Introduction: About Dharmic Nondualism

NOT FOR PERSONAL ISSUES

This blog is intended as an educational tool, for those from other or no beliefs who want to understand nondualism, and for those who are seeking enlightenment. It is wholly spiritual in focus and whilst touching on practical problems, it is does not deal with personal issues. If you have personal issues and are looking for help and guidance, you should instead follow my blog http://garyswordsofwisdom.blogspot.com - I welcome personal correspondence, so get in touch and I will see if I can help.

This blog will help you by getting to the place that is beyond any issue, where no issue bothers you any longer. However, you may need to tackle personal issues on a lower more practical level before you are ready to embrace higher thought, and I would urge you to do so if it's getting in the way of your life.

STILL LEARNING

While we live on this level of consciousness, we are still learning, in fact that is the whole point of being here. I am not a messianic or angelic being. I feel, I make mistakes, I react wrongly like any other. This is how I learn more. I am a learner helping other learners, showing them what I have learned already. I have only one quality that I can offer as an example - under my surface emotions, I have in my deepest levels of consciousness complete peace of mind. I've found it and you can find it too.

WHAT IS DHARMIC NONDUALISM?

It's my name to describe my path - it is not a new path, people have been treading it for millennia, but the combination of words to describe it is to my knowledge original. You certainly won't find it on Google, and you are free to call it whatever you wish if you're following it too!

Nondualism per se holds that everything is actually one thing, and there is actually no true distinction between anything. The ability to distinguish one thing from another is actually purely a trick pulled on your awareness by your mind to try and make sense of your life experience. What seems blatantly obviously there actually isn't there at all, it's only an illusion that however realistic exits only in your mind - just like the film The Matrix, but don't worry, you're not being kept sedated by a machine - you're creating the illusion yourself.

Sound crazy? Go do your own research and you will find scientists are completely unable to disprove it. In fact, the more you discover about sub-atomic physics, you find it's the most satisfying explanation for what's been commonly observed.

Nondualism itself doesn't require any sort of response - it's only an explanation. You can quite happily go on living just as you have, simply living out the illusion, and there isn't any eternal consequence. Dharmic Nondualism however is a path that leads to fully experiencing reality as it is - a single eternal consciousness. (Dharma literally means "virtuous path".) It is only embarked on by people for whom their experience of reality so far has been frustrating, unfulfilling or disappointing. Like all decisions, it requires an incentive. If you already happy and satisfied, there is no incentive, but for those who want more out of life, there is the exciting and fulfilling possibility of leaving behind what you thought you were to become what you've always been - eternal and universal.

IT'S A PURSUIT, NOT A PROCEDURE

Dharmic Nondualism does not involve taking a set of prescribed steps like a recipe to end up with the finished product. There are many practices which can lead to full enlightenment, but their usefulness depends on the context you find yourself in. You can be guided to the toolshed, but it is up to you to decide which tools suit you, how many to use and how often to use them.

IT'S NOT A RELIGION

The objective is the same as Hinduism and Buddhism, but unlike these or any other religion, you are not being asked to "take as read" any set of beliefs other than one - that all things are a single consciousness. You make your own assumptions along the way, picking up new ones and discarding others as you go along, and any practice that helps you find what you're looking for is allowed. There is no moral code, no "in" or "out" category, no list of "allowed" and "not allowed" things. That said, you will have no choice to construct codes of your own, but they will be your set of codes, ideally suited to you.

THE TRUTH IS IN HERE

Dharmic Nondualism is a path, but it doesn't go anywhere. You see, the truth already lies within you. Everything you need is already there. You path will end up where you started, but in order to see that within yourself, you will have no option but to try things, do things and interact with many seekers and sages before you arrive back at yourself. Some get it very quickly, some like me take a while, (about nine years before I really got it), and some will take a lifetime. No matter, it's all good!

ONCE YOU'VE GOT IT, YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED!

Once you have found peace of mind, once you have reached a level of understanding where nothing bothers you, where you have got it, but you haven't finished! Like a garden, there is always something to learn, something to improve, some new joy to discover. Having become a fully qualified gardener, the gardening never ends, but it is joyous and blissful work. I wish you every blessing as you take this path.

NO ONE WAY AND NO AGREEMENT

You will meet many on this path who think they've discovered the best way. They insist that they've got the short-cut. Some for example think you don't have to do anything at all - just by being absolutely still and silent you will become instantly enlightened. I'm not saying they are wrong, but I certainly am saying this may not work for you. You are more likely to find enlightenment by a long process of finding what it isn't - no matter, it's all good!

MY INFLUENCES

In your journey of discovery, you will meet many fascinating and interesting people. There is no compulsory reading list in Dharmic Nondualism. However, if you are interested, here are those who have deeply influenced me:

SHARON JANIS - A devotee of Siddha Yoga, She started it all off for me with her book SPIRITUALITY FOR DUMMIES, and set me down the path I am now. Her written work is very easy to read.

DEEPAK CHOPRA - Writer of many books on spirituality, particularly unique in that his works are influential in the field of business.

ARIEL BRAVY - Profoundly influential in bringing nondualism to a wide internet audience, his website YOU ARE TRULY LOVED is a great source of inspiration, and if you are up for it, a robust debate and idea exchange on his forums

DR.SUSAN JEFFERS A prolific author of self-help books which have helped me enormously with personal issues. Her original and best book, FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY, liberated me from my biggest obstacles.

CHRIS KROW SUMMERS A Reiki Master who I met whilst training to be a hypnotherapist, he introduced me to traditional Reiki, and its practices helped me make enlightenment a reality. Along with co-founder Susan Hawksley, Chris teaches his own form of Reiki (Lifeforce Reiki) that draws on all the branches of Reiki that originate from the first disciples of founder Usui Mikao. At the time of writing I am a level 2 (okuden) practitioner of this form of Reiki and intend to train as a Master Teacher in 2011. He is based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.