WP_Query Object
(
[query] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 19
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 6654
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
)
[query_vars] => Array
(
[category__in] => Array
(
[0] => 19
)
[post__not_in] => Array
(
[0] => 6654
)
[posts_per_page] => 50
[ignore_sticky_posts] => 1
[orderby] => desc
[_shuffle_and_pick] => 3
[error] =>
[m] =>
[p] => 0
[post_parent] =>
[subpost] =>
[subpost_id] =>
[attachment] =>
[attachment_id] => 0
[name] =>
[pagename] =>
[page_id] => 0
[second] =>
[minute] =>
[hour] =>
[day] => 0
[monthnum] => 0
[year] => 0
[w] => 0
[category_name] => peter-borten
[tag] =>
[cat] => 19
[tag_id] =>
[author] =>
[author_name] =>
[feed] =>
[tb] =>
[paged] => 0
[meta_key] =>
[meta_value] =>
[preview] =>
[s] =>
[sentence] =>
[title] =>
[fields] =>
[menu_order] =>
[embed] =>
[category__not_in] => Array
(
)
[category__and] => Array
(
)
[post__in] => Array
(
)
[post_name__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__in] => Array
(
)
[tag__not_in] => Array
(
)
[tag__and] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__in] => Array
(
)
[tag_slug__and] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__in] => Array
(
)
[post_parent__not_in] => Array
(
)
[author__in] => Array
(
)
[author__not_in] => Array
(
)
[suppress_filters] =>
[cache_results] => 1
[update_post_term_cache] => 1
[lazy_load_term_meta] => 1
[update_post_meta_cache] => 1
[post_type] =>
[nopaging] =>
[comments_per_page] => 50
[no_found_rows] =>
[order] => DESC
)
[tax_query] => WP_Tax_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[taxonomy] => category
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 19
)
[field] => term_id
[operator] => IN
[include_children] =>
)
)
[relation] => AND
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
[0] => wp_term_relationships
)
[queried_terms] => Array
(
[category] => Array
(
[terms] => Array
(
[0] => 19
)
[field] => term_id
)
)
[primary_table] => wp_posts
[primary_id_column] => ID
)
[meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object
(
[queries] => Array
(
)
[relation] =>
[meta_table] =>
[meta_id_column] =>
[primary_table] =>
[primary_id_column] =>
[table_aliases:protected] => Array
(
)
[clauses:protected] => Array
(
)
[has_or_relation:protected] =>
)
[date_query] =>
[request] => SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID FROM wp_posts LEFT JOIN wp_term_relationships ON (wp_posts.ID = wp_term_relationships.object_id) WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.ID NOT IN (6654) AND (
wp_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (19)
) AND wp_posts.post_type = 'post' AND (wp_posts.post_status = 'publish' OR wp_posts.post_status = 'acf-disabled')
AND ID NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('','employee')
AND `post_id` NOT IN
(SELECT `post_id` FROM wp_postmeta
WHERE `meta_key` = '_pilotpress_level'
AND `meta_value` IN ('' ))) GROUP BY wp_posts.ID ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC LIMIT 0, 50
[posts] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 6682
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2017-05-30 12:34:12
[post_date_gmt] => 2017-05-30 12:34:12
[post_content] =>
Last week I wrote about nondual philosophy. It was very brief, but hopefully pointed you in the right direction. It’s hard to convey with words what can only be experienced, but I feel compelled to try. Therefore, this week I’m presenting you with many attempts by people of many different times and cultures. The key is not the specific words they use, but the common experience they’re all pointing at.
In dream you love some and not others. On waking up you find you are love itself, embracing all. Personal love, however intense and genuine, invariably binds; love in freedom is love of all.
- Nisargadatta
Boundary lines, of any type, are never found in the real world itself, but only in the imagination of the mapmakers.
- Ken Wilber
Quite simply, since reality is One, and everything is equally an expression of that one divine Light of Consciousness, every experience by definition is an experience of God ... Now some interpreters of the tradition say, "Everything is God, but some things are more God than others." This is as nonsensical as the famous quote from Animal Farm, "Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others."
