Katie Davis is a Satsang Spiritual Teacher of Advaita, Non-duality, Self-inquiry, enlightenment, spiritual awakening, the power of being now and presence. Since 1999, she has been traveling to offer satsang in communities worldwide. The Awake by Katie Blog is moderated by Katie Davis, author of "Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment." http://www.AwakebyKatie.blogspot.com
Causes and results are infinite in number and variety. Everything affects everything. In this universe, when one thing changes, everything changes. Hence the great power of man in changing the world by changing himself.
For this [seeking Reality], you need a well-ordered and quiet life, peace of mind and immense earnestness. At every moment whatever comes to you unasked, comes from God and will surely help you, if you make the fullest use of it. It is only what you strive for, out of your own imagination and desire, that gives you trouble.
Accept life as it comes and you will find it a blessing.
You are convinced of the reality of your circumstances, of the world in which you live. Trace the world to its source and you will find that before the world was, you were and when the world is no longer, you remain. Find your timeless being and your action will bear it testimony.
This is the most urgent task. You cannot see yourself as independent of everything unless you drop everything and remain unsupported and undefined. Once you know yourself, it is immaterial what you do, but to realize your independence, you must test it by letting go all you were dependent on.
The realized man lives on the level of the absolutes; his wisdom, love and courage are complete, there is nothing relative about him.
Keep quiet, undisturbed, and the wisdom and power will come on their own. You need not hanker. Wait in silence of heart and mind. It is very easy to be quiet, but willingness is rare.
You people want to become supermen overnight. Stay without ambition, without the least desire, exposed, vulnerable, unprotected, uncertain and alone, completely open to and welcoming life as it happens, without the selfish conviction that all must yield you pleasure or profit, material or so-called spiritual.
Abandon every attempt, just be; don't strive, don't struggle, let go every support, hold on to the blind sense of being, brushing off all else. This is enough.
Refuse attention [to what comes to the surface], let things come and go. Desires and thoughts are also things. Disregard them. Since time immemorial the dust of events was covering the clear mirror of your mind, so you could see only memories. Brush off the dust before it has time to settle; this will lay bare the old layers until the true nature of your mind is discovered. It is all very simple and comparatively easy; be earnest and patient, that is all.
Dispassion, detachment, awareness - free from memory and expectation - this is the state of mind to which discovery can happen. After all, liberation is but the freedom to discover.
Excerpted from Chapter 95 "Accept Life as it Comes," I Am That, Nisargadatta
In one instant of quietude and self-surrender, the great stillness consciously emerges.
Previously unnoticed, the light shines through somehow.
This profound stillness is here right now, yet if you are reading with the mind, you are probably overlooking it. Instead, listen as within and join us.
The first glimpse of the sublime is so divinely quiet and radiant that every thought in the universe is humbled. The sense of awe and wonderment silences the mind. Since the divided mind has never experienced anything more powerful than itself, it falls to its knees in gratitude, devotion and adoration. When it then dissolves as the illumination, the bliss of pure being is all that remains. Bathed in love's light, all is beautiful!
This emerging is the end of "your" life as you had previously known it. It is also the conscious beginning of being the unchangeable mystery within which all is appearing.
For many, when the radiance then fades, the ego begins a compulsive search for what it thinks that it attained. When in fact, it is in the absence of the mind-made self that the timeless love that we genuinely are bursts into full bloom. What has never been attained or lost cannot be reclaimed. The resolution is to be still combined with Self-inquiry.
Heart is the abode of pure love that burns the appearance of all opposites into itself. Whenever one thing changes, everything changes. Indeed, the power of changing the world lies only in our willingness to surrender and realize who we truly are.
Self-realization is our true Individuality. Pure "I" stands alone beyond all and is dependent on none. What we previously thought of as a person is in fact non-existent as far as identity and therefore no "individual" at all. That one is totally dependent, vulnerable and therefore fearful in maintaining the delusion of its separation.
This is not to say that the body, its magnificent sensing and its life situation fade away. To the contrary, free of our past conditioning and compulsive thinking, the body's intelligence is truly free of the ego's limited ideas. The senses are no longer paled by the dust of the mind and become intensely alive. The love that we authentically are flows into the life situation and everyone and everything upon which you consciously shine are likewise illuminated in love's light. After all, there is only you ... appearing as all.
