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What is Non-Duality? Experiences That Shatter the Illusion of Separation

31 Oct

Ever feel like you’re separate from the world, like a lone wolf? What if that feeling was just a trick of the mind? Non-duality suggests everything is connected, all part of one big, amazing reality. This article will dive into experiences that show you this truth.

The Core Understanding of Non-Duality

Non-duality means “not two.” It’s a concept that flies in the face of how we normally think. Usually, we see things as “this” or “that,” “me” or “you.” This is dualistic thinking. Non-duality, on the other hand, says all these separate things are actually one. It has roots in many spiritual paths, each with its own way of expressing this deep unity.

Beyond the Illusion of Separateness

Our minds are amazing, but they can also trick us. They create stories, build beliefs, and condition us to see the world in a certain way. This can lead to the illusion of separation. We start believing we’re isolated individuals, cut off from everything else. This belief causes suffering. It limits what we think is possible.

Think of the ocean. Waves look like separate things. But they’re all made of the same water. They rise and fall. Yet, they always come back to the ocean. We are all like waves, unique expressions of one ocean.

The Oneness of All Things

If non-duality is true, then everything is connected. This changes how we see everything. Our relationships become deeper. Our actions have more meaning. The world feels different. It feels alive and interconnected.

Try this: Pay attention to your breath. Notice how it connects you to the air around you. That air came from somewhere. Maybe a tree. Maybe an ocean. You are connected to all of that.

Common Experiences That Hint at Non-Duality

Certain experiences give us glimpses of non-duality. They aren’t the goal, but they point to a deeper truth. Keep an open mind.

Peak Experiences and Flow States

Have you ever felt pure joy? Or been so focused on something that time disappeared? These are peak experiences and flow states. In these moments, the sense of self fades. You become one with the experience.

Profound Connection and Empathy

Ever felt deeply connected to someone? Maybe you felt their pain as if it was your own? That’s empathy. It reveals the unity of consciousness. We are all connected on a deeper level.

Try loving-kindness meditation. Send feelings of compassion and kindness to yourself, then to others. Even those you dislike. See your heart start to open.

Practices That Facilitate the Realization of Non-Duality

Certain practices help us quiet the mind. They dissolve the ego. They show us the non-dual nature of reality.

Meditation and Mindfulness

Meditation helps quiet the mind. Mindfulness helps us pay attention. Both help us experience the present. We can see things without judgment or interpretation.

Sit comfortably. Focus on your breath. When thoughts arise, just notice them. Let them go. Keep bringing your attention back to your breath.

Self-Inquiry

Self-inquiry is about asking, “Who am I?” Keep asking this question. Don’t try to answer with your mind. Let the question sink in. See what happens. It might dissolve the sense of a separate self.

Contemplation on Nature

Spend time in nature. Look at the trees, the sky, the water. Notice how everything is connected. Everything relies on everything else. This can reveal the unity of life.

Overcoming Challenges on the Path to Non-Duality

The path to non-duality isn’t always easy. Doubts and fears come up. Resistance arises.

The Role of the Ego

The ego wants to be in control. It wants to protect itself. Non-duality threatens the ego. The ego will resist.

Learn to recognize your ego’s patterns. Understand what motivates it. Don’t fight it. Just observe it.

Accepting the Unknown

You must surrender to the unknown. You have to accept that you don’t know everything. Clinging to beliefs will hold you back.

Living a Non-Dual Life: Implications and Applications

Realizing non-duality changes how we live. It affects everything.

Compassion and Ethical Action

When you see your connection to others, compassion arises. Ethical action becomes natural. You want to help everyone, because helping them, you are helping yourself.

Letting Go of Attachment

Non-duality helps us let go of attachment. We see that everything is impermanent. Nothing lasts forever. This frees us from suffering.

Conclusion

Non-duality is a transformative experience. It shows us that everything is connected. It’s not a belief, but a direct experience of reality. Keep exploring this path. You may find that the separation you felt was never real.

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Awakening brings transformative benefits, enhancing our personal well-being, deepening our fidelity and interconnectedness with others, and illuminating our overall understanding of life’s inherent nature.

28 Sep

Unitary Caring Science

Unitary caring science has as its starting point a relational unitary ontology that honors the fact that we are all connected and that we belong to the source – the universal consciousness, spirit, infinite field of Universal Love – before and after the human plane of worldly experiences. Unitary caring science makes more explicit that unitary and connectiveness exist among all things in the great circle of life: change, illness, suffering, death and rebirth. A unitary caring science orientation moves humanity closer to a moral community, closer to peaceful relationships with self and other communities- nations, states, other worlds, and time. Unitary caring science also unites us with the non- physical, the spirit work, the soul of self and science alike.

Unitary Caring Science – Ethic Of Belonging

The starting point for Unitary Caring Science is based on the Ethic of Belonging, beginning with the belief and personal perennial wisdom of universal humanity dash that our human experience and journey through life and death are shared with all humanity across the globe. Human beings and the planet are united across time and space, belonging to the great sea of humanity.

An Ethic of Belonging comes before the ontology of separate being; it acknowledges ethically, morally, and practically that we all belong to the infinite field of Universal Cosmic Love. We all come from the source of infinite Cosmic Love, and we all return to the infinite source, Cosmic Love- the mystery of life. This locates our world view of unity within the sacred circle of life- death.

Science and spirit unite in Unitary Caring Science. This world view applies to all of humanity as we awaken to the emerging worldview necessary for the survival of humanity and Mother Earth.

Humanity is entering a new consciousness of unity, a reality that we are all connected with on mother earth. Without preparation in the unity caring science paradigm to address our phenomena and reason for existing, no progress is made in fulfilling its social, moral, and scientific responsibility to humanity.

