David Hall's Non-Duality Blog
My name's David Hall. I'm the creator of this web site and its content. I live in Wales in the UK.
I developed the Celtic design software KnotWorker, I create electronic music as Goldcup7, and I've written books on spirituality and non duality.
Hope you enjoy this Non Duality blog. New blogs are added on Fridays.
Please use the Contact page if you have any questions or would like me to discuss a topic.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Non-duality
I've mentioned the video game analogy previously, where open world video games can give insight into this human experience, as I call it. An open world video game is one where you control a character in a 3D world that you can explore however you like, with different challenges and experiences along the way. Although it seems that 'you' are a character in a 3D world, really it is all one. It's all the computer or central processing unit within the games console. There aren't really other characters, buildings, mountains, animals and vehicles. It appears on a screen as though there are these separate characters and objects, but it is all one appearance on the screen. It appears to move and change, but the screen remains as it is.
The analogy is that this human experience of the world is one. There are not many people, animals, buildings and mountains. It's all one appearance in Consciousness. One Being appearing as though it is many. Movement and change appearing in the timeless Stillness of Being.
We can go further in exploring the video game analogy. In open world video games there are usually NPCs. These are Non-Playable Characters, characters that are controlled by the central processing unit. They have their own functionality. They may present challenges or be helpful to the main character. As video games advance, these NPCs can become more advanced. They can learn. They can adapt. They can have their own storage of information that influences their character, personality and actions. On a basic level, their fighting ability can improve by learning how others attack them, learning patterns and responding to these. On a more advanced level, they can develop interactions with other characters, recognise friends and foes, stay away from dangers, and explore.
We call this Artificial Intelligence, where technology learns and adapts, building its store of data/intelligence to become more effective. So consider these NPCs in an open world video game where this develops. It's possible at some point that the character's understanding of its world can develop to a sense of self-awareness. I don't mean consciousness. I mean developing knowledge and understanding to consider itself. It's all data, but this adaptive data could develop a strong foundation of 'this is me', 'I need this', 'be cautious of others', 'those are friends', 'those are enemies', and so on, developing a sense of identity separate from the world.
The character, its knowledge, the other characters, the world - it's all data handled by the one root processing unit. But the AI NPC can develop a sense of being a separate being. It can develop some kind of mistaken identity based on the appearance of its world. For the NPC the world is real. It's made of the world and lives in the world. So its development of understanding is based on that and helps it to function better in the video game world.
Bringing this analogy home, we can understand the human experience. Each human experience has its own path and development. We might think that we are a person separate from the world, but we are not. There is only One, and in this One there is the appearance of many. As each human grows it develops a sense of itself: what is me, what is mine, what I like, what I don't like, etc. But this is all a play of separate individuality through mental reasoning. The reasoning in the human mind is copied in its creation of Artificial Intelligence. It's a flow of data/information that builds up structures of belief based on experiences in its world. But the human mind has built up many different beliefs based on a core mistaken belief of separation. This world is really One Being expressed as many whilst remaining one, infinitely one.
There's not really a true identity for the video game character. There is only that in which it appears. There's not really a true human identity. There is only That in which it appears. At the heart of our human experience, where we look for who we really are, is the recognition that there is just This, an infinite oneness of being. We are not a character in a game, or a person in a world. We are That Which Is. We don't die when the person dies. The core of who we are is timelessly present. The human experiences come and go, whilst we remain as we are.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: The Human Experience
Suffering is a common human experience. It's part of human life. But we would rather it wasn't. We would rather not suffer. We would rather have a happy, fun or peaceful life. So why does suffering happen and how can we end suffering?
From the Non-Duality understanding, suffering can be seen as a wakeup call. This world of separate individuality, where we feel and believe that we are a separate being in a world of separation, is not really what it seems or what we have believed it to be. We are not a separate being in a world of many separate beings. Separation is a play within the Oneness of Reality.
Planet Earth shows this play of many whilst being one. The many different humans, plants, animals, birds, fish, insects, minerals and so on, are really the one planet expressing itself as many. This apparent division of One into many means some kind of limitation. The further we seem to be from Oneness, the stronger the barriers between us. Strong barriers lead to clashing and fighting. Planet Earth appears as a world of strong barriers separating life forms from each other. It inevitably leads to clashing and competing. Animals, plants and humans fight for supremacy and survival on this planet, due to the apparently strong barriers of separation. This leads to pain and suffering.
