Pointers

It is simply NOT true that "nothing can make a difference". Otherwise why would those such as John Wheeler and 'Sailor' Bob (and 'myself') talk about this!?? That is another crap concept that does not serve a sincere seeker. Though it is true that there is no person, the assumed person cannot get that except as a useless and self-defeating concept! That concept will bring great despair and resignation and also depression. Make no mistake about that! Just drop that and any other concept and here you are, awake, present and aware. You are that!

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"Ignorance" is cured by "self-knowledge". What is ignorance? The ignoring of what is always present at all times in all locations; your own presently aware beingness. This is open, clear, and unadorned by any concept. NO concept can alter your very being and that is a fact, NOT supposition or speculation. Pause any concept in the very moment and simply notice that you as presence awareness are indeed absolutely present!

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For the majority of seekers still confused about what is real and what is unreal, the main issue to be resolved is that thoughts are believed. The core belief that drives confusion and suffering is the belief that the "I concept", or the notion "I am me" and that me IS separate and outside of Totality, is "what I am". Believe the thought and there's suffering, plain and simple. Because what you are was never any thought, despite the conviction of the confused mind that I am a thought, "I think therefor I am". That one false concept drives all seeking and searching for what is (stunningly!) already present in full clarity here, now, and forever. This Absolute Self is beyond any concept of either "being or not being". Concepts cannot enter here! 

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Before the next thought appears, the awareness in which it appears is fully awake and aware. That awake awareness is YOU. This is true knowledge, Self knowledge, and this non-conceptual understanding is all that is needed for the seeking to end. Where? HERE. When? Just now. 

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You are, and that is no concept at all. It is no thing to the mind; the mind is only a series of linear thoughts that arise and subside in awareness. Where is any ACTUAL "separate person" standing apart from that aware presence? Look and you find there is no such thing anywhere. Thus, the seeing is absolutely natural and clear: Oh! I AM That!

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Confused? Doubts? Book a consultation and let's get to the bottom of it all doubt and confusion about what you are and what you are not. It is absolutely possible for any seeking and suffering to end completely. Go HERE for more info on One to One consultations.

There's no 'process' or 'becoming' for the awareness you are

Q: I very much like your Youtube videos. I just wanted to ask you a question. I came across this statement from you from about 5 years ago: 

“There is sometimes still a deep, abiding sadness near the core of 'me' and a sense that I am not 'done' ... though I sometimes try to claim that I am. So the unfolding into Light goes ... and the inquiry into who, and what, that 'me' is, continues. I have been deeply touched by a great many people who have shared their experiences of 'awakening' on the spiritual path on the Internet. And so I am moved to share my process.”

How does it become natural?

C: That was posted before the simplicity of our true identity of plain open awareness "sank in”. That is to say, there was still an abiding belief in a separate "me" and in "time". All the while Awareness is standing in plain sight.

For the mind it seems to be a “process” because as is said on the latest video, the belief in “time” gives that notion apparent substance. But where is “time”? It’s just a passing concept; what we ARE is timeless space-like awareness. So the idea of process and “me” is just a passing changing story but awareness has no time or process iat all. Where does Awareness begin? Where is a frame around space? You are endless beginningless Space-Awareness, and that is not any process. This is to realize that ONLY non-separated space-awareness is real.

What was not clear at that "time" was even deep sadness is a passing appearance in that which never changes. The belief in a "me" that "owned" the sadness had to be further investigated, and was. The final questions became, "who am I" and "do I exist"? Finding no entity, and yet seeing that being itself is obviously and always present and aware, naturally pulls the plug on that false beliefs in "me" and :time". That's all. All clear now! There is, and and never was or will be, any "I" standing apart from Awareness. Not here not there not anywhere.

The question now is, are YOU suffering? I f so let's talk about who that is that asks the questions  about "another", and get to the bottom of it so the natural freedom YOU are is seen clearly once and for all.

New Book and Audios from JD hazlewood

JD Hazlewood's excellent new book, "Peace Of No Mind", is now available for download or print purchase. 

This book is extremely potent and clear. Very highly recommended. 

JD has also published a NEW Audiobook, available on CD or Down-loadable MP3. You can get the book and the audio CD and download at his Bookstore. 

Listen to an audio Preview Now

JD's Website is ThatWhichAlwaysIs.

Whwn "it's done", all is ONE

A new brief Audio with a friend whose seeking is done:

Click to play; right click to download, "All Is One".

'you' don't exist; You are Existence Itself

Q: I ran across a video of yours on YouTube: I've been at this search for years now and my current understanding is that liberation lies in the realization that there is no self that can be liberated. Liberation is freedom from the idea that anyone can be liberated.

C: Correct, but ONLY as a concept. Now, just pause that concept: Seeing is clear: Concepts arise IN that free, open awareness that you really are. So YOU (the NON-conceptual YOU) are "already liberated!"

YOU ARE, right? This awareness of being, or presence of awareness which you actually are, is not in any concept, no matter how “enlightened” the concept may sound. Liberation is a concept. What does the concept point to? Your actual always-on empty presence of awareness! That can never be grasped by the mind (thoughts) because it is that in which the mind, the thoughts, arise and set.

Your knowing “I AM”’ prior to that concept (the mental thought "I am") or any other concept, is self-evident and incontrovertible, isn’t it? This clear open presence is never touched or modified by whatever comes and goes; it is that which never changes, any more tan the sky is toucjed by clouds or storms. You are That, the Sky of Awareness, present and open and free..

