Spiritual Practice
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
Much of what we consider as spiritual progression is about diminishing the ego, letting go of the sense of being a separate self and realising Oneness. It starts with recognising that we are not this body, we are not the apparently limited human form. We recognise that there are no real limits to the body anyway. We couldn't really say where this body ends and the environment begins, because the body is a flowing part of the environment. The vague sense of identity we have attached to the body is flawed. Our real spiritual nature is formless and limitless.
It stands to reason that the less selfish our identity becomes, the less material, the less limited and the more spiritual we seem to become. It's not really that we become more spiritual. Rather it is that as the mental association of being a limited physical being is reduced, the natural free spiritual nature shines through. It's like removing layers that seem to cover and limit our true being. This usually happens gradually. As the strength and hold of the selfish ego is reduced, the more the true free nature of being is revealed. It's a simple peace and contentment that is always here but seemingly hidden.
So let's look at some techniques for reducing the ego, cutting down that sense of being a separate, limited self. It's worth noting that although we're discussing the ego here, it's not a real thing. It's not a real entity, only a thought-based presumed identity, that seems to have a monopoly on human life.
The aim is to let go of selfishness. That means letting go of belongings. Belongings bolster the sense of being a separate self; but ownership isn't real. Nothing belongs to anyone. Let go of the sense of ownership. Nobody owns anything. Let this understanding permeate through. There are no separate things, no separate beings, and no ownership of things. It doesn't mean you have to give things away. Just let go of the attachment to objects or others. It doesn't mean you have to turn your back on people. Just let them be as they are. It allows a greater openness and freedom to flow.
Recognise how drama and emotional turmoil rock around the ego. Let it go. Let go of the drama of life - reactions and retaliations, gossip and accusations, blaming and complaining. The ego loves getting caught up in it all. It strengthens the ego's sense of being separate and different. Let it go. Let the drama play on without getting caught up in it. It's not who you are. You are witnessing the world's play; you're not a character in it.
Accept life as it is. It's not that life deals you a hand and you have to accept it. You are Life. The Whole of Life is played out through the seemingly many separate perspectives. All perspectives are the One Life. It will play out how it plays out. Resistance to life just builds up walls of limitation. Let those walls come down. Let life just flow as it is, and know that you are not one who flows with it or is rocked about by it. You are the ever-present Stillness in which the flowing is perceived. That doesn't mean allowing illness to go unchecked when there are doctors who can help. It doesn't mean leaving someone to suffer if they have fallen. It is more like accepting what appears to happen and allowing the natural responses to life's events without objecting and complaining. If work needs to be done, accept it. If something fails to happen, accept it. Accept the flow of life.
Help others. Now, there really are no others. There is only One Infinite Being appearing to divide itself into many. But helping 'others' naturally breaks down the mental barriers that the human mind has built up. It breaks down the barriers that seem to divide, thus weakening the hold of the selfish ego. The most selfish ego doesn't want to help others; it would sooner fight them. The least selfish ego will put others first and look to help them. So this is what we should do if we wish to weaken the hold of the ego. But it should be understood that there really are no others. What happens when 'others' are helped is that the oneness of love comes through, breaking down the barriers of division.
There will come a time when the ego is released and is seen to be nothing other than a dream of separation and identity, an imagined persona that has disappeared. The reality is One. The Whole of Life is One.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
A lot of people go through life not really questioning reality, life and the universe. That's fine. But humanity is evolving. Evolving to an increased awareness. There's has been a movement from animal nature to thinking. Thinking has developed and allows the human mind to consider mental concepts about the universe. Further still, thinking can also question what it is to be.
So the human mind progresses, developing theories and ideas about the world and humanity's place in it. Theories develop. Religions rise up. Spirituality is considered. Many people find themselves becoming interested in reality, life and the universe. People become spiritual seekers. They seek to find the answers to life's mysteries. They seek to find truth, the truth about the nature of reality, the universe and their place in it.
There are lots of answers out there. But the ardent seeker will come to realise that answers don't satisfy. We can accept answers and live our life by them, but that's not the true answer. The true answer for the seeker is in realising who the seeker is. We call it awakening, enlightenment, nirvana, and self realisation. What this really means is the unveiling of the mystery of being. What is this mystery? Well, if I tell it then that answer still won't satisfy. The real answer is in clearly knowing being. Being aware of being aware.
There are many ways to this Self Realisation. The many are one. Letting go of beliefs, ideas, theories and concepts will reveal what is always here. Surrendering to God, who is the Heart of Being, will give up all attachments and reveal that the nature of God is always present, and nothing else is needed; there is nothing else. Self Enquiry, or the seeking of the nature of 'I', will bring the seeker to find that there is no separate seeker, and what is sought is here all along.
