Our essential nature of pure Awareness is like an open window: it makes the viewing possible but is not in the view.

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Writing Date
Choose to disentangle yourself (En/Du) essays 452
14th July 2015
Science and Nonduality Conference talk: Starting with Consciousness (En/Sp) essays 451
28th May 2015
Science and Nonduality talk: The New Science of Consciousness essays 450
20th November 2014
230) How to judge the behaviour of spiritual teachers? questions 449
  • A written exchange about the validity of suicide and the behaviour of non-dual teachers
 27th November 2014
The Way of Beauty: An introduction to the nature of perception (En/Sp) essays 448
14th May 2013
The Ultimate Revolution essays 447
20th February 2013
229) Does the mind have the power to perceive itself? questions 446
  • Could it be that the mind is so quick, powerful and versatile that one of its functions is also the ability to perceive itself?
 6th March 2013
228) Attending to consciousness as empty space questions 445
  • Should I attend to the Chakras?
 6th March 2013
227) Is there such a thing as a thoughtless state? questions 444
  • Is there such a thing as a thoughtless state?
 6th March 2013
If awareness is the witness of experience, doesn’t this imply duality? essays 443
6th March 2013
226) From Ignorance to Understanding; from Understanding to Love questions 442
  • Why is it that speakers of non-duality use arguments which employ duality to make their point?
 6th March 2013
Exploring the experience ‘I am’ essays 441
7th August 2012
An Introduction to Non-Duality: The core of the great spiritual and religious traditions (En/Du/Sp) essays 440
12th September 2008
225) How can I uproot the sense of separation hidden in feelings such as sadness? questions 414
  • How can I uproot the sense of separation hidden in feelings such as sadness?
 30th January 2012
224) If I can’t experience others’ thoughts and feelings, doesn’t this mean we all have separate consciousnesses? questions 413
  • I, as this Consciousness, must be different to another person because I do not experience their thoughts, feelings, perceptions or sensations.
 28th November 2011
223) How can I stop identifying as the body? questions 412
  • I am aware that there is a contradiction when I say I identify myself with this body but I can't help the contradiction although it is obvious that the body is an object.
 15th November 2011
222) Is it more important to contemplate experience or investigate the sense of separation? questions 411
  • I’m not sure if it’s more important to be watchful of the movement of thoughts, feelings, perceptions throughout the day, or to keep inquiring into whether or not it’s possible to find a separate self.
 21st September 2011
221) What did Shri Atmananda mean by ‘The object of knowing is always in knowledge’? questions 410
  • The object of knowledge is always in knowledge and knowledge is not affected by the thing known. So there is knowledge and knowledge alone, without reference to the thing known. This is the ultimate Truth or Atma, your real nature.
 23rd June 2011
220) Does consciousness require a functional human brain to be aware of itself? questions 409
  • What is the real relationship between brain, spirit and consciousness, or could one say that the human being with a functional brain is the prerequisite of consciousness being aware of itself?
 20th June 2011
219) A tsunami of false identification makes me hurt my closest friends questions 408
  • Weeks will go by for when there seems to be clarity and many moments of seeing that there is "nobody" here. Then suddenly out of nowhere there comes a tsunami of "me-ness" trying to assert itself..... In these moments it seems that I am completely identified with my “self” again. The clarity and peace and calm appear to have gone.
 3rd June 2011
218) The Many Names of the Absolute questions 407
  • Would you say that there is definitely no Rupert or Jérôme?
 1st April 2011
217) Should I just let life play out as my destiny? questions 406
  • Do you just let life play out as your destiny?
 21st March 2011
216) I understand my true nature, but I don’t feel in total peace questions 405
  • I can´t say I feel “in presence” or in “total peace” or even in a state of “knowing” or “touched by grace”. Can you share some light in why is that?
 18th March 2011
215) Words Are More Than Pointers questions 404
  • I assume that you do not mean them (ever-present Consciousness or Awareness) as some sort of thing, an object or concept that can be grasped. If this is so, why use such terms as it seems to imply content when my understanding is there is only absolute emptiness, unspeakable, indefinable, indescribable and void of all content?
23rd February 2011
214) Is It Necessary To Have Only One Teacher? questions 403
  • I find myself inclined to listen to various expressions and it's been hard for me to focus on one teacher. Is this something I should overcome or can I see things unfold naturally?
 21st February 2011
213) How do we know that awareness is ever-present? questions 402
  • Can Awareness without an object, as in deep sleep, be experienced and, if not, how is it known that it is present at all?
 8th February 2011
212) One Is Never A Genius Or A Fool questions 401
  • If one was a genius but did not know or even explore who or what he was, is he intelligent?
 26th January 2011
211) Sooner Or Later We Fall Silent questions 400
  • I just wish I could find a verb to better reflect that process, rather than rely on a word (Consciousness) which sounds like just one more object.
 25th January 2011
210) Our Unique 'I' Identity questions 399
  • Surely the combination of the body/mind's genetic make-up plus the "world" as experienced sensations equals a unique "I" identity. Or is this way off?
 24th January 2011
209) Knowing that there is no doer, what is there to do? questions 398
  • I realize that I am not the body/mind/ego nor that I am the doer so where to from here?
 17th January 2011
208) What is the experience of birth or death? questions 397
  • The substance out of which all apparent objects are made is this eternal Presence which knows no birth or death.
 17th January 2011
207) Eternal Presence questions 396
  • The question I have is whether I should strive to regain experiences. I have heard people talking about letting grace take its course but also heard that one should establish firmly in the seeing. What would be your suggestion for me?
