Non-duality
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
How to convey that the world is not made of many things? There is a general human assumption that there are many things in the universe and we can give them names, like stars, planets, mountains, buildings, plants, animals, people etc. These may be useful terms, and it may be useful to see and understand the world in this way, but it's not accurate.
The limits that we assume define these objects don't stand up to close scrutiny. For instance, we know the sun to be a star and we can understand the qualities of a star and the phases it will go through. We give stars different names dependent on their mass and evolutionary stage. Currently the sun is classed as a G2V type star, and in time it is expected to become a Red Giant, then later a White Dwarf, then a Black Dwarf. These are names given to different stages of stellar evolution.
But we can't give exact moments when the sun changes from one stage to another, because the change is gradual. All change is gradual. Even sudden change can be seen to be gradual if examined closely. There is no flip switch of change. Even a flip switch for a light involves time for the electric current to flow. It's not really Off-On, it's Off flowing to On. It's an important point. Reality may seem to be dualistic and based on opposites, but really there is a flow of change, a continuum. But that's for another article.
Let's focus back on what we define as the sun. We generally see the circular ball of fire in the sky and think, "That's the sun!" But the sun isn't wholly defined by its visible circular edges. In fact its circular edges are constantly flowing and changing, dipping and rising, and sometimes flaring out. From a distant it may seem perfectly round, but we know that this is not really the case. The sun is a flowing ball of energy. And not only that, it is an expulsion of energy. Animal and plant life on this planet are dependent on the energy from the sun. We can't say at what point the sun's rays are no longer the sun. They are a quality of the sun. A quality that interacts with all it reaches. Similarly, when we see a distant star at night, we see its light, which is its quality that stretches across the universe. Its light is not truly separate from it.
So you see, we imagine that we know things, but if we look closely we find that we cannot truly define them. The same applies to the human body. It is continually in a process of change and interaction with the environment. We can't define where the energy absorbed from the sun, from the air, from drinks and food, becomes the body. It is a continual process of change, structured temporarily as a seemingly finite form.
But the sun and the body are not finite forms. They have no limits. It is the same with all things. To use a less animated example, take a wooden chair. We know what it is, but when did it become a wooden chair? When the fourth leg was added? When its back was added? And at what point were they finally added? Is it when the final turn of a screw happens, that it is then a chair. No. And when does it cease to be a chair? Once some of its parts are removed or once all parts are removed? Once the final screw is released? No. Ultimately, our idea of what a wooden chair is is vague, and it is the same for all objects.
What we've done here is analyse our assumption that things are really what we think they are. We've examined the general human assumption that things are really separate defined things, and found that they are not. Our labelling of things is useful but not as accurate as believed to be. It's good to step back and recognise that assumptions are not necessarily accurate. Really what this all points to is infinity. Nothing can be define because the nature of reality is infinite.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
Okay, this is going to be perhaps a more advanced Non-Duality exploration. The basic understanding is that there is only One, an Infinite One, which is really no number, there is no true separation of things in the world, there is no separate identity, and our true nature is That Which Is, the Infinite One Being or Beingness, Pure Consciousness or Aware Being. Recognition of this infinite indivisible oneness, or the dropping of the notion of separation and division, is Enlightenment or Self Realisation.
This Pure Consciousness or Aware Being in which the world appears (as everything appears in consciousness) is formless, complete, content, timeless, dimensionless, unmoving and unchanging. The world of motion and change that appears within the Changeless is known to be an illusory appearance, a play of change, and has been called Maya or Lila. So form and change are illusory. Reality is dimensionless stillness, complete and content.
We can go further in the understanding of Maya. The world that appears seems to have fallen out of the Singularity of Being. Where once, timelessly, there was no appearance of the world, there now seems to be an appearance of time and space, ever changing and moving. The Singularity is not broken, yet the world appears as if it did break, was divided, causing ripples of interaction and fluctuations between opposites. This world of opposites appears as a division of the timeless and formless Singularity, stretching out in time and space.
So this is the nature of the universe, an interplay of opposites (or 'The World of Opposites' as I call it) that seems to have appeared from the primordial Singularity. In Taoism this is described as the opposite forces of Yin and Yang arising within the oneness of the Supreme Ultimate. The appearance is not really 'from' the Singularity. The Singularity remains. So the world appears in the Singularity. It appears in the Pure Consciousness. There is no true division of Consciousness into what it is and what it is not. It's all Consciousness always.
Now to take this to a deeper level, so to speak. If Reality is formless and there is nothing other than this, how does the form of the world appear? The answer must be that it does not really appear... This seems to go against our observation, but it can be understood. Where does this form of the world begin or end? It doesn't. The apparently separate forms are not separate, so there are not numerous forms. We could say the universe is one form flowing through different appearances or expressions. Consider it like one continuous piece of string making many different shapes or forms, rather than many separate pieces of string making separate forms.
So the world appearing is not separate from the one in whom it appears. We usually consider the world as a subject-object appearance, but it is more like Awareness being aware of itself, or Consciousness knowing itself. There are not forms separate from the seeing or knowing of them. We could call it one form, but it is not just form. The one form is 'part of' the formless knowing of it. So the form and the formless are one. The form and the perceiving of it is like the stretching of Aware Being into the subject-object relationship of knower-knowing-known.
