NON-DUALITY
The Journey Ahead….
1 - January - Introduction & Prepare for the Journey
2 - February - Feels like Something is Missing
3 - March - Uncover the Clues
4 - April - Locate the Missing Pieces
5 - May - Land a New Approach
6 - June - Concentrate your Practice
7 - July - Impressions of Home
8 - August - Recognize your Wholeness
9 - September - Completely Gone
10 - October - Long for Nothing
11 - November - Enter the World Again
12 - December - Your Homecoming Graduation
1 - January - Introduction & Prepare for the Journey
2 - February - Feels like Something is Missing
3 - March - Uncover the Clues
4 - April - Locate the Missing Pieces
5 - May - Land a New Approach
6 - June - Concentrate your Practice
7 - July - Impressions of Home
8 - August - Recognize your Wholeness
9 - September - Completely Gone
10 - October - Long for Nothing
11 - November - Enter the World Again
12 - December - Your Homecoming Graduation
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/published/2023-08-09-01-52-59.png?1691560399)
Peter’s Poem & Questions
June 2023
Concentrate on the Practice (Practice of Conscious Awareness)
My wild desires like beasts would run
So, I approached them with some caution
I found passion's fires no longer fun
Partially tamed they became still more often
I assumed discipline and shame could get the job done
But with a gentled self, those "crutches" I can forget
What I thought was broken is now just one
And we can walk together without regret
June 2023
Concentrate on the Practice (Practice of Conscious Awareness)
My wild desires like beasts would run
So, I approached them with some caution
I found passion's fires no longer fun
Partially tamed they became still more often
I assumed discipline and shame could get the job done
But with a gentled self, those "crutches" I can forget
What I thought was broken is now just one
And we can walk together without regret
My Reply to the Poem:
Very beautiful Peter, thank you for sharing.
Q: How do you find the balance between fully accepting all the human passions with total love and forgiveness WITH what seems to be requisite discipline (crutches) to tame them (otherwise they can run amok). I understand at some point practice and discipline are no longer needed when the awakening happens, but it seems to me there needs to be some kind of balance before that waking up occurs, right? Of course theoretically I understand I am already THAT, but Bryant still is wanting to play the duality game for some reason . It is quite the paradox to me.
part2:
As Mike pointed out, I think the "gentled horse" or ox is the key idea here. I found this distinction online worth pondering:
*Gentled Horse vs Broken Horse*
"Technically, breaking a horse represents brute force training that aims to establish the human’s dominance over the horse. It provides quick results, as it basically works by breaking the horse’s will. Gentling a horse or training it properly involves many days of careful work, and it always offers better long-term results. In other words, if you invest time and patience into your horse’s training, you’ll get more out of your relationship with it."
How to "gentle" this human animal into a nondual connection with consciousness (walking together), is the BIG question.
Peter Replied:
Excellent question! Very much the same way as sailing a small sailboat. A person learns to accommodate the wind by adjusting the sails. Is this a matter of skill or is it discipline? How was the skill learned? By focused attention and daily practice. Is that discipline or simply an "I want to."? In this human form, I ask myself (my game token) am I totally present in the moment as I roll the dice for my next move? The 'real' I simply experiences being aware. Is there discipline in being aware? Is it skill? Or is it just experiencing? If I am just experiencing, then I can be gentle as I watch.
I responded:
Nicely said Peter. This post and all the replies are very helpful and good information to ponder more deeply . A lot of juicy and valuable clues Here!
Peter Replied: Thank you! Again, there is no skill involved in being aware/conscious. Either we are or we are not. However, consciousness can "experience" to pretend to not to be aware.
I added [Skill vs Discipline]:
This post has me Thinking of the difference between skill and discipline. Maybe that is the whole crux of it. It is clear from the dictionary definitions.
Skill: The ability to do something well.
Discipline: the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
So applying this to awareness, the way I see it is skill is a love and passion to be aware, which may 'seem' like discipline but there is a genuine "I want to" involved.
Discipline as the definition indicates is more of a forced "I have to". I have to obey these namas and niyamas, meditate twice a day for at least 30 min etc.
Applied to awareness, skill would be I sit in my own awareness because I want to just Be. I have an intense and genuine interest in knowing who or what I am. It might seem like a practice to outsiders, but I genuinely want to do it without and rigid schedule and rules.
Discipline would be something like, if I perform 30 million repetitions of my mantra, I will become enlightened. Or if I want to be enlightened, I will meditate at least 3 hours a day for 20 years. Whether I want to do it or not, I should just do it because this life is too precious to be wasted pursuing sense pleasures..lol... or something like that.
The only tricky part to me is there are times where your love and passion requires some discipline to become skillful. I think the difference is, you are "practicing" because you know you love the art (in this case the art of consciousness).
Peter Replied: You nailed it with this sentence, "skill would be I sit in my own awareness because I want to just Be." Actually, the wanting to fades as the veil thins. It is usually at this 4th to 5th picture on the circle that things take on a more natural flow as even wanting diminishes.
I replied: Beautifully said Peter, and it makes sense! 'Wanting' to Be transforms into just Being as the veil thins, fades and evaporates (and it is realized it never was).
This course is akin to a "paint stripper" that thins and removes the illusory veil - Industrial Strength.
Peter Replied: I love your analogy! Perfect fit!. It is easy to consider the questions we answer here as "non-spiritual", yet what is actually taking place is a very subtle stripping away where we glimpse the unexpected.
---
Question #2)
Look around and list ten things you're grateful for.
1) As I look around, First and foremost I am grateful for the "Looker" / Awareness
2) I am grateful for this body and my life and health.
3) I am grateful for my mind which has seemed to have been blessed with a fair amount of intelligence..lol.
4) I am grateful for you Peter and this course
5) As I look at a few pictures around me, I am grateful for all the great spiritual Masters that have inspired my life.
6) I am grateful for all my beautiful friends and family.
7) I am grateful for the beautiful house I live in and all the abundance I have in my life.
8 ) I am grateful for my little Chahuahua Buster who I will be going on a walk with after this post
9) I am grateful for this moment, this breathe and the sunlight at my feet.
10) Most of all I am grateful for existence, the Great Mystery of Being, that I am something rather than nothing, or rather nothing that has become something by some great miracle..lol. The simple and profound fact that I am even able to be Grateful, to just Be, is such a blessing and such a beautiful mystery.
Peter added to this post: It occurred to me (during my "grandpa nap") that gratitude was a wordless, unfiltered , first-time seeing. Whenever I see without a thought, a rush of energy, bliss-like enters my experience as a physical form. What a rush!
Question #3)
What was the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Questions came up about money and resistance...
Peter said very simply, "If you get a job without resistance, you'll never have to do this again."
He added: I've always found I could never leave a situation I was resisting. The moment full acceptance entered I was always free to fly. Funny, how simple the key was to the lock!
I commented: This is good advice to hear, thanks for sharing. I am in a kinda difficult spot again where I need to start working again and making money with something new (or perhaps something I did in the past). There are several opportunities, but nothing is really coming to fruition yet. Some look promising, but nothing at this point is guaranteed and paid off. To be honest, I am struggling with this a bit, but I appreciate the advice of not resisting. I think part of the problem is my mind likes to be in control, and not knowing where the income will start coming from is uneasy for me.
Perhaps the right opportunity to move forward with will become obvious if I don't resist? I just want it to be all effortless, so why does it feel otherwise..LOL.
Peter Replied: It is very much a balancing act. "When the archer is shooting for nothing he has all his skill. If he shoots for a brass buckle he is already nervous. If he shoots for a prize of gold he goes blind or he sees two targets-- He is out of his mind. His skill has not changed but the prize divides him. He cares. He thinks more of winning than of shooting--and the need to win drains him of power" (Chaung Tzu). Yes, when the mind wants to be in control we lose our power and become blind to the very opportunities before us. There's NEVER a time that there isn't that which we are looking for looking for us. What you want, wants you. But one has to stand away from the desire to see it. Zero point once again. When it doesn't matter, it's easy to have.