The background for this emerging worldview includes greater awareness of the metaphysical, the unexplainable phenomena -the ineffable. When we enter Unitary Caring Science, we are reminded that data are not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom. Information alone does not lead to knowing or wise knowing. This view highlights our need to unlearn the outdated paradigms of previous eras of thinking and human evolution.

In the Buddhist philosophy, there is the notion of ‘the don’t know mind’ – a very good place to be. If we think we know- there is no space to learn anything new, there is nothing there. This view of knowing and non-knowing, emptying out, allows for unknowns and mysteries. We can call this experience non-local, mystical or the spiritual beyond the physical empirical ways of knowing and being in this world. This form of slash ‘nonknowing’ exists in higher domains of awareness of evolution and directly embraces experiences such as love, compassion, beauty, identity, reality, self, truth and meaning. This higher domain way of knowing is based on many years of experimental inspection and communal verification.

In fact, we can never truly know reality because we are limited by (and cannot go beyond) the input of our sense perceptions, as well as our cognitive processes that have evolved to individually accommodate and service that input. Our conscious perception of the world is a filtered and selective process, rather than a complete and accurate representation of everything happening around us. While our senses constantly gather information, the brain actively chooses what to focus on and process, resulting in a subjective and incomplete experience of our surroundings. The brain brings to bear its prior expectations about what is in the external environment to interpret the massive, constant, and ambiguous sensory information that it encounters. When we consider how much of our surroundings we can perceive, it becomes clear (after confining analysis to Earth and its immediate environment) that we usually capture only a small fraction of our surroundings and when we account for the vastness of the visible universe, that fraction shrinks much further. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that we only perceive a small fraction of the totality of physical reality. Therefore, the knowledge and wisdom of Not Knowing or Emptiness is the highest form of knowing possible to us.

Thus, the “mental manifestation” is a transformation of the objects in the outside world into a mental representation. On the one hand, there is an objective reality; on the other hand, we can only create a picture of that reality, and the structures in the pictures are different from the external reality they are intended to represent. This ties in with the Transcendent or All and echoes the Buddha’s resistance to search for and answer metaphysical questions.

Reference: Unitary Caring Science: Philosophy and Praxis of Nursing by Jean Watson, University Press of Colorado, 2018

The Non-Duality of Emptiness, or Sunyata,

According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu, the non-duality of emptiness, or Sunyata, is a mode of perceptional way of understanding experience. It adds nothing to, nor takes anything away from, the raw data of physical and mental events. This mode is called emptiness because it is devoid of the presuppositions we typically impose on experience to make sense of it: the stories and worldviews we construct to explain who we are and the world we inhabit.

It represents the underlying reality—the fundamental space or potential from which all things arise and into which they eventually dissolve. However, this “ground” is not a thing but rather the source and condition for all phenomena, including existence, perception, and even the concept of nothingness. In fact, existence is a profound mystery that cannot be fully explained through human language or thought. When we fully recognize that we live in an observer-dependent reality, we can adopt a more creative, inspired, innovative, open-minded, and accepting attitude toward a complex world. As theologian Rudolph Otto stated; The experience of the divine is a mysterious and overwhelming encounter with the numinous.

This involves the realization of non-duality, where distinctions and dualities dissolve, leading to a sense of unity, wholeness, and the loss of the perception of a separate self. This profound understanding of non-duality dispels the illusion of separation, revealing the inherent unity that underlies all existence. It transcends the habitual identification with a distinct, isolated self and instead unveils an essential interconnectedness that binds us to everything. This realization fosters a deep sense of belonging to being intimately woven into the fabric of reality and connected to the single, unified source from which all things arise. We are all connected and belong to the source of universal consciousness, spirit, and the infinite field of Universal Love.

Therefore, Sunyata is not a belief system; it is neither a matter of faith nor adherence to a doctrine. Rather, it is an experiential awakening to the realization of one’s true nature. This awakening brings transformative benefits, enhancing our personal well-being, deepening our fidelity and interconnectedness with others, and illuminating our overall understanding of life’s inherent nature.

Reference: CHAPTER 8 from the book THE GARDEN OF EDEN—IN THIS LIFE Copyright Rodger Ricketts Psy.D.,2025.

We Are the Treasure of Alchemy

31 Aug

Rodger R Ricketts, Psy.D.

08/11/2026

We Are the Treasure of Alchemy
Rodger Ricketts, Psy.D.
08/11/2026

Each of us acts as an alchemist—someone who improves life—within the complex network of life’s connections and interactions. Unlike the ancient alchemists, we don’t need secret recipes or to stand by old furnaces trying to turn lead into gold. Instead, every day, through our intentions and relationships, we engage in something remarkable: the true catalysts of change and transformation.

We convert ideas into actions, experiences into wisdom, challenges into strength, and possibilities into realities. We evolve, and through our choices, we influence the world around us. In this way, alchemy serves as a powerful metaphor not only for understanding the universe but also for personal growth and psychological freedom.

To transmute means to alter something’s form, appearance, nature, or condition—to turn it into something different. This process surrounds us; nothing in the universe remains completely still or unchanged. Stars are born and die. Water turns into vapor, clouds become rain, seeds grow into plants, bodies age, civilizations rise and fall, and humans continuously change through experience.

Change is not a disruption of life.
Change is life.

One of our greatest opportunities as humans is realizing that we don’t have to be passive observers of transformation; instead, we can consciously participate in it.

A Universe in Transformation

The universe itself tells a story of transformation. Stars act as vast cosmic furnaces where elements are created that eventually become parts of planets, oceans, mountains, plants, animals, and humans. When massive stars reach the end of their lives, they scatter these elements across space, providing the building blocks for new celestial bodies.

Our planet tells a similar story. Early Earth looked very different from the world we know today. Over vast periods, geological, chemical, and biological processes reshaped its surface and atmosphere. Eventually, conditions arose that allowed increasingly complex life forms to develop.

Transformation, then, is not occasional but constant. It is woven into existence. Life is energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it only changes form.

