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: The Universe
- Hits: 908
What's it all about, this ball of life spinning through the universe? Some say it's a random development. Some say it's a logical development. Some say planet Earth was created for a divine purpose. Some say it's a school for souls. Some say it's a cage for souls. Some don't really consider it at all.
Let's consider it properly here. The spherical shape of the planet is a logical development in the sense that it conforms to the laws of the universe. There are laws of interaction in the universe that give rise to spherical shapes, spinning and swirling patterns, and elliptic paths (such as those where planets spin around the sun). These laws arise with the apparent splitting of the Singularity into opposite forces. Elsewhere I've discussed the Law of Opposites, which is a simple way of understanding the forces at play in the manifest universe.
So spherical shapes form through the forces of motion and interaction that arise from the apparent splitting of the Singularity. We call them stars, planets and moons. Planet Earth develops seemingly randomly, although in line with the laws of the universe. The Law of Opposites allows the appearance of order and chaos simultaneously, or law and chance. Law and chance gives rise to the formation of mineral, vegetable and animal forms on the planet. We say 'on the planet', but really these forms are the planet. They're not really on it or in it. They are it.
Planet Earth is an expression of appearing to be a multiplicity whilst remaining as a singularity. This is the play of the universe repeating within itself. The Singularity doesn't split and become a multiplicity. It can only appear to become many. So it is with planet Earth. The planet seems to divide itself into competing forms. Plant and animal forms compete with each other to survive. The apparent multiplicity that is created in the planet follows the Law of Opposites in that some unite and some push away. Some animals go alone, some team up. The Oneness of Reality appears as one and many. The many can team up as one, or they split up and scatter. They interact harmoniously or they clash.
This interplay of opposites flows through the planet. The plants and animals seem to have their own will, their own life. But truly there is One Life. The planet is the life of all forms that appear within it. Though they may compete with 'others' it's only an appearance of 'others'. The diversity of the planet is a play of difference, when the reality is Oneness. Humans and animals may act as one life against other lives. They seem to live for a time then die. But this is all a play of alive and dead, animate and inanimate, within the Oneness of Life expressed as planet Earth.
There is no real division between life forms on planet Earth. All life is intertwined, or rather, flowing. Where one life seems to end, it transforms gradually into other life. It's all One Life playing at living and dying, whilst remaining as Life. Humans breathe flowingly with the air of the planet, drink the water of the planet, and eat the food of the planet. It all flows through, seemingly in then out. But the air, fluid and food interact with the body. The body is part of it all. A part that only seems to be discrete. The human body only seems to have a defined form. Truly it is continually changing and moving, whilst flowing with planet Earth.
So the diversity of life that planet Earth displays is the diversity of One. It is the One appearing to become many, and each of the many appear to be one in their own right. But we don't need to stop at planet Earth. The universe itself is a play of many whilst remaining One. The Singularity that is the One Life, the One Being, the One Spirit, whatever we call it, plays at being many. It can never truly become many. It can only appear to be many. Ultimately this brings us back to: Who am I? Each seemingly separate one of us, is truly the same One Life. The limits of who we are can only be imaginary.
The One Life is limitless. It doesn't really live and die. It doesn't really change and become something else. It only seems to, whilst remaining timelessly as it is. We are the timeless limitless Infinite Indivisible One.
- Category: Non-duality
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It's difficult to find peace in the world. By nature the universe is continually moving and changing. If a peace is found then it's only a temporary peace. However, there is a Permanent Peace. It's not something to be found, but it's at the heart of all the searching. Permanent Peace is timelessly present whilst the world spins around. In the world it is like the still centre, and this pattern repeats throughout the universe - a still centre at the heart of movement and change. We see it in the strong trunk of a tree, from which the branches grow outwards. It's in the swirl of water going down a plughole, and the eye of the hurricane as it whirls around. It's in the opening and closing of a flower and the seeming stillness of our view from planet Earth as the stars and planets move round.
These pockets of peace that we perceive aren't wholly accurate. Planet Earth isn't really still. Nothing in the world of movement and change remains still. It's just that they can seem still or they can represent stillness temporarily. Yet there is a True Stillness. It is this True Stillness from which and in which this world of motion is perceived. True Stillness is beyond time and space. Time and space appear within its timeless spacelessness. It's an infinite indivisible Singularity. It's always Here and Now.
