Do you know the world? Yes. You see it.
Do you know the computer screen? Yes. You see it.
Do you know the body? Yes. You see it and feel it.
Do you know the arms and legs? Yes. You see and feel them.
Do you know thoughts? Yes. You "feel" them.
Do you know emotions? Yes. You can describe them.
Do you know hunger and thirst? Yes. You know when they are present and when they are absent.
>Do you know yourself?
Are you presently aware? Yes. How do you know? Because you know all the above.
Do you exist? Yes. How do you know? Because of this presence of knowing.
>Do you know yourself?
Can any of these "things" be known without this knowledge or certainty of your own Self?
You DO know yourself. Only it's not what you thought it was. And it didn't require searching, for it was ever-present, as THAT which was doing the looking, as the immediacy of knowing, as the ever-present Presence of Awareness.
Right here and now, you ARE. Awareness of Being - in which it all comes and goes.
Simple.
Writings on Nonduality and Vedanta from Randall Friend
17 comments:
Hi Randall! Burt Harding say that what ever you believe is real own`s you. Why?
++Dennis++
Hello Randall,
thanks again for the beautiful writing. But once again, I want to ask the same question as yesterday and the day befor, sorry :-). There seems to be a last doubt.
What you wrote in your new comment is understood to 100% here. Yes, Being, one solid block, no seperation, what a relief! It is really so simple and clear! Yes, Being is, great!
But once again: Even this Awareness of Being, as you call it, comes and goes in "my" perception. In the so called "deep sleep state", even this presence, this awareness of being, dissolves. It could be said, the Awareness of Being falls back into pur being, not aware of itself. Only pur existence, unconscious of itself, without the feeling of presence/being. And at a certain point (I know, no time and space here) this pur being explodes back into the awareness of being.
Is this right. "I" would appreciate a last comment to this question, which somehow burns in me.
Thanks very much Randall!
Warm regards
Josef
Just so, Randall.
Love,
Fredrik
Dennis,
What is believed shapes the appearance, shapes the experience. Belief creates the personal world.
The root belief is the belief in "dennis the person". Once that's taken on, then the world must be assumed as "other".
Your certainty of Being isn't a belief. It's rock-solid. Yet it's overlooked. Find out how this certainty of existence is attached to objects - body-mind.
love
randall
Josef,
This "deep sleep state" simply describes pure Being. You say, not aware of itself. Yet is that true? How can you speak of it if even awareness was absent? How do you know of this "state"?
"Deep sleep" is simply absence of identification, all "objective content" of awareness in absence - it's pure unmanifested Being/Awareness - pure silence/stillness, which is the "stateless state". The natural state.
Consciousness comes and goes, continually - known AS this dream, this appearance only ever appearing within pure awareness. When the dream stops appearing, Being/Awareness remains as it is.
Therefore these "states" known as "sleep" or "death" are simply conceptualizations of the absence of Consciousness. One is seemingly certain to reappear (sleep), one is seemingly not (death).
So these passing states do not touch pure Being/Awareness. It remains as the silence shining in all sound, the stillness shining in all apparent movement. It IS, while all else depends.
You remain as these "states" come and go. This is actual experience, Reality. Yet conceptualized as "sleep" requires an "I" who sleeps.
love
randall
Randall,
thank you very much indeed for your guidance and the time you invest for that. It helps a lot to clear unquestioned assumptions. Love to you!
I have checked my investigations.
"My" own direct experience now could be described the following way:
In the so called "waking state", there is this strong feeling of this one vibring energy. One energy, no seperation. One vibring energy, one vibring play of colours.
And in the "deep sleep state", there is pure being, simply existence, without the feeling of this vibring energy.
In my direct experience this two "states" are both IT. Obvioulsy no seperaton in the "deep sleep state", and obvioulsy no seperation in the "waking state".
I can´t say, that there is a constant core, which is in both states. It is difficult to explain this with my language and syntax knowledge in english, but I try: I can´t say that the pure awareness in the "deep sleep state" is in the "waking state" aware of the play of consciousness. That are only conceptualizations in my perception.
