Seekers from across the world have asked Magdi various questions.
Here are some of them along with his replies.
- ALL
- Absolute
- Attachment
- Awakening
- Awareness
- Beauty
- Being
- Belief
- Body
- Consciousness
- Dream
- Duality
- Ego
- Emptiness
- Experience
- Freedom
- God
- Happiness
- Identity
- Ignorance
- Illusion
- Knowledge
- Love
- Meditation
- Mind
- Noticing
- Peace
- Perception
- Person
- Presence
- Reality
- Self
- Separation
- Silence
- Suffering
- Surrender
- Truth
- Universe
- Vasanas
- Witnessing
- World
- ALL
- Absolute
- Attachment
- Awakening
- Awareness
- Beauty
- Being
- Belief
- Body
- Consciousness
- Dream
- Duality
- Ego
- Emptiness
- Experience
- Freedom
- God
- Happiness
- Identity
- Ignorance
- Illusion
- Knowledge
- Love
- Meditation
- Mind
- Noticing
- Peace
- Perception
- Person
- Presence
- Reality
- Self
- Separation
- Silence
- Suffering
- Surrender
- Truth
- Universe
- Vasanas
- Witnessing
- World
On Nisargadatta’s statements
May 14, 2020
Hi Magdi. In the text from Nisargadatta below, would you please talk more about his affirmation about: “... and you, the Absolute, will know that you are also not the consciousness...” From Prior to Consciousness: Questioner: In the old days, it says in the Upanishads, any disciple had to stick close to the Guru for one year without opening his mouth, and only then he could ask questions. NM: When he sits in close proximity to a Guru the capacity of his beingness to receive this teaching…
Are you worried about Covid-19?
May 14, 2020
Hi Magdi, Are you worried or fearful of Covid-19? Are you worried or fearful if the lockdown will be extended up to January 2021?. I hope to find an alternative job/work because I am not earning now as a freelance dancer/counselor. Thank you so much and God bless!. If you live among the thieves, you learn their way and you eventually become a thief. Fearful thinking should not be watered, else it grows and haunts you. Remaining still at the heart of your experience and contemplation of…
For whom do you point, Magdi?
November 9, 2019
Friend: So few are meant to disappear into the joy of this impersonal. The happening of it cannot be prompted by another. I love your pointing Magdi, but for whom do you point? We holograms in the state of remembrance of ourselves as oneness? Or do you believe you can help the disappearing of yourself appearing as another? I do it for my own entertainment only or rarely when I detect conditions are ripe. Magdi: Hello friend To whom does the bird sing? To whom does the sun shine? The glory of…
Details on happiness
October 30, 2019
If happiness is on your own behalf, only for yourself, it will not satisfy you. You need to realize that happiness includes everybody and everything and requires you to abandon your conditions about life, about yourself and all your conditions about others. Happiness is love and love is all embracing, but it is not about this world. Love can manifest in this world, can be celebrated in this world, but it’s true celebration is in your recognition of the reality and universality of consciousness,…
What does – Be still and know that I am God – mean?
October 30, 2019
‘Be still and know that I am God’ does not refer to a separate I and a separate God. It is an expression of the wholeness of being/awareness. In this statement, ‘I am’ refers to impersonal universal beingness. ‘God’ refers to impersonal universal knowingness. ‘I am God’ refers to impersonal universal being/awareness. Personal love is imagined. Impersonal love is not imagined. In love, we are one and the sense of separation is absent. Of course, usually this is short lived since the 'personal'…
How could Teaching convey the Silent?
October 30, 2019
Question: When reality is best expressed by silence, and could be said to be silence itself, are not all forms of teaching a kind of dumbing down? To teach requires a certain nod to duality: there is the teacher and the taught; me and you. Magdi: Truth is expressed by silence and this silence is the perfume of the awakened mind and not the superficial silence of words and language. The language of the rishis is imbued with silence and does not presume a teacher and a teaching. This silence is…
Does setting an intention perpetuate the separate self?
October 22, 2019
Question: "Set your intention" - does that apply in nonduality? I wonder how other things might be different when we have set an intention, if this does not perpetuate a feeling of separate self." Reply: Yes, setting an intention does apply in nonduality. The impact of setting an intention depends on the origin of the intention, meaning where the intention is coming from.When the intention is on behalf of the imagined separate self, the me-person, the intention is 'objective'. Meaning we are…
Is it about direct experience?
