Pointers

Any form of spiritual gradualness is simply the mind in full operation.


*****


"How do I attain enlightenment?" is the wrong question. It's the wrong question because your ideas about enlightenment are incorrect. Also, enlightenment, per se, does not exist. So these false notions about the issue are distracting you from seeing what is directly in front of you. Thus, a far better question would be: "What is the presence of awareness that is cognitizing my body and thinking right here and now?"


*****


Meditation can give you some calmness--but never peace, which only comes with the recognition of your natural state. Meditation isn't natural. It's an endeavor that has to be done again and again and again. Self-realization, on the other hand, happens only once. Boom! Game over.


*****


You are not your body, thoughts, and emotions. They are certainly there, but there has to be something that knows that they are there, and you are that something--awareness itself. And you can't get more liberated than that!


*****


However poetic it sounds, the "dissolution of the ego" is a meaningless and non-ending aspiration. Any teacher who has you doing that is just wasting your time and money. The ego, which is just another thought, is going to continue to come up (and disappear) as long as your body is being lived. Why not investigate the assumed-reality of the person who is attempting to get rid of the ego? Or you can simply take U.G. Krishnamurti's ever-diplomatic words to heart: "Don't be a damn fool!"


*****


God, Presence, Awareness, Adonai, Jehovah, Theos, and Emannuel are just a handful of the many names of That which is beyond all words. Another name for it is Brahman, which is often defined as "Supreme" or "the Greatest." But perhaps my favorite rendering of it is the slightly less elegant, "the All." And all the names are pointing to what you are at this very second.


*****


Go beyond any feelings of goodness or happiness or sadness or even bliss. Even the universe depends upon your existence! You are Supreme Reality. How is it that you could ever be separate from That which is without beginning or end?


*****

The Upanishads were right (and brilliant!) to point out that aum is a vibration that underlines all existence. For if we were to give presence a phonetic component, aum would most definitely be it. But those Upanishadic authors and commentators who say that it must be chanted or mentally repeated (as a mantra) to attain self-knowledge were wrong. Just ponder a-u-m carefully and silently, and allow it to show you what is already there, which is bare spaciousness and peace. Aum is one of those rare and wonderful words that both points to presence, as well as approximates it.

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News & Info

"Loved the book, Rodney. Enjoyed it as much as John Wheeler's first book, Awakening to the Natural State. My favourite quote of yours was "you are no more your personal history than you are your toothbrush." I like the fact that you included little tidbits of your life and surrounds. It felt more like reading a book on travel or history than some of the other textbook style books on nonduality. I think for anyone serious about a direct approach, your book and John Wheeler's are the two to have." -- Ian

~~~~~

"I found A Vastness All Around to be a nice presentation of the essence of awakening from within a modern nondual perspective. I found it particularly accessible due both to your refreshingly relaxed perspective, and the format of the great variety of types of presentations; short essays, dialogues, poems, interviews, even book reviews. A very nice multi-pronged approach, easy to dip into without having to necessarily wade through a more involved and convoluted presentation. I wish you good fortune in its popularization. It ought to be of benefit to many people."

--Peter Brown
http://www.theopendoorway.org

~~~~~

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

~~~~~

Vastness is now available for the Amazon Kindle! Order Here.

~~~~~

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

~~~~~

If you would like to meet Rodney, have him to discuss nonduality, sign books, or read, you can email him at: writerguy@fastmail.fm. Such events are self-organized, so funding is key, with groups and universities that can cover travel expenses getting priority. And much appreciation!

~~~~~

This blog is generally updated every Monday afternoon, Eastern Standard Time.

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Q&A: Awareness is Your Treasure

Question: Things are continuing to unfold for me. I still enjoy listening to many shows of the Urban Guru Cafe, including yours, which has a lot of clear pointing. So there definitely has been some strong resonance with what you were saying.

Rodney: That's great. Thanks for letting me know.

Q: But I can't yet say that there is a clear seeing of my true nature, or that the illusion of the person has vanished.

Rodney: Don't be overly concerned about it. It will happen when it happens. The important thing is that you are doing some clear-headed exploration on the matter.

Q: But there does seem to be a deep relaxation that's starting to happen.

Rodney: Increased calm and less effort are nearly always good things when it comes to this understanding. Indeed, stress and struggling are totally counterproductive to self-knowing. Such tension comes about when people concentrate, meditate, and/or attempt to be mindful of something because they assume that there is this deep divide between them and awareness. And, of course, there is no divide whatsoever.

Q: Well, the sense of "me being in charge" appears to be loosing its grip also. There really does seem to be some kind of presence behind all appearances. But what it is and how it fits in with the appearances are still unclear.

