Dear Francis, Since many years I’m interested in non-dual teachings & got more & more absorbed by it. I love “your” embodiment of the consciousness/awareness we all are. I feel very drawn to the way you are pointing to the truth & that’s why I feel that you are the teacher to whom I want to ask this question: I “practice” to identify myself as the impersonal consciousness which witnesses what appears in it, instead of being identified with the appearance. It “works” specially well with so called negative emotions- I noticed that what …sees the anger, isn’t angry, …sees the fear, isn’t afraid, …sees the sadness, isn’t sad … and so on. When I check in like that it brings me to the same space, like the question “who/ what am I?” Candice o’Denver from the “Great Freedom Teaching” suggests “to take short moments of awareness many times” which points in my understanding to the same. Also I play with the focus of my attention in the way I picked up from your friend Rupert Spira: EVERYTHING (including my body) appears in the same “space” of consciousness without distance & simultaneously - that’s instantly relaxing. Would you say that it’s the right approach to realize & embody the oneness with consciousness? I have to say, it turns out to be difficult to put my question into words… Thank you for your answer
Namasté
Bhasha
Dear Basha,
Just as at some point your question cannot be formulated, the answer to it cannot be given through words. The very presence of a guru who is knowingly established in the Self guides the disciple effortlessly, beyond words, through the last stages of the path. I have no rational explanation for this. I just know it from experience. Some kind of understanding may apparently be conveyed through words, but the presence of a well qualified instructor is in most cases necessary for the disciple to get established in unshakable peace. Self realization cannot be delivered via e-mail or Facebook, even if some important obstacles can be removed through intellectual understanding.
Regarding your practice, it should never be mechanical and always flow from your understanding. The most important element is to always be open during your investigation to the possibility that your everyday consciousness is universal and unlimited. If this openness is not there, your practice remains psychological. Once you are open to that possibility, you can create as many practices as you wish. In the beginning you can get them from a teacher, but then you come up with your own exercises. I don’t like the term “practice”, because it suggests effort and repetition. We could call it exploring the Infinite which we are, conducting experiments on the way we perceive the world and the living beings that surround us, our own feelings and body sensations, and our own thoughts. As a result of this exploration our perceptions, thoughts, feelings and actions get realigned with the reality of our being.
Love,
Francis
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