So this is the goal of the spiritual seeker. The culmination of the seeker's search is in finding that there is no seeker. There is only This. We can call it God, What Is, The Self, Infinite Consciousness etc. It is the sense of being separate from This that gives rise to the seeking. The separate being seeks fulfilment, completion, peace. That peace and completion is in the dropping of the sense of separation. It is then that the Fullness of Life is realised, right here now.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
We continually experience activity. The world is always moving and changing. We perceive this movement and change. Maybe we're mesmerised by it. Even when all seems still, it's an illusory stillness, as the world keeps on turning. But this is the reflection of Reality.
In meditation we calm the activity of the body and the mind, but they can never be perfectly still. The body and the activity of the mind belong in the world of movement and change. They can slow down or speed up, but not really stop. In meditation we slow them down. Breathing becomes more relaxed, and mind activity can be settled to a degree. The important thing to realise is that we are not the activity of the body or the mind. We perceive this activity from a placeless place of Stillness.
True Stillness cannot be achieved. Not because it is impossible, but because it is already here. The activity we perceive is a reflection of the Stillness in which it is perceived. The movement of the world appears in the Stillness of Being. All space and time appear Here and Now.
So in meditation we sink back into the true nature of Being. We sink back into the Stillness which perceives the apparent motion of the world. We perceive the breathing and the wandering mind activity. We are not that. We are not moving at all. Our nature is Perfect Peace. Pure Clarity. Let the world turn. Let the mind wander. But know that you are not turning or wandering. You are the Stillness right Here.
There may seem to be a 'me' that moves about or thinks thoughts, but that sense of 'me' is made from thought activity itself. It is also perceived. We are That which perceives any sense of me or other. We perceive the mistaken sense of identity. It doesn't change us. The one who may be mesmerised by the movements and activity of the world is not really who we are. We perceive this 'being mesmerised' or 'being caught up in the world'. The world moving and the thoughts thinking appear within the Stillness of Pure Consciousness.
In the world stillness appears illusory, whereas in Reality movement is illusory. The world appears as a reflection of Reality, yet it is nothing other than Reality. All apparent activity appears within the Non-Activity of Stillness, the nature of Perfect Peace, which is the heart of all and the whole of all.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
If asked, you could probably say where you are now and what the time and date is. But that's not really where and when you are. That's where the body is relative to the planet and according to the accepted timekeeping of the area. We can only say where something is relative to where something else is, so there's a never-ending relativity of location. There's no definitive or absolute location. Similarly with time, we can only give a date and time relative to the accepted timekeeping system.
For example, if I say I am in London in the UK, and the current time is 10am on January 5th 2025, that gives a rough idea of the time and place of where this body is in relation to the planet. 'London' isn't very specific. We could be more specific by giving a street name, post code, or even giving geographic coordinates. The location detector on a phone could detect exactly where this body is, thanks to geolocation techniques utilising satellites. Well, not quite.
The location is never perfectly accurate, in that it cannot specify the exact location by millimetres or less than that. (We could go on and on to find the finest most accurate measurements.) There is always some vagueness. Besides, this isn't a universal location, as the planet is always spinning through the universe. The universal location is continually changing. Also, the time is based on the accepted timekeeping system for the area. At that time it was a different time on other parts of the planet. Even 10am isn't accurate. Time is always flowing on. We can't give a perfectly accurate time for now.
There's good reason why space and time are only relative. They are illusory. The distance of space is only ever experienced Here. The change of time is only ever experienced Now. It is the play of the formless unchanging singular nature of Reality to give the appearance of distance and change.
It's useful to find where you really are, although it can never be found. In meditation recognise that you are not the body, nor the mind activity. You perceive the mind activity and the body activity. Go deeper in to find that placeless place Here. There is no weight, distance, time, form or disturbance in this still spaceless place. Wherever the body goes it's still Here. Whilst time seems to pass, Now remains as it is. Here and Now doesn't get caught up in the dreamlike world of space and time. Space and time play on without disturbing the timeless unchanging peace that is always right Here and Now. It's helpful to 'find' this in meditation. You can't really find it, because it's right Here already. It's where you're looking from.
Here and Now is the Reality of Being. Some call it Consciousness, Awareness, or Presence. It is the same placeless place that permeates all space and time. It is the heart and whole of all perception. It is the Beingness of every being and apparent non-being. It has no airs and graces, no pretences of grandeur. It's simply here all along, beyond time and change. We are This.