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: God
- Hits: 1128
Okay, this is probably a contentious issue, but let's explore the reality and existence of God. Firstly, there are many different perspectives of what or who God is, and some would say there is no God. The problem is there isn't really a fixed consensus on a definition of God. The most common concept of God is that 'He' is the creator of the universe, He lives in a heavenly realm and He is benevolent and intimate to all creation, bringing comfort and answering prayers. This concept of God usually has Him pictured as a bearded man. Some religions, current and ancient, have numerous gods, but there is often a single God figure that is the chief of these. He also is often depicted as a man.
In Non-Duality there are not many beings, so there isn't really a God that is chief of others. There isn't a God that creates a world separate from Himself, where there are lesser beings. In the Advaita Vedanta tradition there is only God, or Brahman. The true nature of all apparently separate beings is Brahman. The Self of all selves is Brahman. Your true nature is Brahman. My true nature is Brahman. There is no truly separate me and you. There is just Brahman, and this appearance of separate beings and what seems to separate them is wholly Brahman. Brahman, or God, is the Infinite Indivisible One Being.
So it's not a God that is a man with a beard, although it is respected that some humans or beings may reach that point of Self Realisation in which they do not identify as a separate being, and so they can be considered God in human form. It's not strictly correct, but essentially the God nature shines through the human form that is not attached to limitation and separate identity. In this sense we could say that Buddha was a God Man, although Buddhists wouldn't traditionally believe in God.
This is where the subtle understanding of the nature of God comes in. Some have turned against the idea of a benevolent creator God, because there can seem to be little evidence of this in a harsh dangerous world. But if God is understood as a Singular Being in whom the universe appears as if it is a multiplicity of separate forms, then who can deny the existence of God? To put it another way, if God is understood to be an Infinite Being, then there is nothing other than God. God has no boundaries. God isn't really a man or a humanoid type figure.
In Non-Duality God is the Infinite Indivisible One Being in whom the universe appears. The universe is like the broken body of God, split into pieces and scattered. The parts of the universe are inevitably less than the One Being, or so they seem. But truly the One Being remains eternally unchanged, being beyond space and time, yet encompassing all apparent space and time. God is Omnipresent, because in truth there is nowhere other than Here. God is Eternal, as there is truly no time other than Now.
Is this Infinite One God benevolent? Does this God help humans? Well, yes and no. This Infinite God does nothing, goes nowhere, as there is nowhere and nothing other than God. This Infinite God is the Whole, Complete, Love, Life, Peace, Harmony, Permanence, Oneness. All the best qualities that we know of are so because of the nature of the Infinite One God, who is Reality. The world appears by contrast to God, in that it seems to be a World of Opposites. God's Oneness is contrasted by the illusory appearance of separation and many. All that relates to separation is the opposite of God and Reality. God (or Reality) is Infinite Oneness.
God doesn't really step in and help humans directly, because God is the universe itself, including all appearances of forms apparently past and future. God takes no sides. Yet the true nature of the Oneness of God can come through into the human world. We know this as love, human warmth and kindness, equality, fairness, peace, safety, belonging, help, togetherness, selflessness and wisdom. Each human can choose to follow this way or turn from it. Following it is the Way of Oneness, turning from it is a way of selfishness and separation that leads to the opposite of God. Or so it seems.
Truly there is no opposite of God. God is the Whole, a complete Singularity. There is no other. There are no limits that divide. There are no opposites. There only appears to be a World of Opposites. This World of Opposites is none other than God, the Infinite One Being, expressed by contrast. So the way of selfishness and separation leads to ignorance, darkness, and confusion. Selfishness and separation is a mistake. It is the mistaken belief that there is anything other than God. There is only the Infinite One Being.
- Category: The Human Experience
- Hits: 1126
Part of Non-Duality teaching is to recognise there is an ego at play. The ego is the sense and belief of being a separate self. The ego doesn't really exist as a separate entity. It is a thought-based persona. The ego has developed in the human psyche as the mind has evolved in a harsh world, where it has needed to develop defences to survive. Attack is a form of defence, as is hiding, remaining quiet, or making a stand.
We find a range of egos in the human world, from the most humble to the most selfish. The strong ego has the strongest defence, and prides itself on maintaining its identity and borders. It accentuates its limits to maintain its identity. It may even seek to dominate others and place its own limits around them. The humbler ego gives up its defences and does not feel the need to force or push. Indeed, the humbler ego is more open and at peace with the world. It's fair to say that the human world is ruled by egos.
But in Non-Duality we recognise that this illusory ego has been dominating too long. We learn to not be taken in by it, as we have done in the past. We recognise that its selfish aims are contrary to the infinite oneness of life. We see it as a bundle of thought-energy that asserts itself as right and in charge of this body. Non-Duality practice is to depose this usurper and allow the true selfless Self to shine as the rightful Beingness in the human form. The true Self is without borders or limitations.