 11th January 2011
206) Are awareness and nothingness the same thing? questions 395
  • Are Awareness and Emptiness the same thing and would that also be Presence?
 10th January 2011
205) Seeking Is An Act Of Love questions 394
  • Seeking and practicing seem contrived. Any words of advice?
 16th November 2010
204) Only One Reality questions 393
  • If I'm not really limited and located in one place, then why should I have such a difficulty in knowing anything in the macrocosm or in the microcosm?
15th November 2010
203) Mind and Duality questions 392
  • When the concept of separation dissolves, what allows the underlying Consciousness to be experienced instead of the appearances? And is this happening in mind?
 11th November 2010
202) Consciousness remains the same in deep sleep, anaesthesia and death questions 391
  • How can you actually be so sure that Consciousness knows itself during deep sleep, or under anaesthesia or when death occurs and hence no future reconfiguration of the mind?
 10th November 2010
201) Do practices like yoga and working out strengthen our identification with the body? questions 390
  • Would you say that there is a inherent danger in embodiment practices like yoga, qigong etc. (or even worse: working out at the gym) in the way that they strengthen our identification with our body instead of loosening or even transcending it?
 9th November 2010
200) Do meditation practices facilitate a future self-remembering? questions 389
  • Do you think spending time and putting efforts in the initial stage helped you later?
 8th November 2010
199) The Transmission of Silence, Love and Understanding (En/Ja) questions 388
  • Do you think spiritual energy (in spiritual places) helps in the path?
 6th November 2010
198) Seamless Intimacy questions 387
  • I think one of the greatest obstacles I seem to face is that I have ideas of what it might look like to not hang onto a personal sense of 'me.'
 2nd November 2010
197) Isn't seeking love and happiness still seeking? questions 386
  • You sometimes describe the end of seeking as the experience of love or happiness but calling it that just sets up another seeking pattern, another idea, about what this is.
 4th October 2010
196) The Only One That Truly Is questions 385
  • I see that things just happen and that Awareness is, without anything I do and that if I identify with this Conscious Presence and then see what it is, then I am also nothing and yet everything is without any centre.
 1st October 2010
195) We Fall Silent questions 384
  • How can I acknowledge that an object exists apart from me and at the same time how can I be one with it?
 30th September 2010
194) Awareness - Mine Or Yours? questions 383
  • While there is no doubt that I am Awareness, am I not a facet of Awareness different from the facet of Awareness that you are?
 29th September 2010
193) Without The Non-Sacred The Sacred Cannot Stand questions 382
  • Have been wondering: is the sacred, holy part necessary, once one knows what is? I mean all that talk and worshipping of "God", rituals etc. etc. In my view it is pure none-sense, isn't it? Or must that all be considered as part of the "dream" ? Hope you understand what I mean.
 28th September 2010
192) The Entity And Its Search (En/Ja) questions 381
  • I do this investigation in order to get rid of something...There is always an agenda, even if it is a very very subtle one.
 27th September 2010
191) La Petite Mort questions 380
  • Do you have anything to say on the matter of physical/bodily effort? I'm noticing that when I'm doing physical work such as running, lifting heavy things or when I'm tired, I seem to identify more often as a separate self than usual.
 24th September 2010
190) What is the non-dual perspective on reincarnation? questions 379
  • If I know myself as pure Consciousness, formless pure light. Does that mean that when I quit that apparent entity, that personality, that ego, that apparent me will dissolve completely?
 23rd September 2010
189) Time Is Thought Superimposed On Eternity questions 378
  • Would you please comment on the following statement. "Everything that ever has happened, is happening or ever will happen has already happened, and it's happening right now in this present moment."
 22nd September 2010
188) The Entity And Its Search questions 377
  • You always mention, that when we do this investigation we shouldn't have a subtle agenda, not to do it in order to get rid of something etc.
 21st September 2010
187) Cease Investing Your Attention In Objects questions 376
  • What I long for is that period of childhood where all you were interested in was playing and having fun. No fear of death or life. Has the child gone away, or is just underneath lots of ideas?
 17th September 2010
186) Something Cannot Come From Nothing questions 375
  • Both 'something,' 'nothing' and, therefore, 'everything' are illusions. Only Presence is.
 15th September 2010
185) How to stop an endless desire to know the truth? questions 374
  • I am afraid of trading the spiritual practices and beliefs that I was never completely sure of, for the slippery tenuousness of an intellectual understanding of duality.
 13th September 2010
184) The Transparent Colourless Presence Of Awareness questions 373
  • If we are Awareness then why would I have such a hard time feeling that presence in my everyday life?
 7th September 2010
183) If the physical body is unreal, should we be concerned about its health? questions 372
  • Do you have any words to offer on the health of the physical body, which is bound to die, anyway?
 6th September 2010
182) I Am Me questions 371
  • Because 'I am' is real the mind wants to go there. However, because it is not objective, the mind cannot.
 3rd September 2010
181) Waiting For Grace To Alight questions 370
  • Is there a particular question or practice that ultimately worked to end this illusion for you or is it like the other non-dualists say and one just waits for grace to alight while walking or shopping!
 2nd September 2010
180) That Smile And Those Tears questions 369
  • What is your motivation to create your art work? What is your motivation to create your art work?
 1st September 2010
179) Love, Peace And Happiness Are Always Non-Dual (2) questions 368
  • Why do spiritual masters use the term Love to denote the Absolute?