The answer is not in the mind. That means NO concept can capture what you really are, because awareness  is the FACT of being and not the descriptions, words, etc. Those words come and go while YOU remain as always, Being … and that is what IS at all times in all locations. The concept “I” is a false assumption that it is a separate real person with some will and power apart from Totality. See that it is a fiction!

Q: Where I'm hung up and confused as hell, is in regards to comprehending this idea that I do not exist. What exactly is it that doesn't exist?

C: You as a separate person does not exist; if you look for a separate actual person you find only concepts, and YOU are not any concept, that really needs to be fully understood. There is no person, no self in the organism; the false assumption of being the concept “me” or “self” must be seen for what it is, ONLY a movement of thought. In our ignorance we assumed the thought to be what we are and that is when the shit hit the fan!

What does exist is existence itself, which is open, empty and impersonal, yet is also that which suffuses everything that appears. It is the Nondual Existingness-Awareness which is Absolute Freedom and Absolute LOVE. THAT is the eternal awareness that appears as the open clear consciousness of being. Again, YOU are THAT. There is no duality in what is real and ever present as your own natural state (or stateless state). Here is how John Wheeler points to this, in "The Light Behind Consciousness":

"The 'I' that does not exist is the assumed separate person standing apart from awareness. But this doesn't mean that you in your essential being are not present."

Q: Is it identification with the "I" thought, is the self not an idea at all but merely a way consciousness is perceiving itself?

C: “Self” IS ONLY an ephemeral idea that comes and goes like clouds arise and fade in the open sky. Can a thought “perceive itself? Can consciousness really “perceive itself? There would have to be an assumption that consciousness and the self are separate; that is the delusion of this hallucination of being separate and needing to attain some state other than what IS. How can emptiness “perceive itself? That’s another concept that is of no value whatever. That would make no more sense that the idea that the sky could perceive itself!

Consciousness is an appearance in (and OF) non conceptual being-awareness. Not two. Period. Full Stop!

Q: I really need someone to take me by the hand here and help me understand the importance of this idea and what it all entails.

C: Happy to oblige, my friend. Let this sink in a bit and feel free to write again. Also I suggest  listening to the series of nine Podcasts John Wheeler and I did together. I can assure you, if you do that all questions will fade and there will be no more confusion about what you are!

Much love to you!

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Is any idea or thought really what You ARE?

Is any idea or thought really what You ARE?

Q: You wrote in a message to me: “You are already That which you claim, as a phantom, to seek! The "Idea I" (repeated over and over in your messages) is NOT the I of Being”

Your last email slammed me. 

C: Again with the “me”? My friend: Where is that “me”? What is it really? Just a passing thought. The thought “me” doesn’t represent any actual solid separate self. It’s a delusive false identity. That assumed identity is THE core error that drives what is pointed out as “mistaken identity”.

Look for a “me” and you will come up empty handed. In emptiness, prior to any thought of “me” or any other appearance, YOU ARE, present, aware and open; Conceptless and timeless. That YOU ARE is indisputable. That you are a “me” is very much open to challenge. The purpose of what is shared here is to reveal what you really are and also reveal what you are not. In brief YOU are awareness, and that awareness is fully present, free and clear, at all “times” in all “locations”. “Wherever you go ... Here You Are”. What are you NOT? Anything imagined to be a ‘me’, somehow standing apart from that awareness.

Q: It seemed to imply that any "Who am I" question would only generate an "idea-I" response.  How does one get an "I of being" response?  Or does one even get a response?  It seems that "the answer" is when the question becomes "irrelevant", but I don't see how that works.  When I listen to you and John Wheeler talk (really like those pod casts) all that seems to come up for "me" is sort of a "gee,  that would be awesome to see things that way" type of response. 

C: What is all that you wrote above? Thoughts! Are YOU a thought? No. The pointer that needs “sinking in” at this “stage” of investigation into your true nature is that YOU are the Awareness IN which those and all other thoughts arise and settle back down. That never changes regardless of what apparently obscures it; the obscuring is only mental; a function of believing that the thought “I” is what I am and then adding a never-ending story of good and bad, wanted and unwanted, all driven by that single false belief. That “I" does not exist. That means you do not exist! What makes you think you are separate from the whole? Just a phantom, a false assumption, nothing more that that. Simple! YOU are not that I; YOU are the ever-fresh clearing or opening that the I thought and its subsequent story of me appear inside of; like the clouds and sun appear inside the open empty sky. You are that Sky or Being-awareness and that is what you are confused about; the mistaken identity!

All that is provisional. In FACT there is nothing separate from what You are, it is all ONE essence, like ocean, waves and drops are all water. But first you must see clearly what is always really HERE: Aware presence in which stuff appears! That ain’t ANY concept! This has to be clearly understood FIRST and foremost.

Now: To identify Self as ANY thought brings endless seeking … and suffering. YOU are not any concept, you are no thought (literally!). The “loop of ignorance” gets reinforced if there is an expectation that the question, “who am I”, is supposed to yield some “final answer”. The “loop” is, “Who Am I? I Am. Who Am I? I Am. Who Am I? I Am.” This leaves the false thought-identity firmly in place, still believed to be “what I am.” The question "who am I?" is NOT a practice to be repeated; that only brings the reinforcing of the false. Go deeper with the investigation: “Who asks THIS question?” “Who asks ‘who asks’?”

