Questioner: Hi Rodney. I hope you are well. I went to down to Melbourne a few weeks ago and had the great pleasure to attend Bob Adamson's meetings twice.
Rodney: That's great! I'm happy that you took the opportunity to go spend some time with "Sailor" Bob. It doesn't get much better than that.
Q: I had heard Bob's pointing on recordings many times, but it was really a strong experience to actually meet with him. I felt like I had always known him just after a few minutes, I don't remember feeling that way with anyone else before.
Rodney: Excellent. Bob points clearly, accurately, and unwaveringly to who and what you are at this very moment. His words are spot-on, and it's not so much a matter of your taking them to heart, but of your seeing or understanding that they are directing you to a measureless actuality in your very own self.
Q: I had heard Bob's pointing on recordings many times, but it was really a strong experience to actually meet with him. I felt like I had always known him in just after a few minutes. I don't remember feeling that way with anyone else before.
Rodney: One-to-one talks with a self-realized person can't be beat, especially with such a sage as Bob. And when I use the word "sage," I don't mean it in a reverential way. For me, the term means someone whose pointing is true and whose talks and writings are singular. The person also tends to have extensive experience of speaking to others. And that the sage is self-realized goes without saying. But in today's spiritual milieu, that is far from a given.
Q: It was a very powerful couple of days indeed. And lately, there has been a lot of pausing.
Rodney: Very good. Go with the pauses. Allow yourself to see and feel their fulness and richness.
Q: I can see that my perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and the so-called world seem to be appearing in SOMETHING, a kinda of space that's undeniable. Nothing can happen to that space. So that's one thing.
Rodney: Actually, that's the only thing. But go ahead.
Q: Also, I can see that many times during the day (and during my dreams), a thought of my self appears. When it does, the previous thought or feeling is linked to that "me" thought, and it generates subsequent thoughts and feelings, and feeds the story.
Rodney: Yes, that's one of the ways in which the I-concept flourishes.
Q: The more you watch it, the less the subsequent stories seem to last. But the "me" keeps poping-up out of habit, and I, more or less, see that when it does. So that's the second thing.
Rodney: Okay.
Q: So this raises questions for me. If the false separate me is just made of thoughts, then what it is the belief made of? It doesn't seem that it can be a thought, that would mean that a thought can believe in a thought, but it doesn't seem that a thought can do anything.
Rodney: A belief is a thought, though you may put it under the heading of a view, an idea, or a conviction. But a thought doesn't "believe" in another thought. It is simply the response from a previous notion or idea. And that response comes not from the thought but our reasoning functions, aka, the mind--which ultimately, of course, is nothing but awareness.
Q: Oh, okay. I see now.
Rodney: All appearances--including your physicality--are temporary. They arise from presence and disappear into presence. But you are neither your thoughts nor your beliefs, and you are certainly not your body. (Indeed, that's the last thing that you could possibly be!) So what remains? You are that presence of awareness from which all of those things emerge. Rather than being overly concerned with thoughts and impressions, bring your attention to the fact that things arise from something that never moves. What is that something? Reflect on this point, if you are drawn to do so. Let it be with you throughout the day, or simply when you have some time to sit and ponder all of this. And do it without any strain or effort--for neither, I promise, are needed.
Q: Thanks for your kind answer, Rodney, and for your continued excellent pointing.
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News & Info
NEW: I am now scheduling teaching events. If you would like to arrange something in your area, you may email me at: writerguy@fastmail.fm
I am also doing one-to-one phone consultations for anyone who is vitally interested in self-knowledge. Each conversation will take an hour or so, and donations of around $25 will be greatly appreciated.
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Tami Brady reviewed A Vastness All Around on her TCM Reviews page.
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"A Vastness All Around is, hands down, one of the best books out there on nonduality. Thank you for all of your writing." --Alex Taylor
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Here's a review of the Kindle Edition of Vastness on Amazon.
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Nonduality Magazine has published a discussion with Rodney about his work and book. The extensive and wide-ranging interview was done by John LeKay, the magazine's editor.
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"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
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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.
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This blog is generally updated every Sunday afternoon, Eastern Standard Time.
2 comments:
"Rather than being overly concerned with thoughts and impressions, bring your attention to the fact that things arise from something that never moves. What is that something? Reflect on this point, if you are drawn to do so."
It's been a crazy day and reading this post turns attention to the vast stillness that had been ignored until this moment. Thank you friend.
And thank you, my friend. :)
Rodney
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