If we propose that some things are more God than others, like concentrated orange juice versus watered-down orange juice, then we must also propose the existence of something that is not God that waters down divinity. But no such thing can be found, at least in this philosophy, because 1) the definition of God here is the unbounded Light of Consciousness, 2) everything that is known to exist is an object of experience, and 3) every experience is by definition pervaded by consciousness.
Therefore, this - whatever is happening right now - is as God as it gets.
Now, if you are in a miserable or banal life situation you may be disappointed by this announcement. But notice I said, "This is as God as it gets," not, "This is as free as it gets." Freedom means actually experiencing the divinity in each moment, which is the same as not wanting the present moment to be any different than it is. When you don’t want any moment to be any different, then you are no longer struggling (or even waiting) for a better situation, and therefore you are free to fully show up for what is actually happening now. Paradoxically, this reveals the inner joy of consciousness, because by not struggling against some part of reality, you see and meet the whole of the moment, and you naturally enjoy it to the maximum extent you are capable of in that moment.
- Christopher Wallis
Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
In the pursuit of Knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Way, every day something is dropped.
- Lao Zi
When you think everything is someone else's fault, you suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.
- Dalai Lama
Whoever knows that the mind is a fiction and devoid of anything real knows that his own mind neither exists nor doesn’t exist. Mortals keep creating the mind, claiming it exists. And arhats keep negating the mind, claiming it doesn’t exist. But bodhisattvas and buddhas neither create nor negate the mind. This is what’s meant by the mind that neither exists nor doesn’t exist.
- from The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma translated by Red Pine
You could say the whole world is consciousness having taken birth as form, manifesting as form temporarily, and then dying which means dissolving as form. What always remains is the “essence” of all that exists – consciousness itself.
- Eckhart Tolle
And
For no reason
I start skipping like a child.
And
For no reason
I turn into a leaf
That is carried so high
I kiss the sun’s mouth
And dissolve.
And
For no reason
A thousand birds
Choose my head for a conference table,
Start passing their
Cups of wine
And their wild songbooks all around.
And
For every reason in existence
I begin to eternally,
To eternally laugh and love!
When I turn into a leaf
And start dancing,
I run to kiss our beautiful Friend
And I dissolve in the Truth
That I Am.
- Hafiz
It is as if a raindrop fell from heaven into a stream or fountain and became one with the water in it so that never again can the raindrop be separated from the water of the stream; or as if a little brook ran into the sea and there was thenceforward no means of distinguishing its water from the ocean; or as if a brilliant light came into a room through two windows and though it comes in divided between them, it forms a single light inside.
- St. Teresa of Avila
I BELIEVE God is everything. . . Everything that is or ever was or ever will be. And when you can feel that, and be happy to feel that, you’ve found It… My first step from the old white man was trees. Then air. Then birds. Then other people. But one day when I was sitting quiet and feeling like a motherless child, which I was, it come to me: that feeling of being part of everything, not separate at all. I knew that if I cut a tree, my arm would bleed. And I laughed and I cried and I run all round the house. I knew just what it was. In fact, when it happen, you can’t miss it.
- Alice Walker in The Color Purple
Vimalakirti asked Manjusri what was the Buddha’s doctrine of nonduality. Manjusri answered, “The doctrine is realized by one who sees beyond forms and who knows beyond argument. This is my understanding – what is yours?” In response to this question, Vimalakirti closed his lips and was silent.
- Timothy Freke (ed.) in Zen Wisdom
It is not the body, nor the personality that is the true self. The true self is eternal. Even on the point of death we can say to ourselves, “My true self is free. I cannot be contained.”
- Marcus Aurelius
Profound and tranquil, free from complexity,
Uncompounded luminous clarity,
Beyond the mind of conceptual ideas
This is the depth of the mind of the Victorious Ones.
In this there is not a thing to be removed
Nor anything that needs to be added.
It is merely the immaculate
Looking naturally at itself.
- Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche
This unity is not mere one-ness as opposed to multiplicity, since these two terms are themselves polar. The unity, or inseparability, of one and many is therefore referred to in Vedanta philosophy as “non-duality” (advaita) to distinguish it from simple uniformity. True, the term has its own opposite, “duality,” for insofar as every term designates a class, an intellectual pigeon-hole, every class has an outside polarizing its inside. For this reason, language can no more transcend duality than paintings or photographs upon a flat surface can go beyond two dimensions. Yet by the convention of perspective, certain two-dimensional lines that slant towards a “vanishing-point” are taken to represent the third dimension of depth. In a similar way, the dualistic term “non-duality” is taken to represent the “dimension” in which explicit differences have implicit unity.
