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Sometimes Nonduality teaching can be perceived as hard, cold, uncaring about the human condition and without compassion. If this is how it is seen, then it is completely misapprehended, as God – Oneness – is the height of compassion, indeed the only true compassion.
There is only one Mind – not many minds. God cannot descend, or come down to the level of the human mind, it is always the human that has to step up, or ‘ascend’ to God . When we look upwards and rest back in our glorious Being then we are ascending. When we look downwards and steep ourselves in the mire of our thoughts and rigid beliefs, then we are de-scending, and God, Being, can not be found in that place. Of course actually, there is no place where God is not, but in the mire, God is veiled from our awareness.
Many people come to Nonduality hoping for answers to their human condition – for a soothing or a solving of their problems and suffering, and get very cross when this is not given. But they are coming to the wrong place. If help is needed for extreme fear or an obsessive mind, then a specialist in human mental conditions is the person to seek out. Because God/ Being/ Love – has nothing whatsoever to do with the human condition, because God is not human and neither are we.
Who are we then if there is only ONE Mind and no separate minds?
We are all aspects or facets of the One Mind, and when this seen, it’s amazing how just about everything we could possibly be concerned about just falls away. If God, Good, is All – if there is only one Mind, then how can there ever be anything really wrong?
As I said in a previous Blog article, (P.N.D.D- Post Non-Duality Depression), ‘the Truth acts on us because it is True.’
I use to suffer from the most terrible depression also anxiety, anger and deep sadness for such a very large part of my life, until I was literally touched by the Truth, the ONE Mind.
Nonduality is simply another term for Truth – the non-two-ness of everything. I became completely intimate with this Truth; I literally saturated myself in it; by reading about it; going to Satsangs; listening to tapes and watching videos etc. I couldn’t get enough of it because it resonated so deeply that the seeking mortal mind just fell away chunk by chunk, and the aliveness of this unquestionable Truth shone through like the Sun until the clouds had no choice but to give way and dissolve. There was no argument – I couldn’t argue with my own Being - there was just nothing left to seek for. God is the Love that we are comprised of and therefore is always Present. There can be no absence of Presence.
There are no answers to human problems because as real as they may feel, they are a horrible masquerade, masking the Truth of Perfect Being, which is always, unruffled, unwavering, rock-solid and harmonious. It is ultimate Good and is ALL in ALL. There is nothing that is not God. This is such a relief! Here’s where the JOY is!
One time when I had neighbour problems, I remember being so angry and resentful about this woman. The lies my mind was telling me was that she and I were separate individuals with our own separate identities and points of view. This was the great lie, of course. Things went from bad to worse and it was a horrible situation. Then one day, the Truth just shone right through and tore down the walls completely. Any belief in two separate minds just dissolved. All I could see was the One Mind in operation and which had been operating the whole time, and I was just one aspect of this Oneness and my neighbour was another. ‘We’ were drops of the same Ocean so could not possibly be at war with each other, since there had never been an ‘each other’.
Within minutes of this profound seeing, there was a knock on my door and my neighbour gave me a big hug, followed by a lovely heartfelt conversation and we have been friends ever since. ‘I’ am friends with 'MY- self' – how could I not be? Just ONE Mind – not two.
Resting back in the Vastness of Being we automatically ascend to our true nature - our ONE-NESS, but God cannot descend to help us, as God does not recognize anything unlike ITSELF - it does not recognize another mind outside itself.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
The True Nature of Valentine's Day
This post is a bit belated, since Valentine’s Day was actually two days ago! However, the point of writing this blog is in response to various emails I have received around this subject. Single people have written to discuss the feeling of loneliness on Valentine’s Day – despite knowing there is only One-ness. Married people have written about how lonely they feel within their relationship, especially when they didn’t receive a Valentine’s card!
Anything which is made up of need, fear, expectation and insecurity is nothing to do with the true nature of ‘relationship’, of love.
