Tom Stine - Spiritual Awakening

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8 First Steps for Someone New (or Old) to Spiritual Awakening: A Beginner’s Guide Part 1 Written on September 2, 2011 by Tom I recently received an email from a friend of a friend wanting some help finding a spirituality that would “give [her] some peace.” As I pondered this request, it became clear to me that some sort of “Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Awakening” might be of use to her and hopefully others. This article is the first in what will probably be several on how to get started in spirituality with an emphasis on awakening. Since many guides for beginners can at times be long and confusing, I’m going to attempt to keep these articles simple, in other words, no more than five to ten simple steps that one can take or brief comments awakening and spirituality. That should make it easier for someone just starting out to dive in easily and quickly (which is exactly what I would have liked 22 years ago). Today’s article: 8 “First Steps” for Someone New (or Old) to Spiritual Awakening 1. Start sitting. As I often say, you probably can’t sit too much. I’m far less interested in what you do while sitting, more interested in that you spend time sitting often. However, I think it safe to say that fantasizing and planning your day are not the best uses of your time. Rather, spend time doing absolutely nothing. You are not trying to still your mind, you are not trying to focus on breathing or a thousand other meditation techniques. You are just sitting still, maybe noticing what is here, what is now, what is your current experience. There are no mental tricks or games or practices. Just sitting and being. That’s really enough. Maybe try doing some sitting, allowing everything to simply be, for 15 minutes every day. 2. A little bit each day, put your attention on awareness. If you would like to know how, read this article and follow the suggestions. 3. Find a teacher or two or three, and pay attention to their teachings. Don’t try to precisely comprehend it all, but instead allow the teachings to “soak in.” You don’t need to become a follower of these teachers, take them as your “gurus” or send them all your money. But having someone (or several someones) to guide you along the way can be very, very helpful. 4. Read a wide variety of spiritual books. These books can be very helpful. Don’t try to find “the answers” in those books. Rather, allow them to move you and guide you, not satisfy your minds desire to figure out everything. Some suggestions for books? Here are two: Emptiness Dancing by Adyashanti and Ask the Awakened: The Negative Way by Wei Wu Wei. You can find both at Amazon (using these links help support this website). 5. Make-up your own damn mind about what’s what in the spiritual world. Don’t believe a single word any teacher says, any books says, nothing(!), unless it really resonates with you. You don’t need to be an out and out skeptic. But don’t take anyone’s word for it. So what if Swami Salami says that enlight enment is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Is it? Do you know that? How about sitting with it and seeing what arises in you? 6. Attend a few satsangs. Satsang means “talk or gathering about truth,” and attending, watching or listening to one can be extremely helpful. If you don’t live near a teacher with whom you resonate, then watch satsang online (and no, that isn’t just a plug for online live satsang with yours truly). There are a number of teachers doing satsang and posting videos online. Adyashanti has many short video excerpts available for free, as well as full satsangs in video and audio form for a modest cost. Rick Archer from Buddha at the Gas Pump has done 85 (and growing) video interviews with various teachers and placed the videos and audios online for free (including one with me). And YouTube has more videos on spiritual awakening than you could ever hope to watch. For those of you who live in Hooterville like I do, the Internet is a veritable godsend. 7. Recognize one very important truth about spiritual awakening and spirituality in general: most of what passes for spirituality is not going to help you in the slightest. I know that sounds extremely critical, but I don’t intend it to be. The issue at hand is really simple: what is going to help you the most on your journey? That’s all the matters. And the crazy part is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” path or approach that works for everyone. In a very real sense, you have to discover the unique path that is for you and you alone. And so the obvious realization: most of what’s out there just isn’t going to work. That’s why I keep encouraging you to… 8. Sit some more. Really. I know I am making a big deal about sitting, both in this article, during satsang, and in the Shortcuts, but it really can’t be over-emphasized. It is a rare person who sits too much. If you will notice, most of the teachers and gurus out there, as well as most historical “enlightened” folks, did a lot of sitting. It’s about seeing how the mind/ego ticks. Most people won’t see through it without some time getting familiar with it. Sitting is the best way to do that. Remember, how is less important than actually doing it. I think that’s more than enough for anyone to get started. I’m quite certain that many will read the above and want to know, “okay, but what do I do?” I know, I’ve been there a hundred times. But you just have to know, right now, at the beginning, that it isn’t about what to do. It’s all about seeing truth for yourself, realizing what is real and true. That’s the spiritual journey. - See more at: http://tomstine.com/8-first-steps-for-someone-new-or-old-to-spiritual-awakening-a-beginners-guide- part-1/#sthash.x6pNMc4k.dpuf

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Transcript of Tom Stine - Spiritual Awakening

Page 1: Tom Stine - Spiritual Awakening

8 First Steps for Someone New (or Old) to Spiritual Awakening: A Beginner’s Guide Part 1 Written on September 2, 2011 by Tom

I recently received an email from a friend of a friend wanting some help finding a spirituality that would “give [her] some peace.” As I pondered this request, it became clear to me that some sort of “Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Awakening” might be of use to her and hopefully others. This article is the first in what will probably be several on how to get started in spirituality with an emphasis on awakening. Since many guides for beginners can at times be long and confusing, I’m going to attempt to keep these articles simple, in other words, no more than five to ten simple steps that one can take or brief comments awakening and spirituality. That should make it easier for someone just starting out to dive in easily and quickly (which is exactly what I would have liked 22 years ago). Today’s article:

8 “First Steps” for Someone New (or Old) to Spiritual Awakening

1. Start sitting. As I often say, you probably can’t sit too much. I’m far less interested in what you do while sitting, more interested in that you spend time sitting often. However, I think it safe to say that fantasizing and planning your day are not the best uses of your time. Rather, spend time doing absolutely nothing. You are not trying to still your mind, you are not trying to focus on breathing or a thousand other meditation techniques. You are just sitting still, maybe noticing what is here, what is now, what is your current experience. There are no mental tricks or games or practices. Just sitting and being. That’s really enough. Maybe try doing some sitting, allowing everything to simply be, for 15 minutes every day.

2. A little bit each day, put your attention on awareness. If you would like to know how, read this article and follow the suggestions.

3. Find a teacher or two or three, and pay attention to their teachings. Don’t try to precisely comprehend it all, but instead allow the teachings to “soak in.” You don’t need to become a follower of these teachers, take them as your “gurus” or send them all your money. But having someone (or several someones) to guide you along the way can be very, very helpful.

4. Read a wide variety of spiritual books. These books can be very helpful. Don’t try to find “the answers” in those books. Rather, allow them to move you and guide you, not satisfy your minds desire to figure out everything. Some suggestions for books? Here are two: Emptiness Dancing by Adyashanti and Ask the Awakened: The Negative Way by Wei Wu Wei. You can find both at Amazon (using these links help support this website).

5. Make-up your own damn mind about what’s what in the spiritual world. Don’t believe a single word any teacher says, any books says, nothing(!), unless it really resonates with you. You don’t need to be an out and out skeptic. But don’t take anyone’s word for it. So what if Swami Salami says that enlightenment is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Is it? Do you know that? How about sitting with it and seeing what arises in you?

6. Attend a few satsangs. Satsang means “talk or gathering about truth,” and attending, watching or listening to one can be extremely helpful. If you don’t live near a teacher with whom you resonate, then watch satsang online (and no, that isn’t just a plug for online live satsang with yours truly). There are a number of teachers doing satsang and posting videos online. Adyashanti has many short video excerpts available for free, as well as full satsangs in video and audio form for a modest cost. Rick Archer from Buddha at the Gas Pump has done 85 (and growing) video interviews with various teachers and placed the videos and audios online for free (including one with me). And YouTube has more videos on spiritual awakening than you could ever hope to watch. For those of you who live in Hooterville like I do, the Internet is a veritable godsend.

7. Recognize one very important truth about spiritual awakening and spirituality in general: most of what passes for spirituality is not going to help you in the slightest. I know that sounds extremely critical, but I don’t intend it to be. The issue at hand is really simple: what is going to help you the most on your journey? That’s all the matters. And the crazy part is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” path or approach that works for everyone. In a very real sense, you have to discover the unique path that is for you and you alone. And so the obvious realization: most of what’s out there just isn’t going to work. That’s why I keep encouraging you to…

8. Sit some more. Really. I know I am making a big deal about sitting, both in this article, during satsang, and in the Shortcuts, but it really can’t be over-emphasized. It is a rare person who sits too much. If you will notice, most of the teachers and gurus out there, as well as most historical “enlightened” folks, did a lot of sitting. It’s about seeing how the mind/ego ticks. Most people won’t see through it without some time getting familiar with it. Sitting is the best way to do that. Remember, how is less important than actually doing it. I think that’s more than enough for anyone to get started. I’m quite certain that many will read the above and want to know, “okay, but what do I do?” I know, I’ve been there a hundred times. But you just have to know, right now, at the beginning, that it isn’t about what to do. It’s all about seeing truth for yourself, realizing what is real and true. That’s the spiritual journey.

