"Nothing *I* can do" brings despair

Sometimes the direct message of there being no actual "doer" or "author" with any power to go beyond suffering gets misinterpreted by the mind to mean, NOT that "there is no actual separate person with any true control" and gets made up to mean "I, this person, ME", am powerless and so there is nothing *I* as this egoic assumption of being a separate entity can do to bring about an end to suffering.

This mistake is unfortunately a common one, and it stems from an incomplete understanding of what is always present no matter what the mind is experiencing, AND an incomplete investigation into whether or not this *I* is actually REAL.

Point One: There is always something absolutely present and absolutely clear and absolutely undeniable, and that is your very Being, the incontrovertible knowledge that YOU ARE.

WHAT that is, is NOT a concept or object the mind can grasp. The Space of Being is PRIOR to any word the mind can label it with. Simply put, that is always here ... whether overlooked as the mind is focused on thoughts and feelings or not, That is never missing. Just notice That now. You might start by noticing the space your body and world appear within. That, Space, IS, yet it is NOT a thing you can grasp or own. Try to gram a handful pf space! So start with that one absolute fact. There is no speculation or interpretation needed for the fact of Being to BE a FACT. Got that?

Point Two: If you look straight on at the sense of I-=am-ness, with no attempts to correct or modify it, isn't it obvious that this I-am-ness is NOT a thing? Isn't it clear on LOOKING dead on that this "I-am-ness is "Space-like"?

That, Space-like Awareness is NOT the THOUGHT "I Am". It is what IS, Present and Aware, as the TRUE I Am of Beingness. Then where are you unless you honor some momentary arising and subsiding thought, accept a thought-idea, to be "you" thereby ignoring the Presence and Awake Alive Beingness IN which the thought arises like clouds form and dissipate in an empty sky?

While I was writing this the power failed (thunderstorms are happening). Can any "I" control the weather? If we have the idea that we have some control over what arises, that is a clarion call to deeply investigate the claims of the ego-sense, rather than just wallow in some emotional state lamenting "Oh there is nothing I can do." Looking for Mister or Ms. "me" consists in a gentle curiosity to find out of the mind’s assertions of being a real separate "person" who SHOULD have some say in the matter of spiritual understanding are TRUE.

"I am". Is that TRUE? Or are YOU really something vast and ungraspable ie Not-A-Thing-at-all? Look into that, but start from the FACT that Being is always on 25/7 and know that what the Sages have told you is the real truth You Are That and nothing else.

Once that's crystal clear have an even deeper look at "Beyond Nothing and Everything".

Questions? Write non.duality@yahoo.com or call 1.580.701.4793.

Beyond Nothing and Everything

What is Eternal? Can any "thing" last forever? Even wakefulness, consciousness, comes and goes. IN WHAT? The relative states of being awake, asleep and dreaming all arise and subside in a non-temporality that has never changed and never will. To recognize that even "I Am" is a temporal appearance which came upon you uncalled, unasked, is see without eyes, hear without ears, that You are The Eternal ... beyond either Being or Non Being. Beyond BOTH No Thing and Everything!

The search for enlightenment could not have begun unless "something" was first "born". What was born? The sense of Being ie I AM. When I AM is born all identifications arise; "I am this" or "I am that". When the Sage tells us "I Am That", He is not talking about a state or a knowing. So even to say "Being is Knowing" is in ignorance of Reality, which cannot be either knowing or being. Realty is That which bot is and is not in appearance, yet That is NO appearance. That is prior to being and non being and so any words that attempt to describe or capture That fail. But only always!

The words being is knowing point to the I Am. deeper look into this I Am can reveal that even I am is an illusion, made of nothing, representing no one. Nisargadatta Maharaj often said "stay with that I am". But was he saying that the I Mm was the final truth? Absolutely NOT.

What is the Source of I am? How is it that this I am sense occurred? Did you actually request to be a "person" with the sense of being-knowing "I Am"? Since the I Am was born so much got added, and the first add-on is "I am this body". That identity has to produce fear because the body will die, and everyone knows that though the denial of that can be fiercely powerful! The illusion, "Maya", is amazingly persistent until challenged. The challenge comes when you get fed up with the sense of being limited, frustrated and frightened, feeling vulnerable and insecure. The challenge is to investigate, ie ask the simple question expecting NO answer: What is the Source of I Am?

Eternity is not an object the false subject called i Am can attain or grasp. That Eternal Stateless State is absolute ABSOLUTE and FREE. So look at the sense of I am-ness and BE with what shows up. Allow the Seeing to dive under I AM and disintegrate the false sense of being separate, as best you can...

If questions arise feel free to write to non.duality@yahoo.com.

Also see "Nothing *I* Can Do" Brings despair

A Review of Being ... Awake And Alive!

About the NEW Book, "Being ,,, Awake And Alive!", JD Hazlewood, author of “Peace Of No Mind” and “That Which Always Is”, says:

“Charlie Hayes is back with more superb writings on nonduality. Once again, he doesn’t just rehash what has already been said; rather, the expressions here are fresh, new, and the result is an enjoyable book that points to who You Are. Words always fail to say this correctly, reading intuitively is more in order for nonduality.”

“’Being… Awake And Alive!’ also dispels some myths and cherished ideas about ‘enlightenment’, and notions about ‘truth’. This is a clear and direct approach to that which is not comprehensible by the mind. These words will undoubtedly resonate deeply with the seeker.”

“Charlie has a special way of writing about nonduality that feels like he’s right there with you, guiding you along. I know that his words made a great impact here, and I’m sure that they’ll shine into the heart of any seeker. So, no matter how long you’ve been on a path, this book can very well end that search, dissolving false assumptions, and leave you truly knowing Who You Are.”