- Alan Watts
I, a universe of atoms, an atom in the universe.
- Richard Feynman
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
- Carl Jung
Look, my thumb touches my forefinger. Both touch and are touched. When my attention is on the thumb, the thumb is the feeler and the forefinger, the self. Shift the focus of attention and the relationship is reversed. I find that somehow, by shifting the focus of attention, I become the very thing I look at and experience the kind of consciousness it has; I become the inner witness of the thing. I call this capacity of entering other focal points of consciousness, Love; you may give it any name you like. Love says: 'I am everything'. Wisdom says: 'I am nothing.' Between the two my life flows. Since at any point of time and space I can be both the subject and the object of experience, I express it by saying that I am both, and neither, and beyond both.
- Nisargadatta
Love is without a doubt the basis of everything. Not some abstract, hard to fathom kind of love but the day to day kind that everyone knows. The kind of love we feel when we look at our spouse or our children or even our animals. In its purest most powerful form this love is not jealous or selfish but unconditional. This is the reality of realities, the incomprehensibly glorious truth of truths that lives and breathes at the core of everything that exists or will exist. And no remotely accurate understanding of who or what we are can be achieved by anyone who does not know it and embody it in all of their actions.
- Eben Alexander, MD
You make what you defend against, and by your own defense against it is it real and inescapable. Lay down your arms, and only then do you perceive it false.
- A Course in Miracles
My contribution was the title (“One plus one equals one”), which some wise person probably said long before me. From a nondualist’s perspective, two (duality) emerges not from merging oneness with oneness (which just begets oneness), but perhaps from dividing oneness – a separation which can only be accomplished in the illusions of the mind.
Hopefully some of these quotes spoke to you. Admittedly, although these words were drawn from nondual contexts, some of them spoke not to nondual philosophy itself but certain facets of the human experience in a way that I found insightful. Perhaps some rubbed you the wrong way, or confused you, or brought up more questions than answers – all of which are good, in my opinion. Keep challenging your beliefs and feel free to share your thoughts below.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => One Plus One is One
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => one-plus-one-one
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2017-05-30 22:10:35
[post_modified_gmt] => 2017-05-30 22:10:35
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=6682
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 4
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 6627
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2017-03-21 15:48:01
[post_date_gmt] => 2017-03-21 15:48:01
[post_content] => The other day, an adventurous friend of mine sent me a picture of himself immersed in slurry of icy water. The photo was taken on a rooftop, on a cloudy winter day, with empty ice bags scattered around the metal tub. His eyes were closed and he looked serene, as if in deep meditation.
If you took a photo of me in such a scenario, my facial expression would be a little different – more of a blend of shock and torment. Having a strong aversion to cold water, I’d need a tremendous incentive to voluntarily get into an ice bath. But as I stared at his picture for a while, I felt unease, fascination, and admiration.
It reminded me of my own work in pain management. When a cold stimulus passes a certain threshold, it becomes “noxious cold,” which is interpreted by the brain as pain. Figuring out how to stay comfortable in a tub of ice water is fairly similar to the task of managing severe pain without drugs, which is exactly what I endeavor to teach people.
The arrival of my friend’s picture was a bit of a coincidence as I was recently challenging myself in cold water also. Admittedly, the comparison is laughable, since my version of “challenge” was swimming in a cenote fed by an underground river in the Belizean jungle. The water temperature was probably around 60 degrees, but cold is subjective, and to me, it was pretty uncomfortable. My daughter was already splashing around and demanding that I join her, so I decided to put my “equalization” technique to the test.
I set a foot in the water and felt the skin over my whole body tighten up. I was immediately aware of the inequality – the conflict – between my body and the water. And my reaction to this conflict was physical and psychological resistance, which only intensified the situation. If you’ve ever had a panic attack, you’ve experienced firsthand how unhelpful resistance is.
