Pointers

You're looking away from what you are seeking. You're looking at everything but It.

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You are certainly present, for you're reading these words at this very moment. But what is it that is present? Take a calm and quiet moment to ponder what, precisely, is being overlooked. And with the answer, you go from being merely present to Presence itself.

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All pointers here are pointing to something that is immediate, actual, and without beginning or end. I have zero interest in theories and conjecture. For before any concept or idea can pop into your head, you are awareness already. Just confirm it for yourself.

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The world is not the problem, and neither are you. This understanding is simply about your recognizing the fact that what you are seeking is precisely what you are right now!

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There is a hushness to presence, as well as a hallowed palpability. It is there, and it isn't. Once you see that it is "this," you also see how it is "that." Then you understand how it is neither. Turn in any direction, and it is there. And so are You.

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Nonduality requires neither decades of devotion nor a disciplining of the mind. Awareness is your very nature. You are more It than you are your body and your breathing. See what it is that you keep coming back to throughout the day and evening--those precious periods between every transient thought, sentiment, and belief.

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There is a presence of awareness directly within and before you, as you are reading these words. It never moves from being right there, right now.

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The mind can help you enormously with your seeking. It will take from one experience and concept to another, and it will do this until the end of your days. It can't, however, recognize and understand your abiding nature--for the mind comes and goes within that nature, in that eternal peace and spaciousness that just happens to be your ever-present state.

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You say, "From now on, I'm not going to care about what the mind does." But who is the perceived individual that is going to be doing that? Notice that a position is being taken here, and that that can only happen when there is a doer, a "someone" who is going to set things right. The mind is going to do what it is going to do. Thoughts and emotions are going to continue to rise. They aren't you. They can't possibly be you! You are That which recognizes them. Bring your attention back to your timeless essence, and see the bare, beautiful truth of who and what you are.

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News & Info

JUST IN: The Kindle version of Fully Present is now available on AMAZON.

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Rodney's new book, Fully Present: Daily Reflections on Nonduality, has just been published. It is $18.95 for the paperback (excluding postage). You can order it directly from the publisher right HERE.

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And go HERE for the press release for Fully Present.

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Praise for the new book:

"Rodney Stevens opens his daily life and thoughts to us in these immensely natural and pleasant ramblings of one who is fully engaged in life, love, nonduality, and cinnamon muffins."

--Catherine Ann Jones, award-winning screenwriter, spiritual workshop leader, and author of The Way of the Story: The Craft and Soul of Writing. Her Web site can be found at www.wayofstory.com

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

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For the book's Press Release, click Here.

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

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Check out Rodney on YouTube talking about "The Fundamental Thing."

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Tami Brady reviewed Vastness on her TCM Reviews page.

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Feel free to read 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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"I like your approach in A Vastness All Around. The stories, thoughts and vignettes of your life seem wonderful ways to make people stop and pay attention to where they actually are right now, rather than in some imagined past or future. They show that you don't have to be some specially qualified person, preferably with a title and a name in Sanskrit, to pursue the spiritual quest. Your message comes across particularly well in such pieces as 'Sheerness of Being.'"

--Valerie J. Roebuck, Ph.D., Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester (England)

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I am now doing phone consultations via Skype! Each conversation will take about an hour, and a $25 donation will be greatly appreciated.

I am also scheduling teaching events at this time. If you would like to arrange something in your area, you may email me at: writerguy (at) fastmail (dot) fm

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