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.
- Category: The Universe
- Hits: 1201
Considering order and chaos gives us a useful glimpse into the nature of reality. The world seems to flow with an appearance of both order and chaos. By 'chaos' I mean the opposite of orderliness, which we can describe as randomness, where things happen by chance. For example, a tree grows according to the orderly 'pattern' stored in the seed, but chaos applies in the formation of the tree, giving rise to its uniqueness. So no two trees are the same. They follow a pattern (order) but there is chance (chaos) in where and how the branches grow.
Let's consider emptying a pencil case onto a table. If we tip up the case and let the stationery fall out it lands on the table in a chaotic fashion, with pens, pencils, rulers, erasers and so on scattered randomly. So there appears a scene of orderly objects scattered chaotically. It appears chaotic but there is an argument that the chaotic scattering is actually orderly. That is, the objects fall according to gravity and a complex array of forces applying to each object as they fall. These forces are the orderly forces of nature. The appearance of randomness is then not so random, but determined by natural forces. Similarly, the branches of a tree grow according to its orderly plan and the forces of nature, including gravity, the wind, the sun and other environmental factors.
It can be considered that Chaos is merely a play of order, where order creates the appearance of chaos, similar to how numbers are 'randomly' generated in a computer game. Random number generation in computer games often uses a 'seed' number, which can be taken from the computer's clock time and fed it into a complex algorithm to produce apparently random numbers that can trigger events in the game. So it's not really random. Other things can be used for the 'seed' number, such as the fluctuating electrical power supply, and that brings a more chaotic element to the randomness. But it could be argued that the power supply fluctuates in an orderly manner, according to nature's laws.
So is Chaos real? There is a scientific view that quantum physics is completely random, that there are random fluctuations in the quantum realm that are not orderly and give rise to randomness in the world. Or maybe it is just another appearance of randomness that will be found to have an orderly source.
From the Non Dual perspective there is not this play of order and chaos. There is only an appearance of opposites in separation, just as there is only an appearance of 'order and chaos'. The Reality is that there is only One, an Infinite One without division, form or limitation. In itself the One can be considered as complete order, as there is no confusion or randomness in simply being. It is an Order beyond the sense of 'order and chaos'.
- Category: Spirituality
- Hits: 1197
In spiritual development there is a point where it is recognised that the body is not me. If I am spiritual then I'm not this apparent material form. I'm not a human. I don't have arms and legs. It is reasoned that I am the one who animates the body, I am not the body, but the body is mine.
This sense of detachment from the body can continue and develop, so that the sense of 'me' itself diminishes. This is because the hardened 'material' form has a greater density and feeling of separation from the whole. It is not separate from the whole, of course, but that's how it feels at the point of density and apparent limitation of the human form. The ego identity that is the sense of being separate from others gradually recedes as spiritual development progresses. There is a greater sense of oneness with the whole, and the ego and identity that were so important and dominant lose their power. The peace and joy that is naturally present is experienced more and more as the ego diminishes and the sense of 'me' fades.
As this sense of 'me' fades, the sense of 'mine' also fades. Where before we may have had strong attachments to objects, considering them to be our property, seeking new things to buy and own, this becomes less interesting. The sense of attachment and ownership diminishes. So also with people. We don't rely on people so much to make us happy. We don't cling to people as before. We don't crave company. It doesn't mean that we dislike people or stop loving them. It means we have a healthier approach to people. The boundaries between 'me' and 'other' thin out more and more.
But we still have some attachments during this process. We still have a sense that although the body isn't me, it is mine: I see the world through this body, so it is mine. This too will diminish as spiritual development progresses, because it is not 'mine'. Nothing is 'mine'. The culmination of spiritual development is the dropping of 'me' and 'mine' and knowing clearly that there is only What Is. This Clear Knowing is here already. Clear Knowing is the nature of What Is. It is Pure Consciousness.