Well it all may sound quite trivial to some people, but I think it raises an important issue about love and partnership.
‘Relationship’ is not an exclusive thing and therefore we can have no personal expectations from it. Love is about inclusiveness - it is who we are – Being is Love. So the best thing you can do on Valentine’s day and on every day of the year, is to love lavishly . Rest back in the immensity of Being and enjoy your relationship with your true Self-hood, with God. This is true completeness.
If you feel lacking in Love, then love all the more, and know that there is no lack of any kind in Being. No matter how it appears on the surface, there is no truth in the story of lack.
For instance, if you see a couple walking down the street hand-in-hand and so ‘in love’ , it is actually Being or God, walking hand-in-hand with Itself. Even the witnessing of the couple is only part of your consciousness, your dream, so you cannot be excluded from that LOVE. You are within it. You can never be outside of love because you can never be outside of who you are. So Happy Valentine’s Day to yourself, from yourself.
Anything which is made up of need, fear, expectation and insecurity is nothing to do with the true nature of ‘relationship’, of love.
Well it all may sound quite trivial to some people, but I think it raises an important issue about love and partnership.
‘Relationship’ is not an exclusive thing and therefore we can have no personal expectations from it. Love is about inclusiveness - it is who we are – Being is Love. So the best thing you can do on Valentine’s day and on every day of the year, is to love lavishly . Rest back in the immensity of Being and enjoy your relationship with your true Self-hood, with God. This is true completeness.
If you feel lacking in Love, then love all the more, and know that there is no lack of any kind in Being. No matter how it appears on the surface, there is no truth in the story of lack.
For instance, if you see a couple walking down the street hand-in-hand and so ‘in love’ , it is actually Being or God, walking hand-in-hand with Itself. Even the witnessing of the couple is only part of your consciousness, your dream, so you cannot be excluded from that LOVE. You are within it. You can never be outside of love because you can never be outside of who you are. So Happy Valentine’s Day to yourself, from yourself.
P. N. D. D (or: Post Non-Duality Depression)
Because I am so often asked about this, I decided to write about it in today’s BLOG.
There are as many ways about talking about Nonduality as there are names for what it is attempting to describe. When we talk about Nonduality we essentially mean ‘not – two – ness’ so therefore we are talking about Oneness – One. We can also name Oneness, : ‘THIS’ or ‘IT’ (for people who are uncomfortable with the name ‘GOD’) . It is also known as ‘BEING’ or Spirit - the ‘Vastness’ - Truth – Love - Mind - Life – the Way - etc. etc.
So if we are talking about Oneness and not Two-ness then everything is Oneness and included in it and nothing can be outside of it, and we are also constituted and composed of it – hence we are spiritual in substance.
There are no separate beings there is only BEING but in the appearance, Oneness has many ‘faces’ to it - or facets - like the facets reflected in a diamond. One facet of Being could be your dog – another, your chairs and tables, another, your neighbour, and another facet is an apparent ‘you’ etc. And this is the TRUTH of what we are – we are all God – this is our essential BEING. For this reason, it is true that nothing we do, think or say really matters or has any importance, as it cannot change the way things are. And since we are all God whether we realise it or not, it simply doesn’t matter whether this is ‘seen’ or not.
HOWEVER - when some people hear this, they get stuck at the ‘nothing really matters’ bit, and then fall into a pit of depression and even despair in some cases, because they have missed the point entirely. They will often say things like : ‘I use to love music but now I don’t because there’s no point to it.’ - or: ‘ I use to love my work which was helping people, but since there aren’t any people, there’s no point any more’ - or ‘ I’ve become a recluse because I can’t see the point in talking to people because everything they say is so trivial’ , and most commonly: ‘ I can’t talk to my partner any more because they just don’t understand about Nonduality’.
But this is not what is meant in the teaching of Nonduality and is NOT what the teaching is about!
