Awakening is a centreless experiencing of this present moment (Dhamma in Buddhism). There’s a profound peace that replaces the ego-focussed goals of trying to become something, get something new or avoid some looming challenge. It’s not will-based, there’s no real effort involved. The present moment beingness, experiencing the now, pulls on our attention like bungee […]
Author Archives: AJ
I was interviewed recently about happiness and the interviewer asked me to look back at the ups and downs of my life. I guess that stirred up a lot of memories because this really isn’t what I sat down to write today, it’s just what came out but maybe it’s worth saying because it underpins […]
In classical Buddhist cosmology there are six realms into which we can be reborn. We all know the human realm but below it there are also the animal, hungry ghost and hell realms, and the realms of the fighting spirits (asuras) and gods or devas above. Most notably these are depicted in the beautiful wheel […]
When nondual inquiry lapses into a mental exercise of trying to understand these words or that insight we can overlook the lived experience. But isn’t that really at the heart of this inquiry? If our words or thoughts don’t match our lived experience then we’re missing something vital. If we speak of a centreless experience […]
There is a peace that comes from having a better story, from thoughts that tell of success and happiness. But this is a temporary peace. Throughout our day unhappy thoughts will make an appearance, perhaps accompanied by unpleasant feelings. If we’re convinced these are wrong, that they shouldn’t be here then we find ourselves in […]
Can a thought ever be true? In other words, does a thought ever depict reality clearly? Until we’ve investigated this question and see it with clarity we might struggle with aspects of nondual inquiry. In fact, we might struggle with most of it! But of course if I present an answer here, I’m creating another […]
Try not to think about a destination. Don’t let yourself imagine endings or stages. Avoid the traps of examples, ideals or stereotypes. Instead imagine yourself a pioneer, exploring virgin territory. There’s no map, no travel journal to guide you. Every day brings something new and you wake with no expectation of how your journey will […]
I love a good story. There’s something magical about the way an author can develop a character and make us, the reader, care about them; perhaps even fall in love them. But of course we’re all stories to each other aren’t we? Your story of someone is unique to you. It’s based on your interactions, […]
Last time I said something about what awakening is but not so much about the how. This question came up at the last Nonduality Up North meeting and so I thought I’d share some of that discussion. If you were there you’ll probably recognise quite a lot of what I’m about to say. The first […]
I thought it might be helpful to clear up some misunderstandings by taking a little time to say what awakening actually is. First let me say that you are not what you think you are and that awakening is not what you think it is. With that proviso in place, awakening, like the realisation that […]
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