Rodney: Thanks for the warm words. Fortunately, writing and speaking about nonduality come very easily for me. So the blog is no strain at all. Occasionally, I feel a bit pressed when I'm fine-tuning the next week's posting in addition to working on another project (which is usually the case), answering emails, and working at my day job.
Q: I'm happy to say that I now have A Vastness All Around on my Kindle! It's so cool to be able to carry you everywhere.
Rodney: Thank you!
Q: I just had a question or comment about one of last week's blog entries. It's the one that says, "You are sitting. You are aware that you are sitting. You are awareness."
Rodney: Right, that's a particularly clear and potent pointer, if I may say so myself.
Q: You may, and it is! (Laughter). It initially paused me, then the old mental churning started up again. I resisted it, but then the whole process continued--pause, thoughts, resistance, etc. And that continues to be the case.
Rodney: Don't resist it. The mind is simply doing what it does--responding to a situation with relevant and/or analogous thoughts. The thoughts may or may not be a correct assessment of the situation, but they are there, nonetheless.
Q: Mine are relevant but annoying, even discouraging sometimes.
Rodney: Unnecessary labeling just adds a layer crediblity to thoughts. And this imagined credibility gives rise to feelings and actions. Your attempts to resist your conceptualizing is simply another thought coming into play, which, in your case, fosters resistance. And in little time at all, you are on this endless, weary, and convoluted road with your self-image in tow, which makes for heavy-going indeed. I'm reaching here, but I don't think that that is something you desire.
Q: God, no.
Rodney: So let's keep things simple: "You are sitting. You are aware that you are sitting. You are awareness."
Q: And then there is that really nice pause. I'm feeling it now.
Rodney: Precisely. The pointer is a lovely little progression, of sorts, to recognizing your true nature.
Q: But I thought--
Rodney: And you thought correctly: There are no "stages" to awareness. For you are already That. The pointer is just a way of speaking about a certain situation. It is no listing of objective steps "towards" presence.
Q: So there is "The sitting in the chair."
Rodney: Right, you are taken from the fact of your merely sitting in the chair to your being aware that you are sitting. Then, finally, there is the direct cognition that awareness is present without end. Seemingly, you have moved from "you" to You. But there has been no movement at all, just a sudden seeing or understanding--
Q: That awareness is always fully there.
Rodney: Correct. Either you have never had it properly pointed out or you have not paused significantly enough to see it for yourself. And to add a key point about the pause: It's not about trying to extend it. Time is not a factor here. It's not about spending x-number of seconds or minutes in the pause. It is about effortlessly seeing what is completely present. Thus, you are merely bringing your attention to something that you have supremely overlooked. It's that simple.
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News & Info
"Your book is a gentle guide to the vastness that is you." -- Dr. Joe Vitale, a star in the hit movie "The Secret" and author of The Awakening Course
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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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If you would like to meet Rodney, have him to discuss nonduality, sign books, or read, you can email him at: writerguy@fastmail.fm. Such events are self-organized, so funding is key, with groups and universities that can cover travel expenses getting priority. And much appreciation!
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This blog is generally updated every Monday afternoon, Eastern Standard Time.
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