Q: What would you change your name to:
Something that means consciousness like Chaitan.
Very beautiful Peter, thank you for sharing.
Q: How do you find the balance between fully accepting all the human passions with total love and forgiveness WITH what seems to be requisite discipline (crutches) to tame them (otherwise they can run amok). I understand at some point practice and discipline are no longer needed when the awakening happens, but it seems to me there needs to be some kind of balance before that waking up occurs, right? Of course theoretically I understand I am already THAT, but Bryant still is wanting to play the duality game for some reason . It is quite the paradox to me.
part2:
As Mike pointed out, I think the "gentled horse" or ox is the key idea here. I found this distinction online worth pondering:
*Gentled Horse vs Broken Horse*
"Technically, breaking a horse represents brute force training that aims to establish the human’s dominance over the horse. It provides quick results, as it basically works by breaking the horse’s will. Gentling a horse or training it properly involves many days of careful work, and it always offers better long-term results. In other words, if you invest time and patience into your horse’s training, you’ll get more out of your relationship with it."
How to "gentle" this human animal into a nondual connection with consciousness (walking together), is the BIG question.
Peter Replied:
Excellent question! Very much the same way as sailing a small sailboat. A person learns to accommodate the wind by adjusting the sails. Is this a matter of skill or is it discipline? How was the skill learned? By focused attention and daily practice. Is that discipline or simply an "I want to."? In this human form, I ask myself (my game token) am I totally present in the moment as I roll the dice for my next move? The 'real' I simply experiences being aware. Is there discipline in being aware? Is it skill? Or is it just experiencing? If I am just experiencing, then I can be gentle as I watch.
I responded:
Nicely said Peter. This post and all the replies are very helpful and good information to ponder more deeply . A lot of juicy and valuable clues Here!
Peter Replied: Thank you! Again, there is no skill involved in being aware/conscious. Either we are or we are not. However, consciousness can "experience" to pretend to not to be aware.
I added [Skill vs Discipline]:
This post has me Thinking of the difference between skill and discipline. Maybe that is the whole crux of it. It is clear from the dictionary definitions.
Skill: The ability to do something well.
Discipline: the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.
So applying this to awareness, the way I see it is skill is a love and passion to be aware, which may 'seem' like discipline but there is a genuine "I want to" involved.
Discipline as the definition indicates is more of a forced "I have to". I have to obey these namas and niyamas, meditate twice a day for at least 30 min etc.
Applied to awareness, skill would be I sit in my own awareness because I want to just Be. I have an intense and genuine interest in knowing who or what I am. It might seem like a practice to outsiders, but I genuinely want to do it without and rigid schedule and rules.
Discipline would be something like, if I perform 30 million repetitions of my mantra, I will become enlightened. Or if I want to be enlightened, I will meditate at least 3 hours a day for 20 years. Whether I want to do it or not, I should just do it because this life is too precious to be wasted pursuing sense pleasures..lol... or something like that.
The only tricky part to me is there are times where your love and passion requires some discipline to become skillful. I think the difference is, you are "practicing" because you know you love the art (in this case the art of consciousness).
Peter Replied: You nailed it with this sentence, "skill would be I sit in my own awareness because I want to just Be." Actually, the wanting to fades as the veil thins. It is usually at this 4th to 5th picture on the circle that things take on a more natural flow as even wanting diminishes.
I replied: Beautifully said Peter, and it makes sense! 'Wanting' to Be transforms into just Being as the veil thins, fades and evaporates (and it is realized it never was).
This course is akin to a "paint stripper" that thins and removes the illusory veil - Industrial Strength.
Peter Replied: I love your analogy! Perfect fit!. It is easy to consider the questions we answer here as "non-spiritual", yet what is actually taking place is a very subtle stripping away where we glimpse the unexpected.
---
Question #2)
Look around and list ten things you're grateful for.
1) As I look around, First and foremost I am grateful for the "Looker" / Awareness
2) I am grateful for this body and my life and health.
3) I am grateful for my mind which has seemed to have been blessed with a fair amount of intelligence..lol.
4) I am grateful for you Peter and this course
5) As I look at a few pictures around me, I am grateful for all the great spiritual Masters that have inspired my life.
6) I am grateful for all my beautiful friends and family.
7) I am grateful for the beautiful house I live in and all the abundance I have in my life.
8 ) I am grateful for my little Chahuahua Buster who I will be going on a walk with after this post
9) I am grateful for this moment, this breathe and the sunlight at my feet.
10) Most of all I am grateful for existence, the Great Mystery of Being, that I am something rather than nothing, or rather nothing that has become something by some great miracle..lol. The simple and profound fact that I am even able to be Grateful, to just Be, is such a blessing and such a beautiful mystery.
Peter added to this post: It occurred to me (during my "grandpa nap") that gratitude was a wordless, unfiltered , first-time seeing. Whenever I see without a thought, a rush of energy, bliss-like enters my experience as a physical form. What a rush!
Question #3)
What was the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Questions came up about money and resistance...
Peter said very simply, "If you get a job without resistance, you'll never have to do this again."
He added: I've always found I could never leave a situation I was resisting. The moment full acceptance entered I was always free to fly. Funny, how simple the key was to the lock!
I commented: This is good advice to hear, thanks for sharing. I am in a kinda difficult spot again where I need to start working again and making money with something new (or perhaps something I did in the past). There are several opportunities, but nothing is really coming to fruition yet. Some look promising, but nothing at this point is guaranteed and paid off. To be honest, I am struggling with this a bit, but I appreciate the advice of not resisting. I think part of the problem is my mind likes to be in control, and not knowing where the income will start coming from is uneasy for me.
Perhaps the right opportunity to move forward with will become obvious if I don't resist? I just want it to be all effortless, so why does it feel otherwise..LOL.
Peter Replied: It is very much a balancing act. "When the archer is shooting for nothing he has all his skill. If he shoots for a brass buckle he is already nervous. If he shoots for a prize of gold he goes blind or he sees two targets-- He is out of his mind. His skill has not changed but the prize divides him. He cares. He thinks more of winning than of shooting--and the need to win drains him of power" (Chaung Tzu). Yes, when the mind wants to be in control we lose our power and become blind to the very opportunities before us. There's NEVER a time that there isn't that which we are looking for looking for us. What you want, wants you. But one has to stand away from the desire to see it. Zero point once again. When it doesn't matter, it's easy to have.
Q: What would you change your name to:
Something that means consciousness like Chaitan.
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/published/352526010-2976225762512943-7490903767734955917-n.jpg?1686455087)
Peter Post 6/10/2023
It occurred to me this morning (especially as I've contemplated the questions we've been replying to) I've been a happy person most of my life. Maybe its because I see the world differently. No amount of external change will ever make me happy. No matter how harshly I might choose to judge others for their views or actions, I'm smart enough to know how foolish I would be to think happiness resides there. Peace and contentment come from being peaceful and content, not by external change. I have always been free and will always remain free because my freedom is in a place no one else can touch. How powerful is that!!!
I commented: Thanks for this beautiful post!
Being at a point in my life where manifesting abundance has become mundanely important again, I am reflecting your timeless wisdom here in this post and your reply to Mike.
On the one hand you have the whole school of "Law of Attraction" and Affirmations along with Dream board/Vision board kind of manifestation using the mind to create the reality you want.
On the other hand you don't have any type of plans or manifestations in mind (right?), but somehow by staying present and aware, all that you need and want comes to you by saying yes to life and accepting what is.