So, my first step was to stop resisting. And to prove to myself that I wasn’t resisting, I dove completely underwater. Instantly, the experience of conflict between my body and the water was magnified tremendously. I put my attention on my skin – the “frontier” of the conflict – and began to equalize the internal with the external.
As I told myself, “Equalize. Equalize. Equalize,” I imagined that the temperature difference between the interior and exterior of my body was getting smaller and smaller. The interior and exterior were coming together to meet each other, to harmonize. I actively let go of my resistance over and over, softening and relaxing that frontier. Dissolving the conflict.
Normally, I would have been shivering, teeth chattering, skin covered in goosebumps for at least a minute and perhaps for as long as I stayed in the water. But this time I was at ease within about fifteen seconds and I swam contentedly for about an hour. I had a few moments when I felt uncomfortably cold again, but this resolved when I brought my attention back to equalizing the temperature differential once more.
I’ll write more about this process next week, but in the meantime, I encourage you to try it in the simple way that I’ve presented it here. When you experience physical discomfort or outright pain, first, stop resisting. Second, visualize the painful place in your body in the context of the experience surrounding it, and intend to equalize the experience inside the pain with that outside the pain. You can also utilize this technique with a psychological or emotional issue by bringing the issue to mind and then allowing yourself to experience it in your body – there’s always a physical expression to every psychological conflict.
Imagine a fish tank with a removable panel dividing it into two sides. On one side the water is dyed blue; on the other it’s clear. If you shift the panel it becomes porous, and the two waters mix, resulting in an even color. See if you can apply this image to your inner experience, allowing for an equalization between a restricted part of yourself and your greater self, or between yourself and the world around you. See what happens.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
P.S. If you’d like to learn more about equalization and many, many, many more techniques for resolving physical and emotional pain, check out my new online course, Live Pain Free.
[post_title] => The Equalization Technique for Resolving Discomfort
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => equalization-technique-resolving-discomfort
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2017-03-21 18:36:31
[post_modified_gmt] => 2017-03-21 18:36:31
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=6627
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 13
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 8059
[post_author] => 489
[post_date] => 2020-09-17 22:54:44
[post_date_gmt] => 2020-09-17 22:54:44
[post_content] => by Dr. Peter Borten
Every year we collect more and more stories from people who have used the Dreambook to achieve clarity about what kind of life they want to create and then made it a reality. Maybe because of the craziness of 2020, there’s been a big surge of interest in the book this year, so I decided to share a little about what makes it special.
In a time of such uncertainty, many of us tend to abandon long-term and even medium-term plans, just focusing instead on getting through each day. Unfortunately, this isn’t really the same as living in the present moment, and that’s where the richness of life dwells. If there were ever a time to live for the present, it’s now.
While the Dreambook is designed to help people with 1-year, 3-year, 10-year, and lifetime goals, our overarching intention is to help people enrich the journey rather than the destination. The journey is always happening, so it needs to be as full of the good stuff as we imagine the destination will be.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s discussion on washing the dishes is one of the most quoted passages on the topic of mindfulness, but I could hear it and share it a million times: “There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes. . . . If while washing the dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not ‘washing the dishes to wash the dishes.’ What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes.”
The consequences of mindlessly washing the dishes may be minor, but what about the consequences of mindlessly eating, mindlessly doing our job, mindlessly playing with our kids, or mindlessly conversing with our partner? A life without our presence – because we’re just trying to get through it – is devoid of the magic, connection, and grace that make it worth living.
There are a number of ways to change this outcome-focused orientation. One of the most potent, which we share in the Dreambook, is identifying your life purpose.
When you have a purpose, you’re conscious that you’re serving a bigger function than meeting your own needs. When you’re “on purpose,” energy arises to support your work. Opportunities appear everywhere. And, most importantly, you spend more of your life right here, right now, alive and clear.
Various methods exist for determining your life purpose, but when it comes down to it, it’s a matter of intuiting what you’re meant to do, feeling it out, and choosing to pursue it. It’s okay if you later decide to modify that choice.
We have a more involved process in the Dreambook, but for today let’s see what comes to you with just a few minutes of contemplation. Grab a pen and paper and write a few sentences in response to these questions:
What times and places in your life have you felt you were making a meaningful contribution?
What inspires you?