Visit JD at: http://thatwhichalwaysis.blogspot.com.  You’ll find his expression very warm, authentic, and bright!

You can Preview this book HERE.

Video Awake And Alive II

NEW Book: Being ... Awake and Alive!

The NEW book "Being ... Awake And Alive! is NOW Available.

Amazing how the Source pushes these things out of this organism!

You can download a copy HERE:

http://stores.lulu.com/charliehayes36

where you can also preview a few pages.

Enjoy the Expression ... since it Your Self expressing to Your Self, you might find it, dare I say ... enlighetning?

Love!

From Source to Source

Q: I'm not even sure what to write/ask as I know your response will point me to "take a look" for myself - which i understand.  Here's where "I'm" at.  I have been digging for years (with your help in past) and things are actually quite "clear" as to my true nature.  I have stopped seeking, because it is no longer viewed as something "out there" that needed to be achieved by a "me".  And with that there is peace.

C: So far so good!

Q: What seems to happen - and scares the shit out of me frankly - is that with the clarity, something VERY strong always seems to come up and I then feel a complete sense of disconnection from life and feel that nothing is real (like a dream) - my nervous system then goes into overdrive and lights up and I seem to experience a type of nervous breakdown of some sort - the experience is so powerful that it scares me away from digging any further and I go back to living as a character that thinks he is suffering in this life.  I appreciate that these "breakdown" episodes are just experiences happening in the mind, but they just overwhelm me.  Part of me feels like I have come to the edge of a cliff and I'm afraid to jump off.

C: Oops: Now some mental BS is creeping in! Okay, a couple of things” First off, that fear is a response of the false sense of a limited self (AKA ego) which is terrified of losing its assumed primacy, its “power” to choose, manage, make decisions etc. It is a fear that many come to as the cliff looms nearby and you feel you are being pushed close to the edge and will die. And you WILL die, that is, the false sense of a separate “me” with its own power and WILL be exterminated!

“Nirvana (peace) is Extinction”, as The Buddha may have said.

But since it IS false, it will not really need to be “exterminated”. Just seen by YOU for what it actually IS, Energy moving accompanied by language that describes and represents that “this is happening to ‘me’” But SHOW me that me. It just a word with NO power. Fear is another word with no power. Drop it and BE in the livingness of the arising of what comes to pass (and never to stay) whilst abiding AS That which never changes.

In a way, this fear is wonderful, a great sign that indeed the cliff IS nearby. To simply BE with the presence of fear, even to MAGNIFY it if you can, is more likely to bear fruit than resisting. (Bob Adamson once told me to try that. It really worked for me.) As has been said by so m any Sages, “What you resist, persists.” Letting the fear be (as best you can) then that step off the cliff that you both crave and are afraid of may indeed happen. That’s freedom. That’s love. That is the true peace that surpasses understanding.

Finally, understand that “you” will NOT “jump off.” Totality MAY push you off. But that, like everything else, is NOT in your control. As Wayne Liquorman (writing as Ram Tzu) said, “That last step off the cliff is always a surprise”.

But (and this is the REAL point):

Have a look: Does a “last step” really need to happen for your Being to BE? IS there really a “cliff” except as a CONCEPT? And anyone to go off the edge except in a story (a tale told by an idiot, in Shakespeare’s words)?

You ARE. That is, Being IS. You as That, Being, is always absolutely present and aware, and registers everything that appears within Its Space. Your REAL Identity is that Space of Being, prior to language. There is no word for That. Yet That is what You ARE and is always fully present. All your “issues” are the imaginations of a mind that overlooks the Space and gives attention to words, lending them a validity they don’t really have! Just notice that and BE, as you are and as you are not. Easy! That is already the case.

You are ALREADY “off the cliff” is what this points to. Nowhere to go, no one to go nowhere, nothing to get, no one to get nothing.

As Zen master Bankei said:

“There's no difference between the mind of all the buddhas and the Buddha Mind of each one of you. But by wanting to realize enlightenment, you create a duality between the one who realizes enlightenment and what it is that's being realized. When you cherish even the smallest desire to realize enlightenment, right away you leave behind the realm of the Unborn and go against Buddha Mind. This Buddha Mind you have from your parents is one alone -- not two, not three.”

Be as you are. JUST as you are without trying to modify or correct yourself; there is nothing wrong with you as you already are. You are not broken. You do not need to be repaired!

You IS what you IS. Perfect!

What Is, Is. And What Ain't, Ain't. So What? So, it is Perfect. As It Is. That's the whole realization in a nutshell.

Q: Thank you Source for the great reply.

Love,

Source

C: :-)

Much Ado About ‘"Responsibility’"

Who is "Responsible or Irresponsible”? What "Chooses"?

Responsibility is much touted. Some take it on as a morality issue, others say take it on as  "place to stand". But that idea of ‘being responsible”   is only an idea; ONLY a conceptual overlay laid on top of what The Universe does. That one concept, that one structure of interpretation, brings forth more suffering in the form of the guilt which plagues humanity out of egoic pride (that which "goeth before a fall") than any other idea ... Pride always contains the seed of its opposite, GUILT. In other words the ego's claim, "I could have and should have done something different or better than what The Universe did through this bodymind instrument called 'me'."

Suffering consists in turning "The Play of Consciousness", the VAST innumerable happenings of the Whole, into "MINE". This idea, this mental belief construct, is the hypnosis I refer to in "Whose Life Is It?".