But is some kind of dance between the two needed, one from the side of the mind (law of attraction stuff), and the other from the side of pure awareness (Just This!)? Of course I understand ultimately the two are NOT two but just using the limitations of language...
If "What you want" wants you as you say, is it perhaps enough to simply be aware and what you want finds you in this state of peacefulness without needing the efforts of Law of attraction types of techniques?
It occurred to me this morning (especially as I've contemplated the questions we've been replying to) I've been a happy person most of my life. Maybe its because I see the world differently. No amount of external change will ever make me happy. No matter how harshly I might choose to judge others for their views or actions, I'm smart enough to know how foolish I would be to think happiness resides there. Peace and contentment come from being peaceful and content, not by external change. I have always been free and will always remain free because my freedom is in a place no one else can touch. How powerful is that!!!
I commented: Thanks for this beautiful post!
Being at a point in my life where manifesting abundance has become mundanely important again, I am reflecting your timeless wisdom here in this post and your reply to Mike.
On the one hand you have the whole school of "Law of Attraction" and Affirmations along with Dream board/Vision board kind of manifestation using the mind to create the reality you want.
On the other hand you don't have any type of plans or manifestations in mind (right?), but somehow by staying present and aware, all that you need and want comes to you by saying yes to life and accepting what is.
But is some kind of dance between the two needed, one from the side of the mind (law of attraction stuff), and the other from the side of pure awareness (Just This!)? Of course I understand ultimately the two are NOT two but just using the limitations of language...
If "What you want" wants you as you say, is it perhaps enough to simply be aware and what you want finds you in this state of peacefulness without needing the efforts of Law of attraction types of techniques?
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/352728121-2976498855818967-6759549585799283548-n_orig.jpg)
Peter Answered: Here's a photo of a wrecking ball. Now imagine yourself pulling this toward you. Which direction will the ball exert its pull? Now try pushing the ball, same question? Each time "you" get involved it exerts force opposite to what you want. Here's my approach, I establish where I want to go. Simple, now I can forget that. I know the river flows there, so I put my canoe in the water. The only thing I need to concern myself with is my moment by moment steering. I have no idea what around the next bend, but I don't need to. If I see a waterfall, I just beach my canoe and carry it around it. Never a problem. Scary? Sure sometimes. But that's called life. I don't have to push or pull only act in the moment consciously. Having all these techniques only affirms doubt and lack. They all say, "I don't have!" Therefore, a person stays stuck. Success is simple!!! You are already the magnet drawing to you the circumstances required for your success.
Peter Added: The best book I ever read on this topic was "The Millionaire Next Door". (And I've read all the classic success books. I've also discovered many of the people giving success advice are broke. Of if not, then they made their money selling advice.)
Peter Added: The best book I ever read on this topic was "The Millionaire Next Door". (And I've read all the classic success books. I've also discovered many of the people giving success advice are broke. Of if not, then they made their money selling advice.)
1st Call June
Start to see this magnificent energy.
Gentled the horse.
Thinking and obsessing about food and sex all day long.
Allow saliva in your mouth to fill with appreciate. Bless food and have deep appreciation for thankfulness.
It changes it to nectar. Put love in the food.
Everything we touch changes with our vibration. We can change everything around.
List 10 things to be grateful for. This question has an unseen power to it. Different layer beyond our answers.
A chair is not a chair, a table is not a table.
Joy you receive from little things.
Who am I? What am I? Who is the self.
Best advice, come from spiritually inspired source.
Meister Ekhart
Everything is meant to be let go of, so the soul can stand in unhampered emptiness.
Letting Go is the best advice, for that sets me free and allows me to flow full circle.
Openings come when openings arrive. Like grappling. What am I going to do here.
It is nature of things for openings / opportunities to arrive.
Anxious, trying to push things, blinds us to the opportunities that are right before.
If not reacting remain
Reaction is unconscious. Response is Conscious.
Observe and watch what a person is doing before offering any help.
Don't jump in and correct all the time. Love in action, let them evolve.
Offer a person to maintain their dignity and sovereign self.
Safe container for them to grow.
Give people a chance to make their own mistakes.
Don't give advice if not asked for advice.
We get excited about our truths and want to convince others this is the way.
Instead of convincing we push them away.
Offer suggestions, and people can figure it out.
Point in the right direction, not micromanaged.
Let your weakest link be your teacher.
We cannot bloom as a flower if we are always sprayed with weed killer.
Innocence and wonder of childhood
As a person changes, our identities change. We get lighter.
We refer to ourselves differently with different names.
Lila... Divine dance. Many ways we can dress up and call ourselves.
Call yourself whatever you want. Don't be shy. Our time on the stage.
This life passes quickly, so love and laugh a lot.
I bargained with life for a penny,
And life would pay no more.
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For life is just a employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That one wage I had asked of life,
Life would have willingly paid.
Start to see this magnificent energy.
Gentled the horse.
Thinking and obsessing about food and sex all day long.
Allow saliva in your mouth to fill with appreciate. Bless food and have deep appreciation for thankfulness.
It changes it to nectar. Put love in the food.
Everything we touch changes with our vibration. We can change everything around.
List 10 things to be grateful for. This question has an unseen power to it. Different layer beyond our answers.
A chair is not a chair, a table is not a table.
Joy you receive from little things.
Who am I? What am I? Who is the self.
Best advice, come from spiritually inspired source.
Meister Ekhart
Everything is meant to be let go of, so the soul can stand in unhampered emptiness.
Letting Go is the best advice, for that sets me free and allows me to flow full circle.
Openings come when openings arrive. Like grappling. What am I going to do here.
It is nature of things for openings / opportunities to arrive.
Anxious, trying to push things, blinds us to the opportunities that are right before.
If not reacting remain
Reaction is unconscious. Response is Conscious.
Observe and watch what a person is doing before offering any help.
Don't jump in and correct all the time. Love in action, let them evolve.
Offer a person to maintain their dignity and sovereign self.
Safe container for them to grow.
Give people a chance to make their own mistakes.
Don't give advice if not asked for advice.
We get excited about our truths and want to convince others this is the way.
Instead of convincing we push them away.
Offer suggestions, and people can figure it out.
Point in the right direction, not micromanaged.
Let your weakest link be your teacher.
We cannot bloom as a flower if we are always sprayed with weed killer.
Innocence and wonder of childhood
As a person changes, our identities change. We get lighter.
We refer to ourselves differently with different names.
Lila... Divine dance. Many ways we can dress up and call ourselves.
Call yourself whatever you want. Don't be shy. Our time on the stage.
This life passes quickly, so love and laugh a lot.
I bargained with life for a penny,
And life would pay no more.
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For life is just a employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That one wage I had asked of life,
Life would have willingly paid.
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/published/2023-08-09-01-52-59.png?1691560462)
June Contemplation
Concentrate the Practice
Perhaps we arrived at this point in our journey by the skillful use of self-control, willpower and discipline. Now, in this more relaxed, non-reactionary state of consciousness we can recognize our desires, goal-driven energies, external questing as something that are not apart from ourselves. The "external" focus can only inevitably point us back to ourselves. The belief that there is a separate world and a separate self begins to fall away as we become more gentle with our being. This new approach tames us to a point, yet the wheel of change still turns.
My Response:
I have been contemplating something Ramana Maharshi said: "Effortlessness while remaining Aware is the state of Bliss and that of Realization". Then he says simply that the effortless state IS the state of realization.
So it seems the quantum leap of consciousness is shifting from this relative and egoistic consciousness that "tries" (which much effort) to direct this energy rather forcefully towards a desired goal TO effortlessly being aware and letting things unfold moment by moment. It seems to me this shift entails identifying more and more with the screen of consciousness and less and less on what appears on that screen, including this person Bryant who still thinks he is a separate self (in here) apart from the world (out there)..lol.