October 8, 2019
Friend: Ultimately, is it about direct experience? Ultimately, it is about the dissolution of ignorance, awakening to truth. Awakening to truth is being truth. Self knowing that establishes you as your true nature, which is eternal, universal and impersonal. Ending the unhappy impression of separation as well as the belief and feeling of being a mortal body mind. The contemplation of your direct experience encourages you to step out of your mind and turn your attention to…
Body mind and Consciousness: Are they ultimately one?
September 30, 2019
Given the body appears to I ... Given the body disappears while I remains (such as in deep sleep, anesthesia or between two bodily sensations) Then the body and I are not on equal footing. Given, whenever the body appears, it appears at zero distance from I (the knowingness of the appearance), they are therefore not two. Although they are not two, I is eternal and the body is not. Although not two, I is infinite, formless and the body is not. A good metaphor is your night dreams. Whatever…
How should one listen?
September 12, 2019
Question: Jean Klein says that listening is not a function and that it should be without intention, free from concentration and without any direction as in pure listening there is no objective that we want to achieve. How would this be different from a person who is stunned or drugged? Reply: Being drugged is a mind state. Listening is not a mind state. A good metaphor is the wide open sky. Clouds are like mind states in the wide open sky. JK is talking about the wide open sky and not about…
Is everything Awareness and is effort needed to notice it?
September 4, 2019
Question: I am pivoting in seeing ZEN as drinking tea or scratching the head and sometimes I see that objects are also it. But then doubt arises that says: ´how can seeing , hearing, smelling and touching be ZEN (truth)´. Then I ask myself ´Is seeing and hearing happening by itself?´. I/life doing the seeing and hearing. So it gets messed up. Then I relax and I see that hearing is also ZEN. I feel your effortless presence in the videos, Magdi. I do the same now and then spontaneously I become…
I feel that I am here and you are there
August 22, 2019
Friend: How do you explain the feeling that I have that I am me and not you? The feeling arises to awareness. One could say that the feeling is an appearance in awareness, an object, of sort. There is what is perceived and there is that which perceives. What is perceived is constantly changing and that which perceives is not changing. You are that which does not change and is not defined by any feeling. That has no limitations and no definition. Friend: I understand, but I still feel that I am…
How to fix attention in awareness?
August 13, 2019
A conversation with a friend Friend: How to fix attention in Awareness? Reply: Feel your presence, your aliveness without any effort. Gently sink in that feeling of alive beingness. And as much as possible, stay there without judgment or any measure of success. Awareness is our primary experience. Everything we know is via awareness. Friend: It’s impossible to stop thinking, thinking is happening anyway. Reply: Stopping thinking is in itself, more thinking. We do not need to concern ourselves…
Is awareness aware without objects?
August 13, 2019
Is awareness aware without objects?~~~ In order to be aware of an object awareness has to be present. The question is whether awareness is present in the absence of an object? There are two options:The co-arising of awareness with the arising of the object (of awareness) or awareness is independent of the arising of the object, meaning awareness is prior to the object and post the object and is present independent of the object. Consider the following: In order to establish that awareness is…
Do things pass away?
August 4, 2019
Things are content of mind, meaning they are the process of perceiving. The reality of things is eternal and cannot pass away.On the other hand, the appearance of things is not their reality. Given it is not their reality, it also cannot pass away since that which has no reality cannot be said to exist.To peak of the passing away of that which does not exist is nonsensical and meaningless.
The tendency to seek an experience
July 29, 2019
Question: I can see the tendency for the seeking of a particular experience, or the repeat of a past one, especially if it’s considered “spiritual”. Yet this movement seems stale and repetitive and ultimately frustrating. This seems different than “remembering”. Can you comment on this? Thanks Reply:While remembering arises spontaneously to you out of your contemplation and maturity along the path, it does not arise from you. One could say remembering is god remembering herself (irrespective…
How is consciousness related to the physical universe?
July 23, 2019
How is consciousness related to the physical universe? ~~ consciousness and the physical universe are on two different levels. The first is reality, the other dream. One could say they are virtually related. Like your relationship with the pink flying elephant in your dreams. Although in the dream, we share the pink elephant herd, in fact, we are not dream characters. We are not really pink elephant herders ;) How are you related to Santa Claus? You are only related to santa Claus as the…
How to approach a retreat?