Please NOTE that I am NOT saying that this is "wrong". What happens through those organisms is what Source "authors"; the mind-body organism is a mechanical INSTRUMENT through which Source "acts", just like a toaster is a mechanism through which electricity browns toast. Like a washing machine is an instrument through which electricity washes clothes.  Each and every one of the billions of human organisms are "being lived" exactly in accordance with the "script" being created moment by moment by Source (or God, or Totality, or Is-Ness, whatever pointer to That which you prefer). The notion of responsibility that the false sense of being the architect of my life takes on is an inaccurate overlay on What Is ... and That's is what Source also does through some organisms. So what? It IS ALL Source.  No matter what the mind thinks or believes!

The mind thinks and believes in perfect accord with the authoring energy of Source. What we suggest here is to START WITH WHAT IS. There IS living happening through that organism that is reading this. What is the energizing power that allows you to be able to read? Look directly into that. The Energy of Universality could be said to be like the electricity that works through the toaster to brown bread. Without electricity that toaster is an inert object. Without the Living Energy the bodymind is a corpse. Dead meat! See if what you really ARE is that Energy of Being-Consciousness rather than what the mind has claimed you are. There is freedom in this. Try it on.

"The understanding of the Teaching is that the responsibility was never yours. You will act responsibly or irresponsibly in accordance with your nature [programming of the machine ie DNA and subsequent conceptual mental conditioning] in the moment." ~ Wayne Liquorman

What if there is no "person" to be responsible or not responsible anywhere to be found, ON DIRECT INVESTIGATION? This has staggering implications for living in Freedom and being at Peace with What Is.

For most people,  the mind has this unseen idea that "I am the Source of What Is." It's an arrogant stance that ends up serving no one. Least of all the one holding that position! Some say nonduality is a cop-out for not taking action. But what if you will do what you do and not do what you don't do, then as an afterword, or afterthought, the ego will CLAIM (emptily though with often a lot of bravado) *I* DID THAT. This completely ignores the Vast and Open Space of Beingness … Isness-Freedom … POINTED to in what The Buddha said:

Actions happen. Deeds are done. But there is no individual doer thereof.

The inauthentic claiming-machine we sometimes call “the ego” CLAIMS to be responsible and CLAIMS being cause of the body-mind's actions. This claiming is purely linguistic and has NO actual existence apart from the Energy-Awareness IN which it shows up. It comes to pass. What never changes ever? That is what is forgotten. It becomes an active forgetting, wherein the false sense of control claims responsibility for The Universe's action, that which happens through the bodymind instrument we call "me" and life becomes "my life" and becomes a quest "for getting" MORE ... for ME.

This notion of a “me who is responsible”, is, from the No-Point-Of-View of The Space You ARE, is both ignorant and arrogant. Arrogant in that the ego is "co-opting" the vast play of Universal Life Energy as "mine", and ignorant in that the ego is ignoring the Space (The Authentic Self) IN which and AS which it and the world appear. This is Nonduality: Not Two. What IS That? Not a thing!  The Infinite Isness or Ultimate Subject is NOT an object that language can grasp or describe! There is NO "Is Life". There is only Livingness appearing as both No Thing and All Things ie Totality... and yet ...

“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent” ~ Wittgenstein

This “me” is just another thing that occurs or shows up in the clearing or the Being-Consciousness-Peace (Satchitananda) HERE. Always NOW; have you noticed? WHAT IS is and Wholeness, Totality, is ALL there is. That, What IS, what YOU and I are, in truth, which we then talk about, assess etc. It shows up. Where? HERE, in the Space, the emptiness which is the Authenticity of What IS. When ? NOW. Always Only Now.

Self is NOT a THING. That's what all these concepts miss. And there is no responsibility in What IS; and no one "in there" to decide or choose (though decisions, actions and choices HAPPEN, there is NO DOER, no decider, no chooser.)

This you must rediscover for yourself. To rediscover, Re-Cognize, that What You ARE is Unborn, beyond description, non-conceptual, empty and FREE. In Eternal Reality, there is not even any “IS”. "IS" is an appearance with no power of its own. You are being dreamed! In Consciousness’ dream “you” claim to be Source. Then this false claiming ego mechanism says, irrationally, “I am Source and I must become with MY Source”. It’s totally hypnotic. It’s a DREAM! As Einstein said, this all an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. A phrase I like is, it’s the great “Play of Consciousness". It is a PLAY.

Someone we don’t know once said, “If all the worlds is a stage, where is the audience sitting?”

To turn Self into an "object" with "responsibility for action" is the root of suffering.

The encouragement here is to have a deeper look rather than battle concepts and argue beliefs! IF it happens, ie IF the Universe brings that forth. The ego is ONLY a powerless claiming mechanism. In what does that appear? What is REAL? What never changes?

All there is is all there is … and it ain't "mine" or "yours" to manage!

Actions happen. Deeds are done. But there is no individual doer thereof.

This essay is a companion piece to "Whose Life Is It?" and “Flawless Diamond”

A poem that has some excellent pointers can be found HERE.

Whose Life Is It?

Whose Life Is It?

We claim, with confidence, this life I live is MY life. As we say “this is my car” or “this is my couch” or “this is my computer”,  and “this is my body”, or looking in a mirror, we say “this is my face” … in summary we claim, usually without ever questioning the claim, this is my life. Mine, no one else’s. And since I own this life, this body, this mind, I must control my life so bad things do not happen, I must gain ever more power to wrest control away from others, to be the top dog, to make sure no bad things happen to me and only good things happen. Because, after all, this IS MY life. It is MINE. I alone am master of my fate, the controller of my destiny.

What if that claim is NOT TRUE? The invitation is to QUESTION the claims of the mind, to challenge the construct of assumptions we believe to be true even though more often than not, the evidence in Life DISPROVES our claims . . .