Working on a new business, I have to admit in humility, that it does not feel very effortless.
Based on how you describe your life Peter, it does seem very effortless AND aware.
I recognize there is nothing I can really "do" to obtain what I already am (this ever-present consciousness) except keep following along here in this course as the veil gets thinner and thinner...hopefully
Peter Replied: Ha, haa we all bought tickets for the waterslide in the magic fun house. No effort required! Enjoy! I've surrendered all control and now just lean a little one way or the other and as by magic I'm always where I want to be.
Bucket List Peter comment
There's a subtle difference between goals and a "Bucket list". In that a bucket list can be considered as things I want to do before I die (say, in 6 months or a year). I ask myself, If I knew I'd remain healthy and functional but would be dead in six months, what would I want to do?
Peter random comment on Favorite Teacher Post
The best athletes know, "Talk doesn't cook the rice!" Every single day you do the thing you want to perfect. One gets up early and goes to practice, studies, plans and takes action. They are the ones who have already put in hours by the time other people are just getting up. There's no excuses for those who succeed in doing the thing and living the life they've envisioned. "By the inch its a cinch, by the yard its hard!" Only in this "now" moment can one take action. I've often said, if you want to do something, then why aren't you doing it? Talk is cheap. This is how I approach each day of my life. Hey! this is the today, I hoped for yesterday! Now is all I have!!!
Peter on Having Confidence in the end result:
A lot of the secret is in enjoying the day to day effort/training. We can do that only when we have confidence in the end result. Doubt the end result and the day to day efforts soon become dreaded. Always remember, the end is created in the beginning.
Habit Patterns of Success:
Exactly, the habit pattern of success is identical in whatever the endeavor might be. Technical skills can be learned, but success comes from the inside, not by the skill itself.
Is it possible to dissolve into our true nature without catching the bull? Some non-duality teachers dismiss the Witness stage. To me it makes sense, otherwise it seems we would remain "lost in thought". Neti Neti (I am not this, I am not this) precedes iti iti (I am
======Sunday Facebook Live June 25th===========
Face to face with how transient this life is. Everything the light of your eyes touches is changing and disappearing like that.
It is right now, you cannot go back even a couple seconds ago, it doesn't exist, but only as a recreated memory.
Coming to grips to that which we truly.
All our opinions, all our beliefs, our knowledge... Sage is silent because THIS cannot be said, only can be pointed to. Alone time becomes all encompassing.
No such as thing as time. No distance between anything that has ever happened to you from your birth to this point. It is all happening simultaneously, NOW / TIMELESS.
The images on the screen you are looking at and responding to.
Where are they? What happens to the thought after you think it.
Where the goes to what you just thought is that which you are.
Where did the scene on the movie screen, go? When we are hypnotized by the scenes, we make a story of it. But in reality just little pixels flashing on the screen and we try to make sense of it, but after it flashes, where does it go?
It is all reflections on that screen of consciousness, the pond of life. And we are looking at our own reflections all the time! No separate Self or Separate world.
Every experience that is being experienced is the experiencer. You create the experience.
And the minute minute the experience is there, it passes. Where does it go?
It is Just This. And grasping that deeply something changes in our individual experience and our sense of separateness dissolves. And when that dissolves joy and peace are always there, because that is the nature of this Isness.
Concentrate the Practice
Perhaps we arrived at this point in our journey by the skillful use of self-control, willpower and discipline. Now, in this more relaxed, non-reactionary state of consciousness we can recognize our desires, goal-driven energies, external questing as something that are not apart from ourselves. The "external" focus can only inevitably point us back to ourselves. The belief that there is a separate world and a separate self begins to fall away as we become more gentle with our being. This new approach tames us to a point, yet the wheel of change still turns.
My Response:
I have been contemplating something Ramana Maharshi said: "Effortlessness while remaining Aware is the state of Bliss and that of Realization". Then he says simply that the effortless state IS the state of realization.
So it seems the quantum leap of consciousness is shifting from this relative and egoistic consciousness that "tries" (which much effort) to direct this energy rather forcefully towards a desired goal TO effortlessly being aware and letting things unfold moment by moment. It seems to me this shift entails identifying more and more with the screen of consciousness and less and less on what appears on that screen, including this person Bryant who still thinks he is a separate self (in here) apart from the world (out there)..lol.
Working on a new business, I have to admit in humility, that it does not feel very effortless.
Based on how you describe your life Peter, it does seem very effortless AND aware.
I recognize there is nothing I can really "do" to obtain what I already am (this ever-present consciousness) except keep following along here in this course as the veil gets thinner and thinner...hopefully
Peter Replied: Ha, haa we all bought tickets for the waterslide in the magic fun house. No effort required! Enjoy! I've surrendered all control and now just lean a little one way or the other and as by magic I'm always where I want to be.
Bucket List Peter comment
There's a subtle difference between goals and a "Bucket list". In that a bucket list can be considered as things I want to do before I die (say, in 6 months or a year). I ask myself, If I knew I'd remain healthy and functional but would be dead in six months, what would I want to do?
Peter random comment on Favorite Teacher Post
The best athletes know, "Talk doesn't cook the rice!" Every single day you do the thing you want to perfect. One gets up early and goes to practice, studies, plans and takes action. They are the ones who have already put in hours by the time other people are just getting up. There's no excuses for those who succeed in doing the thing and living the life they've envisioned. "By the inch its a cinch, by the yard its hard!" Only in this "now" moment can one take action. I've often said, if you want to do something, then why aren't you doing it? Talk is cheap. This is how I approach each day of my life. Hey! this is the today, I hoped for yesterday! Now is all I have!!!
Peter on Having Confidence in the end result:
A lot of the secret is in enjoying the day to day effort/training. We can do that only when we have confidence in the end result. Doubt the end result and the day to day efforts soon become dreaded. Always remember, the end is created in the beginning.
Habit Patterns of Success:
Exactly, the habit pattern of success is identical in whatever the endeavor might be. Technical skills can be learned, but success comes from the inside, not by the skill itself.
Is it possible to dissolve into our true nature without catching the bull? Some non-duality teachers dismiss the Witness stage. To me it makes sense, otherwise it seems we would remain "lost in thought". Neti Neti (I am not this, I am not this) precedes iti iti (I am
======Sunday Facebook Live June 25th===========
Face to face with how transient this life is. Everything the light of your eyes touches is changing and disappearing like that.
It is right now, you cannot go back even a couple seconds ago, it doesn't exist, but only as a recreated memory.
Coming to grips to that which we truly.
All our opinions, all our beliefs, our knowledge... Sage is silent because THIS cannot be said, only can be pointed to. Alone time becomes all encompassing.
No such as thing as time. No distance between anything that has ever happened to you from your birth to this point. It is all happening simultaneously, NOW / TIMELESS.
The images on the screen you are looking at and responding to.
Where are they? What happens to the thought after you think it.
Where the goes to what you just thought is that which you are.
Where did the scene on the movie screen, go? When we are hypnotized by the scenes, we make a story of it. But in reality just little pixels flashing on the screen and we try to make sense of it, but after it flashes, where does it go?
It is all reflections on that screen of consciousness, the pond of life. And we are looking at our own reflections all the time! No separate Self or Separate world.
Every experience that is being experienced is the experiencer. You create the experience.
And the minute minute the experience is there, it passes. Where does it go?
It is Just This. And grasping that deeply something changes in our individual experience and our sense of separateness dissolves. And when that dissolves joy and peace are always there, because that is the nature of this Isness.
