full stop john wheeler sample chapters 1-15

7/31/2019 Full Stop John Wheeler Sample Chapters 1-15

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Full Stop!The Gateway to Present Perfection

John Wheeler


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full stop!

First paperback edition published July 2012 by Non-Duality Press

John Wheeler 2012 Non-Duality Press 2012

John Wheeler has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs andPatents Act, 1988, to be identied as author o this work.

All rights reservedNo part o this book may be reproduced or utilized in any orm orby any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission

in writing rom the Publisher.

Typeset in Dante 12/13 & ITC Stone Sans

Cover design by John Gustard

Non-Duality Press | PO Box 2228 | Salisbury | SP2 2GZUnited Kingdom

IsBN: 978-1-908664-18-1www.nn-daiyre.rg

Contents

Resonance 1

Beyond Words, Shining in Your Heart 3Words Are Only Pointers 4Awareness and Objects 6Images and Thoughts Are Not Me 8Awareness Is Constant, Contents Are Changing 10The Gateway to Pure Being 12Getting to the Root Assumption 14Concepts Come and Go, but You Remain as You Are 16Identiying with a Conceptual ImageGenerates the Problems 18

Awareness Is the Abiding Real ity o Things 20Complete Absence Is Your Total Presence 22Are You Doing Anything to Be? 24What Can I Do to Help My Daughter? 27The Value o the Full Stop 31The Certainty o Being 32Consciousness and Death 35Awareness and Pure Consciousness 37Looking beyond Concepts 40I Am Seeing This Space, but the Me Is Still Here 43Stop Twist ing My Words! 45Consciousness and the Absolute 47What Is Being? 49What to Do When It Seems Like So What? 51The Root o the Problem 53I There Is No I, What About Emotions? 55A Few Questions 57What You Are Is Clear and Obvious 60Conviction Is Already Present 61There Is No Person to Come Home 63I Am Becoming a Very Nebulous Thing 65

Sel-Knowledge Is Always Accompanied by Peace 67


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Do Not Leave Any Ghost in the Machine 70Others Can Take Care o Themselves 73Awareness Is Sel-Evident 75The I Notion Is a Figment 77There Is No Me 80The Process o Maniesting 85

Hidden Belies and Blind Spots 87Full Stop, but 89Getting beyond Intellectual Understanding 96Does Seeing Yoursel Happen Gradually? 100How to Know and Embody This? 101How to Reconcile Contradictory Pointers? 102The Beauty o Actual Non-Duality 104How Has Your Lie Changed? 111Awareness Is Not a Concept 113The Simple and Final Point 119

Am I Over-thinking Things? 122The Issue o Identity Is Paramount 124Simply Being What You Actually Are 128Reconsider the Basics o This 131So Simple 135Relationship Issues and Sel-Knowledge 137Seeking Has Stopped 140Seeking Is Not Over 141I Am in the Ignorant Stage 143Do Not Use Spiritual Knowledge to ProveYour Bondage 149Non-Duality and Traditional Spiritual Concepts 151The Search Seems to Be Over 154Dealing with Residual Doubts and Identications 158Who Is to Get Back to What? 160What Appears Is an Appearance o Awareness 162Your Being Is Not an Object 165Interest in the Me Concepts Is Identication 167The Best Practise Is to See What You Already Are 170You Are the Absolute, Here and Now 173The Joyul Light o Ever-Present Being 178

All Divisions Are Purely Conceptual 183

Wrapping Up Loose Ends 185You Have Never Let Being at Any Time 190You Are Whole, Perect and Complete Now 192One in Love 197You Are Perect and Complete 200There Are Not Two Selves 203

The Beautiul Rose o Conscious Presence 206No Distance 208Being Is the Changeless Constant 209Listen to the Sailor 211All Experiences Are That in Essence 214Consciousness and Awareness 217This Is Not a Meditative Achievement 219You Are Here Now, as Clear as a Bell 222Decisions, Decisions 228Look Directly into the Sense o Existence Itsel 230

Is There Any Suering at All in Your Being? 233Pointing Out a Few Blind Spots 235A Butterfy in a Hall o Mirrors 241Be What You Already Are 242The Mind and Body Are the Wholeness Itsel 244The Present Waking Dream 246Your Real Nature Is Never Obscured at Any Moment 248Doubt and Conviction 253There Is No Duality or Separation 255There Is Really No Separation or Duality 257Teachings, Books and Lineages 259The Nature o Objects 265A Vision o Truth 267You Are What You Are and Nothing Else 269See the Trap and Do Not Step into It 274Go On Direct Experience 276The Only Authentic Experience 277An Account 279Non-Duality and Social Reorm 284Only the One Substance 290Ater the Death o the Mind-Body Instrument 293

What You Are Is beyond Any Question 295


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1

Resonance

All pointers converge on a central theme. This is the simpletruth o what we are, the essential and inescapable reality thatshines behind the doubtless sense o being present and aware.No one can say I am not, as the very statement presupposesthe existence o the one attempting to deny his or her ownexistence. This is why ones existence is the touchstone orgold standard by which all other truths are evaluated. Allpointers encourage us to probe the undamental act o oursel-existent being, which not only is but knows. This is theheart o the matter, the constant and nal theme o all o the

great traditions that have come down to us under the ban-ner o non-duality. Non-duality speaks to the non-separationo the seeker and the nal reality being sought. As all o thetraditions tell us, each in its own way: you are that.

