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You say that you meditate, but meditation never stops. You say that you pray, but true prayer never ceases. You say that you chant, but the song of Existence is ever-present. Hear the music for yourself. Take note of any or all of this. Nothing could be simpler.
The knowledge of awareness is the same as awareness. There is no "one" knowing it.
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You are That for which you are searching. Allow the sheer beauty and significance of this to halt you in your tracks. Again, you are already that for which you are seeking. You needn't go any further than what you are, right here and now. What is it that you are feeling as you reading these words? Take note of that clear and subtle hushness within you. That is your treasure--your natural and radiant state.
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Guided meditations are such comical fluff. Seekers crave them because they can just sit or lie there and "do" something "spiritual." And teachers love them because they fill up the hour and pad the program. Can you imagine Bob Adamson leading a guided meditation? I don't think so! Every word that a true teacher utters is a meditation or a pointer to your true Self. It's merely a matter of noting its significance.
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Right now, there is something about you that isn't moving in the least. What is that something?...You are the pause that just answered that question. Just relax and see the ease and magnificence to this: You are the pause that answered that question! Any transitional word that you may use--whether it's God, Brahman, Allah, the Absolute, the Most High, etc--is okay; it is just are not the actual answer. It is a conditional response to presence itself, which is the living answer and which harbors no conditions whatsoever.
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Excerpt From Phone Consultation: Who is doing what? You see, that's the question that should naturally arise when you are engaged in any sort of practice or technique to "achieve" enlightenment--or whatever you want to call it. Who is doing what? The question should come up because you are utilizing two notions or appearances--a perceived individual and an action "towards" something--that have nothing whatsoever to do with self-realization! Nothing! So how, precisely are they going to launch you into this final understanding? The only way that is going to occur is when, while doing them, you see their futility and simply stop, as the Buddha did. Further, if goal-oriented meditation didn't work for Buddha or Nisargadatta Maharaj or U.G. Krishnamurti or Atmananda Krishna Menon or Ramana Maharshi (just to cite a handful of examples), why on earth are you bothering with it yourself!? Not ONE of those sages "meditated" their way to their enlightenment! Not a single one! Even Jesus said that "the Kingdom of God is within you." And he meant that it is within you at this very moment! That's the part that theologians and spiritual seekers don't focus upon: Your inner "Kingdom of God" is within you at this very second. This very second! So you require neither time nor techniques for this glorious recognition of your natural and unchanging state.
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News & Info
This blog appears every other Sunday.
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Fully Present is now available at the superb Powell's Bookstore, in Portland, Oregon.
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Fiona Robertson interviews Rodney on Nic Higham's NONDUALITY NETWORK!
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And click HERE to purchase Fully Present at Barnes & Noble.
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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.
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 other Sunday afternoon, Eastern Standard Time.
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