iamom | instructions for life + instructions for enlightenment

In today's issue of the Nondual News (I think this also doubled as the highlights today), Jerry assembled some great non-nonsense life advice from who he calls "madman Ralph Nataraj" and some deep insight into self-enquiry by nondualist Charlie Hayes. I find it hard to disagree with anything these guys say here.

Ralph Nataraj

(website | bio)

* Do fierce self-inquiry

* Spend time alone (in nature)

* Practise regular (daily!) meditation

* Make the body strong, souple and healthy

* Develop the finer senses and antenna’s

* Learn the 3-D listening to music

* Open yourself to Grace

* Be true to yourself

* Develop surrender and devotion

* Swallow a red pill

* Free yourself from mental slavery

* Practise poetry, dance and/or music

* Learn to step outside of the mind

* Develop more and more inner honesty

* Be fully determined in this journey of Self-discovery!

The only truth you can know is that you exist ... "I am." Stick with that. Ask the tough questions. What am I REALLY? What is Real? What is Eternal? What is a "me?" What is the "I?" Before the THOUGHT "I am" is the pure NON conceptual "I" ... One-without-a-second ... seek the Source of the "I" thought. Don't stop with "understanding" OR "experiencing" conceptually "I Am Presence!" Don't leave the cake half baked.

One powerful pointer is to see that you are never ever not present and aware. You must be awake already to see that you are (seemingly) doing this or that and then judging yourself for doing this and that. What is being pointed to in Non-Duality is simply that ALL of this appears presently IN the Awareness of Being that is never not there, and AS an aspect or expression of That. NOT TWO. The holographic dream- "me" can only appear ON or IN that natural being-presence-aliveness that is never ever missing. But it is so obviously here and now that "we" miss it, or appear to! Looking outward to the circumstances and the actions of the "doer", we miss the SPACE on and in which the doer appears. So step one, so to speak, might be to simply notice, whatever is happening, that for anything to happen YOU as presence, awareness, must first BE.