Q&A: With Ease and Earnestness

Questioner: Hey Rodney. I was just reading your blog, and it really drew me in. In fact, I could not stop reading it!

Rodney: Thank you, but I hope you finally took some time off.

Q: I'm writing you. That's the time off!

Rodney: Well, have a nourishing glass of water or some green tea with that break, will you?

Q: Soon, I promise. I have a couple of questions for you first, if it's all right?

Rodney: Sure.

Q: Advaita means nondual or "not two." This oneness is the fundamental quality of everything. Everything is a part of and made of one nondual consciousness. Often the question arises, "If it is all one thing, why don't I experience it that way?" This is confusing oneness for the appearance of sameness. Things can appear different without being separate.

Rodney: Let us first be careful about our terms--though ultimately, they mean little at all. Consciousness--the sense that you are present--emanates from awareness. So it cannot possibly be considered nondual, in the sense that it is your fundamental nature. Consciousness is more of an aspect of awareness, just like any other manifestation in life.

Q: It's there, but it's not there.

Rodney: Oh, no. It's there! It's your state of awakeness. But it's a temporary arising within presence, which does not change.

Q: Oh, okay. I think I see what you mean.

Rodney: As for why you're not experiencing Self--well, you can't help but experience it. For it is what you are. You are merely overlooking that "oneness," which is immediately within and before you. Indeed, its very nearness appears to complicate one's perceiving it. But there is no real complication, of course--only an apparent one. For we simply aren't use to looking at something so close up. We only know thoughts and emotions and sensations. But what is it that is there before any of those things are there?

Q: I love that question. It really "stills" me. But then the mind starts up again.

Rodney: Don't worry about the mind. You are now taking note of a pause that you had not quite noticed before. You are delving into the issue of the space or spaciousness in which those things arise. You are angled towards the answer now, and the answer is you, awareness proper.

Q: So I can be complicating my seeing by trying too hard.

Rodney: Exactly. But your enthusiasm, which I sense as natural, is to be commended.

Q: That's good, because I'm going to take a deep breath and dive right back in.

Rodney: You don't come to this understanding through any straining or inordinate efforts. All of that is completely unnecessary. Just continue to explore this issue with ease and earnestness, and you will have the answer for yourself. And it will be a living and a vital answer, one of true peace and understanding.

Q: Thanks for the "living" and "vital" chat, Rodney. And thank you for your blog too!

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News & Info

A Vastness All Around: Awakening to Your Natural State is now available. Rodney's first collection of essays, discussions, interviews and powerful pointers can be ordered directly from the publisher at Lulu Press.

And for the book's Press Release, click Here.

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Pointers

The mind translates; awareness witnesses.


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You are not a paradigm. Your essence is transcendence and is completely beyond all philosophical constructs and theorizing.


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I love what Bodhiharma said about the nature of reality: "Vast emptiness, nothing holy, nothing sacred." And yet that spaciousness is the very epitome of sacredness.


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Despite some popular teachings to the contrary, awareness doesn't rise, nor does it occur because conditions are favorable for it. Awareness is what you are; thus we were given the classic nondual exhortation, "You are That." See what it is that you are presently overlooking. That is what nonduality is all about. It couldn't be simpler than that.


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You are spaciousness, not the thoughts, feelings, or bodily sensations that come up within it. If you take a careful look at this fact, you will be free.


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Having transcended pleasure and pain doesn't mean that one doesn't experience pleasure and pain. Such a person still enjoys pleasure and seeks quick relief from pain. But now, there is no defined person doing this. It is the clear and natural actions of a particular body/mind entity, whose fundamental nature is awareness itself.


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Even when picking up some of the old advaitic texts, my near-constant response, upon reading them, is "No, no, no," rather than "Yes, yes, yes!"


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When you say that you can't be free of your body and your thoughts, you are already free of your body and your thoughts. For if you have the ability to perceive something, that means that your innermost nature is above and beyond that which it is perceiving.


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Your spirit doesn't need awakening. It's not even "spirit." It truly is the sound of one hand clapping. And what is that sound? Right now, at this very moment, what is that sound?


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What you are seeking can't be sought. It is there and fully present before any attempts are made toward it. Allow your mind to be paused by this exquisite fact. Direct and poignant pointing can't help but stop your mental churning. You just don't take note of such timeless moments when they occur; nor do you see the fullness of them. And such moments take place many, many times during the day. So be alert for them, in a relaxed and easy manner. And perhaps you will come to see yourself in all of your sheerness and majesty.