Once the sense of 'me' fades completely the sense of 'mine' also disappears. It is then that Clear Knowing is no longer clouded by the mistaken belief of 'I am this' and 'This is mine'. There are no boundaries, limitations, divisions. There is only the perfect peace and clarity. There is no 'me' who has problems, who grows, changes, lives and dies. There is only What Is. It is in Consciousness that this play of identity, possessions, gain and loss, and spiritual development plays out.
- Category: Non-duality
- Hits: 1183
From the Non-Duality understanding we can consider three steps to enlightenment. They're not really three steps, of course, but it might help to describe it this way. We can consider there to be an appearance in the human world of three stages of recognition, leading to the full Self-Realisation of our true nature.
First it needs to be recognised that the world is illusory. That means recognising in the mind that the world is not what it appears to be. The world seems to be a multiplicity of forms, and it seems that we are a human form in the world but with a separate discrete identity. This is how it seems, but this is not what it is. Non-Duality teaching points to the recognition that there are not many. We could say there is only One, but it's an Infinite One. There is only the Infinite One.
So the second step after the recognition in the mind that the world is illusory, is for the mind to find out "Who Am I?" I am not illusory. The only thing I can know for sure is that I exist. What I am is another matter. This second step to enlightenment is the turning inwards of the mind, not getting caught up in the illusion of the world, but withdrawing the focus of attention towards where we are experiencing from. We experience the mind with its sense of identity with the body (which we now recognise as illusory), we experience thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions of the world. We experience all this right Here. The second step is recognising this Infinite Oneness of Being as what we are. Some call this God or Infinite Consciousness. It's not enough to know this logically in the mind, because that's just the mind thinking. In this second step the mind is turned inwards towards where the mind is experienced from, the essence of Being.
The third step is in turning back to the world, with the recognition and clarity gained from step two. Effectively the mind is cleared of all erroneous thinking. Reality is perceived clearly without confusion. There comes the recognition that what was dismissed as the illusory world is nothing other than what I am. It's not that the illusion becomes real to us. Rather it is seen that there is only the Real. We are that, and there is nothing other than that. Reality is not a multiplicity. It's a Singularity.
- Category: The Human Experience
- Hits: 1189
This is a question that concerns many people and causes some to not believe in God: How can a loving, all-powerful God allow evil to continue in the world? Let’s explore this.
To get to the bottom of it we need to understand both God and evil. We understand evil as the opposite of goodness and kindness. We usually relate it to human actions. So when a human does something that is harmful, cruel and causes suffering to others intentionally, we call this evil. As good people, we don’t want this in the world. We want the world to be peaceful and we want people to get on with each other, to be loving and kind, and the world will be a better place. Certainly that’s a noble aim, but the evil actions of people make it seemingly unachievable.
What evil shows us is the opposite of Godliness. Godliness is oneness with all. Evil is the extreme of separation from all. Evil is the action of clashing and breaking apart, isolating one against another. It is the extreme development of the force of separation, where a separate individual is in opposition to the world rather than being one with the world.
God is Oneness, an infinite Singularity. There is only God. God has no limits or divisions. God is Pure Love, the Oneness of Being. God is Pure Goodness, the perfect nature of being. The world appears as though this Singularity of God is separated and scattered, and the pattern of separating and scattering continues throughout the world. But God does not truly become divided. God remains timelessly as One, throughout the apparent separation in space and time. God remains as the high standard of perfect goodness throughout the imperfections of the world.
The world can be seen as incomplete and divided, a hardened dense world of clashing and opposition. Animals kill other animals, humans harm other humans or animals. People seek to dominate others, to win over others, and this selfishness leads to evil actions. The world can be seen as divided, but it isn’t really. There is only God. This appearance of the world is God seeming to be divided. Truly there are not many people or many animals fighting against each other. There is only ever God, the Infinite One Being.
The wise do not see a world of division. They only see God. The world can be considered as an expression of God through the medium of opposites. The appearance of selfishness is inevitable, as this expression of God that we call the world is a contrast of opposites. The invisible formless Oneness of God is made visible by the appearance of form and separation. But selfishness taken to the extreme results in this appearance of evil, that seems so distant from the Singularity of God. But it is illusory. There never is a distance from God. God is right here, whether the world appears to be good or evil, close to God or far from God. God is timelessly here, no matter what appears to happen.