July 17, 2019
Friend: Would you consider writing something about how to best approach a retreat, well specifically your retreat. I resonate with “innocence and a sense of wonder and curiosity that refuses to be satisfied except by that which is true”(from your latest Facebook entry). That would hardly be the separate self’s credo! I also resonate with Rupert’s exceptional yogic meditations. ~~~Reply: Best to come to the retreat with a not-knowing mind.Inviting yourself to the freshness, to the beauty, to the…
Questions about awakening
July 16, 2019
I have some questions about the awakening process... After I first found Robert Adams my life turned upside down and I guess a big storm Of karma entered my life .... life has been hard so far with a lot of pain and suffering ( 7 years) but right now at this moment , I know I am not my thoughts, my body, I know all I see is a reflection of me , and I can and feel love in everyone and everything. I feel in my heart there is a force stronger than anything. But , the illusion- maya - keeps…
How does the i merge with Brahman
July 16, 2019
As the view of Brahman becomes clearer, does it get less articulative? How and when does the "i" dissolves into or merge with Brahman ? Reply: I am not certain about the view of Brahman becoming less articulate. I would say the inner stillness comes to the forefront. But on the surface, various life conditions and situations may apply. As to the rest of your question: “How and when does the "i" dissolves into or merge with Brahman ?” ~~ vía your love of truth, your…
What does – Just Be – mean?
July 12, 2019
Quetion: What does 'Just be' mean? Magdi: When I say: 'Just be', it is an invitation to notice. To notice the tendency to interfere, the tendency to defend, blame, the tendency towards fixing things, the tendency to evade into thought. It is an invitation to rest in/as pure noticing without effort, but out of interest and a sense of exploration.
How do we know awareness does not die when we die?
July 6, 2019
You ask: ”How do we know awareness does not die when we die?” Contemplate what is it that dies? You do not die. The body dies. Therefore the correct question is: “How do we know awareness does not die when the body dies?” Contemplate that if ‘you’ know the body dies, that means ‘you’ did not die. The Self is eternal. Even though you may comprehend these words, you must contemplate and vanquish the feeling of mortality.
Q & A: The reality of being/awareness
June 26, 2019
I Am is faceless, formless. The reality of being/awareness. The face that appears to you is not what you are. It is an appearance like the appearance of the weather. The thoughts that appear to you do not know you. They are inert objects of perception. Taking your lead from the thoughts that appear to you takes you on an unhappy roller coaster ride. While I am formless, all forms refer to my reality. Questions & Answers: Q: Did you know that Nisargadatta said that the "I am" eventually…
Does suffering ever end?
May 15, 2019
Q: Does suffering ever end?~~~Magdi: Yes, it does. But not for Santa Claus. For Santa, getting ready every year for Christmas, reading everyone's wish list, overseeing the creation of various gifts, catering to the elfs, making sure the reindeer are well kept and fed, making sure his own health is maintained, the timely distribution of gifts and all these cookies and milk to eat... is hard work! So many things to keep track of, not to mention the financing of the enterprise and dealing with…
Is it right or wrong to have a sense of purpose in life?
April 15, 2019
Question: "In your own life, do you desire nothing worldly at all? Do you have a goal or vision for what you would like to achieve in the world? Do you think it is wrong to have a sense of purpose? " Answer: In ignorance, our desires are worldly. We hope that they will deliver the happiness that our heart deeply aspires for. They don't. From the higher perspective, which is not a personal perspective, you realize you are the happiness that you seek. Your desires change, becoming free from…
They say the five senses are a hoax. True?
March 11, 2019
Rashmi Mueller: A sage said that the 5 senses are a hoax. Is it because they lead (trick) us to believe in form? Magdi: Rashmi, the five senses are neutral, They are windows of sort, that allow the perception of the world, body mind. The hoax is believing that what is perceived is real. In your night dreams, you perceive a pink flying elephant. But when you wake up, you realize only you, the dreamer is real and the pink flying elephant is not real. Believing that the world body mind is real…
What do you think of Einstein?
March 9, 2019
A conversation with a friend Friend: What do u think of Einstein? Reply: A scientific genius who discovered the theory of relativity. Great scientific mind. Friend: But i wanted to ask u something. .he is a genius ..but he did not grab the truth about everything being an illusion... Reply: The reality of the Self is not an illusion. The realization of the Self is a different matter and goes beyond such scientific genius. An expression of genius is not an expression of wisdom. These are two…
Magdi, do you believe your experience is the truth?
