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.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: The Universe
The term cause and effect is often used when referring to how things happen in the world. The assumption is that something causes something else to happen. But is that really how it is?
We may think, "I'm going out for a walk." That seems like we are the cause, and the effect is the body going for a walk. Or maybe a seed drops from a tree into a pond and ripples appear on the pond, spreading outwards across the pond. In that case we may consider that the seed falling is the cause and the ripples on the water are the effect. But when you look into it closely you it's difficult to really identify the cause. For example, although I may vaguely accept that I made the decision to go for a walk, there is likely something that caused this decision. It may be that I haven't been outdoors for a few days, I need to stretch my legs or get some exercise, or some other reason that prompted the thought and intention to go for a walk.
In this example the decision can itself be understood as an effect rather than a cause. If you continue chasing the cause you find that there really is only a flowing of effect. We could say that each cause is also an effect, but it is more like a flowing of change. In the example of the seed dropping into the pond, causing ripples, the seed dropping is part of the nature of the tree. When the seed drops we can call it a cause or an effect, but really it is neither. There is only the flow of life. The tree grows from a seed that fell from a tree before; the tree grows seeds that eventually fall; one of the seeds falls into the pond; ripples flow. I'm sure there's a haiku there:
Tree drops seeds in soil
Seeds grow to become great trees
Seeds splash, ripples flow
Even here we are breaking apart this continual flow of life into segments. The human mind likes to do this to explain the world in finite terms. But really the world is infinite. There is no cause then effect or even cause-effect followed by cause-effect. There is only the continual flow of apparent change.
This leads to the non-dual understanding of choice. It's not that we choose what we do, where we go or what happens. The world just seems to happen. Thoughts seem to appear. Decisions seem to be made. Actions seem to take place. This is all the appearance of the flowing world. But it all appears right here and now. It is from the still point of Unchanging Awareness that this flow of change is experienced.
One may wonder what caused the world to appear, but this same understanding applies: there is no cause. Cause and effect are one and none. There is no beginning or end. The world only seems to appear. Space and time only seem to happen. Separation of the Singular nature of Reality only seems to happen. The Singular nature of Reality is never broken.
We don't need to be concerned with this seeming cause and effect. We are not part of this apparent flow. We remain as we are. Unchanging perceiving change, though truly nothing changes.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
In Non-Duality there is no finite, no definition of things. There are no limits. There are not many separate things. There is only an Infinite One without division or limitation.
Someone might object and say, "But there are limits. I was born and I will die. Everything comes to an end. My body is separate from other bodies. I am a being in my own right. I can't know what others think." Let's have a real look at these assertions and see if we can find any true limits.
Although we may think and assume, "I was born and I will die," it's not really clear who 'I' am and when I was born or began. It's impossible to define who 'I' am. We may say, "I am this body," but this body is changing all the time. We could say, "I was born at 2am on 28th January 1971," but that's just the registered time that the baby emerged from gestation. The time itself is subjective, as it's based on a manmade timeframe. It may refer to a point in time, but even that point is vague and never completely precise. Furthermore, being born isn't the beginning of the human body. The beginning of the human body can't be found. We could trace it back to the parents, but there is a continual unending flow back through generations and generations. Even what we consider to be 'human' is in a continual flow of evolution. Its origins flow from forms that we would not describe as human.
We have an understanding of what it means to die. We could say this is where the body is no longer animated. But even this death is not clearly defined, and we cannot say precisely when it occurs. Rather it can be recognised that the human body develops from a long undivided line of humans. It builds itself up by consuming nutrients from the environment, then it fades and eventually returns to the environment from which it is always made. So being born and dying is not as finite as we assume it to be.
Does everything come to an end? Well certainly nothing lasts. Everything that appears in the world will indeed disappear. It may take seconds, minutes, or years, but everything comes and goes. That doesn't mean everything ends. Rather there is a continual flow of coming and going. For instance, consider a drop of water landing on a pond. This creates ripples that flow outward from the source. The ripples are high at first but they lose their amplitude as they travel. They slowly fade and the surface is calm again. The ripples don't really end. They slowly fade back to the natural state, whilst their energy is transferred.
Is the body separate from other bodies? Only relatively so. The body is made of solid, liquid and gas, and it is separated from other bodies mostly by gaseous air. The body's apparent solidity of form against the spacious air appears as separate from other solid bodies. But this play of density of vibration brings about the appearance of separation. Consider water poured into a bowl made of ice. They appear separate due to the temporary solidity of the ice. But if heat is applied the water and ice become one. So there is only an appearance of separation due to the apparent density of forms. We could confidently say that all humans and animals are not separate from planet Earth.
How do I know I am a being and there are other beings? This is only suggested by the apparent separation of forms, that we've just seen isn't strictly true. The sense of who I am is generally based on a vague identity with this human body. But logically it doesn't stand. This finite being that I think I am is not necessarily who I am. I can't really find where it begins and ends.
So Non-Duality understanding is that we are not separate beings. Reality is an infinite singularity. We are That. It is understood that our nature is Consciousness, and all that we know is experienced by, in and as Consciousness. But if we are one Consciousness, why can't I know what others are thinking?