- See more at: http://tomstine.com/8-first-steps-for-someone-new-or-old-to-spiritual-awakening-a-beginners-guide-

part-1/#sthash.x6pNMc4k.dpuf

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Putting Attention on Awareness Written on July 16, 2011 by Tom

A friend and reader with whom I’ve corresponded many times over the past few years recently sent me an email with some questions. In my reply, I made reference to a practice that I had done that had made a real difference in my experience. She wanted to know what the practice was, and so I replied as follows: The practice is discussed in a book by Sri Sadhu Om, a disciple of Ramana Maharshi, and it is what Sadhu Om calls “Self-Enquiry”. Now, self-inquiry is batted around in many spiritual circles, and I’m sure it gets defined in many, many ways. But according to Sadhu Om, Self-Enquiry is exactly the same as a practice that Adyashanti refers to as “putting attention on awareness”. Sadhu Om says that this simple practice is the only real practice, and further he insists that it is the heart of Ramana’s teaching. Interestingly, this coincides with statements made by one of Ramana’s principle disciples, Sri Muruganar. Interestingly, Adyashanti has said on more than one occasion that the only thing you really need to do is put attention on awareness. It’s funny, but once you know this simple practice, it shows up in all kinds of places. Nisargadatta, Ramana, Adyashanti, Eckhart Tolle, it’s everywhere! And yet, most of these teachers spend little time talking about it even though it is a practice that they most glowingly recommend. You might ask: why do they spend so little time talking about it? And the answer, I think, is that almost no one will do the practice! You see, the practice is too simple, too passive, and too “vanilla pudding” (in other words, bland!). There are no bells and whistles, nothing for a mind to get excited about. I suspect, too, that if you are a spiritual teacher, and you talk about putting attention on awareness (Self-Enquiry) all the time, you’ll drive away the crowd! Not that Adyashanti or Eckhart Tolle per se are concerned with having a crowd (and the same can be said of Ramana and Nisargadatta), but they are all very focused on meeting people exactly where they are. And if the people coming to you as a teacher are not ready or able to even hear you tell them “do this one practice,” then what is the point of repeating yourself over and over? It will do no good. Adyashanti spends 90% of his time helping people get to the point where they will do the one thing that will work. And Adyashanti has said many, many times: the hardest thing for a human being to do is one simple thing. Several years ago, I did this practice every day for about 9 months, and then I experienced awakening. I can’t say that the practice CAUSED awakening, but I suspect it made me “more accident prone” as Ken Wilbur says (“Awakening is an accident. But we can make ourselves more accident prone” – Ken Wilbur). Doing this one practice has a curious effect on me, almost as if it is dissolving me from the inside out. And in fact, it is. But you want to know what is REALLY humorous to me about this one simple practice? I resist doing it! It really is hard for a human being to do one simple thing. I have never, repeat never, done a practice (you can’t even call it a practice, really) that has such a “Swiss Army knife” practicality to it. In fact, it does it all. I’ve taken almost every single life issue one can have into “putting attention on awareness” and watched the issue literally dissolve. Amazing, really. The reason for this all-purpose-ness is simple. When you do this one simple thing, you are in effect disconnecting from the entire mental-emotional system. You don’t have to find the particular thought, feeling, belief, memory, trauma, experience etc, that is causing you problems. You don’t have to weed through feeling after feeling, belief after belief. You are, in effect, choosing to chuck the whole lot, even for a brief moment. And that creates an opening for the divine to enter. All it takes is a very tiny opening, too, for the Universe to do it’s thing! Okay, that’s a pretty good sales pitch. Now the obvious question: how do you do the practice? Well, you just do exactly what it says: put your attention on awareness. That’s really it. You absolutely cannot do it wrong. But if you want to read something that will give you a good idea of how it works, I suggest you read the following: The Awareness Watching Awareness Practice Instructions Further Clarification of the Awareness Watching Awareness Method Practice Instructions How I Discovered the Awareness Watching Awareness Method

The author of the above, Michael Langford, does a nice job of presenting the practice. You also can have a look at John Sherman’s eBook, “Look at Yourself”. I find John a bit like a broken record, but what he does is very valuable. In fact, John is a nice contrast to Adyashanti. John has one teaching: put attention on your Self (awareness). Although his teaching is a bit monotonous, he is a very interesting guy and a good teacher. This one practice is quite likely all one really needs. That said, never take my word for it. Try it out, and if you feel inclined, do it for a few weeks. If not, then do something else. By all means, follow your inner guru. But once you try Self-Enquiry, you will probably find yourself drawn to it time after time. Then someday you just might recognize that you are being dissolved from the inside out, and even better, you just might realize that there is no you to be dissolved.

- See more at: http://tomstine.com/putting-attention-on-awareness/#sthash.otaSDg98.dpuf

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Love What Is Written on May 27, 2008 by Tom

I had a client once who asked me to explain further a comment I made to him during one of our sessions:

When you can for just this moment, just for this one moment, completely, utterly totally, beyond

accept, loveyour experience right now, then you have the power to do something about it.

I have seen, in many contexts, the idea of accepting, allowing or welcoming one’s experience. It seems to me that this is a crucial step to letting go or healing any issue. But these terms, welcome, allow, accept, really don’t go far enough in my experience. They do help, but they don’t have the force, the utter radicalness that brings incredible freedom and power. The more radical approach for me is to love my experience.

credit: dodoco

Let’s say that you experience a bit of hardship or unpleasantness, something like a break-up in a relationship. You are experiencing sadness, unhappiness, a sense of loss and rejection. The question I would often ask a client is “Could you accept or welcome the sense of rejection or loss?” This question helps the client to get in touch with the feeling, to experience it more fully. From there, it is possible to feel a spontaneous release or freedom around the feeling. And that is very good. However, as I have discovered in my own experience, if you can go beyond welcoming or accepting, and actually go to loving the feeling, even more power is unleashed. For in the moment that you love something, you are saying in effect, “I am 100% happy with the way things are. I don’t need to change a thing.” And that seems to me to be the source of something miraculous. I think it was Eckhart Tolle truly means by The Power of Now.

The Surge of Peace

Every time I do this, no matter what it is I am loving, I feel an incredible surge of peace, happiness and well-being. It is truly remarkable. It goes far beyond feeling a little better about an issue. It transcends releasing or any other process. It feels as if I have activated some hidden power source deep within me, one that goes out into the world through me, liberating me and everything else from suffering. I encouraged my client in this instance to go beyond just accepting his problem and feelings about it because of the incredible power of love. But it has to be genuine. It requires a bit of radical thinking. It requires a huge leap. Or maybe not. Maybe it just requires a willingness to see what truly is the Truth. The truth that love is all there is.

Loving What Is and Change

credit: mobology

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Right about now you might be saying, “But Tom, I really do want to change an aspect of my life. How can loving something to the extent that I’m, in your words, ‘100% happy with the way things are,’ allow me to make changes in my life?” I’ve heard these questions before. The answer is quite simple, really. Nothing, repeat nothing can change if you first don’t accept it as it is, at least to some extent. And the more you can accept it, ie, go beyond acceptance and love it, the better. Think about it: let’s say that you are wanting to lose weight. You’ve tried and tried, but to no avail. You have done everything, but nothing works. Why? The odds are pretty good that you are experiencing a massive internal conflict that is locking the weight in place. You are fighting reality. You are fighting life as it is right now. You are overweight. That’s reality. That’s the truth. Subconsciously, you can almost hear the battle. “I hate being fat, I don’t like myself,” and on and on. And then there’s the other side: “I want to lose weight, I must lose weight, I should lose weight, I want to be thin!” Accepting things as they are drains the fight out of you. It weakens the battle. Your feelings relax, subside, and you feel more peaceful. And loving things as they are, well, it takes this process an order of magnitude further. The fight is gone, the battle forever done. You love yourself as you are. Nothing to change.

Change Can Be Effortless

My experience is that when I do this important step, change often just happens, with little effort on my part. Things simply improve. You might get on the scale and find that 10 pounds of anger and animosity has been shed from your system and your waist by shifting to love. Peace brings harmony and flow. I recall reading one time that “retained hate = overweight.” Could be, don’t you think? It is easy to see how this process would work if that were true. So, pick an area of your life that is stuck. Look at it, examine how you are not loving things as they are. Make an effort to drop your criticisms, your judgments, your struggle against it. First accept, then move toward love. For now, simply identify what isn’t working and see how you are not being loving to things as they are. It will make a profound difference if you do nothing else. In future posts, I will talk more about how you can work this process on any issue. In case you can’t tell, I love working with my clients and helping them to experience radical growth in their lives. I personally learn a great deal from them. I’m glad to be able to share this learning with you. Namaste.

- See more at: http://tomstine.com/love-what-is/#sthash.cYkyXoUJ.dpuf

How the Spiritual Journey Began for Me Written on December 24, 2009 by Tom

credit: John Donges

Twenty-one years ago, I was feeling a bit sick much of the time, and so I decided to find a doctor who was interested in a more alternative approach to health, as I had just gotten interested in a more healthy lifestyle. Fortunately for me, C. Norman Shealy, founder of the American Holistic Medical Association, had his offices nearby, so I scheduled an appointment with him. After a thorough examination that lasted over an hour, Norm and I sat down to chat. As we neared the end of our time together, he looked at me and said, “What do you believe in?” I had to ask him to repeat the question because, well, no doctor had ever asked me such a thing. I said, “Well, you’re born, you live, you die. Nothing before or after. No soul, no God, nothing. I guess you could say I’m an atheist.” Norm looked at me with a kindly smile, and said, “About 5% of the population believes as you do. And that’s okay. But statistically, people who believe in something beyond themselves tend to be healthier and happier. The research is pretty clear on that score.” Then, he absolutely floored me with what he said next: “I’ve examined you thoroughly, and as far as I can tell, there isn’t anything physically wrong with you. You are quite healthy. Yet, you feel lousy. If I were you, I’d get a spiritual life.” I’ll never forget the next words out of my mouth: “How the hell do I do get a spiritual life?!” Norm smiled at me, patiently explained that he didn’t mean go to church or anything like that, and suggested a few books that I should read. He seemed to know, somehow, that once he pointed me in the right direction, I’d be okay. And he was right. After reading his few book suggestions, I discovered the local new age bookstore, Renaissance Books, and went crazy, reading everything under the sun.

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After reading dozens of books in the space of nine months, a set of 3 blue books kept catching my eye. I would pick-up one, read it a bit in the store, and then put it away, somewhat disgusted, because the books had all this Christian sounding lingo in them. After doing this little drill 4 or 5 times, I finally broke down and bought them. Within a week, I was hooked. A Course in Miracles became my spiritual path for 12 years as a result. Strange how these things get started. I’d love to hear your story of how you got started on the spiritual journey. I’ve turned the comments on for you to share. Happy Holidays. Namaste.