February 23, 2019
Friend: Magdi, do you believe your experience is the Truth, whatever that experience you have is? How can you transmit that belief? Do you believe any one can reach the Truth and transmit it? So why do you try to share your experience with others knowing it can not be done? Reply: There are many questions you pose here. First, Truth is not an experience and if someone believes their experience is the truth, they need to investigate the I that holds such a belief. When you inquire into the…
What does it mean to Awaken?
February 8, 2019
What is it to Awaken? Simply stopping the search? Neo-happiness does not cut it. Question: Someone who has been on the path for many years just wrote: "The moment you stop searching and searching for something better than now, you awake!" Can you comment on this? Reply: Well, you may stop searching for causeless peace by simply taking up drinking wine and boozing. Does that mean you awoke? You can also stop searching out of frustration or out of a sense of (hidden) despair. Does that mean you…
Deep ache in the heart
February 6, 2019
Question: The formless beingness we are seems to emanate from the heart. Correct? So if we are that why do we have a deep ache in our hearts if that is what we are? To me it feels like I am separate to the pure energy of my heart and that is my biggest confusion.... like I am a separate awareness from the heart. Reply: Knowing yourself as a person narrows the heart opening and obscures the clarity of the mind. Tis personal identification casts a shadow and veils the way. Upon the fervent and…
Am I human, divine or both?
January 16, 2019
Q: AM I HUMAN? AM I DIVINE? OR AM I BOTH? Magdi: Does it really matter what label you use? What do these terms mean and who cares? Does a label help you to know yourself? Does any label reveal what you truly are? Is it really helpful to engage in endless debates that take you deeper and deeper in your feelings and in your mind? This type of debate is a veil that keeps you from being still and listening openly. A label is mind. It is thought . Is it not? Thought is conditioned. Can a thought…
What is the nature of awareness in deep sleep?
January 4, 2019
Question: Please can you help me with this understanding of the nature of Awareness in Deep Sleep? I am not aware that I am aware in Deep Sleep, and to say that I have no memory is to admit that I am looking to thought to confirm this Awareness in Deep Sleep, so i am taking my understanding from the Awake mind, YET, unlike in the Awake state when Awareness can be known by going behind the I AM, in Deep Sleep this cannot happen, so how can I know that I am Aware in Deep Sleep - which has been…
What points to beauty?
December 22, 2018
Question: Would you say that the role that art plays is to point to beauty that perhaps, at least momentarily, stuns the mind into abeyance; a taste of the eternal? Is the spiritual journey one of discovery and discernment of how we sustain ignorance? I love that the root of ignorance is to ignore! What points to beauty, which is beauty itself, is beyond the mind and shines/appears/manifests onto/as the mind, as beauty. Indeed, it silences the mind and brings it to the feet of the Master, to…
Is Attention a thing? Is it directed?
December 19, 2018
Bill Reinecke: Is there any such thing as attention? Is it directed? Or is there just a succession of objects arising on their own? If it is directed then who does that? Magdi: As a separate imaginary self, there is no doership and no directing. Thus from that perspective arisings are perceived as occurring on their own or are perceived as occurring out of a personal will. Upon the understanding of That which I am, the one universal reality, doing and non doing dissolve. In between, meaning…
Self realization… Is it that important?
December 13, 2018
Friend: Ramana Maharshi said that the greatest service we can render the world is to become Self-realized. Is this because my whole world is within me? I don't understand why- other than our own suffering- it is so important IF we are already the Self and everything is Consciousness....Also, if I am not really a separate entity other than mind-body construct and the Absolute, then no one is really suffering....Sorry if these are mental pretzels. I appreciate your gift of sharing the Truth so…
Are all beliefs imaginary?
December 11, 2018
R: Hi Magdi, You say "The belief in good and bad is imaginary". Is that because all beliefs are imaginary? I understand that good/bad are conditioned points of view, but aren't some expressions of consciousness clearer than others? Love, R Dear R: All beliefs are empty since they refer to an imaginary believer, a separate self. there is no separate self, there is no separation. Only ISNEESS, SUCHNESS IS but this isness is not in opposition to not-isness since there is no duality. Isness,…
Does non duality belittle silent sitting practices?
December 9, 2018
Bill Reinecke: In the non dual community it seems that only rarely, such as here, that sitting meditation is mentioned. It is even scorned and belittled by some who seem to believe this is a philosopher’s sport. Why is this? Don’t you recommend it? Alternatively, concentration practice as in zen’s breath practice or koan work has no contemplation element yet is effective for some. Why? Magdi: Without belittling silent sitting or other meditative practices, the non dual teaching is post…
How to transcend the separate mind?