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/356381219-10226028406190127-61423504600578458-n_orig.jpg)
My Takeaway from Sunday
Peter you shared with me this koan early on in the course:
"Show Me What Swallows the Universe"
Yesterdays talk helped to Deepen that Understand and here are some words from you yesterday and some I added:
It is that unspoken wordless emptiness that swallows everything.
Baby Krishna caught eating sand. His mother rushed over and said spit it out.
Finally he opened his mouth, and what she sees is not sand but a thousand stars and the moon and a glorious vision of the Universe. He swallowed the Universe.
Allusion of this points to who we truly are.
Our true I AM must be experienced. It is here and now, Timeless, Infinitely large and infinitely small, and a single thought is 10,000 years. There is no distance in time or space. Everything the light of our eyes touches, disappears. All thoughts, experiences, beliefs, activities, and dreams dissolve back into our Essence. We are Alone - ALL ONE, most poignantly in Alone time, but in reality ALL the time.
It is Just This. Wonderfully this right now! And recognizing THIS deeply something changes in our individual experience and our sense of separateness dissolves. And when that dissolves joy and peace are always there, because that is the nature of THIS / Isness. We are already Enlightened and always have been. Nothing to attain, nothing to become, for we are and always have been THAT! That which swallows the Universe each Timeless moment is the Immortal Self, our truest Essence and Being - I AM!
Peter you shared with me this koan early on in the course:
"Show Me What Swallows the Universe"
Yesterdays talk helped to Deepen that Understand and here are some words from you yesterday and some I added:
It is that unspoken wordless emptiness that swallows everything.
Baby Krishna caught eating sand. His mother rushed over and said spit it out.
Finally he opened his mouth, and what she sees is not sand but a thousand stars and the moon and a glorious vision of the Universe. He swallowed the Universe.
Allusion of this points to who we truly are.
Our true I AM must be experienced. It is here and now, Timeless, Infinitely large and infinitely small, and a single thought is 10,000 years. There is no distance in time or space. Everything the light of our eyes touches, disappears. All thoughts, experiences, beliefs, activities, and dreams dissolve back into our Essence. We are Alone - ALL ONE, most poignantly in Alone time, but in reality ALL the time.
It is Just This. Wonderfully this right now! And recognizing THIS deeply something changes in our individual experience and our sense of separateness dissolves. And when that dissolves joy and peace are always there, because that is the nature of THIS / Isness. We are already Enlightened and always have been. Nothing to attain, nothing to become, for we are and always have been THAT! That which swallows the Universe each Timeless moment is the Immortal Self, our truest Essence and Being - I AM!
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/published/2023-08-09-01-56-15.png?1691560816)
Peter’s Poem - July 2023
Homeward Bound
Racing and rushing have vanished today
The struggle of wanting so many things
I never thought I'd see the day
I didn't need those strings
Like a leaf on the water, I float away
Moving towards home my heart sings.
Homeward Bound
Racing and rushing have vanished today
The struggle of wanting so many things
I never thought I'd see the day
I didn't need those strings
Like a leaf on the water, I float away
Moving towards home my heart sings.
My Reply to the Poem: Beautiful poem, it "sounds" so easy. The basic understanding is so simple, we are the Self, the screen of awareness, always and immediately Now. But there is this veil or curtain of thoughts which includes all those strings of wants and desires creating an illusory veil. We have seen in this course this veil is all based on a powerful force and we are also that force (not 2). Taming that force/Ox by resting in awareness wants and desires soften and things become clear and the veil thins and eventually disappears. Again it "sounds" so simple. But the True Recognition of This, Just This, apparently seems difficult. Even so, it is all just so beautiful, All of it, even my current struggles.
I was reading Ramana Maharshi the other night and he kept emphasizing the Self is the most Obvious thing, because it is our very existence and awareness. At times I think I really "get it" and have some brief moments of clarity, but the veil still prevails. I feel I am at the point where I have exhausted all conceptual understandings and just need to jump in and float away...lol.
Peter Replied: You wrote, "At times I think I really "get it" and have some brief moments of clarity, but the veil still prevails" Each time you catch it, that moment of absolute knowing is like a tear in the fabric of our projected reality. This is how "absolute knowing" becomes stronger. Our job is simply to be aware more knowingly. Every doubt is but a thought and every thought an observed object. Your getting it is never the observed object but the witnessing awareness to which this world of objects appears. So, each time you 'realize' "I get it" there are no thoughts present. Every "I get it" is like a drop of water wearing away the illusion. And there's always a sprinkle before the downpour. There is absolutely nothing to be done, except being aware of "I get it". Because you really do. Remember the belief in the veil creates it, as does our belief in the world.
Peter added to another comment: All words are corrupted and dualistic. Words can only refer to other words in a dictionary. Yet, we use them to communicate. Alas!
Question #1)
Do you ever get anxious? What raises your anxiety level?
My Answer:
Yes, I do get anxious in many situations. Usually they revolve around money, health, safety and relationships. Fear and anxiety in many of these situations can sometimes be a good motivator to get what needs to be done to remove the anxiety. Though it is probably best not to be anxious at all. Sometimes I feel anxiety about the inevitability of death, but more in the sense that I want to "Wake Up" before I go to sleep..lol.
I have been contemplating awareness in dreams at night and funny I notice even in dreams what seems to be me is anxious at times in bad dreams (taking the dream to be real). If all of this is a big dream why should we be anxious at all?... Perhaps the only meaningful anxiety is the fear of not Waking Up and recognizing your True Self before you die.
I was reading Ramana Maharshi the other night and he kept emphasizing the Self is the most Obvious thing, because it is our very existence and awareness. At times I think I really "get it" and have some brief moments of clarity, but the veil still prevails. I feel I am at the point where I have exhausted all conceptual understandings and just need to jump in and float away...lol.
Peter Replied: You wrote, "At times I think I really "get it" and have some brief moments of clarity, but the veil still prevails" Each time you catch it, that moment of absolute knowing is like a tear in the fabric of our projected reality. This is how "absolute knowing" becomes stronger. Our job is simply to be aware more knowingly. Every doubt is but a thought and every thought an observed object. Your getting it is never the observed object but the witnessing awareness to which this world of objects appears. So, each time you 'realize' "I get it" there are no thoughts present. Every "I get it" is like a drop of water wearing away the illusion. And there's always a sprinkle before the downpour. There is absolutely nothing to be done, except being aware of "I get it". Because you really do. Remember the belief in the veil creates it, as does our belief in the world.
Peter added to another comment: All words are corrupted and dualistic. Words can only refer to other words in a dictionary. Yet, we use them to communicate. Alas!
Question #1)
Do you ever get anxious? What raises your anxiety level?
My Answer:
Yes, I do get anxious in many situations. Usually they revolve around money, health, safety and relationships. Fear and anxiety in many of these situations can sometimes be a good motivator to get what needs to be done to remove the anxiety. Though it is probably best not to be anxious at all. Sometimes I feel anxiety about the inevitability of death, but more in the sense that I want to "Wake Up" before I go to sleep..lol.
I have been contemplating awareness in dreams at night and funny I notice even in dreams what seems to be me is anxious at times in bad dreams (taking the dream to be real). If all of this is a big dream why should we be anxious at all?... Perhaps the only meaningful anxiety is the fear of not Waking Up and recognizing your True Self before you die.
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/published/357425042-10226075120397953-8277976987300127802-n.jpg?1690136304)
Peter Replied: These states of mind come and go. The mind will always have a level of anxiety to it which ebbs and flows. The appearance of anxiety and its disappearance is simply witnessed on the screen of awareness. I find my acceptance of the emotional weather brings me back to the screen. I recall once doing Iron work, climbing what we called a 'hanger' when my feet slipped and even though I had wrapped my arms around this piece of steel I was slipping downward and about to slip off the end and plummet 300 feet to my death. My crazy partner Steve, began laughing yelling "You're gonna die Peter, You're gonna die!" Fortunately, I had enough strength to chin my way up this piece of steel to a foothold. I experienced both anxiety and laughter (plus having the skin rubbed off my biceps leaving them quite bloody.) Death is tasty, it gives me good stories to tell. In Vallhalla they get to sit around, drink and feast laughing how they killed each other! Ha, haa. Makes for great movies too! And none of this stuff is serious in the big picture!
