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: 821
How many moments are there in a minute? We can't really answer that. The term 'moment' refers to an undefined short length of time. People often talk about "each moment" and "in the moment", but these are vague throw-away expressions that give a sense of time being divisible. Suggesting there are moments of time implies that time can be split up. But that's not our real experience of time. There aren’t chunks of time where one stops and another begins. Time is continually rolling on.
This applies also to our sense of time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, and so on. Time isn't really divided up into seconds, minutes, hours etc. Humans have devised ways to divide up time into manageable measurements. It's really useful to have a calendar and a shared structure of hours and minutes throughout each day. But it seems that we fall into the belief that time is really structured in this way. Days, hours and minutes become important to our everyday life, to the extent that sometimes it feels like our lives are ruled by the clock.
It's important to recognise that time is continually flowing. Then we can go a step further and recognise that time is the appearance of continual change in the universe. Time can't happen without the appearance of change. If the world didn't change then time would seem to stand still, or rather, there would be no time. The appearance of change, in turn, is dependent on space, or the appearance of distance. Without distance then space can't be perceived, but distance is itself the appearance of space between forms. For example, consider a vast empty space. We would have no idea of how vast it was until there were two or more forms or 'things' within the space to show a sense of distance between them. Without forms then there is no distance and no appearance of space.
So the appearance of forms gives a sense of distance, or space, and the change or movement of forms gives the appearance of time. The world of space and time appears as a continual flow of changing forms. But are there really numerous forms that change? I've never found any limit to forms. For example, consider an acorn that grows on an Oak tree. Its beginning comes from the tree, and the tree's beginning comes from an acorn, and so on. The acorn also doesn't have an end. It falls to the ground, takes root and develops into an Oak tree, in turn growing more acorns and scattering these. We can't say where or when the acorn begins or ends. Even if the acorn doesn't take root it will decay into the environment of which it is always made. The form of the acorn changes, but we can't really say that it is a limited form.
As it does with time, the human mind likes to divide the world of space, but into forms or things. We say there is an acorn, a leaf, a branch, a trunk etc. But these are vague definitions of 'things' that really are one 'thing'. The world of changing forms is one world flowing within itself. There are not really many forms. It could be argued that two rocks floating in empty space are two forms. But this would be an impossible situation. How would those rocks come to be rocks? There would need to be a flow of change from the empty space forming into a rock. In that case the empty space isn't really nothing, and there is again a recognition that there is one form flowing within itself, appearing as if there are two forms and empty space.
This leads us further into the recognition that space and time are not two separate things. Time is an appearance of changing space. And what can we say about the changing space that appears? It gives the impression of separation, division and distance, but really it is a singularity expressing a multiplicity within itself. The divisions of time and space are not real. There is only One, an Infinite One. The appearance of time and space is real in the sense that it is Here and Now.
It's helpful to understand the world or universe, space and time, as appearing from a Big Bang, and that the Big Bang came from a Singularity. What is often overlooked is that the timeless formless Singularity is still here now. The world of time and space appears within the formless timeless Singularity Here and Now.
- Category: Spiritual Practice
- Hits: 820
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: Spiritual Practice
- Hits: 799
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.
- Category: God
- Hits: 808
If God is an Infinite Being, how can there be any other? An Infinite Being has no beginning, end or division. Nothing can be outside the Infinite. Even 'inside' wouldn't be strictly correct, because there are no limits that enclose, and ultimately there is no 'thing' that is truly separate from the Infinite Being to be said to be inside it. There would only be the Infinite Being.
An Infinite Being can't be divided up into other beings. Not really. Conceptually it's possible, just as how we can label different parts of the body, although they're not really separate parts. The right hand isn't really separate from the left hand, for instance, although we label them as such.
It's useful to contemplate the infinite to challenge the mind's limited perspective. The mind thinks in terms of limitation. The mind uses names and labels for things and assumes that they are separate things. But really, if you look closely, you find that there are no real divides between a thing and the environment. The human body, for example, flows with the environment, breathing, drinking, eating, developing. It's not truly a separate discrete form.
Even if we consider a tin can, it seems to be separate from the environment, but that's only a temporary appearance of separation. The tin was formed from the environment (the planet) and its form is held in relative stability due to the conditions of the environment. If the temperature or pressure of the environment were to change then the stability of the tin can would change. Even now, a tin can is extremely slowly decaying, or losing its form to the environment. Its relatively stable condition is not permanent. It's just that its rate of decay or change is extremely slow, giving the appearance of fixed stability.
So when the mind thinks that there are many objects, or people, or animals, and so on, that's really just the mind conceptualising limits and labels on the world. This is helpful, but the error arises when labels and limitations are believed to be real. That's the important point. We can call a mountain a mountain and a valley a valley, but if we believe that these are separate objects then we are mistaken. They are useful words to describe the world, but they are not accurate.
Even the term 'world' isn't accurate. The 'world' has no real limits or edges, beginnings or ends. It is the Infinite Being. There is only the Infinite Being.
- Category: God
- Hits: 789
Let's consider God's omniscience, or all-knowing awareness. It may generally be assumed by people who believe in God, that God is all-knowing, that nothing is hidden from God and that God knows all things. We can understand this more closely.
In Non-Duality God is understood as the One Infinite Being. There are no beings other than God. What we assume to be a multitude of beings and a vast world of separate shapes and forms is nothing other than the One Infinite Indivisible Being. The apparently separate beings may seem to be close to God or far from God, but truly God is without end and it's not possible to be outside of God. The world appears as a contrast of what is like God and what is unlike God. This contrast of opposites is God's expression of God's Singular Self. God is formless, shapeless, so any expression of God is not complete and accurate as God. Yet there is nothing other than God. God is the complete Whole, the entirety of What Is.
It follows then that God does not know every thing. God does not know 'things'. God does not know division and separation, because these are not real. God's wholeness is never divided; it only appears to be divided. We could say that God is indeed All-Knowing, as God is Pure Knowing of all that is. And all that is is God. God does not know others, because there are no others.
So it would be a mistake to consider that God knows arithmetic, because God does not see a multiplicity as humans imagine it. This may at first seem controversial, but God does not see a division of the Infinite One into many. God knows only infinity. Knowing infinity just means Knowing, not knowing this and that. God's nature is Knowing, or Awareness, or Consciousness. We use these terms to indicate the core nature of intelligent being.
God's Being is the Heart of all seemingly separate beings, and the Heart is the Whole. So resting in this God Knowing or God Consciousness does not mean that all things are known. Rather it is known that there are no things, or to be more accurate, Nothing is known. Knowledge is an addition to the Clear Knowing or Pure Awareness of God. So it's not that one resting in God Consciousness will know how to fix a car engine, how to successfully cook a lasagne, or how to solve a complex mathematical equation. That knowledge is based in the human mind or mental activity. However, resting in Pure Awareness can bring a clarity to the mental activity, which can make the human mind more in tune with the workings of the apparent universe.
So God does not know every thing, but we could say God knows Everything. There are not many things. There is nothing other than Everything. There is nothing other than God.