In our own times, the direct communication o thisbasic truth was amously shared by the well-known sageo Mumbai (Bombay), Nisargadatta Maharaj. I was ortu-nate enough to meet one o Nisargadatta Maharajs directstudents, Sailor Bob Adamson, in Melbourne, Australia, aew years ago. He shared with me the essential pointers hehad received rom Nisargadatta Maharaj. More importantly,he was able to point to the reality o my being so directlythat it could no longer be avoided or overlooked. As heonce mentioned to me, it is not the words themselves thatare important, but the living reality behind the words thatmakes the dierence. This reality, when recognised byone who knows, inorms whatever words may be used aspointers. This causes a resonance in the inner being o thereceptive listener such that the true nature o the listener isrecognised in all its immediacy and livingness. This is thepure light o non-conceptual awareness beyond thought. It is

not that reality is dicult to perceive. In truth, it is so simple

All Troubles Are Based in Concepts 298Game Over 301Being and Thinking about Being 303Your Own Experience Has All the Answers 305Circular Problems 308Pause the False Search 317

With or Without Questions, You Are 321Investigate the I Who Is Raising the Questions 323See Who and What You Are 325What the Investigation Uncovers 327Your Being Is Neither a Concept Nor a Pointer 329Understanding Desire 332Why Is There Still an Underlying Belie thatI Am Something? 335Being Is Eortless and Natural 338All You Need to See 341


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that we overlook the obvious. For, how many thoughts, eel-ings or experiences can you have without being present andaware to have them? Still, a direct pointer to this by one whoknows is extremely helpul, as many can attest.

The recognition o the inescapable and ever-present natureo the listeners real sel lays bare the alse basis o the belie

that one is a separate, limited, isolated person apart rom real-ity. As this is the basis o a ll o the concepts and identicationsthat generate limitation in lie, this revelation eectively can-cels needless psychological suering. Such suering is onlysustained through a alse belie in being something we arenot. Not only is reality ound to be shining within onesel asones very sel, but the seeking, suering and doubt that mayhave been carried or a lietime is overcome at a stroke.

In seeing and experiencing these basic truths or one-sel, there may naturally arise a desire to share the good

news with others who would resonate with the pointersthemselves. There is no xed set o pointers or manner ospeaking o these undamental truths. While the essentialpoints, being timeless, remain consistent rom year to yearand age to age, the manner in which they are ramed andcommunicated must necessarily vary, based on the needs othe times. Furthermore, the questions and issues raised bythose engaged in the verication o the truths in their ownexperience are bound to change. This is why it is useul tohave resh expressions and pointers set in contemporarywords and speech. This allows us to ocus on the essence andrees us rom having to digest archaic terms and outdatedcultural trappings.

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Beyond Words, Shining in Your Heart

I we are looking or answers at a conceptual level, thepointers are just words. Clearly, words have no real lie orsubstance, being dead images. Listening to words is about asullling as trying to drink water rom the painting o a lake.At some point, an interest may arise to drop al l the concepts,pointers and words in act, to stop looking in the mindentirely. In that pause, let the looking turn directly to thatclear, doubtless existence shining in your heart.

I you are hearing pointers but not looking at what is beingpointed to, this will seem like so much empty prattling, or

that is all it can ever be at a verbal level. But take the cue andlook directly into your own heart. See, know and be what youare. Drop the concepts and come ace to ace with your realsel, your undeniable being.

All the pointers such as love, oneness, awareness, lie,aliveness, unconditioned, ree o suering, etc., are onlytrying to give a sense o the nature o what you are. I theyare let as words, they are just empty husks. But is what isshining in your heart a lieless dead image? I not, what isit? This is what needs to be seen, non-conceptually, in directexperience. Nothing is gained or attained, because what youare has been here all along.


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3

Words Are Only Pointers

It is a bit tricky quoting the words o great teachers or con-rmation o anything, because the words are only pointersand concepts arising in particular situations. In other words,in the moment the words were delivered they were spontane-ous pointers o encouragement or someone in that momentto drop a particular concept or perspective in order to noticewhat is here prior to concepts. Later, when we read thewords, it is actually a case o moving back into concepts andaway rom what is clear and present. Seeing this may ree upa lot o space. That is why reading about non-duality is a bit

misleading and oten complicates the simplicity o it.For every passage one quotes, you can nd dozens moreasserting the opposite view. It is helpul to see why this mustbe so. There is not a xed teaching at all. There is a streamo spontaneous points arising to expose whatever dualisticnotions the seeker may have been holding as true. It is morea matter o love in expression rather than some spiritual ver-biage one should sit through years or centuries a terwards.People think you get to the heart o this by studying philoso-phy, learning Sanskrit, or delving into the recorded words oShankara, Buddha or whomever. This is entirely erroneousand completely misses the mark. It only attens the stock oconcepts and keeps the attention locked in the mind. It isoverlooking your ever-present natural state.

