See what is not being seen.
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Insights are fine and welcomed. But don't leave it at that. Take note of what the insights and perceptions are pointing to. Don't leave things at a conceptual level if you want to make any headway with self-knowledge.
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You don't have to go into the woods or to India or to some expensive retreat to discover your true nature. It is, as the words imply, your own natural state. It is what you are at this moment. And you don't have to perform a single chant or ritual to bring it forth. Chant for the beauty of chanting. The same applies to yoga and meditation: Do them for their health benefits or simply for the pleasure of doing them. Your natural state is fully present. So what is that you are not seeing?
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The person imagines him-or herself to be a defined and separate entity through assumptions and unexamined responses to the environment.
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There seems to be cause and effect because there seems to be individual people and objects in everyday life. Presence, however, is completely beyond these occurrences. But this can only be understood after the recognition of your actual nature, as pure awareness. Then you will see that cause and effect, like consciousness and a veggie burger, is just an appearance and everyday in your infinite vastness.
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Awareness is imagined as the "I" or the body or the personality. Look carefully at this, and you will see it for yourself. The "I"/body/personality are changing every millisecond. Presence is not. See what it is that is not moving in the least. Take a moment to really investigate this. Nothing could be easier.
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What is it, at this moment, that is devoid of all emotions, characteristics, and limitations?
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"I am a person," "I am Norwegian," "I am a yogini, "I am an Advaitin," etc, are all ideas about awareness! It's okay to use those expressions in everyday life and conversations. Just understand that, fundamentally, you are neither your beliefs nor your assumptions. Indeed, how could a belief or a personality trait possibly be what you are!?
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Philosophical discussions are fine to a point. Everyone has his or her own level of interest in self-knowledge. But after a while, the shallowness of such conversations become woefully apparent. You soon find yourself wanting to know the actual vastness beyond the verbiage. That is certainly what I wanted! What is that sublimeness that "passes all understanding"? How can I know it as solidly as my own breathing? That is what brought me this "final" understanding.
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You are that which is quite distinct from any phenomenal characteristics. Can you zero in on what precisely "that" is? It is subtle, but ever-present. And once recognized, it is never lost.
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Awareness doesn't need to be "awakened." It is there for the seeing and the understanding. A simple recognition is all that is required. And that recognition is dependent upon neither methods nor morals. So when "awakened" or "awakening" is used here, it is more a conversational tool rather than a nondual actuality. Yes, self-knowing most certainly occurs. But no defined or individual person "awakens." It is simply a case of awareness discovering itself, which can occur with the appearances of the body and consciousness.
When the sages said, "turn your attention inwards, it was mistranslated or misinterpreted by listeners and transcribers. Now, thousands of years later, the expression has been transformed into (among other things) "train your attention inwards," leaving the seeker with the unfortunate impression that he or she must put some sort of undue focus upon one's Self—that is, to either concentrate or meditate on a stillness that somehow must be attained. These are gross inaccuracies, and they will not help you in the least with true self-knowing. To "turn your attention inwards" means to take note of a supreme and inner peace that is simply being overlooked. That is all.
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Awareness doesn't need to be "awakened." It is there for the seeing and the understanding. A simple recognition is all that is required. And that recognition is dependent upon neither methods nor morals. So when "awakened" or "awakening" is used here, it is more a conversational tool rather than a nondual actuality. Yes, self-knowing most certainly occurs. But no defined or individual person "awakens." It is simply a case of awareness discovering itself, which can occur with the appearances of the body and consciousness.
*****
When the sages said, "turn your attention inwards, it was mistranslated or misinterpreted by listeners and transcribers. Now, thousands of years later, the expression has been transformed into (among other things) "train your attention inwards," leaving the seeker with the unfortunate impression that he or she must put some sort of undue focus upon one's Self—that is, to either concentrate or meditate on a stillness that somehow must be attained. These are gross inaccuracies, and they will not help you in the least with true self-knowing. To "turn your attention inwards" means to take note of a supreme and inner peace that is simply being overlooked. That is all.
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
"Rodney Stevens' latest book is a valuable addition to the growing genre of nonduality dialogues and pointers coming out in the West. Rodney has a clear and distinctive voice that should resonate with many. I was particularly taken by the beauty of the prose sections. He writes poetically and evocatively." — Kriben Pillay, Ph.D., College Dean of Teaching and Learning, College of Law and Management Studies, University of Kwa-Zulu-Natal. South Africa
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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 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.