December 9, 2018
Dear friend: One can sit for 20-30 years and not transcend the personal identification. Transcending the separate mind requires a passionate investigation, inquiry into the Self, complete surrender and grace. You have a glimpse that you are not the body mind. This glimpse is a key glimpse to contemplate: What am I truly? Am I something that is perceived or am I the invisible Self, the formless reality of consciousness? When you sit, contemplate consciousness, contemplate Truth, contemplate the…
What leaves the body at death?
December 1, 2018
What leaves the body at death? It can't be consciousness, right? Magdi: The body leaves every night in deep sleep. The body leaves in the absence of mind. When identification is absent, the body is experienced as the weather is experienced with the addition that usually, you can manage the body more readily than you can manage the weather. In your question there is the assumption that the Self is inside the body. It’s the other way around. The body is a manifestation of Self. The body is a…
What is the I that wants this or that?
November 30, 2018
What is this I that wants this or that? Either this I is real or illusion imagination. If it is real, it must be the same reality that perceives this perception. What is the reality that perceives right now? Whatever this reality is, it must be the same reality that perceived 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 1000 years ago. Reality is irrespective of time and space. Find out the reality that is eternal and universal and you get the real answer to your question. The inquiry into the I is inquiry into…
What is your understanding of forgiveness?
November 29, 2018
I would like to know what is your understanding of forgiveness. My understanding is that nothing happened, there is nothing to forgive, as the ‘separation’ from God/Love was ‘corrected’ in the same instant that it was ‘thought of’. Yet the practice of forgiving is seen as necessary in order to undo the blocks to the awareness of Love’s Presence. Dear friend, Indeed, nothing happened is a profound understanding. There is no one to forgive since there is only God, only one reality. There is no…
Do I reconnect with people I stopped communicating with?
November 27, 2018
Friend: Dear Magdi, I have another question for you. When I went through a very difficult time, personally and professionally (a huge personal inquiry) I took distance and felt resentment and judgmental of almost everyone. Now I miss all the people who I had close and I want to go back in this new sense of being to share and connect again and love and accept. I probably needed it at the time but in some ways I didn’t act the best. My question to you is: how do I reach out or try to reconnect?…
Why does Consciousness need to manifest?
November 15, 2018
Question: If consciousness is all knowing why does it need to manifest? Reply: for your awakening. Friend: What do you mean? Reply: consciousness appears as a body mind to refer you to itSelf. Friend: Why would it do that? Reply: it is the play of consciousness and its freedom to veil itself and awaken to itself. Do your part. Friend: What is my part? Reply: To honor the Dharma when you receive it. To contemplate and live the Dharma. This brings an end to the spinning wheel of samsara. Friend:…
Does happiness come from experience?
October 14, 2018
Hi Magdi, Here seems to be a commonly held experience: I'm happy because I'm having a happy experience. Though on reflection it seems the reverse is truer: I'm enjoying a happy experience because I'm happy. And that happiness seems to have no discernible cause and so goes unnoticed and unvalued by the mind. Does this make sense to you? Love, R Magdi: Hi R, Happiness does not derive from anything as Happiness is our true nature, the nature of the Self. The mind can only glitter, reflecting the…
What does it mean to look deeply into the imagined character?
October 7, 2018
Friend: Hi Magdi, I really resonate with your recent posts. Can you expound on what it means or how to "look deeply into the imagined character you take yourself to be."? Reply: We are all subject to the same download which we refer to as ignorance. Namely, the belief that I am a body mind, the belief that I am a man or woman, the belief that I am a person born in time and space is the human condition. We all identify with a particular bundle of thoughts and feelings that we refer to as I.…
How to function without Doing?
September 29, 2018
The Paradox of Non-doing Question: Most of us are habitual doers that want to be in control, needing to get somewhere and have something to show for it. We live in a world where self-improvement is a high priority and our accomplishments are the measure of our worth. When we hear that the very concepts of doer and doing lose their relevance on the mystical path and that practice does not produce transformation, it becomes ever more difficult to comprehend. In the modern world we search…
Is the body necessary to know I exist?