The seeing IS that there IS no “answer” … that is to point out,  in looking within the awareness that IS, always ON, you cannot find a real separate “personal identity” anywhere anywhen, brings one face to face with the FACT that awareness is always present and THAT is NOT a thing that the mind can grasp or possess. There is in the last analysis, NO answer to the “who am I” question. That IS the final answer: NO answer. 

Q: I also think I'm misinterpreting John Greven's instruction when you coordinated a visit with him in Enid when I was there last summer.  He said "just do the work".  Is the work just asking "Who experiences these things?" to everything experienced?  Is there ever an answer, or is it just reaching a point where there's no longer a question?

C: The ego misinterprets everything, so it can “survive” as a fake identity, and thereby keep you on the hamster wheel of being a "me”. And that means suffering the seeking for a wholeness that already is and for a future “enlightenment” in a someday that never comes!

Yes, "do the work" means questioning the validity of any and every appearance. Because without that assumption of being a separate "me' nothing else can even appear! No Self no World. All appearances, even space, appear to You who are present and aware. That real You is unchanging awareness, nothing more. That appears to the ego as no thing and so is resisted like crazy until it’s finally seen through. As JG says you must be relentless in the looking. But you also must start from the ONE FACT about which there can be NO doubt or confusion: The FACT that YOU ARE. ‘You' do not exist, and yet, YOU as awareness, ARE, and you do know that You Are.  Plus you like being! In FACT, You have never NOT been what you ARE; even in deep sleep or the various body birth and death happenings, in all the comings and goings, YOU are the One Constant.  YOU - BEING - ALWAYS JUST ARE.

Ask yourself  “Do I exist?” Reject all answers. All answers are false and the one asking the questions is false. Self realization consists in the direct non-conceptual seeing and knowing that “I am No Thing”: NOT that language construct; that is why we say NON-Conceptual” There is no word or thought that describes or frames Who You Are.

So to repeat a simple pointer, ‘you’ do not exist, and yet You ARE. Being-Awareness beyond all and any concepts.

Don’t refuse to be that and don’t pretend you are other than that! That’s all there is to this.

I love You as The Self of All; there is only the One and YOU are THAT full stop.

Now please give this video a few attentive viewings. And please do write again once all this sinks in. Or we can talk as mentioned before; that would be good!

As always, Much Love to you, my friend!

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It’s about time….

Just pause the concept "time". Where is it now?  There was never any REAL "time"; ONLY the concept... To give a little more clarity on this business of so called "time": The sense of being "me" AND the sense of there being "time" are both assumptions; look for time and you find no such thing; look for a me and you find no such thing. The mental construct or conceptual net of "me" and "time gives the appearance of this fantastic illusory show, the play of light; YOU are the Light that makes the appearance possible. But until the false assumptions, the beliefs in me and time, are deeply investigated and rooted out, the play will go on and the "individual" will suffer the ups and downs of "my" apparent life. 
 
Starting from the ONE FACT, that existence IS undeniably existing, and YOU ARE, existing, and that is absolutely irrefutable, then really looking at what is happening when we claim that there is time and claim, perhaps, that "it's a hard habit to give up" ... the claim gives time a reality that is false. Looking into that which claims "I am me" and "there IS time" and reasserts the existence of both, over and over like a bad politician, reveals that both assumptions are only assumed and not actually real. When the assumptions are seen AS assumptions and NOT real, the Self is realized to have always been shining before and through the illusions of "I/other", separation and time.

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Pointers

Right now, notice the space around your body; and let the attention go onto the space. Space is always present whatever the "time" is and wherever "the body" goes; we just don't really notice it. Does space have a beginning? An ending? No. YOU are like that: Space. Putting the attention on space means taking the focus off thoughts; not trying to change, modify, resist or correct any thoughts or emotions but rather it's just a simple pulling the focus off them;  not putting so much energy of attention and belief on them. Use that innate energy to notice the ever present space in which your body and the furniture, trees, cars, sun, show up.

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Awareness is NOT "transient". Consciousness comes and goes in awareness; dream and sleep and waking, i.e. all "states of consciousness" and unconsciousness!), come and go in awareness. Awareness is the open beginningless endless clearing FOR all to appear while awareness itself is always fully ON. The notion that there is an "I" that "knows" or doesn't know coupled with the notion (thought) of there being such a thing as "time" (when!) is all just energy moving in awareness. And in the immediacy of present awareness there is no separation; the idea of separation must go! Let that timeless awareness be the focus. Give up all such erroneous concepts! Pause any concept of "I" or "time" and your natural eternal oneness-statelessness is utterly obvious. That is not a "practice" in "time". It's right here and right now. Just notice what you've been overlooking!

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As you are no doubt aware that YOU ARE, here and now, just know that this open and awake awareness is the real treasure; it's your own language-less being-love! The invitation is to pause all concepts and dive into that loving Presence.

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Awareness is open, a NON-conceptual all encompassing Love. In concept it would appear to be "something". That's why we say "it" is NON-conceptual! You are That. As Nisargadatta said, don't refuse to be That!

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Your own Inner Guru is guiding every step and bringing you Home in perfect timing. Understanding this can bring a lot of peace around all the happenings!

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There is one constant Presence, call it awareness, call it being, call it love, call it Self, call it God, call it … hamburger! It doesn’t matter what you call it; because “IT” is utterly beyond any concept, description or label. Language gives up when this is clear! But let’s attempt to use words to point: Close: It just IS. Closer: Isness. Closer yet: Non-conceptual awareness. Best? Perhaps, Non-conceptual love.