Pause the concepts, whatever they may be, and noticewhat is present, what you actually are here and now. That isalready evident and avai lable in all its immediacy. No teacher,guru, scripture, satsang or awakenings are involved. I cannotstress this strongly enough. That we thought they were wasonly an ignorant mistake. So return to the basics and have alook or yoursel.

Instead o talking about concepts, chuck them all over-board and talk rom what is actually present in your experi-ence. Non-duality books, quotes, spiritual jargon and hypo-thetical what is are entirely incapable o revealing the directrecognition o immediate reedom and happiness. That ispresent as the pure light o simple knowing and being shining

in the core o your mind or the centre o your heart. In thatlight, the universe and all bodies and minds arise and pass likespecks o dust in the warmth o a vast, cloudless sky, which isthe sky o your being. That non-conceptual awareness or pres-ence o lie beyond the mind pours out through your sensesand bathes each thought, eeling and experience in a time-less and inescapable clear cognisance. Call it what you will being, awareness, love, presence, what is, knowing, light,lie, intelligence, spirit, etc. Whatever it is, it is undeniableand inescapable. It is being that cannot be doubted or contra-

dicted; an unborn, undying awareness without ceasing; liewith no boundary; a peace and causeless joy that embracesall appearances, all possibilities, all opposites. Nothing can beoutside o that; nothing stands apart rom that; there is noth-ing other than that. And you are that.


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4

Awareness and Objects

The resolution o the apparent duality o awareness andobjects lies in seeing that the supposed di erence is not reallypresent. In other words, there is an assumption that there isawareness and objects. Then the mind gets tangled up in howthey are supposed to be stitched together. This is like theperson who asks, How do I awaken? and then gets wrappedup in that concept. He or she overlooks that awareness isalready awake, and that the supposed I entity is not reallypresent, except as an assumption. In the clear seeing o this,the dilemma collapses.

The issue is similar with awareness and objects. No objector experience can ever stand outside o, or apart rom, theawareness o it. This resolves the issue directly. The objectsand awareness are not separate, even now. So why talk ohow to put them together, or how to see them as one? Arethey separate to start with? No. Thereore, the concept andthe problem drop.

Most people naturally assume there are only objectsand have no real sense o awareness itsel. So the pointeris brought up to distinguish objects and awareness onlyor the purpose o highlighting the presence o awareness,not to create an absolute split between them (because thereisnt one). Once awareness and your identity as that is clear,you can look back at the apparent objects and see that theyhave no real substance or independent nature apart romthe awareness o them. This is somewhat like the gures ona carved marble relie not being separate rom the marbleitsel. The alse dilemma is apparent in the question, Howare the carved gures and the marble to be seen as one?The real question is, Have you ever seen them as separaterom each other? The bottom line is that there can be no

experience outside o awareness. So, to speak o awareness

and objects as i they were independent is not possible basedon direct experience.

It is very important to mention a subtle point that manymiss at this juncture. The objects are not in themselves thesame as awareness, or the abiding reality. Objects are appear-ances, but your real being remains independent o the pres-

ence or absence o the objects. In practical experience, youcan see that objects are constantly changing, but your ownbeing remains without break. A wave is nothing but water;but water as such is not a wave as such. Thereore, it is nota one-to-one equivalence. That is why when people say allappearances are the oneness, it is not a precisely clear andaccurate statement.


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5

Images and Thoughts Are Not Me

Question: Your meeting last night was very helpul or me. I nowsee that the mind and its concepts are just that mind and con-cepts. I recognised the truth rom the frst time you explained it tome a ew years ago, but or the last ew years I have been unclearin regards to thinking and thoughts. Like Alicia Silverstone in themovie Clueless, you just need to say to thoughts: Whatever!.

I have been investing value in thoughts and projecting identityinto them, which is a typical Gemini trait! Last night helped me tosee the simple point that beingness or awareness is what I am, andI need not (nor can I!) leave my beingness. Thoughts are not the

problem. I can see much more clearly now that it is just ignorance(ignoring the obviousness and simplicity o who I really am) thatprompted me so oten to identiy with thoughts and to lose sight omysel in mentation.

