In Java, Indonesia, there are mystical communities who spend time silently together after an evening meal. They do not meditate, nor do they ‘relax’ or snooze. Rather, they sit attentively together in shared silence, just being with each other in the appreciation of existence. They may be smiling, gazing at each other, sitting quietly with their eyes closed, or taking in the vastness of the sky. Regardless of what they do, they are completely at ease with sharing silence. Most of us in the West don’t have a model for collective natural silence. Sitting in a space of alert, intimate silence with others in an informal setting is kind of a radical idea. We’ve never had the opportunity to feel totally at ease and absolutely alert, being no-one, going no-where within a group of people.
Like many teachers of awareness, I use dialogue as a central means for invoking and resting in pure awareness. However, in this contribution, I’d like to talk about the dynamics and flow of the silent dimensions of my work in part because this has become richer and more nuanced in recent years. I’d like to share the flavor of what can happen in these periods of natural silence so that you can enter them more deeply.
As a facilitator of nondual work, I often find myself saying nothing and doing nothing. Everything slows down and there is very little happening. After all, wherever we are, we aren’t going “anywhere.” This recognition allows silence to emerge naturally, and with this silence comes a rich sense of feeling connected to the others who are present, with no overt cognitive processing. A type of transpersonal communing within boundless awareness emerges with no effort. It’s possible to be in silent communion with people, some with their eyes open, others with their eyes closed, for 20 or 30 minutes; just appreciating the space that we are sharing individually and together.
The quality and energy of the silence that can emerge in this space is very different from the silence of most formal meditation. Normally when people “meditate,” they “agree” to be silent, mindful, introspective, or contemplative with a koan for a set period of time. In the space I’m describing, people know they can talk, move, and theoretically do anything at any time. People align to a space where nothing is prohibited, yet within which there is a deep respect for resting in the ultimate state of unconditioned awareness. We aren’t being silent for a predetermined amount of time. This allows the silence to be natural, uncontrived, effortless and potentially very deep. Nothing is being forced. There is no effort to avoid or produce anything. This is natural meditation: deep meditation without meditating.
I may close my eyes, but people know they can still talk to me. They can ask questions, or share their experience, because in the space we create together, nothing can be interrupted or disturbed. People often enter into profound states of the deepest quiescence because there is no pressure to be in any particular way. As this space deepens, thoughts begin to thin out. At an even deeper level, thoughts and feelings dissolve into nothing before they can take the form of a single word or a fleeting sensation. This is what I call the auto-liberation of thoughts and feelings. In this state, it is impossible to produce any interpretation of “what’s happening.” Energy that could take the shape of a thought-form continually dissolves into structureless awareness without any application of effort.
This type of vortex doesn’t necessarily happen for everyone. Regardless, the free-form space that neither encourages nor suppresses verbal communication undeniably supports the emergence of a samadhi-like resting in the state of profound unthinkability. In this state of unthinkability, it’s impossible to think about anything. We have no idea about what it is that we can’t think about, because even that thought can’t happen. This is the unthinkability of nondual wisdom.
Like many teachers of awareness, I use dialogue as a central means for invoking and resting in pure awareness. However, in this contribution, I’d like to talk about the dynamics and flow of the silent dimensions of my work in part because this has become richer and more nuanced in recent years. I’d like to share the flavor of what can happen in these periods of natural silence so that you can enter them more deeply.
As a facilitator of nondual work, I often find myself saying nothing and doing nothing. Everything slows down and there is very little happening. After all, wherever we are, we aren’t going “anywhere.” This recognition allows silence to emerge naturally, and with this silence comes a rich sense of feeling connected to the others who are present, with no overt cognitive processing. A type of transpersonal communing within boundless awareness emerges with no effort. It’s possible to be in silent communion with people, some with their eyes open, others with their eyes closed, for 20 or 30 minutes; just appreciating the space that we are sharing individually and together.
The quality and energy of the silence that can emerge in this space is very different from the silence of most formal meditation. Normally when people “meditate,” they “agree” to be silent, mindful, introspective, or contemplative with a koan for a set period of time. In the space I’m describing, people know they can talk, move, and theoretically do anything at any time. People align to a space where nothing is prohibited, yet within which there is a deep respect for resting in the ultimate state of unconditioned awareness. We aren’t being silent for a predetermined amount of time. This allows the silence to be natural, uncontrived, effortless and potentially very deep. Nothing is being forced. There is no effort to avoid or produce anything. This is natural meditation: deep meditation without meditating.
I may close my eyes, but people know they can still talk to me. They can ask questions, or share their experience, because in the space we create together, nothing can be interrupted or disturbed. People often enter into profound states of the deepest quiescence because there is no pressure to be in any particular way. As this space deepens, thoughts begin to thin out. At an even deeper level, thoughts and feelings dissolve into nothing before they can take the form of a single word or a fleeting sensation. This is what I call the auto-liberation of thoughts and feelings. In this state, it is impossible to produce any interpretation of “what’s happening.” Energy that could take the shape of a thought-form continually dissolves into structureless awareness without any application of effort.
This type of vortex doesn’t necessarily happen for everyone. Regardless, the free-form space that neither encourages nor suppresses verbal communication undeniably supports the emergence of a samadhi-like resting in the state of profound unthinkability. In this state of unthinkability, it’s impossible to think about anything. We have no idea about what it is that we can’t think about, because even that thought can’t happen. This is the unthinkability of nondual wisdom.
continue reading HERE
Wonderful! Yes, natural meditation, natural silence without meditating... I have experienced this as well... A friend and I used to sit in silence, just silence. No agenda, no time constraints... It was delightful!
ReplyDeleteAH!!!!.....Shhhhhhhh!!!!!🧡🧡🧡
ReplyDelete