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#3056 -
This issue is about Jeff
Foster's new book and website. His website is at http://www.lifewithoutacentre.com/
Jeff's book is ...
BEYOND AWAKENING:
THE END OF THE SPIRITUAL SEARCH
BY JEFF FOSTER
(Ordering details below)
EXPRESSING THE
INEXPRESSIBLE?
Often the question is
asked “why attempt to express the inexpressible? Why try
to use the words of duality to point to nonduality? Isn’t
that just … totally misleading?”
Well, the answer can only
be given in words. But of course, as always, the answer is never
“in” the words…
Oneness delights in its
infinite expressions, its myriad manifestations, and words are
simply a part of that perfectly balanced arising of the world, of
the No-Thing appearing as a million apparently separate things.
And of course, there is really no separation between Nothing and
Everything at all. Separation is simply an illusion, and yet it
is a perfectly appropriate illusion. And in a sense, as so many
spiritual teachings tell us, the illusion exists only to be seen
through, a seeing through which is total Freedom. (And yes, of
course, that “freedom” can just be turned into another
goal, another idea of what “this” should be like. It
seems that’s all the mind can do: create and pursue goals,
however “noble” those goals seem at the time.)
And that’s all
absolutely wonderful, it’s all part of the play of form. The
clear and direct message of nonduality does not deny or reject
any aspect of the play. This is not about any sort of denial
whatsoever. Oneness does not deny anything, because Oneness is
everything. It is perfectly whole, already. Already complete.
Already awake.
And the apparent separate
person, the “individual”, struggles with these
concepts. Indeed, that seems to be all an “individual”
can ever do: struggle, search, suffer. Because the individual
thinks he or she is separate from the whole. There is a belief in
an “I” separate from the “world”. And in that
separation, suffering takes root.
But the suffering
quietly, softly, gently whispers this: dear friend, it
is all illusory.
Suffering rests on the
assumption that there is a separate person who suffers. And in
liberation, when there is no solid “person”, it is seen
with such clarity that this “person” never really
existed in the first place, and suffering was always just a
story, arising now. A story with an absent storyteller. And this
is not to deny suffering. From the perspective of a separate
person, suffering is very real, and out of compassion, Oneness
rejects none of it. That is its nature: wholeness, unconditional
love, and a joy with no name. And in the face of this apparent
suffering, there is no “cold detachment”, not at all.
No, there is appropriate movement, appropriate action.
Effortlessly, Oneness meets Oneness, because really there are no
“others” to help. The wonderful paradox of this.
Yes, this world is
nothing but a great big, wonderful story, a brilliantly
convincing dream. And every night, the body lies in bed, and the
eyes close, and the world dissolves, which just goes to show how
illusory the whole thing is! But so perfect in its illusory
nature! So many spiritual teachings seem to deny or reject this
illusion, fuelling the illusion/reality dichotomy, which is
simply another story. But no matter. All is allowed, all is
perfectly appropriate. Until it’s not, and that’s when
the teachings of nonduality might resonate.
And yes, all of these
words are attempting to point to the ineffable, the
inexpressible, to that which is totally beyond all words and
concepts and beliefs.
And ultimately, yes, they
are just words. Little squiggles on paper.
But somewhere beyond
these words, there is a resonance, an energy that is so
undeniable, so obvious. It’s nothing to do with the mind.
And when this message is heard, there is no turning back. In the
face of such clarity, such presence, the mind has no chance.
The clarity sits there,
waiting for the mind to give up its incessant searching and
striving. And what is revealed is an effortlessness, a joy
without cause, a spontaneity and aliveness which destroy all past
and future, and leave only the simplicity and ordinariness of
this extraordinary world, illusory or otherwise. And then even
the extraordinary/ordinary divide crumbles, and what is left is…
well…
A freshly brewed cup
of tea. Breathing. Cars beeping their horns outside. Just
this, and nothing more. And it’s so obvious: this
is the clarity, the liberation that the individual self could
never reach, because the individual self is just a thought. Just
a thought. A harmless thought.
All harmless, all
benevolent. And wordlessly, silently, Oneness offers itself,
asking nothing of “you”. There are no requirements, no
prescriptions, nothing more that needs to be done, although all
sorts of “doing” may happen, or not. There is no choice
in it. This is absolute Grace, and it’s what you are.
Welcome home, dear, dear friend.
BEYOND AWAKENING:
THE END OF THE SPIRITUAL SEARCH
BY JEFF FOSTER
Non-Duality
Press: http://www.non-dualitybooks.com/Non-DualityPress_buy.htm