What would people say your strengths are?
When/how do you feel called to serve humankind or the planet?
What are your highest values (e.g., kindness, generosity, honesty, service, integrity, beauty, etc.)?
Based on these responses, craft a statement that conveys how you intend to serve the world. Here are some examples:
- My purpose is to help people heal through creative expression.
- My life purpose is to build healthy communities.
- My purpose is to help people use their voices and awaken their power.
- My purpose is to facilitate playfulness in adults.
- My purpose is to teach people how to live in harmony with the environment.
- My purpose is to help people actualize their potential.
Don’t worry about getting the statement perfect on the first round. For now, choose a statement of life purpose and read it out loud and with intention. How does that feel? Ideally, making this statement should feel powerful and right, or as my friend Reuvain puts it, it should feel like a “Hell yeah!”. It might even give you goosebumps or tingles. If it feels a bit intimidating, that’s ok, too, as long as it also feels true.
If it doesn’t feel like a “hell yeah!” change some of the wording. Consider making it less specific. For instance, if a statement such as, “My purpose is to help children to become healthy adults by learning to process their emotions” doesn't feel as inspiring as you hoped, you could start by broadening it to something like, “My purpose is to help children process their emotions,” or even just, “My purpose is to help children.” Just get it as accurate as you can manage and then write it down. I recommend writing it in a special way on a nice piece of paper. Put it somewhere where you’ll see it and say it every morning.
More importantly, try to keep it in mind throughout your day, applying it as often as you can. Use the Dreambook to integrate it into your weekly planning process and your goals. You can also use the Habit Tracking function to help you remember and assess your progress.
What changes when you’re on purpose? Is it easier to make decisions? Do people respond differently to you? Is there more energy available? Consciously living your purpose is the only way to know if it’s right. As you live your purpose, you’ll get insights that will help you refine your purpose statement. I’d love to hear about your experience with this process.
Be well,
Peter
P.S. My life purpose to love, heal, and awaken myself and the world. I hope I’ve served that purpose today!
[post_title] => PURPOSE
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => purpose
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2020-09-17 22:54:44
[post_modified_gmt] => 2020-09-17 22:54:44
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=8059
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
)
[post_count] => 3
[current_post] => -1
[in_the_loop] =>
[post] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 6682
[post_author] => 3
[post_date] => 2017-05-30 12:34:12
[post_date_gmt] => 2017-05-30 12:34:12
[post_content] =>
Last week I wrote about nondual philosophy. It was very brief, but hopefully pointed you in the right direction. It’s hard to convey with words what can only be experienced, but I feel compelled to try. Therefore, this week I’m presenting you with many attempts by people of many different times and cultures. The key is not the specific words they use, but the common experience they’re all pointing at.
In dream you love some and not others. On waking up you find you are love itself, embracing all. Personal love, however intense and genuine, invariably binds; love in freedom is love of all.
- Nisargadatta
Boundary lines, of any type, are never found in the real world itself, but only in the imagination of the mapmakers.
- Ken Wilber
Quite simply, since reality is One, and everything is equally an expression of that one divine Light of Consciousness, every experience by definition is an experience of God ... Now some interpreters of the tradition say, "Everything is God, but some things are more God than others." This is as nonsensical as the famous quote from Animal Farm, "Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others."
If we propose that some things are more God than others, like concentrated orange juice versus watered-down orange juice, then we must also propose the existence of something that is not God that waters down divinity. But no such thing can be found, at least in this philosophy, because 1) the definition of God here is the unbounded Light of Consciousness, 2) everything that is known to exist is an object of experience, and 3) every experience is by definition pervaded by consciousness.
Therefore, this - whatever is happening right now - is as God as it gets.
Now, if you are in a miserable or banal life situation you may be disappointed by this announcement. But notice I said, "This is as God as it gets," not, "This is as free as it gets." Freedom means actually experiencing the divinity in each moment, which is the same as not wanting the present moment to be any different than it is. When you don’t want any moment to be any different, then you are no longer struggling (or even waiting) for a better situation, and therefore you are free to fully show up for what is actually happening now. Paradoxically, this reveals the inner joy of consciousness, because by not struggling against some part of reality, you see and meet the whole of the moment, and you naturally enjoy it to the maximum extent you are capable of in that moment.
