Edisto--Part 2

Awaking into that which is eternally Awake, I slowly open my eyes to see a red, smallish sun just over the littoral horizon. I get up, stand at the window, and gaze at the vast and empty marsh. A group of Brown Pelicans soar slowly over, squawking, as if to mock my nakedness.

I shower, shave, dress, and make my way downstairs. My hosts aren't up yet, but the California couple are on a small, second-level porch outside of the living room, talking and having their morning coffee. I go to the kitchen and pour a cup of the delicious Kona brew that the couple brought with them. Then I go to the larger porch (with its odd trapezoidal-shape) outside of the dining room and sit on the salt-weathered swing.

The immenseness of the marsh is directly before me. I'm always paused when I gaze at its beauty and expanse. A marsh is a lowland area that is often inundated by water. Marsh grasses--mostly Spartina, Cattails, and Salt Meadow Rush--grow in brown and yellow abundance here. Swarthy tidal creeks snake through grasses. When the tide rises (as it is now), the creeks fill with crabs, clams, and small fish. When the tide goes out, Stygian pluff mud remains. This pungent muck is what forms when rotting plant and animal life mix with the mud from the topsoil. If you were unfortunate enough to actually step into some of it, you will feel as if you are dropping into quicksand--or Hell itself, given that the hydrogen sulfide (that rotten egg smell)--would be generously emitted as your foot, leg, and/or waist go ever deeper into the odorous mix.

I sit there, in timeless wonder, for over 45 minutes. The creek swells and plods past me, and the marsh grasses sway in the merest of breezes. But something Does Not Move. It is in addition to the pristine loveliness that is occurring at this very moment. It is a presence that is both palpable and all-pervasive. How could I have missed it for all of those years--decades, really? Well, quite easily, in fact. For I followed the spiritual bandwagon and was searching an ecstatic state that could be repeatedly attained by some form of intense concentration or mindfulness. And those were three massive errors right there! But that is what the "spiritual bandwagon"--which has been rolling along for centuries--was preaching. Indeed, it still is, and with massive popularity. But the "attainment" of enlightenment is the Great Untruth. For you are already That which you are seeking--always have been and always will be. See what it is that you are not seeing, and liberation will be your very nature!

I finally get up and go inside for another cup of the Kona ambrosia, whereupon I discover that everyone is in the kitchen and that breakfast is fully under way. And it includes vegetable omelets, toasted bagels, re-heated corn muffins, jams, sliced oranges, "Antebellum" coarse grits (which are incredibly creamy and take 25 minutes to cook), and more coffee and hot tea, of course.

I work the rest of morning, replying to emails, scheduling phone consultations, and writing the coming week’s blog. Then I get in my rental car and drive to the beach at nearby Jeremy Cay. The beach--which runs for six uninterrupted miles around Edisto--is solitary, expansive, and shell-ladened. There is only one other person there: A beautiful, bikini-clad woman who is sunbathing, while reading some thick best-seller in her expensive beach chair. Her perfectly polished, pedicured toes are the color of coral. She pretends not to see me, and I briskly go in the opposite direction, not wanting to intrude on her solitude or to raise any "alarm" bells.

The beach at Edisto is a dynamic one, with brawny waves constantly pounding the crushed quartz, shattered seashells, and wayward marine debris. I walk and walk on the wide and uniformly sloping shoreline, my body buffeted by sea breezes. The sun is intense, and I can barely make out the horizon. Spaciousness within Spaciousness. There is no putting it into words, but the failed poet in me strives--again and again. But rarely am I left with any semblance of satisfaction. After a while, I realized that my skin--which I lathered with sunblock before I left this morning--is now stinging and sweaty. Reluctantly, I head back to the car.

I drive to the SeaCow Eatery on Jungle Road for lunch. I could easily have all of my meals here, if needed. For not only is the food that good and affordable, the cozy, aquamarine-shingled restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The waitresses are pleasant, and they take care to get your order right. I get my usual Egg salad sandwich with spinach and tomatoes. It comes with succulent beer-battered fries and Minnesota coleslaw. I also order iced-tea, and a side of mayo in which to dip my fries. Weird, I know--but I love it. And the waitresses always remember the side of mayo!

The next morning, after an enormously restful sleep, I give hugs and deep thanks to my hosts and new friends from California. I put my bags into the Grand Marquis and head gingerly out--deer are prevalent in this area. After crossing the elegant McKinley Washington, Jr. Bridge (which means that I am officially off the island), I crank up the car's CD player and listen to Moby all the way back to Columbia. I particularly smile when "The Great Escape" is blasting away. The mighty "Mo" could just as easily be talking about many of today's seekers and meditators when he succinctly croons, "Aren't you in chains/That no one else can see?"

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News & Info

RECENTLY IN: The beautiful and informative Nonduality Magazine has published a new discussion with Rodney about his book, A Vastness All Around. The extensive and wide-ranging interview was done by John LeKay, the magazine's editor.

~~~~~

"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

~~~~~

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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Edisto

It is one of the 50-plus sea islands from Charleston, South Carolina to Savannah, Georgia. And its name is as magical-sounding as the place itself: Edisto (a slight variation on Oristo, the Indians from whom it was purchased by the Earl of Shaftsbury in 1674).