 30th August 2010
178) Consciousness Is Ever-Present Ever-Here questions 367
  • I feel that omniscience is realized as Consciousness but have not been able to achieve this. Is this because I'm still trapped in the mind-body world? If so, what can be done to move beyond into that omniscient state, the true nature of All?
 27th August 2010
177) Is anything there when I’m not there? questions 366
  • Are my friends not there when I'm not there? Is anything there when I'm not there?
 26th August 2010
176) Does Awareness Come From The Brain? questions 365
  • I'd appreciate your view on the materialist assertion, now made popular by Dawkins et al., that awareness is an epiphenomenon of brain processes.
 25th August 2010
175) Giving Up The Personal Entity (En/Ja) questions 364
  • Am I right in thinking that there is no point in planning any part of life, just simply give up and see what happens?
 24th August 2010
174) Love, Peace and Happiness are Always Non-Dual (2) questions 363
  • Krishnamurti is not saying you "may" be the world, he said you "are" the world. Where is his certainty coming from?
 23rd August 2010
173) Can difficult emotions be dispelled by welcoming them? questions 362
  • Do you have a comment about finally resting in lasting Happiness?
 18th August 2010
172) All Experience Is Through Consciousness Alone questions 361
  • I am still wanting to understand why there appears to be a relationship (not identity) with a particular body mind, Greg.
 7th August 2010
171) 'I' Is The Reality Of All Possible Things questions 360
  • I'm sure you're giving a different sense to the word "Knowing" and I'd be very grateful if you could explain it to me.
 6th August 2010
170) The Twilight Zone Of Inadvertance questions 359
  • What knowledge gives us knowledge of Ultimate Reality?
 5th August 2010
169) On Facing Suffering In Others (En/Ja) questions 358
  • What is the best response when faced with another's intense suffering?
 10th July 2010
168) 'I' is Self-Luminous, Self-Evident, Self-Existent and Self-Knowing questions 357
  • To be honest, I can't really fathom what this is, or what I am. It just wont collapse down into something I can look at, and I have tried and tried. Just when I think I've got it, It slips through my fingers.
 9th July 2010
167) Deep sleep, death and reincarnation (En/Sp) questions 356
  • It appears that there is a brand new conciousness that comes with each new creature, based on the fact that I don't remember anything before I was born.
 24th June 2010
166) Tired Of Being 'Me' questions 355
  • How do I or can you provide me with techniques or direct experiences to feel or witness the Beingness 'I am?'
 4th June 2010
165) Devotion To The Truth questions 354
  • Can we remain 24 hours as Consciousness directly or is it necessary for the mind to perform some spiritual devotion?
 1st March 2010
164) Direct Experience Is All There Is questions 353
  • What is the definition of 'direct-experience?' How can I be certain that direct-experience is the only criteria for investigation?
 28th February 2010
163) The Non-Existent Entity questions 352
  • In 'The Timeless Place' you state that the situation will respond to the situation. Is this yet another area where we once believed that the separate entity had control but in reality has none?
 27th February 2010
162) The root of addiction (En/Ja) questions 351
  • How do we, as spiritual seekers, avoid the tragic pitfall of addiction?
 26th February 2010
161) Bodily Pain questions 350
  • Is it possible to take pain for granted the same way other bodily sensations and thoughts can be taken for granted when they appear?
 25th February 2010
160) The Resonance of Presence questions 349
  • When you refer to the totality, is this totality private or is it shared?
 24th February 2010
159) The Ever-Present Seamlessness of Experience questions 348
  • Is it not the case that Consciousness requires a body/mind apparatus in order to become a knower/perceiver?
 23rd February 2010
158) How can I balance my interest in spirituality with my personal relationship? questions 347
  • I do not, under any circumstance, wish to risk hurting my wife or our relationship by my interest in spiritual fulfillment.
 21st February 2010
157) An Invocation To Our Deepest Understanding questions 346
  • How do we account for what seems like unthinkable human actions such as rape, murder, abuse, child molestation, slavery, etc.?
 20th February 2010
156) The Real And Only 'I' Of Presence (En/Ja) questions 345
  • I feel like I am going around in circles trying to find out the source of the "I-Thought" which Ramana says is the self.
 19th February 2010
155) Pure Unbroken Silence questions 344
  • Will reactivity will change over time and die down to silence?
 18th February 2010
154) All That Is Ever Known And All That Ever Is questions 343
  • We assume that Awareness experiences itself through only one mind. Is this only how our mind interprets/filters our experience?
 17th February 2010
153) Awareness Is Full Of Itself Alone questions 342
  • I sort of understand at times that the emptiness is awareness and that is who I am. Should I be holding on to that emptiness?
 16th February 2010
152) The Ever-Present Reality of Existence questions 341
  • What appears or is born when the body appears and what dies or disappears when the body dies?
 15th February 2010
151) That Which Truly Is, Eternally and Only Is questions 340
  • Is there no distinction between "Absolute Awareness" and Consciousness that comes with the body and merges with "Absolute Awareness" when the body dies?
 14th February 2010
150) The Indivisible Ever-Presence of Consciousness questions 339
  • Does one eventually, on fully realizing that he is Awareness and Awareness alone, eventually shift perspective entirely?
 13th February 2010
149) Consciousness is Identical with Itself Alone questions 338
  • The sense we have that Consciousness is located as or in the body is a result of Consciousness and the cluster of sensations we call the body.