And I can´t say that the pure awareness in the deep sleep state is somehow "higher" than the waking state.
I can only say, that the "deep sleep state" is always constant the same, while the "waking state" is always expressing in a different way.
In my experience, both "states" are equal, never the less they are both different. But they are both the One without a second. Both are two forms of expression of IT. And this two expressions are in a constant change.
Wait a moment. Something dawns me...
Perhaps I can explain my experience in a very very simple way, which brings me back to the beginning.
I am simply awake or I sleep. But now "I" don´t mean "Josef" by this "I".
"I" means "IT" or "Life" or "God" now.
Yes! That´s it for me:
I am awake. And I sleep. The One is awake, and the One sleeps. God is awake, and God sleeps.
And this change is eternal. No death. As you said, Randall. At death God only goes to sleep like it is the case every night.
"Deep sleep" and "Death" are only conceptualizations for the same absence of consciousness. Yes.
And the "dream state" and the "waking state" are also the same. The same play of consciousness, only seperated by conceptualization.
I am awake, and I sleep. God is awake, and God sleeps. This is now realy obvious for me. And no need to understand something more. How could I understand myself :-)
I am wake (energy, play of colours) and I sleep (pure existence). And its equal what happens, when I am awake, the pure existence is not affected.
But never the less, peace feels better than war when I am awake. Helthfullness feels better than diseasy. This does not change. There is no escape from this play of colours. If I put my hand on the hotplate, I will feel pain.
But it is seen now, that realy nothing can be lost and that no one dies. It only seems so.
I am eternialy present, wether I sleep, or wether I am awake.
Yes. Nothing left to doubt at this moment for me.
Warm regards
And love to you, Randall!!!
Josef
"I can´t say, that there is a constant core, which is in both states."
YOU see both states, right? YOU are the common core!
Josef,
Beautiful expression, my friend.
love
randall
Hi Randall,
when a state/dream ends (and another begins, or not) it is seen that the ENTIRE Dream ends - the assumed "me" person doesnt wake up, CONSCIOUSNESS wakes up - it wasn't the 'me" that was perceiving the "others" in the dream but 'me" and 'others" were both perceived by the same awareness.
I know this (above) to be true. But only here, now, in this stae. there is no promise of anything 'permanent'. The most I can do now, is to try and SEE that "me" is not really Conscious but Consciousness is aware of 'me".
I suppose if I succeed, then i will become like you are Jon or bob or others who ostensibly have.
But of what use is this? when this state ends another will come up, with another "me". I mean that i don't see any point of 'me" trying to get something from 'randall" - the most 'me' will get is a suspension of psychological suffering. And that too is decidedly limited to THIS State only.
So really, theres no point in any of this. Theres no permanent awakening, no permanent ANYTHING except Consciousness. And Consciousness/awareness/whatever doesnt need to "Awaken" or whatever - states will come and states will go. Mistaken identities may or may not come and they may or may not be seen through.
In short, there is absolutely nothing of value to get from you or bob or john because IT IS, already and the rest is just play/drama. All of this is just drama. Like a TV soap. Nobody awakens. No 'me" is ever going to 'awaken' except as a drama within the confines of a State. And once this is accepted, the even awakening/enlightenment etc is seen as a joke because if it has relevance only WITHIN the dream/state, its as irrelevant as someting happening on a TV soap.
So, sit back and have a glass of red wine and let life roll on by. Thats all, right?
And even THIS seeming conclusion/understanding above is just a small little event within the confines of THIS state - so its like a snake eating its own tail. At this point there is really nothing more to say.
Would appreciate it if you have any comments on this...
thank you
S
Hi Randall,
me again - just wanted to clarify, on re-reading what I wrote above, that i mean no disrespect - i am eternally grateful beyond anything i can express, for what you and Bob and everyone else is doing.
It just seems to me that basically, IT IS as it IS and whether "i" get something or dont doesnt matter one bit. Nothing will ever change or influence THAT. And THAT is the only REALITY.
wow.
