Urban Guru Cafe - Program #100

– ‘Alpha and Omega’

Gilbert: Everything is consciousness.

Everything. The song you just heard.
Every song you've ever heard. Every
word you've ever heard. Every
expression. Everything is
consciousness. It's only the mind that
discriminates and creates a duality. As
Siddharrameshwar said, "Duality is
due to the seer and the seen." The seer
cannot exist without seeing. The seen
cannot exist without the seeing. The
seeing is the pure functioning. The
seer is a fiction. The seen is an object,
an appearance. Everything is valid in
the appearance. What seems to bring
about change is a recognition of one's
true nature. There's an infinite variety
of how that recognition arises. It
doesn't matter how the recognition is
brought about. And the recognition is
just a split second. The essence of the
recognition of our true nature is the
seeing. Pure seeing. Pure being.
Nobody can do it for you. See for
yourself. Hear what's being pointed
to. Test it for yourself. See if what is
being said is true or false.

Bob: See, the body is a pattern of

energy. The mind is going to break
down sometimes. In that breaking
down, the essence is not lost. The
patterns form, patterns play around,
patterns disappear. Just like the same
wave will come out of the water. The
wave goes back into the water. But
what you are, the essence itself, was
never born and will never die.
Now, you've had a look and seen
there's no entity there at all? That you
can say this is "me"? If you see that
there is no entity there that has any
substance or independent nature - see
it now - when was it ever true? If
something is false now, could it ever
have been true? If something is false
now, could it ever of been true?
All right, so you see there's no entity
now. You see that, recognize that. You
must realize that there never ever was.
Though you've taken the blame or
praise for whatever went on in your
life, and believed that you were a doer,
now you see the falseness of it all. You
realize that you've been lived all the
way through. From the time the
sperm and the ovum came together,
and all the activities and everything
that's happened there, have never been
done by you, the entity. That's the way
the functioning pattern, shaped, and
formed of that particular expression.
I'm not speaking to any body. I'm not
speaking to any mind. I'm speaking to
that I AM that I AM. In other words,
to that sense of presence that
expresses through the mind as the
thought "I AM." Just to this and
nothing else.
Now, it is non-duality that we talk
about here. Everything is That. So the
body-mind, the seeming entity, are
just appearances. So go beyond that.
Not that there is any 'beyond', but just
for the sake of something to say,
'beyond it', to the sense of presence. Is
(there) anyone who is not unaware of
being present right now? Or is there
that innate sense of presence, the
knowing that you are, prior to any
concepts? And that sense of presence
translates through the mind as the
thought, 'I AM.' That knowing that
you are is there prior to any thought.
Isn't that so? See for yourself.
Because we're not going to tell you
anything. Can't teach you anything.
All we can do is point you towards
what we call "The Natural State."
What you already are, and ever have
been, and ever will be.
The Buddhists tell you that when they
talk about (it) in the ultimate teaching
of Buddhism - the Dzogchen
teachings. Dzogchen translated means
The Great Perfection. And they tell
you in one sentence what it is, "The
great perfection is non-conceptual
awareness." That is that sense of
presence, or awareness, prior to any
concepts.
So I'm not speaking to your body, or to
your mind, or the idea of a conceptual
entity that has some substance and
any independent nature. Now when I
say "I" am not speaking to it, it's not
the body-mind here that's speaking to
it anyway. It's that sense of presence
speaking to itself. And in that,
perhaps there could be a resonation or
a recognizing, a re-cognizing of your
true nature. It's already been
cognized. You've already known it.
Innately you know it. You can't negate
that presence-awareness. Nobody can
say, "I am not." And over the years,
with all the so-called conditioning and
events and experiences that have
happened in our life, we've come to
ignore it. So we try and point back to
it. That's why in alot of the ancient
text and scriptures, they call it
ignorance. Not that we're dull or
stupid. It simply means that we ignore
our true nature and focus into the
conceptual belief of what we think we
are - that appearance.
In what we talk about, non-duality,
you'll see that in all the traditions. In
all the ancient traditions, if you look
closely enough. In Hinduism for
instance, they call it Advaita. And
Advaita translated means non-duality.
And they try and describe the
indescribable by saying, calling it one-
without-a-second. And they put that
"one-without-a-second" on it because
even the idea of one, there's a subtle
implication of that there could be
other than one. But to try and cancel
out that implication they say "one-
without-a-second". And then there's
Dzogchen scriptures again, and they
say it is, "non-conceptual, ever-fresh,
presence-awareness." And they put on
that, "just this and nothing else."
Again, to point out that there is
nothing other than that.