When this claim is in place, it is very much like being hypnotized into believing you are a dog. Then you behave like a dog, panting, wagging your behind, barking at other dogs ie people you also see as dogs, and so on. All of that could be said to be, “Being a dog”. Who I am is a dog. No question about that!

And that goes on until the hypnotist snaps Her fingers and removes the trance.

For us the hypnosis is, “Being in charge”. The human hypnosis, which arises in virtually every human mind-body organism (ie machine) around the age of two and a half, is “I am the architect of MY life and 'I' must, therefore, strive and struggle to get it right, to exert my will, ie to exert my control over events."

So we go through life with this “operating principle” called "I am in charge here". And "The way things work around here is we do things MY way or not at all". Some call this ego. Others call it the “monkey mind”. Wayne Liquorman calls it “The false sense of authorship”. Ramesh Balsekar called it “Divine Hypnosis” (one of my favorite pointers as the implication is, there is nothing intrinsically “wrong” with this hypnosis; it, like everything else that exists, is DIVINE.) John Greven calls it "a case of mistaken identity.

I call it forgetting. As in forgetting that our True Nature is What Is, ie Totality, just That.

It is an active forgetting rather than a passive forgetting, as it IS ongoing. We are all going around barking like dogs, rarely stopping for a moment to inquire into this, to ask, is this TRUE? AM I a dog REALLY? Or is something else functioning, driving me to believe I am a dog? And what might that something be?

When we are imbued with this “Divine Hypnosis” we never question the assumed fact that I am and life is mine to handle as best I can. So we make life into a struggle, and strive for a better future and hope we do not repeat the bad choices that ruined things before (just when it was all going SO great and my true love was finally in my life, something happened, I made some choice that she hated, and so she left me). Pause a moment, ask your self, "what is the Source of the choices I appear to make?"

The question is, ARE you in charge? Are you responsible for breathing? For making your heart beat? Question the assumption, rather than continuing to bark like a dog trying to keep the mailman from entering your yard to deliver bad news. And biting the mailman when he brings bills instead of a big unexpected check. To mix a few metaphors!

Ask your self: “Do I make my heart beat? Do I make my mind think? Do I actually control life? Is this MY life? Or is it possible that a much larger actually vast influence is doing all that? What is the essence of What Is? Is What Is something I as a machine, a bodymind organism, CREATED? (Or “co-created?”) OR, am I simply hypnotized into believing I am in control (like believing I am a dog)?"

Look straight at What Is. Who or what is really “in charge here?” Perhaps (with a bit of good luck) you will begin to see, the entire Universe is a play of something “I don’t know”. What might THAT which “I don’t know" BE? As this is happening, the hypnotist MAY snap Her fingers. We shall see,

Heart is being beaten. By what? Mind is actively thinking? By whom? Bre4athing is happening whether noticed or not. What is the Source of the breathing? Are YOU really “doing” the breathing? Or is it happening and only after it is already happening do we claim it as something we own and mange, saying “I am breathing?”

Take a good look at the assumption of “me” and “mine”, of having some “power to control events” (and usually wanting MORE power to control events) the assumption “This is MY life”. See if the hypnotic idea of a  “me in charge” is really REAL. Or ONLY an idea that is an inevitable product of the “Divine Hypnosis”.

You may discover that the bodymind machine you call “me” is but an INSTRUMENT though which Totality functions and that the idea of me is ONLY an idea with no actual substance and no real power to alter or modify What Is. This may bring about a Seeing that What IS, IS . . . and a lessening or disappearance of the striving for power and control (which is really force, trying to bend the universe to YOUR will). Gaining a position of great power is a really attractive idea to the hypnotized subject, who is convinced, “If I could just become President, then I could change the world and get MY way to be THE way the Universe unfolds”. Ask Mr. Obama how that one is going for him!

So while I remind you to not believe anything I say, because nothing ANYONE says is “the truth”, I invite you to take a far deeper look into What IS, like what is happening in this life here, now, in this body, in this environment I call mine, and see what is the controlling power that breathes that body, that lives through that instrument. Begin to be aware or the Energy moving through that organism, living it, moving it in various ways, making it eat, sleep, making its heart beat, making it think (and making it think that YOU think!) and so on. Notice the Universal Life Energy moving and changing instant by instant. What IS, IS, and It IS happening right now. Who is doing the happening?

When it is seen, the doing is happening and is not MY doing, you might call that Enlightenment. But it will not be YOUR enlightenment, any more than it is YOUR breathing!

Is all this confusing? GOOD. We are poking into an area where we don’t know what we don’t know, an area which is transcendent to the bodymind’s inaccurate belief systems and false structures of interpretation!

Let’s finish up with a good reminder or two: “The Tao that can be named is not the Ture Tao”. ~ Lao Tsu . . . and from Te Buddha, “Actions happen, deeds are done, but there is no individual doer thereof”. And “Form is nothingness; nothingness is form”. The biggest paradox of ALL.

“The guardians at the gateway to Paradise are Paradox and Confusion” ~ Zen

See also: "Responsibility"

Do you exchange a Flawless Diamond for some stale peanuts? (Updated)

When did you become 'a person'?

Can't you see that from your True Stand-Point as The Unborn, the 'person' is a playful fiction? A dreamed-up 'me' arising in the brightly-lit Unborn Naked Awareness?  Consider: What if 'this person, this I am', simply arises from nowhere-at-all and becomes ... Being, coming up, appearing ... arises HERE in Original Mind as an unoriginal ' I am', and ongoingly deludes itself  by saying and believing the Fundamental Lie over and over and over, saying 'I am in here in this body' and all that other stuff ie the totality of all but 'me' is 'out there' and NOT me? Check this out!