It is a two-hour drive from Columbia, and the last section of the trip is particularly remarkable. You turn east onto Hwy 174 and follow it for another 21-miles to Edisto Beach. This luscious stretch is lined with tiny produce stands, antebellum plantations, vegetable farms, dirt roads dipping into dark piney woods, white-painted churches, mammoth live oaks laced with Spanish moss, and sweeping marshes whose beauty is almost aching.

The island has bravely resisted commercialization. The only well-known chain store is the Piggly Wiggly, and even it has a cozy, quirky, Edisto-like ambience. All the other businesses are local, with friendly owners and quality stuff. There is a quietness and simplicity to Edisto that tend to bring out the best in people. Even at “the Pig,” visitors from all over the state (and country) speak to one another or make momentary eye contact and flash a smile. I have been to this island over a half-dozen times now, and every occasion has been a complete joy. But this is the first time that I’ve visited since this understanding occurred. Nothing has changed, and yet everything is infused with added depth and beauty. All is witnessed with fathomless gratitude, which appears to come not from this body-mind, but from the source of me.

I am going not directly to the beach but to a rustic, four-story house near the gated community of Jeremy Cay. The invitation comes from a couple I’ve known for years (he’s an engineer at NASA, and she is a former English composition teacher at USC in Columbia). Two of their friends from California will also be there. My room, it turns out, is on the third level and bedecked with a trio of five-foot paneled windows with an immediate view of giant Palmetto trees and--a mere ten-feet away-- a quarter-mile of marsh, and then the ocean. I have my own bathroom and two incredibly comfortable double-beds.

My friends don’t have the least interest in nonduality. But they are kind and generous souls, who leave me in my solitude, knowing I’m perfectly okay with being alone and speaking little. Tonight, though, there is much laughter and witty conversations, as the women--sterling cooks both--prepare roasted vegetables, corn muffins, shrimp (for themselves--I don’t eat it), hummus, sliced Carolina tomatoes drizzled in olive oil and pepper, and slivered smoked mozzarella. We wash it all down with various forms of tea, piping and cold. I have hot Tetley Decaffinated Black tea, sweetened with--my latest rage--a heaping teaspoon of packed brown sugar. After the sumptuous dinner, I put my expertise to work: I wash the dishes.

Later, as I lay in bed, a full moon rises over the enormous marsh. I am alone in my Aloneness. Slowly, I turn onto my side and gaze steadily at the moon, as it goes from rose to white. It is now so brilliant that I can see ripples in the tidal creeks. But all occurrences--however pristine and magnificent-- are within presence. It is the Alpha and the Omega of all that exists. And you never move from That. Indeed, even this splendor of the moon over the marsh cannot begin to outshine your very own radiance.

-----

News & Info

RECENTLY IN: The beautiful and informative Nonduality Magazine has published a new discussion with Rodney about his book, A Vastness All Around. The extensive and wide-ranging interview was done by John LeKay, the magazine's editor.

~~~~~

"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

~~~~~

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

There is literally no boundary to who and what you are.


*****


Presence is one of the things you are seeing right at the moment. You just aren't noticing it. You are certainly aware of your bodily sensations and your sporadic thoughts and feelings. Ditto any sounds that may be occuring. But come back to awareness by taking note of what it is--right here and now--that you are looking beyond.


*****


See that awareness is the only thing that is continually before you. It Does Not Move. What is it, right now, that is ever the same?


*****


This understanding is not a matter of "personal growth." It is about the ultimate Truth of your existence. Therefore, it will never be very popular because seekers want to drag their imagined selves along and make a "spiritual journey" out of self-knowing. In short, they want to romanticize it. But all that is required is a relaxed kind of seeing, a focusing. Even the Bible tells us in Matthew 7:13-14, that "narrow [is] the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."


*****


Buddha kept pointing out "the illusion of the self." And that's a good thing. For it's because of that illusion that you feel that you must do something to attain something. But given that there is neither a "doer thereof" nor a hair's-breadth of separation between you and presence, methods and practices are completely unnecessary. Indeed, they prevent you from seeing what was never lost!


*****


You are awareness! Why do you need to move from that?


*****


You cannot be "permanently free of mind identification"--unless you're dead! Don't believe popular writers and speakers who tell you this. Brief identification with thoughts and feelings still sporadically occurs with self-realization. But that identification disappers just as quickly as it arises. It is like going to the cinema: You know it's a movie, yet you sometimes get caught up in the story. You laugh about it after the show. You may even have substanitive discussions about the film with good friends. Knowing your fundamental nature is far more important than any fleeting identification with a passing thought or emotion.


*****


Forgiveness isn't "done." It happens whenever it happens. And when it does, it is one-hundred percent and with absolutely no doer. In fact, no perceived "Forgiver" can ever totally forgive. In order for true absolution to occur, the Forgiver must be seen through.