So it is separation that causes suffering. A world of separate beings with hardened barriers between them leads to suffering. In the case of humans, this suffering happens on physical, emotional and mental levels. Physical pain is experienced when bones are broken, the body is infected, or there is disease etc. Emotional suffering comes from the separation of strong relationships or the clashing of relationships. Mental suffering comes from mental illness and/or the psychological difficulties of being a separate individual coping with the world.
Self Enquiry is a practice in Non-Duality that in simple terms goes like this: find the one who thinks they are a separate being. I am neither the body, the emotions, nor the mental activity. I perceive all of this. I cannot be what I perceive. It is mental activity that asks, "Why am I suffering?" But who is this 'I'? Who is the one who suffers. There are no real limits that define where the body begins and ends. There are no real limits in the human mind. It is the mind or mental activity that builds up a sense of identity and limits. It is this vague identity that claims it is suffering. Identity means separation, and separation means suffering.
So then we conclude that it is the assumed separate identity that gives rise to suffering, and it is suffering that shakes the assumed separate being from the complacency of its mistaken belief. The end of separate identity then is the end of suffering. In Buddhist terms this is Enlightenment. The end of suffering comes when the separate identity vanishes. Nirvana is when the ego is extinguished. It doesn't mean that the body doesn't experience pain thereafter. The body still lives in a world of apparent separation and clashing. But the Oneness of Being shines through, extinguishing the mental activity of identity, bringing the natural state of stillness, oneness and peace where the mind previously experienced hurt, suffering and turmoil.
It is Oneness that brings the end of suffering. Oneness is here right now. We need only let go of the strong belief of separation and individual identity. It is a sacrifice of sorts, sacrificing the ego for the Whole, the death of the small self and the awakening to the reality of the Infinite One Self. There is nothing other than the Infinite One Self. Nothing can harm it. It remains timelessly as it is. We are That.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Practice
Much of what we consider as spiritual progression is about diminishing the ego, letting go of the sense of being a separate self and realising Oneness. It starts with recognising that we are not this body, we are not the apparently limited human form. We recognise that there are no real limits to the body anyway. We couldn't really say where this body ends and the environment begins, because the body is a flowing part of the environment. The vague sense of identity we have attached to the body is flawed. Our real spiritual nature is formless and limitless.
It stands to reason that the less selfish our identity becomes, the less material, the less limited and the more spiritual we seem to become. It's not really that we become more spiritual. Rather it is that as the mental association of being a limited physical being is reduced, the natural free spiritual nature shines through. It's like removing layers that seem to cover and limit our true being. This usually happens gradually. As the strength and hold of the selfish ego is reduced, the more the true free nature of being is revealed. It's a simple peace and contentment that is always here but seemingly hidden.
So let's look at some techniques for reducing the ego, cutting down that sense of being a separate, limited self. It's worth noting that although we're discussing the ego here, it's not a real thing. It's not a real entity, only a thought-based presumed identity, that seems to have a monopoly on human life.
The aim is to let go of selfishness. That means letting go of belongings. Belongings bolster the sense of being a separate self; but ownership isn't real. Nothing belongs to anyone. Let go of the sense of ownership. Nobody owns anything. Let this understanding permeate through. There are no separate things, no separate beings, and no ownership of things. It doesn't mean you have to give things away. Just let go of the attachment to objects or others. It doesn't mean you have to turn your back on people. Just let them be as they are. It allows a greater openness and freedom to flow.
Recognise how drama and emotional turmoil rock around the ego. Let it go. Let go of the drama of life - reactions and retaliations, gossip and accusations, blaming and complaining. The ego loves getting caught up in it all. It strengthens the ego's sense of being separate and different. Let it go. Let the drama play on without getting caught up in it. It's not who you are. You are witnessing the world's play; you're not a character in it.