 12th February 2010
148) The Knowing of Our Own Being questions 337
  • There is this knowing and still a question.
 11th February 2010
147) Is The World Within You? questions 336
  • What is meant by 'the world is within you?'
 10th February 2010
146) How do I just let go and be? questions 335
  • How do I just let go and be?
 9th February 2010
145) All Things Seem But Cannot Be questions 334
  • Are you saying that phenomenal appearance has reality?
 8th February 2010
144) Absolutism and Advaita Correctness questions 333
  • From an absolutist viewpoint, the truth of what we are can never be other than what we are.
 7th February 2010
143) What Can One Say To The Child? questions 332
  • I’m aware that the search itself is the thing blocking understanding.
 6th February 2010
142) I can’t quit smoking because there is no ‘me’! questions 331
  • I'm struggling with the conflict between me as the 'doer' vs. the non-doer.
 5th February 2010
141) The Substance of Experience is Only Consciousness questions 330
  • Consciousness only sees only itself. Right?
4th February 2010
140) Happiness Is Knowing Our Own Being questions 329
  • What is the experience of pure Consciousness?
 3rd February 2010
139) Consciousness Without An Object questions 328
  • As long as Consciousness-as-a-human-being appears in Consciousness, how is Consciousness ever without an object?
 2nd February 2010
138) Nothing exists, yet I am: What is the solution to this paradox? questions 327
  • Is it possible to penetrate this mystery?
 1st February 2010
137) How can my feelings match my understanding? questions 326
  • How can my feeling match the understanding that I have?
 31st January 2010
136) A Response Of The Totality To The Totality questions 325
  • Could you tell me something about courage and timidity?
 30th January 2010
135) Non-duality And Psychological Fear Are Incompatible questions 324
  • Could the reading of your book have triggered this deep fear?
 29th January 2010
134) Deep Sleep, Consciousness and Memory questions 323
  • Why doesn't Conciousness have a mechanism to remember its experience during deep sleep?
 28th January 2010
133) How did you feel at the moment of your awakening? questions 322
  • Is there a moment called awakening?
 27th January 2010
132) Thoughts Do Not Happen To A Body/Mind questions 321
  • Why do some kinds of thought happen to 'my' body-mind but not others?
 26th January 2010
131) Does Experience Come and Go? questions 320
  • You said our experience is made out of the Knowingness. But the other hand, we can see the experience comes and goes. Is there anything contradictory here?
 25th January 2010
130) The Substance of Experience questions 319
  • If I take a deeper look and ask if there are really two things there or just one substance, I find that there is only 'Knowingness' there and no other thing. The 'Knowingness' knows itself. Is my understanding correct?
 24th January 2010
129) No Distance At All questions 318
  • 'How' does one get the feeling that a table in front of the body is made out of the knowing?
 23rd January 2010
128) The 'Me' Dies of Neglect questions 317
  • The experience here, now, is that a sentence will start, and then end in the middle.
 22nd January 2010
127) Awakening and Self-Realisation (En/Ja) questions 316
  • What connection does the clearing of unconscious, limiting beliefs have with awakening and self-realization?
 21st January 2010
126) Benevolent Indifference questions 315
  • Is the complete dissolution of the self contraction an actual possibility, or is it just another thought?
 20th January 2010
125) Is Consciousness Limited? questions 314
  • Consciousness here is not experiencing what Consciousness where you are is experiencing.
 19th January 2010
124) Love of Beauty is Identical to Love of Truth questions 313
  • Would you please point out the most common fallacies/beliefs that seekers have.
 18th January 2010
123) All Experience Is Real questions 312
  • In what sense is the world considered to be an illusion?
 17th January 2010
122) Established In Peace questions 311
  • So to me it was like ego switched places with being. Is that what I have been aiming for?
 16th January 2010
121) Experiential Understanding questions 310
  • In day to day living the I is still very much present and indeed mischievous.
 15th January 2010
120) If I can choose to move my body, it must be who I am questions 309
  • Realizing myself as Consciousness is blocked by my belief that I am this body.
 14th January 2010
119) There Is Only Pure Intimacy questions 308
  • When do objects become solid?
 13th January 2010
118) Morality and the illusion of a path questions 307
  • If everything is one, what is wrong with causing harm or enjoying life's pleasures?
 12th January 2010
117) Do we see the same world? questions 306
  • We project the world we perceive but what about the other minds that enter our projected world?
 10th January 2010
116) Is Consciousness Located? questions 305
  • Could you please explain why Consciousness is not the product of the brain and why Consciousness is not local.
 7th January 2010
115) Can any practice help me stand as awareness? questions 304
  • I am still feeling confused about "taking my stand as Awareness" and welcoming and letting whatever arises be as it is.
5th January 2010
114) There Is Never Any Illusion At Any Time questions 303
  • I wonder why Consciousness arises as illusion?
 4th January 2010
113) Presence Does Not Love. It IS love questions 302
  • I just want to love everyone and everything, a silent love without any words.....
 3rd January 2010
112) The Difference Between Blankness And Emptiness questions 301
  • What is troubling is that I have found two distinct attitudes regarding the nature of this blankness.
 2nd January 2010
111) Wisdom And Love questions 300
  • Is that It?! What a feeling, so flat, so ordinary and so simple.
 1st January 2010
110) Does Doing Imply A Doer? (En/Ja) questions 299
  • I still experience the pain and depression and suffer tremendously no matter what 'I do.'