So if you look into all the scriptures
and all the traditions, you'll find it
they're basically pointing to that non-
duality of it. Christ says, "I and the
father are one" - talking about that
sense of presence. And when he's
saying, "I", he's not talking about
himself, equating himself as that entity
with the father. He's talking about
what that sense of presence translates
as the thought, "I am." So that "I" that
comes out is the translation, and the
sense of presence are one in the same
thing. Where he says, "The father is
greater than I," that sense of presence
far greater than the thought.
The Hebrews say, "Hear O Israel, the
lord thy God is one God, there is none
other." Pinpointing the fact there is no
one, no thing, other than That. And
That is the Mahavakya, or the Great
Word, you'll see in a lot of the
scriptures. "I am That." Not that that
entity is That, but what translates -
that sense of presence that translates
as the thought, "I am." It's that sense
of presence which is That. "Thou art
That." "This is That." Every thing, all
appearances and possibilities, are
That. And they put "That" on it
because it's indescribable, it's
ineffable. It is no thing that the mind
can ever grasp or conceptualize.
So we've told you here right from the
start, that you'll never ever find the
answer in the mind. Because the mind
itself is some 'thing'. What we call
'mind'. If you have a look closely,
you'll see there's really no such thing
as mind. Nobody can show me a thing
called mind apart from thought or
thinking. And which particular
thought is it? Now the primary
thought is what it translates as first,
the thought "I am". But if you are that
thought, would you ever lose sight of it
throughout the day? Or any time at
all? But how often do you think "I am"
throughout the day? But has ever that
knowingness that you are left you?
Without ever thinking it, without even
translating it to a word or a concept?
Can you at any time say, "I am not?"
Yeah, sure, you can say it. But you
don't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to
work out that if I am able to say that,
there must be something there. There
must be a knowingness there that is
enabling me to say, "I am not."
So when we say you are, to put a
concept on it, knowingness...knowing,
we're not talking about knowing this
or knowing that. Because the thought
"I know" implies there is a subject. An
entity, "me." And "I know this or that"
implies there is an object. So
subject/object have been formulated
by these two words, but they both (are)
appearing in the knowing. Created a
subject - "I know." A knower. And "I
know this or that", the chair, or
something else, created an object or
formed an object. Both appearing in
the knowing. But have a look. Can
there be a knower, a subject, that is
not knowing? And can there be the
noun, the object, that can be outside of
the knowing? See the basis is that
pure knowingness, pure intelligence.
Subject/object are created
conceptually - thoughts, thought
forms, using words that we've
acquired. A little child can't say "I
know", yet he is knowing. He hasn't
learned those words as such. Doesn't
know "I know this" or "I know that."
That basic knowingness is there.
Don't use the term "God" because we
can get lost in that term. Because we
all come from different backgrounds.
Some of us might be Atheists, some of
us Agnostics, some of us Christian,
Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, or
whatever. Start talking about God,
you'll equate it to whatever concept or
idea you traditionally (have) in your
background. And what I'm saying will
be obscured from that. I use the term
or concept, "intelligence-energy."
Which is just another concept. You
don't want to get lost in that either.
But I think it comes nearer to the mark
because when I'm talking about
intelligence I'm not talking about your
intellects. Now there are different
degrees of intellect in this room .
Some are smarter, some are not so
smart. That's the so-called intellect
functioning. When I'm talking about
intelligence, I'm talking about look out
there in nature and have a look at
nature. Really see what's happening.
There are galaxies out there. There are
planets moving around. The Earth is
going around the sun. Seasons coming
and going. Tides coming in and out.
Doesn't that imply that there's an
innate intelligence that's functioning,
patterning, shaping, and forming it
all? Not some old guy out there
pulling strings saying, "It's winter now
I've got to change it to Summer." It's
innately suffusing every particle of this
manifestation.
And as it is innately suffusing every
particle, have a look at it. Right where
you are right now. Isn't it what's
breathing you? Isn't it what's beating
your heart, growing your hair and your
fingernails, digesting your food,
replacing cells in your body? Are you,
as the entity, doing any of those
things? If you were, you wouldn't lose
site of your next breath. You'd be
making sure you took a next breath.
But how often do you think about that
throughout the day? You'd be making
sure your food digested. Do you think
of that throughout the day? Or your
hair and your fingernails, how they're
grown. And that cells are being
replaced. So that innate intelligence is
infusing that pattern which you call
'you'. And it's that same intelligence-
energy which is patterning, shaping,
forming, and expressing as every
'thing'.
And have a look around you and say,
"Well, how can there be no separation?