This is a common question. The answer is in understanding that within Consciousness there is an apparent variation of density that brings about a sense of the finite. Just as the ice bowl can hold water, so can the apparently finite mind hold its own thoughts. Thoughts are relative to the mind in which they form. The apparent separation of minds prevents the sharing of thoughts. However, that's not to say that there can't be communication between the apparently separate minds. To use another analogy, minds are like branches on the same tree, all connected by the central trunk. The Infinite Consciousness that we truly are is like the central trunk, but also the whole of the tree.
It is Infinite Consciousness that is the shared reality of all seemingly separate finite minds.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
Stillness Meditation is not about making the body and the mind still, it is about being the Stillness that we are. We are the still essence that perceives the movement of the mind, the body and the world.
Usually in meditation the aim is to still the body and mind, and that's fine. But we can never make the body and the mind truly still. Nothing in the world is truly still. It is the reflective nature of the world that makes movement appear. It is the reflection or opposite of True Stillness. This is the real nature of the world, just as the real nature of a movie is the screen. Stillness is the underlying and pervading nature of the moving world.
So in meditation we can 'sit back' into the unmoving, unchanging, formless, aware being that is not just the essence of our being. It is the essence and the whole of all apparently separate beings. It is at the heart of each being, yet it is That in which the beings seem to appear.
This Stillness Meditation is the untangling of identity with movement and change. We withdraw from the fascination of the world and the distractions of the body and the mind. It helps for the mind to know that its identity is not this body. It helps for the mind to know that any limited defined identity is flawed, and that our true nature is without limits. Indeed, our true nature is aware of the apparent movement and activity of the mind.
We need to bring the mind deeper to rest in the witnessing of the mind and the body. Effectively the mind untangles itself from its false identification, as we remain the Unchanging One perceiving change.
In practice we allow the body to sit comfortably. Before closing the eyes, we recognise that we are perceiving this. We close the eyes. There are still sounds, but we recognise that we perceive them right here. We allow the mind to ease off a little. Thoughts will likely still appear, but we withdraw further from the thoughts to the perceiving of them. This may involve some to-ing and fro-ing, as we withdraw then become caught up in the thinking again. But none of that thinking is important right now, so we let it go again and observe.
With practice we go deeper. That's when the untangling of identification takes place. It is the mind that is going deeper to the source or essence. The nature of the mind is not separate from the source or essence, of course. It is the source or essence. This Stillness Meditation seems to bring the mind inwards to the source of Awareness, where there is really no inside or outside. There is only what seemed to be the source.
Know that you don't really have an inside and an outside. You are not the movements of the mind and the body. Yet all movement appears within the Infinite Stillness that we are. There is none other than this Infinite Stillness. It is the Infinite One Aware Being. That by which all is perceived. If you can perceive it, it's not you. If it is seen to move and change, it's not you. You are the Unchanging Awareness that perceives movement and change. This Stillness Meditation is no meditation. It is just being as you are. Pure Clarity.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: The Human Experience
Part of Non-Duality teaching is to recognise there is an ego at play. The ego is the sense and belief of being a separate self. The ego doesn't really exist as a separate entity. It is a thought-based persona. The ego has developed in the human psyche as the mind has evolved in a harsh world, where it has needed to develop defences to survive. Attack is a form of defence, as is hiding, remaining quiet, or making a stand.
We find a range of egos in the human world, from the most humble to the most selfish. The strong ego has the strongest defence, and prides itself on maintaining its identity and borders. It accentuates its limits to maintain its identity. It may even seek to dominate others and place its own limits around them. The humbler ego gives up its defences and does not feel the need to force or push. Indeed, the humbler ego is more open and at peace with the world. It's fair to say that the human world is ruled by egos.
But in Non-Duality we recognise that this illusory ego has been dominating too long. We learn to not be taken in by it, as we have done in the past. We recognise that its selfish aims are contrary to the infinite oneness of life. We see it as a bundle of thought-energy that asserts itself as right and in charge of this body. Non-Duality practice is to depose this usurper and allow the true selfless Self to shine as the rightful Beingness in the human form. The true Self is without borders or limitations.
Our practice is in letting go of holding on. The ego holds onto things, people, beliefs, and its sense of self as different to others. Slowly we let this go. The ego becomes humbler, and recognises that it has been living with false selfish beliefs. This human is not the most important being on the planet. The ego turns to being of service to others and less dismissive. The ego opens up and lets down its barriers. If we practise Self Enquiry, as taught by Sri Ramana Maharshi, we seek to find this self. In seeking this self identity we find that it is non-existent. The ego has no real lasting substance. Once rooted out, there is no ego or sense of identity. This is Nirvana, the extinguishing of the sense of being a separate self. It allows the selfless Self to come through unhindered.
That's the process, but there are minds reading this at different levels of ego-identity. The important thing first of all is to recognise that this ego has been ruling your perception of the world. You will notice it when it asserts itself or when it seeks to hide away. This is fine. But the path to clarity and oneness is in diminishing the ego. We can start by helping others, being kind and forgiving. Being willing to put ourselves out for others without complaint. Yes, drop the complaining. That's the ego asserting itself again. There may be rightful causes to stand up for, but be cautious of getting caught up in the ego strengthening its identity as a warrior. Humility is the key.