Direct Immediate Knowing

Beyond knowledge and philosophy

It’s very easy in this realm of nondual spirituality to get lost in philosophy, metaphysical speculation, and belief. Gathering information and accumulating so-called knowledge is our habitual way of approaching things. And in many everyday realms, this approach works quite well. But nonduality or spirituality, as I mean those words, isn’t about knowledge, belief or metaphysical certainty, and while it may include a philosophical perspective, it’s not fundamentally about a philosophy.

Nondual spirituality, as I see it, is about openness, presence, direct immediate knowing—sensing, awaring, feeling, perceiving, being the aliveness of this moment. No words are ever quite right. Sometimes this openness is even called not knowing, meaning not grasping or fixating. Rather than being about accumulating information, it’s more about letting go, relaxing, surrendering. Instead of aiming to become somebody, it’s about being nobody at all—the unobstructed no-thing-ness, the all-embracing fullness of Here-Now.

To clarify how knowledge and direct knowing differ, let’s look at a simple example. The idea that we are human beings who have evolved from apes is knowledge—something we have learned as second-hand information. We believe it to be true (and I’m not suggesting it isn’t, only that it’s not something we know directly).

In contrast, we know beyond any doubt that we are here now. I’m not talking about knowing our name, our gender, our occupation, our history, or even the idea that we are “a person”—all of that is second-hand knowledge. I’m pointing to the first instant, the knowingness of being here as aware presence itself—not those words, but the ungraspable yet undoubtable actuality to which they point. We don’t need to be told that we are here now, present and aware—it’s not a belief—it’s undeniable. Yes, the words I’m using to point to it are words we’ve learned second-hand, but the bare sense of aware presence, of present experiencing, of being is direct and immediate. It is impossible to doubt and requires no belief.

Our life story and the story of evolution are both subject to doubt. In another example I often use, I can doubt whether the shape I see is a gun, a cell phone, a zucchini, a floater on my eyeball, or an hallucination, but I cannot doubt the bare experiencing of that shape—the immediate direct perceiving. We can doubt what we think and believe—all the interpretations, labels and stories—but not the bare sensing. I’m not suggesting that we can (or should) forget or eliminate the labels, thoughts and interpretations that arise instantly in the conditioned mind—only that there is a palpable difference between those overlays and presence itself, a palpable difference that can be discerned.

Our suffering and confusion is in the thoughts, stories and beliefs. It’s in the map, not in the territory itself. The territory can include pain and painful circumstances, but the suffering is in how we think about and react to them. We can’t get rid of maps, and mapping is something the territory does—it allows us to function—but when open attention is given to direct immediate experiencing and to aware presence itself, there is freedom, peace, joy and unconditional love. Suffering and confusion dissolve. Pain becomes bearable and even interesting. The storylines that create the seemingly solid abstractions we call “painful circumstances” unravel. The thought-sense of being separate and deficient dissolves into spaciousness and the recognition of wholeness.

This is why I so often recommend giving open attention to the sensory-energetic realm—especially to sounds and somatic sensations, but to all other sensations as well. Listening to the rain, feeling the breathing, tasting the coffee, feeling the cup in our hands, smelling the rain-drenched earth and the wet leaves on the ground, enjoying the way the light dances on the wall, exploring the infinite textures and shades of color—the play of light and shadow—in any ordinary object (a Kleenex, an orange, the surface of a table or a chair, the sink where you are washing your hands and the movement of water and light and soap on the skin). Drop out of the thinking mind into the sensory-somatic-energetic realm whenever it invites you. Feel into the body. Spend time in (timeless) silence, in stillness. And when thoughts happen, feel them as simply another ungraspable shape this presence is momentarily taking—instead of tuning into the content of them, explore the energetic texture of them, the transparency of them, how fleeting and ungraspable they are, the way they dissolve as soon as they arrive. Be interested in the bare actuality of what is, just as it is—be curious. Approach every moment as you would your Beloved. Nothing needs to be different from how it is. Notice that there can be silence in the midst of sound and stillness in the midst of movement.

