Do Something!

Posted by de

Doing is going on. Spiritual paths usually encourage personal development. That’s doing something to get somewhere. That’s what society understands since every conventional step in a lifestream focuses almost exclusively on a better tomorrow. So what’s wrong with that?

This ‘better-tomorrow’ drive can include the idea that tomorrow is the time to wake up to the boundless energy that’s closer than any thought about it.

It may feel like a disappointment to the ethically conditioned mind that the focus on personal development can keep us identified within the boundaries of time.

The point is that doing happens anyway in all areas of living. Personal development may happen anyway, practising a musical instrument may happen, improving a health condition may happen, financial issues may be tackled etc.

It would be a mistake to think that doing stops. Thinking, doing, expressing, creating, improving, are natural movements in time and will continue to be enjoyed.

The keyword is ‘natural.’ By that, I mean that these doings will happen naturally. Our almost compulsory, mental focus on the belief that something depends on a better tomorrow is the trap.

In reality, everything depends on the timeless energy that is present in every move. If our beliefs focus with priority on ‘moving to a better tomorrow’ then stress will replace naturalness, and with that stress comes the worry about tomorrow. At the same time, worry distracts from the only reliable fulfilment there is, namely the ever-fresh boundless presence of our true nature that is closer than our next thought about it.

Good musicians express that timeless presence, they don’t worry about the next note. Even when practising a scale to improve the skill level, the exercises can be done playfully, without worry about the outcome. The outcome will present itself anyway. In fact, efficiency increases when there is no worry since worry consumes a lot of energy.

On a global scale, suffering is caused by the effects of worry and self-concern.

The last point is that this self-concern will come up again and again as long as there is a disregarding of our true nature, a conceptless presence that can’t be measured, and that is closer… than the next thought about it. 

Questions?

Posted by de

The nature of a question is that it longs for an answer. Once we find a satisfactory answer, the question has been replaced with information that we could also call ‘knowledge’. Based on that information, more in-depth questions are possible. As a rule, the more questions we ask, the more knowledge or information we obtain.

Questions will always arise, be they theoretical or practical or a combination of both. A practical question would be: Where is the closest grocery store? The answer could then give rise to further questions: Does this grocery store sell organic food? A related theoretical question with practical consequences could be: What are the advantages of natural food?

Most people who are interested in nonduality would have asked theoretical questions about it and ‘know’ that there ‘is not two’ and that there is no separation. Whether we like it or not, this framework of questions and answers shows its limitations when attempting to probe the subject of nonduality. The most useful conclusion is that nonduality answers have nothing to do with realising nonduality.

The word ‘information’ as a synonym for ‘knowledge’ makes the issue clearer. Knowledge is related to form, measurement, time and space.

Since knowledge is formed it can’t access its own formless source. The rediscovery of the formless happens when the form, the knowledge, or thought, has lost its over-rated appeal. It has not provided happiness in the past, nor will it ever provide happiness in the future. Why is it so appealing to people? Because they are hypnotised into the belief that one day it will bring happiness. The activity of reinforcing that hypnotic belief could be classified as a ‘dark force’ of the universe. We could conclude that all suffering stems from it.

When it has lost its appeal, the realisation dawns that the formless is already here as our nature. This obviousness removes that hypnotic spell instantly and completely.