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.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Symbols and Patterns
There are patterns in life, in what we know as the universe. Patterns appear because of the underlying forces that create and develop the appearance of the universe. For example, a core pattern is bifurcation, where one splits into two. This stems (excuse the pun) from the moment of creation (or destruction) where the Oneness of the Singularity separates itself to form two. From that separation into two the pattern repeats to create a multiplicity, seemingly ending the Oneness of the Singularity.
So it's not a surprise that we see bifurcation a lot on this planet. We see bifurcation in the branches of trees, forked lightning, rivers flowing into streams, and in the evolution of life forms. Animals develop claws and fingers that separate out from limbs that separate out from a central torso. Branches of trees grow out from a central trunk and continue to separate out, repeating the pattern. In leaves we can see the pattern continue, as the stems separate out. We see it in evolution too, where species branch out from an initial origin.
It's natural that perception would separate itself out into separate senses. It's natural for animals to develop two eyes rather than one. And it's natural for life forms to have symmetry, where the left side is almost a mirror image of the right side. I say 'almost', because the world isn't perfect. Imperfection is natural in the appearance of the universe. Perfection is the unmanifest Singularity before the universe appears, before even space and time appear. The Singularity was perfect as it was. The splitting of the Singularity causes the appearance of opposites, and thus imperfection.
So we can see that the human form is a natural expression within the universe, which itself is an expression of the Singularity in separation. Arms and legs stem from the central torso, and fingers and toes stem from those. These form simultaneously as opposite reflections, creating the symmetry of the human form. Within the head, the senses are separated, with ears on either side, 'pointing' in opposite directions, and vision separated into two eyes. The sense of smell is filtered through the two apertures, the nostrils, and the mouth separates with an upper and lower jaw. We could say this pattern of separation and reflection underlies the development of all life forms. This isn't just due to planet Earth. It's a universe-wide pattern. It suggests that life forms on other planets would evolve in a similar fashion. It suggests that life forms from other planets would also have symmetrical bodies, limbs from a central body and extensions from these, like fingers.
There is another evolutionary pattern - rising from low to high. Humans, as we currently understand them, have evolved from creatures that had four legs and then rose up to walk on two legs. The rising up could be presumed to be the evolutionary result of reaching up for tree branches or food up high. That may be the case, but there is also the underlying force behind evolution that will causes the branching out and reaching upwards from the ground to the sky.
So lifeforms evolve upwards, from a base to a higher level, and outwards from a single point, branching out. This leads to lifeforms that can stand up on two feet and reach out to the world. They rise up from a ground level and take to the air. We see this in birds, but also in humans, as humans have developed the intelligence to lift themselves up from the ground and into the air with ballons, helicopters, airplanes and spacecraft.
Are there alien life forms on distant planets that are similar to the human form? It's very likely. The evolution of life forms isn't an accident. It's a force of nature.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: The Universe
We're all familiar with space and time. We perceive distance that gives the appearance of space, and we notice the continual flowing change of what appears and we call this time. You may also be familiar with the Big Bang theory, where it is reasonably suggested that the universe began with an explosion into this multiplicity of interacting elements. With this explosion space and time were created.
So far so good, and there's evidence in the movement of the universe that suggests this to be the case. Then comes the brain boggler, "What was before the Big Bang? What was before time?" Before time there was obviously no time. Before space there was no space. But it's difficult to imagine time suddenly beginning from no time.
It helps to understand about the Singularity. Before time and space there is no appearance of the universe. There is no separation into changing moving forms. It's an unmanifest Singularity. It's like zero before -1 and +1 appear. The Singularity contains everything, locked up as one. It's not even a number. There are no numbers in a Singularity, no limits, and no division. There is no inside and outside of the Singularity. There is no appearance of form and there are no opposites. It's neither big nor small, neither here nor there. It's infinity.
And it's from this state of unmanifest Singularity that the Big Bang happens. Space and time appear as if the Singularity is split in two, changing from unmanifest potential into an explosion of energy, outwards from the centre. It's the start of the world of opposites, where attraction and repulsion plays out between the separated parts that have fallen out of the state of Singularity. Zero has become -1 and +1. They are blown apart but essentially connected, and it is this force between the separation of a singularity into opposites that becomes the energy of the universe. Opposite forces become the building blocks of the universe that we see now. Those forces continue to operate in the push and pull of the universe.
But let's not forget the Singularity. It still seems odd that there was no time, and now there is time. The reality is that the Singularity remains timeless. The Singularity cannot really explode into a multiplicity through space and time. It is beyond time. It doesn't change. It cannot really divide itself. The Singularity remains Here and Now, where here is nowhere and now is no time. Wherever the universe appears to go and whatever time seems to have passed, within the Singularity it is always Here and Now.