John: The basic issue in this context has to do with return-ing to the mind with some sense that whatever the mind issaying about you (the conceptual me or person notion) is anadequate, real or true denition o who you are. But thoseimages and concepts in the mind are always in reerence toones identity as that image or entity, which itsel is an appear-ance in the mind. Our own being or consciousness nature isnot an image, a thought or an appearance in the mind, as italways precedes and survives any such thoughts. The directand clear seeing o this position takes the steam out o anytendency to look or our reality, identity or happiness in thatnetwork o thoughts. Why would the sky look or itsel in amass o passing clouds? It would never imagine itsel to beone among the number o clouds that happen to be appear-ing, saying, That particular cloud is me. The sky is open andat ease as it is, always untouched and unaected. What can

a cloud do to obstruct the sky? It is the same with thoughts;

they are images blowing through the clarity and spaciousnature o non-conceptual being-awareness, which is yourinnate sel. Clear seeing shows that the images and thoughtsare not me. They do not dene me. I exist at an entirely di-erent level or place (as the space in which the thoughtsappear). Looking in this way makes it hard to grasp hold o

any particular thought with a sense that this is who I am. Itis no bar on thought or the meaningul use o the mind in theappearance o things. However, there is a clear and emphaticrecognition that no thought ever denes or limits your innateand abiding sel.


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Awareness Is Constant, Contents Are Changing

Question: I have been seeing in experience that awareness is alwayspresent, without eort; no searching necessary; and I appear inawareness rather than awareness appearing in me.

John: You are the awareness. The key is to see that the dual-ism implied in I and awareness is alse. It is not you in aware-ness or awareness in you. You are that. That is the wholeessence.Q: When thoughts and concepts are gone, I am still here and aware.

There is no problem with that in experience. Then there is trying tostay in presence-awareness and less in thought.

John: This brings in a a lse dualism. I you are awareness andthe separate I is not, who should try to stay in awareness?Knock this concept out with a bit o clear seeing.Q: The pointer that is difcult to reconcile with my experience isthat awareness and the contents o awareness are the same.

John: This is not really needed. This is only a concept thatthe mind is trying to reconcile, and it just stirs up the doubts.Make sure your identity is clear and that there are no doubtsabout that. The rest will become apparent on its own.Q: I eel awareness illuminates the outside world, but that seemsdierent than saying that the world is awareness. I can reduce beingto two: awareness and its contents.

John: The point is that you do not experience any contentindependent o awareness. That would be entirely specula-

tive. It is not that the appearances are awareness. How could

they be? Awareness is constant, non-objective, cognisant.Contents are changing, objective, insentient. Equatingawareness and contents one-or-one is not possible. Contentsare appearances o awareness. They have no substance orindependent nature apart rom awareness. So the awarenessis what is real or substantial. The tried-and-true analogy is

waves on the ocean. The waves are nothing but ocean water,but the ocean per se is not waves.

Keep in mind, though, the key point in all o this is not toget lost analyzing appearances. It is to know yoursel. Do notlose sight o this point.Q: All things are allowed without resistance. All things need aware-ness to come into being. But I am struggling with the point thatawareness and the objects o awareness are one and the same.

John: Think over what I just sa id. That should clear thingsup.Q: Allowing things is not the same as being things.John: There is a subtle concept in here. Who is allowing?Things are simply happening. It is not a matter o allowingthem. That would bring in a subtle sense o separate sel.Drop all reerences to the concept o separation and be whatyou are. That is perect reedom and peace.


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The Gateway to Pure Being

Question: You say being is the reality.John: Words are pointers. In this context, being is beingused as a pointer to nal reality.Q: But is being or I am-ness not observed too?

John: Beingness (note, the sux ness), I am-ness and con-sciousness are oten used in reerence to the rst maniesta-tion o pure being. Note that being and beingness are di-

erent. One is reality, the other is a quality (or the expression)o reality.Q: Is being just a gateway to reality that is beyond being andnon-being?John: Being and non-being, consciousness and unconscious-ness, etc. are dualities. As such, reality transcends andincludes them. When I say being, I am generally reerringto pure or non-dual being, meaning beyond the duality obeing and non-being. Words are limited!

Q: Nisargadatta Maharaj clearly made the point that we are not theconcept I am, nor are we the non-conceptual I am-ness. He saidthe non-conceptual I am-ness brings us to the absolute, which Iassume is pure awareness, which is everything.

John: Yes, pure awareness and pure being are pointers tonon-dual reality, your natural state.

Q: Yet being is observed and leaves us, whether in deep sleep or

death.

John: Not true. Consciousness departs. As does knowingthat I am. These are really the same thing. The awarenesso being departs, but your actual existence remains. That isthe absolute that is prior to consciousness. Do not just go bywords. Make sure you see what is being pointed to by thewords.

Q: Are you just saying being is reality as a gateway, or what?

John: As stated, the experience o consciousness, o knowingthat I am in duality, or beingness (the experience o being)are the gateways. They are pointers to that which is prior.That which is prior (or always there) is usually termed as oneo the ollowing: pure awareness, pure consciousness, purebeing (beyond being and non-being), your real nature, non-dual being or awareness, or the absolute.