- See more at: http://tomstine.com/how-the-spiritual-journey-began-for-me/#sthash.8tJj5WVz.dpuf

Written on May 16, 2010 by Tom

credit: Frames-of-Mind

Buddhism has a problem, an unfortunate one, but such is life. And that problem is: there is no way to know for certain what the Buddha said. It is a problem with any spiritual teaching more than a thousand years old, or any history for that matter. It has to do with written texts and oral transmission. The first written Buddhist texts are in the Pali language and are based upon 400 years of oral tradition. That means that whatever the Buddha said 2500 years ago was repeated generation after generation, from one man to the next, for four centuries. Even if the monks who recited the Dharma for 400 years didn’t add a single thing to the words they were taught, not a single new interpretation or correction or improvement, the chance for inaccuracy is huge. Remember playing telephone in elementary school? When you consider that the Buddha’s followers were about as likely to be enlightened as Saint Peter was to have understood Jesus’ teachings (sorry, but Simon called Peter had no clue what Jesus was talking about!) then, well, the odds are really good that there are major errors. In other words, we have no real idea what the Buddha actually said. I can’t see any way around it. It’s the Jesus problem. The earliest Christian texts were written about 40-60 years after Jesus’ death. We don’t have any of those. We have fragments of texts that were produced 300-400 years after the actual documents were supposedly written. And we don’t have all that was written in those early years, just the stuff that the early church wanted to keep plus a bit of other stuff. So, we have oral tradition problems, interpretation problems, etc. At least Theraveda Buddhism attempted to preserve the Buddha’s words, something that Christians didn’t even really try to do, except with sayings gospels like the Gospel of Thomas. (Note: contemporary Jesus scholarship is a fascinating subject, worthy of a bit of study. I strongly suggest Marcus Borg. Needless to say, what modern Jesus scholars have to say is not what you are likely to hear in most churches today.) So, when I started reading Buddhism a bit a few years ago, I was like most people are: confused. My question was: how do I get to the words of the Buddha? And after a while, I knew the answer was the same one I had discovered years before with Jesus: you don’t. You can’t. We will quite likely never know what he really said. And the most likely reason is that his followers didn’t have the slightest idea what he meant by the things he said. Think about it: the average follower of the Buddha was like most spiritual seekers today. He kinda, sorta, maybe had a sense of what the Master was saying, but he wasn’t so sure. If suddenly things got clear and he experienced some sense of awakening, would he then really care if the Buddha’s words got accurately transmitted to the next generation? Probably not. He might have gone on and done other things with his life, or he might have started teaching others using his words and thoughts. No, unfortunately, the folks most likely to have been sticklers for repeating the Buddha’s words were quite likely not completely understanding everything he said but were hoping that the Master’s words would enlighten them some day. As time went on, not only did error creep into the transmission but so did interpretations and “improvements” and “he must have meant something else when he said that.” I know, there is no way to prove such a thing, but it is pretty obvious that in many traditions other than Buddhism that the interpretations became more important than the original words. Just look at Christianity. Go to any modern

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church and count the number of times the minister quotes a passage from the New Testament that has something in it that Jesus supposedly said. Then compare that to the number of quoted passages from the Hebrew Bible and St. Paul. You will be astounded! St. Paul and the Prophets win by a landslide. Yes, I did this experiment personally years ago. I was shocked. They never, ever quote The Sermon on the Mount in fundamentalist Christian churches. And so I have adopted a very dishonest method of “scholarship” when it comes to the Buddha and Jesus: I look for the common threads in them that fit with contemporary “enlightened guys” and keep that and discard the rest. As a matter of fact, that’s how I approach all spiritual literature. I only look for the common thread. I’m only really interested in what I find in common between Zen, Advaita, Buddhism, mystical Christianity, channeled material, etc. And then I compare it with my experience. The thread of commonality seems to be what matters and what helps with my personal experience always as the final arbiter. I know, I would never make a good scholar. But good scholarship has nothing to do with awakening. At least, it hasn’t done me a damn bit of good. So, for the most part, I much prefer to read enlightenment literature that was actually written down and transmitted fairly intact. There is so much rich, wonderful stuff from Zen and Advaita that I don’t have much need for the old Buddhist texts. I’d much rather read Nisargadatta Maharaj. I know many people don’t care for Advaita, but I find the best spiritual writings in people who are labelled Advaita. Not that these writings necessarily came out of that school of thought, but their teachings are so similar to true Advaita that they are usually pigeon-holed there. That’s the story with Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta. And even Adyashanti. I have to admit that most of what passes for Advaita these days is like Zen: pure crap. Both schools of thought get too hung up on the nothing part of awakening. That’s why Nisargadatta is so cool: in his talks, he made it clear that nondual (which is what Advaita means) means NON-DUAL, as in not 2. There isn’t nothingness or everything. There isn’t all and nothing. There’s just One. You look at it one way, and you find nothing. Absolutely nothing. And then you open your eyes, and you see a rich world of form. And the everything that you see is filled with the nothing that you see. And out of the nothing arises form. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Now don’t get me wrong: there are some wonderful Buddhist texts to read. The Dhammapada is excellent, and whoever said those words knew up from down. But on the whole, I don’t have much time for all the -ism that arose around a quite awake guy who might have been called Siddhartha and we now know as The Buddha.

- See more at: http://tomstine.com/i-dont-read-the-buddha-much-why-not-you-ask/#sthash.01aPjvwZ.dpuf

Greetings from Sedona, Arizona. It is beautiful, it is hot, the hiking is superb and the food excellent. Yes, I am here to attend a 9 day Sedona Method retreat, but being in Sedona is part of the experience. I came early this time, so I had a day and a half to enjoy this marvelous town. I’ve been to Sedona 14 times in 12 years, both for retreats and pleasure. One of my favorite places in the world. Last night the retreat began. The supposedly “advanced” 9 day retreat is a mixture of Advaita-style non-duality teachings (think Nisargadatta Maharaj and Adyashanti) with a touch of personal development and a pinch of basic Sedona Method. It is very different, though, from what other teachers do for a non-dual type retreat in that our “guru” for the 9 days, Hale Dwoskin, actively yet gentle engages people directly to see past their limited sense of self or “me-ness” as he would say. It was very obvious that for a lot of people in the audience (160 attendees, by the way), these ideas, while not complete new, were a bit difficult to understand. Hale’s intro left a lot of people scratching their heads. Even those of us who knew all about it were forced to wonder. As my friend Kerry put it, “Even though I did this same retreat 15 months ago, I am still wondering what we are going to be doing here for 9 days.” This bit of confusion was not due to a lack of communication on Hale’s part or understanding on ours. It simply stemed from the fact that these teachings are perplexing to the mind. They are teachings for that which we truly are which is beyond the mind, beyond thought, beyond the ability to conceptualize with words. Think about it (if you dare): what you are is not your mind, not your body, not any concept, not any idea. Even the words I’m about to use to describe it aren’t it and don’t even come close. Words like awareness, consciousness, spirit, Life, these are merely pointers to the Truth. But not the truth. The implications of these ideas are astounding:

Your self, the person you think of when you say “I” is not who your are. Your problems, while seemingly real, are not problems. They are just thoughts about the experiences you had, in

the past, but having little to do with right now. Your thoughts are just stories about the past, even if it is the very immediate past Your stories about your life simply are not true. They are just the inventions of the mind.

I know some of the above may sound crazy to some of you, but further investigation reveals that these are more accurate representations of the way things are than most of what we believe. I invite you to investigate them for yourself. These retreats are quite different from what you find in the Sedona Method audio course and book, as well as the normal 7 day retreat. But they are equally helpful in letting go of problems. Actually, more so, simply because they help you to see beyond all problems. They offer the possibility of a true ending to the issues that have plagued you for a lifetime. As I mentioned, I will try to post daily during the retreat. I hope to be speaking with you tomorrow. Namaste. - See more at: http://tomstine.com/sedona-method-retreat-day-1/#sthash.nKucfGfe.dpuf

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The Sedona Method – A Review Written on May 18, 2008 by Tom

I’ve mentioned the Sedona Method more than a few times in past articles, so it feels like time to write a comprehensive review of it.

Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-Being!

If you go to sedona.com you will see the above prominently displayed at the top of the page. So the question foremost in anyone’s mind who is exploring the Sedona Method is: does this program work? Will it really bring me lasting happiness, success, peace and emotional well-being? The short answer to that question, for me personally, is yes, it really did all that it claims. So read on to see the details of this review.

Sedona, AZ credit: jmenard48

What Is the Sedona Method?

The Sedona Method is a program for teaching you how to let go of any emotion or belief. When you begin reading the book or doing the audio program, you are given the background for what the method terms releasing, i.e., letting go of emotions. The Sedona Method teaches that releasing is natural, and if you pay attention, you will notice that most feelings come and go quite easily if you do not repress them or attach to them in some way. The only reason a feeling sticks around is because we don’t allow it to be felt and then flow out. Initially, the Sedona Method focuses on letting go of negative feelings, the ones that cause problems for us in life, like fear, anger and apathy. And you let go of feelings initially in the program by asking yourself 3 simple questions:

1. Could you let this feeling go? 2. Would you let this feeling go? 3. When?

It is interesting that these 3 simple questions could be the catalyst for letting go of a painful emotion, but they do work. Since releasing is a natural process, since feelings want to be felt and then flow out of our awareness, the power behind these questions is that they invite you to let this natural process happen. In fact, releasing is less something you do and more something you allow to be done. It is a process more of allowing the emotions to leave than anything else.

