Everytime one of your new articles pops into my feed - there's giddy kid-like feeling of getting ready to open a new gift - both anticipation & gratitude. So nice that a human can relay the ineffable the way you do!
Yea. Robert’s cool. Like you, I am a bit of an unreformed Bhakti Satsang addict.... and that’s cool too. Robert’s deep compassionate heart can sometimes be missed by his ornery straight talking... but Buddha, it’s wounded, wide open,
Because he has donkeys - he must be wonderful. That's all I needed to know. Loved this one, thanks Joan. When it says 'share a note' what does that mean?
Totally yes! Robert is a gem. How does one do this without giving even the faintest hope to a seeker mind! I go back to Robert when my thoughts gets locked on words/ideas/expressions of Joan. Both of you are wonderful, including the disagreements. I am very grateful to you both. Love you both❤️
Notes are a different way of sharing things on Substack besides posts. Notes are shorter, like tweets. You can share a post from someone else and your thoughts on it as a note. Or you can compose a note of your own.
Yes. You can do it directly from your comment or If you go to your dashboard, on the upper right you'll see a blue "New post" button with a drop down menu that includes a new note. From your dashboard, on the lower right is an orange button called "Ask a Question," that provides you with very clear and quick responses to problems or questions about how to use Substack.
So whatever "it" is we can embrace the mystery. We can stop asking why, and perhaps, if we're lucky, return to an acceptance that it's alright as is.
In my direct experience, it's been playful and funny in surprising ways, and I like that. It's also been compassionate and guiding (e g. Joan's writing), and never given more difficulty than I could bear and not without some benefit, and for that I'm grateful. Thanks again.
Joan I am also a huge fan of Robert Saltzman. I have read both of his books twice. Both of you take away all the sentimentality and romanticism out of the discussion which to me is very appealing. There are others like both of you but you guys are at the top of the list. Thank “God” for both of you. Much Love to all.
Nonduality, as I understand it, doesn't mean sameness. It doesn't deny infinite variation and diversity of appearances, opinions, points of view, etc. It simply means no separation. Nothing exists independently of everything else. You can't have one polarity without the other. It all goes together and cannot be pulled apart.
Buddhism and Advaita conceptualize or understand this quite differently, not to mention the many subdivisions with each of them. To take but two contemporary examples, Rupert Spira's version of nonduality is quite different from Darryl Bailey's. So when people tell me they're into nonduality, I have no idea what they mean by that. 😊🙏
ha, thank you for this! i will do my best to learn more about all the various non-separate but different nondualities!
for now, maybe there is no separation between your statement that you "have no idea what they mean by that" and my statement that i "have no idea what they mean by that." (or maybe there is!)
There's no need to sign in, so I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean the "subscribe" button at the bottom of every post, where it says, "Subscribe for free to receive new posts"? If you got the post by email, you're already subscribed. If you're subscribed, below those words, there should be a box that says "subscribed" with a check mark. If you're reading on the app, I'm less sure how that works, but I assume it would be the same. I got 7 new subscribers today, so the button seems to be working. ???
Shortly before I read this post for the first time a friend had sent me a video of a massive bird taking flight. I had to watch the clip several times before I noticed that the bird took off the exact instant the branch it had just landed on broke off. The rug had been pulled out. The synchronicity of the visual and your words and my own recent experiences was astounding. Birds fly. Humans cling. We instinctively attach, or attempt to, from the moment of birth. Then humans tend to take it very personally—as a mechanism of survival as you say—when the rug disappears. Yet humans also have the capacity to fly, paradoxically, thanks to mind, an ungrasping mind. I also like Robert’s approach AND it makes me chuckle: is the insistence on clearing the slate of concepts and magical thinking, etc not a form of clinging? Is the Buddha’s path to enlightenment not a form of grasping? So then, what feels like “bullshit” (and most of that spirituality out there does feel like bullshit to me) might be someone else’s, many someone else’s, therapeutic mud bath? It’s pretty amazing that there are 10,000 ways to be a human, to seek enlightenment or to not; enlightenment… life… might just be a beautiful mud bath of bullshit in the end, eh? All said, as I continue my own journey of free falling, I am grateful to have a little something to reach for in words and concepts like yours, Joan, and Robert’s.
In gratitude once again Joan - I've ordered both of Robert's books on your recommendation....I haven't come across anything that you've written that doesn't resonate (yet), so well worth the investment. Have a great day mate!