 31st December 2009
109) You Never Cease To Be questions 298
  • There is something very deep inside of me that still wants to hold on....and the feeling that I get when I go to that deep place is fear....that I will not exist anymore. How can I overcome this fear? How can I believe what I know?
 30th December 2009
108) The Significance Of All Things questions 297
  • Do the apparently individual groupings of cognizing Awareness (which we think of as 'I') reappear or do you think each is only temporary and totally insignificant?
 29th December 2009
107) The Knowing/Being Element In All Experience questions 296
  • What connection, if any, does the clearing of unconscious, limiting beliefs have with awakening and self-realization?
 28th December 2009
106) The Abode Of Love questions 295
  • Why do I have this powerful yearning, this ache, to merge deeply and completely with a woman?
 28th December 2009
105) Establishment In Peace questions 294
  • Does true awakening leave no doubts? How can anything change that would not ever be able to be put down to yet another experience or a function of mind?
 27th December 2009
104) Experiencing And Myself Are One questions 293
  • I can say from memory that there a constriction or cramp can drop away leaving a freedom which is 'being what is happening.' And I yearn to live like that all the time. If you could help me tease that apart I would be indebted to you.
 26th December 2009
103) If there is no separate entity, is liberation possible in this life or any other? questions 292
  • As no individual entity whatsoever exists to be reborn, then death would mean the same final release for all pseudo-individuals whether 'liberated in this life' ["enlightened"] or not?
 25th December 2009
102) Because There Is Love questions 291
  • Do you think that "love" has any reality outside of the conceptual arena?
 24th December 2009
101) Offering Everything To Presence questions 290
  • It's very disheartening to find oneself in the middle of old arguments instead of the more Conscious, clear state that I'm getting used to. I wonder how much Un-Consciousness is needed to function in our everyday lives?
 23rd December 2009
100) The Seed Of Separation questions 289
  • Will you comment on Us All "realizing" as one Knowing Presence,' e.g. a commonly-sensed-conscious-Self and/or how humanity as a whole can see its self: pragmatically/actually awakening to being One, No One and Many?
 22nd December 2009
99) Trailing Clouds of Glory questions 288
  • If thoughts are mere firing of neurons happening based on past experience, does that mean we are all prophets to a point?
 21st December 2009
98) Immanent And Transcendent questions 287
  • Is this perhaps another way of saying, that when living in of from our pure natural state, there is no point of of view being taken?
 20th December 2009
97) The Resistance To What Is questions 286
  • Is there anything I can do that would actually stop this apparent self from arising or be aware of it more, see it for what it is while it is occuring and not be swept along with it?
 19th December 2009
96) Words Are The Outer Layer Of The Teaching (En/Ja) questions 285
  • As much as I enjoy the exchange with others on the path, all too often it turns from honest self-inquiry into a battlefield of opinions. Would you comment?
 18th December 2009
95) Being Shines At The Heart Of All Experience questions 284
  • Could you say something about the knowledge of non dual teachings verses the "seeing" or actualizing of it?
 17th December 2009
94) A Concept Is Not Necessarily A Belief questions 283
  • Would you agree that it is perhaps the development of the linguistic ability in humans and their use of language to communicate in a self-referential manner in relation to apparent others, that really lies at the heart of the contracted view?
 16th December 2009
93) The Resonance Of Love questions 282
  • Recently I have experienced frustration when trying to communicate this single thought, that it is only our perception which changes. Clearly there is some error in my thinking and I would appreciate how I may clarify this.
 15th December 2009
92) Thought Cannot Perceive Another Thought questions 281
  • Is Presence just a big data bank, or does it have a purpose/plan for all this manifestation?
 14th December 2009
91) The Dissolution Of Thought In Its Own Substance questions 280
  • Will you please explain how memory works?
 13th December 2009
90) Is The Witness Separate From The Witnessed? questions 279
  • I must be misunderstanding something: I realize that I have set-up a new separate entity -- the witness -- "behind" my experience. I acknowledge this, but that's where I seem to be stuck.
 12th December 2009
89) The Self Never Disappears questions 278
  • I realize that my body is an object in consciousness, but if the body is always part of my experience, it seems reasonable to say its a part of me?
 11th December 2009
88) Presence Never Ceases To Know Or Be Itself questions 277
  • You are that which is already realized and never not realized. Why does this simple message not hit home?
 10th December 2009
87) The Semantics Of The Self questions 276
  • When we use words like "illusion, imaginings and unreal" to express the material world, mind and body as juxtaposed to the One of nondual realization, are these words not clumsy and lazy semantics?
 9th December 2009
86) The Reconciliation Of The Background And Foreground questions 275
  • However the peace, silence, simply recedes in the background and a kind of bi-functioning occurs in the being....like a surface being attending to functional matters and the background abiding in stillness...one lives a dual life for the time being.
 8th December 2009
85) Do we choose which thoughts to act upon? questions 274
  • My question is about controlling thoughts. I recognize that thoughts simply appear in our minds, we don't create them. But I do feel that I have choices about following them or not, with what I do with them once there here.
7th December 2009
84) Conceptualising Consciousness questions 273
  • This "Consciousness" is only verbalizabled as "Consciousness" only as long as a being is situated who can observe it and name it. To Itself, so to speak, there isn't any naming, because no other being to give it a name. Would you agree with me on this point?
 6th December 2009
83) Direct Immediate Perception questions 272
  • Could you explain what is meant by 'direct or immediate perception?'