~

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Your real identity is this simple naked awareness

Q: This morning the mind was all just "naturally" seeming to ask the right questions--who am I? Seemed on the "right track". Even had the feeling of freedom momentarily and the thought/feeling that true freedom is my destiny.

C: Okay, here’s where the mind is tricking you into believing there is “time”, a future when “things will be better than they are right now”. But where is “time” unless there’s thought that claims there is? Time is only a concept; a concept that arises and sets; just a story, an interpretation in thoughts-words that comes and goes, IN the ever-present awareness which YOU are.

Awareness is simply never absent. Regardless of what thoughts arise, they arise to you who are already always present and aware. You are awareness and in that awareness all the stories of time and a better future or a real past arise and set while awareness just allows/observes so to speak. YOU are awareness. That point must be firmly seen, and yet it is absolutely simple because before any “thing” or thought or concept or experience can appear, YOU, awareness, must be there first. And YOU ARE. That is what we mean by "I Am": Just that awareness that you are present before, during, and after any appearance appears and sets again! In short YOU ARE AWARENESS and that awareness is also all the appearing content thereof: this is NON-duality, after all! And there is no “gaining” that or “contraction” out of that. It is (YOU ARE) whole and complete always.

Regardless of what “the mind” tells you, know yourself right now as Awareness. Just that. That awareness is the required condition for any appearance; no things or states or thoughts or experiences can arise without you as awareness; YOU are here first; as the ever-unborn nonconceptual awareness. This IS what you really are. You must get that point sorted out first! Then if residual confusion (creating some experience of suffering) puts in an appearance, a little gentle looking to see if the “I” that claims to be “contracted” actually exists at all pulls the plug on the entire mechanism.

You will gain nothing; there IS no you to attain or not attain. All such beliefs are merely distractions, and yet even those appear to you who are there first. YOU ARE AWARENESS. Full Stop! That is not a concept to be believed; it is ONLY a pointer to what is eternally real and true. See that for yourself and resolve the point of knowing your real identity as this always present awareness, which is the conditionless stateless isness. e call this isness, or awareness, or being-knowing, but remember that the concept is not the actual; the word awareness is NOT awareness!

And “you” do not “get” awareness “someday”! You ARE awareness and you must realize this because nothing else  can ever appear without YOUR presence being here first; the appearance happens IN you who IS that awareness… that which knows all the comings and goings of states, like sleep, dream, the waking dream, perceptions, sensations, etc. …in other words, this entire universal show!

Q: I think this because of a sort of vision I had some 30 years ago during the time of "my" divorce. Who knows what that really all meant--but I had forgotten about this vision for awhile. Of course, when I think of it, I am the one who "interpreted" the vision. But then saying freedom is my destiny indicates that I don't have it right now, I guess. This probably doesn't make much sense.

C: Correct; it does not "make sense". And, that story arises and sets in the presence awareness which you are. You say "I think this". That's the false ownership asserting itself in thoughts. YOU do not think; thinking appears, then you falsely claim "I think". But when we spoke you saw that you do nothing, all just appears unbidden and uncaused! YOU are not "a thinker" or a thought; you are awareness. Look to see, who claims "I think"? You find no one in there; just a false and empty claim with no authentic evidence to support that claim.

Q: Another “teacher” talks of purging and of having to go through contractions--that that is part of the work.

C: Who needs to do that? Only an assumed “I": which is merely a thought with no actual substance or intrinsic separate reality. You are awareness, not some “contracted entity"! Such assertions of the reality of some "need to work on yourself" just keep you on the endless wheel of a “me” "becoming" and of "someday when". That stuff is all nonsensical and irrelevant noise, and a direct denial of the ever-present truth of who you are. We have pointed out that YOU are awareness and there is no separation, no "me", no entity that needs any fixing! Who cannot see this?

Working on a false entity is never going to bear any fruit! It’s like trying to fix a dream character; in the dream at night all manner of appearances arise including the feeling of a self, a center. But that dream character is not real! In the same way this waking dream character has no actual substance; hence the pointer to look, “who would do such ‘work’?”

Understand that these ideas are a teaching of ignorance, and that delusional teaching comes from the fabled “enlightened ego”, i.e. a false self that claims it is no longer a self, that “thinks it has vanished”, as John Wheeler puts it …and there is a real arrogance and lack of humility and patience for the seeker’s plight as the ego in such cases assumes IT has “got it” and YOU do not. It's the blind leading the blind, sorry to have to point out.

The one posing as a "teacher" may well seem to be sincere and mean well but the ignorant cannot point to what is real as they do not know who they are to start with. Proposing that there is a "person" who is somehow "flawed" and "needs work" is the hallmark of all false teachings. Paradoxically, that too is part of the infinite dance, the show; but sooner or later you have to stop dancing  to that discordant tune, and tune in to the real and vibrant song of who you really are. In my view, the one pointer that is most potent ultimately, is: YOU ARE AWARENESS; just That and nothing else but That. Period. And as Nisargadatta said, "Don't refuse to be what you are!" Being IS. There just ain’t no person to “get it” or “not get it."

Everything is appearing in the awareness that you are and there are no “separate persons” in FACT. “Just the facts, ma’am!” The one fact you cannot avoid or deny is that YOU ARE and you know that YOU ARE. That, ordinary ever-present awareness, IS … It Is … awareness is what IS.... and that awareness is the Real You. LOOK. You are present and aware right now. That’s all this is pointing to!