Something dawns on me now.... if THAT is the only reality then all of this IS THAT. Me looking to Randall to provide an answer is THAT. "Me" is also THAT. ALL the so called appearances are in truth THAT.
There is nothing but THAT!
thank you
S
Hello again my friend.
No disrespect possible and no gratefulness needed.
Yes - exactly correct. There is absolutely nothing of value to get from me or bob or john, because THIS IS. THIS IS. That's all that can be said. Anything additional is always conceptual.
Sit back, have a glass of red wine. Life is living itself. Life is presently looking at itself, trying to figure itself out, seeking itself, finding itself, or not.
It's irrelevant, because THIS is all there ever is.
You said it - "there is nothing but THAT".
This.
YOU.
love
randall
love to you Randall -
S
No concept is it! at the end,all books,all cds or cdvs can be thrown away! all talks or satsangs,seminars are just mental noise! you are left with the neighbour's noise,with the headache,with the piece of chocolate,with the pissed off mosquito in the room,with thinking of what may happen tomorrow...that's the ultimate disapointment!:-))
No concept is it. All concepts are thoughts. Thoughts appear while what-you-are does not appear yet is undeniably ever-present, knowing the beginning and ending of all thoughts.
Taking one more step back - thoughts-body-world is only experience - absolutely dependent on what-you-are to appear, this "experiencing", this unchanging presence of knowing... This knowing is "I" - Self.
Therefore experiencing-Self is present in ALL experience, inseparable from any experience.
Self is evident and undeniable in ALL experience - therefore experience is unconditional. You ARE the experience itself.
No-thing, appearing AS Everything.
Oneness - knowing itself. Seeing-Oneness.
love
randall
I get the feeling that it is possible to live from this is-ness and when Baryon Katie say there is no world i cant get my head around how this is possible. Adviata is easier all is concept, felling thought etc. that i can understand and se but loosing the world is something different maby some one here can explain the differences?
++Dennis++
Dennis,
Who lives from this "is-ness"? IS-ness is THIS, right here and now. Splitting it up into "someone who lives from this" is more concepts.
What IS? Does a clay pot exist? You say - yes, of course it exists. Yet look again. If I break the pot, all that remains is clay pieces. If I then pound the pieces to dust, what remains? Dust. A pile of dust.
Further, that dust is reducible. Apply a chemical and a microscope - what appears? Iron, limestone, carbon, aluminum, magnesium... Yet these are also reducible - atoms, protons, only existing because of the movement of electrons, etc.
What happened to pot? Did it just walk away? Did it disappear magically? Nothing happened to it - "pot" never existed. Vedanta calls it Nama Rupa - name/concepts/ideas and form/objects of perception.
Everything can be reduced in this way - the world you speak of only exists as Nama Rupa - name and form. Concept. The name is not the "thing". The form is not the "thing."
We can only say - "IS". Reality IS. Anything further is conceptualization. And YOU cannot be outside of IS. You ARE "IS".
So what IS? What IS this IS-ness of which you speak so freely? IS-ness is SAT - the self-evidence of THIS, right here and now, without being able to apply ANY name and form. THIS - not simply difficult to describe or conceptualize - the very inability to describe IS-ness is IT. You cannot describe it because you ARE IT.
That body is reducible in the same way, as are thoughts. Everything, literally everything you know and take to be yourself is only name and form, just like the pot. Non-existent. Not describable except in name and form.
So what IS, IS. And what IS, is THIS. Completely devoid of name and form. Unspeakable. Unknowable. The essence of Reality is prior to ALL attempts at grasping. And YOU ARE Reality itself.
Satchitananda - Pure IS-ness, right here and now, knowing itself, as THIS.
No "dennis" in there anywhere. Yet YOU ARE. You are satchitananda. You ARE, you KNOW you ARE, and you KNOW YOURSELF IN and AS Everything, right here and now.
You are self-evident in every single experience of name and form. That IS-ness is evident in every experience, which is later taken to be real, in mind only, due to this process of name and form, taking the name to be the "thing".
love
randall
Thanks Randall.
- This nothingness contains the mind, the mind doesn't contain it. - So stop looking there.
++Love++
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