Accept life as it is. It's not that life deals you a hand and you have to accept it. You are Life. The Whole of Life is played out through the seemingly many separate perspectives. All perspectives are the One Life. It will play out how it plays out. Resistance to life just builds up walls of limitation. Let those walls come down. Let life just flow as it is, and know that you are not one who flows with it or is rocked about by it. You are the ever-present Stillness in which the flowing is perceived. That doesn't mean allowing illness to go unchecked when there are doctors who can help. It doesn't mean leaving someone to suffer if they have fallen. It is more like accepting what appears to happen and allowing the natural responses to life's events without objecting and complaining. If work needs to be done, accept it. If something fails to happen, accept it. Accept the flow of life.
Help others. Now, there really are no others. There is only One Infinite Being appearing to divide itself into many. But helping 'others' naturally breaks down the mental barriers that the human mind has built up. It breaks down the barriers that seem to divide, thus weakening the hold of the selfish ego. The most selfish ego doesn't want to help others; it would sooner fight them. The least selfish ego will put others first and look to help them. So this is what we should do if we wish to weaken the hold of the ego. But it should be understood that there really are no others. What happens when 'others' are helped is that the oneness of love comes through, breaking down the barriers of division.
There will come a time when the ego is released and is seen to be nothing other than a dream of separation and identity, an imagined persona that has disappeared. The reality is One. The Whole of Life is One.
- Written by David Hall
- Category: Spiritual Symbols and Patterns
There are patterns in life, in what we know as the universe. Patterns appear because of the underlying forces that create and develop the appearance of the universe. For example, a core pattern is bifurcation, where one splits into two. This stems (excuse the pun) from the moment of creation (or destruction) where the Oneness of the Singularity separates itself to form two. From that separation into two the pattern repeats to create a multiplicity, seemingly ending the Oneness of the Singularity.
So it's not a surprise that we see bifurcation a lot on this planet. We see bifurcation in the branches of trees, forked lightning, rivers flowing into streams, and in the evolution of life forms. Animals develop claws and fingers that separate out from limbs that separate out from a central torso. Branches of trees grow out from a central trunk and continue to separate out, repeating the pattern. In leaves we can see the pattern continue, as the stems separate out. We see it in evolution too, where species branch out from an initial origin.
It's natural that perception would separate itself out into separate senses. It's natural for animals to develop two eyes rather than one. And it's natural for life forms to have symmetry, where the left side is almost a mirror image of the right side. I say 'almost', because the world isn't perfect. Imperfection is natural in the appearance of the universe. Perfection is the unmanifest Singularity before the universe appears, before even space and time appear. The Singularity was perfect as it was. The splitting of the Singularity causes the appearance of opposites, and thus imperfection.
So we can see that the human form is a natural expression within the universe, which itself is an expression of the Singularity in separation. Arms and legs stem from the central torso, and fingers and toes stem from those. These form simultaneously as opposite reflections, creating the symmetry of the human form. Within the head, the senses are separated, with ears on either side, 'pointing' in opposite directions, and vision separated into two eyes. The sense of smell is filtered through the two apertures, the nostrils, and the mouth separates with an upper and lower jaw. We could say this pattern of separation and reflection underlies the development of all life forms. This isn't just due to planet Earth. It's a universe-wide pattern. It suggests that life forms on other planets would evolve in a similar fashion. It suggests that life forms from other planets would also have symmetrical bodies, limbs from a central body and extensions from these, like fingers.
There is another evolutionary pattern - rising from low to high. Humans, as we currently understand them, have evolved from creatures that had four legs and then rose up to walk on two legs. The rising up could be presumed to be the evolutionary result of reaching up for tree branches or food up high. That may be the case, but there is also the underlying force behind evolution that will causes the branching out and reaching upwards from the ground to the sky.
So lifeforms evolve upwards, from a base to a higher level, and outwards from a single point, branching out. This leads to lifeforms that can stand up on two feet and reach out to the world. They rise up from a ground level and take to the air. We see this in birds, but also in humans, as humans have developed the intelligence to lift themselves up from the ground and into the air with ballons, helicopters, airplanes and spacecraft.
Are there alien life forms on distant planets that are similar to the human form? It's very likely. The evolution of life forms isn't an accident. It's a force of nature.