Water is a simple example. It can exist as liquid, ice, vapor, clouds, rain, or snow. Its state changes dramatically, yet something remains constant throughout these changes. What we see is not disappearance but transformation.

We see similar cycles everywhere: growth and decay, creation and destruction, birth and death, beginnings and endings.

Writer and speaker Alan Watts noted that without birth, death, and the ongoing transformation of life’s forms, the world would become static and lose its rhythm. This insight encourages us to view change differently. Instead of seeing change only as loss or disruption, we can recognize it as an essential part of the dynamic flow that sustains life.

The Ancient Alchemy

For centuries, alchemy reflected humanity’s fascination with transformation. Different cultures developed their own traditions around what Western history later called alchemy. Beneath the experiments, symbols, and mysteries lay a lasting question:

Can one thing become something else?

Ancient alchemists sought ways to transform matter, famously trying to turn base metals into gold.

Yet the lasting power of alchemy lies in another interpretation.

What if the most important thing we can transform is ourselves?

The Alchemy Within Us

Beyond the fact that the human body is always changing—millions of cells die and new ones form every second, replacing old tissues, healing wounds, and remodeling bones—our lives are full of endless opportunities offered by life’s transformations.

Painful experiences can foster compassion.
Failure can lead to knowledge.
Fear can inspire courage.
Confusion can bring understanding.
Anger can turn into determination.
Grief can deepen our appreciation for life.
An idea can become an invention, a business, a work of art, a relationship, or a campaign.

None of these changes happen automatically. Pain doesn’t always lead to compassion, nor does difficulty inherently create strength. The true alchemy of inner transformation lies in how we respond to what happens to us.

As Marcus Aurelius wrote in Meditations: “The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it.”

This distinction matters.

We can’t control every circumstance that comes our way, but we can choose our thoughts and actions, and thus how those circumstances affect us.

The journey of self-awareness, self-discovery, and self-development is a profound form of personal transformation. Each time we learn something that changes our understanding; question a belief that no longer serves us; develop a new skill; forgive or love someone; make a different choice; or see ourselves from a broader perspective, we actively shape our own transformation toward a life of purpose and fulfillment.

We are constantly reshaping our identity and worldview.

The person reading this is not exactly the same as the one from ten years ago—or even one year ago. Experiences have been absorbed, relationships have influenced us, reflections have formed opinions, decisions have led to consequences, and knowledge has changed our perception.

Life has been continuously shaping us. Yet, when we begin to consciously work on our development, that is when we become alchemists.

What if the most important thing we can transform is ourselves?

In that case, the base elements include our fear, resentment, ignorance, limitations, pain, or unconscious patterns.

The catalyst is experience.

And the “gold” is wisdom.

Seen this way, alchemy is not just ancient metallurgy; it becomes a metaphor for the conscious human journey.

We enter experiences as one person and emerge changed.

At some point, new possibilities arise.

Where Attention Goes

As the Buddha said, “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

There is a common saying: “Energy flows where attention goes.”

Whether understood spiritually or simply as a principle of focus and behavior, this message is valuable. What we consistently focus on shapes what we notice, what we reinforce, how we interpret events, and ultimately how we respond to life.

If our attention stays fixed on resentment, fear, conflict, and what might go wrong, these experiences will dominate our inner world.

But attention can be redirected.

We can mindfully observe a thought without becoming that thought.

We can feel anger without letting it control our next actions.

We can experience fear and still move forward with reason.

We can face disappointment and ask what it wants to teach us.

This is not about denying painful emotions. True transformation is not denial. The alchemist does not pretend that lead is already gold.

The material must first be accepted as it is before it can be transformed.

Our sadness, fear, disappointment, anger, and uncertainty are essential parts of being human. The goal is not always to eliminate these feelings but to ask:

What could this become?

That question alone can transform our relationships.

The Forge of Transformation

Transformation often feels uncomfortable.

Grapes are crushed before becoming wine. Olives are pressed to release their oil. Seeds begin growth beneath the dark soil. Diamonds symbolize beauty born from immense pressure.

These images endure because they reflect something we recognize within ourselves.

There are times when life feels overwhelming.

There can be dark seasons.

Moments when what once seemed stable collapses, and we cannot yet see what will replace it.

The temptation during these times is to believe life has gone terribly wrong.

But darkness doesn’t always mean nothing is happening.

Disruption marks the start of the possibility for positive change.

“Even in the darkness, something new is preparing to rise.” — Joseph Long

This doesn’t mean suffering should be romanticized or that every painful experience is necessary. Instead, it means that when hardship occurs, we still have the power to choose what we carry forward.

We can decide whether the experience makes us rigid or deepens our understanding and flexibility.

Whether disappointment leads to bitterness or insight.

Whether failure ends a journey or sparks new understanding.

Whether fear becomes a prison or an invitation to courage depends on how we respond.

This is the human alchemy laboratory.

Changing Our Inner and Outer Worlds

Personal transformation can’t happen only in the mind; it requires experience.

Our inner and outer worlds constantly influence each other.

The people around us, conversations we have, books we read, media we consume, workplaces, relationships, homes, habits, and daily environments all shape the conditions in which we think and act.

If we want to transform ourselves, we need to become more aware of what we consistently allow into our lives.

What makes us stronger?

What weakens us?

What encourages growth?

What pulls us back to earlier, less favorable versions of ourselves?

What habits bring peace, clarity, and purpose?

Which ones create chaos?

Alchemy requires intention.

Through thoughtful reflection, attention, learning, and—most importantly—action, we can begin to create conditions that support the person we want to become.

We may not instantly turn every sadness into happiness or every conflict into harmony, as human transformation is more complex.

But we can introduce something new into existing patterns.

Patience can play a role in an argument.

Understanding can sometimes lead to disagreement.

Compassion can influence judgment.

Curiosity can turn into fear.

One changed response can alter an interaction.