Yet always still, right from the outset, your Original I, the Universal Single Unborn-One, the Not-Two, IS, right here now and beautifully and brightly illuminating the fiction of 'this person'. Check into this! Is it not like the light of a lamp illuminating pages and words of a book wherein there appears a character, a 'person', an always changing object born, living a while, and expiring as the book says 'The End' ...Check into this! The book laid aside, the light remains.

YOU ARE The Great and Vast Unborn, fully awake and ever-illuminating all things that come and go and all the while NEVER changing in the slightest, this Not-Two of the Unborn Buddha-Mind which effortlessly and gorgeously lights the Way, lives and loves through the 'character', remaining always As It Is... Check this out!

So you may laugh and cry as 'the story of me' unfolds but remain steadfast and beyond doubt that after all that your Original Being IS and Brilliantly Unborn, innately FREE ...Abide in the Unborn letting come along what comes along and letting pass away what passes away, remaining steadfast...

Consider, 'possibly enlightenment starts with giving up the notion 'I am an unenlightened person' and ends in giving up the notion 'I am an enlightened person' ... ?? Check this out!

There is no more to it than that. Is it not seen? Who does not see? Seeing or not seeing, both are illuminated perfectly by The Unborn... Check this out!

Your delusion and suffering is only due to your own stubborn refusal to let go of the crazy idea 'I am unenlightened' and the equally crazy idea 'I AM enlightened'. YOU, The Unborn, are neither enlightened nor unenlightened! The fiction of 'me' says otherwise. But note we are pointing out that this 'me' IS a FICTION. Well okay then; can we let 'the person' BE as it is and as it is not, with no more idea of 'someday becoming' something not already so? Check this out!

Let What IS be; and do NOT give away the Flawless Diamond of Innate Unborn Being-Light, in exchange for the stale peanuts of fictional and imaginary thoughts. Let the thoughts come and go, remaining steadfast, abiding in The Unborn which you have never not been in full!

Guard against the lies of the fictional character which you mistakenly considered to be 'you'. Easily Now: Stand guard at the gateway, watching silently as what IS comes and goes in the Space which is NOW and was ALWAYS your True-Nature, the Flawless Diamond of innate natural Perfection!

Consider the Zen Sage Bankei's pointer: 'There's no difference between the mind of all the buddhas and the Buddha Mind of each one of you. But by wanting to realize enlightenment, you create a duality between the one who realizes enlightenment and what it is that's being realized. When you cherish even the smallest desire to realize enlightenment, right away you leave behind the realm of the Unborn and go against Buddha Mind. This Buddha Mind you have from your parents is one alone -- not two, not three.' And as Bankei said at another time, 'People all value enlightenment but [a disciple] Chozen was lucky enough to destroy enlightenment and become a man of perfect freedom'.

If you continue to strive to attain It, you will miss It, and delusion and suffering will continue. Being already the Perfect Unborn Light, what is it that who must attain?

Do not exchange the Flawless Diamond of your Never-Born True Nature for the stale peanuts of thoughts and beliefs in imaginations and fictions!

Of course then we must ask, WHO is in charge of making that exchange? Would you ever choose to exchange the flawless diamond for peanuts? Take a deeper look. What is the Source of our choosing this or that? Is it the mind-body machine, the individual organism, making these choices? Or is the organism only the INSTRUMENT through which Totality or Source functions? Check this out! 

Reviews of "Full Stop" MP3 Audio Podcast (updated)

"Full Stop" is an audio expression by Charlie Hayes that lays It on the line in a clear and open dialog with a seeker. His words are not only clear in their meaning, but also in the tone and manner with which he brings the pointers across. Charlie's expressions speak directly to the heart, bypassing the mind, and going straight to the who You Are.

Everything is covered on this one Podcast, starting from the basic principles, up past the point of where many who talk about this get stuck in the pointers. He goes into how that the identity is nothing to try to get rid of, and can't be gotten rid of. All of us have a sense of self preservation, as do all animals. We just don't have to take it as seriously and just know that the machine has a name and it comes to it.

Many talk on nonduality and dismiss the appearance. Charlie takes it a step further and talks about what hangs up many seekers, talking about how there’s no need to fight with the identity, which in itself is not the problem. This talk could be useful even for some of us who talk about nonduality and need to give the seeker some different pointers.

This talk shows that there’s nothing wrong with you just the way you are, that you don’t have to make changes and nonduality doesn’t require that. It’s all about understanding, not self help.

I thoroughly enjoyed this piece and recommend it to everyone.

~ JD Hazlewood

I just listened to Charlie Hayes' mp3 titled "Full Stop." This is about as good  as it gets. If you are ready to get this, you don't need to hear anything else, or read anything else. Honestly, it's all here. Where is here? Where is now? Nowhere. Bottom line, done, you're - finished!

You don't have to change yourself because what you really are, you already are, and it is here, and now, everywhere and nowhere. Do you get it? If not, try listening to Charlie's new mp3, "Full Stop.” While listening, I wait silently for the feeling of resonance. I have to say, that for Maury, there was resonance. I also have to say, that for resonance to be here, "I Am" has to be present. "I Am" was present.

You don't need to worry about who you are, because you have no control over that. For heaven's sake, if you had any choice, would you be listening to Charlie's latest mp3?

From beginning to end, the concept Maury, being rather arrogant about what he's read, could tick off the major universals brought  into focus.  The best of the best. There was an authority to the words spoken that can only come from the "I Am." Neither arrogant, nor humble, just what is, expressed, As Is. What else is there?

The silence and love with which the mp3 ends, says it all. You don't get to silence without letting go of a lot of obstruction, because what you are is already present, just not accounted for -- covered with bullshit -- mostly thought. You can seek what you already are, but it's like a dog chasing it's tail.