I replied: What a great story Peter, thanks for sharing. I remember hearing several of your near death experience stories over the years, falling on a bucket, out at sea, and I think there was even one when you were on a plane. I am not quite there in seeing death as tasty yet.. lol , but I love the reference to Vallhalla. I found this picture and I could imagine them laughing how they killed each other... .
I replied: What a great story Peter, thanks for sharing. I remember hearing several of your near death experience stories over the years, falling on a bucket, out at sea, and I think there was even one when you were on a plane. I am not quite there in seeing death as tasty yet.. lol , but I love the reference to Vallhalla. I found this picture and I could imagine them laughing how they killed each other... .
**Peter on Breathing Exercises**
As many types of pranayamas as I've practiced over the decades, (and at one time I was doing 1 to 2 hours each day. I know stupid!) the only one I really found effective was the one adopted by the Navy Seals. Its been tested under real conditions, not just sitting peacefully in an ashram. A good place to start: Practice what the SEALs call 4 x 4 x 4 breathing. Inhale deeply for four counts, then exhale for four counts and repeat the cycle for four minutes several times a day. You're guaranteed to feel calmer on any battleground. ps/ Yes, I used to teach the alt/nostril breathing as well as certain qigong breathing. It gives the mind something to do.
As many types of pranayamas as I've practiced over the decades, (and at one time I was doing 1 to 2 hours each day. I know stupid!) the only one I really found effective was the one adopted by the Navy Seals. Its been tested under real conditions, not just sitting peacefully in an ashram. A good place to start: Practice what the SEALs call 4 x 4 x 4 breathing. Inhale deeply for four counts, then exhale for four counts and repeat the cycle for four minutes several times a day. You're guaranteed to feel calmer on any battleground. ps/ Yes, I used to teach the alt/nostril breathing as well as certain qigong breathing. It gives the mind something to do.
**Peter on His Diet and Supplements**
As to bodyweight, a person's weight can fluctuate up to 5 or more than pounds in a day. But knowing your metabolic numbers gives you a good handle on where you'd like to be. Add 500 calories a day and you'll most likely add a pound a week. I keep tabs also on my protein and try to get .75 per pound to pound of bodyweight. My breakfast: 1/2 cup each of hemp seeds/or sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats and a cup of soy milk with Sunwarrior vegan protein I'm at 64 grams of protein. Then I have an Owyn protein shake another 20 grams. This leaves the rest of the day to hit my targets. Plus, herbs and supplements that I take.
Its good you're doing collagen. It is at the origin of the production of creatine. (Which I do not take, because of how they manufacture creatine and a connection to urinary retention.) Collagen stimulates anabolism. I take glycine which releases hGH. (6 grams a day for ten weeks will give you a huge jump in strength). Glycine when combined with arginine or better yet citrulline causes your liver to create and fill up muscle tissue with creatine. Citrulline increases nitric oxide also, expanding arteries etc... I take also carnosine which muscle tissue is loaded with, that's where the strength comes from. Since I don't eat beef of poultry, supplementing with carnosine is amazing and it causes the body to burn fat. It increases muscle contraction. I always take leucine before my workouts. "Leucine has a far greater stimulatory effect on protein synthesis than any other amino acid and it has been shown that protein synthesis increases similarly in response to a relatively small dose of leucine compared to a whole food meal." Now my two main herbs are tong kat ali and nettle root. They both jack up testosterone and muscles love it! Plus, it keeps my prostate like that of a young man. (80% of men over 80 have prostate disease). There a lot more I can share that I do. And I've gotten a few more training PRs since we last spoke on this topic. I'm blowing my own mind!!! Ha, haa! I hope you find this informative.
**Takeaway from first July Call**
It was a great call with many salient nuggets of truth.
Reading through my notes, the first thing I underlined was Practice. I like the idea of practice as "settling" not achieving anything. Counting your breathes from 1 to 10 and back again, I did this morning and in a short time it really brings you back to center. I am going to do this more often because as you said, "Simple is powerful". I have done this technique in the past but overcomplicated it (I think) by visualizing each number in my mind's eye as I was counting. I think the idea of settling and returning to center/zero point/true North resolves the paradox of practice. Practice is only an illusion if you are trying to get or attain something. Settling or centering is simply Being that which you already are beyond the veil of thoughts. And as you said, there are no thoughts when you are totally with the breathe, hence the power of this practice-less practice.
As to bodyweight, a person's weight can fluctuate up to 5 or more than pounds in a day. But knowing your metabolic numbers gives you a good handle on where you'd like to be. Add 500 calories a day and you'll most likely add a pound a week. I keep tabs also on my protein and try to get .75 per pound to pound of bodyweight. My breakfast: 1/2 cup each of hemp seeds/or sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats and a cup of soy milk with Sunwarrior vegan protein I'm at 64 grams of protein. Then I have an Owyn protein shake another 20 grams. This leaves the rest of the day to hit my targets. Plus, herbs and supplements that I take.
Its good you're doing collagen. It is at the origin of the production of creatine. (Which I do not take, because of how they manufacture creatine and a connection to urinary retention.) Collagen stimulates anabolism. I take glycine which releases hGH. (6 grams a day for ten weeks will give you a huge jump in strength). Glycine when combined with arginine or better yet citrulline causes your liver to create and fill up muscle tissue with creatine. Citrulline increases nitric oxide also, expanding arteries etc... I take also carnosine which muscle tissue is loaded with, that's where the strength comes from. Since I don't eat beef of poultry, supplementing with carnosine is amazing and it causes the body to burn fat. It increases muscle contraction. I always take leucine before my workouts. "Leucine has a far greater stimulatory effect on protein synthesis than any other amino acid and it has been shown that protein synthesis increases similarly in response to a relatively small dose of leucine compared to a whole food meal." Now my two main herbs are tong kat ali and nettle root. They both jack up testosterone and muscles love it! Plus, it keeps my prostate like that of a young man. (80% of men over 80 have prostate disease). There a lot more I can share that I do. And I've gotten a few more training PRs since we last spoke on this topic. I'm blowing my own mind!!! Ha, haa! I hope you find this informative.
**Takeaway from first July Call**
It was a great call with many salient nuggets of truth.
Reading through my notes, the first thing I underlined was Practice. I like the idea of practice as "settling" not achieving anything. Counting your breathes from 1 to 10 and back again, I did this morning and in a short time it really brings you back to center. I am going to do this more often because as you said, "Simple is powerful". I have done this technique in the past but overcomplicated it (I think) by visualizing each number in my mind's eye as I was counting. I think the idea of settling and returning to center/zero point/true North resolves the paradox of practice. Practice is only an illusion if you are trying to get or attain something. Settling or centering is simply Being that which you already are beyond the veil of thoughts. And as you said, there are no thoughts when you are totally with the breathe, hence the power of this practice-less practice.
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/published/2023-08-09-01-56-15.png?1691560836)
Peter’s Reflection
July 2023
Homeward Bound
Aware of being aware. Over and over. Feeling like we are floating on the river of life and not fighting against the current. To concentrate on this practice is not about efforting. It is simply to put focus on all we see with a conscious state of awareness. And return again and again to a state of presence. It is the thrashing around in the water of life that can drown a person. But it is the floating that brings us home.