Eckhart Tolle often mentions Presence or Being Present in his talks. He sometimes mentions The Present Moment. It's not really a moment in time, of course. He is referring to the timeless Now. This Presence is the true nature of all things. It is That in which time and space seem to stretch out. All the while, Presence is right Here, Now. It is the pure, perfect peace. It's not made of anything. Presence wasn't created. It is timeless and formless. It's an unshakeable Singularity. It cannot be moved or harmed. It cannot be broken or split in two. It is the true nature of the seemingly ever-moving world.
Presence has no beginning or end, no inside or outside. How do we know it's here? Because we know. The very fact of being aware tells us that we are here. We are the Aware Presence that is here. It's not that because there is a human there is Presence. The human is perceived because of Presence. Presence comes first. Well, it would be more accurate to say Presence is timelessly present, before any appearance of first and last. It reminds one of the Bible quote (John 1:8), "Before Abraham was, I am." It means that before the world appeared, Being was present. We can think of it like this: before the universe began, Presence was all that there was; but there was no time, no past or present tense, just Presence, Now. So Presence was before any appearance of beginning. It remains as it is throughout all apparent time and change, and is all that there is once time seems to come to an end.
It's difficult to understand it if one is firmly rooted in the notion of time as reality. The problem is that time isn't reality. Presence is Reality. That's why the question of what was before the beginning doesn't seem to make sense. There is no beginning, or end. There is only the timeless Now/Presence/Peace, and in this the world of time and space whirls around.
- Category: The Universe
- Hits: 902
Space has no limits. If we look up on a clear night our vision is only limited by the distant light being able to reach the eye. There is no end to the universe.
If we look down a street as far as a building that blocks our view it is only an appearance of solidity that prevents light traveling through it. The building isn't truly a limitation. It isn't truly completely solid. Although light can't pass through the bricks of the building, light is only a range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Other ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum can pass through it. Limitations are illusory.
There is no end to the space outside us or inside us. Truly there is no outside or inside. There is no real division to make it so. Our understanding of inside and outside is conceptual and based on the appearance of limitation of form. But there is no real limitation. The human body, for example, is a flowing form. It's porous, and although it seems to have an outer shell there is no real separation between the 'inside' and 'outside'. There is only a conceptual inside and outside.
So the space ahead of us, inside us, and behind us is simply unlimited space, Infinite Space. To go even further, really there is no space. The appearance of distance that gives the illusion of space is created by the seeming solidity of forms. The space is the place these forms take and the distance between them. Or so it seems.
The Infinite Space is No Space. It is all right Here. No-one has experienced any place other than here. We may perceive places 'over there' but once we get there we are still Here. Distance and space are only an appearance in the No Space right Here.
Where is Here? It cannot be described as it is the only place, but it is no place. It is no distance from anything. There is no distance. Yet this Infinite Spaceless Space allows the appearance of space and limitation.
- Category: The Human Experience
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The human experience of love is a closeness and togetherness. It's a warm feeling of being so close to someone that it brings happiness and joy to be around them. But what is love really, and why is it so important?
Love is Oneness, Completeness, Wholeness. When we feel love from the human perspective we tap into this oneness and completeness. To understand this, it helps to understand the human condition. Humanity has evolved in a world of competition and survival of the fittest. Through this competitive world humans have developed a deeply ingrained sense of separation. The general human experience is one of feeling separate from others, at odds with others, and getting along with some humans but not others. Through this experience of separation we encounter love and hate. Well, I call it the Continuum of Love.
The Continuum of Love is the range of love from the highest selfless love for others, through feelings of love for those close, through feelings of friendship, through feelings of indifference, to dislike, and to hate at the far end of the Continuum of Love. It's a whole range of the experience of love. Kind of. It's not the whole complete Love, which is not a love for others, but rather Love In Itself. Not love of these or those. Just Love, without the sense of separation. Love is Oneness.
You see, the sense of separation is key to understanding love. The sense of separation isn't accurate. Truly, no matter how many there seem to be, there is only ever One, an Infinite One. It is this Oneness that is Pure Love. Oneness is Complete and Whole. It is the natural state of Being. When humans feel love, it is a temporary dropping of the ingrained sense of separation, which allows the natural, true state of Love to come through. The closeness of human love is felt when there is a reduction in this sense of separation.