Aware Being, which is timelessly self-aware, seems to stretch itself apart in what we call space and time, and sees itself within itself. But the substance of 'form' (or what appears) is nothing other than the formless in which it appears. The form only seems to be 'solid' or dense because there is an apparent restriction, and restriction prevents it from being seen through. Yet the restriction or solidity of anything is only relative. Form cannot be wholly restrictive. The shapes and forms that are seen are not true shapes and forms. They only appear to be forms. They only seem to restrict awareness.
The forms that are seen are made of consciousness. Everything is consciousness. There is only consciousness. So there are no forms. Only formless, unseen Consciousness.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
Let go of the belief of being somewhere in time. That's not you. You are not in a place and you are not in a certain time. The space and time that is perceived appears within you, within Consciousness. The mind, body and senses through which Consciousness perceives a localised world of space and time is not you. All that can be perceived by you is not you.
The Consciousness that is the heart of all seemingly separate individualised perceptions is One. That means that although there seem to be many conscious beings perceiving the world of space and time from different perspectives, the core of where they are perceiving from is One Consciousness. It is similar to how the fingers of a hand reach out and have different touch sensations, the whiskers of a cat reach out and have individual sense abilities, and the numerous senses of sight and sound, and so on, reach out into the world and feed back to a central point of perspective. The One Consciousness is the heart of all perspectives that reach out into the world and experience the world of space and time.
This doesn't mean that the One Consciousness reaches out. It doesn't go anywhere. There is nowhere other than the One Consciousness for it to reach out to. The world of space and time is within Consciousness, is made of Consciousness and is perceived by Consciousness. Truly there is no 'reaching out'. There is no inside or outside. There is just Consciousness. You are That.
Okay, so earlier I said that all that can be perceived by you is not you. That's not entirely true. You see, there is nothing other than you. But the belief that you are the thinking, the believing, the feeling, the sensing and the body that is perceived, is a mistake, as it limits your identity to some of what is perceived and not the whole. Truly you are the Consciousness in which the whole is perceived. But the whole can only be perceived in an appearance of separation, through what we call space and time.
Where is this Consciousness? Nowhere. It takes up no location in space. Space is the illusion of distance and separation. There is an appearance of distance that we call space, yet this is only ever perceived right here. 'Right here' is no location. Location is a relative perspective of illusory space and distance. As all space appears within Consciousness, it is clear that Consciousness itself has no location.
It is a mistake to consider Consciousness as being something airy that isn't as solid as the world. The world is not truly solid. It is made of Consciousness and is only ever perceived in and by Consciousness. There is only Consciousness.
The time that is perceived is the flow of change within space. It can be considered as a fourth dimension, but in truth it is not a dimension, nor a thing at all. Time is a name and understanding given to the appearance of change within space. Space necessarily changes because it is the appearance of One Consciousness as if it has been exploded from a Singularity into a multiplicity, from Harmony into imbalance. It is the play of opposites within the unmoving singularity of Consciousness.
We, Consciousness, are nowhere in time or space. An appearance of time and space flows within the play of separation in the singularity of Consciousness. Withdrawing from the play of space and time, dropping the belief in a reality of space and time, brings awareness to the unmoving, unchanging Consciousness that is the heart and whole of all. It's right here now, nowhere, no-when. You are not really spinning around on a planet. You can't feel or perceive the point of peace, but when the belief of space and time is released, all there really is is Perfect Peace.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
Imagine a projector screen and projected upon it is the moving image of water. The water could be a turbulent ocean scene of rocking and rolling waves, rising up and crashing down. It could a flowing river, with swirling eddies, as it flows outwards then inwards to and from the sea. It could be a calm pond scene, tranquil, with only a hint of the breeze blowing across the surface.
Although we may view these scenes and consider them to be different types of water, either relatively still, flowing or turbulent, it makes no difference to the screen. The screen remains unchanged whilst these different scenes may appear on it. Furthermore, there could be any kind of scene projected upon the screen, such as a forest fire, erupting volcano, or exploding bomb. The screen is just fine.
This is how it is with Consciousness. The moving, changing world appears within Consciousness. The world comes and goes, and Consciousness remains as it is. We may experience terrible events or beautiful scenery, but Consciousness remains as it is. We may consider that terrible events can have lasting psychological effects, and this is the case. But it doesn't change Consciousness. The mind or mental activity is also perceived to come and go in Consciousness.
What this means is that there is a deeper layer than the perception of the world and a deeper layer than the perception of mental activity. There is a core or supposed centre of perception which is not perceived, but is naturally perceiving. That is Consciousness. So we can rest assured that despite what may happen in the world or in the mind, the heart of our being is Clear Calm Consciousness.
Well, it's not really the heart of our being. It is all there is. It only seems that Consciousness is at the heart. Truly there is only Consciousness. Consciousness is our being. To use another analogy: consider Consciousness like a blank sheet of paper and upon it are drawn many circles. It may seem then that each circle has its own centre of consciousness. It could also even be considered that the heart of each circle is the shared Consciousness. So when we get to the heart of our being there is One Consciousness. Yet, as good as that is, it's not wholly accurate. Better to say that there is only One Consciousness Being, there only seems to be many beings, and there is nothing other than this One Consciousness.
So how does this help? Well, when times are tough, as they will be, we can know that we are unharmed. We can see that there is nothing other than the Consciousness that we are. We can recognise errors of thinking that lead to entanglement and suffering. We are not that which appears. We are that in which all appears. We are not a body, a mind or a soul. These are all names for movements within Consciousness. We are formless Consciousness.