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News & Info

A Vastness All Around: Awakening to Your Natural State is now available. Rodney's first collection of essays, discussions, interviews and powerful pointers can be ordered directly from the publisher at Lulu Press.

And for the book's Press Release, click Here.

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Q&A: No Message

Question: I'm delighted about your book, Rodney. I purchased a trio of copies--one for myself, and two others for holiday gifts to friends.

Rodney: Well, I believe three copies of a nondual title qualifies it as a bonafide bestseller. So thank you!

Q: I continue to read, ponder, and allow myself to be paused. That particular approach is so beautiful, really. It never feels like seeking; hence, there is no exasperation. It's rather like a day-to-day examination of the things and ideas that I previously thought "weighty" (I loved the way you used that word in your previous posting).

Rodney: Good points, all. But be wary of the "examination of things." That could continue without end. A thought is a thought is a thought. End of story. There is really nothing left to examine. Just see that you are giving undue significance to your thoughts and feelings. Yes, they are vital and practical, but they aren't who and what we are. We know that an idea and an emotion is there because there is a knowingness in which the thought or feeling arises. That knowingness is awareness.

Q: Yes, awareness is the examiner.

Rodney: Presence doesn't dissect or scrutinize. It perfectly beholds whatever is present. Whatever comes up after the initial witnessing is the so-called mind, with its varying assessments of the original thought, concept, or sentiment.

Q: And to see that this is happening is enough for a full understanding, correct?

Rodney: Yes, but it has to be a seeing that halts all mentation. It is the sudden and complete recognition of the permeation of awareness, which is the essence of your beingness. And it has always been present, of course--just overlooked. Our attention goes to a multitude of things throughout the day, and that is perfectly fine when we notice a car coming before we attempt to cross the road. But one could argue that it is not so good when we are, say, focused on our thoughts and breathing in an attempt to control them so that we can reach some so-called spiritual and fleeting state.

Q: But I will know it when I see, I suppose--this awareness.

Rodney: Generally, yes. You will know it when you see it. But if there is any question, just look at, say, your cup of tea or coffee on the table in front of you, or at some object in the distance. Then note if the spaciousness is still there. If it is, it is the real deal. If it is not, you will know that it was simply a passing experience. But don't get depressed! Be happy that you were able to quickly and accurately sort things out.

Q: My dear Rodney, do know you why I treasure your blog? It's because of such clear and "radiant" specifics as the aforesaid. No haziness or advaitic verbiage at all, and no making a mystery of things. I'm sure you understand what I'm attempting to convey.

Rodney: Completely.

Q: And the very same applies to your A Vastness All Around, of course. I experience the same "halting" as I did when I read Tony Parson's Invitation to Awaken. But with your book, the stillness seems to sit there for some time longer. I'm explaining this very, very badly. But again, I know you can sense my intent.

Rodney: Everyone responds differently to nondual books. I'm happy, of course, that Vastness moves you in the way that it does. Remain with the stillness that you are feeling, allowing yourself to fully see that the tranquility remains on its own, that there is no you having to do anything at all.

Q: I most certainly will...And I would like to write you again, if that's okay, as I continue to "sort things out." But for now, thank you so much for your message, Rodney.

Rodney: You're most welcome. But there is no message, really. It's just a responding from the source, a welling up from this particular body/mind entity. My perspective is the only originality here. For what I am pointing to is the very same thing to which all the other sages (from Buddha and Nisargadatta to Sailor Bob Adamson) have pointed, and that is Freedom itself.

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News & Info

A Vastness All Around: Awakening to Your Natural State is now available. Rodney's first collection of essays, discussions, interviews and powerful pointers can be ordered directly from the publisher at Lulu Press.

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Pointers

What is it that presents itself at this very moment?

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Doubts arise largely because you are identifying with your body/mind, and not because this understanding is difficult to come by.


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When you love your partner as your Self, it is a love without jealousy, remorse, or competition. In a word, it is a love without bounds.


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In actuality, you can't realize Self because it is already realized.


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This understanding occurs only when you are liberated from the idea of liberation itself. And it isn't something that happens incrementally. It is a sudden and full-sweeping away of your imagined and acrimonious self.


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All states of consciousness appear and disappear within you. You are infinitely larger and grander than the most mesmerizing spiritual experience or the most awesome galactic phenomenon. Continue to give credence to this perspective of yourself, until you see it with unquestionable clarity.


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Note that your thoughts and feelings are perceived. It is never the other way around--with your thoughts and emotions perceiving you. See the direction from which this recognition is happening, and you will recognize your own ever-present Reality.