Note that knowing that you are comes and goes. In sleep,you do not know that you are. But your real being is alwaysthere. That is always present and always aware. You evenknow the coming and going o consciousness. This is sel-evident, but we tend to miss this point because we are a lwaysocused on objects. But even now, what we are is not an object.

The sense I am is the rst maniestation o your purebeing. This is also what Ramana Maharshi called the Ithought. Nisargadatta Maharaj and Ramana Maharshi rec-ommended tracing this experiential I or I am-ness to itssource. Thereore, it acts as a gateway to the reality that youtruly are. Remember, you are that here and now. The pointersare only temporary devices to be used i this point is not clear.


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Getting to the Root Assumption

Question: I have been looking into my discontent or misery to seethe truth about it. This morning I woke up with the eeling that,while things are okay right now, sooner or later it is all going tocome crashing down. There is nothing rational to the eeling, but itwas very strong (and still is to an extent). I looked at it as simplya eeling that would pass and give way to another eeling, and thata eeling is just a eeling, not a act. This was o little consolation,however. Trying to counter these eelings with good thoughts doesnot work either. How does one go to the core o this and see the truththat nothing is wrong and that these eelings really have no bearing

on what I am?

John: One thing to notice is that the eelings are driven byassumptions or concepts. Ideas can be just as powerul asevents, when it comes to our elt response to them. A keyapproach is to be clear on precisely what the ideas are claim-ing, so that you have some space to question them to seei they are true. That is not a complete solution, but it is avital initial recognition. Once you get a sense o how thesethoughts work, you can look a bit deeper at the core assump-tion at their root and see i that is really true. A bit o lookingshows that all the thoughts are dierent labels and conceptsabout me, about who I am. There is a common theme run-ning throughout all the patterns and concepts, which is thatI am some limited person in the appearance o things who issubject to suering and some horrible ate. Ultimately, thisassumption needs to be looked at head on. The key is beingvery clear on the positive truth o what you actually are.That is the essence o it, because the notions o limitation andseparation depend upon overlooking that aspect or being insome doubt about it. In the end, any limiting experience in

lie is only a call to know yoursel. Make sure these points are

clear, and use them as the basis o any other understandingor looking. I who you are is not clear, any other looking willbe colored by that perspective. That is why most spiritualpractises and approaches ail to deliver lasting reedom. Theassumptions we take into them oten hamstring the results.When the basic sense o what we are is clear, we can look

at concepts even the root I concept and see them asuntrue, based on our own clear sense o who we truly are.


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Concepts Come and Go, but You Remain as YouAre

Question: I am just coming to the end o your book The LightBehind Consciousness, which is beautiully clear. There seems tobe a clearer recognition now o my true nature. The simple act thatI am present and aware right now is recognised. But I st ill have nag-ging thoughts regarding the inquiry into the I. In the investigation,the mind will not leave alone the notion that the body is related tothe I. Upon looking or this phantom I, the body is seen and isrelated to as my I. I am ailing to see the alsity o this, and so thesuering appears as related to something very real. I know I am

making this too complicated, but I cannot see past the idea that Iam this body.

John: To see yoursel as the pure, simple being and know-ing presence is the heart o it. Pause there and drink in theclarity and reedom o being itsel. See that all the thoughtsand appearances come and go in this. Everything simplyarises and sets in your being or innate presence. That pres-ence remains as it is solid, present, prooundly cognisant,still and yet wonderully alive and radiant. That is the point to see this, know this and be this. Even those words aretoo much, or you eortlessly are this. It is just a noticing o asimple act that we may have overlooked.

I we go back into the mind searching or answers andtrying to understand various pointers, that is only engagingthe conceptual mind. So do not complicate the point o allthis. The pointers are only to bring us to see this, our natu-ral state. Once recognised, the pointers have done their job.The thoughts I am the body or I am not the body are bothconcepts coming and going in what you are. Neither is true;neither is alse. Also, neither o these concepts is what you

are. Clearly those concepts will (and do) come and go, but

you remain as you are. It is not so much that the body is aproblem, or it is not. Like everything else, it is an appearance(meaning an appearance in awareness). From the position osimple aware-presence, all appearances are at the same level.All appearances are in and o awareness itsel. The thoughtI am a body is clearly a concept. That concept is not your

abiding reality. To believe that thought means to trade inyour non-conceptual nature or a mere concept. You are not aconcept! The point is not to grasp that concept or identiy thatas yoursel. Then you simply remain as you are, concept-ree.All things, including the body, arise and pass in the clear lighto being and knowing, like clouds passing through the sky.All is well.


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Identifying with a Conceptual Image Generatesthe Problems

Question: Would you say that part o the problem is believing in theidea that this understanding o what we really are is something tobe acquired?

John: Yes, exactly.Q: I think you are saying that what we really are is something thatis already clear and already understood. To seek understanding orclarity is creating a problem where there isnt one.

