Q&A: It Happened

Question: Hello, Rodney. I writing you from a small town in a province in the Quebec. English is not my native. Still, I just had to write you.

Rodney: Thank you for doing so.

Q: I know I will get nervous. It's simply because it is a difficult challenge to write and speak in English for me. But it's OK, I don't mind—especially writing and speaking with you!

Rodney: I've been to Canada. And I love the cold and snow, and very warm people. I know that a generalization. But that was my experience when I visited Montreal and a few other smaller Canadian towns more than a decade ago.

Q: I wanted to tell you that I have been seeking and seeking for many years. Then I came across your excellent blog, though I don't remember how exactly. Then I ordered your book, State of Wonder. And Rodney, it was while reading it that it happened. I finally, finally discovered my natural state!

Rodney: I'm absolutely thrilled. If we were physically close enough, I would give you a hug. Could you explain a bit how you are now feeling?

Q: It is difficult to describe it in English. But Presence/Awareness is all there is. Nothing exist but that, and yet, all the other things are appearing—sounds, colours, sensations, etc. It is a paradox, and yet, it is not a paradox. I wish I could say it in French. Then I could speak about it all day!

Rodney: You're doing fine. The important thing is that your presence of awareness isn't changing in any shape, form, or manner.

Q: Oh, no. No changes, Rodney. And for the first time, I can say what the sages said: All there is, is That!

Rodney: Precisely.

Q: I am now reading your book, Fully Present: Daily Reflections on Nonduality, and I feel so at home. I am simply enjoying the book so much. What more can I say? It's more than enough! I felt upon your blog, and I don't even know how. A choice less than a discovery, perhaps. But then, it may have been pure chance. But once more, I am so at home with all your writings. 

Rodney: Again, thank you. And it is I who am thrilled for you! My books and blog are just pointers to something that is always present. They are reminders that something is being overlooked. So in actuality, you end up discovering all of this for yourself, and by yourself. No one can hand or "transmit" this understanding to you. And give no heed to anyone who claims that they can. If you are awareness already, how they possibly transfer awareness to you? So be wary of those who are overly-spiritual, because there is absolutely nothing spiritual about this. Your natural state is beyond all spirituality. Now, it is completely okay to celebrate that state spiritually, if you are drawn to do so. But as you now evidently know, presence is over and above rituals, ceremonies, temples, and churches. Awareness is present just as fully in India as it is in any other location in the world. The place is incidental. But you are not.

Q: I hope to meet you on Skype pretty soon. I have no questions really. I just would like to see you and thank you visually, so to speak.

Rodney: Absolutely.

Q: Here, in my little Canadian town, the sun is getting very sleepy. And it's cold! There are hundreds of Canada geese in the sky right now. They are flying in the typical V-shape. They will stop here for a few weeks to feed in the farmers' fields. Pretty soon, many of them will reach your state to settle in for a while. I will asked a few of them to say "Hi" to you as they pass. Their essence expresses freedom and joy also! 

Rodney: Indeed, it does....And I'll be watching the skies!

Q: Again—thank you, my dear, Rodney.

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 really enjoy your books and your blog. They are ever new."

 — Lafcadio De La Rosa

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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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Click HERE to buy Rodney's Fully Present: Daily Reflections on Nonduality from Amazon.

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And go HERE for the press release for Fully Present.

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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 America 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.