Q: He would tell me that when one is in a "contraction" that one sometimes needs another being to help get you out (that may not be exactly what was said). He would tell me to call him if needed, but then lately, if I did--he seemed annoyed. So clearly, this relationship is not a healthy one anymore anyway. He was acting as counselor/teacher. He did teach many of the things you were saying in the recording...just in a different way, I guess. Where you are saying come back to "I am"--he would say rest in the present moment. But when I did--there would still be all this suffering in the present moment.

C: "One sometimes needs...” Right there we have the obvious delusions of all such "teachings of becoming" and of "need, lack and limitation"! There you see it; those blatant assumptions of there being a real "separate one" and of there being real "time"! That's a pair of totally false assumptions. First off, as John Wheeler has also elegantly pointed out, the notion of “teacher and student” is completely false; it assumes there is one separate “I” who is the “teacher” and another separate “I” which is the student. This whole construct is totally false!

I am not a teacher; I reject that and any other false identity. Even to state “I Am Awareness” is ultimately false! That declaration is ONLY a pointer to communicate from One to One so to speak. In the exact same way you are not a student. I invite you to also reject any such identity. I am awareness and so are you. Take the stand that “I AM AWARENESS, and know that the concept is only pointing to something ultimately REAL; the concept is NOT what the concept points to! The map ain’t the territory, the menu ain’t the food.

There is only The ONE AWARENESS.

There is no duality in awareness.

That, awareness, is absolutely nondual. One-Without-A-Second.

Now: Coming back to “I Am” means noticing what is already ALWAYS present! Awareness. Presence, The “open empty space-like true-self” so to speak.

LOOK: There is no suffering for awareness. Is there? Confirm that right here and now. Suffering is always mental, for a conceptual and fictional “location and entity”, the “I” which is merely a thought, believed. And any and all suffering is always and only arising as “self-centered thoughts” that drive “feelings emotions etc!” Make no mistake about this.

That’s why the necessity to resolve the issue of your actual identity as awareness is crucial. All other pointers are interim steps to help a deluded mind begin to get real about what is always present and awake regardless of what the mind’s contortions create. The core issue is twofold:

1. Stop believing your thoughts! No thought is true. None.

2. Resolve the knowledge of what you are; the final and first point is to know yourself as open clear awareness. You are That and nothing else.

Take the pointers, use them to just LOOK, and do not believe anything! The “believer” is an unreal phantom; an irrelevant and immaterial thought only. Look and see if you can locate any “believer” in there. You cannot. So this proves it just ain’t real! Regardless of what beliefs may arise and set, you remain as what you are: simple ordinary awareness, which lights the mind and all other appearances by the natural light of its own self-luminous eternal nature, Know this now: You are That, the natural open light of intrinsic naked awareness which illuminates and allows all that appears to show up and fade away in the dance we call “life”,

LOOK. Notice that awareness is always on, always here, always now, beginningless and endless. You must know that to be what you are, otherwise the mind’s convolutions will continue to plague you. But isn’t it clear that awareness itself cannot “suffer?” That’s where the sages’ injunction comes in: BE as you are. You are awareness, forever free and unborn. Stop believing the false and believe nothing; just BE the awareness you really are. You are already fully free. There is no way to “gain” freedom because Freedom is this awareness that you are. That’s IT.

The only purpose of nonduality is to know the truth of what you are. And while we use the word “awareness” to point to what you are, NO word can capture or lasso the essence of being-awareness that you actually ARE. The concept ain’t the reality; know the reality beyond any concept. Now. Here.

Just stop giving attention to concepts and see that you ARE  this aware natural naked presence which is never absent. This is what is meant by “you already are what you seek”. That is never NOT here!

Let this all sink in thoroughly then let’s talk again to nail down any residual confusion. I Love You.

‘A Closer Look at the 'l' Thought’, from John Wheeler

The 'I' thought or notion of being a separate person can be very subtle. If there is any belief going inro such notions as 'I have seen it' or' I do not exist' or 'I am enlightened' or 'I have it' or'I am a teacher'-that is still the 'I' sense. Any reference at all to any shred of a separate or special 'I' is just another reference point. Many have a desire to proclaim 'I am now free', but you can never really say that when you see that the 'I' is a total concept. There is no one present to be free or to be a teacher or have any position at all, positive or negative. Even any subtle sense of becoming, purifying or approaching a goal is just another subtle reference to an assumed separate person or 'I'. Even well-known teachers almost invariably fall into dualism by proclaiming themselves a specially awakened one or implying that this is a process of becoming. For example, some say that first you become awakened and then later become liberated. Hogwash! Who is to do such a thing if there is no one to do it?

“Here and now you are the truth. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Separation from immediate being, awareness, peace has never happened. Right now, you are what is being pointed to. There is no teacher, student or path, at all, just a simple pointing to what is undeniable, your own being. That is all. The 'I' notion is the assumption that you were some kind of entity apart from reality from existence-awareness itself.

Teachers and students invariably talk in reference to the reality of the 'I' concept. Both are playing in a conceptual illusion. Once you see this, you cannot play that game. It is so obvious when seen. But when it is not seen, whatever is said or believed, however noble it sounds, even if it be the highest non-dual verbiage, only perpetuates the false concept of separation. I was in non-duality circles for years and overlooked that everyone, including myself, was still functioning in reference to that subtle sense of self. Bob Adamson pointed this out to me immediately when I met him and I then realized what had been missed. Even the so-called enlightened teachers I had met, even the ones who proclaimed they had no 'me' or whatever, actually were still functioning in reference to that self-center and completely unconscious of it. I call it the 'enlightened ego', the self that thinks it has vanished. What I found was that in such cases the arrogance and lack of genuine humility were usually incredibly tangible and present around such people. In seeing there is no 'I', there is no one left to claim anything, even understanding anything. There is just what is.”