September 28, 2018
Friend: Hi Dear Magdi, I was walking and contemplating today and the thought came to me "Is the body necessary to know I exist?" And then as I sit in silence and do your meditations the body as I know it disappears...and yet I know I exist ....so the seeming appearance "concept called the body" is necessary until it is seen through or is no longer necessary? Thank you, Love, Reply: The Self IS. Consciousness IS. Reality IS. The mind cannot comprehend the ISness of Aware/Presence as long as the…
Do you find yourself as a limited form?
September 26, 2018
Friend: You speak all the time that the sense of being a person is false. For me, it is self evident that I am me, this person. For me, self evidence is a good evidence. Why should I refute it? Reply: You do not need to refute it. You need to probe and inquire into it. You need to contemplate what you are calling self evidence. When you contemplate the reality of your experience, do you find yourself as a limited form or do you find yourself as seamless awareness? Simply contemplate your…
If Consciousness is one why aren’t our perceptions equal?
September 20, 2018
Friend: I have watched on YouTube where you say there is one consciousness. How do I know that there is one perceiver and that what I perceive and what my neighbor perceives is the same consciousness? Can this be proven? And why is this so important? Reply: Consciousness is not perceived. It is the perceiver in chief, the reality that perceives. This reality we call I since it is always I that perceives. How many I are there? Are there infinite I or one I? There is no doubt that there are…
Can you tell us about the nature of mind?
September 13, 2018
Friend: Hi Magdi, Can you say more about the nature of the mind? When you say - monitoring the mind and its tendencies - I start thinking of the mind as a separate thing that needs monitoring(!). Which leads to the question who or what am I if I'm different from my mind? Sometimes I feel like I would like to lose my mind - but in a good way! That's assuming that it actually exists. Are there stages of understanding at play here? Thanks Dear friend, By the mind I refer to thoughts, sensations…
Who is living? What is Energy?
September 11, 2018
Friend: Is breathing an act of consciousness? Who breathes? Who is living? What is living? What is energy? Who is energy? If we didn't have any knowledge of the physical self how would we know who we were? Just as in deep sleep no one is conscious of the one sleeping until when one wakes up? Reply: Breathing is a body mind activity. Consciousness does not breathe. A thought arises of a body breathing. And thus it is said that there is breathing. Thought does not impact consciousness that is…
Isn’t this a dream, but without a dreamer?
September 5, 2018
If there is no separate self, doesn’t it then all become a dream without a dreamer? Magdi: All is consciousness... One could say that there is a dream (night dream and/or waking dream) without a separate self dreamer, and one could say that consciousness is dreaming all dreams. What matters in the understanding of the Dharma is to realize the One reality; the reality of Consciousness, the reality of the Self. One reality... infinite dreams (minds)
What does it mean to be beyond Space and Time?
September 5, 2018
Friend: What does it mean to be beyond time and space? Reply: Thoughts create time. The senses, in particular sight, creates space. The 'now and then' is a product of thought and the 'here and there' is the product of the senses. Consciousness is your true nature, what you truly are. Consciousness does not arise via thought or via the senses. It is not a phenomenal form like thought and perception. It is non phenomenal. Thus it is said that consciousness is beyond time and space. But what…
I lose awareness whenever I perceive a challenge
September 4, 2018
Friend: I think this contemplation of relaxed being/awareness state works beautifully for me, but I lose it when I get big challenges as personal problems like with my close relationships with my children or grandson... Then it takes me a while to get back to that peaceful, wonderful space when I’m operating from the false self/ego/victim stance... Reply: The particular challenges that arise in your life are meant for you. They arise in order for you to notice that, in spite of these…
How can we achieve or be silence?
August 29, 2018
Friend: Dear Magdi. How can we achieve silence or how can we be silent? Reply: Silence is our true nature and not something we achieve. It is not the silence of the body nor the silence of the mind. It is the return of the mind to the source. When the mind returns to the source, then you know your true Self as silence. You achieve silence by realizing that you are silence and that is nothing you achieve. The silence that is achieved is also lost. True silence, the silence that IS is neither…
Why do we get upset?
July 25, 2018
Question: Why do we get upset? Magdi: So often we get upset. But what is it we are defending, what is it that gets upset? What is it that is so vulnerable? Obviously there is something we are defending. What is it? Does it really matter? So often the offense, the story seems so true. But is it really true? Truth and what is true refers to something that is in accordance with facts or reality, something that is real. Could you say that what someone says about you is a fact and is real? Is a…
Does the body manage itself?