Joan, You had me at the first line. The word ineffable comes to mind. I tried calling myself a spiritual teacher but I have an aversion to the word spiritual that you seem to share. I also don't teach - how can you teach something that comes to the universe one sentient being at a time? And what is this "me" that so needs a label?
Labels do serve a purpose in communicating. When someone asks me what my books are about, or what my Zoom meetings are about, or what my Substack is about, I have to say something. I'm not writing about auto mechanics or quantum physics or needlepoint or cooking or millions of other possible topics, and so I have to come up with a word (or a few words) that will briefly narrow it down at least to a certain ballpark of human endeavor, just as bookstores and libraries must decide in what section to shelve a book. Of course, these categories are artificial and some of us don't seem to fit neatly into one category. But anyway, I don't think it's the false self that needs a label in this case, although certainly all kinds of labels and identities can indeed serve that phantom.
And although I don't call myself a teacher, it is in a sense the most obvious description of part of what I do. But in this realm of whatever-this-is, it's not like teaching English grammar, which I also once did. It's not about imparting information. And in my view, it's not about being some superior authority figure who has The Truth and can dispense it to others. It's hard to say exactly what it is about, but I know that I've been blessed to have some great teachers, including the one (Toni Packer) who didn't use that word. She asked a lot of questions, and she spoke out of a listening presence that was palpable, and she had humility and an open mind that was always willing to see something new. And in her company, many things were illuminated and revealed for which I remain ever grateful.
wow. I am not used to being responded to that quickly. Thank you. I agree that we are "stuck" with labels. And I get this sense that you, Robert, I, could very easily spend time together without labels, maybe even without conversation. What I do recognize in "me" is there remains a "self"that is still tied into status, labels, etcetera- that is what it is - "I" can only smile and watch. I feel so at home reading what you write. Thank you. Love, Tom
Everytime one of your new articles pops into my feed - there's giddy kid-like feeling of getting ready to open a new gift - both anticipation & gratitude. So nice that a human can relay the ineffable the way you do!
I certainly can relate!
Kind of like a bit of a dopamine rush!
Yea. Robert’s cool. Like you, I am a bit of an unreformed Bhakti Satsang addict.... and that’s cool too. Robert’s deep compassionate heart can sometimes be missed by his ornery straight talking... but Buddha, it’s wounded, wide open,
Thank you for your kind words, Stef.
Because he has donkeys - he must be wonderful. That's all I needed to know. Loved this one, thanks Joan. When it says 'share a note' what does that mean?
Totally yes! Robert is a gem. How does one do this without giving even the faintest hope to a seeker mind! I go back to Robert when my thoughts gets locked on words/ideas/expressions of Joan. Both of you are wonderful, including the disagreements. I am very grateful to you both. Love you both❤️
Notes are a different way of sharing things on Substack besides posts. Notes are shorter, like tweets. You can share a post from someone else and your thoughts on it as a note. Or you can compose a note of your own.
thank you Joan. Can everyone see it?
Yes. You can do it directly from your comment or If you go to your dashboard, on the upper right you'll see a blue "New post" button with a drop down menu that includes a new note. From your dashboard, on the lower right is an orange button called "Ask a Question," that provides you with very clear and quick responses to problems or questions about how to use Substack.
Very, very nice and resonant. Thank you Joan.
So whatever "it" is we can embrace the mystery. We can stop asking why, and perhaps, if we're lucky, return to an acceptance that it's alright as is.
In my direct experience, it's been playful and funny in surprising ways, and I like that. It's also been compassionate and guiding (e g. Joan's writing), and never given more difficulty than I could bear and not without some benefit, and for that I'm grateful. Thanks again.
Joan I am also a huge fan of Robert Saltzman. I have read both of his books twice. Both of you take away all the sentimentality and romanticism out of the discussion which to me is very appealing. There are others like both of you but you guys are at the top of the list. Thank “God” for both of you. Much Love to all.
dear joan,
thank you for sharing this as always!
i understand the sentiment of this statement and ALSO think it's funny in a way:
"'nonduality' means many different things to different people"
love your writing always!
thank you!
love
myq
Nonduality, as I understand it, doesn't mean sameness. It doesn't deny infinite variation and diversity of appearances, opinions, points of view, etc. It simply means no separation. Nothing exists independently of everything else. You can't have one polarity without the other. It all goes together and cannot be pulled apart.