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Beauty is an aspect of awareness that profoundly pauses you. It can be a painting, a phrase, a setting, a person, a gesture, or a kiss. Allow yourself to be fully halted by any of these occurrences throughout your waking hours.


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Don't get caught up with names and labels. The actuality of awareness is totally beyond any debates as to whether it should be called God, Presence, Brahman, the Absolute, or Supreme Intelligence.


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In deep sleep, there are no objects for which awareness to recognize--no thoughts, dreams, or body-sense. Thus, we only know it as having been deep, restful, and marvelously peaceful. Consciousness emanates from awareness the next morning, and the body and the so-called mind are recognized. But awareness is forever there. It Does Not Move.


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A perception, when accorded a name and multiple memory recalls, is given "weight" and significance. Then it becomes an idea. We may then form opinions about this idea, and it soon becomes a form of thinking, a philosophy, a belief structure. But no matter how beautifully systematized the idea becomes, it is still just a piling on of thoughts in and about your fundamental reality.

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News & Info

A Vastness All Around: Awakening to Your Natural State is now available. Rodney's first collection of essays, discussions, and pointers can be ordered through Amazon (starting Nov 1st), your local bookstore (of whom we are big supporters), or directly from the publisher, Lulu Press.

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Q&A: A Clear Look

Question: Well, I have read pretty much everything related to nonduality, and still no understanding. But I'm not blaming you. :)

Rodney: Thanks. And besides, blaming is irrelevant in this neck of the woods.

Question: So what else can I do?

Rodney: See that there is nothing else to do, except to recognize that which is presently before you. Any stress, inordinate efforts, and looking away from yourself are the wrong ways to go about this.

Question: It sounds so easy, and yet--

Rodney: It's easier than you could ever fathom. And that's a significant part of the problem (or rather, the issue; for "problem" is too strong a word). Seekers conceive or formulate it to be this or that, and it isn't. Spiritual books, CDs, and DVDs often play into these idealizations, especially when they make this understanding out to be some esoteric, stupor-like form of Enlightenment. Worse still when they suffuse it with everything from visions and mystical powers to throbbing kundalini and ecstatic states of consciousness. But what is present before any of those things are present? A clear look at that question can resolve the issue quite easily.

Question: But I've looked and looked and looked. Please trust me on this.

Rodney: Oh, I do! And I'm fully empathetic to your questions and concerns. That's why I'm pointing to presence as clearly and as directly as I can. But you have to discover it for yourself and by yourself. But on that discovery, you will see that presence is everywhere and within everyone. So with that said, remain mindful of any pause or mental/conceptual cessation that you may have while exploring nonduality (as well as while making yourself a cup of tea or coffee, or simply taking out the trash). See that within that conceptual halting that there is a subtle yet explicit permeation of awareness that is nothing less than your fundamental nature. It appears not to be evident to you right now because your attention is going to everything else: Your thoughts, sensations, feelings of frustration, and arising concepts.

Question: So I should go back and just clear myself of all concepts.

Rodney: Where are you going to go, and who precisely is going to go there? I'm not being picky; for those are very real questions that need to be addressed (which can be done in a few seconds of honest seeing). And why do you need to "clear yourself" of thoughts and concepts? They are going to come up, so just let them. They're part of your natural body/mind functioning. And besides, there is no one there to even let them go! Their witnessing happens automatically. So where can this imagined "you" figure into any of this? It only comes up after the fact. For example, there is the thought "I am a good person." Then there is another thought of "But why can't I be more compassionate?" Because that last thought carries some emotional content, you assume that it defines you, i.e., that you indeed are non-compassionate and a person. This is the ego, which you can plainly see is just another thought. And thoughts arise in awareness, and you are That, not your thoughts, feelings, or physicality.

Question: Yeah, I'm starting to feel a little bit of the pausing that you were talking about.

Rodney: Allow it to happen naturally. Don't chase it or fret over it. After all, you are awareness proper, which manifests--in the body/mind entities--as a very definite presence of peace, spaciousness, and clarity that can never be fully described or articulated. And again, everything arises from That and is That. This is something that the mind can never grasp. It can only be discerned or recognized when the mind is not present, such as when there is a pause or directly after some potent insight.

Question: Thanks, Rodney. That all sounds solid. I'll definitely be checking back.

Rodney: Certainly. Meanwhile, all the best.

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News & Info

A Vastness All Around: Awakening to Your Natural State is now available. Rodney's first collection of essays, discussions, and pointers can be ordered through Amazon (starting Oct. 20th), your local bookstore (of whom we are big supporters), or directly from the publisher, Lulu Press.

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