Charlie enlightens some of the stupidity propounded as spirituality; a major one being, trying to get rid of the "me." You can't. There is a body. It is here. It is present, and it does exist. The question is, "Is that who you really are?"

The suffering of trying to get rid of the me can be released, not by getting rid of yourself, but by realizing that that is not who you really are. You are That which is nowhere and everywhere. That which Is, whether you realize it or not, is what you really are. You are that presence, and you have never left.

If you insist on using your mind to find the answer, Charlie's recommendation is to deconstruct. You can blow your mind by earnestly ask the simple question, "Who am I." Not in a cursory manner, but deeply, profoundly. You can do this by doing a Full Stop at "I am." Everything after I Am is bullshit - opinion, projection, conjecture.

To point out the quick departure on which thought will take you for a ride, Charlie points out that, "The second you say 'Being' you are no longer in it. Now you are in concepts." Most of us have little awareness of how much of our world is a construct, and it is the constructs that cause suffering. I need say little more. If you are ready, all you need to know is in this mp3. Honestly, what is, Is, in this recording, "Full Stop."

~ Maury Lee

Wow that is powerful.  Mind , that of the seeker, says it is in trouble; then in this dialogue, it is invited with empathy to the merciless logic that it is the source of the problem and it is brought to a point of self destruction. The seeker is left with a clear mind and knowing the Truth.  The Full Stop.

Ben

"Charlie Hayes is a spiritual diamond-in-the-rough and the perfect antidote for seeing through the great illusion of separation."

~Chuck Hillig, Author of Enlightenment for Beginners, Seeds for the Soul, Looking for God: Seeing the Whole in One, The Way IT Is and The Magic King. 

Werner Erhard at Harvard University (Update)

This Video presents the Nondual Vision from another perspective and in another context ... in this case, Harvard University.

Please make no mistake: The speaker, Werner Erhard, is a man I have known for 32 years, and one I consider a Master, one of my main Teachers, and best of all, my Friend. To dismiss his message before truly imbibing it would be a tragic mistake, in my view.

Werner delivers Transformation, and in his speaking and the demonstrations he does, he shows beyond any doubt and provides the opportunity for you to directly experience our True Nature. It becomes obvious, BUT you will need to stay present and BE with the unfolding, and possibly watch the video a few times. Now, I invite you to do exactly that. And, I promise you, you'll find it VERY worthwhile if you accept my invitation to do that.

There are several excellent Talks that Werner has  delivered, which can be transforming when read with an open mind and heart. To read those now, go HERE. The first one you see is on "Love". Notice the links in the left sidebar of that page for several more. All are highly recommended.

"The Shift"

Questioner: 'Watched a few of your videos this morning. Great and powerful. Brief question if you don't mind. I have been 'non-dualing' for a few years now - in my fifties. There is understanding, readiness but still remnants of 'me' lurking. What and when triggers the shift? Is it mysterious? Is it grace? Can I bring it about or do something more to enable it. If I really continue to listen to 'clear pointing' will it happen? With much thanks...'

Charlie: I am happy you wrote in! This is an excellent question.

Now I have a few questions for you to ask yourself:

Who is it that is waiting for what? This concept of a ‘shift’ ... what is the nature of that which exists always clear and open PRIOR to such concepts?

Who wants to bring what about? Who thinks 'I don't have it' and what can 'I' DO etc.?

WHO wants WHAT to happen ... and WHEN? Have I ever been anywhere but HERE?
Have I ever been anywhen but NOW? Where IS 'someday'?

What is It is already fully present here and now and 'me' is focused on concepts and feelings and therefore OVERLOOKS what is clear and present at all moments of Now in all places of  Here?

Whose 'understanding' is this and who claims to have it?

What if 'understanding' (conceptual comprehension of the automatic ordinary mind) is the Booby Prize?

WHO wants 'enlightenment'? WHO wants to get WHAT?

What if Enlightenment is NOT 'self improvement' (despite the automated mental conviction that it is)?
.
WHO AM I? Who and what is this ‘me’ who claims to be 'a doer of nonduality', a 'woman', 'in her fifties' etc?

When was ‘me’ born? And where?

What if NO 'shift' is required for Eternal Non-Conceptual Being to Already BE ... and I Am That?

From exactly where did 'I' like a 'person' arise? When? How?

I know that I don't know lots of things. But what is It that I do not know that I do not know?

Who do I think 'me' is really? Am 'I' separate from 'Charlie'? Or is there a One-Awareness which IS and is seeing out of all these 14 billion eyes?

Is there really a separate 'me'? What if despite what the mind called 'me' believes it knows, what 'me' IS is open and clear like empty sky?

What if whatever 'me' thinks is NOT Who I Am?

What is it is true that 'The Enlightenment that can be named is NOT the True Enlightenment'?

Please read the post at:

http://beingisknowing.blogspot.com/2010/08/do-you-exchange-flawless-diamond-for.html

After you do a bit of looking and reread the post linked above a few times, and LOOK where the pointers are pointing. feel free to write again if any questions or and sense of suffering remains for that  'me'!

"Satsang"

The Sanskrit word "Satsang" is usually translated as, coming together to meditate, chant, be with a Master, associate with Truth. Etc. These everyday definitions lack a certain rigor. The more pure definition in my perspective (which is not posited here as the 'right' one or a 'better' on, just one I prefer) is:

"In the company of Truth" which I translate from out of my experience to:

"Being the Presence of Truth."

As always this must arrive with the disclaimer: The words are NOT Truth; they POINT AT Truth. The Truth that you can put into words is not the Authentic Truth, in other words!