July 17, 2018
Friend: It is my impression that the body manages itself. Reply: What is your relationship to the body? Friend: I don't know! Reply: You perceive the body, don't you? You perceive the bodily sensations, the images... Don't you? Friend: I perceive many bodies, bodily sensations and motions. Reply: Therefore you are the witness of the body, right? Friend: Yes. Reply: Given you are the witness, the next question to look at is: Is there any distinction between you, the witness, the witnessing and…
How does one forget the Self?
July 16, 2018
A CONVERSATION WITH A FRIEND: Friend: How does one forget one's "self"? Reply: By believing and feeling that 'I' refers to a mortal body mind, the Self is overlooked. Yet, a more interesting question is what is the path to awaken from this belief and feeling of separation that keeps haunting us? Friend: Yes, many of you teachers keep pointing out that the vital question is how to awaken from the illusion of a separate self. I don't exactly know where to place any effort in that regard. Even the…
Is there a reality external to Consciousness?
July 10, 2018
THERE IS NO EXTERNAL REALITY TO CONSCIOUSNESS. Friend: Try running into a door.., Reply: The body running into a door and bleeding is not evidence that there is a reality external to consciousness. Of course the body running into a door is ample evidence that outside the body there is a door. But it is not evidence that there is a door outside of consciousness. As long as you are identified as a body, anything that happens to the body seems real to you, seems to be happening to you. You are…
What is falling in love?
June 1, 2018
Friend: Hi Magdi, I feel in love with someone who got scared and ran away. In moments of clarity i recognize that my expectations pushed her away, and her fears pulled her away. I find it hard to consistency be mindful and not succumb to these waves of pain. I thought I wanted to be with her. Now I believe that what I want is deep emotional connection. I feel as though memories and thoughts of her live in my stomach, and she comes up. I get jealousy and afraid. How can we seek deep emotional…
Trying to be aware, and is Seeking dual?
June 1, 2018
Hi Magdi, About your recent post on awareness, I find that I am sometimes aware of things only in hindsight, especially about motivations or acting out unconsciously. I don't realize that until i realize I am suffering! I don't follow that I am always aware. Can you speak to this? Also I am struck by just how dual seeking is! That is seeking a different or better experience, an enlightened one, perhaps? My experience is that whenever seeking stops, I feel very vulnerable and anything I've been…
How do you know that awareness is always here?
May 31, 2018
Friend: How do you know that awareness is always here? Reply: You are aware, are you not? Friend: Yes, but not always. Reply: How do you know that? If you know that there are times that you are not aware, this means that there are times where you are aware of not being aware. And that does not make sense. Does it? You cannot be both aware and not aware simultaneously. Friend: I see. But there are times I feel that I am not aware. Reply: Feeling that you are not aware does not mean that you are…
Do I make good and bad decisions?
May 29, 2018
Bill: Hi Magdi, When your kids were growing up, didn't you teach them the ways of the world? To be lawful and civil, to study and learn, get good grades, be honest and find good work? Does the person, the individual have control of these things? Do I, Bill, make things happen? Do I make good and bad decisions? Magdi: The way of civility, grace, fairness, respect... is the high way. The high way is not inspired by personal desire or personal agendas. The high way is divinely inspired.We all know…
Since there is no separate self, what is it that maintains an open mind?
May 28, 2018
Since there is no separate self, what is it that maintains an open mind? After all there is nobody. Reply: The open mind is maintained by the Self. The Self is borderless openness. The Self dreams a separate identity and the Self dreams its return to the source. There is no other reality but the Self. What is it that says 'there is nobody?' As long as the personal impression is still on board, saying 'there is nobody' is not complete. A parrot may say I love you ❤️, but knows nothing of the…
Does consciousness need the body to know itself?
May 28, 2018
Does consciousness need the body to know itself? Reply: It depends what you mean by consciousness. By consciousness I am referring to one reality, the ultimate reality. The one and only reality that is the reality of all experiences and the reality that IS right now independent of thought, beyond time and space. Often we confuse consciousness with the sentience of the body. If you turn your attention to the reality of awareness/consciousness, you will notice that you are not turning your…
Why do I feel God, the source of ALL, as external?
