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

This weekend I went to see Jeff Foster at a meeting arranged by Non Duality North in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. The meeting was held in the Hope Centre which is run by the Light of Hope organisation.

Jeff talked about his time as a spiritual seeker when all that he investigated, all that he did was a failure. I related to this as I was in the same position, trying this spiritual teacher and that teacher, trying this path and that path. I was hopeless because, although there were temporary insights, nothing lasted. 

Read more

Can awakening be lost?

I was in my bed reading a spiritual book when suddenly it felt that I knew exactly what the teacher was communicating. I had got ‘it’. I was in an altered state of consciousness and I experienced such happiness. I emailed my spiritual teacher who declared that I was awake. After years of spiritual seeking I had ‘arrived’.

Read more

Is there a God Spot in the brain and will this cause you to get non-duality?

There are two stories about Jesus. One is from the Christian perspective where Jesus is the Son of God, performs miracles, gets crucified and then rises from the dead. The other version is the Muslim one where Jesus is a prophet amongst many prophets and is no greater than these other prophets.

What causes a Muslim to believe his version and a Christian to believe the other version? Is there some gene or ‘god spot’ in our bodies that causes us to believe?  Read more

Do you have to be a saint to awaken?

Many people believe that to awaken you need to be some sort of saint. In preparation for awakening some sort of purification is necessary. You follow rules of conduct in the hope that they will get you closer to enlightenment. Usually these rules involve abstinence:

• No alcohol
• No sex
• No meat
• No going down the pub with your friends
• No wild parties
• No cheating or lying

This is the image of the enlightened person that is portrayed a lot in the East where gurus are seen as holy saints whose morality is beyond reproach. Sometimes these gurus perform questionable acts such as having sex with a devotee, or amassing great  wealth whilst their followers live impoverished lives.

Read more

I used to be unhappy and dissatisfied with life and thought that enlightenment was an escape route to being happy all the time. I spent much time with spiritual teachers and found that they were not always happy and had many concerns. They could:

• worry about money
• get mad
• be impatient
• be disappointed if not many turned up for their spiritual discourses

Awakening is not an escape from unhappiness. It is a shift in the relationship to thoughts and feelings.

Read more

Be here

Is enlightenment a myth or reality?

Many years ago I met a guru called Maharaj Ji who introduced me to the idea of enlightenment which I understood was:

• A state of permanent bliss
• A state with no mental problems
• A state where no karma is created

This concept of enlightenment appealed to me. Who would not want permanent bliss?

I was told that if I practised the spiritual discipline known as ‘Knowledge” I could reach this state within a few years.

So I commenced a life of meditation, attending spiritual discourses known as Satsang and serving the community of Guru Maharji followers who called themselves premies (which means lovers of God).

After a few years of this life I reviewed where I was. How close was I to this state called enlightenment? Read more

Welcome to my new blog: What is Non-Duality?

This is my version of non-duality. Topics I will be writing about include:

• Is there a separate self?
• Is there anything you can do to get this?
• What do I think of other non-duality teachers out there.
• Does non-duality make you happy?
• What is enlightenment?
• How to stop searching
• What the heck is non-duality?

So, where to start? Read more