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In last Friday's Nondual Highlights (issue 2293, membership required) Jerry Katz provided several lengthy but excellent excerpts from a new book by a teacher named John Wheeler (website), who is a disciple of nondual teacher 'Sailor' Bob Adamson. His book is called Shining in Plain View, and it's published by Non-Duality Books (more info).
The entire selection in Jerry's highlights is worth reading, as I'm sure is the book. But for this blog entry, I've selected a handful of the quotes that resonated the most strongly with me personally. In the main, they deal with our misconceptions about the value of spiritual teachers; enlightenment as a separate and 'attainable' experience; and the reality of the world around us. Heady concepts all, but clearly elucidated upon by John Wheeler here. His definitions of nonduality are very concise and understandable, and like all of my favourite teachers, he's effective at demystifying the concept of enlightenment and about how we should live in the world (what he calls 'clear seeing').
The entire selection in Jerry's highlights is worth reading, as I'm sure is the book. But for this blog entry, I've selected a handful of the quotes that resonated the most strongly with me personally. In the main, they deal with our misconceptions about the value of spiritual teachers; enlightenment as a separate and 'attainable' experience; and the reality of the world around us. Heady concepts all, but clearly elucidated upon by John Wheeler here. His definitions of nonduality are very concise and understandable, and like all of my favourite teachers, he's effective at demystifying the concept of enlightenment and about how we should live in the world (what he calls 'clear seeing').
On the notion of attaining enlightenment:
Bob Adamson cured me of the concept of enlightenment. Basically, there is no such thing as getting enlightened as some future event. If you are sitting around waiting for something to happen, you are barking up the wrong tree. That would have nothing to do with what is being pointed to. In all truth, there is really no awakening or enlightenment at all. This is one of the last concepts that the mind hangs on to. So forget about that completely!
Being-awareness is here in all its fullness right now. That is it. That is what you are and always have been. Full stop. End of the road. Everything else that comes up is a false concept based on the belief in a separate individual that is apart from the real. You are not a limited person apart from reality. You are the reality itself.
As you sit with this and resonate with it, everything will spring from there without effort. The idea before was that you were not there. I assure you that you are there. So why are you waiting for some event or for something to click? If you feel you need to do something, then question, challenge and expose any concept that is contrary to this fundamental point.
( Read more... )
