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Perhaps my favorite spiritual truth comes from the 8th century sage, Gaudapada, who said, “None (is) in bondage, none liberated, this is the ultimate truth.”
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For me, the “I” is simply a first-person, singular pronoun. It comes and goes when I talk. When thoughts and neurological information appear, they are pretty much seen for what they are—this body’s responses to its environment. It’s nothing that I try to do. It’s simply how things are functioning here.
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There is no mind, per se. When a thought or memory or emotion arises, mind is inferred.
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When it comes to this understanding, the teacher’s ability to do anything is practically nil. Self-knowing is done by yourself and with yourself. No teacher does anything. Nothing! The true genius is the teaching and not in any particular person.
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Your own presence is the key to self-knowing. But you habitually think of this presence as your body, thoughts, feelings, and sensations. But I am speaking of a non-altering this-ness that is there before any thoughts or sensations arise.
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What is it that you are not seeing? Can you remain with that question? Because if you can, the answer just may reveal itself. There is nothing you can do, really, except be genuinely paused by the question. And with that pause comes the recognition of your own immeasurable clarity.
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My silence is there whether I’m speaking or not. It’s there whether I’m cleaning the bathroom or walking to work. There’s nothing I have to do, focus upon, or manipulate. And it is utter nothingness, manifesting through this neurological labyrinth as deep, inexhaustible peace.
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Awareness is self-evident. It is free from falsehood and contradiction. Your own personal experience testifies to this fact.
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Reflection is immensely more important than concentration or yogic poses when it comes to self-knowledge—especially when your reflecting is upon some choice nondual pointer or passage. Then there is possibility of your being genuinely paused by the words or pointer, and ultimately recognizing your natural state of being.
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Devotion, celibacy, poverty, and unnatural self-restraint are non-issues when it comes to self-knowledge. How can any one of those actions stop you from being what you already are right now!?
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My life is a series of incidental events—and so is yours. But you’re attached to those events, reactions, and appearances. That’s the problem. And it’s not a question of “letting those things go.” For who would be doing that? No, this is an issue of seeing and understanding that thoughts and sensations are not your fundamental reality.
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News & Info
The Only True Life: Living from the Natural State can be purchased from Amazon by clicking on the above link.
The Only True Life: Living from the Natural State can be purchased from Amazon by clicking on the above link.
Or you can buy the book directly from the publisher, Lulu Press
"I am a big fan of your nonduality books and blog...Just wanted you to know!"
— Kevin, U.S.
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Susan Ferguson is a talented artist, writer, and book reviewer, who lives in the gorgeous, green hills of North Canterbury, New Zealand.
You may read her review of The Only True Life at her beautiful Web site: Metaphysical Musing:
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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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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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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 month.