Repeated changes can affect a relationship.

Changed relationships can transform families, workplaces, and communities.

Transformation that begins within us rarely ends there.

We Are Conductors of Change

Humans have an extraordinary ability not only to adapt but also to intentionally transform the world.

We turn imagination into reality.

An observation leads to a hypothesis, which can lead to discovery.

A thought becomes a blueprint, and a blueprint becomes a building.

An emotion becomes a song.

An experience becomes a story.

A problem becomes an invention when it inspires a solution.

An injustice sparks a movement.

Human innovation is a modern form of transformation.

But this ability raises an important question:

What are we transforming the world into?

Power without wisdom is not the highest form of alchemy.

Our technological abilities now allow us to change landscapes, ecosystems, communication, medicine, industry, and even fundamental aspects of life on a scale unimaginable to previous generations. With this power comes great responsibility.

As guardians of the planet and architects of the future, we must make choices that are increasingly conscious, ethical, and informed.

Transformation itself is neutral.

What matters are the choices and directions we take.

The same creativity that solves problems can create new ones.

The same technology that connects people can also divide them.

The same ambition that drives achievements can consume everything in its path.

Therefore, the highest form of human alchemy requires more than the ability to transform objects.

It requires wisdom to decide what should change, what should be preserved, and what kind of future our transformations will create.

The Treasure

This brings us to alchemy’s true gold.

Perhaps gold was never meant to represent wealth alone.

Perhaps gold also symbolizes a state of being.

The original dream of turning something ordinary into something precious gains deeper meaning when applied to consciousness.

Our true treasure includes the calm that arises when we learn not to react hastily to every disturbance.

It may be the inner security that comes from understanding life as it is.

It may be the wisdom gained from mistakes we once wished to erase.

It may be compassion born from awareness of suffering.

It may be courage born from fear.

It may be the quiet strength that comes from knowing circumstances can change without destroying who we are.

Gold is transformation carried out with awareness.

We spend much of our lives searching outside ourselves for something to make us ‘complete’: success, recognition, possessions, relationships, achievements, or certainty.

Yet the ancient image of the alchemist suggests another possibility.

The treasure, or true wholeness, emerges from the inner process itself.

Every experience becomes valuable material.

Every challenge enters the forge.

Every realization refines us.

Every conscious choice shapes our transformations.

We Are the Alchemists

Transformation happens on all levels—from matter changing, to stars being born and dying, to Earth evolving, to the human body and mind growing.

We are products of a vast history of transformation.

But we are more than that.

We are not just the results of change; we are also its agents.

We have creativity, foresight, consciousness, and the ability to choose.

We can observe ourselves changing and actively shape the direction of that change.

This is one of our greatest powers: to find joy in creative living.

We cannot stop the universe from changing.

We cannot keep people, circumstances, bodies, relationships, cultures, or even ourselves fixed in their current states.

The question is not whether transformation will happen—it will.

The question is whether we will participate consciously.

Will we let calm awareness turn worry into clear, wise action?

Will we let hardship become strength?

Will we let knowledge become understanding?

Will we let creativity lead to meaningful contribution?

Will our personal transformations improve our lives and those of others?

Will humanity use its extraordinary power to transform the planet in ways that allow future generations to thrive?

Alchemy reminds us that transformation is both a choice and a responsibility.

We are the elements.

We are the forge.

We are the alchemists.

When we approach change with clear awareness, courage, kindness toward ourselves and others, and intention, the results will be more valuable than anything ancient alchemists ever imagined.

We are the treasure.

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NoteGPT_ AI_Podcast, Rediscovering Eden, of my Book, The Garden of Eden; In This Life: Academia.edu

18 Jul

‘If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration’. A few examples of engineer and mathematician Nicola Tesla’s Reflections on the Mind.

16 Jun

Here are some examples of Tesla’s viewpoint. In a speech, Nicola Tesla said, ‘The sources of energy capable of transforming humanity have long been near us in nature itself, in human emotions, in the sound of music, in the breath of the earth.’ He said that mankind had searched for power outside itself for too long forgetting that it is found within. ‘I believe that the energy that feeds the universe is not just a physical resource. It is something greater. We call it ether. Some call it the divine spark or the essence, they are all the same. All living things are nourished by this force. It is hidden in the depths of the planet, in the structures of light, in the harmony of sounds and in thoughts.’ He claimed that one day this energy would become the foundation of new technologies capable of feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and eliminating the need for destructive sources of energy.

 Tesla noted with sorrow that in his time, society was not ready to accept such ideas. There were too much politics, greed and fear of the unknown in the world.In his view no religion can claim to be the absolute truth. He asserted that all of them are reflections of the same human desire to understand the source of life and one’s purpose. Religions and philosophies are attempts to explain the infinite with finite words. They may be useful, but they have no significance on the scale of the universe. ‘God, as I understand him, is an infinite force. It is the energy from which everything originated. But it does not judge. It does not punish. It simply exists.’ said Tesla.

During an interview that Tesla granted to a journalist in the year 1930, he said:’We are just waves in time and space, changing continuously, and the illusion of individuality is produced through the concatenation of the rapidly succeeding phases of existence’; ‘My brain is only a receiver, in the Universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration. I have not penetrated in the secrets of this core, but I know that it exists’; ‘We are all one. Only egos, beliefs, and fears separate us’; He added ’None of those who ever lived have truly died because energy is eternal and life is a form of energy. The body departs but the essence itself, the vibration itself does not disappear.’

These ideas, of course, resonate with spiritual teachings, but Tesla emphasized he arrived at them not through faith but through science. And at the same time, he did not deny the divine. God is light, it is the primary energy from which everything began. This light has no form. It requires no worship. It simply exists. It is in everything, in us, in the air, in the stars. People assign human traits to God to make it easier to understand. But the true power of God lies in his impersonality and infinity.

