Trees at Dusk

Life. . .

Sometimes even in the horror and heartbreak we see acts of selfless love and heroism . . .

Burning Bush

Non-duality explained simply. . .

I have not encountered anyone who directs attention to the non-dual nature of reality more clearly than Keith Popko:

The dualistic world is comprised of "me" and everything other than "me". Everything in the dualistic world is viewed in relation to how it affects "me". This "me", the me that is believed to be different than all others, is comprised soley of thought forms which bundled together and identified with is commonly referred to as ego.

When using [Eckhart Tolle's] portals or self-inquiry this ego entity is eventually discovered to disappear or fade away. In its absense there is no more sense of separation from anything, there is just "what is" which is witnessed by the authentic "You", awareness itself. This is the nondual world. Remember, it is the ego/mind that takes "what is" and filters it according accumulated beliefs, and which then names things and labels them as "good" or "bad".

Without "me" there is wholeness, oneness, no "other", just "what is" arising innocently and spontaneously within awareness; with "me" there is also "other". It is this "other" which the me can find so threatening, so it is always wary of "other" because it needs to protect itself in order to stay alive. That's the reasoning it resorts to - it's survival at all cost, no matter what it does to "other". Herein lies the root of suffering and conflict; it all arises out of the sense of separation, which is the defining characteristic of every egoic entity.

Two people can see the same thing and come to very different conclusions as to whether it is a "good" thing or a "bad" thing. Why is that? It's because mind has constructed two different egoic structures, both of which are only thought forms that are identified with as being real. Perhaps each of these egoic structures has been conditioned by two different religious traditions or cultures - in a broad sense this is evident in the Arab/Israeli situation, Sunni/Shiite problems, and Christian/Muslim situation. On a smaller scale, at the level of "me", there are individual differences of conditioning which filter events. In both cases, the individual sense of me and the collective sense of "us", this sense of separation stimulates actions and thoughts which spur self-preservation at all cost.

Finding the nondual pulls the rug out from beneath the feet of the egoic entity. There is then nothing which creates separation. The ego no longer has the reins of control when it is seen/realized not to be real. There will still be a place for it, but only as a tool to be utilized when appropriate on the level of form, but it then drops away again after its usefulness is over, so that the nondual nature of your essential nature is no longer overshadowed.

Flooded Dawn

Wisteria in Bloom

It was never about "you". . .

Every morning, Consciousness puts on an identification with "you" and your story. A name, a job, a social position, an age -- in short, an identity. And every night this identity is tossed aside like the stage costume it is as Consciousness returns to its home as the unconditioned One. Cling not to that which will not endure!

Dogwood in Rain

Haw River Spring

Dogwoods and Redbuds

Tremont Spring

Why do we seek?

Q & A with Felipe Oliviera:

Q: Why do we seek?

A: It is better to ask "what do we seek?" We seek something very clear and simple. We seek peace in all circumstances, whether enjoying a life pleasure or facing its inherent difficulties and tragedies. Once what we seek is clear in our hearts we can ask "why am I not or do I not have this that I seek?" The answer is only one: a concept about myself is accepted as being the truth about myself. The seeking ends when no concepts about myself are taken to be real. Why does seeking end? Because there is no more subject seeking the object or experience of peace.

From the moment consciousness accepted the first false beliefs about ourselves at an early age that seeking started. That seeking has produced all sorts of activities on our part as an attempt to fill the hole in the heart, and has attracted all kinds of events. Then we meet spiritual concepts and those too are taken as a new concept of ourselves and life. So we say: all is one, consciousness is all there is, I'm not the doer, etc. Those are fine concepts aimed at restoring a clear view of what we are.

The tricky part is that there is no individual to truthfully claim 'I am not the doer', there is no 'my consciousness' and all is one but 'I' do not know it. So, all these fine spiritual concepts are built into a new conceptual framework for 'me'. The next step then, must be to investigate the 'me' concept (the root concept) for only the concept 'I am imprisoned' projects the concept 'I need to be free' or, the concept 'I am asleep' projects the concept 'I need to awake'.

We look at life and living through a filter called 'me'. This filter is made of countless fragments of accumulated thought patterns and experiences called memory. The heart then, reacts to the light that has passed through the filter and suffers according to the concept of self that is in place in the moment.

We seek because there is a belief that concepts are truth. See concepts to be concepts and the desire to seek vanishes. If the whole setup of "I want that" is seen for what it is — a play in consciousness, there is nothing left to be sought and no one to seek. There is only being and its spontaneous manifestation.

Redbud and Jordan Lake

Don't believe thought. . .

More from John Wheeler:

The key is simply not to believe self-referring thoughts. Any thoughts, personas and identities in thought about "me" can be let go of. Why? Because you are not a thought or an image created in thought.

Jordan Lake Sunrise

Do not grasp. . .

Another cogent pointer from John Wheeler:

Do not grasp onto an image of one who knows, one who got it, one who completed the journey, one who lived to tell the tale, one who "awakened" or whatever. All of that is just more tales of an image. If you grasp hold of the "acceptable" image, there is a rush of satisfaction and hope that maybe "this time" it will stick. But it is still following an image, a story of a “me”, even if it is supposed to be a better, freer, more worthy “me”. Inevitably the crash comes, followed by disappointment and frustration. And the cycle continues to the next teacher, technique, the next hope. But there can be no real change unless the underlying mechanism is seen at the root, exposed and no longer believed. In truth, those images are like tying yourself to an anchor, throwing it in the sea, and expecting that you will float to the surface — not likely. One must let go of all images, all stories, all identities — good, bad and indifferent.

Framed Sunrise

There is no "you" who can be awake

More from Felipe Oliviera

There is no "you" who can be awake or is not awake. All that is perceived or conceived is absolutely impersonal while, due to identification with a person and a body, imitation, habit and inattention, we go around ascribing individual identities and powers to every being we encounter or imagine. These bodies and thoughts are manifestations of consciousness. By imagining a person who is separate from this consciousness suffering arises and all kinds of teachings and activities arise to help the person to be free. It is not possible for a person to be free. The person IS the prison. When all has been tried unsuccessfully attention is turned onto consciousness itself and the spiritual evolution mind game comes to a peaceful halt.