There is a tendency amongst speakers on non duality to say that once you have “got it” then that’s it. You are liberated, awakened and have reached the final frontier as far as spirituality is concerned.

I disagree. Once you have realized the oneness, seen that there is no separation, no duality of you and the rest of the universe; then you have certainly reached the end of seeking.  You then have the opportunity to embark on another journey – the journey to enlightenment.

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For many long years I struggled as a spiritual seeker, seeking out:

• Gurus
• Spiritual teachers
• Mystical experiences
• Spiritual practices
• Spiritual companions

Although I developed ideas about compassion, wholeness and emanating love to heal the world; to tell the truth, I was basically seeking from the perspective of self interest. There was something I felt was missing in my life. I did not know what that was, but I felt that somehow spirituality would provide the answers and this would ease the pain in my life. Read more

One of the states of duality is the sense that there is an I which resides inside a body, and then there is a world outside the body.

I look out through these eyes to a computer screen on which text is appearing as I type. For most practical purposes this view of me and my relationship to the outside world works. It allows me to function in the world, to interact with the world, to communicate with other people in the world.

What is really going on here? There may indeed be a computer screen in front of me, but I cannot see it as it really is. Light passes from the screen into my eyes. These light waves are then interpreted by the brain which then constructs an image which I label computer screen. Am I seeing the screen out there or is it in here, inside my brain?

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One things that non-dualists says is that there is no separate self.

How does the mind get around that one? It seems so obvious that you exist. Every time that you use the word ‘I’, you are establishing that you exist as a single standalone entity.

So let’s find the I. Can you find the I without the content of the I? What I mean by this is that, when you use the word I, you are generally referring to an experience. You say:

• I am hungry
• I will get back to you on that one
• I feel sad
• I will think about that

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I was watching a video on the internet today. It was a talk by a man who had been involved in research into the secret of a long life. He looked at several areas of the world where the average lifespan is considerably longer than the average.

He showed slides of 102 year olds water skiing, a 97 year old heart surgeon and a 103 year old grannie. They all appeared to live happy and active lives. When he looked into why they lived longer, one thing that these people had in common was a strong social life and a religious belief. In American, there is a community of Seventh Day Adventists who spend 24 hours every week worshipping God and socialising.  Research has shown that a religious faith can add about 4 years to your life.

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How does a non-dualist spend Christmas?

I’m  spending a day with my family: eating good food, drinking fine wine, opening presents, taking the dog for a walk in the snow, playing silly board games. A normal Christmas I suppose.

What is the meaning of Christmas?

As I am not a Christian then I do not have religious feelings about Christmas. For me, Christmas has no meaning. It is there to be enjoyed. Indulging in pleasurable experiences needs no reason.

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I recently met an old friend who I had not seen for some time. She lives in the spiritual community called Findhorn and she does lots of spiritual activities – peace dancing, singing Sufi songs, Laughing Yoga. She was surprised that I had given up all spiritual practices and reminded me of the days when we would talk about my latest spiritual teacher, my spiritual journeys to India, all the spiritual books that I was reading.

“Don’t you miss all that? Where do you get your peak experiences from?” she asked.

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This week I was watching an episode of the television program ‘In Treatment” in which a therapist talks to his clients and also has to deal with problems with his partner. What the program illustrated is how humans hang on to things, and how much suffering happens as a result.

How much do you cling to your:

• Possessions?
• Ideas?
• Emotional issues?
• You sense of importance?
• Beliefs?

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A few years ago when I was single I decided that what I needed in my life was a girlfriend. To find one I joined an internet dating site. When I was creating my profile I ticked the box that said spiritual. I regarded myself as a spiritual seeker, so it seemed right to tick the spiritual box.

 

When looking for suitable women to contact I looked to see if they had ticked the spiritual box. I met several of them. It was then that I realised just how vague the word spiritual is. One woman interpreted spiritual as being to do with mediums and psychics.  To another to be spiritual meant being a christian. To another spirituality was Transcendental Meditation.

 

One lady asked if I had ever seen a fairy. When I answered no, she declared that I could not possibly be spiritual if I had not at least seen a fairy!

 

Now I do not give myself the label of spirituality.

 

Spiritual implies duality. There is the:

 

• Sacred and the secular
• Spiritual and profane
• Spiritual and not spiritual
• Devotee and non-devotee

 

My non-dual perspective does not make me spiritual. If I did use that word then I would say that there is nothing that is not spiritual. Equally I could say nothing is spiritual. Everything just is as it is.

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I went to a meeting with Scott Kiloby this weekend. There was a discussion about words and the difficulty of expressing non-duality in words. Words can only ever be pointers, yet there is so much importance put on words, and so much confusion arises when listening to different teachers expressing their perspective on non duality. Read more