My Reply
Very beautifully said Peter. You make it sound so easy... Ramana says effort is needed before the effortless state is reached. He does make it clear that the Self is Here and Now, but thoughts distract the awareness and some effort is needed to be more mindful (for lack of a better word) of Awareness itself - Here and Now. It "seems" to me that doing the practice playfully with no agenda does help to strengthen ones concentration and mindfulness. For without such "practice" is it not easy to get "lost in thought"?
I understand there comes a time all this is effortless, and that that state is already here and Now, but past conditioning and "stinking thinking" make it anything but effortless
I guess I still don't see how this effortless state is realized/recognized without some effort leading up to the breakthrough? I mean I sit down to count my breathes and I am applying effort regardless of if I have goal in mind or not. My mind wanders and I bring it back to the count/breathe. That requires effort, right?
Then I added:
I got a teeny tiny "glimpse" and contemplated the poem again, so "I" answered my own question..lol. This poem is very profound and is worth reading multiple times and contemplating.
Peter Replied:
Here's the catch, the mind can never know or find awareness. But, awareness illuminates the mind. However, consciousness can never know any object, be it the mind, a thought or the world. It can only know itself.
Peter added to another Comment:
Yes, you take a flashlight into a dark room and you shine it upon a ball. The ball never can know the flashlight, but in this analogy the light knows the ball. The ball cannot know itself. Awareness is never known by an external frame of reference. Because, it would be awareness being aware of awareness. There is only a screen of awareness which in objects appear and disappear. The movie plays on the screen and passes, but the screen remains. All of our experiences come and go, but awareness remains. Even in deep sleep devoid of thoughts, the screen remains. Yesterday we were babies, then adults and then the day comes when we pass, but the screen upon which our lives play remains. You can never not be aware of being aware. This is why it is said, no one knows consciousness, consciousness only knows itself.
July 2023
Homeward Bound
Aware of being aware. Over and over. Feeling like we are floating on the river of life and not fighting against the current. To concentrate on this practice is not about efforting. It is simply to put focus on all we see with a conscious state of awareness. And return again and again to a state of presence. It is the thrashing around in the water of life that can drown a person. But it is the floating that brings us home.
My Reply
Very beautifully said Peter. You make it sound so easy... Ramana says effort is needed before the effortless state is reached. He does make it clear that the Self is Here and Now, but thoughts distract the awareness and some effort is needed to be more mindful (for lack of a better word) of Awareness itself - Here and Now. It "seems" to me that doing the practice playfully with no agenda does help to strengthen ones concentration and mindfulness. For without such "practice" is it not easy to get "lost in thought"?
I understand there comes a time all this is effortless, and that that state is already here and Now, but past conditioning and "stinking thinking" make it anything but effortless
I guess I still don't see how this effortless state is realized/recognized without some effort leading up to the breakthrough? I mean I sit down to count my breathes and I am applying effort regardless of if I have goal in mind or not. My mind wanders and I bring it back to the count/breathe. That requires effort, right?
Then I added:
I got a teeny tiny "glimpse" and contemplated the poem again, so "I" answered my own question..lol. This poem is very profound and is worth reading multiple times and contemplating.
Peter Replied:
Here's the catch, the mind can never know or find awareness. But, awareness illuminates the mind. However, consciousness can never know any object, be it the mind, a thought or the world. It can only know itself.
Peter added to another Comment:
Yes, you take a flashlight into a dark room and you shine it upon a ball. The ball never can know the flashlight, but in this analogy the light knows the ball. The ball cannot know itself. Awareness is never known by an external frame of reference. Because, it would be awareness being aware of awareness. There is only a screen of awareness which in objects appear and disappear. The movie plays on the screen and passes, but the screen remains. All of our experiences come and go, but awareness remains. Even in deep sleep devoid of thoughts, the screen remains. Yesterday we were babies, then adults and then the day comes when we pass, but the screen upon which our lives play remains. You can never not be aware of being aware. This is why it is said, no one knows consciousness, consciousness only knows itself.
My Takeaway from the Facebook Live Call
A question you posed early in the talk, which is a question I hear over and over in non-dual type of teachings, and it is a question that at times it really penetrates. And it DID during this Facebook live. I always know it goes deeper when the tears flow, and everything stops for a timeless moment, even if a short one. These moments are most precious to me.
And the question was "Who witnesses or experiences these sensations [sight, sound, etc].
You first beautifully explained how light and sound interact with our sensory organs to create - ultimately - an electrical signal that travels from the acoustic or optic nerve (for example) to those parts of the brain that process the signal that gives rise to sound or sight (or taste, touch or smell).
But who is it that experiences these sensations? Who (or What) am I?
This awareness, this "I" is the infinite screen of Being which is what I truly am.
All these words are just pointers but when someone like you Peter points with a large glowing finger it seems to register more deeply. Thank you for sharing your heart and helping us all to come full circle back Home to the Heart, the Self, the infinite I AM that is our true Nature.
Peter Replied:
Thank you for touching my heart with your comments. Yes, the senses do not sense themselves. Awareness is not a product of the body, nor of the sense organs. But the sense organs and the body are a product of consciousness. Neither the sense organs nor the mind can find consciousness, but awareness absorbs then into itself. Our job is simply to be aware more knowingly.
A question you posed early in the talk, which is a question I hear over and over in non-dual type of teachings, and it is a question that at times it really penetrates. And it DID during this Facebook live. I always know it goes deeper when the tears flow, and everything stops for a timeless moment, even if a short one. These moments are most precious to me.
And the question was "Who witnesses or experiences these sensations [sight, sound, etc].
You first beautifully explained how light and sound interact with our sensory organs to create - ultimately - an electrical signal that travels from the acoustic or optic nerve (for example) to those parts of the brain that process the signal that gives rise to sound or sight (or taste, touch or smell).
But who is it that experiences these sensations? Who (or What) am I?
This awareness, this "I" is the infinite screen of Being which is what I truly am.
All these words are just pointers but when someone like you Peter points with a large glowing finger it seems to register more deeply. Thank you for sharing your heart and helping us all to come full circle back Home to the Heart, the Self, the infinite I AM that is our true Nature.
Peter Replied:
Thank you for touching my heart with your comments. Yes, the senses do not sense themselves. Awareness is not a product of the body, nor of the sense organs. But the sense organs and the body are a product of consciousness. Neither the sense organs nor the mind can find consciousness, but awareness absorbs then into itself. Our job is simply to be aware more knowingly.
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/1/6/4516117/published/363331226-10226244641195867-3984788453606861777-n.jpg?1691429518)
Peter Posted: The brain does not create consciousness any more than the clouds create the sky. This naturally leads us to the question, "Who or what is having this experience?"
I replied: That is the $64,000 question. Who or what is experiencing this moment? I have been using that as a playful inquiry/koan. The mental answer is obvious - the Self. The brain is IN consciousness not the other way around. But the actual experience of this "seems" to still elude me most of the time. I just saw this quote of Joseph Campbell yesterday to emphasize this point .
Peter Replied: Even though I use the word, "self" there is no self to be found or realized. "Self" can be said to be our self-narrative, the story we tell about ourselves, that on-going voice in our head. This is of course like any other of the sounds produced in our head. There is only awareness being aware of itself. A vast, silent non-dimension beyond words or speech which is always ever-present as the background of what we consider normal life. Whenever I escape from telling my story, silently or aloud, I find myself in that vast, wordless presence - free of the burden of my fabricated self. Here, nothing matters, nothing can be said.
I responded: Beautifully said Peter, much gratitude .
It's interesting some non-dual "teachers" argue about Self vs no self, Atman vs Anatman. It clearly to me the limitations of language. "Self" as I understand it from reading Ramana is Atman, absolute consciousness, such that there is nothing but the Self, the One Self. But it could also be said to be no self, shrinking the separate self to nothing all that is left is the emptiness or Shunya.