So, back to the question: How can a loving God allow evil to continue? God does not see evil. Evil is only seen from a limited perspective, such as humans see. God is complete goodness, without opposition. God does not see others. God does not see beings harming other beings. That is only seen from the narrowed mistaken human perspective, believing that the world is separate and there are others. The highest human good is to recognise the oneness of all and live in peace and oneness with all, letting go of the mistaken sense of being separate. It is then that God’s true nature is realised in the human being. This is the aim for humanity in its evolution through time and space, to come to the true nature of Oneness that is always here beyond the sense of separation.
It is the same Oneness at the heart of all humans, all beings. Though they may believe otherwise, and though they may explore the opposing selfish nature for a time, it is inevitable to return to the peace and oneness of being, that is God. Evil and selfishness does not last. God is eternal. There is only God.
- Category: The Human Experience
- Hits: 1181
Human senses of perception are highly complex. They've evolved to get to this point. Let's look at the root of perception in order to gain a better understanding of its nature.
The human eye is a complex mechanism that picks out a range of frequencies within the electromagnetic spectrum and returns this to the brain, which in turn formulates the image that we see. There's a lot going on in this complex process, so it will help if we go back to the basics of perception. Perception, whether it is seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and so on, is founded on the interaction of vibration. When we see something, the eye picks up the vibrating frequency of light and sends that signal to the brain. With hearing, the ear picks up the vibrating frequency of air waves and sends that to the brain. Touch is the detection of contact between surfaces, for example the finger touching stone or the finger touching a petal - there is a sense of texture and solidity that distinguishes the vibrational solidity of a surface.
We could say that perception is an interaction, with the perceiver perceiving what is perceived. But it's not really clear cut and defined in that way. The interaction is fluid. For example, if a bell rings, the vibrating metal of the bell causes the air around it to vibrate. The vibration in the air waves is like a chain reaction causing adjacent air to vibrate. When the vibration in the air waves reaches the ear it is funnelled into the ear canal and vibrates the ear drum. The vibrating signal continues through tiny bones and through the cochlea to auditory nerves that take the signal to the brain. It sounds complex when we break it down like that, but essentially it is the flow of vibration.
We may describe different objects in this flow of vibration, but we could describe the objects themselves as vibrating atoms. We could go deeper and describe the atoms as vibrating energy. When you analyse it the world is a vibrating flow of energy. This vibrating flow of energy conforms to the appearance of opposites, so that we can describe a perceiver perceiving what is perceived, the subject sensing the object. But this conceptualising of the subject sensing the object is the human mind's view of what is happening. The mind thinks, "I can hear the bell." But basically energy is flowing. There is no beginning or end to the flow of energy. It keeps on flowing. No really defined cause or effect, just a continual flow of change.
So what we arrive at here is a recognition that there's not really a subject perceiving an object. The subject and object are only separated conceptually. There isn't a listener hearing sounds. There is a flowing vibration of energy. Our egos might insist this is not the case, and the ego will come up with reasons why it has a real defined existence. The ego will state, "I am the one hearing sounds and perceiving perceptions." But the ego itself is a flow of energy that isn't really defined and separated from the world.
What about Awareness? Elsewhere in these articles it's stated how Awareness is the nature of being - it's all there really is. How does this flow of energy relate to Awareness? The flow of energy that we call the world appears within Awareness, made of Awareness. It is not that Awareness is aware of the subject and object, the person and the perceived. Awareness is simply the nature of being and within it this flow of energy is perceived. It is the mind that conceptualises the sense of subject and object.
It may seem that Awareness is the heart of the subject, but truly there is no subject. This expression of separation of the subject and object and the interaction between them appears as though Awareness has separated itself out, but truly it never becomes separated. The sense of a perceiver, perceiving and the perceived appear within Awareness.
It's as if the flow of energy that is the world is a complex fluctuation of opposites within the simple unchanging singularity of Awareness.