Recently, my friend Hasan Awan was reflecting on the subject of nonduality and the Direct Path as espoused by Rupert Spira. He asked me for my thoughts. Here they are. I had to do some research, as I had not previously heard of the Direct Path as a distinct teaching. According to Spira’s teacher Francis Lucille, the Direct Path is …
Diving into Sādhana….
Some people approach sādhana with a dualistic map. Some people approach with a nondualistic map. What is important is right effort—approaching with right effort. God created us and this world in Love; our misery is because of our wrong understanding. Our wrong identification with vehicles like our bodies, mind, emotions, thoughts. The more we differentiate in our identification, the further …
Torture for the Shrunken Self….
I recently heard that someone said spiritual practice was self-torture, and that I am a composite of negativity. It is and I am. For a lot of people that is the truth. So much of sadhana is uncovering the truth; the truth that lies under a giant fortress of lies. The delusion that who we are is the one that …
Patience.…
Baba was incredibly patient. Over and over again he addressed an issue from every possible angle for the sake of the disciple. He was always changing and adjusting his approach, so that the student could grasp what he needed to understand. By his very being Baba modeled that patience is not putting up with what should not be tolerated. For …
The Rotten Root of Hate and the Route Out….
God is Love. Love is our True nature. If we want to be autonomous, we must reject God, and therefore reject Love. So we twist Love into hate, and call ourselves individuals in our own right. But the small self, the shrunken self, is a prison, and we “know” that and hate it. We all have the memory of who …
Grace….
There’s so much talk about Grace. Born again, Pentecost, Yoga, New Age, from every corner we hear this word used. What is Grace? For me, Grace is knowing who I really am. Knowing through Being is what Grace gives us. Many people believe that Grace is having the bells and whistles; the lights, sounds, feelings, smells, and even tastes that …