- Christopher Wallis
Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
In the pursuit of Knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Way, every day something is dropped.
- Lao Zi
When you think everything is someone else's fault, you suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.
- Dalai Lama
Whoever knows that the mind is a fiction and devoid of anything real knows that his own mind neither exists nor doesn’t exist. Mortals keep creating the mind, claiming it exists. And arhats keep negating the mind, claiming it doesn’t exist. But bodhisattvas and buddhas neither create nor negate the mind. This is what’s meant by the mind that neither exists nor doesn’t exist.
- from The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma translated by Red Pine
You could say the whole world is consciousness having taken birth as form, manifesting as form temporarily, and then dying which means dissolving as form. What always remains is the “essence” of all that exists – consciousness itself.
- Eckhart Tolle
And
For no reason
I start skipping like a child.
And
For no reason
I turn into a leaf
That is carried so high
I kiss the sun’s mouth
And dissolve.
And
For no reason
A thousand birds
Choose my head for a conference table,
Start passing their
Cups of wine
And their wild songbooks all around.
And
For every reason in existence
I begin to eternally,
To eternally laugh and love!
When I turn into a leaf
And start dancing,
I run to kiss our beautiful Friend
And I dissolve in the Truth
That I Am.
- Hafiz
It is as if a raindrop fell from heaven into a stream or fountain and became one with the water in it so that never again can the raindrop be separated from the water of the stream; or as if a little brook ran into the sea and there was thenceforward no means of distinguishing its water from the ocean; or as if a brilliant light came into a room through two windows and though it comes in divided between them, it forms a single light inside.
- St. Teresa of Avila
I BELIEVE God is everything. . . Everything that is or ever was or ever will be. And when you can feel that, and be happy to feel that, you’ve found It… My first step from the old white man was trees. Then air. Then birds. Then other people. But one day when I was sitting quiet and feeling like a motherless child, which I was, it come to me: that feeling of being part of everything, not separate at all. I knew that if I cut a tree, my arm would bleed. And I laughed and I cried and I run all round the house. I knew just what it was. In fact, when it happen, you can’t miss it.
- Alice Walker in The Color Purple
Vimalakirti asked Manjusri what was the Buddha’s doctrine of nonduality. Manjusri answered, “The doctrine is realized by one who sees beyond forms and who knows beyond argument. This is my understanding – what is yours?” In response to this question, Vimalakirti closed his lips and was silent.
- Timothy Freke (ed.) in Zen Wisdom
It is not the body, nor the personality that is the true self. The true self is eternal. Even on the point of death we can say to ourselves, “My true self is free. I cannot be contained.”
- Marcus Aurelius
Profound and tranquil, free from complexity,
Uncompounded luminous clarity,
Beyond the mind of conceptual ideas
This is the depth of the mind of the Victorious Ones.
In this there is not a thing to be removed
Nor anything that needs to be added.
It is merely the immaculate
Looking naturally at itself.
- Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche
This unity is not mere one-ness as opposed to multiplicity, since these two terms are themselves polar. The unity, or inseparability, of one and many is therefore referred to in Vedanta philosophy as “non-duality” (advaita) to distinguish it from simple uniformity. True, the term has its own opposite, “duality,” for insofar as every term designates a class, an intellectual pigeon-hole, every class has an outside polarizing its inside. For this reason, language can no more transcend duality than paintings or photographs upon a flat surface can go beyond two dimensions. Yet by the convention of perspective, certain two-dimensional lines that slant towards a “vanishing-point” are taken to represent the third dimension of depth. In a similar way, the dualistic term “non-duality” is taken to represent the “dimension” in which explicit differences have implicit unity.
- Alan Watts
I, a universe of atoms, an atom in the universe.
- Richard Feynman
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
- Carl Jung
Look, my thumb touches my forefinger. Both touch and are touched. When my attention is on the thumb, the thumb is the feeler and the forefinger, the self. Shift the focus of attention and the relationship is reversed. I find that somehow, by shifting the focus of attention, I become the very thing I look at and experience the kind of consciousness it has; I become the inner witness of the thing. I call this capacity of entering other focal points of consciousness, Love; you may give it any name you like. Love says: 'I am everything'. Wisdom says: 'I am nothing.' Between the two my life flows. Since at any point of time and space I can be both the subject and the object of experience, I express it by saying that I am both, and neither, and beyond both.
