“I feel less and less sure of anything I think, and this uncertainty only feels problematic when I think that it should be otherwise.” Thank you for this it really made me smile. To drop beliefs is such a weight off. Like a little child running around playing and laughing in the sun, carefree. We can run around freely in the expanse of here and now.
I loved this, and laughed out loud at the line that ended "anything from Tony Parsons to Rupert Spira". Those two are my most treasured teachers, their books sit side by side on my shelf. They do seem to be at opposite ends of the "nonduality spectrum", one compassionately trying to guide the separate self home, and one compassionately refusing to help or validate the separate self at all.
I think the more it is seen what one is pointing to, the more it is seen that the other is pointing to the exact same thing, and there's not even the slightest hint of conflict between the two approaches.
Thank you for helping me better understand nonduality, mistaking the map for the territory, and the role our thoughts play in our lives. I love the way you explain these concepts in a down-to-earth way.
Your point that thought is not an enemy but sometimes misunderstood is a good one. I remember Tolle saying that the thing he was most capable of doing was disconnecting from his thoughts. Being new to ideas about awakening and spirituality, I initially felt that thoughts were being framed as unwanted, which confused me. The subtleties are not always as well explained as in your post.
"As the great Buddhist sage Nagarjuna pointed out, no way that we try to conceptualize life holds up to careful scrutiny, and the true understanding of impermanence is that there is no impermanence, because impermanence is so thorough-going that no-thing ever actually forms to be impermanent."
Wow, this take on Nagarjuna is a huge slap upside the face for me! I have not been able to take him THAT far in my understanding. This is hugely helpful, thank you Joan.
I love all your posts but this one is one of the best! You’re explanation of some of the “apparent “ contradictions in different teachings of Nonduality is so clear and also the actual role thought plays is remarkable. No concept can grasp it. Like Karl Renz you destroy all hope of conceptual understanding but in a kind and supportive manner.
Indeed - if a word can be ascribed to any "thing" or "concept", then we can be certain of only one truth - that that word does not describe the "thing" or "concept" in its wholeness. And yet, some verbal expressions can, when causes and conditions are favourable, point effectively to that wholeness. Yours often do. Thanks again.
Joan you are amazing!!! I will be ever grateful to you...thank you so much for your substack articles. I look forward to receiving them; each one so clear, honest and humble...utterly beautiful pointers to Truth. I read and allow them to wash over and sink in...
Great thoughts 😂. That’s the funny thing, we have to talk and listen in words and are also able to transcend thoughts. Actually this somehow already happens while reading or listening. Anyway thank you Joan for this amazingly clear and liberating piece of text, which allows to be present between the lines.
Wonderful post. I've been reading a book titled Impermanence by Henapola Gunaratana in which he suggested that when we sit, we might just pay attention to the constancy of change within our very busy minds. I've found that the more I notice how one breath can be so at variance with the one before it, it becomes more difficult to take my thinking seriously. He also suggested that when take the bait on any given thought, we can break its hold by shifting attention to how the effect of the thought. Thanks always for sharing your thoughts about letting go of thoughts.
thank you for these words! i love them all, and here are a few that i love specifically:
"mapping is something the territory is doing,"
" it is profoundly liberating and helpful to discern what’s helpful and what isn’t, while also recognizing that, in the absolute sense, the apparently helpful and the apparently unhelpful are 'not two' and can never actually be pulled apart"
"Landing nowhere, freefalling, we can play freely in all realms, sticking to nothing and open to everything"
“I feel less and less sure of anything I think, and this uncertainty only feels problematic when I think that it should be otherwise.” Thank you for this it really made me smile. To drop beliefs is such a weight off. Like a little child running around playing and laughing in the sun, carefree. We can run around freely in the expanse of here and now.
I loved this, and laughed out loud at the line that ended "anything from Tony Parsons to Rupert Spira". Those two are my most treasured teachers, their books sit side by side on my shelf. They do seem to be at opposite ends of the "nonduality spectrum", one compassionately trying to guide the separate self home, and one compassionately refusing to help or validate the separate self at all.
I think the more it is seen what one is pointing to, the more it is seen that the other is pointing to the exact same thing, and there's not even the slightest hint of conflict between the two approaches.
Thank you for helping me better understand nonduality, mistaking the map for the territory, and the role our thoughts play in our lives. I love the way you explain these concepts in a down-to-earth way.
♥️
"Not fixating or getting stuck on one side of a conceptual divide."So wise.
Your point that thought is not an enemy but sometimes misunderstood is a good one. I remember Tolle saying that the thing he was most capable of doing was disconnecting from his thoughts. Being new to ideas about awakening and spirituality, I initially felt that thoughts were being framed as unwanted, which confused me. The subtleties are not always as well explained as in your post.
"As the great Buddhist sage Nagarjuna pointed out, no way that we try to conceptualize life holds up to careful scrutiny, and the true understanding of impermanence is that there is no impermanence, because impermanence is so thorough-going that no-thing ever actually forms to be impermanent."
Wow, this take on Nagarjuna is a huge slap upside the face for me! I have not been able to take him THAT far in my understanding. This is hugely helpful, thank you Joan.
I love all your posts but this one is one of the best! You’re explanation of some of the “apparent “ contradictions in different teachings of Nonduality is so clear and also the actual role thought plays is remarkable. No concept can grasp it. Like Karl Renz you destroy all hope of conceptual understanding but in a kind and supportive manner.
Indeed - if a word can be ascribed to any "thing" or "concept", then we can be certain of only one truth - that that word does not describe the "thing" or "concept" in its wholeness. And yet, some verbal expressions can, when causes and conditions are favourable, point effectively to that wholeness. Yours often do. Thanks again.
Joan you are amazing!!! I will be ever grateful to you...thank you so much for your substack articles. I look forward to receiving them; each one so clear, honest and humble...utterly beautiful pointers to Truth. I read and allow them to wash over and sink in...
Great thoughts 😂. That’s the funny thing, we have to talk and listen in words and are also able to transcend thoughts. Actually this somehow already happens while reading or listening. Anyway thank you Joan for this amazingly clear and liberating piece of text, which allows to be present between the lines.
Wonderful post. I've been reading a book titled Impermanence by Henapola Gunaratana in which he suggested that when we sit, we might just pay attention to the constancy of change within our very busy minds. I've found that the more I notice how one breath can be so at variance with the one before it, it becomes more difficult to take my thinking seriously. He also suggested that when take the bait on any given thought, we can break its hold by shifting attention to how the effect of the thought. Thanks always for sharing your thoughts about letting go of thoughts.
Many paths, all lead
But no true destination
Just keep walking, dude
Thanks for your words, Joan.
dear joan,
thank you for these words! i love them all, and here are a few that i love specifically:
"mapping is something the territory is doing,"
" it is profoundly liberating and helpful to discern what’s helpful and what isn’t, while also recognizing that, in the absolute sense, the apparently helpful and the apparently unhelpful are 'not two' and can never actually be pulled apart"
"Landing nowhere, freefalling, we can play freely in all realms, sticking to nothing and open to everything"
thank you for sharing!
much love
myq