Rodney: Don't worry about how presence fits into the scheme of things right now. It would just be conjecture on your part anyway, which would only lead to further conceptualization. Focus, instead, on your immediate sense of presence, and not the appearances within it. Awareness is your treasure. All else are peripherals.

Q: Yes, I see what you mean. Right now, the concepts are still going on, but they are just a part of the current experience, with no more intrinsic value than their functionality, in the occasions when they have one. The tingling of my toes is just as vibrant, as enjoyable, and as "valid" as any thought.

Rodney: Precisely. Any sensations--however blissful--are still just arisings in your ultimate Self. If some brief self-identification occurs with those sensations or feelings, that's okay. Just see that it is happening and know that the contents and experiences--however beautiful--are not at all your natural and unbounded state.

Q: The usual projections on the world and on people (this house is ugly, this guy is fat, this girl is beautiful, etc) come up less and less; and when they do, they seem to evaporate pretty quickly. The previous years of complete identification with thinking seem like some long sick joke!

Rodney: Good analogy. And just to be clear: Your identification with a so-called good thought (the "beautiful" girl) is just as much an issue as with a not-so-good one (the "fat" guy). It's the identification that needs to be seen clearly, and not the quality of the thoughts themselves. Of course, if you're having nothing but troublesome thoughts, that needs to be looked by a health professional!

Q: And how do I stop the identification with thought?

Rodney: "You" don't. The identification stops or eases on its own when you see--clearly and undeniably--who and what you truly are, which is awareness itself, and not the things that arise and disappear within it. So continue to ponder this in the sincere and earnest ways that you are doing. And clarity, no doubt, will someday be yours.

Q: Rodney, thank you for your time and responses. Both are deeply appreciated.

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News & Info

"Loved the book, Rodney. Enjoyed it as much as John Wheeler's first book, Awakening to the Natural State. My favourite quote of yours was "you are no more your personal history than you are your toothbrush." I like the fact that you included little tidbits of your life and surrounds. It felt more like reading a book on travel or history than some of the other textbook style books on nonduality. I think for anyone serious about a direct approach, your book and John Wheeler's are the two to have." -- Ian

~~~~~

"I found A Vastness All Around to be a nice presentation of the essence of awakening from within a modern nondual perspective. I found it particularly accessible due both to your refreshingly relaxed perspective, and the format of the great variety of types of presentations; short essays, dialogues, poems, interviews, even book reviews. A very nice multi-pronged approach, easy to dip into without having to necessarily wade through a more involved and convoluted presentation. I wish you good fortune in its popularization. It ought to be of benefit to many people."

--Peter Brown
http://www.theopendoorway.org

~~~~~

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

~~~~~

Vastness is now available for the Amazon Kindle! Order Here.

~~~~~

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

~~~~~

If you would like to meet Rodney, have him to discuss nonduality, sign books, or read, you can email him at: writerguy@fastmail.fm. Such events are self-organized, so funding is key, with groups and universities that can cover travel expenses getting priority. And much appreciation!

~~~~~

This blog is generally updated every Monday afternoon, Eastern Standard Time.

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Pointers

You are pure Being itself. Nothing in the universe can excel you.


*****


This understanding happens during a pause in your thinking. So any attempts to "reach" Reality through memorization or theorizing or recitation will simply not succeed. For those actions are just further forms of conceptualization.


*****


Our so-called minds are discontinuous, but awareness is not. Look for that which never changes.


*****


It's utterly foolish to try to "negate" the ego. For the negating itself is a mental process. So nothing can come of it, except frustration. You are the spaciousness in which those thoughts and processes are occuring. Stay with what you are. Stay with the vastness that Does Not Move.

*****

Truly, the simplicity of this is (quite literally) beyond belief.


*****


You are not an object. Anything that comes up, changes, and/or disappears can't possibly be you. Sort through the potency and pointing within those words and discover their truth for yourself. For that's where the answer lies: Your own innate peace and limitlessness.


*****


Lasting happiness can only be found with that which is lasting. And that is presence, which is even greater than happiness, given that happiness is a condition that is variable.


*****

Emotion has very little to do with this understanding. That's why any strivings to attain it through love, compassion, and doing good works is a recipe for failure. The previously mentioned qualities come about naturally and spontaneously once you are clear about your fundamental nature. So allow your focus to be on self-knowledge itself, rather on the means--however exemplary--to garner it.


*****


In nonduality, we are not talking about a future or distant-state. We are speaking about what you are at this very moment, as you are reading these words. You are the presence that is aware that these words are before you. Though your brain is processing them, it all comes back to presence as being the ultimate and unblinking witness. Thus, rather than attempting to be mindful of your thoughts and feelings, simply see that witnessing--in its ultimate form--is already taking place.

