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 Fridays.
Please use the Contact page if you have any questions or would like me to discuss a topic.
- Category: Non-duality
- Hits: 1258
Where do you place your centre of identity? Many people place it right in the human body they experience. In other words their identity is with the body. They identify as human. Many believe they are human beings, going about their human lives whilst they can. Even those who believe they are a soul still identify as human for much of that human experience.
It's a slightly complicated but important thing to recognise. If your centre of identity is in the human body, you will be engrossed in the activities of the body. But if you believe you are a soul, why on earth would you place your centre of identity in the body? Well, that's just the way it is sometimes. We can have knowledge, understanding and beliefs that we are not the body, but our centre of identity is still right there in the body, making things confusing.
If I believe I am a soul and I've placed my centre of identity in the body then I need to do something about that to reclaim my centre, so to speak. If, following the Non Duality teaching, I believe I am neither the body nor the soul, but I am the Beingness, Presence, Awareness, What Is, then I also need to reclaim my centre.
We need to start recognising the errors that we routinely accept. We talk of 'I' as if I'm the body. We talk of 'mine' as if something belongs to this body. We talk of 'we' as if we are doing the talking. You see, that's the problem - are we really identifying with the body? It's the body that talks about being the body. But it's the mind that coordinates this talk based on the mind's beliefs.
Are we the mind then? Should we place our centre of identity in the mind? If we withdraw our centre of identity from the body, the next stop is the mind. It is indeed in the mind that the sense of identity is found to be constructed, although its focus is in the body. We can withdraw the centre of identity to the mind, but the mind still identifies with the body somewhat. The mind still thinks, "I'm going to do this or that. I don't like this. I don't like that." And it's all attached to the body, as if the mind is the body.
We need to go deeper still. We need to ask: who is it that witnesses this centre of identity? This sense of identity is observed or witnessed. These thoughts and thought forms that focus around identifying as a human being are witnessed by someone. So we look deeper into the centre of this identity. We withdraw identity from being a human and recognise that we witness this human experience. We withdraw identity deeper still and recognise that we witness the sense of identity and thoughts in the mind. We withdraw deeper still, to where we are looking from, to the witnessing of the sense of separate individuality. Then we let it go.
This is akin to returning to the heart of the universe. We turn inwards to where everything came from. We go back to the centre. We turn from the world of separate things and go back to the singularity, the oneness of being. It is not too dissimilar to finding the heart of a storm. It is a hollow centre. A centre of the Infinite Singularity.
For those who understand and accept Non Duality, we know that there is not truly a centre. There's not a true identity, but we still need to root it out, by searching for it. Intellectual knowledge of it is not enough. If there is some illusory identity then we need to look for its centre. We look for its core or heart. And in looking we find that there is a hollow centre, or indeed no centre. There is a centre of infiniteness. Our true identity is infinite, without limit or form. Our true identity is no-identity. We are not this or that. We are Pure Beingness. The full emptiness.
- Category: The Universe
- Hits: 1257
Do you believe space and time are real? What about Spacelessness and Timelessness? Most people take it for granted that space and time are real, yet there is good reason not to simply accept this. For space is the illusory appearance of distance, and time is the illusory appearance of change.
The true nature of reality has no dimensions and does not change. Space and time are created, or more accurately space and time come into appearance. They are not the essential nature of What Is.
I should explain what I mean by 'What Is'. I use that to refer to the essential nature of the universe or reality. The term 'existence' isn't quite what I mean, as the Latin 'exister' means to stand out. What I mean is not what stands out, but rather what the universe stands out from or in. It is the universe that seems to stand out. The universe is the world of space and time. This appears or stands out from and in What Is. What Is has no qualities that can be defined. At best we can say it is Spaceless and Timeless, it is a Singularity, infinite without form or definition. It is beyond space and time, being without distance or separation, and without change. It is the perfect stillness within which the world of motion appears.
What Is is like the screen within which a movie plays, where depth is perceived, where there is change and progression. But the depth and change perceived is not the nature of the screen, which has no depth or change.
Space appears as the opposite of reality, seeming to have depth, distance and separation. The true nature of reality is without separation or distance. Time appears as the opposite of reality, seeming to be form changing. Reality is formless. That Which Is has no form.
When space and time appear, the form that appears cannot be permanent. The only permanent is the formless What Is. So form naturally changes. It rises and falls with the flow of opposites.
Space and time are the reflection of the formless unchanging Singularity of What Is. By understanding the reflection we can see the unseen nature of reality. Reality is not what we see. What we see is the reflection of Reality. Reality is Here and Now, Spaceless and Timeless.