~ John Wheeler, in “The Light Behind Consciousness”. This is a VERY potent book and recommended reading for anyone still harboring any notion of a self apart from the infinite totality of what is.

All of "This" is appearing IN & AS What you Are

Follow-up from LG: 

Charlie, I felt like writting again because you were kind enough to respond to my last email! I always thought self realization would be the end so to speak but I can't help feeling like this is really just the beginning. There is definitely a strange process happening- sometimes I feel totally indifferent like I don't even see the sense in being polite anymore. Then there have been a few experiences of deepening connection to others where I feel totally blissed out!! It’s like there are no more pointers or guide lines from this point forward, it's all confusing and I'm right in the midst of it along for the ride! Any suggestions?

C:  ALL of that is happening by itself and ALL of that is appearing in the presence-Awareness that You are. All these experiences are That; there is no duality in nonduality; YOU are the One and the Many, the Exeprience-ING; YOU are The All, and that means, ALL. And for the Infinity of Being that you are, anything is possible and any appearance can appear. So the dream goes on as the organism is being lived by Consciousness, all the while though the Eternal Awareness love it all absolutely. No doer, no Knower, no one to Know One. It is all that! Oneness, appearing as separate yet One It IS ... and that is non-separation!

LG: THANK YOU this is more helpful than you know, i was confused because there’s no one left to be the person that I was before and i was wondering how to get some stability.  Thank you for shining some light on the matter. it's all good as it is. Very helpful Charlie.

C: You are very welcome. You see, YOU are all that appears, including ... No Thing appearing, Every Thing appearing, and so ... That Is Love, Loving ItSelf to Be... From Love To Love!

Whatever appears, appears in the Awareness that you ARE

Anything can appear, play its show for a while, and then fade away, in your dream at night while the bodymind is asleep and enters the dream state. Anything! The most bizarre, terrifying, endearing, wild, or very ordinary words and pictures can appear, including a self-center to whom the dream stuff is happening and who both participates AND observes, in that dream state. The dreamscape can contain mountains, cars, people, sensations, perceptions, and all the rest of it, but is any of it actually happening? No matter how realistic or even “lucid”, a dream is still ONLY a dream. And when the bodymind wakes into the livingness of the waking state, where does the dream go? Was it ever real at all? No.

Now consider what we call being awake. WHO is it that is awake? Who was “awake and aware” in the dream? Who is it that is awake and aware in this state? What is this “waking state” but a far longer DREAM? What the sages called “the dream of the Jiva”? ("Jiva" is a Sanskrit label used to denote an assumed “individual” or “'living entity”)

The dream-Individual in the sleep dream is not real and you know this beyond doubt. Yes? Then what is it that makes us assume, believe, be convinced that, this waking state “individual” is any more real than the dream-individual? Look into this. If you are still suffering from the delusion of egoic identity as “a me”, the false notion of being an individual apart from Oneness, then investigate the truth, or falseness, of that assumption. "I am an individual:" Is that TRUE?" Suffering is nothing but self-centered thoughts that evoke nasty sensations, emotions and so called “negative states” where the assumptions is “I am me and there IS something wrong with both what IS and ME”. Yet this self-center is a ghost, like the ghost entity in the dream! Understanding this is to understand the mechanics of suffering. When you were a kid you believed in Santa Claus. Now you know better. In the same way you must find out that like there is no Santa Claus, there is NO “me” in reality.

Look. The test is, IS there an individual in the dream? You absolutely must know that there is not. On waking you look for, where is the “me” that dreamed it was in a car going off a cliff and was terrified it was about to die?  (That was one this organism called charlie had a few times! Imagine the relief felt when it was seen as “only a dream, whew!”) Now in the same way LOOK for the “self”, the assumed “center” called “me” right now, wherever you are, and really see: IS there such an animal in here anywhere? OR is this just an assumption, a false belief in a “me-believer”, a “me-the-doer”, a “me-the-thinker”. Where IS that me? IS there one or is THIS also “just a dream?”

Looking in this way reveals the absolute NON-existence of any “entity “with substance, power, free will etc… or any authentic reality. The assumption is NOT true; you can find no authentic evidence for the existence of a separate entity other than a mental affirmation; and reaffirming a falsehood does NOT make it true (despite what the politicians say!) It is obviously a dream! The waking "dreamer and the dreamed me" are no more real than your nighttime dream of a "me” in action experiencing all that arises in that dream.

So: ALL that appears, dreams, waking dreams, deep dreamless sleep, appear TO you, the Awareness which never EVER changes! Since all that appears TO you it cannot BE You. You in FACT must be the Awareness IN which the appearance APPEARS.

Seeing this is very, very simple. You obviously cannot be ANY appearance. Yet YOU ARE. That, Being-Awareness-Aliveness, is the Reality. And there is ONLY That, appearances notwithstanding. Understanding that is all that is needed. As Sri Nisargadatta said, "Understanding is all". 

