Spiritual Practice
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
We continually experience activity. The world is always moving and changing. We perceive this movement and change. Maybe we're mesmerised by it. Even when all seems still, it's an illusory stillness, as the world keeps on turning. But this is the reflection of Reality.
In meditation we calm the activity of the body and the mind, but they can never be perfectly still. The body and the activity of the mind belong in the world of movement and change. They can slow down or speed up, but not really stop. In meditation we slow them down. Breathing becomes more relaxed, and mind activity can be settled to a degree. The important thing to realise is that we are not the activity of the body or the mind. We perceive this activity from a placeless place of Stillness.
True Stillness cannot be achieved. Not because it is impossible, but because it is already here. The activity we perceive is a reflection of the Stillness in which it is perceived. The movement of the world appears in the Stillness of Being. All space and time appear Here and Now.
So in meditation we sink back into the true nature of Being. We sink back into the Stillness which perceives the apparent motion of the world. We perceive the breathing and the wandering mind activity. We are not that. We are not moving at all. Our nature is Perfect Peace. Pure Clarity. Let the world turn. Let the mind wander. But know that you are not turning or wandering. You are the Stillness right Here.
There may seem to be a 'me' that moves about or thinks thoughts, but that sense of 'me' is made from thought activity itself. It is also perceived. We are That which perceives any sense of me or other. We perceive the mistaken sense of identity. It doesn't change us. The one who may be mesmerised by the movements and activity of the world is not really who we are. We perceive this 'being mesmerised' or 'being caught up in the world'. The world moving and the thoughts thinking appear within the Stillness of Pure Consciousness.
In the world stillness appears illusory, whereas in Reality movement is illusory. The world appears as a reflection of Reality, yet it is nothing other than Reality. All apparent activity appears within the Non-Activity of Stillness, the nature of Perfect Peace, which is the heart of all and the whole of all.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
If asked, you could probably say where you are now and what the time and date is. But that's not really where and when you are. That's where the body is relative to the planet and according to the accepted timekeeping of the area. We can only say where something is relative to where something else is, so there's a never-ending relativity of location. There's no definitive or absolute location. Similarly with time, we can only give a date and time relative to the accepted timekeeping system.
For example, if I say I am in London in the UK, and the current time is 10am on January 5th 2025, that gives a rough idea of the time and place of where this body is in relation to the planet. 'London' isn't very specific. We could be more specific by giving a street name, post code, or even giving geographic coordinates. The location detector on a phone could detect exactly where this body is, thanks to geolocation techniques utilising satellites. Well, not quite.
The location is never perfectly accurate, in that it cannot specify the exact location by millimetres or less than that. (We could go on and on to find the finest most accurate measurements.) There is always some vagueness. Besides, this isn't a universal location, as the planet is always spinning through the universe. The universal location is continually changing. Also, the time is based on the accepted timekeeping system for the area. At that time it was a different time on other parts of the planet. Even 10am isn't accurate. Time is always flowing on. We can't give a perfectly accurate time for now.
There's good reason why space and time are only relative. They are illusory. The distance of space is only ever experienced Here. The change of time is only ever experienced Now. It is the play of the formless unchanging singular nature of Reality to give the appearance of distance and change.
It's useful to find where you really are, although it can never be found. In meditation recognise that you are not the body, nor the mind activity. You perceive the mind activity and the body activity. Go deeper in to find that placeless place Here. There is no weight, distance, time, form or disturbance in this still spaceless place. Wherever the body goes it's still Here. Whilst time seems to pass, Now remains as it is. Here and Now doesn't get caught up in the dreamlike world of space and time. Space and time play on without disturbing the timeless unchanging peace that is always right Here and Now. It's helpful to 'find' this in meditation. You can't really find it, because it's right Here already. It's where you're looking from.
Here and Now is the Reality of Being. Some call it Consciousness, Awareness, or Presence. It is the same placeless place that permeates all space and time. It is the heart and whole of all perception. It is the Beingness of every being and apparent non-being. It has no airs and graces, no pretences of grandeur. It's simply here all along, beyond time and change. We are This.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
Following the Non-Duality understanding, it's important to recognise that we are not the doer and we are not the thinker. Actions are part of the flow of the world, and thoughts are also activity flowing with the world. We are not this. We perceive the flow of thoughts and actions.
There is a sense of 'I am this' that is thought based but pervades the body and its actions. There is a sense of 'I am this body'. There is a belief that 'I choose', but all choices made are influenced by the world, so free will is not as free as it seems to be. What we perceive is a sense of 'I am this' thinking, choosing and doing. But it is not accurate.
Firstly 'I am this body' is too vague a definition. It cannot be said accurately where the body begins and ends. The reason for this is that the body doesn't begin or end. It is a flowing 'part' of the world. It continually changes and breathes with the flowing nature of the apparent world. So really the body is infinite. That ultimately means there is no body. What we consider to be a 'body' is a vague idea of a limited form in an infinite indivisible universe. The idea of separate forms is useful but not accurate.