I like the word "Self"/Atman as a word/pointer because clearly IT/Awareness is not nothing? I mean I understand Awareness is not an object but it cannot be nothingness either? Right? Nothing cannot be aware of itself, can it?...LOL... This is why I prefer "Self"/Atman over "no self"/Anatman even though language cannot do more than point. But to me it is a better "pointer".
But of course what REALLY matters is just Being THAT, and experiencing my own True Nature as pure awareness.
Peter Responded: Thank you for all your sharing here. All words fail, but must be used unless we just fall silent. And... I see that for myself. (oops, there's that word "self" again.) For me, "dimensionless" appears to be more accurate. It's because we attempt to define "self" as if defining the qualities of a dream. Thus, "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao." However, the more we stretch the mind to where it turns back upon itself, the brighter the glimpse of our true "not self" is revealed. We hide our self to find our self as nothing is revealed to be everything. Ah there, I said it!!! LOL
I Replied: Great answer Peter, that makes me both chuckle and ponder. I like "dimensionless" as dimensionality is needed for both space and time. And space and time are needed for subject/objects and their ceaseless change and movement.
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My Question to Peter: I am trying to figure this koan you wrote in Zen, Christianity and a lot of bull:
"Two pages, one sheet of paper, which side is formless? Show me that side without speech."
You said you will never need another koan, but I am not really getting it...lol.
Peter Relied: Do you want me to give you a hint?
I responded: Yes please. Two pages could be front and back, which in a way reminds me of the screen and movie playing on the screen. To say one side is formless negates the form. To say one side is form negates the formless. But they are not-2, beyond words and speechless hence nothing can be said. But I am not sure that is the import of this koan?
Peter Responded: Here's a hint. "Emptiness here, emptiness there, but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes. Infinitely large, infinitely small; no difference. For definitions have vanished and no boundaries are seen. So too with being and non-being." -- Sosan He also states earlier, "To seek Mind with the discriminating mind is the greatest of all mistakes."
I replied: Thank you Peter, beautifully articulated by Sosan and yourself. I am still trying to piece that response with the koan...lol.. I'll play with it. I sense that "I" need to disappear to get the answer .
----
Peter Question to All:
Would you like to stretch a slight bit more? We all know the voice inside our head. We hear it speaking to us many times a day. We often make our decisions based on what the voice suggests. Since we all hear this voice, the voice certainly cannot be what hears it. The voice does not hear itself. So, my question is who or what hears the voice?
I replied: Who indeed? . I LOVE these kinds of questions that have no answer except a beautiful little glimpse
Peter Replied to someone: If you say to someone, "My body feels like... or "My body is so many pounds." Who is it that is referring to having a body? It is that which hears the voice.
A reply was given: Pondering... the question you asked, who or what is it that hears the voice? Is it an eternal consciousness?
Another Reply was given: I was looking for Zen writings on "Spirit". Can you expound on this concept as it is reflected in Zen understandings, Peter Ragnar and if it applies to this question you have posed?
Peter Responded: The mind can make up all sorts of things and give them names. Anything that comes or goes, anything that changes isn't it. We are what never has a beginning or never has an end and yet, we get to observe/experience the things that start and finish. "Spirit" is just another word that we find in the dictionary to explain the word we use. It is not "it".
I replied: That is the $64,000 question. Who or what is experiencing this moment? I have been using that as a playful inquiry/koan. The mental answer is obvious - the Self. The brain is IN consciousness not the other way around. But the actual experience of this "seems" to still elude me most of the time. I just saw this quote of Joseph Campbell yesterday to emphasize this point .
Peter Replied: Even though I use the word, "self" there is no self to be found or realized. "Self" can be said to be our self-narrative, the story we tell about ourselves, that on-going voice in our head. This is of course like any other of the sounds produced in our head. There is only awareness being aware of itself. A vast, silent non-dimension beyond words or speech which is always ever-present as the background of what we consider normal life. Whenever I escape from telling my story, silently or aloud, I find myself in that vast, wordless presence - free of the burden of my fabricated self. Here, nothing matters, nothing can be said.
I responded: Beautifully said Peter, much gratitude .
It's interesting some non-dual "teachers" argue about Self vs no self, Atman vs Anatman. It clearly to me the limitations of language. "Self" as I understand it from reading Ramana is Atman, absolute consciousness, such that there is nothing but the Self, the One Self. But it could also be said to be no self, shrinking the separate self to nothing all that is left is the emptiness or Shunya.
I like the word "Self"/Atman as a word/pointer because clearly IT/Awareness is not nothing? I mean I understand Awareness is not an object but it cannot be nothingness either? Right? Nothing cannot be aware of itself, can it?...LOL... This is why I prefer "Self"/Atman over "no self"/Anatman even though language cannot do more than point. But to me it is a better "pointer".
But of course what REALLY matters is just Being THAT, and experiencing my own True Nature as pure awareness.
Peter Responded: Thank you for all your sharing here. All words fail, but must be used unless we just fall silent. And... I see that for myself. (oops, there's that word "self" again.) For me, "dimensionless" appears to be more accurate. It's because we attempt to define "self" as if defining the qualities of a dream. Thus, "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao." However, the more we stretch the mind to where it turns back upon itself, the brighter the glimpse of our true "not self" is revealed. We hide our self to find our self as nothing is revealed to be everything. Ah there, I said it!!! LOL
I Replied: Great answer Peter, that makes me both chuckle and ponder. I like "dimensionless" as dimensionality is needed for both space and time. And space and time are needed for subject/objects and their ceaseless change and movement.
----
My Question to Peter: I am trying to figure this koan you wrote in Zen, Christianity and a lot of bull:
"Two pages, one sheet of paper, which side is formless? Show me that side without speech."
You said you will never need another koan, but I am not really getting it...lol.
Peter Relied: Do you want me to give you a hint?
I responded: Yes please. Two pages could be front and back, which in a way reminds me of the screen and movie playing on the screen. To say one side is formless negates the form. To say one side is form negates the formless. But they are not-2, beyond words and speechless hence nothing can be said. But I am not sure that is the import of this koan?
Peter Responded: Here's a hint. "Emptiness here, emptiness there, but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes. Infinitely large, infinitely small; no difference. For definitions have vanished and no boundaries are seen. So too with being and non-being." -- Sosan He also states earlier, "To seek Mind with the discriminating mind is the greatest of all mistakes."
I replied: Thank you Peter, beautifully articulated by Sosan and yourself. I am still trying to piece that response with the koan...lol.. I'll play with it. I sense that "I" need to disappear to get the answer .
----
Peter Question to All:
Would you like to stretch a slight bit more? We all know the voice inside our head. We hear it speaking to us many times a day. We often make our decisions based on what the voice suggests. Since we all hear this voice, the voice certainly cannot be what hears it. The voice does not hear itself. So, my question is who or what hears the voice?
I replied: Who indeed? . I LOVE these kinds of questions that have no answer except a beautiful little glimpse
Peter Replied to someone: If you say to someone, "My body feels like... or "My body is so many pounds." Who is it that is referring to having a body? It is that which hears the voice.
A reply was given: Pondering... the question you asked, who or what is it that hears the voice? Is it an eternal consciousness?
Another Reply was given: I was looking for Zen writings on "Spirit". Can you expound on this concept as it is reflected in Zen understandings, Peter Ragnar and if it applies to this question you have posed?
Peter Responded: The mind can make up all sorts of things and give them names. Anything that comes or goes, anything that changes isn't it. We are what never has a beginning or never has an end and yet, we get to observe/experience the things that start and finish. "Spirit" is just another word that we find in the dictionary to explain the word we use. It is not "it".