- Nisargadatta
Love is without a doubt the basis of everything. Not some abstract, hard to fathom kind of love but the day to day kind that everyone knows. The kind of love we feel when we look at our spouse or our children or even our animals. In its purest most powerful form this love is not jealous or selfish but unconditional. This is the reality of realities, the incomprehensibly glorious truth of truths that lives and breathes at the core of everything that exists or will exist. And no remotely accurate understanding of who or what we are can be achieved by anyone who does not know it and embody it in all of their actions.
- Eben Alexander, MD
You make what you defend against, and by your own defense against it is it real and inescapable. Lay down your arms, and only then do you perceive it false.
- A Course in Miracles
My contribution was the title (“One plus one equals one”), which some wise person probably said long before me. From a nondualist’s perspective, two (duality) emerges not from merging oneness with oneness (which just begets oneness), but perhaps from dividing oneness – a separation which can only be accomplished in the illusions of the mind.
Hopefully some of these quotes spoke to you. Admittedly, although these words were drawn from nondual contexts, some of them spoke not to nondual philosophy itself but certain facets of the human experience in a way that I found insightful. Perhaps some rubbed you the wrong way, or confused you, or brought up more questions than answers – all of which are good, in my opinion. Keep challenging your beliefs and feel free to share your thoughts below.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => One Plus One is One
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => open
[ping_status] => open
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => one-plus-one-one
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2017-05-30 22:10:35
[post_modified_gmt] => 2017-05-30 22:10:35
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=6682
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => post
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 4
[filter] => raw
[webinar_id] => 0
)
[comment_count] => 0
[current_comment] => -1
[found_posts] => 179
[max_num_pages] => 4
[max_num_comment_pages] => 0
[is_single] =>
[is_preview] =>
[is_page] =>
[is_archive] => 1
[is_date] =>
[is_year] =>
[is_month] =>
[is_day] =>
[is_time] =>
[is_author] =>
[is_category] => 1
[is_tag] =>
[is_tax] =>
[is_search] =>
[is_feed] =>
[is_comment_feed] =>
[is_trackback] =>
[is_home] =>
[is_privacy_policy] =>
[is_404] =>
[is_embed] =>
[is_paged] =>
[is_admin] =>
[is_attachment] =>
[is_singular] =>
[is_robots] =>
[is_favicon] =>
[is_posts_page] =>
[is_post_type_archive] =>
[query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 27b6ff3eada62f1befffaef6ee6d3faa
[query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] =>
[thumbnails_cached] =>
[stopwords:WP_Query:private] =>
[compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => query_vars_hash
[1] => query_vars_changed
)
[compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => init_query_flags
[1] => parse_tax_query
)
)
Cart
Loved this. Was just what I needed today.
Thank you!
You’re welcome, Erin
Thank you for your work. It is exactly the refreshments and reminders I need as I continue on my journey.
You’re welcome, Rachel. I’m glad these words are helpful.
Thanks, Leslie!
Thank you.. simply said and so much easier for me to integrate!!
You’re welcome, Annie. Happy you’re able to integrate it.
I’m not going to find the cheese in the way I thought I was…not sure how I’m going to find it now but I believe it was moved so I could find a better way, and trust that I will still find it. Great video, thank you!
None of us are going to find the cheese the way we thought. We’ll probably also discover that the cheese isn’t what we expected – nor that it’s outside of us at all. You’ll find it, though, I’m sure of it.
Timing of this was perfect for where I am in my personal journey
I love when that happens.
I let myself receive all the support I need as I face the reality of my Mum’s death. With nature as my greatest ally, I process what life brings, steadied through the shaky moments by my connection with all life.
Hang in there, Shealagh. Yes, you absolutely are connected and held.
This was very mind-opening, thank you! When you said “obstacles are not injustices” the proverbial scales fell from my eyes. I need to step back and look at my obstacles from the perspective of the Big Picture and see how I can grow around them. I figured they were insurmountable, but maybe they aren’t.