In spiritual circles, the idea of detachment is widely misunderstood. The ego that is already alienated in its idea of separation hears about the concept of detachment and then dutifully tries to further separate from the body, its beautiful sensing and all so called others. This is not the detachment of which I speak. Self-realization is not about becoming an isolated nothing!
True detachment is not something that is contrived by the mind and then enforced by the ego. It occurs spontaneously and effortlessly and is in fact the end of alienation and separation.
Real detachment allows a magnificent connection, since only the ego "I" has been eliminated; the one that never existed in the first place. This glorious connection is far more than the unity of all people and things. It is so divinely intimate that even the word connection is too much separation. The spiritual realization is that there is only the divine appearing as all.
So instead of detaching from all things and people that gift this beautiful life with form, detach from the one who hopelessly is trying to separate; the ego "I" that is also attempting to own everything. Within that tiny concept of self is what appears to be "your" suffering and is reflecting as all of the lack and conflict in the world. To hold on to that separating concept is sheer selfishness and then you "own" your own limitation that is perceived as all, while blaming so called others.
Even this direction could be misunderstood. Forget about seeking enlightenment. Hold on to the "I" thought and through Self-inquiry, follow the golden thread of consciousness back home to the Heart. All departure was a delusion.
In true Individuality, our uniqueness and distinctions as human beings thrive, since we are no longer limited to that tiny image of self that at best can only be a reflection and no more than a fraction. As a fraction, we lack; as the totality, we are already whole.
Truly, we are infinitely creative and while divinely diverse, there are no differences. We are a symphony of one love in action and each has their instrument to play. It is recognized that competition and exclusion were the ego's way of living. That way can only lead to more suffering. Ego's mantra is that if you lose, I win. Instead, we can applaud the trumpets, celebrate the flutes, harmonize with the violins and truly love the global beat of the drums as they keep us in cadence with the Heart's way of living.
Can you sense the Changless as the white clouds drift across the pale blue sky?
This morning, do you hear the inaudible Silence of the red-breasted cardinal, while its song is outpouring?
Are you aware of the unfathomable Perfection of the radiant colors of the rainbow?
Is not the Infinity of space truly awe-inspiring as the stars twinkle in the midnight sky?
Do you feel the Harmony within as the sun sets over the Pacific or the Mystery of the full moon over the island of Lanai?
Are you distinguishing the Stillness, when a blue-tipped butterfly suspends in imperceptible space?
Well, close your eyes for a moment. Yes, there are many thoughts and corresponding feelings. Do you notice that they are all either about or in relationship with "you?"
Have you discovered yet the blissful joy beneath happy and sad, when you stop talking story?
Now, just rest as "I am" and stop at that ... nothing more.
Still with eyes closed, back away a little. Are you missing the space around "I," the sublime sky of being?
Are you able to discern that this sky is still within the field of experience? Are you any less, if you resonate solely as "am," this beautiful feeling of connectivity?
Ever more subtle, perhaps still unnoticed, does any reference point whatsoever remain? Not a personal reference point of course, but any?
Is there anything deeper than even the slightest movement ... or stillness ... of inner experience?
Upon Self-discovery, open your eyes! Let it all settle in, so to speak.
Can you be fully in this world, while not being of it?
Is there any difference between That which is within and That which appears to be manifesting everywhere?
Are you fully integrated and embodied as the non-dual Heart of Pure Beingness?
As True Sky, are you experiencing the sky, the cardinal, the starlit night, the rainbow, the sunset and moonrise as the purest joy of True You?
When all that is impermanent is surrendered, what remains is who you really are.
Every "thing" in the perceivable world of duality is subject to the law of impermanence. This means that everything that appears will eventually disappear. Forms come and they go.
If you are seeking for something permanent and lasting, within that which is impermanent, you will suffer. It is self-evident that the changing cannot contain the changeless. No-thing is permanent.
For instance, you might seek to find stable happiness within relationships, not really understanding that this is destined to fail. Since people and circumstances change, relative happiness will cycle to unhappiness sooner or later. While relationships may provide many moments of happiness, they will always be intermingled with unhappiness.
In fact, it might be quite helpful to note that whenever you feeling unhappy, that unhappiness is just as unstable as happiness. It will inevitably change, within time, and cycle to happiness.
When you give up striving for true and enduring happiness through objects, people and circumstances, it signals that you are closer to realizing the changeless joy that you genuinely are.