You see, the explosion of time and space appears within the unchanging formless Singularity. There isn't really a before or after. Reality is timeless and formless, but within this the universe appears as a world of opposites as if it has fallen out of the perfect balance of a Singularity. The Singularity remains throughout. To put it in simple mathematical terms, -1 + 1 = 0, or -144 +144 = 0. The universe of space and time appears as if the Singularity is being stretched out into a multiplicity, but the underlying reality is that it remains timelessly complete and whole as it is.
The way that the unmanifest Singularity can seem to become manifest is through the apparent separating out into opposites. But what separates connects. The sum total of the imbalance of the universe equals the perfect balance of the Singularity. The forces that appear between opposites in this world of opposites are the forces of unity. The apparent separation and division is the play of the Singularity, whilst it remains timelessly as it is.
I should add that this Singularity is not lifeless. It is the Fullness of Life. It is that which all apparently separated forms long to return to, by the nature of the forces of apparent separation. There are no separate forms. There are no separate creatures or life forms. There is One Infinite Being that plays at being a multiplicity. We are the Singularity. The core of who we are is this same timeless, formless Being, from whom and in whom the universe seems to appear. Wherever we go and whatever time it may seem to be, we are always Here and Now.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
The Peace of Being remains timelessly as it is. Being is permanently present. You can't lose it or find it. It's not hidden and it's not revealed. It's here now. It never changes. It never moves.
Catching a bus, a boat, a train or a plane doesn't move Being. Walking down the street, it's only the body that walks. If we feel upset or overjoyed, it is the mind that feels this. Being remains content as it is. If we think anxious thoughts or thoughts that lead to great developments, Being remains as it is. Being does not think, feel, walk or travel. Being is simply timelessly aware.
Being isn't destroyed when life seems to end. Being remains always present. Being is the life itself, in which the forms of the world seem to come and go. We are not the forms. We are Being.
Being is who we are. We could say it's the core of who we are, but in the Heart of Being there is no inside or outside. It is everywhere and nowhere. The core of who we are is just this. Being. It's not in here or over there. It's not in some place out of reach. It is permanently, formlessly, timelessly here, where here is nowhere.
It is this timeless Being that we are. Not the human beings that come and go. We see the world coming and going. Being is Aware. Awareness isn't moved by the movement it perceives. Being is Self Aware. There is only the Self of Being. There is nothing that Being can be aware of that is not Being. There is nothing outside limitless Being. Being is timelessly Self Aware. Being is intelligent in that Being knows. But it's not that Being knows knowledge. Being is just Knowing. Awareness is Knowing. I know, therefore I know I am. I am Self Aware.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: The Human Experience
It's useful to understand what loneliness is and why we feel lonely sometimes. When we feel lonely it may be because we miss someone who used to be around, or they are usually around but not with us at the moment. It may be because there is no-one around who is close to us, and that could be because we haven't had a relationship like that or we used to have a relationship like that. So the surface reason can be that we have lost someone we were close to, or they are not with us for a while, or we've not had a close relationship with anyone.
That's the surface reason. But there is a deeper reason or meaning for the feeling of loneliness. It's about Oneness. Simply put, loneliness is the feeling of separation and the need for oneness. When we feel close to someone we feel the warmth, happiness and peace of oneness. We feel less separate from the world. There's a sense of unity. It's similar to being part of a team or a close family, being a supporter or follower of something, like a religion, culture or ideology. This reduces our feeling of isolation and separation.
When we feel lonely, it is a feeling of the lack of oneness, love and peace. We feel that we want others around, or we want someone to be close to. There is a natural instinct in the human being to need a companion, which leads to a feeling of being incomplete when we don't have someone close to love and who loves us. Love is Oneness. It is the shared Oneness of all. When we experience love we feel the oneness of life, that mystical principal that unites all seemingly separate beings.
So loneliness is the feeling of being separate from Love. It's natural for this to be a difficult feeling to cope with. We are not supposed to just cope with it. It tells us something. It tells us that the belief of separation has got such a hold that we feel we need others and that we are lacking what we need to be happy. Being one separate from others is the opposite of True Being. Our true nature, the simple nature of Being, is Oneness. At the heart of the experience of being a separate individual is the shared Oneness of Being. It's like the centre of the wheel of life. We are One. There really is no 'we'. Just One Being experiencing what it's like to be many separate beings. And that means pain, hurt, loss, lack, need, and at the extreme point, loneliness.
As real as loneliness can seem when we are caught up in it, it's not permanent. It passes, like all feelings. This separation isn't real. It's what the mind perceives reality to be. Oneness is reality. Separation is the opposite of reality. That's what the pain of separation points to. It highlights that separation is wrong. Oneness is right. Or rather, separation is false, and Oneness is true. The answer isn't in finding someone to feel at one with, although that's okay. The real answer is in finding the Permanent Oneness that is right here all along. It means recognising that there is always Oneness here, despite what the mind thinks, and living this recognition that we are truly One.
Some may think that if there is only One Being, then it must be lonely. But that's not true. Loneliness is a feeling of lack, need, and separation from others. Loneliness is the lack of wholeness, completion and oneness. The One Being is a complete, whole Oneness, where there is no loss or separation.