I believe they are always surmountable. Though from a big enough step back, “surmounting” them may take on new meaning.
Loving the way you explain the Five Elements! Thank you for your wonderful insight. Keep ’em coming!
You’re welcome! I did record 5 of these, though I think we’re going to spread out publishing them, so the next one may not be for a month or so.
Thank you for this insight. I’ve had the cheese moved on my path many times in this life. Each time, the new path has led to greater things. My path now is not clear, so this reminder in a beautifully stated way was perfect information to ingest! In gratitude!
Glad to hear it, Sherry. Yes, it seems when the cheese moves, we’re presented with ever higher grades of “cheese.”
Great video. I will continue to practice my breathing and taking yoga, tap dance and jazz dance classes. I take 4-1/2 hours of yoga weekly. These classes help me stay strong and they help with the muscle and joint pain too. Your muscle melt plays a big roll in my pain management too. The tap dance and jazz classes also keep me moving and are super fun to take. I’m about to turn 71, so being able to move and enjoy life is important to me.
I’m inspired by your commitment to your fitness, Judi. Especially later in life, it’s so essential.
I love and look forward to each of your teachings. Kind of you to do a video! Special to learn “face-to-face” or face-to-screen, seems the same on this end :-). I read the small book you reviewed and forgot about the “getting angry/upset” portion. Your reminder gave me more personal gain than reading the popular book did.
I am working this year on growing with “The Well Life” you and Brianna signed when in PDX. One happy gal here.
Hi Susan, thanks for supporting our work. I’m glad to hear it’s been helpful for you. Be well.
Thank you, and speaking of Who Moved my Cheese, you may be interested in this book: I Moved Your Cheese …for those who refuse to live as mice in someone else’s maze…by Deepak Malhotra.
Namaste
Thanks, Alecia. I love the title “I Moved Your Cheese”! In truth, I’ve only browsed “Who Moved My Cheese” – I mostly appreciate the core concept regarding how humans respond to unexpected change. From what I can garner from reviews, it seems that Malhotra’s book stems from a criticism that “Who Moved My Cheese” encourages people to to be slaves to the maze and chase the “cheese.” He seems to be offering a way to transcend the maze altogether. I can’t tell whether that’s an accurate characterization of the first book, nor am I sure that any of us need to read either one. The key, to me, is to continuously inquire as to WHAT, REALLY is the ultimate “cheese,” – is it actually outside of us at all? And what are we willing to let go in order to experience “cheese consciousness”? 😉
This is my 1st look into “The Dragontree”. Your analogy on “Who Moved My Cheese”, is quite insightful. However, I’ve reached a point in my life where I don’t even know “What My Cheese Is”, let alone “Who Moved My Cheese”. I’m at a time in my life that is physically, medically & emotionally draining. The thought of another maze in life, along with going around more obstacles, seems paralyzing to me. I know I need a new mindset and probably a different book to peruse.
I’m going to delve deeper into “The Dragontree” in hopes of acquiring a better outlook and direction.
Many thanks,
Julia
thanks, Julia. I’m sorry to hear life’s not feeling fun at the moment. You might get some insight into what your “cheese” is through the book I wrote with my wife – The Well Life. Perhaps your library has a copy. Maybe consider starting with what kinds of *qualities* would your ideal life have, rather than the material specifics.
Be well,
Peter
Great analogies made the points so simple to understand and envision. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Diane!
Thank you for the insightful teaching today. It will be especially helpful for me as I head into a meeting at work where I will be making suggestions and requesting some changes regarding our policies and procedures. This helps me to remember that I don’t have to right and that the obstacles encourage growth in new ways.
You’re welcome, Dori! I hope those conversations went smoothly!
I enjoyed this and look forward to hearing about the other elements. Thank you for posting it!
Thanks, Jen. And you’re welcome.
“Our obstacles aren’t injustices” beautifully stated Peter. I’m going to let this one percolate in my soul all weekend. Thank you for your teachings.
You’re welcome, Lilah. I hope you’ve been well.
The tree -especially one that is narled and twisted is a good visual for me. Its canopy will receive sun and still experience being a tree but those are, for me, the most interesting trees
They’re interesting trees to me, too!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us! I enjoy learning as I travel along this path of life.