I'm separate and I see all sorts of
separation in this room." But when
you look into it closely, is there really
any separation? What is that body you
call "you"? What is that made up of?
And you'll see it's made up of
elements. Made up of air, earth, fire,
water, space. Just the same as the
elements around you. Now can you
separate yourself from those
elements? Get out of space if you can.
Separate yourself from space if you
can, see how long it lasts. Separate
yourself from the water in your body,
see how long it lasts. Separate yourself
from air, from the body temperature -
the heat, the fire. You can't separate
yourself from those elements. And all
of those elements that are out there in
the manifestation can be broken down.
Can be broken down into subatomic
particles into pure energy. So these
are all vibrating patterns of energy.
The true nature, we call it this anyway,
is that pattern. Is that energy. That
intelligence-energy. Energy with the
capacity of knowing. Suffused with
that pure intelligence. Intelligence is
knowing, and energy is an activity.
So the 'ing' on the 'knowing' implies
that's an activity. Something that's
happening right in the immediacy of
this moment. And isn't any activity a
movement of energy? So it's that one-
without-a-second. That only
intelligence-energy that is patterning,
shaping, and forming. And all the
pattern, shapes and forms are
intelligence-energy appearing as
different.
That's why we know in our language,
but we don't realize it half the time
because we never really look at it.
Because they call this a phenomenal
universe. A universe that is made up
of "phenomena." And your dictionary
definition of "phenomena" is that
which appears to be. Telling you
clearly that the whole manifestation,
which is appearance, appearing only.
Because that's all it is, is appearance.
Patterns of energy appearing to be so.
And the opposite of phenomenon is
the "noumenon", the unmanifest. And
you look in your dictionary and look
up the definition of noumenon, it is
that which is. And so we know it in
language all the time. It's the
unmanifest, what we call 'no thing.' Or
'the emptiness', what is the Buddhist
term the Buddhists use. What is.
That's the actuality. That's what is.
And all the things are appearing in
that isness. Patterning, shaping and
forming. But their essence hasn't
changed. They are still that isness
appearing in different shapes and
forms. Just like a wave will appear on
the water. That's still only water and
only and ever will be water. But it is
shaping and forming as something
different. Like you've got the bangle,
bracelet and earrings, all made of gold.
And we call them, "bangle", "bracelet",
"earrings." We lose sight of what they
actually are. Their actuality is gold.
So...see when I say, "I'm not speaking
to any body," or "I'm not speaking to
any mind." What is speaking? What is
word, thinking, speaking and all the
rest of it? Thinking, at the very subtle
level, is a very, very subtle vibration.
When it comes out as word, which
these sounds are words coming out
now, word is sound. What's sound?
Sound is a vibration. What's a
vibration? It's a movement of energy.
So even the thinking, which we've put
meaning and everything into the
words, which we've acquired or
learned, is still that pure intelligence-
energy patterning as thoughts, words,
feelings, sensations, or whatever. So
there's never been anything other than
that.
In a lot of the traditions they call it
omnipresence, omnipotence,
omniscience. Not three things, but
three aspects of the one. Meaning
total presence, total power, total
intelligence. So you see, if what
they're saying is true and which has
been said for thousands of years down
through the ages, and people have
seen it, some have seen it and passed it
on and it's been continually passed on.
It's never lost sight of really, but
thousands ignore it and miss it
There's always some that have grasped
and understood it. So it's
omnipresence, omnipotence,
omniscience; total presence, total
power, total intelligence. Does that
leave room for a you, or a me, or
anything at all that can be outside of
that totality? If there is something, the
smallest minutest thing that's outside
of the totality, could it be
omnipresence, omnipotence,
omniscience?
Why would they say that in most of the
scriptures, most of the texts, if it
hadn't been seen and understood
somewhere along the line? And
though a lot of the people that have
translated it and written it down or the
rest of it might not have understood it
themselves, they know innately that
there is something there because they
continue. The so-called saints, sages,
and seers over the years that have seen
and known this, they have been
revered. Why? Because innately it
was known that they had something.
And that's been the problem also.
Because they've recognized and
worshiped the messenger and totally
ignored the message. And that's how
religions and all these traditions form.
Because I speak along these lines I'm
not an Advaitan, nor am I a Buddhist,
a Christian, or any of the other
religious traditions. But I see and
recognize the truth in all of these. And
I take parts of it and utilize them in the
pointing. And there's nothing to stop
you, if you look close enough, from
seeing the same for yourself.
