Non-duality
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
In Non-Duality there is no finite, no definition of things. There are no limits. There are not many separate things. There is only an Infinite One without division or limitation.
Someone might object and say, "But there are limits. I was born and I will die. Everything comes to an end. My body is separate from other bodies. I am a being in my own right. I can't know what others think." Let's have a real look at these assertions and see if we can find any true limits.
Although we may think and assume, "I was born and I will die," it's not really clear who 'I' am and when I was born or began. It's impossible to define who 'I' am. We may say, "I am this body," but this body is changing all the time. We could say, "I was born at 2am on 28th January 1971," but that's just the registered time that the baby emerged from gestation. The time itself is subjective, as it's based on a manmade timeframe. It may refer to a point in time, but even that point is vague and never completely precise. Furthermore, being born isn't the beginning of the human body. The beginning of the human body can't be found. We could trace it back to the parents, but there is a continual unending flow back through generations and generations. Even what we consider to be 'human' is in a continual flow of evolution. Its origins flow from forms that we would not describe as human.
We have an understanding of what it means to die. We could say this is where the body is no longer animated. But even this death is not clearly defined, and we cannot say precisely when it occurs. Rather it can be recognised that the human body develops from a long undivided line of humans. It builds itself up by consuming nutrients from the environment, then it fades and eventually returns to the environment from which it is always made. So being born and dying is not as finite as we assume it to be.
Does everything come to an end? Well certainly nothing lasts. Everything that appears in the world will indeed disappear. It may take seconds, minutes, or years, but everything comes and goes. That doesn't mean everything ends. Rather there is a continual flow of coming and going. For instance, consider a drop of water landing on a pond. This creates ripples that flow outward from the source. The ripples are high at first but they lose their amplitude as they travel. They slowly fade and the surface is calm again. The ripples don't really end. They slowly fade back to the natural state, whilst their energy is transferred.
Is the body separate from other bodies? Only relatively so. The body is made of solid, liquid and gas, and it is separated from other bodies mostly by gaseous air. The body's apparent solidity of form against the spacious air appears as separate from other solid bodies. But this play of density of vibration brings about the appearance of separation. Consider water poured into a bowl made of ice. They appear separate due to the temporary solidity of the ice. But if heat is applied the water and ice become one. So there is only an appearance of separation due to the apparent density of forms. We could confidently say that all humans and animals are not separate from planet Earth.
How do I know I am a being and there are other beings? This is only suggested by the apparent separation of forms, that we've just seen isn't strictly true. The sense of who I am is generally based on a vague identity with this human body. But logically it doesn't stand. This finite being that I think I am is not necessarily who I am. I can't really find where it begins and ends.
So Non-Duality understanding is that we are not separate beings. Reality is an infinite singularity. We are That. It is understood that our nature is Consciousness, and all that we know is experienced by, in and as Consciousness. But if we are one Consciousness, why can't I know what others are thinking?
This is a common question. The answer is in understanding that within Consciousness there is an apparent variation of density that brings about a sense of the finite. Just as the ice bowl can hold water, so can the apparently finite mind hold its own thoughts. Thoughts are relative to the mind in which they form. The apparent separation of minds prevents the sharing of thoughts. However, that's not to say that there can't be communication between the apparently separate minds. To use another analogy, minds are like branches on the same tree, all connected by the central trunk. The Infinite Consciousness that we truly are is like the central trunk, but also the whole of the tree.
It is Infinite Consciousness that is the shared reality of all seemingly separate finite minds.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
From the Non-Duality understanding we can consider three steps to enlightenment. They're not really three steps, of course, but it might help to describe it this way. We can consider there to be an appearance in the human world of three stages of recognition, leading to the full Self-Realisation of our true nature.
First it needs to be recognised that the world is illusory. That means recognising in the mind that the world is not what it appears to be. The world seems to be a multiplicity of forms, and it seems that we are a human form in the world but with a separate discrete identity. This is how it seems, but this is not what it is. Non-Duality teaching points to the recognition that there are not many. We could say there is only One, but it's an Infinite One. There is only the Infinite One.
So the second step after the recognition in the mind that the world is illusory, is for the mind to find out "Who Am I?" I am not illusory. The only thing I can know for sure is that I exist. What I am is another matter. This second step to enlightenment is the turning inwards of the mind, not getting caught up in the illusion of the world, but withdrawing the focus of attention towards where we are experiencing from. We experience the mind with its sense of identity with the body (which we now recognise as illusory), we experience thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions of the world. We experience all this right Here. The second step is recognising this Infinite Oneness of Being as what we are. Some call this God or Infinite Consciousness. It's not enough to know this logically in the mind, because that's just the mind thinking. In this second step the mind is turned inwards towards where the mind is experienced from, the essence of Being.