Our practice is in letting go of holding on. The ego holds onto things, people, beliefs, and its sense of self as different to others. Slowly we let this go. The ego becomes humbler, and recognises that it has been living with false selfish beliefs. This human is not the most important being on the planet. The ego turns to being of service to others and less dismissive. The ego opens up and lets down its barriers. If we practise Self Enquiry, as taught by Sri Ramana Maharshi, we seek to find this self. In seeking this self identity we find that it is non-existent. The ego has no real lasting substance. Once rooted out, there is no ego or sense of identity. This is Nirvana, the extinguishing of the sense of being a separate self. It allows the selfless Self to come through unhindered.
That's the process, but there are minds reading this at different levels of ego-identity. The important thing first of all is to recognise that this ego has been ruling your perception of the world. You will notice it when it asserts itself or when it seeks to hide away. This is fine. But the path to clarity and oneness is in diminishing the ego. We can start by helping others, being kind and forgiving. Being willing to put ourselves out for others without complaint. Yes, drop the complaining. That's the ego asserting itself again. There may be rightful causes to stand up for, but be cautious of getting caught up in the ego strengthening its identity as a warrior. Humility is the key.
- Category: Spirituality
- Hits: 1118
Humanity tends to label some things or places as sacred, holy, or spiritual. For example, there may be a sacred spring that has been considered to be a stream or well with spiritual significance. There are churches, mosques and temples that are considered holy. Even in my writing I describe some symbols as being spiritual. These things and places seem to have a peace and holiness about them.
This is wonderful, and there are some places that seem more spiritually significant than others, but in Non-Duality we recognise that there is only the Infinite One. There can't really be anything other than the Holy One. There can't be a place that is holy and another place that is not. There can't be a spiritual object or person and a non-spiritual object or person. There is only the Holy One.
This appearance of spiritual and non-spiritual, holy and unholy, sacred and profane exemplifies the error of dualistic thinking. It is just a play within the holiness of the Infinite One. We may consider these opposites and recognise that they are not clear cut, black and white. There is a spectrum or continuum of difference between them. So between the sacred and profane there is a wide scale of difference, including what we may describe as 'most sacred', 'secular', 'irreverent' and 'unholy'. This is the way with opposites. They can be considered as a continuum.
But this continuum of opposites is just a play of stretching out Oneness into otherness. There seems to be what is close to Infinite Oneness and what is far from Infinite Oneness, but Infinite Oneness is all there really is. Nothing can be far from the Infinite One. It can only appear to be near or far. This 'spiritual' recognition breaks down the whole dualistic view of reality. There is not a divide of the Holy One into holy and unholy. Even in the supposed division, we can recognise a non-separate continuum. Indeed, this continuum is the only way that a division can seem to appear. It's not a division at all. More like a stretching out of Oneness.
We're getting to the recognition here of the nature of the apparent separation in the world. This apparent separation of the Holy One can never happen. It can only pretend to happen. Separation, near and far, can only appear in Infinity by method of illusion. There is no unholy. There is no heaven and hell or a world in-between. There is only the Holy One, no matter what appears to happen.
There is only the Sacred. There is only the Spiritual. Reality is this sacred, holy, spiritualness. We give it these special names and utilise the sense of opposites to emphasise its significance. Really, the Holy One isn't special or not-special. It just is. There aren't holy or unholy places or people, there is just what is. But it's not a mundane What Is. It is holier than can be imagined.
It is the higher of the opposites that points to that which is beyond appearance, and the lower of the opposites that allows it to seem to appear by contrast. This Holy of Holies doesn't really appear. Appearance is its opposite. It is unseen, for who can see it? There is none other than the Holy of Holies. We cannot say here it is or there it is. It is right here, everywhere and nowhere. In no place and all places.
If we search for holiness we mistakenly presume it isn't here already. If we think we have found holiness, then we mistakenly believe that there is something other than holiness. So what do we do? We rest assured that there is only the Holy of Holies. If we think otherwise, recognise that this thinking is just a play of opposites. There is only the Holy of Holies.
- Category: The Human Experience
- Hits: 1121
In Non-Duality teaching there is not a thinker or a doer. There is only Consciousness. Consciousness can't sing and dance, and it can't walk. But we seem to be able to move about. Let's understand this.
Consciousness is stillness beyond any sense of movement. Movement is the appearance of change within the unchanging Consciousness. We are not the body that seems to move about. So although you may say, "I'm going for a walk," it's not really you that goes walking. It's the body that walks, not Consciousness. The body and its movements are not who we are. We perceive the body and its movements. Most spiritually aware people could agree that they are not the body.
Then we have the mind. We might say, "I was thinking about what you said yesterday." But we don't do the thinking. The mind thinks, or rather thoughts appear in what we call 'the mind'. We are the Consciousness experiencing the mind, its thinking and thoughts. We perceive the thoughts appearing and the sense of identity in the mind that thinks it is thinking thoughts. We can't really define 'the mind'. It is what we call the field in which thinking, feeling, sensing and perceiving appears. Ultimately 'the mind' can be considered as a focusing of Consciousness.