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News & Info

"Loved the book, Rodney. Enjoyed it as much as John Wheeler's first book, Awakening to the Natural State. My favourite quote of yours was "you are no more your personal history than you are your toothbrush." I like the fact that you included little tidbits of your life and surrounds. It felt more like reading a book on travel or history than some of the other textbook style books on nonduality. I think for anyone serious about a direct approach, your book and John Wheeler's are the two to have." -- Ian

~~~~~

"I found A Vastness All Around to be a nice presentation of the essence of awakening from within a modern nondual perspective. I found it particularly accessible due both to your refreshingly relaxed perspective, and the format of the great variety of types of presentations; short essays, dialogues, poems, interviews, even book reviews. A very nice multi-pronged approach, easy to dip into without having to necessarily wade through a more involved and convoluted presentation. I wish you good fortune in its popularization. It ought to be of benefit to many people."

--Peter Brown
http://www.theopendoorway.org

~~~~~

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

~~~~~

Vastness is now available for the Amazon Kindle! Order Here.

~~~~~

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

~~~~~

If you would like to meet Rodney, have him to discuss nonduality, sign books, or read, you can email him at: writerguy@fastmail.fm. Such events are self-organized, so funding is key, with groups and universities that can cover travel expenses getting priority. And much appreciation!

~~~~~

This blog is generally updated every Monday afternoon, Eastern Standard Time.

------

Pointers

What is the one thing about yourself that never changes?


*****


You are that which is aware of your body, feelings, and thinking.


*****


Questions related to self-knowledge are raised by the so-called mind in consciousness. But such questions cannot be answered by the mind. For the answer is not a word or an action. Nor is it an experience. Rather, it is your own ever-existing presence of equanimity and spaciousness.


*****


Awareness...In its obviousness, we miss it.


*****


"You are sitting. You are aware that you are sitting. You are awareness." That's the only "guided meditation" (which it isn't) that you need ever use. As for all the other GM rubbish about chakras, planes, mudras, anchoring, observing the breath, and the particularly hallowed and ubiquitous "just let it go," I say, just let them go.


*****


You can only recognized presence in the waking state because consciousness is needed to perceive awareness. So what is it, right now, that would also be with you in deep sleep, even if you weren't aware that it was present?


*****


If you are having numerous "awakenings" and "realizations," you haven't awakened. You are simply having experiences, which--despite the spiritual myth--are not stepping stones to self-knowing. I say this not be critical, but to point out a truth. You are That which is beyond all experiences. So why do yourself such a disservice by seeking and reveling in them?


*****

Self-inquiry isn't something that you have to work at. It comes up naturally and on its own when the "Who" question arises throughout the day ("Who wants to witness their thoughts?" "Who wants to better control their emotions?" etc). The question, if unprompted and spontaneous, truly pauses you. And in that halting, felt-awareness can be readily perceived. In short, you will see that the pause is the answer.


*****


Your identification with your body and thinking is distracting you from discovering your glorious and fundamental nature. That identification can't be stopped conceptually, ritualistically, philosophically, or ceremonially. Indeed, the whole issue of your understanding who and what you are is not an overwhelmingly spiritual one. We couch it in those terms because, historically, we have associated the numinous and the indescribable with the theological. Only those clear-seeing sages of nondual lore--from Gaudapada and Shankara to Nirsargadatta and Sailor Bob Adamson--have pointed directly to our natural and pristine state rather than Heavenward. And that state is there for seeing. Just bring your calm attention to that subtle peace and Freedom that is fully within you, right here and now.

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News & Info

"Loved the book, Rodney. Enjoyed it as much as John Wheeler's first book, Awakening to the Natural State. My favourite quote of yours was "you are no more your personal history than you are your toothbrush." I like the fact that you included little tidbits of your life and surrounds. It felt more like reading a book on travel or history than some of the other textbook style books on nonduality. I think for anyone serious about a direct approach, your book and John Wheeler's are the two to have." -- Ian

~~~~~

"I found A Vastness All Around to be a nice presentation of the essence of awakening from within a modern nondual perspective. I found it particularly accessible due both to your refreshingly relaxed perspective, and the format of the great variety of types of presentations; short essays, dialogues, poems, interviews, even book reviews. A very nice multi-pronged approach, easy to dip into without having to necessarily wade through a more involved and convoluted presentation. I wish you good fortune in its popularization. It ought to be of benefit to many people."

--Peter Brown
http://www.theopendoorway.org

~~~~~

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

~~~~~

Vastness is now available for the Amazon Kindle! Order Here.

~~~~~

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

~~~~~

If you would like to meet Rodney, have him to discuss nonduality, sign books, or read, you can email him at: writerguy@fastmail.fm. Such events are self-organized, so funding is key, with groups and universities that can cover travel expenses getting priority. And much appreciation!

~~~~~

This blog is generally updated every Monday afternoon, Eastern Standard Time.

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