Just the opposite! When we see through the veil of separation and realise the truth of Oneness, there is the most delicious freedom . One sees that because nothing is really important, then we can play with whatsoever arises in the moment. Now, even if it’s not ‘seen’ – even if it’s just a load of intellectual concepts to you, that still doesn’t matter at all. You don’t HAVE to see it , because even just hearing the TRUTH – because it is the Truth - can slowly, over time cause a fundamental change in perspective – in other words – Truth works on you and you don’t have to do anything except be open to it.
It is in the vibrant ALIVENESS of this present moment where your true Being/God, can be glimpsed. And this present moment is comprised of anything at all that’s happening. The glorious present is where the Presence of your Being resides. So the Present can include the joy of helping another apparent individual – it can include a wonderfully trivial conversation with a friend or partner – it can include watching a film on TV - it includes music, laughter, eating spaghetti – ANYTHING. Nothing is ex-cluded - nothing is outside of THIS.
And since Being is everything it also includes seeking and that’s why it doesn’t matter whether you are a seeker or a see-er – it really doesn’t. A seek-er and a see-er are all the same Oneness – how could they not be?
Finally, because God is ‘All-in All’ there is every reason to be joyful. God is the way and illumines the way. Whatever job or hobby you have – it’s there to be enjoyed. This amazing LIFE is here right now to be enjoyed. There is nothing you have to ‘not do’ any more and no people you have to avoid because everything is GOD/LIFE/BEING . It is all part of the wonderful dream of being alive. This is where the JOY lies – in the here and now because that’s all we have and it’s wonderful. All the answers you’ll ever need to any apparent problem that presently arises can all be found by resting back in the Vastness of who you truly are. ‘Be still and know that I am GOD’ . You can refuse to be concerned about anything because all that is ever going on is God, and whether you know this as Truth or not, it doesn’t matter – because the Truth is True and eventually that Truth will melt down all your unconscious barriers till the light of God is truly seen, and all you have to do is to be open to that possibility.
There are as many ways about talking about Nonduality as there are names for what it is attempting to describe. When we talk about Nonduality we essentially mean ‘not – two – ness’ so therefore we are talking about Oneness – One. We can also name Oneness, : ‘THIS’ or ‘IT’ (for people who are uncomfortable with the name ‘GOD’) . It is also known as ‘BEING’ or Spirit - the ‘Vastness’ - Truth – Love - Mind - Life – the Way - etc. etc.
So if we are talking about Oneness and not Two-ness then everything is Oneness and included in it and nothing can be outside of it, and we are also constituted and composed of it – hence we are spiritual in substance.
There are no separate beings there is only BEING but in the appearance, Oneness has many ‘faces’ to it - or facets - like the facets reflected in a diamond. One facet of Being could be your dog – another, your chairs and tables, another, your neighbour, and another facet is an apparent ‘you’ etc. And this is the TRUTH of what we are – we are all God – this is our essential BEING. For this reason, it is true that nothing we do, think or say really matters or has any importance, as it cannot change the way things are. And since we are all God whether we realise it or not, it simply doesn’t matter whether this is ‘seen’ or not.
HOWEVER - when some people hear this, they get stuck at the ‘nothing really matters’ bit, and then fall into a pit of depression and even despair in some cases, because they have missed the point entirely. They will often say things like : ‘I use to love music but now I don’t because there’s no point to it.’ - or: ‘ I use to love my work which was helping people, but since there aren’t any people, there’s no point any more’ - or ‘ I’ve become a recluse because I can’t see the point in talking to people because everything they say is so trivial’ , and most commonly: ‘ I can’t talk to my partner any more because they just don’t understand about Nonduality’.
But this is not what is meant in the teaching of Nonduality and is NOT what the teaching is about!
Just the opposite! When we see through the veil of separation and realise the truth of Oneness, there is the most delicious freedom . One sees that because nothing is really important, then we can play with whatsoever arises in the moment. Now, even if it’s not ‘seen’ – even if it’s just a load of intellectual concepts to you, that still doesn’t matter at all. You don’t HAVE to see it , because even just hearing the TRUTH – because it is the Truth - can slowly, over time cause a fundamental change in perspective – in other words – Truth works on you and you don’t have to do anything except be open to it.