Then the interview returned to the topic of death. Tesla said he was not afraid of it because death is not the end but a return. He compared it to how a wave returns to the ocean. You will not die because you were never born. You have always existed in one form or another. We are only temporarily in these bodies, in this world. When everything ends we will simply move to another state. Everything is energy and it never disappears.

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The Garden of Eden- In This Life

3 Jun

In The Garden of Eden in This Life, (2025) Dr. Rodger R. Ricketts—a clinical psychologist, mindfulness teacher, and lifelong student of the Buddha’s teachings—unveils a profound perspective linking ancient wisdom, modern psychology, and the apophatic (negative) spiritual tradition. Drawing from over forty years of study and practice, he explores how non-dualistic teachings from Buddhism, science, and multiple faith traditions reveal the limits of language, the illusions of separation, and the path back to an integrated state of being.You will journey through concepts like Sunyata (emptiness), the via negativa, and the psychology of transcendence—discovering how humanity’s separation from nature and spirit can be healed through direct experience, compassionate living, and expanded awareness. Open these pages and begin your journey back to the Garden… in this life.

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Union Is in the Heart

8 May

Follow the advice of your heart, because no one will be more faithful to
you than him.
—Book of Sirach, 37.13

I think that the positive forces that will create our future will not be the
forces and the laws of matter, but those of conscious cooperation,
comprehension, and love for others that all beings in existence must sooner
or later manifest because these values are the essence of our deepest nature.

I also think that the most effective way to achieve union is through a
process of collective and cooperative creation of a just, empathic, and
loving society through right and courageous actions informed by the heart
and by the intuitive and rational mind. Then our experience and knowing
will grow in our hearts and they will guide our individual actions through
an ever-higher level of consciousness. Unfortunately, today there is the real
danger of letting ourselves be seduced by the spreading culture of digital
ontology and digital consumerism that replaces true and profound
relationships with virtual and superficial ones, thus halting, if not reversing,
our spiritual development.

Social networks designed to bombard people with suggestive messages,
often personalized to reinforce personal biases or based on false
information or on presumed conspiratorial theories, generate groups that
can become alienated from reality in self-isolating worlds. Nikola Tesla said
that “progress must serve to improve the human race; if not, it is only a
perversion.”
Technology must be used to help us discover our true nature, not to
further imprison us in meaningless virtual worlds designed to enrich the
richest. We have come to the point where we can truly unite as humans no
matter where we were born, or stay divided in warring factions with ever
increasing destructive technology on our side.
Only when we truly comprehend that we are responsible for our
experiences and that the choice is ours alone, can we begin to truly know
ourselves and the world.

To know ourselves more and more, we need a new empathic science
that can convert scientific knowledge into deep lived knowing and from it
generate new scientific knowledge. Similarly, we need a new rational
spirituality that can convert lived knowing into new scientific knowledge
and from it generate new lived knowing. These two disciplines can then
intertwine in endless and mutual crescendo.
This is the essence of the Creative Principle of One. Within this vision,
empathic science and rational spirituality, integrating and interweaving, will
evermore increase our loving, joyful, and fulfilling union with the Whole.

Federico Faggin: Irreducible – consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature 1988 Essentia Publisher

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Pure and Serene Mind (Part 2): The Path of Chi Restoration Through Qigong & Tai Chi

22 Apr

Written by Rodger R Ricketts

In the previous blog post, I explored how modern life gradually separates us from our original Chi through excessive mental activity, immersion in artificial systems, and disconnection from natural sensation. As symbolic thinking and external pressures dominate our awareness, the mind stretches beyond its natural limits, losing sensitivity to life energy. This disconnection weakens the true self and leads to imbalance, fragility, and inner suffering. Yet within each person remains the potential to restore purity, stillness, and authentic Chi by returning to original awareness, reconnecting with natural sensation, and aligning with timeless Daoist principles. Now, I examine how the ancient practices of Qigong and Tai Chi guide this restoration through stillness, movement, and the gradual purification of mind and life energy.

The cultivation and flow of energy through Qigong breathing techniques and Tai Chi movements reveal a path that is both clear and accessible. As individuals begin to recognize the false self that has often governed much of their existence, they should prepare for unexpected insights. Many people find themselves encumbered by multiple false identities. Rather than becoming discouraged, it is advisable to adopt a strategy of gradual progress—advancing step by step with unwavering faith—steadily uncovering one’s original life energy. This process unfolds layer by layer, requiring persistence and resilience. If one has been taught to believe that miracles occur externally, such a belief stems from a misconception rooted in a desire for effortless gain. It is imperative to cease heeding this false self and reject this erroneous notion immediately. Although the journey toward reclaiming one’s life energy may be challenging, it is ultimately profoundly rewarding.

If one maintains a pure heart and genuine sincerity in their efforts, it is possible to utilize the tools and guidance provided by a master to achieve the goal of discovering one’s true self. The experience of Chi can be regained through consistent practice. Several methods exist to restore the sensation of Chi, including motionless meditation, moving meditation, and receiving Chi energy from a master. According to the sacred teachings of an ancient lineage, a master capable of radiating life energy resembles a powerful iron magnet. Ideally, these practices should be undertaken concurrently. The primary purpose of these meditations is to create calmness and exclude the distractions of the artificial world, thereby enabling concentration and reconnection with internal sensations through stillness, typically in a seated posture, although some practices involve standing.

Despite the diversity in names and styles among various meditation techniques, all are designed to help practitioners eventually perceive their own energy. While many contemporary meditation systems emphasize sensing life energy, only one system currently extends beyond this initial stage by teaching how to direct the flow of Chi. This system contains essential knowledge that aids in purifying and strengthening true energy. It is the original Qigong meditation, deeply rooted in the principles of the Tao. Unlike other forms, the essence of Qigong meditation lies in cultivating the sensation of Chi within a clear mind. Qigong instructs practitioners to intensify this sensation and circulate it throughout the entire body, resulting in Chi that is fully present in every moment.