After all, if you were anything other than the changeless, you would not even be able to perceive the ever changing.
Your body and its life situation are subject to this law of impermanence. The content of the life situation is always different. It is therefore unreasonable to expect anything other than periods of unhappiness.
Pure joy simply cannot be found objectively.
Who is aware of the body and its life situation? Who is aware of unhappiness? Who is watching?
Does that awareness ever change? Is it not true that it is everywhere you are?
Is it not the same awareness that was looking at its image in the mirror, when you were only six years old?
Is it not the same awareness that was looking at the blue sky at the beach when you were only twenty?
In fact, is it not the same awareness that is looking right now in this moment?
Who is that? Who are you?
You are the only key to realizing pure love and joy that is caused by nothing and never changes. This joy is not some-thing for which "you" strive. It is who you already are.
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ADI SHANKARA (Excerpted from the beautiful music video):
The great Adi Shankara (first Shankaracharya) of the eighth century summarized the entirety of Advaita Vedanta (non-dualistic philosophy) in six stanzas.
When a young boy of eight, while wandering in the Himalayas, seeking to find his guru, he encountered a sage who asked him, "Who are you?"
The boy answered with these stanzas, which are known as "Nirvana Shatakam" or "Atma Shatakam."
"Nirvana" is complete equanimity, peace, tranquility, freedom and joy.
"Atma" is the True Self.
The sage the boy was talking to was Swami Govindapada Acharya, who was, indeed, the teacher he was looking for.
NIRVANA SHATAKAM
I am neither the mind, nor the intellect, nor the ego, nor the mind stuff. I am neither the body, nor the changes of the body. I am neither the senses of hearing, taste, smell or sight. Nor am i ether, the earth, the fire, the air.
I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute bliss absolute.
I am He, I am He.
I am neither the Prana, nor the five vital airs. I am neither the materials of the body, nor the five sheaths. Neither am I the organs of action nor objects of the senses.
I am existence absolute ,knowledge absolute bliss absolute.
I am He, I am He.
I have neither aversion nor attachment, neither greed nor delusion, neither egotism nor envy, neither Dharma nor Moksha. I have neither desire nor object of desire.
I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute.
I am He,I am He.
I am neither sin nor virtue, neither pleasure nor pain, nor temple, nor worship, nor pilgrimage, nor scriptures. And I am neither the act of enjoying,the enjoyable nor the enjoyer.
I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute.
I am He, I am He.
I have neither death, nor fear of death, nor caste nor was I ever born, nor had I parents, friends and relations. I have neither Guru nor disciple.
I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute.
I am He, I am He.
I am untouched by the senses. I am neither Mukti nor knowable, I am without form, without limit, beyond space, beyond time. I am in everything, I am the basis of the universe, everywhere am I.
I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute.
RSVP is required by email at awake [at] katiedavis.org (due to the security gate). Please just email your name and you will be on the gate list. Space is limited, so please make your reservations early. You will be notified if space is no longer available. Therefore, if you RSVP and then decide not to come, please let us know.
Hosts: Nancy and Rex:
Wailea Elua Village
3600 Wailea Alanui Drive
Building #21, in #2102
Wailea, Maui, Hawaii
Please enter in silence.
You are invited to arrive 15 minutes early to begin sitting with Katie and Sundance at 6:15 pm.
PLEASE CAR POOL or park at the Shops of Wailea (10 minute walk). If you park at the Shops of Wailea, you will still need to be on the security gate list, so please RSVP.
Comfortable seating is provided, however please bring a cushion or backjack if you have them.
KATIE DAVIS awakened radically and spontaneously in 1986. Since 1999, she has been traveling to share the true possibility of awakening and Self-realization. She is author of Awake Joy.
SUNDANCE BURKE awakened in 1982 with his teachers Satoshi (Osho) and Shunyata, named the Rare Born Mystic by his friend Ramana Maharshi. Sundance and Katie met in 1988 and are frequent teaching partners. Sundance is author of Free Spirit.
AWAKE SPIRIT TEACHINGS are consistent with the teachings of Eckhart Tolle for spiritual awakening and for Self-realization, they are consistent with Advaita Vedanta and Non-duality, yet free of all Eastern jargon. They are pragmatic and point to the simplicity of Self-realization.
