Brahman Plus
This article spins out of a discussion in comments on Is Brahman God, an article from November 2014. All experiences and the world arise from consciousness interacting with itself. For a materialist that sees consciousness …
Category: Consciousness
Who Am I?
This is one of life’s big questions. Most people identify with things like their name, work, background, nationality, skin colour, tastes, and so forth. But these are stories about ourselves or roles we’ve adopted. They …
Maturation
I talk here mostly about waking up and healing. But there is another key part for a rich and healthy life – maturation. If we look at standard models of human development, we can see …
A Conversation with Andrew Hewson on the Stages of Enlightenment
After our conversation with Dorothy Rowe earlier this month, Andrew Hewson suggested we have another conversation ourselves. We explored the stages of enlightenment and some variations in terminology around the topics. I hope you enjoy …
Perspectives on Awakening
Dorothy Rowe organized an on-line conversation with Andrew Hewson and I on a range topics around awakening. This included chasing experiences and hallucinogenics, integration, consciousness, healing, and refinement. Dorothy is an energy healer who works …
Mind Awareness
Most people experience awareness through the mind. We may well think our mind’s awareness and understanding is consciousness. Our daily experience can easily verify this impression. As the physiology cycles though the states of waking, …
Preyas and Shreyas
Recently, I read an article by Kavitha Chinnaiyan M.D. on Preyas and Shreyas. It’s not an approach I’ve explored before but one that can shed some insight. Preyas means pleasing, desired, gratifying, a lover; what …
The Utah Talks – 2
< Talk 1 This talk started with a 10 min meditation that was not recorded. I start with a bit about listening from silent presence rather than the mind. As one participant said, they didn’t …
The Utah Talks – 1
Traveling into Utah was a distinctive experience. The altitude is over 4,000 feet and the air dry. The plain by a salt lake is surrounded by large mountains. Salt Lake City has no apparent apartment …
The 10 Bulls
There is a famous series of 10 panels (below) portraying the stages of enlightenment from a Zen Buddhist perspective. They are known as the 10 Bulls or Oxen. I’ve touched on these before but it’s …
More on Death
Over the years, I’ve written surprisingly often about death. This is because there is a lot of fear and misunderstanding around the topic. Yet we’ve all been there before. Recently a good friend sent me …
The Humanity of a Teacher
I’ve written a few articles about modern issues with spiritual teachers. Students often see enlightenment as a superhuman perfection. We see the teacher as beyond mistakes. If a teacher buys into such ideas, they can …