Beyond the Basics

credit: iandeth

Once you’ve mastered the use of these 3 questions and have applied them to a few areas of your life, the Sedona Method gets a bit more involved with what it refers to as the wants that underlie all emotions. In its model, we are all being driven by 4 wants:

1. Wanting control. 2. Wanting approval. 3. Wanting security or safety. 4. Wanting separation and oneness.

While I initially found this focus on wants to be effective in going deeper with releasing and letting go of more and more difficult emotions, I found after a while that it was way too heady. Over time I became aware that all feelings

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were being driven by all the above. And at the core always seemed to be some sense of wanting either to survive or to be in control. Interestingly, too, I began to see how almost every feeling I had could be reduced to anger or fear, and in most cases, anger seemed to be generated by a deep seated fear. And by seeing that it has become easier to release any emotion.

Welcoming and Allowing Feelings

In addition to the above, the Sedona Method uses other techniques for releasing. Probably the simplest, easiest to use, and most profound for me, though, was welcoming or allowing a feeling. Remember, the basic premise of the Sedona Method is that releasing is natural, that feelings merely want to be felt and then pass through. If you think about it, that is what ultimately happens with any feeling. So, the process of welcoming a feeling is a conscious decision to feel, a conscious choice to allow what you are feeling to be exactly what it is. I had the most dramatic release one day by using this technique that permanently ended panic attacks that had plagued me off and on for almost 30 years. I woke-up one morning feeling extremely anxious, and then slipped into a full-blown panic attack. That familiar feeling of impending doom and death engulfed me. If you’ve ever had a panic attack, you know what I mean. I had released on panic attacks before, with some success, but never had been freed from them. So, I began releasing on this one, and this time I had no luck. I was deep in panic. And then I remembered something I had heard at one of the retreats I had been to, and so I let myself sink into the panic, going deeper and deeper with it, allowing the panic to completely engulf me and even, I remember thinking, to get stronger if it could. I fully allowed the panic attack and welcomed it. In a sense, I embraced it. And then, like a fever breaking after the flu, it left, it released, it was gone. Not only was I no longer panicked, but I knew, I absolutely knew that I would never have another panic attack. And I didn’t. Now, as I look back on it, I can’t even conceive of how I ever had panic attacks. They seem an utter impossibility to me. Chalk one up for releasing!

Who Created the Sedona Method

The man who created the Sedona Method, Lester Levenson, was an interesting character. I’ve heard him described variously as a saint, a modern day mystic, an enlightened master, a miracle worker and a shyster businessman from New Jersey. From all that I can gather of the real life Lester, he was quite likely all of these. One man I know described him as “a black hole, so egoless that nothing really could attach to him.” He sounds like he was quite a character and a remarkable man. Lester’s story is a fascinating one, as it is the story of the awakening of a modern day spiritual master. Others have told his story much better than I can. You can read more about Lester’s life Lester’s realization and awakening at The Sedona Method website.

Who Teaches the Sedona Method

After Lester passed away in 1994, there was a bit of the inevitable power struggle amongst the faithful. The clear winner was Hale Dwoskin, who was granted the rights to the name “The Sedona Method” by Lester and who probably is the most well known of those teaching some version of Lester Levenson’s technique. I’ve looked into most of them, and for me, Hale has proven to be the most interesting, the most helpful and the clearest, both as a person and as a teacher. On the whole, I like Hale and his teaching style. He is a kind man, gentle with most people and truly interested in helping them. A popular question at Sedona Method retreats revolves around how enlightened Hale is, a question I know he personally laughs at. In my estimation, Hale has had a definite bit of dropping away of his ego, at least to some extent. He feels “clean” to me. He is fairly honest and straight forward. It feels good to be in his presence. Hale is a former New York City businessman, so a bit of that shines through his personality, too. This aspect of him caused me problems at first, because the Sedona Method is a for profit endeavor, and Hale is not hurting financially. I know that this aspect of the method bothers others, too. Hale likes to hang-out with the big names in the personal and spiritual development arena, and Jack Canfield in particular is one of his buddies. Yes, Hale was in the Secret, and he knows a lot of those people quite well. I eventually resolved all of these issues by realizing that he’s no saint and the Sedona Method isn’t perfect. And so what? It works, Hale’s an honest, delightful person, and I’ve benefited from all he does tremendously. I have learned a great deal about my own personal hang-ups about money and success in the process and gotten a fair amount of freedom going in those areas. On the whole, I like Hale a great deal. Here is a short video of Hale discussing how to let go on the little annoyances of life, to give you a taste of his style and personality:

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You can read Hale’s bio here at the Sedona Method web site.

How I Have Personally Benefited

If you go to the Sedona Method web site, you can read hundreds of testimonials from people who have benefited from using it. You can also read all the marketing material as well. But one of the most powerful things to me has been hearing how the Sedona Method has benefited people I know. So, here is how it has helped me: A permanent end to panic attacks. Less anxiety by an order of magnitude (in other words, a lot!). Little if any concern about the future. I survived a painful divorce. More importantly, my ex and I get along great, and I can honestly say I love her

more now than I ever did when we were married because I’m now capable of really loving someone. Amazing.

I’m a much, much better father these days. My son and I have bonded to an extent I wouldn’t have thought possible a few years ago.

I don’t feel desperate about life the way I used to. I’m much happier to let life happen, to flow with life, to be a part of life rather than always fighting it.

credit: blakespot

I had chronic fatigue for a number of years. My doctor said at one point that he thought the fatigue would resolve when the anxiety resolved. He was right.

I never was diagnosed with depression, but after a few years of working with the Sedona Method I felt a fog lifting from my mind. It was strange, like I had been living in a haze for at least a decade. And I never knew it.

I finally allowed myself to fully grieve the death of my father 16 years ago. At a Sedona Method retreat, I had a realization that I had been somehow expecting my father to come back to life. I shared this insight with the group, and almost immediately I start crying, sobbing actually, and couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop. I cried for 20 minutes. And then I was done. Done. And I knew it. A huge weight had lifted from me.

I finally have a sense of what I’m doing with my life. Writing, coaching, teaching, all these things are pointing me in a direction that I never had the will to move in. Now I do. I can’t say I know exactly what I’m doing, but I’m doing it, and it feels right.

And lastly, for all the years I’ve spent in spirituality, I never really took the idea of spir itual awakening seriously. That is, until Hale started discussing it, in his own way, at one of the retreats I attended. He introduced us to spiritual inquiry, and I took to it like a duck to water. The releasing that occurred from doing inquiry was tremendous. I dove into inquiry from that point, which lead me to all the wonderful teachings I’ve explored since then (and the retreats with Adyashanti). And “best” of all, it has lead to a fuller experience of what I truly am.

In case you can’t tell, I like the Sedona Method. I use it in some form with all my coaching clients. The techniques are quite powerful and supportive of you at just about every stage of your spiritual and personal journey.

How to Learn the Sedona Method

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The best way to learn it is to purchase the audio program. The audio program is quite complete, consisting of 20 CDs of recordings at a live class (I was in the audience for the recording). Hale teaches releasing from the basics to the advanced exercises. Moreover, he applies a lot of the material to the three areas of life that concern most people: money and success, relationships and health and well being. You can also buy the book, The Sedona Method, by following this link to Amazon.comor heading to your local bookstore. The book is where I began, but soon after I started I bought the audio program. It helped tremendously. Once you’ve gone through the book or audio program and learned the method, you can head out to Sedona, Arizona, for a 7 day retreat with Hale. He also offers a 9 day advanced retreat and a coaching course. I’ve loved the retreats I’ve been on (I’ve been to 6 retreats, 3 coaching trainings and 2 other weekend courses with Hale). And I’m heading back to Sedona in June for 2 weeks of retreat and additional coaching training. I can’t say enough good things about them. In conclusion, if you want to dive into a personal and spiritual development program that is as good, if not better, than anything out there, and lives up to its hype and claims, then go grab the Sedona Method.

- See more at: http://tomstine.com/the-sedona-method-review/#sthash.8kp9B5nD.dpuf

A friend and reader with whom I’ve corresponded many times over the past few years recently sent me an email with some questions. In my reply, I made reference to a practice that I had done that had made a real difference in my experience. She wanted to know what the practice was, and so I replied as follows: The practice is discussed in a book by Sri Sadhu Om, a disciple of Ramana Maharshi, and it is what Sadhu Om calls “Self-Enquiry”. Now, self-inquiry is batted around in many spiritual circles, and I’m sure it gets defined in many, many ways. But according to Sadhu Om, Self-Enquiry is exactly the same as a practice that Adyashanti refers to as “putting attention on awareness”. Sadhu Om says that this simple practice is the only real practice, and further he insists that it is the heart of Ramana’s teaching. Interestingly, this coincides with statements made by one of Ramana’s principle disciples, Sri Muruganar. Interestingly, Adyashanti has said on more than one occasion that the only thing you really need to do is put attention on awareness. It’s funny, but once you know this simple practice, it shows up in all kinds of places. Nisargadatta, Ramana, Adyashanti, Eckhart Tolle, it’s everywhere! And yet, most of these teachers spend little time talking about it even though it is a practice that they most glowingly recommend. You might ask: why do they spend so little time talking about it? And the answer, I think, is that almost no one will do the practice! You see, the practice is too simple, too passive, and too “vanilla pudding” (in other words, bland!). There are no bells and whistles, nothing for a mind to get excited about. I suspect, too, that if you are a spiritual teacher, and you talk about putting attention on awareness (Self-Enquiry) all the time, you’ll drive away the crowd! Not that Adyashanti or Eckhart Tolle per se are concerned with having a crowd (and the same can be said of Ramana and Nisargadatta), but they are all very focused on meeting people exactly where they are. And if the people coming to you as a teacher are not ready or able to even hear you tell them “do this one practice,” then what is the point of repeating yourself over and over? It will do no good. Adyashanti spends 90% of his time helping people get to the point where they will do the one thing that will work. And Adyashanti has said many, many times: the hardest thing for a human being to do is one simple thing. Several years ago, I did this practice every day for about 9 months, and then I experienced awakening. I can’t say that the practice CAUSED awakening, but I suspect it made me “more accident prone” as Ken Wilbur says (“Awakening is an accident. But we can make ourselves more accident prone” – Ken Wilbur). Doing this one practice has a curious effect on me, almost as if it is dissolving me from the inside out. And in fact, it is. But you want to know what is REALLY humorous to me about this one simple practice? I resist doing it! It really is hard for a human being to do one simple thing. I have never, repeat never, done a practice (you can’t even call it a practice, really) that has such a “Swiss Army knife” practicality to it. In fact, it does it all. I’ve taken almost every single life issue one can have into “putting attention on awareness” and watched the issue literally dissolve. Amazing, really. The reason for this all-purpose-ness is simple. When you do this one simple thing, you are in effect disconnecting from the entire mental-emotional system. You don’t have to find the particular thought, feeling, belief, memory, trauma, experience etc, that is causing you problems. You don’t have to weed through feeling after feeling, belief after belief. You are, in effect, choosing to chuck the whole lot, even for a brief moment. And that creates an opening for the divine to enter. All it takes is a very tiny opening, too, for the Universe to do it’s thing! Okay, that’s a pretty good sales pitch. Now the obvious question: how do you do the practice? Well, you just do exactly what it says: put your attention on awareness. That’s really it. You absolutely cannot do it wrong. But if you want to read something that will give you a good idea of how it works, I suggest you read the following:

The Awareness Watching Awareness Practice Instructions Further Clarification of the Awareness Watching Awareness Method Practice Instructions How I Discovered the Awareness Watching Awareness Method

The author of the above, Michael Langford, does a nice job of presenting the practice. You also can have a look at John Sherman’s eBook, “Look at Yourself”. I find John a bit like a broken record, but what he does is very valuable. In fact, John is a nice contrast to Adyashanti. John has one teaching: put attention on your Self (awareness). Although his teaching is a bit monotonous, he is a very interesting guy and a good teacher.

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This one practice is quite likely all one really needs. That said, never take my word for it. Try it out, and if you feel inclined, do it for a few weeks. If not, then do something else. By all means, follow your inner guru. But once you try Self-Enquiry, you will probably find yourself drawn to it time after time. Then someday you just might recognize that you are being dissolved from the inside out, and even better, you just might realize that there is no you to be dissolved. - See more at: http://tomstine.com/putting-attention-on-awareness/#sthash.8wTF14ll.dpuf

Awareness Watching Awareness index page

The Most Rapid Means to Eternal Bliss

The Awareness Watching Awareness Practice Instructions

The preliminary instructions

Set aside as much time each day to practice the Awareness Watching Awareness Method

as you are willing to set aside.

Drop as many unnecessary activities as you are willing to drop, to free up more time for

awareness watching awareness practice.

It is better if you can be undisturbed during your practice.

If you practice at home you can ask those whom you live with not to disturb you when

you are meditating, unless there is an emergency. Or you can find some other place to

practice where you will be undisturbed. If you can’t do that, well of course, go ahead

and practice anyway.

Bodily posture is not important in the Awareness Watching Awareness Method. However,

since one wishes to turn the attention away from the body, it is important that the body

be comfortable and relaxed and not causing any pain or strain.

You can do the practice sitting crossed legged or sitting on a chair or sitting on a sofa or

couch or even lying down on your bed if you are able to do so without falling asleep.

Whatever is comfortable and does not cause any pain, strain or discomfort. Whatever

posture helps you to ignore the body and turn the attention away from the body.

For the purposes of this practice the following definitions for the words awareness and

thought must be used.

Thought: Thoughts are the words of your native language in the mind. If your native

language is English, and the language you think in is English, then thoughts are those

English words in your mind. If you think in two languages, then thoughts are the words

of those two languages in your mind.

Awareness: When you wake up in the morning, awareness is that consciousness that

woke up in the morning. Thoughts come and thoughts go, but the background of

awareness remains continuous during all the waking hours until you go to sleep at night.

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Awareness is you, your awareness, just your awareness that is looking through your

eyes right now.

The words Awareness, consciousness, attention, observation, watching, looking, seeing

and concentrating all have the same meaning.

Try an experiment:

Just look at an object in the room.

Notice the awareness that is looking through your eyes.

Now shut your eyes and notice that you are still aware.

It is the same awareness that was a moment ago looking at the room.

Now, with your eyes still closed, observe your awareness.

The following practice instructions are the Awareness Watching Awareness Method

described, using carefully chosen slightly different wording.

It is important to use as few words as possible to describe the practice. Use only one

description per meditation session. If you are going to be practicing for one or two or

three hours today, then for that entire time you should be using only one set of

instructions.

Try Description A first. If A is easy for you to understand and practice, there is no

reason to go to B or C or D. A is enough. However if you do not understand the

instruction then the next day you could try B.

Some versions might for a moment have you start with your eyes open, but once you

are instructed to close them, then keep them closed. In other words, the Awareness

Watching Awareness Method is always to be done with the eyes closed.

When you are observing your awareness, just remain with that.

No need to do anything else.

Awareness is empty, so there is no object you are trying to observe.

It is just awareness being aware of itself.

Also it is no special kind of awareness, it is just your ordinary everyday awareness that

you normally go through the day with, looking at itself.

You can record the instructions below on an audiocassette or CD for personal use if you

wish. The best way to do this is to only record one description, description A for

example. It is important to listen to only one description during a meditation session.

Otherwise you would be bringing in too many words and too many concepts. You do not

wish to interrupt your practice session by having to turn a tape recorder off either. That

is why it is best to record only one description, if you decide to record it. Repeat the

instructions on the recording every 30 minutes.

The Practice Instructions

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Description A

Shut your eyes.

Notice your awareness. Observe that awareness.

Turn your attention away from the world, body and thought, and towards awareness

watching awareness.

If you notice you are thinking, turn your attention away from thought and back towards

awareness watching awareness.

Description B

Look out at the room, notice your awareness looking out through your eyes.

Now shut your eyes and notice that same awareness is still there, that a moment ago

was looking outward at the room.

Observe that awareness.

If you are not having many thoughts, just ignore them and continue with awareness

observing awareness.

If you seem to be having a lot of thoughts, then just turn your attention away from the

thoughts and towards awareness observing awareness.

Description C

Shut your eyes. Notice that you are conscious. Watch that consciousness.

If you notice thoughts, just ignore them and continue watching your consciousness.

Do not watch your thoughts, watch your consciousness.

Consciousness watching consciousness.

Consciousness conscious of consciousness.

Description D

Shut your eyes.

Turn your attention away from thought and watch the watcher, see the seer.

Description E

Shut your eyes.

Notice your awareness.

Be aware of your awareness.

If you notice you are thinking, turn your attention away from thought and towards

awareness of awareness.

Description F

Shut your eyes.

Just remain in awareness aware of itself.

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If there are not many thoughts, just ignore them.

If there are many thoughts, then bring your attention back to awareness aware of itself.

Description G

Shut your eyes.

Observe your awareness.

If there are thoughts, turn your attention away from them and continue to observe your

awareness.

Description H

Shut your eyes

Turn your attention towards awareness and concentrate on awareness.

Concentrate in a relaxed manner without strain.

If thoughts are noticed, turn your attention away from them and back towards

concentrating on awareness.

Description I

Shut your eyes.

Be aware of being aware.

Now remain in that awareness of awareness.

If there are thoughts turn your attention away from them and continue being aware of

being aware.

Description J

Shut your eyes.

Notice you are aware. Look at that awareness.

Remain in awareness looking at awareness.

If thoughts arise, look away from them and go back to looking at awareness, then just

remain in that awareness looking at awareness.

Awareness being aware of awareness.

Awareness being aware of itself.

Remain in that.

Don’t move from that.

Description K

Shut your eyes.

Your present awareness watching your present awareness, while ignoring all else.

Description L

Look at the room. Notice your awareness looking through your eyes.

Shut your eyes and turn your attention around to look at itself.

Attention attending to attention. Just remain with that.

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Don’t move from that. Don’t attend to anything else, don’t attend to thought.

Attend only to attention.

Description M

Look at the room. Notice your awareness looking through your eyes.

Now shut your eyes.

Notice that same awareness that was just looking through your eyes a moment ago.

Now turn that awareness around 180 degrees away from the world, the body and

thought and towards itself, towards awareness watching awareness.

Description N

Look at the room. You are the seer. Your awareness is that which sees.

Shut your eyes.

See the seer. Remain with that.

Turn your attention away from thought and towards the seer.

Further Clarification

Further clarification on how to practice the Awareness Watching Awareness meditation

can be read here: Further Clarification

Other Methods:

There are two primary direct and rapid means to Infinite-Eternal-Life-Awareness-Love-

Bliss.

The Path of Surrender

The Abandon Release Method is the most direct and rapid means to Infinite-Eternal-Life-

Awareness-Love-Bliss on the path of Surrender.

The Abandon Release Method is a whole and complete practice, and as long as you are

satisfied with the new life the Abandon Release Method gives you, you need no other

practice.

You can read the Abandon Release Method practice instructions here:

Abandon Release Method

The Path of Awareness

The Awareness Watching Awareness Method is the most Direct and Rapid Means to

Infinite-Eternal-Life-Awareness-Love-Bliss on the Path of Awareness.

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The Awareness Watching Awareness Method is a whole and complete practice, and as

long as you are satisfied with the new life the Awareness Watching Awareness Method

gives you, you need no other practice.

The Abandon Release Method is Passive.

The Awareness Watching Awareness Method can be done actively with effort or

passively with little or no effort.

Which method you choose to practice, the Abandon Release Method or the Awareness

Watching Awareness Method is up to you.