This, Self-Knowledge, is the only true cure for the ignorance of false identification, the incorrect assumption that "I am this individual me”. Knowing your True Self as This Awareness is so simple the “mind” cannot grasp it, nor does it need to. Regardless of whatever dream-appearances arise, you are always and only THAT, Being is That, Awareness is That, Aliveness, Life Itself, is That ... and know NOW that YOU are That.

And THAT, dear ONE, is LOVE. The Unconditioned/Unconditional and emptyfullness of Infinite Love, which has the threefold function of observing it all, being iut all, and transcending it all. That Love just IS and That Love allows the appearance of the dualism of love vs. hate, love vs. fear; that “human love” is a mental state not the True Love which Awareness-Aliveness-Peace IS.

And so, That’s That. End of story!

Pointers

What we call “mind” is merely a collection of momentary linearly appearing thoughts; movements of pure energu which arise unbidden and disappear again into the Awareness in which they appear. Awareness is obviously the ever-present backdrop on which any and all thoughts and other movements of energy such as emotions, sensations, feelings and states appear. Since Awareness is awake as Consciousness, which is prime, every appearance must be facets, or aspects, OF that very Consciousness, and Consciousness itself must be the manifest appearance of infinite Awareness, since without Awareness and It’s formation of energy and intelligence as Consciousness, nothing else could BE. So is it not clear that Consciousness IS? Because undeniably, YOU ARE, and there is the abiding Consciousness THAT You Are? Seeing this as it is and deeming THIS to be true, as the ancient and current sages have reiterated; to recognize the truth of this rather than believing what was imagined in the mind, pulls the plug on the mind and leaves what was never missing from the start: Awareness, Consciousness, Silence, appearing AS nothing and everything. THAT is Completely simple and ever present as your True Self.. Sat-Chit-Ananda!

'Who Am I'?

One of the most powerful works of art in Nonduality is a small book of prose written by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi early last century. The book, "Nan Yar", or "Who Am I?", is timelessly potent: I have linked to the book so you can download it.
Right Click Here and select 'Save' to get it now.  
I have also recorded the text as an audio mp3.
Listen now or right click and save to download. 
Enjoy, and may these pointers guide you back to the home you never left!

Some ponderings for this week....

"To see oneself as the one conscious presence in which the world and all beings appear is what love is. Love is the non-conceptual recognition of “oneness”, meaning no separation. All appearances are that one essence. In the final analysis, consciousness as an experience or state also emerges from the one ultimate source. There, all words and pointers turn back". ~ John Wheeler

Also on http://www.naturalstate.us/ ... "I am not addressing you as a person, as an individual. I am addressing you as the expression of consciousness. Whatever concept occurs to you, in including the primary concept 'I am', is not the eternal state". ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Notes to the Sincere Seeker:

John Wheeler's newest book, "The Light Behind Consciousness", is a bombshell of nonduality which can completely obliterate any remaining confusion about what you are not, and the Eternal love that you truly are. Get it HERE.

So: BE The Love that you Already ARE. The Eternal State is your very Self! It's a matter of not taking your Self to be ANY concept or experience which comes to pass and not to stay. What it all comes along and appears withing is Love, that one conscious presence, as John so elegantly elucidates it. There are no worries for That!

audio: john greven: end the search here, now

This Podcast features John Greven, the author of "Oneness, The Destination You never Left". John's style is simple, direct, and not at all "wordy". It is refreshing to get the Timeless message from one who is not posing as a special being or a guru.

Listen to this one several times, many times. Like Bob Adamson and John Wheeler, the potency is so deep that many salient pointers may be overlooked in just 3 or 4 passes. These are laser sharp and can quicken that in you which is longing for the search for the Self, God, Enlightenment (or whatever label you like) to be over sooner rather than later. So go for it. As say here in Oklahoma, Git 'er DONE!

Click HERE to listen or Right Click and Save to download for your iPod or MP3 player.

John's book is excellent. You can get it in three languages - Dutch, Italian and English - at John's Website, HERE.

PS: Have a look into what is pointed out in these two texts from John:

Do I Exist?

Buddha is purported to have said, "Events happen, deeds are done, but there is no individual doer thereof.”

Francis Crick - Nobel Prize recipient in medicine for deciphering the DNA code said, “You, your joys, sorrows, memories, ambitions, your sense of identity, free will and love are no more then behaviors of a vast assembly of nerve cells."

Any thought is just a movement of energy - it is just mental noise.

The thought that there is a you or that there is no person - is just mental noise.

The thought that self-realization has or has not occurred - is mental noise.

Anything that appears in the manifested reality - whether it appears as a thought, mind, body, other, no-one, – anything, nothing - in the final understanding, just appears in a non-conceptual awareness.

What the One source is - cannot be perceived or conceived simply because there is no other to perceive the One. Yet, there is an undeniable presence that the “I” thought refers to. Find what the mind calls “I.” Be relentless until the Source is clear. Everything conceivable and perceivable is appearance - in the presence/awareness - that belongs to no one. That, I am. 

You don’t Exist – Confused?

If the “I” is just an illusion, with no independent existence, then what can you do towards self-realization? Some “teachers” says there is nothing you can do. If you are a seeker - that is frustrating and just does not seem right. There certainly seems to be a “me” doing things. Others say, to investigate the “I.” Ask the question, “Who am I?” As always, the problem is trying to understand these seemingly conflicting pointers in the mind. What is this non-existent “I” supposed to do? Nothing? Even that is something.