- Category: Spiritual Symbols and Patterns
- Hits: 1230
Many years ago in my early twenties I went to bed one night, but before I drifted off to sleep I had an unusual but refreshing experience. Whilst my eyes were closed I saw a shower of swirling symbols. Not only did I see this, but there was a freshness about it, like a soft breeze from a fan blowing on my face.
As I watched and experienced this I started to become alarmed, because I realised that the swirling symbols were swastikas. At that time all I knew about swastikas was that they were the Nazi symbol. As uplifting as this experience was, I was confused that these were swastikas swirling down on me like snowflakes. They felt like uplifting energy, but they symbolised evil, hate, cruelty, and genocide. It really didn't make sense. Then after a few minutes the experience came to an end.
It took some time and study for me to realise that the Swastika isn't a symbol of hate. The Swastika was used long before the Nazis appropriated it. The Nazis used the symbol in reference to their claims of ancient inheritance as the supposedly superior human race. There is plenty to be said against this kind of delusion, and Eckhart Tolle has explained about the deluded collective ego well. Here, the focus is on the spiritual symbol of the swastika, that really should have nothing to do with fascism, racism, or any kind of superiority delusion.
The Swastika has been used by many cultures across the planet and is still in use today in the East, where it has a longstanding history as a symbol of luck and prosperity. Use of the Swastika was banned in Western countries after the Nazi movement was overthrown. It remained as a symbol of humanity's lowest ebb, understandably being hated by Jewish people and others persecuted by the people who wore that symbol.
But historical use of the swastika has been found in cultures as far widespread as Mayan, Norse, Celtic, Chinese, and Native North American, amongst others. Often the symbol is believed to represent the sun and spiritual energy. That certainly sounds something like my experience. The Nazi use of the Swastika sadly seems to be another case of evil taking something good and turning it bad. But they didn't really make it bad. They tainted it in the western mind of humanity. Some Hindu, Jain and Buddhist organisations have had to campaign to raise public understanding that the swastika is not a Nazi symbol, but one that is used in many cultures and religions as a symbol of peace and good luck.
Hopefully one day it will be free from the deep association with the evils of humanity, and regain its recognition as a spiritual symbol of swirling, life giving energy. It is a symbol of light in the universe. The four arms of the cross represent the separation of the universe whilst remaining one. The spinning arms represent the motion of the universe whilst the centre remains still.
The Spiritual Swastika is a simple symbol of the universe and the creative energy, the forces that bring animated life into the world.
- Category: Spirituality
- Hits: 1248
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.
- Category: Spiritual Symbols and Patterns
- Hits: 1228
The wheel is a wonderful spiritual symbol of the universe. Imagine a cart wheel, with a central hub and spokes spreading outwards from the centre. It is used as the symbol of Buddhism for good reason.
The wheel shows how we seem separate from each other. There are billions of people on the planet. We all seem to be separate and distant from each other in some ways. All the people are like the spokes on the wheel. The further we are from the centre, the more separate it seems we are. This applies also to the soul's journey, as it seems to go out from the centre and become more defined and separate from other souls.
This apparent material world appears as a world of separates - so many different life forms, fighting for survival, clashing against each other. The world seems to be far from the centre of Oneness. It is reasonable to expect that there are worlds less dense and less competitive than this one. Worlds that are closer to the centre of Oneness will be less antagonistic. The borders between objects and beings will appear less defined.
It's useful to understand this perspective, that the human form appears defined and separate from other forms in the world, as it is far from the centre of Oneness. Yet, the centre of Oneness is at the heart of all human forms. The centre of Oneness is that core nature which isn't separate. Indeed, at the heart of all beings is One Being. In the centre it is recognised that none are separate. There is only the Wheel. There is only the One. No souls or worlds really stray from the centre. That's the play of the universe in the Oneness of Being. Souls only seem to go out into the world. People only seem to be defined, discrete, and separate from others. Worlds only seem to be dense, heavy and hardened, or to have degrees of density. The higher levels of spiritual manifestation - the more spiritual worlds if you like - would still only seem to be at a lesser distance from Oneness.
Oneness is always here. It can never be broken. The spokes on the wheel only seem to be separate. Really, there is just the wheel. In Non-Duality the aim for the seemingly separate selves that we think we are, is to deeply recognises that there is only One, there are no others, and for this realisation to permeate and dissolve the sense of separation in the human form.
The wheel also demonstrates space and time. The spokes stretch out from the still dimensionless centre, like the dimensions of distance and depth. The turning of the wheel signifies the motion of the world, the change that gives the appearance of time. This spreading and swirling pattern repeats throughout the universe. The significant point is that the centre remains still. Motion cannot appear without Stillness. This still centre is the Heart of Oneness in which the world of motion appears. Truly it is without dimension or change. It is the Here and Now in which the depth and motion of the world is experienced.