David Hall's Non-Duality Blog
My name's David Hall. I'm the creator of this web site and its content. I live in Wales in the UK.
I developed the Celtic design software KnotWorker, I create electronic music as Goldcup7, and I've written books on spirituality and non duality.
Hope you enjoy this Non Duality blog. New blogs are added on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Please use the Contact page if you have any questions or would like me to discuss a topic.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spirituality
What is it that prevents enlightenment? We may understand the spiritual theory but still feel like we are a long way off from being enlightened. We may understand Non-Duality and know that there is only One, an Infinite Indivisible One. We may understand that concepts, labels and forms can never truly be defined. We may recognise that there are no limits, and there isn't a multiplicity. We may understand that this means we are not the separate identity that the mind thinks we are. We may grasp the teaching that identity is thought-based, and thoughts appear and disappear in the Awareness or Consciousness or What Is, and we know that we are That. But this knowledge, no matter how thorough it is, doesn't make us enlightened.
So what is it that is stopping enlightenment if I know and believe all the theory? It's the separate self, or rather the sense of being a separate self. It can't really be defined, because it's not real, it's a thought-based identity. Let's call it the ego. It's the ego that thinks it knows all this. It's the ego that claims it is the one who knows and believes Non-Duality theory. It's the ego that wants to be enlightened, or at least wants to find peace and contentment. But the ego generally values its identity too much. Without its identity it is nothing. If it lets go of its sense of self then it effectively dies or disappears. Enlightenment is the death of the ego, the end of the separate self that never really was. It is the ego that feels the need for enlightenment and the ego that prevents enlightenment. Kind of.
The 'kind of' issue is that the ego doesn't really prevent the enlightened state. The enlightened state is here already. It is the natural unlimited, undefined state of being. The ego is the sense and belief that it is a defined and limited being. So although the ego may claim the knowledge that there is no separation, the ego is still waving its flag of identity whilst it does so: "I know that there is no separate me!" This is where the issue lies.
The separate self cannot attain enlightenment. Only in making the ultimate sacrifice of itself is the enlightened state revealed. This means the death of separate identity, not death of the body. Some call the enlightened state the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the placeless place where there are no limits, there is only Freedom. The separate self cannot enter. It needs to discard its limits and its definitions of itself, which is what makes it a seemingly separate self. Only then, when there is no ego, is the Kingdom of Heaven revealed to be always here. Paradise is right here. Freedom, Peace, Love and Contentment is right here in the natural state of being. It is hidden or missed because of the ego's ignorance to it. The ego itself is the ignorance of the infinite indivisible nature of Reality.
The knowledge that we gain can only point to What Is. Knowing about Reality is not enough. We need to loosen and drop the identity of the one who claims to know it. This can take time and effort. The ego needs to work at unravelling itself, using the knowledge and practices learnt. Self Enquiry seeks out the source and nature of the identity, and realises that it is illusory and non-existent. The Infinite One is all. Worship and service to the whole lessens the strength of the ego identity, till the devotee is lost in the Infinite One.
Who realises this? No-one. Reality is an Infinite Singularity. It has no true accurate name or definition. It is no-one, yet all appear within it. It is Nothing yet Everything.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: The Universe
Imagine that planet Earth is one being. Within that one being there seem to be billions of beings, all made up of the body or substance of that one being, Earth. There are beings and non-beings, formations such as rocks, lakes, rivers, air, cars, buildings etc. The beings are the insects, fish, animals, humans etc. We could class plants as beings too, in that they seem to have their own existence or life force. There is air and water that seems to separate the solid forms of these beings and objects. All this is planet Earth.
What we have here is one being playing at being many beings. Within the form of this one being it divides itself with itself to create many beings. Through the use of density of form there can appear a separation of form. So some forms appear solid, some appear fluid and separate the solid forms. The seemingly solid forms of animals are separated by air and water. This juxtaposition of solidity and fluidity creates the appearance of separate beings within the one being. For example, the human body is mostly fluid but appears reasonably solid, and air, which is less dense than the human body, seems to separate these solid forms, creating the appearance of separate beings. Though it should be said that air and water flow through these seemingly solid forms.
So what seems to be happening here on planet Earth is that one body (the planet) is appearing as many bodies (animals, humans etc.). These bodies seem to be separated, but it is just another substance of the planet body that seems to create a separation. The play and flow of solid, liquid and gas in the planet body create the appearance of many bodies. But truly there is just the one body, planet Earth. Earth's solid forms, liquid forms and gas forms are all planet Earth. So there only appears to be a division in the planet's forms based on the contrast of density of form within the planet. The division of the planet is illusory.
We imagined that Earth is a being, albeit a somewhat spherical being. And why not? Ultimately even planet Earth is an appearance of separation in the universe. Planet Earth is one appearing as many. The universe is one appearing as many. The universe and planet Earth are expressions of one appearing as many. This is the play of the universe. The universe can't really be separated from something else. There can only seem to be a separation by means of appearances.
The universe is the appearance of One Being expressed as many separate forms, though never truly separated. This expression of 'one to many' is scattered and multiplied throughout the One Being. Or so it seems.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spirituality
The aim of spiritual seeking is often enlightenment. With Non-Duality the aim, once one understands the teaching, is to realise the non-dual nature, to achieve Liberation, Enlightenment or Self Realisation. There are lots of questions about this, sometimes about the fear of totally letting go of everything. Let's consider that.