The Abandon Release Method is the most restful of the two methods.

The suggested order is to try the Abandon Release Method first.

Whichever method you choose, it is important to give the method a fair chance by

practicing the method for at least two hours everyday for six months.

top of page

Awareness Watching Awareness index page

Awareness Watching Awareness index page

The Most Rapid Means to Eternal Bliss

Further Clarification

of the Awareness Watching Awareness Method

practice instructions

The reason these further clarifications are being placed on a separate page is because

the practice instructions for the Awareness Watching Awareness Method are simple and

they should be kept that way.

It is not helpful to bring a lot of concepts with you into the practice. It is best just to

focus on the simple practice instructions.

One of the things you might wonder is what to do after you start watching your

awareness. There is nothing else to be done. You just continue with awareness watching

awareness. There are no objects to see. Awareness is empty, so there is no thing to

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observe there. Just continue for the entire practice session watching your awareness,

only awareness watching awareness and nothing else.

Don’t expect any type of experience. If you are wondering if you will have some kind of

spiritual experience, then that very wondering means you have added something to

awareness watching awareness.

Never add anything to awareness watching awareness.

The key is to be content just watching your awareness and not to move from that and

not to add anything to that.

You may or may not have some kind of spiritual experience, but you should never be

expecting any kind of spiritual experience.

If you wonder if the state is going to deepen, that very wondering means you have

added something to the Awareness Watching Awareness practice.

Never add anything to the Awareness Watching Awareness Method. Just be content with

awareness watching awareness.

You should look at it like awareness watching awareness is all there is, there is nothing

more.

In the awareness watching awareness meditation you are not seeking anything. You are

observing, not seeking. If you were seeking something, then there would be seeking

and awareness watching awareness. That would mean you would have added seeking to

awareness watching awareness.

Never add anything to awareness watching awareness, just be content to continue with

awareness watching awareness without adding anything to it.

When there are no thoughts, that is best.

If there are thoughts, turn your attention away from them and towards awareness

watching awareness. Do not encourage thoughts, do not try and complete a thought, do

not turn your attention towards thoughts. Do not think about thinking.

If thoughts are happening, do not make a problem out of it. Just turn your attention

away from thoughts and towards awareness watching awareness.

Just remain with awareness watching awareness.

When awareness is watching awareness something extraordinary is happening.

You are for the first time turning inward.

Your true nature is awareness.

Who you really are at your core is awareness.

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Therefore, in awareness watching awareness you are for the first time observing

yourself and knowing yourself.

However you should not think about that or anything else written on this page while

practicing awareness watching awareness, because then you would be adding those

thoughts.

The reason I am writing about the fact that you are doing something extraordinary

when awareness is watching awareness is because at first you might think, “what else?”

or “so what?”

Just keep on practicing and forget about “what else?” or “so what?” Just by turning your

attention away from thought and towards awareness watching awareness you are doing

something that will change your life completely if you are sincere and continue to

practice.

Most humans go their whole lives always looking outward at people, places, things. By

turning your attention away from the world, body and thought and towards awareness

watching awareness you are doing something extraordinary.

For some people it might take a few days, others a few weeks and others a few months

to start to feel something. At first it is subtle and you won’t know what it is, but you will

know that you like it. It is pleasant. A new subtle feeling. That feeling comes because

what you are feeling is eternal life-love-peace.

However, you should not have any expectations about that, because if you expect that,

then you are adding that expectation to your awareness watching awareness practice.

Never add anything to your awareness watching awareness practice. Just remain in

awareness watching awareness while ignoring all else. Just stay there. Just remain in

that. Don’t look for a something else.

In other words while you are practicing awareness watching awareness, just stay there,

relax with that, don’t seek something other than awareness watching awareness, don’t

seek any other state, don’t seek deeper awareness, don’t seek anything.

Just remain in awareness watching awareness. Be happy that it is simple. Don’t seek

more than that. It is just a simple state. Don’t seek peace, let peace come on its own if

it is going to come, without your expecting it or seeking it.

Just remain with awareness watching awareness, and when there are thoughts, just

keep turning your awareness back towards awareness watching awareness.

Just keep on practicing everyday. Look at it as though all you were seeking was the

awareness watching awareness itself and not something else and therefore be content

with just staying in awareness watching awareness without moving from it.

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Some days the mind may be noisy but if you keep on practicing a good day will appear

when your meditation will go very deep without your trying to make it go deep. Never

think about deep or not deep. If you think about deep or not deep then you would be

adding something to the awareness watching awareness meditation. Just be content to

remain with awareness watching awareness regardless of whether it seems like a good

meditation session or not.

Some days the feeling may be turbulent. Just ignore the turbulent feelings and turn

your attention towards awareness watching awareness.

If you remain observing awareness day after day, at some point you will start to enjoy

awareness watching awareness. I don’t know how long that will take for you. For some

people it may take days, others weeks and others months. The point is, that if you find

it difficult to remain with awareness watching awareness in the beginning, don’t give up,

practice everyday on the good days and on the noisy mind or turbulent feeling days too.

Just keep on turning your attention away from thoughts and towards awareness

watching awareness.

You should not be expecting the day when you will start to enjoy awareness watching

awareness, because then you would be adding something to the awareness watching

awareness practice in the form of an expectation. The best kind of awareness watching

awareness practice is one that is empty. Just awareness watching awareness and

nothing else. Just stay there. Just be there. Just dwell there. Just remain there. Don’t

seek anything else, just be content with awareness watching awareness. Just relax and

continue watching your awareness.

Here is a way to look at it:

It is a little like falling in love.

You spend time with someone.

You watch them, you observe them.

But you do not yet know them.

So you continue to observe them.

You don’t have expectations,

because you don’t know them well enough yet to have expectations.

You just keep on observing.

Some days you have pleasant days when you observe them

and some days you are having an unpleasant day while you observe them.

But you continue to observe them.

Each day you are coming to know them better

even though you may not be aware that you are coming to know them better.

Then one day suddenly and unexpectedly, you have fallen in Love.

Awareness watching awareness is a little like that. Just don’t expect anything and

continue with awareness watching awareness. The fact that nothing is happening is

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great! If it seems like day after day, it is just the same, only awareness watching

awareness, that is great! Just remain content with that. Because if you think that it is

going to change, then you are adding something to awareness watching awareness, in

the form of an expectation that it is going to change.

Just look at awareness watching awareness as enough, just as it is. Continue your

practice, everyday.

I don’t know when you will fall in love with awareness watching awareness. It may be

after one month or after many months of practice. You will have plenty of confirmation

along the way. Once you have started to experience even a little joy or peace from

awareness watching awareness, it progresses very rapidly after that. That may happen

after only a week or for others one month or for others many months. It does not take

long to reach the point where just closing your eyes brings awareness-joy to you before

you even have had a chance to practice.

You should not expect it, because then you have added something to the awareness

watching awareness practice.

Some people might not like the practice for the first week or two. So just persevere and

keep practicing.

You can look upon your awareness as something that wants you to just watch it without

expecting anything from it, like a person who wants to be loved just for what they are,

not for what they can give you. So just continue to watch awareness, and don’t be

expecting peace-love-joy. Let peace-joy-love come on its own without your expecting it.

What you truly are is Infinite-Eternal-Life-Awareness-Bliss-Love.

However, by having your attention turned towards the world, the body and thought all

the time, you subject yourself to imagining that you are a body subject to disease and

death and suffering.

By turning your attention towards awareness you are for the first time observing what

you are.

Do not think about what you are, when you practice, just watch your awareness without

expecting anything.

Don’t watch your thoughts.

Turn your attention away from your thoughts

and just watch your empty awareness.

Observe the observing.

Observe the awareness.

If you remain content with just awareness watching awareness, your problems will start

to disappear.

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Your misery will start to disappear.

Peace will come unexpectedly.

Joy will come unexpectedly.

Infinite Love will come unexpectedly.

Awareness watching awareness is awareness being awareness.

However, because of the long ancient habit of looking outward towards people places

and things, the word "watching" is used in the practice instructions.

That way we take that same habit of watching people, places and things and we shut

our eyes and turn it inwards. That is why the word "watching" is used.

What is real is awareness watching awareness, looking inward. What is unreal is looking

outward towards the world of people places and things.

Looking outward brings suffering, death, futility.

Looking inward is Liberation, eternal life, eternal awareness, eternal peace, eternal joy,

eternal Love that is absolutely perfect, free of all forms of sorrow and misery. That joy,

that perfection is your awareness. But because you always looked outward, you never

got to know it, you never got to experience it.

To change this long habit of looking outward you need to practice. Spend as many hours

per day practicing as you can. If you only practice awareness watching awareness for 30

minutes per day and spend the other 23 and a half hours looking outward, you will not

progress very quickly.

If you want rapid results, then drop your unnecessary activities to free up time so you

can practice for many hours per day, everyday. Maybe once per week on one of your

days off from work you can devote the whole day to just practicing awareness watching

awareness.

To come to know and experience and live in Eternal-life-awareness-joy-peace-love is

definitely worth it.

You will discover you are not a body living in a world. You are eternal awareness,

perfect love-joy.

Remember be content with just awareness watching awareness, don’t expect any of the

things described on this page, because expectation will destroy the effectiveness of the

practice.

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If it seems boring the first few times you try the awareness watching awareness

practice, that is OK, just continue to practice and remain content with awareness

watching awareness.

top of page

Awareness Watching Awareness index page

Awareness Watching Awareness index page

HOW I DISCOVERED THE

AWARENESS WATCHING AWARENESS METHOD

(The actual practice instructions are in bold)

By the year 2001, I had been studying the Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi for 27

years, from age 15 to age 42. I had read around 2000 spiritual books from the various

paths, etc. and I had seen many teachers. Reading those spiritual books, from so many

different traditions, was a waste of time, because only Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri

Muruganar, Sri Sadhu Om and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj teach the Direct Path.