John: Again, yes. But now you see this. Not recognising thiswas the problem!

Q: In the frst conversation we ever had you asked me i I was aseeker. I was not sure what you meant then, but I think I under-stand now. With a bit o embarrassment, I admit, I am a seeker.

John: So you think! Rather than taking on board this identi-cation, it is better to drop all the labeling and see what youare. Then you can decide, based on what you nd, i you arerightly to be called a seeker. Maybe you will nd that you arethe non-dual reality. One never knows without having a look!Q: It is obvious to me now that I identiy with this idea o beinga seeker so much that questioning it eels like questioning my veryexistence. It is a little scary.

John: Yes, we have become used to being identied with aconceptual image. At some point we realise this generatesthe problems and suering. Then we become interested to

question the truth o the sel-limiting concepts. Most people

are not interested in this, because they are not yet open toexamine who they are. Even spiritual seekers are generallymore comortable with keeping their enlightened gurus andtales o awakening, rather than looking to see who they are.In act, most run at top speed rom this message!

Q: Part o me romanticises the idea, and the other part knows thatthis idea is probably the root o all suering.

John: It i s not the idea that I am a seeker that is the root oit. It is the idea that I am an I (separate I) at all. The seekernotion is just one among many labels that have been added tothe core concept.

Q: I can tell mysel that there is nothing to seek, that I have every-thing right here, right now. But this just becomes another idea, and

the whole cycle starts up again and the seeking continues on butwith a dierent mask.John: Exactly. It is great to see this. Still, the question, thenal question, remains. As Nisargadatta Maharaj once said,in his down-to-earth manner, Who the hell are you, any-way? Dispensing with concepts is an important aspect othis, but it is not the core issue. You are. It is about being clearon this. All o the other points fow rom this.


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Awareness Is the Abiding Reality of Things

Question: Are you saying that the contents o awareness are themaniestation o awareness? Or are they mutually dependent uponeach other? You succinctly point out their dierent characteristics,but I am still struggling with the unity o all. I see the unity inthe point that all things are known through awareness. Is thatthe unity?

John: Have you ever had a thought, perception or experienceoutside o awareness? You cannot say so. So on direct evi-dence you do not experience things as apart rom awareness.

However, awareness remains regardless o appearances. Thatis why there is not a one-to-one correspondence. Awareness isthe abiding reality o things. Appearances come and go in andon this and have no independent existence apart rom thataware presence. This is the simple truth o it. Said anotherway, objects are nothing but awareness, but awareness itselis not an object. Another way: because objects are neverexperienced apart rom awareness, they must be awareness.But awareness is not limited by the appearances. That is whyI preer to call objects appearances. That is about all thatone needs to see with this. Why? So that one can drop theinterest in appearances and get down to what really needs tobe looked into your real nature, which is completely non-objective and utterly independent o objects.

The inquiry about awareness and objects is not the hearto the matter. The point is to recognise what you are. Thatis all. The nature o objects may be an interesting topic ordiscussion, but such a discussion is not the same as knowingyoursel. I you nd you are trying to piece things togetherat an intellectual level to make the pointers work or theminds conceptual understanding, that is an exercise in util-

ity. Beore the next thought appears, you are undoubtedly

present and aware. That is the essence o what is beingpointed to. I that is clear, the other points ollow as a mattero course.


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Complete Absence Is Your Total Presence

Question: The time-delay use on the non-duality bomb youplanted with your books, e-mails and phone conversation fnallyreached the detonator and blew o my head this morning! I wasworking in the garden when I realised why seeking stops. Seekingonly stops when:

a) The seeker fnds it (lucky boy!).b) The seeker gives up on it (tragic!).c) The seeker realises absolutely that it cannot

under any condition be ound.

My severed head landed in column c. It cannot be ound becauseit cannot be an object o itsel, except by the convolution o sel-re-erence, in which case it has necessarily morphed into a mere concepto itsel. So, my awareness can never fnd itsel. I can only be it. Inact, I cannot not be it. It is all there is except or everything, ocourse. I think I have just stepped over the line into the place wherewords no longer cut it. Enough said!

You might wonder i there was any particular pointer that litthat use. There was. It was your innocent little e-mail phrase:seemingly innocuous. The phrase itsel is seemingly innocuous, a

perect example o sel-reerence that ultimately reerred to the actthat sel-reerence is inconceivable. That was a classic turningword, a semantic palindrome, a lie spiral. Anyhow, seeking ispointless. Doubt is pointless. Suering is pointless. Thus, there isno task let to which the busy little beaver can heroically dedicatehimsel!