Now that's why we say right from the
start that what you're seeking, you
already are that. And most of you
come here, you come here because you
are seeking. You wouldn't come here
for any other purpose. Not that
everybody is seeking in this room. A
lot of people have found or understood
it that have been here. Initially they
might have come along here like
everybody, just the same as this
pattern of energy went out looking for
something that it innately sensed was
there. Something that took this
pattern where it had to go to find out
that it wasn't what it had believed itself
to be. And it was recognized, re-
cognized, and found. You know, as the
scripture saying, "If you know the
truth, the truth will set you free."
And the definition of truth, or reality,
is that which never changes. What is
it about you, what you call you, that
has never changed? Do you have the
same body now as you were born with?
Or you had at two years, ten years,
twenty years, thirty years? Or even
now isn't that body constantly
changing? Like the whole of this
manifestation - it's transient. It's
constantly changing. So that's why we
call it "appearance." Because none of
it will stand up to the definition of
reality, that which never changes. It's
all changing. Always changing.
So you didn't have the same body.
And that body you've got is changing
right now. Did you have the same
mental image or picture about yourself
as you've got now? You certainly
didn't. Lots of things have happened
and that image you've got about
yourself has constantly changed.
Things have been added to it and
things have been forgotten about it.
So what is it that's been the constant?
Is that sense of presence, that knowing
that you are - has that ever changed?
Without putting any concepts onto it,
what is it? It is no "thing". What can
you say if you pause? We say, "What's
wrong with right now if you don't
think about it?" And pause a thought.
You pause a thought. What can you
say is wrong with it? Without a
concept, you can't say anything is
wrong. What can you say is right with
it? Without a concept, you can't say
anything is right.
But look at this - without the concepts,
have you fallen apart? Is it the end of
you? Do you disappear without a
concept? Or is there still that innate
knowing that you are there? Naked,
now. They call it "naked awareness".
What I mean by naked, it is unadorned
by any concepts. If you see that for the
briefest second, pause a moment, and
recognize, re-cognize, what you
already innately know. Your true
nature. And realize that actually this
has always, and ever been the concept.
And it's no thing that you can grasp
with a concept. It's prior to any
concept. And that's why we say you'll
never find the answer in the mind.
And that's why they'll tell you in the
Gita, "The sword can't cut it, the fire
can't burn it, the wind can't dry it, the
water can't drown it." Why? Then
you realize that it contains all of those
things. No thing, none of those things,
could ever grasp or contain it.
So how can this thing we call the mind,
the thinking process, ever contain the
no-thing? It can't grasp it with a
concept. Pointing out before, that
mind, this thinking, all it is is a
vibration or movement of energy. And
watching your thoughts and see how
they function - see for yourself - aren't
you always vibrating into inter-related
opposites? If you're not thinking in
the past, you're into the future - 0r
somewhere within that range. And
within that range also, you're in the
inter-related opposites. It's either
good or bad, pleasant/painful,
happy/sad, loving/hating,
positive/negative. Watch your
thinking and see. It's always vibrating.
Looking forward. And the boundaries
we put upon it is the word - good/bad.
If you haven't got those words, what
boundaries have you got?
Pleasant/painful? If you haven't got
those, then what boundaries have you
got?
So the boundaries and limitations we
put upon ourselves are the words. And
realize this - that none of those words
you were born with. They've all been
acquired or learned. They're not your
natural functioning state. You've
learned every word you've ever spoken
- has been learned or acquired. And
look at these things. And see for
yourself that what you are is not any
separate entity.
They call it "emptiness" in Buddhism.
They're not talking about a vacuum or
a void when they talk about emptiness.
They call it, "cognizing emptiness."
Emptiness that has the capacity of
knowing. Or, suffused with that innate
intelligence. That knowingness is pure
intelligence. So it's not two things -
cognizing, emptiness. You can't
separate them. You can't separate the
emptiness from the knowing or the
knowing from the emptiness. Two
aspects of the one.
So, that's a bit of a rough idea of what
it's about. You can question from that
and get into discussion. Tell us your
version, or any doubts or whatever.
Some of you might resonate with it,
others might not. And that happens
here all the time. It's there for
everybody but not everybody sees it.
Not everybody wants to see it. They
have a vested interest in this entity.
Want to perpetuate it. Keep it going
with that belief that some day, some
time, some place, "I'll get it", "I'll
acquire it". But you see, when we talk
about one-without-a-second, we're
pointing out that there can be
absolutely no duality in non-duality.
So any idea of dualism is only an
appearance. So if we're coming from
the point of view that we're a separate
entity, a dualistic entity, and trying to
get to non-duality, it will never ever
happen. Never. No matter how hard
you seemingly try. You always, and
ever will be, that non-dual, one-
without-a-second. Pure Being.