The nondual teacher Adyashanti notes, “The mind has a hard time accepting that life is whole and complete while also being a mess.” If we are disturbed by the apparent messiness of the world we may look for guidance. Guidance points us back to the truth of our being and the remedy within the innate wholeness of life. Here I speak about my journey with spiritual guidance and the truth which requires us to become more and more empty in order to receive it.
A look at the “nafs”, or separate self, its roots in the human psyche, and what its remedy might be. We explore “just noticing” as a powerful doorway to seeing ourselves more clearly and revealing the loving spirit or real self that is always present and available.
Personal efforts to attain, to own, to become, actually take us away from the truth of our being. Challenges are good and help to build character. Understanding the true context and nature of all our experience requires something from us. In the end, the highest purpose is revealed in the unknown with heart open, living for the sake of the whole.
“The world is illusory; Brahman alone exists; The world is Brahman.” What does this teaching from the Hindu Vedas have to do with you and me? Understanding this teaching requires inquiry into the nature of mind and the recognition that reality is one. How do we make this inquiry and then live in accord with this understanding?
The nondual perspective, within all of the traditions such as Vedanta, Shaivism, Tantra, Zen, Sufism, and mystical Christianity, derives from the fact that reality is One. Though reality appears to the finite mind as a multiplicity of events and objects in space and time, this appearance is due to the inherent limitations of the finite mind only. As reality is indivisible, so the consciousness that is aware of it is likewise a unity.
What are the components of a daily spiritual practice? Why would one undertake this? What may be revealed by consistent, sincere practice in the long run?
Here I reflect on the true context for giving, which is God’s being. Our seeming deficiencies and humanness are veils over undiscovered inspiration and capacity. Through a process of subtraction, we become more and more capable of giving all that we are.
What is soul, or Self? What are some astounding attributes or things to notice about our Self or soul? Why can music be so evocative of soul? What does it mean to live true to soul?
What is a human being? Does the concept of being human really help us? Within the appearance or label of being “human”, what are we really? What is the art of wearing the suit clothes of “human” while being what we really are?
What do the traditions teach about the inner meaning and reality of “light”? The teachings of Jesus in Aramaic, the Sufi poets and Hindu sages all point to our essential nature or essence as light. However, attaining to and living from that light presents perhaps the greatest challenge of all to the person-part of us and requires an all-encompassing and uncompromising love. We can call that “Making the Jump to Lightspeed”.