Spirituality
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spirituality
Do you meditate? If you think you do, then is it really you that meditates? Let's examine it more closely.
Say I choose to sit in a comfortable position, close my eyes and meditate. Now there are many different ways to meditate. One could focus on a point. One could catch oneself from following thoughts and remain centred. One could soak up the peace of being still. Let's say I'm sat there letting go of body attachment, not being distracted by the senses, resting in the peace of being, and allowing thoughts to appear and disappear without latching on to them. If I do latch onto the thoughts I catch myself and return to peaceful stillness.
That all sounds good, but who's doing that? The body is sitting as still as it can (despite being on a spinning planet whirling around the sun in the arm of a spiralling galaxy floating across the universe). The body is not truly still, and it cannot ever be still. It is the nature of form to move and change. The mind seems less still, with thoughts floating by, picking me up and carrying me along for a time, until I withdraw. So it seems that the mind is meditating, trying to be still.
Who is this 'I' that withdraws from being caught up in thoughts? That is the sense of being a separate individual that is also in the mind. What happens is that this sense of being a separate self (the ego) is made of mind stuff - thoughts - and gets caught up in its thoughts. It is the mind that gets caught up in its own thoughts. But the mind is not an entity. It is not really a separate self. This seeming separate self is a mistaken assumption of identity in the mind. I perceive this activity of the mind, therefore I am not this activity of the mind.
I am experiencing the meditation. I experience the mind getting caught up in its thoughts and freeing itself from thoughts. I experience the body and the senses of the body while it sits in the world. I am not the one sitting. I am not the one meditating. I am the Awareness that experiences this.
This is very important to realise, that when you meditate, it's not really you meditating. It is the mind meditating, attempting to find the permanent peace that is your being. You do not move or change. You perceive movement and change. You are perfect peace. Know this whenever you meditate: you are not meditating. The mind and body are attempting to reach your perfect stillness. They cannot achieve this. But through these efforts, the mind can settle itself to an extent that its misunderstanding of being a separate identity is revealed.
The mind will find that there is not a separate mind. There is only the perfect peace of What Is. You do not do anything. You remain timelessly as you are, whilst the mind seeks to unravel itself.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spirituality
Let's understand these terms and how they all tie up in understanding Awareness, Consciousness, Beingness, or God. By those names I mean the same Infinite One Being. Some might find any or all of those names difficult. So let's clarify that first.
There are many names that are used for God or That Which Is. It is not here considered that God is a bearded man in the sky, watching over humanity. The God discussed here is much more personal than that, yet impersonal. That sounds confusing maybe, but what I mean is that the Impersonal is at the heart of all persons. The core of our being is That Which Is. God is that essential impersonal nature that gives life to the world and allows the appearance of personal beings, such as humans and animals.
This is the Immanence of God, being within all beings. Immanence means that God is within. Many of us seek that inner peace and stillness that is God's nature. Some people seek the Infinite Stillness within. Some people feel a personal relationship with God, which is a path to God. It is the path of worship and devotion, where the personal relationship draws the apparently separate beings towards the Infinite Being of God.
God can also be considered as Omnipresent, being everywhere present. The reason for this is that although God may seem to be at the heart of all beings, the heart is infinite. Nothing is outside of God. Limits are illusory. There really is only God.
Yet we can also consider God as Transcendent. That means that God is beyond the world. So how can that be? God does not appear in the world. God is beyond the appearance of the world, yet the world appears within God.
So firstly I said that God is within (Immanent), then I said that God is everywhere (Omnipresent), and then I said that God is beyond the world (Transcendent). You may think, "C'mon, Dave, make your mind up." But really all three are acceptable references to the nature of God. The three are one, you could say.
The world appears as if God is the heart of our being, and in seeking God within we find the Peace of God (some may also call it the Kingdom of God). However, God's Peace is without end. God is timeless and formless. So we find that God only seems to be at the heart of our being, and in fact God encompasses the whole. God's infinite nature cannot be limited by the appearance of form. God is formless, without end, so God is beyond the appearance of things.
That should neatly sum up God's Immanent Omnipresent Transcendent nature. Seemingly contradictory but beyond contradiction. This is the nature of being.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spirituality
True Peace and Stillness has nothing to do with the body or the mind. The body and the mind vibrate and flow with energy. Trying to still the mind or body is impossible, like trying to still the turning of the planet. It's possible to slow or calm the mind and the body, but they will continue to flow.
In meditation we may still the body somewhat and settle the mind's agitation. But the True Peace and Stillness we seek is beyond the world of time and space. It is the core of our being, the core of Aware Being that perceives the movements of the world through the senses and through the mind.
So do not be concerned by the body or the mind's agitation. It is not you. Pure Peace and Stillness is the heart of your being. It is your unchangeable nature, within which the world of change is perceived. Let the world change, and be as you are.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spirituality
Practise just being aware, without attachment, judgement, action or identification. There's no need to stop thoughts. Be aware of thinking also. Although effort seems to be needed at first, really the mind is being drawn to your natural core effortless state of being aware.
Let go of seeking or avoiding, liking or disliking, partaking or abstaining, and be as you are. Let the world unfold as you witness it. You are, and you are aware. You perceive the thinking, the human form and the world. You are not the thinking, the human form or the world.
Practise just being aware throughout the day. When it occurs to do this, let go of holding on, let go of judging, let go of identifying with form, thought and action. Rest in the peaceful state of just being aware. It is your nature. Identifying with form (as a human) and thinking, leads to the sense and belief of the ego. It is the phantom ego that attaches to identity and ownership. It is the ego that judges what it likes and doesn't like, what is right and wrong. It is the ego that identifies as the doer of actions.
All the while you are the peaceful aware beingness. So let go of attachments and rest as the simple clear Awareness that you are, without form, without identity, without otherness.
You are naturally aware. No effort is needed to be aware. It is the nature of your being. You can perceive the efforts of the mind trying to just be. It cannot succeed in becoming just aware. You are the awareness within which the mind and it's efforts are perceived.
It is you, Awareness, in whom the mind dissolves when it seeks the true effortless nature of being.