Question: You'll be happy to hear that I've finally stopped meditating.
Rodney: Actually, I'm neither here nor there with your not meditating. If you feel comfortable doing it and you enjoy it, go right ahead.
Q: Well, I've taken your advice and stopped. It feels sort of strange not to be doing it.
Rodney: Stop meditating because you've come to fully see that it can't possibly be an avenue to self-realization. Don't just take my word for it.
Q: No, I feel really good about it, though I'm not at the point of totally seeing why meditation isn't working. But I'm really okay with no-more-sitting. I guess I didn't realize how much I was exhausting myself!
Rodney: No doubt. And you can rest assured that this understanding is neither time nor effort-dependent. It's not that there isn't something to do; it's just that that something is a simple recognition of what is directly before you.
Q: Unfortunately, I don't think I'm there either! (Laughter)
Rodney: Who doesn't think that they are there?
Q: "I" don't think that I'm there--this particular human being.
Rodney: Yes, but take a moment to see what is actually happening in the reply. A thought comes quickly up, saying that "I am not there yet." That response arises in awareness. The only way you can know that your "I am not there yet" is present is if it is being witnessed by something that is eternally there. And that witness is awareness.
Q: I guess I'm not seeing the difference between presence and consciousness.
Rodney: Consciousness is an arising in awareness, also. In fact, it's the first thing that emanates from it when you wake up in the morning. The sequence is roughly: "I am-ness," "I exists," and "I know that I exist" (which is sentience, an aspect of consciousness). Now, in all of these qualities, an "I-ness" is present. Awareness has no "I-ness" or "I am-ness" to it. Rather, it is a presence that is, at once, serene, existent, and limitless. And it never changes.
Q: But how do I get to the awareness?
Rodney: By seeing that you don't have to. It is everywhere around you. There is absolutely no place where it is not. It is perfectly witnessing and knowing the exchange we're having right now. But the images and concepts that you have about awareness (seemingly) obscure the fact that you are awareness.
Rodney: Actually, I'm neither here nor there with your not meditating. If you feel comfortable doing it and you enjoy it, go right ahead.
Q: Well, I've taken your advice and stopped. It feels sort of strange not to be doing it.
Rodney: Stop meditating because you've come to fully see that it can't possibly be an avenue to self-realization. Don't just take my word for it.
Q: No, I feel really good about it, though I'm not at the point of totally seeing why meditation isn't working. But I'm really okay with no-more-sitting. I guess I didn't realize how much I was exhausting myself!
Rodney: No doubt. And you can rest assured that this understanding is neither time nor effort-dependent. It's not that there isn't something to do; it's just that that something is a simple recognition of what is directly before you.
Q: Unfortunately, I don't think I'm there either! (Laughter)
Rodney: Who doesn't think that they are there?
Q: "I" don't think that I'm there--this particular human being.
Rodney: Yes, but take a moment to see what is actually happening in the reply. A thought comes quickly up, saying that "I am not there yet." That response arises in awareness. The only way you can know that your "I am not there yet" is present is if it is being witnessed by something that is eternally there. And that witness is awareness.
Q: I guess I'm not seeing the difference between presence and consciousness.
Rodney: Consciousness is an arising in awareness, also. In fact, it's the first thing that emanates from it when you wake up in the morning. The sequence is roughly: "I am-ness," "I exists," and "I know that I exist" (which is sentience, an aspect of consciousness). Now, in all of these qualities, an "I-ness" is present. Awareness has no "I-ness" or "I am-ness" to it. Rather, it is a presence that is, at once, serene, existent, and limitless. And it never changes.
Q: But how do I get to the awareness?
Rodney: By seeing that you don't have to. It is everywhere around you. There is absolutely no place where it is not. It is perfectly witnessing and knowing the exchange we're having right now. But the images and concepts that you have about awareness (seemingly) obscure the fact that you are awareness.
Q: Right, I see what you're saying. Awareness isn't clear to me at this exact moment. But I see exactly what you're saying.
Rodney: So just sit with this, if you feel the inclination, and deliberate on the fact that the alleged emptiness from which thoughts and sentiments originate is actually a Completeness that gleams with clarity, consistency, and munificence. There is lots of good stuff there--simply see that it's being overlooked. That's all.
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News & Info
"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 now available for purchase. Rodney's first collection of essays, discussions, interviews and powerful pointers can be ordered directly from the publisher at Lulu Press.
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