This week we continue our discussion with author Colin Drake on the subject of practice in relation to nonduality. Last week we introduced the topic of practice with an article of Colin’s titled Why Do Anything which can be found HERE. He discussed the necessity of action in our lives to facilitate the enjoyment of the Absolute. If we do not maintain our bodies for example how can we be vehicles for the Absolute to experience itself as a manifestation of a “you” or “me”?

 The connection between the necessity of action, for we act whether we wish to or not, and practice (sadhana) is that what we do as spiritual practice can set the stage so to speak for the recognition of and abidance in the awareness we are by nature. Action then, as practice, can be an aid in coming to know who we already are even though it is true we can’t become what we are by nature. There is no becoming anything new simply the recognizing of what we are and always have been. So let’s turn to Colin and see what he has to say about whether practice is necessary in awakening to awareness.

Is ‘Practice’ Necessary?

This is a common question that I believe needs to be answered on three levels those of body, mind, and establishing oneself in ‘awareness of awareness’ i.e. in Awakening.

1/ As far as the body goes it is obviously beneficial to be fit, supple and healthy. For then the body is a suitable instrument through which Universal Consciousness, manifesting as oneself, can enjoy its projection as the physical world. It is obviously difficult to enjoy life when unfit, stiff and suffering from ailments. From this point of view I believe that yoga, physical exercise and a healthy moderate diet are important. I have a 15 minute hatha-yoga routine which I enjoy every morning. I can actually feel the pleasure that joints and muscles feel as they stretch and ‘rotate’ and that the whole body experiences as it twists, spins, inverts, and ‘salutes the sun’. I am a potter and play golf which takes care of the physical exercise, and I eat a balanced, nutritious and delicious variety of foods. I find eating/drinking to be one of the greatest pleasures in life so do not deny myself anything that I enjoy but am careful not to overdo anything. So only one (occasionally two) glasses of red wine with my dinner, between 2-4 squares of chocolate for dessert etc. These little treats are delightful if not over-indulged in, when they lose all of their appeal …

2/ With regard to the mind it is good if one can stay relaxed, fresh and alert as possible. Of course becoming established in, and as, awareness plays a very important role but this becomes more difficult if one is tired or overworked. So I lie down every lunchtime for 20-30 minutes practicing yoga-nidra, a guided relaxation of surprising power. Also I try to keep my life as simple as possible avoiding becoming overworked, stressed or overcommitted. That is not to say that I am not committed to anything, in fact I am totally committed to living as awareness and pointing  to this in as many ways as I can. However, this type of commitment is an absolute joy and any such commitment which helps keep the mind in the right ‘head space’ is obviously beneficial. On the material level it is amazing how little money is required if one simplifies one’s life and does not chase after unnecessary consumer goods.

3/ For establishing oneself in awareness practice is vital, for it is not enough to become ‘aware of awareness’ once and assume that this will produce profound awakening. This seeing is an awakened moment which will soon tend to be submerged by old thought patterns. To overcome these requires experiencing these awakened moments regularly on a daily (hourly, or minutely would be better) basis. That is why I recommend relaxing into the recognition of pure awareness at least three times daily. Sri Ramana Maharshi says that self-realization is easy, but only the beginning, after that the practice begins!

It’s rather like having a disease and being given a course of antibiotics and pain-killers. It’s not enough to take the medication once and feel much better, one must continue until the course of medication has been finished and the disease is completely cured. In the same way, for most of us, the dis-ease of misidentification with the body/mind is chronic, having been established as long as we can remember and to cure it completely is going to require a prolonged course of treatment.

However, in the same way that each pain-killer relieves the symptoms of a physical disease, so each investigation and discovery of awareness will relieve the symptoms of misidentification. Also as one takes more pain killers when the symptoms return, so when mental suffering and anxiety (the symptoms of misidentification) return these can be dispelled by becoming ‘aware of awareness’ and re-identifying with this.

This brings up a very important point: any time where there is any mental suffering caused by identifying with painful thoughts, or feelings, this should be a wake-up call to the fact that we are misidentifying. Any mental suffering can be used as a direct pointer back to the deeper level of our being: pure awareness.[1]

I sometimes use a mantra to aid me in relaxing into this pure awareness; which I do for the joy of it, rather than to achieve, find, or get anything. The mantra I use is ‘Om Namah Sivaya’ which means ‘salutations to pure awareness (or consciousness) which is the Absolute Totality of Being’. As this is repeated it points directly to this pure awareness by its meaning and the experiential fact of awareness of the repetition. It is this attention on the awareness itself that is the key, for this awareness is always absolutely still and totally silent, which is perfect peace. This meaning and the noticing of awareness has the power to diffuse the restless mind, especially after some practice where the value of relaxing into awareness itself has been experienced. Mantra repetition also reveals the ‘nothingness’ relative to which all ‘things’ can be recognized. For the thought is known (there is awareness of it) relative to the no-thought in which it appears.

 This is the ‘nothingness’ which can be revealed by repeating the mantra with intense concentration, thus blocking out all other ‘things’ from the mind. However, this nothingness may be immediately realized by seeing that every ‘thing’ appears in nothingness, exists in nothingness, is known relative to this nothingness and disappears back into nothingness. Without this background of nothingness there would not be awareness of any ‘thing’. As the only things in our direct experience are thoughts (including all mental images) and sensations, awareness of which is only possible due to contrast with the ‘nothingness’ in which they appear, then this ‘nothingness’ is absolutely vital for awareness of any ‘thing’; and is in fact a property of awareness itself. ‘Consciousness at rest’ (awareness) implies the ‘subjective field’ which is conscious (aware) and still, that is ‘nothingness’ as all ‘things’ are forms of cosmic energy, and thus in motion.

So if one repeats the mantra (or any mantra) noticing the awareness of the repetition and the nothingness (no thought) in which it arises, exists and subsides, then the mantra has done its job in revealing the nature of reality.[2]

Excerpts of this article came from Beyond The Separate Self , one of my books which are dedicated to self-discovery:

For e- books click each book cover or scroll down to read excerpts and to order/download these books right away. They are $9 each, two for $14 and all three for $18. Alternatively these books may be sampled and purchased at www.nonduality.com

To buy in paper back form at $17 each from www.lulu.com follow the links above given below:

Beyond the Separate Self

A Light Unto Your Self

Humanity Our Place in the Universe

[1]C. Drake, A Light Unto Your Self, 2011, Halifax, NS, p.7-8

[2] C. Drake, A Light Unto Your Self, 2011, Halifax, NS, p.63-64

In part three of the series we will look at what Colin has to say about whether there are different degrees of awakening. This is important since from the perspective of a “me” who is becoming awakened there arises the possible error of thinking something is being achieved, that one is becoming something one is not. So part three asks if awakening to awareness is gradual or sudden and how this relates to practice.

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