It is in the vibrant ALIVENESS of this present moment where your true Being/God, can be glimpsed. And this present moment is comprised of anything at all that’s happening. The glorious present is where the Presence of your Being resides. So the Present can include the joy of helping another apparent individual – it can include a wonderfully trivial conversation with a friend or partner – it can include watching a film on TV - it includes music, laughter, eating spaghetti – ANYTHING. Nothing is ex-cluded - nothing is outside of THIS.
And since Being is everything it also includes seeking and that’s why it doesn’t matter whether you are a seeker or a see-er – it really doesn’t. A seek-er and a see-er are all the same Oneness – how could they not be?
Finally, because God is ‘All-in All’ there is every reason to be joyful. God is the way and illumines the way. Whatever job or hobby you have – it’s there to be enjoyed. This amazing LIFE is here right now to be enjoyed. There is nothing you have to ‘not do’ any more and no people you have to avoid because everything is GOD/LIFE/BEING . It is all part of the wonderful dream of being alive. This is where the JOY lies – in the here and now because that’s all we have and it’s wonderful. All the answers you’ll ever need to any apparent problem that presently arises can all be found by resting back in the Vastness of who you truly are. ‘Be still and know that I am GOD’ . You can refuse to be concerned about anything because all that is ever going on is God, and whether you know this as Truth or not, it doesn’t matter – because the Truth is True and eventually that Truth will melt down all your unconscious barriers till the light of God is truly seen, and all you have to do is to be open to that possibility.
Monday, 8 February 2010
What is the difference between 'Seeker' and See-ER?
Many people write to me about the 'struggle of the seeker', but there doesn't have to be any struggle because the 'SeeKer' and the 'SeeER' are all the same One-ness. The only difference is the 'K' and if you add and 'O' to that 'K'- you have: 'OK'. And everything is OK.
This is not meant to be flippant, but if you can really see that the seeker and the see-er are one and the same, where else is there to go? Nowhere which becomes: 'Now-Here!'
This is not meant to be flippant, but if you can really see that the seeker and the see-er are one and the same, where else is there to go? Nowhere which becomes: 'Now-Here!'
Monday, 1 February 2010
Wonderful things are Happening
It is a scientific Truth, that because God is ALL, you don't need to be concerned about anything because WONDERFUL things are happening. Do not entertain any other idea.
You cannot be 'tired of Being' because Being is your home. You don't exist already. There's nothing to dissolve and no real problems in REALITY.
Nonduality cannot answer problems - it has no answers. There is no 'help' here. Nonduality is the simple Truth of who we truly are. Everything else is just a mockery of Truth. The mind is the great mocker.
You are NOT your thoughts. There is no 'you' to dissolve. There are only thoughts.
So simply put on your shoes, when you are putting on your shoes. Only drink tea when you are drinking tea. Just empty your trash when you are emptying your trash. Let what you are presently engaged in take centre stage - and the arising thoughts will just carry on without you in the background. There is nothing 'you' have to do and there is nothing you have ever done!
You cannot be 'tired of Being' because Being is your home. You don't exist already. There's nothing to dissolve and no real problems in REALITY.
Nonduality cannot answer problems - it has no answers. There is no 'help' here. Nonduality is the simple Truth of who we truly are. Everything else is just a mockery of Truth. The mind is the great mocker.
You are NOT your thoughts. There is no 'you' to dissolve. There are only thoughts.
So simply put on your shoes, when you are putting on your shoes. Only drink tea when you are drinking tea. Just empty your trash when you are emptying your trash. Let what you are presently engaged in take centre stage - and the arising thoughts will just carry on without you in the background. There is nothing 'you' have to do and there is nothing you have ever done!
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