Feel also into the open spaciousness of presence, the space-like nature of awareness—the space in which everything is happening. Feel how this open space, this aware presence, is what you are, and how everything is appearing and disappearing in you, in this vast awaring space. All the thoughts, stories and sensations are appearing and disappearing in this open welcoming space, including the intermittent thought-sense of being a person and the image of “your body” that you see in the mirror—it’s all appearing and disappearing in this vast openness. Notice how this open space is like unconditional love, how it allows everything to be as it is, and how it sticks to nothing—allowing it all to pass away, to appear and disappear.

Notice how many of your thoughts refer to the separate self, the illusory “me”—thoughts like, “I’m not there yet,” or “I still haven’t got it,” or “I need to identify as awareness and I keep feeling like a person, what’s wrong with me?” or “I’ve ruined my life.” Notice that these thoughts all refer to the character in the movie, the mirage-like “me” who seems to be forever lacking. Notice that they are all just conditioned habitual thought-stories, not objective reports on reality. Notice that they have no actual substance, no real truth, that the one they refer to cannot actually be found.

Feel into what the word “I” most deeply refers to. See if you can find an actual place where inside of you turns into outside. Watch closely as choices and decisions happen and see if you can find anyone in control. As you are talking, notice how the words are coming out of nowhere, how you can’t really find an author who is creating them. Notice how you never leave Here-Now. Explore the things you find unpleasant, such as pain or boredom or irritation, by going right into the somatic sensations themselves with open attention. Spend time just being—doing nothing else. And instead of adopting things you hear or read as beliefs, explore directly for yourself.

Don’t settle for anyone else’s answers and conclusions. Follow your own instincts about what feels helpful or enjoyable and what doesn’t. Notice how different teachers, practices, books or activities affect you. Do they get you more and more knotted up in your head or do they free and open you? Do they stir up future fantasies or wake you up to this moment here and now? Do they increase or diminish the story that something is missing? The right path for someone else may not be right for you. Trust your own inner GPS.

You are life itself. There is really no way to get it wrong. Even the apparent mistakes are a vital part of the whole. This is it—this very moment—right here, right now—just exactly as it is. Feel into the IS-ness, the presence, the aliveness, the openness of it all. And if it feels tight and solid and closed, feel into that, explore that. Enjoy the dance in all its myriad dimensions and facets. And notice the ever-present immediacy of Here-Now (the boundless awareness, the unconditional love) from which you and the dancing can never depart. Notice that you and the dance of experiencing and the awaring presence and Here-Now are all one seamless indivisible actuality. Notice how effortless it is to be just exactly as you are, and for everything to be just as it is.

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Confused about words such as awareness, consciousness, presence, Here-Now, and attention?

Do they mean the same thing or different things?

I recommend this article on the “Outpourings” page of my website.

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Looking for a meditation retreat center?

I want to put in a plug for one of my favorite places on planet earth, a place that truly transformed my life in myriad ways. Springwater Center for Meditative Inquiry and Retreats, located on 200 acres of fields and woods in rural northwestern NY, was founded by the late Toni Packer, who was my main teacher (although she never used that word). Toni was a former Zen teacher who left the tradition behind to work in a simpler and more open way.

Springwater retreats are held in silence and all the activities (sittings, talks, meetings) are optional. In the meditation room you can sit on cushions, meditation benches, comfortable and supportive chairs—they even have recliners and a couch in a balcony area just outside the main meditation room, with huge windows overlooking the fields.

Springwater is utterly unique in its open and undogmatic approach. If you're looking for a place to explore meditation, meditative inquiry or silent retreats free of religious tradition, authority, ritual or dogma, Springwater is wonderful. The atmosphere is open and spacious, inviting you to look and listen and find your own way. I very highly recommend all the folks who are offering retreats there now, and you can do self-retreats there as well. No one claims to be an authority.

They sometimes have staff openings—I was on staff for five years—and this is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in what Toni called “the work of this moment.” You can attend all the retreats and get a small stipend and other benefits in exchange for working with the rest of the staff to maintain the center and run the retreats.

More at https://www.springwatercenter.org.

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Love and blessings to all…