Question: A spiritual friend of mine recommended your blog. And I'm happy that she did! I felt an immediate pull to your pointers and writing.
Rodney: Happy to hear it.
Q: I've just ordered Fully Present and your new book, State of Wonder. I'm really looking forward to reading them.
Rodney: Thank you!
Q: For a few years now, I've been following the practices of [names a popular American Buddhist teacher]. In her meditation practices, she says that you have to first "locate the mind" and then "stabilize the mind." What do you think about that?
Rodney: What I think about it is pretty much a non-issue. You are drawn to who you are drawn to. It's a little like being in love: Suddenly, it's there! As far as your teacher's practices go, my first response is, "Good luck with all of that." Then again, feel free to give those suggestions a go, if you are inclined to do so. But I believe you mentioned that you have been following her for "a few years now."
Q: More like six or seven.
Rodney: And something obviously isn't working, otherwise you would not have emailed me.
Q: Exactly! So where do I go from here?
Rodney: Well, we could go back to her directions and see if there is anything that should be re-examined there. You say that she said to "Locate the mind" and then to "stabilize the mind." The mind isn't a separate, observable entity. So how can you even start your meditation if there is no discrete mind to begin with? The mind is just the appearance of thoughts and thinking. It arises and disappears, arises and disappears. So what your teacher is actually saying is to "stabilize thoughts." Now, can you do that? Can anyone do that? Is it even necessary to do that for self-knowledge? No, no, and no! You don't even know what your next thought is going to be, and you think that you can "stabilize" your thinking!? Thoughts and thinking are normal actions in presence. They do not need to be "stabilized" in order for you to recognize your natural state.
Q: Yep, that pretty much clarifies it for me.
Rodney: And who would be doing the stabilizing? You see, now there is this assumed meditator attempting to do all of this. And further, you are striving for this so-called enlightenment. But the meditator, the striving, and enlightenment are all notions and actions that are getting in your way. They are preventing you from seeing what is already directly within you: Your unvarying presence of unblemished awareness. That is what you are, and that is what needs to be perceived and understood. All else are just half-measures and fantastical thinking. But feel free to completely disregard what I am saying here. Continue with what you are doing for a few years more. Then get back to me and see if anything has changed.
Q: Thanks. (Laughing). But I'll pass.
Rodney: Alas, 99.99% percent of the teachers out there are not self-realized themselves. So all that they can offer you are practices! But genuine nondual authorities point from their own source to precisely what you are, which is the very same source. There is nothing overly-spiritual or wishy-washy about these individuals. They will simply direct you—in any number of ways—to what is always perfectly present.
Q: I particularly see that with you.
Rodney: There is nothing special about me. There are close to a dozen active and genuine teachers out there who could help and encourage you with your nondual exploration. It mainly depends on with whom you resonate and whose words and phrases point radiantly beyond their inherent conceptual limitations. Again, it all comes down to the pointing. For one of the first things you are going to realize when you come to this understanding yourself is how simple it is to recognize—and how no technique can possibly "take" you to this. And of those false teachers, you are going to immediately think, "Why on earth did you have me do all of that!? It was totally unnecessary! I am what I am at this very moment! I never move from that!" I am not at all saying that you will or should be resentful. That feeling probably won't even come up. It didn't with me. The fact of their being incompetent certainly did. But no bitter emotions arose here. Non-realized teachers are simply people who are where they are. Some are honest about their lack of self-knowing; others are not. Some are well-meaning; others aren't.
Q: Well, I'm positively thrilled to have discovered you, Rodney. And I'm afraid that I'm going to have a few questions more, every now and then, as I continue to sort through this question of "Who am I?"
Rodney: You are awareness itself, which means that you are the answer to the question that you are raising. There is nothing really to sort—only to see. It's a clarification, more than anything else. And nothing could be easier. But yes, feel free to write at any time. It will be nice to hear from you again.
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News & Info
State of Wonder: Awakening to Presence can be purchased from Amazon by clicking on the above link.
And for the Amazon Kindle version, click HERE!
To buy the book directly from the publisher, go to Lulu Press
"I have been reading your new book, State of Wonder, and listening to your Urban Guru Cafe interviews over and over. They seem to very clearly point to what I am trying to see or recognize. And your points regarding spaciousness really resonate with me." — Sean Maschue
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Feel free to check out Jimmy Dabrowski's beautiful and downloadable MixTape. Jimmy's a great guy, and I am honored to be one of the nondual authors in his collection.
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Fiona Robertson interviews Rodney on Nic Higham's NONDUALITY NETWORK!
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And go HERE for the press release for Fully Present.
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For Tami Brady's review of Fully Present in TCM Reviews, go HERE.
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"Fully Present is an elegant addition to the growing literature on nonduality as it is being uncovered, lived and understood in the modern West."
--Philip Goldberg, author of the best-selling American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation—How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. Philip's Web site can be found at www.philipgoldberg.com.
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"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 is 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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Check out Rodney on YouTube talking about "The Fundamental Thing."
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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.
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This blog is generally updated every other Sunday afternoon, Eastern time.
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