Through flowing movements, total Chi can be refined to become exceptionally pure and strong. This practice also forms the foundation of what is now known as Tai Chi. Tai Chi remains the only moving meditation practiced today that supports the development of Chi beyond the initial healing stages. Authentic Tai Chi enhances both the quantity and quality of life energy in a manner consistent with ancient Qigong meditation. Numerous styles of Tai Chi exist worldwide. For those whose lifestyle permits and who are resolute in their desire to attain true freedom from the artificial world, halt the depletion of life energy, and reclaim their true selves, it is possible to engage in all three stages of practice simultaneously, as was done in ancient times.

Among all training processes, the most critical step is learning to maintain the cleanliness and purity of one’s life energy. Purifying life energy is the ultimate goal, while maintaining its cleanliness is the means to that end. To keep life energy clean, one must keep the mind clean. If the mind remains unpolluted, unsullied, and undisturbed, it can purify life energy. The mind functions as a filter and must remain in its original, uncontaminated state, free from external influences. It must be brought to its most concentrated state: calm and comfortable, neither forced nor resistant, simply embodying one’s original self. The pursuit of this clean state of mind should not be forced, as the desire to attain it itself contaminates the mind. Ancient temple records recount stories of monks who failed to purify their minds due to excessive effort.

When the mind is free from contamination, distortion, and confusion, it naturally facilitates the purification of life energy. An apt analogy is to consider life energy as water and the mind as its filter. The mind must remain in its original, unaltered state—characterized by freedom, deep concentration, calmness, and comfort, without striving or resistance. Engaging in practices such as two-gong breathing and slow meditation with sincerity and honesty gradually calms and purifies the mind. With a purified mind, one can direct life energy to flow throughout the entire body, and over time, this energy will attain a purity comparable to that of a newborn. This represents a valuable aspiration: to harmonize one’s life energy with the original cosmic energy, known as the Dao.

Upon sensing and communicating with this pure life energy, one may progress further by reconnecting with its source through harmonious contact. This process entails transcending the layers of impurity and negative energy that obscure the original life energy, as well as the pollution of the artificial mind. In a polluted state, life energy cannot resonate at the same frequency as the Dao. It is not that the Dao refuses to communicate or assist; rather, communication is impeded while life energy remains contaminated and vibrates at a low frequency. Many individuals pray to external entities using words; however, such prayers often yield inconsistent outcomes because the original almighty force neither perceives nor communicates through low-level, artificially constructed symbols such as language. Instead, it communicates with those who turn inward and pray through the sensation of their pure life energy.

There exists no higher pursuit or more cherished goal than rediscovering and reclaiming one’s pure life energy. The most effective and singular method to cultivate life energy is through moving meditation that promotes the flow of Chi. Chi grows only when it flows, encompassing increases in strength, range, size, and volume. A greater volume of Chi better supports both body and mind. When the mind attains purity and Chi strengthens, it can be refined into higher forms of energy known as Jing Jing, which can be projected and transmitted beyond the body. Presently, no other meditation practice offers a comparable method to facilitate the flow of life energy as does the original Tai Chi flow meditation. Tai Chi simultaneously strengthens the mind and cultivates life energy, or Chi, and can be practiced anywhere and at any time. Practitioners are advised to wear comfortable clothing and flat, flexible shoes, breathe smoothly, quietly, and naturally, and may synchronize movements with breath without forcibly holding it. The mouth should remain closed with lips and teeth gently together, the tongue resting lightly against the roof of the mouth, and the head held upright as if suspended by a cord from above. Movements should be performed in a relaxed, comfortable manner with minimal muscular tension. With modest effort, the movements can be learned effectively.

At first glance, Tai Chi may appear to consist of slow, graceful movements designed primarily to improve physical balance and flexibility. However, beyond these physical benefits, Tai Chi represents a deeply meditative practice aimed at fostering clarity and inner stillness. The most profound aspects of significant Chi involve an empty mind and the clear release of mental tension. In Tai Chi, stillness does not imply the cessation of physical movement; rather, it entails cultivating a calm and focused mind. The practice promotes the release of distracting thoughts, worries, and mental chatter, thereby enabling full attention to be directed toward the present moment and the fluidity of one’s movements.

This state of stillness is known as Wuji, which translates as “emptiness” or “non-being” and represents the state of primordial, undifferentiated reality before the emergence of Yin and Yang. In Tai Chi, all movements and energy flow from Wuji. It is a state of pure potential wherein the mind is clear, the body relaxed, and awareness anchored in the present moment. By embracing stillness, Tai Chi practitioners access a powerful state of mental clarity that facilitates movement and fosters integration between body and mind.

Across these two blog posts, I traced the arc from loss to restoration: how modern existence subtly exhausts Chi and obscures true nature, and how ancient Taoist practice gently guides the return. Part One revealed how artificial systems, excessive thinking, and sensory overload separate us from original life energy, weakening intuition and inner peace. Part Two illuminated the path of return through sincerity, stillness, and movement, restoring Chi through meditation, Qigong, and Tai Chi. By purifying the mind, circulating life energy, and aligning with the Dao, one gradually reawakens the innate wholeness present in infancy—a pure and serene mind capable of sensing life energy naturally and resting effortlessly in truth. This journey requires patience and devotion, yet it ultimately leads to freedom, clarity, and harmony with the living universe.