 4th December 2009
82) Unveiling The Knowing Of Our Being questions 271
  • What advice do you give for those "who "backslide," as all do, and have you found your experience to also be subject to "backsliding"?
 3rd December 2009
80) The Dissolution Of Mind questions 270
  • You say that it is Consciousness that connects thoughts so why did you write that "it is only a thought which connects an apparent string of thoughts together."?
 2nd December 2009
81) The Mother Of The World questions 269
  • It is like all the other thoughts are there just to escort this "main 'I' thought". It is like if we can be aware of this "special thought", all the rest collapse!
 2nd December 2009
79) If no practice is necessary, how do I remove the blocks to effortless being? questions 268
  • How do you see the uprooting or exposing of these personal blind spots that seem to block the release into the natural openness of Being? Do you advocate a kind of teacher/student pointing out one-on-one that could lead to this type of release?
 1st December 2009
78) Experience Is The Proof Of Reality questions 267
  • I can see how the world independent of perception is never experienced, but it's effects are, so isn't that evidence of its existence?
 30th November 2009
77) The Ever-Presence Of Consciousness questions 266
  • How can anyone say that thoughts have no connection to each other?
 29th November 2009
76) If the body-mind is made of consciousness, how does illness appear? questions 265
  • Since there is no entity independent of Consciousness where can illness reside?
 28th November 2009
75) Where Does Mind Reside In Deep Sleep? questions 264
  • Where do memories, beliefs, fears, and desires remain when I am in deep sleep?
 27th November 2009
74) What Is Meant By Transparent And Luminous? questions 263
  • I would like to ask you to expand upon the words, transparent and luminous, that you use a lot, both here and in your book, which I feel reflect a greater depth of understanding and Presence.
26th November 2009
73) Love And Intelligence In Action questions 262
  • Why is there this evolution? Why doesn't consciousness just 'sit back' and enjoy itself?
 25th November 2009
72) Impersonal Intimacy questions 261
  • My question is on the ground of practical level that we can immediately FEEL we are everything. I remember that Krishnamurti says 'You are the world and the world is you'.
 24th November 2009
71) Is There Existence Without Consciousness? questions 260
  • I don't want to dismiss the possibility of something simply because I don't experience it. I'm not conscious in deep sleep. So...does existence stop when I'm not conscious?
 23rd November 2009
70) What does ‘the world arises in me’ really mean? questions 259
  • Nisargadatta said: "For you, you appear in the world. For me, the world appears in me." This is one of those statements that, if one "gets" it, it is the end of story. There is nothing further to get.
 22nd November 2009
69) What is the best approach to releasing thoughts and feelings that are crying out ‘I am separate’? questions 258
  • What is the approach you suggest for releasing the quite complex network of sensations in the body that are crying out that "I am separate"?
 21st November 2009
68) The Nature Of Space questions 257
  • Is "space" just as much of an illusion as "time"? They seem to be different, in that space seems to be a matter of actual perception, whereas time is not actually perceived, only thought.
 20th November 2009
67) Looking For The 'I' questions 256
  • When I look for 'I', the main thing is that I don't find it....
 19th November 2009
66) The Timeless Interval questions 255
  • Perhaps you'd agree, then, that the "timeless interval between" you pointed to, is thus all that actually is?
 18th November 2009
65) Who Is? questions 254
  • Consciousness is already everything it could ever be. It is one seamless homogenous substance that can never be depleted, added to, changed or moved.....it gains or looses nothing from the entire human adventure.
 17th November 2009
64) Why Does It Take So Long? questions 253
  • How come just knowing this is not enough and it takes so long?
 15th November 2009
63) How Can We Define Ourselves? questions 252
  • Our self is not known by anything other than its own self.
 14th November 2009
62) The Recognition Of Being questions 251
  • This recognition of our own Being is not the result of a process in the mind. It is its own cause, so to speak. It is not caused by anything outside of itself.
 13th November 2009
61) Which Self Is Being Enquired Into? Part 2 questions 250
  • Is there any usefulness of familiarizing myself with the patterns and reactions of my mind?
 12th November 2009
60) Which Self Is Being Enquired Into? Part 1 questions 249
  • Which self is being enquired into here? It seems to me that there are layers of self, the fake self and real self and as the enquiry goes deeper into the one, it dissolves, allowing the other one, reality, to come into the light.
 11th November 2009
59) Understanding Is Not An Event In The Mind (0ASG 67) questions 248
  • The release of the sense of a centre is not so much of an event as a release of any hope or expectation or need for such an event taking place.
 10th November 2009
58) Conception, Creation And Enjoyment Are Simultaneous questions 247
  • Pretending to be a small separate self and then forgetting it is playing a game seems an odd thing for pure Awareness to do. Why should it do this with all the suffering entailed?
 9th November 2009
57) The Collapse Of The Search questions 246
  • Would it not be the case that the more one believes or feels there is something positive to be gained from the teachings, the more one has to take a position as an entity capable of receiving and benefiting from teachings?
 8th November 2009
56) We Never Find The Entity That Suffers questions 245
  • So much of self-enquiry seems to turn on space and quiet reflection. But what about when the emotion's kicking in bigtime? Is it business as usual? "Who's suffering?" "Who's asking the question?"
 7th November 2009
55) God's Signature In Us questions 244
  • My experience is that I have absolutely no say over such events. No matter what I read, or hear, or do or not do, such a happening or non happening happens spontaneously.
 6th November 2009
54) The Connection Between 'Me' And Suffering questions 243
  • I am intrigued by this topic about the connection between suffering and the belief in a "me", and whether in the absence of belief in "me", suffering perhaps recedes.