The third step is in turning back to the world, with the recognition and clarity gained from step two. Effectively the mind is cleared of all erroneous thinking. Reality is perceived clearly without confusion. There comes the recognition that what was dismissed as the illusory world is nothing other than what I am. It's not that the illusion becomes real to us. Rather it is seen that there is only the Real. We are that, and there is nothing other than that. Reality is not a multiplicity. It's a Singularity.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
Consciousness is generally considered to be the state of the mind in which humans know and perceive what's going on in the world. This consciousness is generally considered to be an activity of the brain. This is the scientific view, but science is still unable to fully understand consciousness and how the brain generates it. Consciousness is considered to be a state of the mind, and the mind is generated by the brain somehow.
I'm certainly going to diverge from that perspective here. Rather than consciousness being in the mind and the mind being in the body, from the Non-Duality understanding it's the other way around. The mind, the body and the world appear within consciousness. And it's not just the Non-Duality understanding, it is the understanding of direct experience. All that you have ever experienced of the mind, the body and the world has been in consciousness. Without consciousness, the mind, the body and the world would not appear.
If you hear a sound it is within consciousness. If you open your eyes and look around, this moving image of the world appears in consciousness. The thoughts that float through the mind - "What shall I have for dinner?" or, "I must remember to send that message" - appear in consciousness. Your whole world picture, and all that you know about the world, is right here in consciousness. The hillside that you can see far away, that is perceived right here in consciousness. The sound of the plane flying overhead, that's perceived right here in consciousness. All that you know about your body is perceived in consciousness - the view of your hands, arms, legs and feet, the image you see in the mirror, the feelings of sadness and joy, the sensations of pain or discomfort, the softness of textures, and the tastes of your favourite foods, are all perceived in consciousness.
The mind and thinking is perceived in consciousness. Not only are the thoughts and images of the mind perceived in consciousness, but also the sense of 'I'. There is a sense of 'I am this', 'I do this', and 'I have this' that develops in the human mind, and this is perceived in consciousness.
Truly Consciousness is the still, silent, formless, dimensionless intelligence in which the world appears. The world of forms and solidity, of movement and sound, depth, distance, and change, appears within Consciousness. Consciousness, being formless and dimensionless, is without limits. The sensation and experience of limits appears within Infinite Consciousness. This sense of limits gives rise to the belief of separation and identity. The ego appears in the mind, but is perceived in Consciousness.
Withdrawing from the distractions of this apparently moving, changing world, and withdrawing from the chatter of the mind, Consciousness is known to be just the pure, effortless, unchanging presence in which the world seems to happen. It only seems to happen. Nothing is really done. Consciousness doesn't walk down the street or take a plane to Spain. Consciousness has no arms or legs. It is formless. Forms appear within Consciousness, similar to how dreams appear within the mind.
It might help to imagine nothing. Well, really it's more about not imagining anything, closing your eyes and letting go of thoughts, feelings, ideas and concepts, and just letting the mind be quiet for a short time.... You know that you're here. You are Consciousness. You are alive. You exist. But you aren't over there somewhere. There is no distance or limits. 'You' can't be found or defined. But you know you are aware. This is the shared core of all that is experienced. It is the Self Aware Consciousness. It has no 'substance', form or identity. It is this in which form and identity are experienced.
Open your eyes again and the world seems to fill Consciousness, but Consciousness remains just as it is.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
Where does the mind end and the body begin? This is an interesting question to consider. In Non Duality sometimes 'the mind' refers to the seemingly finite mind, sometimes it refers to Infinite Consciousness. There's no problem with this, as the seemingly finite mind can be considered as the peak of a wave on the ocean of Infinite Consciousness, which could equally be called Infinite Mind or Awareness. When the seemingly finite mind returns to Infinite Consciousness it is clear that it never really left and there never really was a finite mind.
This finite mind seems to get tangled up in identifying with the body, and limits itself accordingly. It's impossible to find where the mind ends and the body begins. The mind controls much of the movement of the body, and the state of the mind affects the emotions and even the physical health of the body. The eyes see the body (except from where they are seeing from) and other senses give a rounded picture of the body. We feel when there is a pain in the body, if the body is thirsty, hungry, tired or weak. All these perceptions and sensations of the body are experienced in the mind. It is the mind that is the centre of perception and sensation for the body. It is in this way that sometimes Non Duality teachers speak of the body-mind.
This understanding of perceptions and sensations appearing in the mind leads to a deeper recognition that the mind and the body aren't really separate. The mind is mistaken in its sense of identity with the body. The body and the world are perceived in the seemingly finite mind. Thoughts are also perceived in the mind, seemingly by the identity or ego. This ego or sense of identity is also witnessed. We witness our sense of identity in the mind. All that the seemingly finite mind perceives is witnessed by a deeper 'collective mind' or shared mind, that is Infinite Consciousness. Ultimately there is no finite mind, body, or world. There is only Infinite Consciousness.