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We are divine

17 Apr

“We are divine, and we must live not by the
survival of the fittest, but in a way that supports everyone and everything on
this planet” Bruce H. Lipton

The time has come to use our powerful technologies for the good of all,
rather than for the delusional good of the self-proclaimed fittest. The idea of
separation, which finds its expression in the reductionism of classical
physics, must be replaced by the experience of union and inclusion already
evident in the holism of life. “There is not a single isolated fragment in all
of nature, each fragment is part of a harmonious and complete unity” (John
Muir). Only by recognizing this crucial interdependence can humanity go
beyond the repetition of the same dysfunctional patterns that have caused so
much unnecessary suffering to our species and to the ecosystem.
Many sages throughout history have suggested that we are beings of
light that will not die with the death of the body, because we are here to
learn and grow. I think we are here to learn to collectively create new
worlds in which to operate at a much higher level of cooperation, creativity,
and fulfillment than we now can at this early stage of our spiritual
evolution. The possibility of experiencing our true nature is already
supported by the enlightened personal experiences of millions of people
around the globe, and by countless “anecdotal” facts and events that science
hesitates to investigate. If we open ourselves to this potential that is
dormant in us and ask our greater self to show the way, we may soon be
able to experience an unsuspected unity in our lives, the early signs of
humanity’s awakening to its true power and purpose.

Only when we truly comprehend that we are responsible for our
experiences and that the choice is ours alone, can we begin to truly know
ourselves and the world.
To know ourselves more and more, we need a new empathic science
that can convert scientific knowledge into deep lived knowing and from it
generate new scientific knowledge. Similarly, we need a new rational
spirituality that can convert lived knowing into new scientific knowledge
and from it generate new lived knowing. These two disciplines can then
intertwine in endless and mutual crescendo.
This is the essence of the Creative Principle of One. Within this vision,
empathic science and rational spirituality, integrating and interweaving, will
evermore increase our loving, joyful, and fulfilling union with the Whole.

I think that the positive forces that will create our future will not be the
forces and the laws of matter, but those of conscious cooperation,
comprehension, and love for others that all beings in existence must sooner
or later manifest because these values are the essence of our deepest nature.
I also think that the most effective way to achieve union is through a
process of collective and cooperative creation of a just, empathic, and
loving society through right and courageous actions informed by the heart
and by the intuitive and rational mind. Then our experience and knowing
will grow in our hearts and they will guide our individual actions through
an ever-higher level of consciousness.

copyright: Federico Faggin 2023 Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers and Human Nature

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The Unity of All -Non-Dualistic Apophatic Higher States of Consciousness

13 Apr

Non-Dualistic ApophaticHigher States of Consciousness

While Apophatic theology was often in the past regarded as heretical, blasphemy, and unorthodox, we have seen in the previous chapters that now the sciences including physics, cosmology, psychology, biology, ecology, linguistics, as well as meditation, all provide a secure platform for the non-dualistic Apophatic convictions and practice. Apophatic teachings and analysis clearly provide an alternative to the dominant Dualistic Cataphatic dogma. This acceptance and application of the non-dualist perspective is not just an academic survey but a way of living that has crucial truths that benefit the individual, interpersonal, biological, psychological, sociological, spiritual, societal, and ecological levels.

This book is meant to indicate the possibility and rationale that is encompassed in the title of Apophatic. To further explore in-depth the Buddha’s teaching of the Path to Awakening, the reader is referred to my previous books: The Buddha’s Teachings; Seeing Without Illusion, The Buddha’s Radical Psychology: Explorations and The Buddha’s Gift: A Life of Wellbeing and Wisdom.

Now we have the testimony of numerous modern articulate thinkers whose ability to describe their awakening perspectives leads a strong support to past spiritual leaders who, even in the threat of death, spoke their truths out of compassion for others. Remembering the insights of his personal mystical experience, Martin Buber, in his book, The Heart of Mysticism, described his higher states of consciousness: “Now from my own unforgettable experience I know well that there is a state in which the bonds of the personal nature of life seem to have fallen away from us and we experience an undivided unity.”

With this experience of Awakening, Buber understood the world without the alienating and separating dualistic subject/object dichotomy. Like the Buddha, out of compassion for humanity, Buber taught us how to experience and act in a non-alienated way. While Buber always emphasized that he understood relating to the world in an I-It manner, a ‘functional’ relationship between subject and object, is necessary, his primary concern was when a person was unable to respond from I-Thou, thus creating alienation and suffering. The relation between the person and Nothingness is a universal relationship that is found as the foundation for I-Thou, as authentic beings, without objectification. From an apophatic perspective, it is from the background of the I-Thou relation that I-It arises in the foreground.

Virtuous and Kind Behaviors

For this apophatic potential relational world to be realized, virtuous and kind behaviors are encouraged. This promotes sensitivity to the inner and outer world, more serenity, more authenticity, empathy and wisdom with less alienation, rumination, conflict, hatred, and bias.

The ‘I-Thou’ relation participates in the dynamic and living process of Being. That relationship simply Is. Through this relation, we interact with the world in its whole Being. It is not a means to an egocentric objective or goal of use and order but an authentic relationship involving respect and care for the whole being of each subject and existence.

Basic to the Apophatic relation, Lovingkindness or benevolence is a subject-to-subject relationship. Love cannot be an ego-based relation of subject to object but rather a relationship in which all members are subjects and share the immanent unity of Being. According to Buber, the I-Thou relationship is “the existential and ontological reality in which the self comes into being and through which it fulfills and authenticates itself.” This relation is characterized by mutuality and openness, directness, and being in the present.

I-Thou an expression of Inter-being relations

Using Buber’s ‘I-Thou’ as an apophatic example, communication is the fundamental expression of the uniqueness of relation within inter-being. These relational patterns of rapport and affinity are usually found when beings relate with lovingkindness, friendship, openness, and care. I meet you as you are, and you meet me as who I am. In this relationship, I am with you openly in my heart and mind. Living through relationships with this authenticity brings deep satisfaction, happiness and richness in life and opens a greater sense of the original relation with the Being. One easily expresses empathy and compassion, knowing that all are interconnected in unity. Such a perspective makes a different world, a world without violence. As Jesus said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ The Buddha said as well, “All beings tremble before violence. All fear death. All love life. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do?”

