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: 52
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: Spirituality
- Hits: 25
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 or 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: Spiritual Practice
- Hits: 8
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.
- Category: The Universe
- Hits: 23
We all know about The Big Bang. It refers to the moment when the universe was created, when from a singularity this multiplicity exploded. Like a seed of potential, the unmanifest singularity split open explosively and grew into the universe that we see now. The universe continues its expansion with the momentum of this initial explosion. That's a simplistic version of it anyhow.
Let's look at it from the Non-Duality perspective. That is, the perspective in which it's recognised that the duality, separation or multiplicity only appears to be that. The universe only appears to have forms that are separate, whilst there is no true separation. It doesn't mean that we need to dismiss the Big Bang theory. All theories are flawed, it's just that some are less flawed than others.
We can understand the Big Bang theory and creation of the manifest universe in terms of Non-Duality. Consider what was 'before' the Big Bang. There was no 'before' really, because there was no time, or indeed space, before the Big Bang. There was only a spaceless timeless Singularity. Some may call it the Void or Emptiness, but it is a Full Emptiness, a Completeness. It is the unmanifest Whole. It cannot really be described accurately. Even 'Singularity' implies that it is one, whereas it is more an Infinite One, without limitations, boundaries or definitions.
So consider the Singularity, from which the Big Bang appeared. The Non-Duality perspective would be that this Singularity never exploded into many. The Big Bang only seemed to split the Singularity into many particles and opposing forces. The apparent world of duality, or The World of Opposites, as I call it, did not and cannot divide the Infinite Indivisible One. This appearance of duality, separation and multiplicity is a play of opposites within the timeless spaceless Singularity that remains eternally unchanged and ever-present.
This is why there is no end to the universe. Although it seems to be expanding, really there are no limits to its expansion. There is nothing beyond the universe. There is no 'other' that is beyond it. The universe has no boundaries. The edge of the universe cannot be found. Similarly, the smallest final particle cannot be found. There will always be deeper and deeper search into the infinite. The answer of the universe can never be found. The answer is right here all along. The answer of the universe is right Here and Now.
Time and space are the great play of the universe. The Singularity is Here and Now. There is no outside or inside. There is no near or far. These opposites are a play of reflection within the Singularity. The Invisible appears. The Indivisible appears divided. The One appears as many. The Infinite appears to be limited. The Formless appears as form. The Peace appears as conflict. The Reality appears illusory. The Unchanging appears as continual change. The Unmoving appears as motion. The Timeless appears as time. The Infinite One Being appears as many separate beings.
So the Big Bang explodes apparently outwards into the infinite. The reflective nature of the manifest universe means that a Law of Opposites applies throughout the universe. What goes out must come in, to restore the apparent imbalance of seeming to fall out of unity. So the expanding universe will in time return to the original state of Oneness. But truly it never left.