These obviously appear to be two very different approaches. But, neither is intended to be the answer. They are, like everything else, just pointers. Taken literally, it is a hopeless situation. The “teachers” who would say, there is nothing you can do will pass the salt if asked. Seemingly, someone did something.

Ask someone what day it is and the mind responds. In the same way, ask someone to inquire, “Who am I?” and the mind responds. The question is whether or not “someone” responded – or - is it all apart of the natural functioning?

Certainly it seems like someone is doing the thinking, passing the salt, and asking "Who am I?", but under investigation that idea is seen to be false. The realization is that there has never been “anyone” thinking thoughts or doing things. Thoughts, like everything else, come and go according to the influences upon the brain. Just as a drop of water moves around in the river without an independent nature, so thoughts arise and subside without anyone choosing or controlling the activity.

The concept that there is nothing you can do to bring the search to an end is true. Yet, doing is happening all the time isn’t it? The body is hungry and eating happens. The body is tired and sleep happens. The search itself is happening. If it is true that there is no doer, then a lot is still getting done! So, there is no one telling you to inquire, “Who am I?” There is no one to inquire, “Who am I?” Yet, the inquiry still happens. When it is seen that the “I” that believes it is doing the inquiry is just a simple thought with a complex web of concepts supporting it, then no one uncovered the false center of “me.”

~

There (HERE)  you have it, soup to nuts!

Why?

Q: Just one question.  Why do you feel the need to let people know about awareness, awakening to your true nature and so on?  I mean, it has to be seen.  Words are useless.  Everything is fine as it is.  My ego cannot add something to what already is.  So why bother? Please do not take this as an arrogant question because this is certainly not the case.

C: It's a fair question, but .... "I" do NOT do this, talking, writing, eating, sleeping, breathing etc etc ... There is no doer but The Self. All action just happens; it is uncaused and reasonless! There is only One, The Self. All is That. Despite appearances and the added stories: No one does anything!

There is no "why". Any story of "why" will be absolutely false, my friend. One answer to the "why" question ... why NOT?

Q: Yes...  no one ever does anything.  It happens spontaneously.  Everything comes and goes while I remain unconcerned. Took this body-mind 37 years to see it :-). Regards from Belgium.

C: Well DONE! Love!

When did "it happen"?

Lots of "activity" this weekend! A reader wants to know, "I read where you met Muktananda Baba in 1974 and "did sadhana" for 30 years until meeting John Wheeler and 'Sailor' Bob in 2004-2005. How long after meeting Mr. Wheeler did "the understanding" happen?

C: Oh, what an utterly irrelevant question! Where is anyone to have any "it" happen? There never was a seeker; it was just a very convincing story "told by an idiot signifying nothing". So while I don't mean to be flippant, I must ask you to ask yourself, "who wants to know and what difference will it make if I get an answer"? The tendency will almost always be to set some standard of time and duration where there really is none. Now, when Nisargadatta Maharaj was asked, he kindly replied, three years (after meeting his "final Guru"). So,  I could reply in the same fashion just to satisfy the mind there: For this organism it was two years (or so) after its first meeting with John. It happened while "From I Am to I Am, with Love", was being written. After that, there were a few instances of returning confusion, related to "medical issues" which cleared up completely by the time my fifth book, "Paradise Found", was completed. The old saying about if you want to really imbibe something write or talk it out certainly applied here. But ALL of that is just a rambling ever-changing story appearing presently. "Filled with sound and fury, signifying nothing".

I encourage you to drop all such curiosity about any "other" and get busy digging deep into your own spirit, you own sense of being, your always-on "I AM-Ness". See if there really is any "person" to get some fabled "it" and the search will drop right quick as you find what you really are ... nothing. But that nothing is not the emptiness of a negated or nihilistic self; rather it is the everything of the Infinite Real Self, which is filled with pure nonconceptual LOVE and FREEDOM. And as has been reiterated over eons of so called time, THAT, Thou Art. Just THAT. There is only THAT. Whether it is realized by any organism or not doesn't matter as ALL IS THAT.

And part of THAT is looking, finding only THAT, as the absence of a real personal entity. The only Entity is Being, Consciousness, Love.

Let go of all such questions now and come back to the Final Unanswerable Question: WHO Am I? Let that final question dismantle all false assumptions and beliefs.

What else is there for the seeker to do? LOTS. Depending on the organism's makeup and ripeness, sometimes singing Bhajans. Doing service. Serving a Master you love and trust completely. Chanting sacred Sanskrit hymns. Finding a great church or temple or whatever. Mediating, contemplating, etc. All these can arise. Or none. No one knows what is "right" for another; the path is made by the one walking it.

Let The Oneness that You are be your only guide; your own pure sense of "I AM" will guide from within; all "outer expressions" are just "milestones", as Sri Nisargadatta put it. Now don't let the "milestone" become your millstone around your neck by getting self-righteous about "your teacher", or "your way'.

Take on one or two simple pointers and try them out. If one doesn’t resonate pick another. There are dozens on this site and many more on the sites we link to (see the list in the sidebar).

Notice that you are present and aware. Take a pointer from Bob Adamson (John’s teacher, whom I also met): “What’s wrong with right now unless you think about it?” That can bring a pause on thought and the seeing that YOU are prior to the next thought (and notice that you have no clue what THAT thought will be! So WHO thinks? Not the you that you believe yourself to be!)

Take no one’s word; test it for yourself. Finding the Truth of Who You Are is a great and exciting adventure. I wish you well. Write again if anything else comes up. Much Love to you, my friend.