 5th November 2009
53) Advaita Is Not A Fixed Position questions 242
  • Isn't irritation an expression of Grace? How could it not be?
 4th November 2009
52) Love Is Never Lost questions 241
  • If understanding leads to the absence of these emotional ups and downs, including sorrow over the loss of a loved one, regret when one inadvertently breaks a promise, irritation when another does something disagreeable, it seems -- to this limited mind -- unnatural.
 3rd November 2009
51) Consciousness Is The Content Of Consciousness questions 240
  • Does this mean that all the shapes that Conciousness takes continue 'for ever', with the consequence that all past events are present ('happening') right now?
 2nd November 2009
50) What is the difference between deep sleep and death? questions 239
  • What is the difference between deep sleep and death?
 1st November 2009
49) Who Takes Their Stand As Awareness? questions 238
  • If we don't chose our thoughts, then we don't chose our actions, so who effects change or takes a stand as Awareness?
 13th October 2009
48) What Can We Be Certain Of? questions 237
  • In exploring our direct experience, I often wonder how much we can trust it.
 12th October 2009
47) Is A Teacher Required? (En/Ja) questions 236
  • When you say help from a teacher, do you mean going and being with a teacher?
8th October 2009
46) A non-dual perspective on kundalini awakening questions 235
  • I had an "awakening" about two years ago, fueled by kundalini...I have yet to see any non-dual teacher discuss kundalini.
 7th October 2009
45) Should we be seeking or doing nothing? questions 234
  • I have come to the conclusion that it's a matter of grace, and there is nothing outside of that that can affect a thing in regards to awakening.
6th October 2009
44) How to cope with egoic backlashes? questions 233
  • I am noticing now that there seems to be an egoic backlash happening since that "seeing" happened. Is that possible?
 1st October 2009
43) Falling In Love With Truth questions 232
  • Somehow this intellectual understanding (or whatever I should call it) has to become real at the level of the body and the world or what's the use, right?
 30th September 2009
42) Can we know ourself as awareness at all times? questions 231
  • Is this what you mean when you suggest we stand as awareness....That a person repeatedly attends to the sense of ‘I am’ or being?
 29th September 2009
41) The words 'Consciousness' and 'Awareness' questions 230
  • I have a problem in the understanding and the difference between Nisargadattas' and Rupert's explanation of consciousness.
 28th September 2009
40) Consciousness is both the Witness and Substance of all Things questions 229
  • Last night I was looking for the "I". What was seen for the first time is that the "I" is not local, not connected to my body....There was no huge feeling of love, no huge feeling of peace, but there did seem to be more freedom not being confined to the body...
 27th September 2009
39) The Transparent, Luminous Substance of Presence - 2 questions 228
  • If this process and awareness is complete, one would not have to open the door to go through it...
 26th September 2009
38) The transparent, Luminous Substance of Presence - 1 questions 227
  • Now speak, if you will, about the experience of a door........As the experience of the door and the experiencer are one whole,...why the solidity that causes the need to open the door to walk to it's other side?
 26th September 2009
37) Consciousness is Freedom Itself questions 226
  • Why that Rupert-Consciousness shining through the node of sensations which can be called Rupert-Body does not enjoy the Freedom to enter ramesam-body and know Ramesam-mind?
 25th September 2009
36) Are high levels of concentration a pre-requisite for enlightenment? questions 225
  • I would like to know whether you consider achieving high levels of concentration necessary for enlightenment.
24th September 2009
35) Do Questions Continue After Awakening? questions 224
  • Thank you, Rupert, for freeing me from the feeling that I failed class.......
 23rd September 2009
34) Many Ways, One Consciousness questions 223
  • How do you respond to the idea that there are many ways of 'falling' into the knowingness of Consciousness?
 22nd September 2009
33) Presence, Presence, Presence, All the Way questions 222
  • Does Consciousness Forget Itself?
 21st September 2009
32) Continuity in Time questions 221
  • Is my following understanding correct? Like a movie film run through a projector gives the illusion of solidity and movement on a movie screen, but actually is a series of "stills," so is the world actually a fast moving series of "stills" appearing solid and continuous but can be seen through as a transparency.
 20th September 2009
31) The Absolute and the Relative questions 220
  • It seems to me that you 'explain' things mostly from the standpoint of the Absolute without giving due attention to the relative.
 19th September 2009
30) Does 'practice' imply two worldviews, one of ignorance and the other of consciousness? questions 219
  • How are the ideas of Karma, Kalpas and Evolution reconciled with Non-duality?
 18th September 2009
29) What Can We Be Certain Of? questions 218
  • I can tell you that I have no certainty about anything...
 17th September 2009
27) Why is the visual sense the most convincing to the mind? questions 217
  • I'm really fascinated by the discovery, that (in my direct experience) everything is made out of "sensing", as you put it - that there aren't any objects, only experience.
15th September 2009
28) As a man is, so he sees questions 216
  • Is what a man is....a matter of continual natural refinement?
 16th September 2009
26) Does a 'Separate Entity' Suffer or Awaken? questions 215
  • I am seeking some clarification on the view and understanding of this so called awakening process, sudden or gradual that is being described here.
 14th September 2009
25) Does consciousness know itself when there is no experience? questions 214
  • I still don't see in direct experience how Consciousness can know itself in deep dreamless sleep.