*****


Nonduality teachers spend most of their time demystifying notions raised in both ancient texts and enormously popular self-help/spiritual books. It's not that the teachers are harping angainst any particular thing or teacher. For even the classics are not exempt from bizarreness. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, for instance, we are given the splendid and accurate "neti, neti" ("neither this, nor that"), to which I respond, "Glorious!" But we are also instructed at the very start of the Upanishad to meditate on some white, sacrificial horse--to which I reply, "Get real."

-----

News & Info

RECENTLY IN: The beautiful and informative Nonduality Magazine has published a new discussion with Rodney about his book, A Vastness All Around. The extensive and wide-ranging interview was done by John LeKay, the magazine's editor.

~~~~~

"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

~~~~~

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: Regards from Rio

Questioner: Hey, Rodney, hope you're doing great. I'm continuing to enjoy your blog very much.

Rodney: Thanks. I appreciate that.

Q: I just thought I'd let you know that I just read the "White Umbrella" section of your book, while dropping anchor on a ship in Guanabara Bay, Brazil.

Rodney: You're kidding me!

Q: And I'm underneath the Cristo Redentor, no less. Pretty cool, Huh?

Rodney: Totally!

Q: I haven't had much time to read lately, but I just did a 4-week transit from the US to Brazil. During the trip I was able to spend hours listening to your great podcast interview on the Urban Guru Cafe and have kept a lot what you said in mind.

Rodney: Allow the words to be there naturally. It's better when memories, images, and sounds have their own energy and resonance. Then you easily can be drawn into any stillness that is present.

Q: Lately--especially on the quieter days--I've noticed this uncaused lightness that I'm beginning to have. I can't really say much about it. It just seems that there is much more "space" these days or something to that effect. Just another experience or have I been at sea too long?

Rodney: It's probably an experience. But that's okay, because it is what I sometimes call an "indicator" experience. It's the kind that seekers sometimes have who are doing any kind of lucid and perceptive nondual reflecting. Lightness is one of the indicators. Others include calmness, spaciousness, and a growing disinterest in other spiritual avenues. And let me emphasize: These are not steps to your nondual nature. There are simply experiences and manifestations that occur with some people.

Q: They aren't prerequisites or anything like that.

Rodney: Precisely. What's important now is not to give any undue emphasis to those experiences. The same applies to any images or forms of energy that may take place. Just remain with any pause or sense of spaciousness that naturally occurs. When the fullness of either is seen, you are looking squarely at Self.

Q: Could you say a little bit more about the spaciousness--what is an experience and what is not?

Rodney: Good question. For the spaciousness that I am referring to (that of presence) does not come and go. Also, it has no bodily connection, per se. Though it fully surrounds you, it is not coming off your skin or limbs or anything. It's there, but you cannot you say where it begins or ends. It is simultaneously inside of you and beyond you, and it does not change--from day to day--in the least. Also, if you had to describe it, your first words would probably be utter peace, subtlety, hushness, and tranquility.

Q: Thanks, Rodney. That helps a lot. And I'm really loving A Vastness All Around so far. I'm going to check the rest out when I get back to the States. In the meantime, regards from Rio!

News & Info

RECENTLY IN: The beautiful and informative Nonduality Magazine has published a new discussion with Rodney about his book, A Vastness All Around. The extensive and wide-ranging interview was done by John LeKay, the magazine's editor.

~~~~~

"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

~~~~~

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

Does a thought know that you are experiencing it?


*****


What, then, is doing the knowing?...Don't move from this...What, then, is doing the knowing?


*****


This understanding is not a transformational process. Nothing really happens, except a full and sudden knowing of that which is subtle and yet magnificent. Your day goes on as before, but now with an unalloyed vastness behind all of that arises. The immenseness was always there, of course--unhidden and being exactly what it is.


*****


Consciousness is the Alice in Wonderland.


*****


Awakening (enlightenment, self-realization, etc) doesn't mature. You can certainly garner experience with being awake. But your natural state remains ever the same.


*****


The mind doesn't need to be brought into harmony with presence. (Would you be capable of doing that anyway?) All that is needed is a clear seeing that your so-called mind is not a thing unto itself. But rather, the mere ascending of thoughts, images, and concepts in a spaciousness to which you have given scant attention.


*****


You say that you "welcome everything into being." But who is doing the welcoming? Who, precisely, is at the door, motioning for everything to come in? Even awareness doesn't "welcome" manifestation. It simply knows that a specific something has appeared. Return to what you are--unbounded presence and clarity--by noticing what is directly within and before you.


*****


You disappear into the Absolute after every thought and emotion. Why, then, strive to do this as a method or practice? And who would be the entity that would be attempting to do this? In such spiritual endeavors, you are simply getting in the way of yourself.


*****


Compassion can't be cultivated. It is a natural and spontaneous welling-up of concern and empathy. Neither can you use it as a path to enlightenment. For you are the numinous! So who, then, would be this "you" trying to "reach" this other You? Obviously, this entity would be imaginary, and thus of no use whatsoever, spiritually speaking.

------

News & Info

JUST IN: The beautiful and informative Nonduality Magazine has published a new discussion with Rodney about his book, A Vastness All Around. The extensive and wide-ranging interview was done by John LeKay, the magazine's editor.

~~~~~

"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

~~~~~

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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