Through Self-inquiry and consciously resting as "I am," the teachings are also consistent with the great sages Ramana Maharsi and Nisargadatta.
Awake Spirit Teachings are not conceptually based. Rather, they are based on direct Self-realization. Satsang is therefore blessed with the true teacher; the radiant stillness that you genuinely are already.
Free Advaita and Satsang Videos, as well as Free Downloads at:
Before enjoying this video, please scroll down this blog and in the right hand column you will find the video Shamamic Dream. Please pause Shamanic Dream. Otherwise, you will be listening to two songs at the same time.
Kirtana is a lovely composer, singer/songwriter and guitarist. She wrote this song as a tribute to the great sage, Ramana Maharshi.
"Ramana's Song" is from Kirtana'a latest CD, "Falling Awake."
Hello Sundance, Thank you kindly for satsang yesterday. I am feeling decidedly dissembled. That's good news.
This is what is lingering:
This could be called a watching game: awareness watches consciousness, which watches the mind, which watches the world. Self, Awareness, is steady, immutable, mountain-like, as you say. Awareness doesn't care what arises. And, for Awareness, nothing is happening.
There is just That, Sat-Chit-Ananda, and That is who ‘we’ really are, our essence. But it's not really that “we” are “One.” That's what “Non-dual” is pointing at. It's not two, and yet it's not one, either.
The mysterious paradox is, there is not One, because Awareness isn't an object. Perhaps it could be said, “there is nothing and everything.” Awareness, as the ultimate subject and then all else that appears to arise; body, mind, world are objects.
So, it's about letting go of control and attachment to everything, total surrender to what arises as it does, allowing all to be as it is. No mind, no suffering, no agenda, no initiating. Yet, clearly mind can be picked up and used for practical purposes. When an impulse for self-interest arises, catch it by noticing and turn back. There-in lies freedom.
Can you clarify what you meant when you said, “when you're asked, How are you feeling, if you go inside, you get lost.”
Does this mean “you,” Awareness? When you asked me this question, there was nowhere to land, no sense of feelings, even though there was alertness and presence. Not a sense of an individual “I,” more a non-localized experience of aware being. Is it a trick question in the sense that it reveals where identity is arising from? And the challenge of using pronouns and who is being referred to, you not as the body/mind, but as Awareness?
Eternal gratitude and deepest pranams,
Sundance replies:
Beloved, Awareness is all consuming, as it is real Being and not imaginary minding. To Awaring-Self, the concept, sense or identification of "I" is meaningless, as non-existent. “To Be” does not require self-consciousness, any more than you need to look in a mirror to confirm your sense of body. What we are conscious to is always the false, the imaginary non-existent. Only Knowing Is, even when nothing appears to be sensed.
All that gets lost is the non-essential, the "I" self-interest, the non-existing. We simply cannot give our allegiance to the "I thing," while forgetting who we are and get away with it. Rather, this union of attachment will appear to get away with truth by giving Self a name, shape and time. We were never meant to elevate our believing over our Being.
Let me be clear, I was pointing to SOLITUDE, ALONENESS. There is nothing but YOU, SELF. You merely hang yourself on the branch you are holding in mind, for there is no branch or anyone to hold it.
There is no true answer to the question, "how are you feeling," except silence. After all, the question is speaking of YOU Beloved before feeling.
On another occasion, XO shares a quote with Sundance:
"Events in time and space - birth and death, cause and effect - these may be taken as one; but the body and the embodied are not of the same order of reality. The body exists in time and space, transient and limited, while the dweller is timeless and spaceless, eternal and all-pervading. To identify the two is a grievous mistake and the cause of endless suffering. You can speak of the mind and body as one, but the body-mind is not the underlying reality."
~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Sundance comments on this sharing:
Yes, all mind-bodies, all forms, all experiences of every order are sourced in the consciousness of Being …
and you are that consciousness, that ocean of ever-present awareness …
sometimes seen, sometimes not, life in calm waiting and potent expression, yet always awake, always being ...
the formless inspiration and the spiritual heart of our living dream.
Only the underlying reality of our nature as Awareness can set us free to be as we are...
fearless peace, loving expression without bounds or reason and so much more than words can convey.
You are the secret, the One you've been longing for.
You are within all time, all space; too close for discovery, too intimate to approach, too innocent to declare.