John: Ah, another one who lost his head! There seems to bea noble line o such happy souls! It appears the points havestruck home. Good news. So you are what you were seeking

inescapable and undeniable being-awareness itsel. And

that, too, is simply a pointer. Any word will do. The imaginedseeker, who is the basis o all seeking, suering and doubt, isnot to be ound. Not only do you have no head, but you havenothing else either. The complete absence, however, is onlypointing to your total presence. All that appears is only anappearance o this, your innate nature. In this recognition,

all is resolved. All limiting concepts make a tacit reerence tothe entity to whom they apply. But no such entity is present.This is the insight that severs the gordian knot o doubt andleaves you present as the magnicent clarity that cannot bedenied. Such a denial would only shine by virtue o that pres-ence, your own natural state.


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13

Are You Doing Anything to Be?

Question: I really enjoyed meeting you. I am glad I had a chance todo so. Some o your pointers cleared up a lot o alse belies and madethings clearer to me. However, I am still not seeing as I would liketo see.

John: But you are seeing! The seeing is in ull play now.Awareness, or your own nature, i s here in ull view. That isnot an issue. There is nothing lacking in this regard. Theremay be a ew unnecessary ideas getting in the way o thesimplicity o this.

Q: I question and meditate on all the pointers in order to try andtarget this awareness.

John: This is over-complicating things. The awarenessaspect is already here. Arent you naturally seeing, hearingand thinking? That principle in which all that is happeningis what is being pointed to. The comment about I questionand meditate overlooks the point and gets back into the(assumed) duality. Awareness is not so much to be targetedbut recognised as a present and undeniable act. There is a

pause at that point, because what is being pointed to is clearlyevident. Do not overshoot this point. Once you get back intoI and awareness and some action between them, you arebringing in too many moving parts!Q: I can only randomly get tastes o this, but then I all out o themoment.

John: Check this out on direct evidence. Do you ever al lout o the moment, and i so, exactly to where do you all?

Wherever you seemingly all, arent you still in the moment?

You are looking or some experience and not quite ndingit. See that all this activity is displaying in clear and presentawareness. Ater all, who is cognising all o this? You. Youare what is being talked about. You have not allen out obeing you!

Q: There are not many questions I can think o or which I do nothave an answer. So I do not know what else to do at this point.

John: Why are you doing anything? Are you doing anythingto be? This is not about questions and answers, but the basisupon which the questions and answers appear, which (again)is what you are.Q: Maybe the answer is misinterpreted rom something I read ina book. When I meditate and ask Do I exist?, I can answer O

course. But then I ask mysel, What knows that knowing?John: This is needlessly complicating things. When younotice the simple act o aware existence, just pause there. Nourther questions are needed. The question What knows theknowing? is not needed. It gets too conceptual. Knowing is.Full stop. See what is here in the ull stop. Do not approachthis through more thinking, but look directly. Simply seewhat is. Notice the taste o clear and present awareness,which is shining in all its nakedness and vividness right now(and always right now).

Q: Yes! That knowing is what I am. I eel empty space. I eel it isjust me, the awareness, with nothing else. I can be in the moment orhours, but it all s away.

John: Does it!? How do you know? What is knowing thatexperience? It is still registering in awareness, which has notgone anywhere! Full stop here and laugh with sheer joy anddelight that your mind was playing tricks with you. Do notlisten to the minds comments, but instead look at your direct

experience and go by the acts.


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Q: It is starting to drive me crazy. I do not know what to do! I can-not fnd any new inormation to read to make anything clearer. I ameeling desperate moments, in which I want to cry. I do not knowwhat to do. I am already here, but I must not be experiencing mytrue sel.

John: All this lamenting comes rom all ing or the mindsassessment that you have let your natural being. This is sim-ply not true. As usual, the suering is based on the wrongassumptions o who and what you are. The thoughts are say-ing you are a miserable someone who has departed rom hisbeing and needs to have ways and means to get back, whichunortunately (or ortunately!) are not working. Pause allthese concepts and see what is here. Do not be hoodwinkedby the concepts.

Q: It was good meeting you in person. I am glad you take the timeout to meet with strangers.

John: See what you are here and now, and we are no lon-ger strangers. We are both present and aware as that clear,bright, alive being and knowing that shines without break.Your own nature is here because you cannot deny your beingand knowing. Be clear on this. It is much, much easier thanyou think.

14

What Can I Do to Help My Daughter?

Question: First o all, thank you or all you are doing by sharingyour clear teachings. You have helped me to clear up my last stuckpoints. I have been at this a long time, and I am hoping to soonshare this message mysel.

John: With the key points o this clear, whatever appears willnaturally happen on its own. I you are speaking rom yourown direct experience (o knowing and being what you are),then the sharing will certainly have its impact.