Buddhism and Advaita conceptualize or understand this quite differently, not to mention the many subdivisions with each of them. To take but two contemporary examples, Rupert Spira's version of nonduality is quite different from Darryl Bailey's. So when people tell me they're into nonduality, I have no idea what they mean by that. 😊🙏
ha, thank you for this! i will do my best to learn more about all the various non-separate but different nondualities!
for now, maybe there is no separation between your statement that you "have no idea what they mean by that" and my statement that i "have no idea what they mean by that." (or maybe there is!)
i appreciate it! thank you joan!
Just filled in your sign-in slot 1/2 dozen times…repeated same.
Very Fellini-sequel moment. Still not certain if I’ll be able to sign in next time,
Even knowing
All that is
Is here
Now
Becoming.
There's no need to sign in, so I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean the "subscribe" button at the bottom of every post, where it says, "Subscribe for free to receive new posts"? If you got the post by email, you're already subscribed. If you're subscribed, below those words, there should be a box that says "subscribed" with a check mark. If you're reading on the app, I'm less sure how that works, but I assume it would be the same. I got 7 new subscribers today, so the button seems to be working. ???
Fellini-esque
Shortly before I read this post for the first time a friend had sent me a video of a massive bird taking flight. I had to watch the clip several times before I noticed that the bird took off the exact instant the branch it had just landed on broke off. The rug had been pulled out. The synchronicity of the visual and your words and my own recent experiences was astounding. Birds fly. Humans cling. We instinctively attach, or attempt to, from the moment of birth. Then humans tend to take it very personally—as a mechanism of survival as you say—when the rug disappears. Yet humans also have the capacity to fly, paradoxically, thanks to mind, an ungrasping mind. I also like Robert’s approach AND it makes me chuckle: is the insistence on clearing the slate of concepts and magical thinking, etc not a form of clinging? Is the Buddha’s path to enlightenment not a form of grasping? So then, what feels like “bullshit” (and most of that spirituality out there does feel like bullshit to me) might be someone else’s, many someone else’s, therapeutic mud bath? It’s pretty amazing that there are 10,000 ways to be a human, to seek enlightenment or to not; enlightenment… life… might just be a beautiful mud bath of bullshit in the end, eh? All said, as I continue my own journey of free falling, I am grateful to have a little something to reach for in words and concepts like yours, Joan, and Robert’s.
In gratitude once again Joan - I've ordered both of Robert's books on your recommendation....I haven't come across anything that you've written that doesn't resonate (yet), so well worth the investment. Have a great day mate!
Joan, You had me at the first line. The word ineffable comes to mind. I tried calling myself a spiritual teacher but I have an aversion to the word spiritual that you seem to share. I also don't teach - how can you teach something that comes to the universe one sentient being at a time? And what is this "me" that so needs a label?
Labels do serve a purpose in communicating. When someone asks me what my books are about, or what my Zoom meetings are about, or what my Substack is about, I have to say something. I'm not writing about auto mechanics or quantum physics or needlepoint or cooking or millions of other possible topics, and so I have to come up with a word (or a few words) that will briefly narrow it down at least to a certain ballpark of human endeavor, just as bookstores and libraries must decide in what section to shelve a book. Of course, these categories are artificial and some of us don't seem to fit neatly into one category. But anyway, I don't think it's the false self that needs a label in this case, although certainly all kinds of labels and identities can indeed serve that phantom.
And although I don't call myself a teacher, it is in a sense the most obvious description of part of what I do. But in this realm of whatever-this-is, it's not like teaching English grammar, which I also once did. It's not about imparting information. And in my view, it's not about being some superior authority figure who has The Truth and can dispense it to others. It's hard to say exactly what it is about, but I know that I've been blessed to have some great teachers, including the one (Toni Packer) who didn't use that word. She asked a lot of questions, and she spoke out of a listening presence that was palpable, and she had humility and an open mind that was always willing to see something new. And in her company, many things were illuminated and revealed for which I remain ever grateful.
wow. I am not used to being responded to that quickly. Thank you. I agree that we are "stuck" with labels. And I get this sense that you, Robert, I, could very easily spend time together without labels, maybe even without conversation. What I do recognize in "me" is there remains a "self"that is still tied into status, labels, etcetera- that is what it is - "I" can only smile and watch. I feel so at home reading what you write. Thank you. Love, Tom