I had, during that 27 year period placed emphasis on studying the books “Talks with Sri

Ramana Maharshi” and “The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi”. Since “Talks” came

from notes taken in Sri Ramana's presence, and since “The Collected Works” was

written by Sri Ramana, I thought they would be the most accurate sources of the

Teaching. I had the other Sri Ramana Maharshi books, but I did not place much

attention on them. I did not want to read Sri Ramana's teachings through what might be

the distorted vision and opinions of a “sleeping” aspirant.

In 2001, I was in Tiruvannamalai for the purpose of attending talks given by Sri V.

Ganesan, who is the Grand Nephew of Sri Ramana Maharshi. In the guesthouse I was

staying in, in Tiruvannamalai, I was thinking about paying attention only to the I AM,

excluding all else, as is recommended by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, and feeling the

sense of I or I AM as is recommended by Sri Ramana Maharshi.

I was in my room in the Sesha Bhavan guest house in Tiruvannamalai. I was thinking

about all the possible meanings of I and I am and all the possible approaches to them

that I had read over the years in the teachings of Sri Ramana and Sri Nisargadatta. The

I thought, the thought I-am, the I-feeling, the feeling I-am, the I-consciousness, the I-

am consciousness, etc. And the different approaches to them, to think I or I-am, to feel

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I or I am, to focus the attention on I or I am. The number of different combinations of

the approaches and the view of what I or I-am mean.

I was wondering whether there was some way to solve these questions and to have

clarity both in the meaning of I or I am and the meaning of what to do with it (focus the

attention, feel, think, or ?) So that there was nothing vague left, no more choices left. I

really wanted to know the answer. I was not going to confine the answer to any

previous understanding. It did not matter even if it shattered my previous

understanding. It was a willingness to consider, maybe for the last two and a half

decades I have not at all understood Sri Ramana Maharshi's teachings. A willingness to

allow all old views to be swept away if need be.

Sri Ramana Maharshi had said that self-inquiry is more like feeling than like thought.

Asking “Who am I?” is an easy instruction to follow and asking “to whom do these

thoughts arise?” is an easy instruction to follow, as long as one stays in the realm of

thought. But when it comes to feeling “Who am I” or feeling “I am”, then for me, that

had always been a bit vague, because what exactly is the feeling I am? How do I know I

am? I wondered is “I am” the “I-thought” or is “I am” just my present awareness? If “I

AM” is this present awareness, just the awareness that is now looking at this room, then

paying attention to the I AM is just:

My awareness watching my awareness.

This was like a revelation to me! Instead of having some vague practice where I am told

to pay attention to a feeling I AM, without ever being sure what exactly “I AM” means

and feels like, here I had an absolutely clear instruction:

My present awareness watching my present awareness.

Awareness watching awareness.

Not some unknown awareness labeled the Infinite Self.

This awareness, my awareness, here and now watching itself, while ignoring

thought, the body, the world, etc.

So immediately I tried this practice:

Awareness watching awareness while ignoring thought.

I shut my eyes, because the point was also to ignore the world, to turn the

attention that normally goes out to the world around 180 degrees and to look

inward. However, it also means to ignore thought.

So awareness watching awareness and ignoring thought, etc.

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If I noticed that some thought had started, I just ignored the thought, and

brought the attention back to awareness watching awareness. Awareness

paying attention to awareness,to the exclusion of all else. Awareness paying

attention only to itself.

The results were instant! From the very first moment one tries this practice, one is

abiding as awareness! There is no waiting! It is so easy.

I do not mean to imply that from the beginning the ego is dead. It might take years of

continuous practice before the ego is dead, and thought and the world are gone forever,

never to reappear.

However, from the moment one tries this simple, easy to understand practice, one is

abiding as awareness!

My first session of practice lasted around two hours and then I wanted to get some

confirmation to see if there was any support for this practice in the teachings of Sri

Ramana? Had I found something wonderful, the very heart of the practice of Self-inquiry

and Self-abidance? Or was this some detour? So I looked to Sri Ramana's teachings to

see.

I read the book “The Path of Sri Ramana, Part 1” by Sri Sadhu Om cover to cover. It is

amazing that I searched this book first, because the premise of the whole book was the

answer I was looking for. Throughout the book, Sri Sadhu Om focuses on Self-attention,

instead of Self-inquiry. He points this out hundreds of times throughout the book, and

this is the main point being made throughout the book. Self-inquiry is really just a way

of inducing Self-attention, and only Self-attention is the true practice.

So immediately the confirmation was there, given by Sri Sadhu Om. However Sri Sadhu

Om was still using the word “Self”, when he wrote of Self-attention. So I looked further.

Next I read the Garland of Guru's Sayings by Sri Muruganar. Throughout the book Sri

Muruganar uses the word Awareness. In 365 of the 1254 sayings, Sri Muruganar uses

the word awareness. I was thrilled to see Sri Muruganar use the word awareness so

many times, it was clear I was on the right track.

Then I read saying #418:

“The only true and full awareness is awareness of awareness.

Till awareness is awareness of itself, it knows no peace at all.”

There it was! The awareness of awareness method! There was my first confirmation that

this indeed was the way and not some detour.

Then I read saying #432:

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“Is it not because you are yourself Awareness, that you now perceive This universe?

If you observe awareness steadily, this awareness itself as Guru will reveal the

Truth.”

There it was again! A second confirmation even more powerful!

First Sri Muruganar describes the exact practice:

“you observe awareness steadily”

then Sri Muruganar describes what the result will be of this practice:

“this awareness itself as Guru will reveal the Truth.”

Definitely not some side detour!

Just to add one more item of confirmation, I asked Sri Ganesan, “Is my present

awareness, just this awareness that is looking through these eyes at you, the same as

the I AM that Sri Nisargadatta speaks of?”

Sri Ganesan answered yes.

I asked Sri Ganesan, “Is awareness watching awareness, as described by Sri Muruganar,

the same as practicing paying attention to the I AM, as Sri Nisargadatta taught?”

Sri Ganesan said yes. Sri Ganesan says he likes to call it “attention attending to

attention.”

One more confirmation, in a long line of confirmations, that I had discovered the true

way to practice.

Sri Ganesan was a good choice to pose this question to, because it was Sri Nisargadatta

Maharaj who asked Sri Ganesan to give talks and Sri Ganesan has had a lifetime of

exposure to the teachings of, and devotees to, Sri Ramana Maharshi.

The awareness watching awareness method takes the practice out of the realm of

thought.

The awareness watching awareness method is instant abidance! No waiting!

What an amazing couple of days this was! First to see, in crystal clear language, just

what the I AM is: just this awareness, my present awareness! Then to see in crystal

clear language the practice instructions: awareness watching awareness! All this arising

in answer to the question I asked myself, “What exactly is this 'I AM'?” Then out of all

the books that could have been chosen to look in, to see if there was any confirmation,

to choose “The Path of Sri Ramana, Part 1” and “Garland of Guru's Sayings”, where the

confirmation is found throughout both books, in great abundance and on almost every

page! Then to also have the confirmation from Sri Ganesan!

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An amazing couple of days of Grace!

From the moment of the shift of focus to awareness watching awareness, the meaning

of Sri Ramana's teachings became clear.

I wish I had discovered this as a teenager. The mistake I made was to focus on the

book “Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi” and the “Collected Works of Sri Ramana

Maharhsi”. If instead of placing such emphasis on books like those, I had right from the

beginning, read books like “The Garland of Guru's Sayings” and “Sri Ramana

Experience” by Sri Muruganar, and “The Path of Sri Ramana, Part one” by Sri Sadhu

Om”, I could have had such a fruitful practice of instant abidance, instead of staying

within the realm of thought asking “to whom do these thoughts arise”, and trying to feel

the sense of I AM, etc.

I did not realize that Sri Murganar and Sri Sadhu Om were liberated sages. I discovered

that later by reading books like “Sri Ramana Experience”, etc.

Since then, I have discovered many more quotes by Sri Muruganar on the Awareness

watching Awareness method. From “Non-Dual Consciousness, The Flood Tide of Bliss,

Sri Ramana Experience (Anubuti)” by Sri Muruganar:

212. Those who have sunk within their own inner selves to dwell as pure knowledge, so

that their infatuation with worthless desires is abolished, will, through holy silence,

establish the fulfillment of the real within their own selves. This practice of meditation

upon consciousness itself is the true way.

I feel so lucky to have discovered these buried treasure, hidden out in the open. Take

the above quote for example. It is in a section of 242 verses entitled “Guru's Gracious

Bounty”. It is not a category about practice. The quotes, before and after verse #212,

don't give one any clue that the true way of practice is about to be described. Only a

careful study of all 242 verses, will reveal it. If one does not recognize the awareness

watching awareness method, and its value, Sri Muruganar gives you a second chance by

writing “is the true way” in verse #212 above.

The same applies to the following quotes from “The Garland of Guru's Sayings”. They

are not under the heading of practice. They come from all different sections of the book.

To discover these buried treasures, a careful study of all of the 1254 sayings was

required.

FROM “THE GARLAND OF GURU's SAYINGS” BY SRI MURUGANAR:

AWARENESS WATCHING AWARENESS

52. If with mind turned towards Awareness and concentrating on Awareness,

one seeks the Self, the world made up of ether and other elements is real, as all things

are Awareness, the one sole substance of true Being.

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638. If instead of looking outward at objects, you observe that looking, all

things now shine as I, the seer. Perception of objects is mere illusion.

742. In the Self, he stands firm fixed who dwells and truly meditates on himself as

pure awareness.

435. True natural Awareness, which does not go after alien objects, is the Heart.

Since actionless Awareness shines as real Being, its joy consists in concentration on

itself.

428. Not like other things unreal, but always by its Being real, the Self as

permanent Awareness, has no other dwelling place, than in its own radiant

Awareness.

