zara if you prefer - I
answer to everything . . .
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1