As all Apophatic sages teach, by being ‘empty’ in the moment, here and now, we experience the wonder of existence. As we have seen in other chapters, the ultimate, even the very idea of the ultimate, cannot be known by discursive thinking. In the now, we live our life as it is. Also, through the practice of silent meditation, we focus on our life awareness. With this awareness, we experience our interconnectedness with all things and empathy and compassion for all sentient beings.

Knowing shatters illusions

Knowing begins with the release of illusions, with dis-illusion. Knowing means to penetrate through the fog, to arrive at reality; knowing means to ‘see’ the reality without illusion. Knowing is that the ‘ownership’ of truth is not possible. The Awakened relationship cannot be explained; it simply is. Through this ‘empty’ relation, we interact with the world in this whole Being. It is not a means to some object or goal but an authentic relationship involving respect for the whole being of each subject. Buber considers ‘I-Thou’ communication the fundamental expression of the uniqueness of relation within inter-being. These relational patterns of rapport and affinity are usually found when beings relate with lovingkindness, friendship, openness, and care.

In the I-Thou encounter, we relate to each other as authentic beings, without inquisition, prejudice, enmity, or predisposition. I meet you as you are, and you meet me as who I am. In this relationship, I am with you openly in my heart and mind. However, there are many people who never fully understand this deeper level of relation. This is tragic because living through relationships based on the non-dualistic perspective brings happiness, deep satisfaction and richness in life and opens a greater sense of the original relation with the Absolute.

When an I-Thou encounter occurs, I am meeting the other as thou with openness, directness, and presence by means of real mutual action, meaning and confirmation. As Buber wrote, “This person is other, essentially other than myself… I confirm it; I wish his otherness to exist, because I wish his particular being to exist.” We are interconnected, “not just with people, but animals too, and stones, clouds, trees” (Aitken 1984, p. 10). We are an integral part of everything.

Nothing exists by itself; nothing has a separate existence, an inherent separate self. As human beings we are Being, one with All. The truth is pure interbeing, beyond dualistic thinking of the alienated mind. Thus, one becomes aware of the impermanence and the Emptiness of the ‘IT’ world. Serenity comes with the acceptance of impermanence and interrelatedness. The insights of such Sages as the Buddha, the Hebrew prophets, Jesus, and Master Eckhart show that knowing begins with the awareness of the deceptiveness of our common-sense perceptions and cognitive constructions; our formulations of physical reality do not correspond to what is ‘really real.’ Therefore, most people are half-awake, half dreaming, and are unaware that most of what they hold to be true and self-evident is an ‘magician-like’ illusion produced by the influence of the dualistic alienated world in which they live.

Knowing, then, begins with the transformation of illusions, selfishness, and alienation. Knowing means to penetrate through the fog, to arrive at reality and to ‘see’ the reality without illusion. Knowing is not to own the truth, as possession is not possible, but to Be the truth. The Being mode of knowing allows us, as psychologist Erich Fromm (1992, pp.117-120) also observed, to go beyond ourselves, outside the ego. The Path’s result is kindness to oneself and another, to transcend the barriers that separate us from one another, and living life with recognition of interdependence and impermanence. When communicating at this level, we move beyond biased social roles, identifications, and objectification.

In I-Thou dialogues, we trust and can disclose deep, private aspects of ourselves that enable us to engage in deep and authentic relationships. The rigid, dualistic and egotistically dominated mind remains enmeshed in ignorance, greed, and anger that feeds on itself and, therefore, does not let go and rise above the suffering quagmire in which it remains. This ego rigidity needs an empathetic and compassionate approach to assist it in letting go and coming to know how it is possible to live in a world without the pain and distrust and suffering created through this dualistically based ignorance. And, in fact, the path can be clear and successfully traveled without much difficulty.

What is difficult is allowing oneself to give up the encased hatred, the anger, the greed, the biases of egoism and of selfishness. In the book, Lost Horizon, there is this passage: ‘Look at the world today. Is there anything more pitiful? What madness there is! What blindness! A scurrying mass of bewildered humanity crashing headlong against each other. The time must come when brutality and the lust for power will perish by their own sword. When that day comes, the world must begin to look for a new life.’

The new life away from that is and always has been pointed to by the apophatic teachers in the past and now. The whole movement is toward the development of maturity of perspective and, therefore, action with wisdom about the way we understand and think about existence. Therefore, incorrect ideas and beliefs must be renounced, which will change our human character and end further suffering.

For as the Buddha and other apophatic teachers have consistently taught, what is now clear through scientific investigation, that living beings, the environment and even the universe are deeply enmeshed and co-dependent on each other. This is one world and every action by all living and non-living forces interact with and alter the previous reality- some more than others. Therefore, once we become experienced, inspired, and apply the truths that the Buddha and others have discovered, and now are explicated in more modern terminology and description, there is a real possibility for a Heaven on Earth without the distraction of seeking supernatural intervention.

Heaven on Earth can briefly be described in a biocentric way as a world of humans acting through wisdom and empathy and compassion, The Buddha, one of the greatest Apophatic teachers, said in his last words to the monks, “It may be that after I am gone that some of you will think, ‘now we have no teacher.’ But that is not how you should see it. Let the Dharma and the discipline that I have taught you be your teacher. All individual things pass away. Strive on, untiringly.”

Now, as we have explored in this book the similar meditation instructions and doctrinal perspectives taught by the many Apophatic spiritual teachers, over time and different cultures, we know we can attain Awakening and know Emptiness and give up our suffering and the harmful consequences of dualistic alienation, for a life of wellbeing and happiness. Let us all assert the Apophatic Way and accomplish knowing the ‘unknowable’ – No-thing

Chapter 16 The Unity of All. Of the Book, God is No-thing. The Apophatic Assertion The
Salvation for Humankind – revised -. Copyright Rodger Ricketts Psy.D.,2022. All rights
reserved.

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