Yet: This pointer, when considered as a possibility or inquired into (what if...?) CAN make "Satsang" available anywhere anywhen. Because this view from nowhere ie the Space I Am in which Life and living occurs  IS everywhere everywhen or right here right now or "always right before your eyes" (as the Sage Seng Ts'an said)... 

You see, in the everyday ordinary definition of Satsang there is the sense of needing to BECOME something I am NOT already, that is to become enlightened through hanging out with "like minded folks" or "sitting with a Master" and so on. It is all about becoming rather than Simply Being -- which is WHAT IS. 

What IS, is Being IS, call it your Being or Just Being, THAT is what is always so, always fully present and absolutely clean and clear just NOW whenever and wherever "the meat" (your bodymind machine) happens to be appearing. In short "Who You Are ALWAYS ".

There is a simplicity, a "suchness and thusness" to that What Is ... Being The Presence Of Truth ... which the mind cannot grasp (so don't look there!). Rather than thinking about this, take a LOOK, look and see, what is It that is always absolutely present and never  missing always like forever (and "forever" is not "a really long time!") ... LOOKING, not thinking about, is there hearing, seeing, living, awakeness. aliveness? Is it true that Being IS and always Presencing, right here and now? Or NOT?

Look for yourself. I say "You are the Space in which what you call yourself shows up, the Space in which Life and Living occur".  I SAY that. And I mean what I say.

What do you say? Find out of what the mind tells you about "being separate, needing to attain wholeness, get better, be different, find more peace or freedom or love" is true ... or NOT?

Stepping to this like a possibility for TRUE Freedom might make a difference. Just NOW.

Care to give it a shot?

All you have to lose is your suffering ......

The Unborn

Here is a pointer paraphrasing Bankei you might like:

"There is not a single one among all people who is an unenlightened being.  Everyone is already always a Buddha. What You ARE is The Unborn Buddha Mind. This Buddha Mind is Unborn and marvelously illuminating. And, with This Unborn, everything is perfectly managed."

This is the theme of my book "You Are Unborn". If you are interested in having an e-book copy at a very reduced cost, please go HERE.

As Bankei may have said,

Gassho!

Being, Awake and Alive

NEW MP3: "Full Stop"!

This is a follow-up to the CD/MP3 called:

"Enlightenment: The Absolute I" 

(located at http://charliehayes36.tripod.com/2010cds.html.

In this one, named “Full Stop”, the seeker's confusion and doubts are dispelled as the mind’s chatter is brought up short in a “full stop” of the endless irrational chatter.

And so, then (just Now) all there is, is Reality, empty yet FULL, appearing in. and as, Naked, Ever-Fresh Awareness! And this is the end of the mind's BS!

To get the NEW Full Stop MP3 go to

http://charliehayes36.tripod.com/fullstop.html.

Donations are appreciated but NOT required.

Naturally, we DO appreciate any support of he message...!

What AM I? Geing clear on THAT!

Q: I Listened to audio podcasts at

http://charliehayes36.tripod.com/2010cds.html (The Absolute I MP3)

http://charliehayes36.tripod.com/powerless.html (Power and Powerlessness) and

http://charliehayes36.tripod.com/fullstop.html  (FullStop)

... and now like there's no one running the show...terrifying prospect for the mind... hmmm...

So what am I.....?....

C: What Are You? 

In REALITY....

NO  THING.

Only THAT

Not Two.

This Reality You ARE can be called

"Singularity of

Naked Awareness."

BUT! Remember:

The Reality that can be named is NOT he True Reality.

A NEW two-CD Set: "Enlightenment: The Absolute I"

N E W !

A set of two CDs exploring:

The nature of enlightenment,

The causes of suffering, and The possibility if true 

and eternal  freedom. 

Published on 02 August 2010.

$29 USD includes international shipping.  

Please go HERE to order.

(The CDs have the same content as our new MP3 of the same name; offered for the convenience of being playable in CD car and home CD or DVD players. There is also about 28 minutes of ADDITIONAL material in the CDs.  If you want the basic MP3 rather than the CDs, go HERE to download. A Donation of $10 USD to assist in site maintenance is suggested...Thanks.

(Great thanks to our friend Sue for her huge, open and honest heart.)

Sickness & health, birth & death, appear AS the Eternal-What-Isness that You ARE

From "You Are Unborn" pages 209-210: (Now available to preview and buy on Amazon.com)

Q: will you explain what happens when the body-life ends?

C: Who asks this question?

What is that "I" that wants an answer to an unanswerable question? Who has been to that "undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns"?

Look down below the question to locate the birthless deathless Source, the Eternal Is-Being that NEVER changes. It is THAT in which consciousness (birth) and no-consciousness (death) APPEARS. Bodies come and go. The subject/object assumption appears in ThAT. That ...YOU as-you-are ... remains always, shining in luminous non-conceptual Isness. That Eternal Reality is YOU: Reality beyond birth and death. 

Consciousness of being is what is called birth. Reality of Being before consciousness is Life Itself. YOU are Life Itself. There is NO such thing as death! LIFE is beginningless, endless. You are Life Itself, not "a life".

Consider the metaphor of deep dreamless sleep: That questioner and all its questions disappears every time the body is laid to rest at night. There is NO difference between a body laid to rest in a bed at night and a body laid to rest in the cemetery!

In the dream at night there is the appearance of an I. Then that I might meet another I in the dream and ask, "what will happen to me when I die?" Then the body wakes. Where did that dream I go? Where did that dream questioner/question go?

Give the Podcasts at beingisknowing.blogspot.com a few really good listens. Let the I concept dissolve into its source of Birthlessness-Deathlessness.