Certainly, for Self-Realisation there is a need to let go of everything. The other terms mean the same really, Liberation, Enlightenment, Moksha, Nirvana, etc. They all point to that recognition of Reality as it is. That Reality is without limits or division. So the person we think we are is not who we really are. Spiritually minded people, of course, would recognise that they're not the human body. Some may believe that they are a soul.
The soul is and isn't accepted in Non-Duality. It is accepted as being part of the play of Maya, the illusion that is the appearance of the world. There is the material dense world that humans live in, and there is the finer, hidden world of souls and the spiritual realm. This includes the development of the soul, incarnating in human form, getting caught in the wheel of Samsara, the endless round of rebirth. The soul lives life after life after life, learning, making mistakes, getting tangled up in karma. But in Non-Duality this is seen as the play of the Infinite One Being seeming to become many, but not really.
We could consider souls as sparks of divine spirit. But that's not strictly true. They're not really sparks of the divine spirit released into the world. The world is the Divine Spirit, only appearing to be less like or more like the divine. Just as the human body isn't really limited, neither is the soul. There really is no divide in the Infinite One. What seems to divide the Infinite One is also the Infinite One - the space and the substance are the Infinite One.
So we can say the soul seems to be limited but really isn't. It takes on human form and experiences human life. That's what's happening here. The human world is heavy and dense. Dark clouds loom over it sometimes. Humanity is limited by the hardened physical limitations of matter and the hardened mental limitations of the human mind. The human mind develops a pointed sense of itself as a separate individual in a competitive world. This is the opposite of Reality, which is selfless and limitless, whole and complete. But the human experience allows a lot of possibilities. Personalities develop. There is a great variety in the One. All humans are different and express their particular developmental experiences as well as the influence of the soul.
The release of the soul from the endless round of rebirth comes when the soul's attachment to matter and form is dissolved. This comes about when the sense of being a separate self is released. It is the Self-Realisation that there is no self. It is Nirvana, the extinguishing of the sense of being a separate self. It is Liberation, freedom from the bondage of illusory limitation. When this Enlightenment occurs, when the sense of being a separate self is no more, there is no subjugation to karma. It is clear that not only is the body unlimited, the mind and the soul are unlimited. This means that there is no body, no mind, no soul. There is only What Is. This What Is is here right now. It is only the sense and belief of limitation that makes it seem otherwise. But that is the development of humanity in this time.
So when Self-Realisation occurs, it doesn't mean that the world ceases to exist, being sucked back into the Singularity. The Singularity is always timelessly here. Nothing changes, only the sense of being a separate self is nowhere to be found. The human in which this realisation occurs does not identify as a human, a mind, a soul, or anything. It just is. Yet the human life continues. The Awakened Human (for want of a better expression) still has its personality but without the person. It has its flow and role in the human world, as momentum has always been active in it anyway. The human life changes in a way that it is no longer guided by the selfish aims of a separate self. There is no ego in the Awakened Human, so the human life flows naturally with the way of What Is.
Similarly with the soul. It doesn't mean that the soul is dissolved upon Self-Realisation. The soul flows with the spiritual nature of the universe in further play and adventure, in the Divine Play of Multiplicity.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
In the Zen tradition of Non-Duality it is stated that there is One Mind. But what is the mind? It can't really be defined. No nouns can really be defined. The reason being that Infinity is the reality behind the seeming limits of the world.
So defining the mind is impossible. People generally have a vague assumption of what the mind is, and this assumption is generally accepted and shared by people to different degrees. That means that people have an idea of what the mind is, and some people have similar ideas about it, but there is still a vagueness. There is the materialist view that matter is the main stuff of the world, and that the human form evolved with a brain that creates the mind. But the Non-Duality understanding is very different to the materialist.
Truly all we can know about the world, the human form and the brain is known in the mind. We can't know anything without the mind - that aware, knowing, perceiving ability. The mind can be considered as a focusing of sensation and perception. We could say the mind is a qualityless, spaceless space in which thoughts, sensations and perceptions appear. Thinking appears in the mind. Hearing, seeing and all other sensing appears in the mind. The whole world appears in the mind. What seems to be outside and inside all appear in the mind.
The human mind generally has a sense of limitation, being a centre point at the heart of perception. We can say that the mind is that seemingly limited field in which a viewpoint of the world is perceived. But the perceived world is not separate from the mind. Neither is perceiving. It can be recognised that the mind is perceiving an appearance of centralisation. It doesn't mean that this centralisation is true or real. That's just how it appears. The belief of this centralisation develops the sense of a limited, separate self - me and the world. This belief also appears in the mind.
We can go deeper. We can perceive this sense of identity. We can perceive thinking. We can perceive the body's sensations and its perceptions, which include the appearance of the world. We don't really perceive limits to the mind. The edge of the mind can't be found. Indeed, the mind only imagines its limitations.
In Non-Duality understanding there is only Awareness or Consciousness. In Zen this is the One Mind. The seemingly limited mind is perceived in Awareness. There is One Awareness. We could say it is like a central pool from which all mind streams flow. But truly there is no centre. There is only One Mind, giving the appearance of centre and outer. There is no inside and outside. These opposites seem to appear in the mind, but there is no true limiting that divides the mind. The 'outer' world can never be experienced outside of the mind, because there is no outside of the mind.
All that is is One Mind. Even the term 'Mind' isn't it, but it's a way of trying to describe it. Even 'One' isn't accurate. Truly there is no number. There is just What Is.