862. Losing the false ego in awareness, and firm abidance as awareness, is true

clarity.

1068. In that flawless state of Being, the Self, without a sense of “I” or “mine”, the still

abidance in and as pure Awareness, this is the noblest victory worth winning.

1039. That which unaided shines within as “I AM, I AM” without a break, the strong,

true Being free from all adjuncts, this pure Awareness, is our firm, authentic nature.

1038. Awareness is not a quality of the Self. The Self is without qualities. Awareness is

not an action of the Self. The Self does nothing.The Self, our Being, IS Awareness.

IGNORING THOUGHTS

921. None can confront and overcome the mind. Ignore it, then, as something

false, unreal. Know the Self as the real ground and stand firm-rooted in it.

1192. The ego image moves reflected in the mind's waves. How to stop this

movement, how to regain the state of stillness? Don't observe these movements,

seek the Self, instead. It is wisdom to gain and abide in silence.

1193. The seers declare that pure silence is firm abidance in egoless, true Awareness.

For such thought free silence, the means is clinging to the Self within the Heart.

917. As in the sky covered with thick clouds no eye can see the glorious sun, one fails to

see one's own Self when the mind firmament is darkened by the dense cloud of

thoughts.

918. Only He who has vanquished thought, sits like an emperor, on the neck of the

majestic elephant Knowledge. Know for certain that the mind's movements alone give

rise to birth and every cruel pain and sorrow.

IGNORING THE BODY, THE WORLD, ETC.

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Some of the quotes above have already dealt with this subject, such as #638 and #435.

Here are some additional quotes:

647. If you refrain from looking at this, that or any other object, then by that

overpowering look into absolute Being, you become yourself the boundless space of

pure Awareness, which alone is real Being.

1194. When one refrains from looking out and noting outward objects, and

abides within the heart in Self-Awareness , the ego disappears. The silence pure,

that then shines forth, is the goal of Knowledge.

1103. It is folly to waste one's life running in all directions searching different

goals. Learn to practice firm abidance, at the feet of the Self supreme, the eternal and

auspicious silence, which alone can still the ego's restlessness.

1157. Holding in their hands the mirror, the scripture which declares “The Self alone is

to be known”, many, alas, study the text and commentaries; only a few seek the Self

and gain true life.

The following quotes, on the subject of practice, effort, earnestness and zeal, are also

important to note:

694. Even in this worldly life, one's labors bear no fruit, without abundant faith. Hence

till one merges in the bliss Supreme and boundless, one's strong zeal in spiritual

practice should never slacken.

1063. Not knowing the value of this treasure, their own birthright,people perish

through mere laziness. The great ones who have found the clue and traced and

gained it, they enjoy eternal bliss.

1066. True wealth is but the gracious silence of steady, unswerving Self-awareness. This

bright rare treasure, can be gained only by those who: earnestly strive for the

extinction of all thoughts.

1186. Uninterrupted and whole-minded concentration on the Self, our true, non-dual

Being, this is silence, pure, supreme, the goal; Not the lazy mind's inertia, which is

but a state of dark illusion.

612. Undeluded by whatever else may come and go, unwinking watch the Self,

because the little fault of forgetting for one moment ones true Being as Pure

Awareness, brings tremendous loss.

692. Since it was one's own past effort that has now ripened into fate, one can

with greater present effort change one's fate.

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780. Do not swerve from your true state, thinking some thought. But if you do,

do not commit the same mistake again. “Do nothing that you may later regret.

Even if you did it once, never repeat it.”

790. To err is human. When those strong in virtue err, they do not hide it in their pride.

Instead, they own up to their lapse and quickly reform themselves.

826. A superstructure raised without a strong foundation soon collapses in disgrace.

Therefore, earnest seekers first ensure by every means their own stern self-

discipline, through devotion and detachment.

Postscript (July 2006)

The above was written many years ago. I began the Awareness Watching Awareness

Practice in December of 2001. After two years of practice, with more 12 hour practice

days than two hour practice days, in January of 2004 illusion ended forever. The

practice succeeded.

Knowing exactly what the I AM is and how to focus on it has great implications for

Christian practice and Christian Mysticism also. God told Moses, tell them I AM has

come. From the old testament: Be still and know I AM God. I AM that I AM. From the

New Testament Christ says Even before Abraham was, I AM. The kingdom of God is

within you.

You can read a detailed description of the Awareness Watching Awareness Practice

instructions in my words, Sri Ramana Maharshi’s words, Sri Nisargadatta’s words, Sri

Sadhu Om’s words, etc. by clicking this link:

Five Sages Teaching the Direct Path

Take care,

with Love,

in: Awareness watching Awareness

top of page

Awareness Watching Awareness index page

Eckhart Tolle, spiritual awakening

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So the most important thing to realize is this: Your life has an inner purpose and an outer purpose. Inner purpose concerns Being and is primary. Outer purpose concerns doing and is secondary…. Inner and outer, however, are so intertwined that it is almost impossible to speak of one without referring to the other. Your inner purpose is to awaken. It is as simple as that. You share that purpose with every other person on the planet – because it is the purpose of humanity. Your inner purpose is an essential part of the purpose of the whole, the universe and its emerging intelligence. Your outer purpose can change over time. It varies greatly from person to person. Finding and living in alignment with the inner purpose is the foundation for fulfilling your outer purpose. It is the basis for true success. Without that alignment, you can still achieve certain things through effort, struggle, determination, and sheer hard work or cunning. But there is no joy in such endeavor, and it invariably ends in some form of suffering. —Eckhart Tolle - See more at: http://tomstine.com/your-inner-purpose-is-to-awaken-eckhart-tolle/#sthash.6v0VLLWx.dpuf

A short and sweet article for today. I simply want to state my gratitude to Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey for what they’ve given us with their collaboration a few months back in the excellent series of webinars on Oprah.com. And what have they given us? A populace buzzing with interest in our passion: spirituality. And not just any old spirituality, not your garden variety spirituality that sounds like the humdrum world of church and religion. No, I’m talking the kind of spirituality that ultimately leads to spiritual awakening. You see, Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth, is really about spiritual awakening. He never says it in his book, for quite likely good reasons, but nonetheless, that is the purpose of it. When the ego fades, when that which we are realizes that it is not a separate self living a life of separation from the rest of life and humanity, we call that spiritual awakening. The Buddhists call it enlightenment. But in contemporary terms, I prefer to think of it as an awakening, a waking up from the dream that we are separate. By bringing this book to the awareness of millions of people, Eckhart and Oprah have put spiritual awakening on the playing field. No longer is it the province of eccentric spiritual seekers, Zen students and residents of ashrams. It is in the mainstream consciousness of the world. I’ve been hearing stories, from friends, from people I meet on trips, in the media, everywhere, of people picking-up A New Earth and being changed by it. One friend in particular has reported a dramatic change in her otherwise conservative, devout Catholic mother, a change that has resulted in a happier person. I even saw a woman reading A New Earth at my son’s taekwondo school (and, if you recall, I live in the Bible Belt!).

If you visit Barnes & Noble or any large bookstore, you will notice that the books on spirituality, Eastern religions, new age metaphysics, etc, have grown in number. The end caps are filled with books about “the universal field,” consciousness, The Tao of Peeling Potatoes, Zen for Dummies, you name it. It really is astounding. Maybe the Age of Aquarius has finally arrived? So, no matter what you think of Eckhart Tolle’s book (or Oprah for that matter), you cannot deny that they both have done you and me a service. Spritual awakening is out of the closet and in the consciousness of the world. So, thank you Eckhart and Oprah, and a deep bow to both of you. I think the “future” of our planet might turn out better than anyone could expect. Namaste. - See more at: http://tomstine.com/thank-you-eckhart-tolle-and-oprah-winfrey/#sthash.AMNiCgp9.dpuf

Every sound is born out of silence, dies back into silence, and during its life span is surrounded by silence. Silence

enables the sound to be. It is an intrinsic but unmanifested part of every sound, every musical note, every song,

every word. The Unmanifested is present in this world as silence. That is why it has been said that nothing in this

world is so like God as silence. All you have to do is pay attention to it. —Eckhart Tolle - See more at:

http://tomstine.com/silence-eckhart-tolle/#sthash.aM7i1vpa.dpuf

A friend called me yesterday to let me know about all the good things happening over at Oprah.com with regard to Eckhart Tolle’s new book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.

I must be the last person to read Eckhart Tolle, although I’ve seen a few of his videos on You Tube. There is a real power in Eckhart’s words and presentation, so I’m diving into both of his books

Page 31: Tom Stine - Spiritual Awakening

It is strange how the universe often works in our lives. Another good friend bought A New Earth at the Phoenix airport when it first came out, right after we had finished a Sedona Method retreat. He loved the book, and kept texting me every time he read a few chapters. I, of course, ignored his urgings, as I was just getting interested Adyashanti’s teachings. So far I’ve been enjoying Eckhart’s books, and I feel a real resonance with his ideas. After my friend called yesterday, I did something I thought I would never do: I typed oprah.com into my browser and surfed her site. All those years of my ex getting “O” magazine in the mail had left me with a somewhat bad taste in my mouth for Oprah, but as I perused her site, I found some pretty good stuff. The forum for A New Earth is excellent. Maybe I will take back all the snide Oprah comments I’ve made over the years (I even made an Oprah pun in the new video I did this weekend). Oprah is going to be offering a live webinar for 10 weeks based on A New Earth. You can get all the details

at Oprah.com. And after you’ve been to Oprah.com and then headed over to Amazon to purchase A New Earth, check out fellow writer JoLynn over at The Fit Shack who has a nice write-up on the webinar and some good thoughts on how A New Earth fits into her specialty: weight loss. - See more at: http://tomstine.com/new-earth-eckhart-tolle-oprah/#sthash.294jE8FI.dpuf