 13th September 2009
24) Who Awakens? (En/Ja) questions 213
  • If all of life is a mental construct, a waking dream, what would it be like to awaken? Who awakens? Awaken to what?
 12th September 2009
23) Consciousness Knows Itself By Itself 1 questions 212
  • Would you say that in deep sleep Consciousness knows itself?
 11th September 2009
22) The Perceived cannot Perceive questions 211
  • Being the perceived, how can other people be having their own private, personal perceptions? Isn't there just the one Perceiver: Consciousness?
 10th September 2009
21) Do Appearances Veil or Reveal Consciousness? questions 210
  • On page 57 of your book you refer to the traditional Vedic teachings as sometimes emphasizing the veiling power of appearances that obscure the background of consciousness, and that in the Tantric approach the very same appearances are understood to reveal and express the background itself. Is there any light you can shed on this?
9th September 2009
20) Living the Understanding questions 209
  • I wanted to ask about an experience of many who are newly awakened where there is a falling away of a need for social contact.
 8th September 2009
19) Embodying the understanding 3 questions 208
  • Please clarify... the necessity to embody the understanding...that is to say to daily practice tantric Kasmir yoga."
7th September 2009
18) In your teaching, is awareness the same as consciousness? questions 207
  • Would you say that there is something that knows the coming and going of Consciousness, or would you say no, that there is nothing outside Consciousness?
 6th September 2009
17) Embodying the Understanding 2 questions 206
  • I had the strange impression reading your book that you were saying that in a sense all this mental understanding you developped was the first step before a complete body exploration...
 5th September 2009
16) Embodying the Understanding 1 questions 205
  • Are body pratices a continuation of the search and thus a risk of the reenforcement of the sense of me?
4th September 2009
15) Is Consciousness Elusive? questions 204
  • It makes such perfect sense and is so obvious. How can it be so elusive at the same time?
3rd September 2009
14) Does Consciousness Really Choose Anything? questions 203
  • In your book you say that Consciousness chooses to forget itself through seeking, etc...but does Consciousness really choose anything?
2nd September 2009
13) The Co-creation of a Separate 'Me' and a Separate 'World' questions 202
  • The feeling of a 'me' cannot exist without any'thing' that is 'not me' for comparison - yes?
 1st September 2009
12) Are there two things: Consciousness and its object? questions 201
  • You comment that Awareness or Consciousness is simply observing the various arisings...as though there are two things: one called Awareness or Consciousness and the other called arisings. Why would you posit such a dualistic notion in an effort to share the wisdom of non-dual experience?
 31st August 2009
11) Why is there Ignorance? questions 200
  • What I fail to understand is WHY we have the 'I-thought' or the concept of self?
 30th August 2009
9) Is the continuity of awareness during deep sleep an assumption? questions 199
  • Does Awareness continue during deep sleep?
 29th August 2009
10) Our Nature is Pure Unclouded Awareness-God-Love questions 198
  • How would you define in a quick simple statement, the core essence of your teachings and the way to get there?
 29th August 2009
8) Why do negative feelings manifest physically? (En/Ja) questions 197
  • One thing I wanted to ask about is your answer to a question about the part feelings play.
 28th August 2009
6) One Consciousness? questions 196
  • I understood the logic you have used to explain the Onness of "Consciousness" in which everything arises....
 27th August 2009
5) Is There Seriality? questions 195
  • On p.99 of The Transparency Of Things, you say "Our experience is one of a stream of appearances in Consciousness......
 27th August 2009
7) The Experience of Deep Sleep questions 194
  • I especially like your “starting point” of only trusting ones actual experience and refraining from trusting the manifold underlying concepts that often go along with it.....
 28th August 2009
4) The Many Names Of God questions 193
  • When my attention is pointed to the paper on which the words are written then I become aware of it, where I was not before....
 31st July 2009
3) Is Awareness in the Brain? questions 192
  • How can I test to see if Awareness isn’t just some white noise or something manufactured by the brain?
 30th July 2009
2) The Fan and the Hand questions 191
  • I still have trouble seeing that Consciousness or Awareness and those objects which appear to it (to me) are one and the same! What am I missing?
 29th July 2009
1) Why am I unhappy despite realising the truth? (En/Ja) questions 190
  • Is there anything that can be done towards the realisation of the true nature of experience?
 28th July 2009
Peace and happiness are present under all conditions and at all times essays 188
31st March 2009
The imaginary birth of the self and the world (En/Du/Sp) essays 187
27th February 2009
Nobody falls asleep and nobody wakes up (En/Du) essays 186
2nd December 2008
The mind, the body, and the world are expressions of consciousness essays 185
5th July 2009
Awareness shines in every experience essays 184
5th July 2009
The nature of experience (En/Du) essays 183
5th September 2008
What is our actual experience of an object? (En/Du) essays 182
8th April 2009
Love is the substance of all experience (En/Du) essays 181
12th May 2009
How can I transcend self-sabotage, fear, doubt or pessimistic thinking? essays 180
29th April 2009
Consciousness is not ever-lasting, but ever-present essays 179
24th June 2009
Is it possible to be aware of deep sleep? essays 178
28th August 2009
Deep Sleep, Death and Reincarnation essays 177
24th June 2010
From the known, to the knower, to knowing (En/Sp) essays 176
10th January 2012
Interview with Paula Marvelly: Contemplating the Nature of Experience (En/Ja) interviews 173
5th February 2010
Interview with Daphne Astor: Consciousness and the Role of the Artist interviews 170
5th February 2002