It's important to remember that Consciousness is like a Singularity. It is dimensionless and formless. It doesn't go anywhere or do anything. There is nothing and nowhere other than Consciousness for it to be able to move or do anything. Consciousness is formless. If there is any form (including thought forms) or there is any movement, that's not you. That's not Consciousness. It appears in Consciousness, yes. But it is illusory in the sense that it is not a true portrayal of Consciousness. Consciousness cannot 'see' itself. So anything that is perceived cannot be it. Any appearance of forms will be imperfect compared to the Pure Perfection of Formless Consciousness.
So who thinks the thoughts? Nobody. The thoughts float by within Consciousness, as part of the mind and its conditioning. The mind forms a sense of identity, which is thought-based. This thought-based identity then thinks that it is thinking thoughts. It's all a flow of thought energy that reacts to the more dense forms of the body and the world. We can understand it like this: there is solid matter of the body that changes slowly, there is liquid matter in the body that moves around, there is gas also flowing through the body at a higher rate; then there is the less dense but more volatile flowing of the mind. The flowing of the mind is part of this system that interacts with the body and the world. The mind itself can have some fixed views and more flexible views. This is all perceived in Consciousness.
So there is nobody thinking. Thoughts flow. Consciousness witnesses this. The mind forms an attachment and identity as a thinker, believing itself to be a separate entity that can think. Truly Consciousness doesn't think. The nature of Consciousness is peace, stillness, and infinite oneness.
- Category: Spiritual Practice
- Hits: 1114
The practice of remaining present during activity is a practice of no-practice. Meaning that one recognises one's stillness whilst activity happens. Stillness in activity. But how do we do this non-doing?
A good example is driving a car. If you don't drive you can tweak this example, as it works with catching a bus, a train, a plane, or a boat. Within the activity of the world there arises in us a desire or intention to make a journey. It's not really that we decide it. It may be noticed that there is a decision making process, but this is part of the flow of the world. In Non-Duality we are not the flow of the world per se. We witness the apparent flow of the world. We witness the formation of the plan to travel. It may be to go shopping, to meet up with someone, to go to work etc. The reason doesn't matter for this example. The important point is that we are aware of the development of this reason. We are not this decision making activity. We perceive it from a point of stillness and non-action.
The reason to move and travel flows naturally from the activity of the world. It influences the mind activity and the body activity. We witness the movement of the body, directed by the mind, which in turn is directed by the worldly factors that led to making this journey. The body gets in the car. The driving of the car is fairly automatic, in that practice has made it reasonably effortless. The body has been trained to drive through practice and repetition. We witness the driving of the car. Remaining present means that we don't identify as the active mind or body during this process. We witness this. We are the Stillness that perceives the apparent motion of the mind, the body, the car and the world.
Whilst driving there may be times when the car behind gets too close, the car in front drives too slowly, a car speeds past dangerously, a call pulls out in front, or we get stuck in traffic. At these times the mind may start to complain, and the body may verbalise this. This is often a habitual reaction. The mind maybe gets anxious about the car behind or arriving late, or annoyed at bad drivers. But, remaining present, we witness this. We are not the mind or this mental activity. Indeed we are not the mind activity or the body activity. We are not going anywhere. We, Consciousness, do not travel. We don't drive. We don't think. We are aware, and awareness requires no activity. The thinking, the driving, the moving, appears within Consciousness.
So the practice in this driving scenario is to not get caught up in the mind activity, the body activity or even the car and travelling activity. It is to remain as the Stillness, the Awareness or Consciousness in which this mind activity and apparent travelling is perceived. We can never go anywhere. You've never been anywhere other than where you are. It may appear that the body travels from here to there, but we, Consciousness, do not travel. Travel and all motion or activity appears within Consciousness.
We don't need to practise to be still and aware. Our nature is Unmoving Awareness. We don't need to do anything to be what we are, and in truth we can't do anything. We may say we walk somewhere or drive somewhere, but Consciousness does not walk or drive. The walking and driving appears to happen within Consciousness. So the shift is from identifying with the activity of the world. There needs to be a withdrawal from latching onto thoughts and believing that we are doing the activity. The non-practice of Presence is in just being as we are, not identifying with the activity of what seems to happen. Remaining Here whilst the world seems in perpetual motion.
It is similar to recognising that the sun doesn't spin around the Earth. It is the sun that remains as it is, whilst the Earth spins around and around. We are like that still centre around which the world spins. But more accurately we are neither the centre nor the outer limits. We are the Limitless that appears to have a centre and outer limits. We are the Infinite Consciousness in which this play of limitation and motion appears from the perspective of a central point of view.
It is not us, Consciousness, that practises being the Still Awareness. That is our nature. It is the mind, or the mind activity that attempts this practice. But mind cannot achieve Stillness. Mind is itself activity. Yet when the mind withdraws from identifying and returns to the Stillness it is found that there is no mind. There is no activity. There is only an appearance of activity. Stillness is here all along.