Q: I have a question, which is a difcult one or me at this point,and I could use your insight. My oldest daughter, a bright andgited light o twenty-eight years o age, living in Pari s, France, isbipolar. Basically, she is in denial o this disease and reuses to takemedications. While, overall, she somehow manages to be somewhatproductive, the condition impairs her judgment and keeps her rommaking decisions that are best or her and would allow her to liveanywhere near her potential. She has had a ew serious episodes.While she is much loved and such a light, she causes pain or oth-ers close to her and, obviously, despite my perspective o this as anappearance o awareness, I worry about her. I search mysel as to

what, i anything, I can do to help.John: This is only natural and expected as a movement ocompassion and intelligence. I do not see anything at allamiss with these eelings and experiences. Basically, you dowhatever naturally comes up, as in any other area o lie. Ourbodies and minds are called upon to act and unction in theappearance o things. That may include eelings, preerences,decisions, and all manner o actions and responses that arisebased on circumstances. Knowing your real nature does not

mean you have no eelings, cares or concerns. Undoubtedly,


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such experiences can and will arise as these are part o thenormal unctioning o lie. And in all o it, there is no per-sonal suering, meaning there is no sense that something hasgone wrong with me or the world. Even sorrow, sadness andrustration may arise. Again, it is a natural appearance andnot or a deective me. This is the dierence. Then you do

whatever you can or whatever comes up to do, and there areno regrets, agonising judgments, sel-pity and sel-concern.You do the needul based on the situation. And you remain asyou are. Your undamental being has not been lost or alteredat any time. Nor has hers.

Q: As I understand it, this is a brain chemistry disorder, so the actthat she came into this maniestation with this deective mind-body mechanism, hurts my heart. I eel angry and perplexed as wellas helpless in trying to help her.

John: I it were up to us to choose the nature o appearances,perhaps we would have chosen dierently, but that is nothow it works. We do not even know our next thought. So wehave no basis or lamenting appearances, as we did not decidethem. Our contribution is how we respond, not what has hap-pened. It is important to see that the body-mind expression isonly an expression, not the real being o someone. The body-mind has its appearance in the scheme o things or a time.What we can do is see through and beyond what is appearingto what is abiding. You can see through the appearance to the

abiding and perect nature o your daughter, in spite o theexpressions o her body-mind. Seeing someone in this way isthe greatest reedom and support you can oer. Otherwise,we are compounding the mistake o taking the body-mind tobe the essential reality o the person. And then with this clearperspective we can help in the appearance to whatever extentour time, resources and capacities allow. There are no heavyregrets. There is a distinct eeling that you have played yourpart to the best o your ability, and the mind remains ree oneedless suering and doubt. This does not mean that we get

some specic outcome we desire. But actually we lose such

demands and expectations, because that is not how thingsreally unction. To dene or label experiences and createexpectations generates suering in our own minds, as it cre-ates a separation between what is and what the mind believesshould be. Without these labels and conditions put on by theconceptual mind, the inner turmoil is not present. In other

words, the sting is removed and this has nothing do withthe situations, which may or may not change.

Q: I have been able to deal with so much in lie through the perspec-tive o awareness, or true nature, that I have gained. But I need allthe help I can get on this one.John: In addition to being clear about who and what you are,I would certainly recommend you seek the best counselingand medical expertise you can nd so that you can make the

best and most inormed decisions under the circumstances.At a pract ical level, this wi ll al low the mind a certain accep-tance, in that you have done the best you can in the situation.Granted, this is a challenging situation. But I know rompersonal experience that challenges are not able to shake thecore truth o who we are.

Q: This has come to the oreront recently, as my daughter may becoming back to America to stay with us or a while as she decideswhat to do with her lie. One other act is that she tends to drinkheavily to medicate hersel in lieu o other medications that she

eels make her eel bad. This worsens things and really exacerbatesher ultra-sensitive nature (she is a poet and writer), making it di-fcult at times to talk and reason with her.John: There is no implication that you are supposed toaccept everything. It may come to a point that the situationis unworkable and you have to lay out alternative livingarrangements. Do not orget that your daughter has her ownlie and learning to go through also. You are only playingone part in that. It is not all on your shoulders. Her lie and

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cannot change or alter someones experience o lie. We canonly point, encourage and share by example. This not onlyapplies to a relationship such as you are describing with yourdaughter, but also to sharing the spiritual points with some-one interested in knowing who they are.

15

The Value of the Full Stop

Question: The more I try to ocus on I am or presence-awareness,the more elusive it seems to be.

John: Trying to ocus on your true nature is something likelooking or your eyes, when the whole time you are lookingthrough them. I you try to ocus on your being or awarepresence, you will be trying to turn it into an object. Sinceyou are not an object, you will be looking in vain. Just see thispoint and pause. Being-awareness is here in all o its imme-diacy and clarity. Thatis it. Why should you try to ocus on it,

when you are it? See the alse concept and the error containedin it. Your being is not to be obtained. It is pointed to as apresent act.

Q: But can it be described? Is it the sense o consciousness? Is it theeeling o I exist? Are all these contained within it? In order to fndout who I am must this not be known frst?John: This is who you are. So, ul l stop. At this point, thetendency to dive back into the doubts and concepts is thehang-up. That is the value o the ull stop. You are what you

are seeking.

full stop john wheeler sample chapters 1-15

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