Most humans prefer love and unity to hate and separation, but some get so caught up in the sense of separation that the hate dominates. It is the sense of separation from others that gives rise to these feelings of closeness and distance. The closer people are to Oneness, the greater the feeling of love. When seemingly further away from Oneness, the feelings of distance, separation and difference can lead to hostility, competition and hate. But even in the physical sense there is a drive towards unity. Humans seek to have sexual relationships, where there is a physical union of sorts. The higher seeking is to have an emotional union with another, which we call "in love". And there is a higher love still, with the love and compassion for all humans and all creatures. This is a love that is closer to Pure Love.
Pure Love is that natural state of Oneness, without the sense of separation from others. We can call it Love, Joy, Peace, Wholeness, Oneness, Being, or God. It is the same One. It is the same One that all spiritual seekers seek. But it is right here. It is no distance. What prevents the natural state from being evident in the human experience is the ingrained notion of separation. So the theory is that all we need do is drop the notion of separation, and Love will be permanently experienced.
This is Enlightenment. There are numerous ways to 'reach' Oneness, though, of course, it cannot be reached, because we are already no distance from it. We are Oneness. But the notion of separation needs to be dropped for it to be revealed in the human experience. So in the human experience we can practice Oneness, by letting go of feelings of hate and dislike. If we aim for love and kindness to others, then it brings the human closer to Oneness. Then the leap from being close to being One seems a shorter leap. Ultimately the sense of 'others' needs to be dropped. There are no others. There is no separation. The separation is only in the human mind. But the mind can be 'untrained' so that the sense of separation is released.
So, even at a simple level, bringing love and kindness into the daily life can lead each human experience closer to revealing the true nature of Oneness that is right here. Then ultimately the sense of being separate must be dissolved in the Oneness of Love.
- Category: The Universe
- Hits: 896
The world appears as a state of disharmony. It's as if the natural unmanifest state of Oneness, a Singularity, has fallen out of unity and harmony into what now appears as a fluctuating world of disharmony. In today's scientific world view, it's as if the Big Bang blew apart the peace and harmony of the unmanifest Singularity.
It's a useful way to understand the world. It's like a state of chaos. But there is some order to it. The disharmony hints at a state of harmony that can't really be known. The Oneness of a Singularity, in other words Total Harmony, cannot really be perceived. But we can understand what Pure Harmony is by seeing what it isn't. This world of disharmony fluctuates and swings between opposites. Things can seem to be more in harmony or more in disharmony. As I've explained elsewhere, we can understand it as a Continuum of Disharmony, ranging from very little disharmony to great disharmony. This 'very little disharmony' is usually what we term as harmony. But it can't be a true harmony. It's just disharmony that is more harmonious.
You see, disharmony is the falling out of equilibrium, the falling out of unity or oneness. That's how the world appears. Without this apparent separation from the Singularity it would be impossible for one to perceive something. There needs to be a sense of separation between the subject and object for someone to perceive something. That utilisation of the appearance of separation, which gives rise to the appearance of the universe, has a seeming downside in that it disturbs the peace and harmony of the Singularity.
What that means is: the creation of the world is the creation of disharmony. Disharmony is inevitable in the world because it is the cause of the world. Chaos will inevitably appear. So we'd do well not to expect life to play out simply and calmly. There will be periods of relative calm and relative disruption. That's life. Human life, anyway.
Now to the important bit. Disharmony is just a play. The Singularity of Pure Harmony is never destroyed. It doesn't fall out of harmony in order to create the world. There only appears to be a world of disharmony. The Truth is that Pure Harmony is timelessly here. Prior to the appearance of the world and disharmony, Pure Harmony is. It is within the Singularity that the seeming division of the singularity appears. In other words, the world of disharmony isn't really created, it's just a play within the Infinite Peace and Harmony of the Singularity.
You are not someone who sees the world. There is only the totality of the world, whether it may appear to be blown apart or not. There is only an appearance of a turbulent life, with ups and downs. You remain as you are, as the world seems to fall into chaos and come back again. You are unchanged by the changing appearance of the world. Nothing is gained. Nothing is lost. It only appears to happen.
Infinite Peace and Stillness is your true nature and the nature of all as One.