You are timeless. So, if you follow time, you move away.
You are nothing. So, if you seriously matter, you feel lost.
You are all presence, all power, all knowing,
In other words, All Loving.
Belief can never be the real You.
The impersonator is not the One.
You are an impossible act to follow, because you leave no trail at all.
Only the simple is truly profound,
so make no effort to be what you are...
Simply Be and Injoy
XO on the impact of Satsang:
Clearly, who I really am, is the awareness behind even consciousness. With residing there, comes a feeling of deep rest and peace. When you and I are in satsang though, this experience is so intense, a heightened sense of alertness, intimacy, great calm and detachment, almost disinterest in "things". What is that? Obviously an experience that comes and goes. Does this kind of experience emerge when two people are together and consciousness "recognizes" itself?
I notice I feel shy at first around you, uncertain about all of this, yet there's a fierce compelling quality to it. That dissolves once what seems like a shift occurs, maybe it's withdrawal from the perspective of a separate "me"? I so value your support and welcome any kind of guidance or suggestions of any kind.
Sundance replies:
Yes, I see and feel this in our Self-Presence. The blessings you speak of flow like a river, clear sailing unto Source. Surrendered as we are, we freely rest in the silence and stillness of our true depth. The miracle is that we know and the blessing of this knowing is our loving way.
Being true is intensely alive. This is satsang; fearless, desireless, All Loving presence. It is your true Being that is so compelling and beautiful.
The All Loving Heart is realized, once and for all in satsang. True living begins when dying ends and … even if the world could end … only the Awake would know.
The memory of body pain comes to satsang:
I'm noticing that when I allow it to be as it is, watching the pain come and go as the experience it is, there doesn't seem to be much suffering associated with it anymore.
Sundance on contemplating physical pain in the context of awakening:
It sounds as though your physical experience is serving to deepen your awareness of Self. This is not unusual in my experience. The path through this challenge is often easier for those who are already free of the belief that the Self is primarily a body. This I am certain you know. Nevertheless, we uniquely feel the impact of our hold and release from this human belief.
No one can really escape from the direct experience of our physical association. It seems the best option, when no other therapy is presently active and effective, is to continually abide in Self-Awareness, to be the witness beyond the symptoms.
All therapies hold potential for good, especially when acted upon from pure witnessing. If pain is present, what can one do but accept it, take action if it seems right and then allow everything to be as it happens.
Pain is clearly a call for attention, but attention to what and how to attend? I say, go to Self, pure consciousness and not just when we are hurting, but always. Let the message of pain become obsolete by its becoming unnecessary as a reminder. Easier said than done, but which of our lively efforts are truly worthy? This, we each answer by the quality of our presence regardless of circumstances; the body being one of these among many others.
It seems to me that each of us possess various forms of belief about healing and healers. Some of us strongly believe in medical doctors and science, others believe in holistic healers, shamans, energy healers, body workers, counselors, change of environment or behavior, etc. Still others intuitively combine the above. Our past human experience is a vast library in consciousness full of body ignorances and wisdoms.
A few of us question the entire experience of dis-ease. Is it real? Can I really be unhealthy? If I am the Self, can I really be suffering and subject to crippling and death? Does disease point to my true state of being or does pain appear for another purpose? What is pain if I am not opposing it? Can my being really be threatened? Is death to be feared, as a loss or diminishment of Self? Can I control my experience? Can I prevent what I do not want to experience from happening? If I act upon any belief in a fearful idea will it bring me freedom or dis-ease? If I am not in control, why worry? How will I know how I will act in any case, until it becomes my experience? What is my attitude of Self in all conditions? Do I have a permanently real attitude or am I searching for security and comfort, neither of which can endure in every condition?
There's no need for you to answer all of these questions, but they do seem to arise in consciousness in the midst of remembering or contemplating pain, aging, death, etc. My attitude is that only the Self determines my experience and the form of healing I choose is also Self-Will, no matter what it looks like. This is the only way I can be mySelf. I'll soon be in a dentist's chair contemplating Self as patient, dentist, assistant and all else in that moment of consciousness.
Surrender is the default attitude of witnessing, as the only condition worth your trust is... being aware.
While everyone appears to be dreaming, witnessing watches, unconcerned and fearlessly awake.
Sundance Burke is author of "Free Spirit: A Guide to Enlightened Being"