Find the Source of question and questioner. Then such questions will make the bodymind stimulus response machine smile. Because it is blatantly obvious that when the body-life ends NOTHING happens. You ARE. That . No Thing appearing AS Every Thing.

Stay with the obvious: YOU ARE. Being. Life IS. Existence IS. Presence IS. Awareness IS. All else is a meaningless tale, “told by an idiot, signifying nothing”.

And the word is not the Real. There is NO word for what You are.

who is born ... who could die?

"Birth and death" are mere appearances in What IS: The Unborn Life that You ARE.

This post addresses a very common question for many "senior citizen" seekers...

Q: You and I are both past 60 and retired. That means the final chapter, (in each of our stories), is relentlessly approaching. Your book...."From I Am to I Am, With Love", has got me thinking. Granted, the thinking me is not really me. I am awareness. Yet how do you regard your inevitable (physical) death? Nothing to it? No self, no worries, no problem?

These thoughts were perhaps triggered by the recent death of Ramesh Balsekar. If thoughts are really nothing, would you mind sharing your thoughts on this inevitability? With warm appreciation for your book, and continued FaceBook presence…

C. You are very welcome; glad this sharing is “resonating!”

You have asked a good question! Here is how it is here: Every night when this “charlie-thing” goes to bed, it "dies" ... that is the sense "I Am" is not there; Consciousness is in abeyance. What is born in the morning is only the "I Am". That is Consciousness, as you know.

Now it gets tricky. If "I Am" is appearing as Consciousness, it is clear that this"I Am" IS a thing appearing TO Awareness; Awareness is the Eternal Being, PRIOR to, Permeating, and “allowing” for the happening of … Consciousness. As a language distinction, notional only, Awareness is NOT Consciousness, and I AM (You ARE, There is ONLY) Awareness, No Thing, never born. And of course there cannot be TWO "No Things". This is the true meaning of “I AM THAT” ( So‘Ham”), or THAT THOU ART (Tat Tvam Asi). There is ONLY That….

So: To answer the question in the context you asked it, my direct, actual experience is that there is NO concern regarding physical death. I have pondered this. And the way it is here, or in street language what its like for "me", is this:

Crystal clear is the fact ... FACT ... that this “I, I Am,” was never born! It APPEARS that a thing is born every morning and dies every night (or sometimes in the afternoon if a nap happens :-)) … but WHO is born that could die? WHO!??

Plainly said, I AM THAT BY which "I Am" is known. The Knowing Light doesn't "know itself". Our beloved Ramesh was never born so how could he die? That said, some of the human energy-patterns “left behind in the earth dream” will likely experience moments of sadness or a sense of loss. I did. Along with a sense of real joy that Ramesh no longer has to fuss with an aging body so to speak! But none of that is the case for Ramesh! If you die today, will you care?? Who would be there? Not “you”.

So in the final analysis, the whole issue is moot, for the Die-ee”!

Don't know if this will answer it for you fully, but as always, a final point might well be to look, "Who asks the question?" and "Who wants to know?" which if there are traces of assumed identity lingering can erase the trace in this Instant-Before-Time....

So in street words, I could give a bleep if this charlie-thing dies now. Any day is a good day to die! I knew Ramesh well enough to know he would have said something like this too. The "knower-of-Reality" doesn’t fear death at all, for him it is just the final return to Home. I love how the sages talk about the "event" ... they named it "Maha-Samadhi" which I translate as "The Great Peace". And the point so to say of Nonduality is, as the Zen sage Bankei puts it, to “Die before you die”. That death of the false assumption of being a separate self IS the “Peace that passeth understanding”.

In truth, “you” don’t have a “physical self”. The appearance of a body only implies a separate self. But investigation proves to “the mind” once and for good that no such self exists! So the collection of cells formed of energy changes form. The Self that you are will forever remain unchanging, free and clear of any identity as a body. Look into that assumption “my physical self”. The body is not “yours”. That idea of “mine”, of being an owner, is right at the heart of ignorance of Self and the assumption that separateness, twoness, is the reality. It is NOT.

Knowing the Self as what we are removes all traces of concern for whether a machine (bodymind) stops running. He knows that the machine is temporal, a momentary appearance, where What Is, cannot die. The Electricity that runs a toaster and a fridge doesn't die when the toaster or fridge stops working. In the same way the Energy (Shakti) that powers a heart beating doesn't die when the heart stops.

In this Understanding (which belongs to no one!) lies perfect peace. And this IS deeply understood by everyone; it's just gotten apparently obscured by the false sense of self (mind, or ego) that appears IN The Self (and as the manifest ASPECT of Self).

You Are Unborn. That is the bottom line. You, like me, are that One No Thing appearing as some things, and every thing. That's it.

Bottom line: YES, no worries, no concern, no problem!

So how’s the weather today!??

Love ya, my friend; thanks again for a good question! 

Bottom line: "You Are Unborn."

NEW MP3: "Power & Powerlessness" ... Download Now

"Power and Powerlessness:" ... This is a NEW MP3 Podcast that covers both aspects of Nonduailty in aggressive depth

If you want the MP3 go HERE to download it. A Donation of at $10 is requested for the download, to assist in site maintenance... Thanks!)

The Sun In Drag

You are the Sun in drag.

You are God hiding from yourself.
Remove all the "mine" -- that is the veil.
Why ever worry about

Anything?

Listen to what your friend Hafiz
Knows for certain:
The appearance of this world
Is a Magi's brilliant trick, though its affairs are

Nothing into nothing.

You are a divine elephant with amnesia
Trying to live in an ant
Hole.

Sweetheart, O sweetheart
You are God in

Drag!