Secondly, we cannot be what we perceive. We perceive the body and its actions. We are not it. We perceive thoughts and the sense of identity. We are not this. This is where Detachment comes in. In spiritual practice we recognise that we are not anything that we can perceive. We are perceiving. The eye cannot see the eye, and deeper still: Awareness cannot perceive itself directly. Yet all that is perceived is nothing other than Awareness. The world appears within Awareness, but Awareness is not defined or limited by it.
So the Detachment we seek is a letting go of identity. This is not for us, this is for the human mind and the false sense of identity. We perceive the thoughts and the sense of identity trying through spiritual practice to achieve enlightenment, nirvana, or self-realisation. The false sense of self is trying to free itself from its confines of identity and be who we really are. But we are right here, perceiving this play of identity, the play of limitation and freedom.
The practice for the body-mind is to release itself from its limitations and just be. So it is a letting go of identity with thinking and doing. We do not think or do. We perceive this. Perceiving, or rather, Being Aware, is the natural state. It isn't a doing. It is the natural state of simply being. The world appears in this. The sense of self rises and falls in this. The practice is to just be aware and not get caught up in the plays and drama of the world.
It doesn't mean that the mind and body should distance itself from the world, shut itself away. It doesn't mean that the body-mind should give away all belongings. It doesn't mean that the body-mind abandons friendships and loved ones. It is more that the mind recognises there is only One, an Infinite Indivisible One. So we cannot be this or that. There is no-one other than the One. So the body-mind gradually changes so that its thoughts and actions fall into line with this deepening understanding of Oneness.
Ultimately, of course, the sense of separate self will fade away as the belief of limitation evaporates. It doesn't mean that there is a huge change. We are here all along. It just means that the selfish identity no longer gets in the way. There is an improved clarity between the true Selfless Self and the body-mind through which it is expressed in the world.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
It might be thought that meditation is about being calm and still, sitting in a still position, calming the body, the breath and the mind. It sounds right, yes, but it's not exactly right. Calming the body is good, to give it peace and rest. Calming the breath sounds good too, to bring about the calm throughout the body. Calming the mind seems more like an essential part of meditation, not getting caught up in negative thoughts or thoughts that go off on tangents.
That all sounds good. But there is more to meditation than that. The benefits of meditation mentioned above are good for the mind and body, but there is a deeper knowing in meditation. You perceive the thoughts that may or may not be stilled. You perceive the breathing that may or may not be calm. You perceive the body that may appear to be still or moving. You see, the mind, the breath and the body can never truly be still. They appear in the World of Motion where everything is in a constant flow of movement. Even if the body appears to be completely still, we know that it is sitting in a spot on a spinning planet that is swirling through the universe.
There is a relative calm that can be brought about through meditation, though not True Stillness. Yet the True Stillness is here. It is the 'place' from which the mind, breath and body are perceived. You are the Stillness that the meditating mind and body is trying to reach. So it doesn't really matter if the mind is flowing, the breathing is heavy or the body is restless. It doesn't matter if the mind feels agitated and unable to concentrate. It doesn't matter if trying to control breathing causes breathing to be unsettled. It doesn't matter if the body is fidgety or uncomfortable. The highest aim of meditation is to just be as you are.
Being as you are requires absolutely no effort. You don't need to do anything. In fact, you don't really do anything. The witnessing of the mind, body and world just happens naturally, without effort. The movement of the world appears in the timelessness of Being. You don't need to try to be calm. You are Perfect Calmness already. You don't need to try to be still. You are Timeless Stillness itself.
There's no need to try to achieve peace or indeed to try to stop trying. There's no need to worry about failing. This trying and worrying, succeeding or failing, is a play of the mind perceived by You. You are complete already. You don't need to achieve peace. Whether the mind finds peace or not doesn't affect the peace that you are.
So in meditation when the mind becomes agitated or there is a focus on something, let it go. It doesn't matter. In fact, it's not you holding on, focusing, or letting go. You are the Awareness in which this appears to happen. These instructions are for the mind to let go of its identity with actions and trying to control the world. All is well. You are perfect peace as you are.
The mind may in time come to rest in the timeless peace of Aware Being, but the mind is not you. You are Aware Being already. So is meditation necessary? Not really. Nothing is needed to be the Still Peace that you are. But meditation is for the body-mind to come to the peace of the Aware Being that you are. Meditation naturally happens when the mind withdraws from identifying with the forms of the world.
Of course, you can 'meditate' wherever the body may be, whatever the circumstances. The meditative state of the mind is the withdrawing into the timeless nature of Aware Being that is always present. You are always Here and Now, wherever the mind or body may seem to wander. Even as the Earth spins around the sun, it appears in the Stillness of Awareness. This Peace and Stillness is with the body-mind wherever it goes. The mind will, in its own time, recognise this and find peace.