May 18, 2018
Hello Magdi, I am new in the "non-duality" journey. One of the things that is really confusing me is : Who’s is the Source of everything in this world ? Good and bad ? In other words if God (true Self) is internal, inside of us as per the advaita teachings, then why do I still feel comfortable, peaceful and love in the conventional ways of prayers (talking to God) and asking for things from God? Isn’t God the source of everything ? Why do I still feel that this higher power is external and not…
The presence of a Guru, the Source and more
May 17, 2018
Friend: Namaste Magdi Reply: Namaste my brother Friend: I have followed Eckhart for around 12 years...and Rupert since some time. There is a total overlap between your approach and Rupert's. Of course you all point to the same deep essence. Reply: Rupert and I are both friends of our dear teacher Francis Lucille. Truth is one. Friend: No wonder! I love the pointers you both use.. Reply: The light shines from the one source. One source, infinite rays of sunlight... In every ray of sunlight, you…
If all is one, why isn’t that my experience?
May 17, 2018
Friend: Are we not all different? Each one of us is unique and not any of us are the same. You speak of truth as one and my experience is so different. I don't experience this one but all different things. Indeed, the images on the screen are different, but the screen is one. Turn your attention away from the image and onto the screen. Turn your attention to the 'space' of experiencing, the 'space' of awareness and not towards the thoughts, perceptions or sensations. This aware 'space' is what…
How come the Infinite cannot know the finite?
May 16, 2018
Friend: A teacher has stated that the infinite cannot know the finite. I have tried to understand that but I still get confused by that statement. How could the infinite not know the finite? After all consciousness knows trees and thoughts. They are finite. Reply: it is best to ask the teacher who spoke that for an explanation. But since you are asking me I will give you a reply but it is not at all addressed to that teachers teaching. Every teacher has his or her way of expression and the…
What is really happening?
May 12, 2018
WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING? Question: When you say thought is not real, nothing is happening are you talking on the ultimate level? When the alarm rings, I have to get up and go to work, that is real, that is happening, right? What is really happening? Reply: So the alarm rings. Could we say that a thought arises that says: The alarm rang? And then the thought arises: I must get up and get ready to go to work. And then images may appear about driving in traffic. And maybe a thought may arise…
Is experience all there is?
May 11, 2018
Friend: Is experience all there is? What is an experience that is a non experience? Reply: All there is is consciousness and it cannot be spoken of since it is what speaks and yet it does not speak. Experience refers to manifestation and mentation which is downstream of consciousness as your night dreams are downstream of your very Being. As of consciousness, one could say it speaks without speaking or it does not speak as it is speaking. Which brings us to your second question 'What is the…
Is Self knowingness unnecessary?
May 8, 2018
IS SELF KNOWING UNNECESSARY? Friend: What is all this talk about knowing myself? It sounds unnecessary. For me just to be open to experience as it occurs is enough. I don't make any story about it or about finding myself. I simply am whatever I am. I don't struggle with what is. No complications. Reply: If you are as you are without any issues, problems or complications, then your question is answered and you don't need any reply from me. If, on the other hand, you perceive the pointer about…
The dream and how to come out of it.
May 3, 2018
UNAWARE OF THE DREAM Most of us are dreaming. We are unaware that we are dreaming a world body mind that seems so real to us.. The human experience takes place at various levels of dream or wakefulness. The more glimpses we have, the thinner the dream becomes. We then experience increasing transparency and the clarity of the light of being. Deep in the dream, we conceptualize ourselves as an identity, as a body mind. We conceptualize consciousness as the I-thought and me-feeling. Therefore we…
How come the Self separates itself?
May 3, 2018
HOW COME THE SELF SEPARATES ITSELF? Friend: How come I imagine myself to be other than what I am, other than the Self? How come I imagine myself to be so separate? You speak over and over that we are wholeness and yet, we all experience being separate. Can you explain and help me solve this conundrum? Reply: It is your freedom and infinite potential to create and conceptualize. The I-seed of conceptualization is planted within you. It arises since the ground is fertile, you assume the I-thought…
Is Self Knowing necessary?
May 3, 2018
IS SELF KNOWING UNNECESSARY? Friend: What is all this talk about knowing myself? It sounds unnecessary. For me just to be open to experience as it occurs is enough. I don't make any story about it or about finding myself. I simply am whatever I am. I don't struggle with what is. No complications. Reply: If you are as you are without any issues, problems or complications, then your question is answered and you don't need any reply from me. If, on the other hand, you perceive the pointer about…
Do I have control?
May 3, 2018
Dear Magdi, Reckless drivers get in accidents. Often, mishaps cause the drivers to reconsider. The heater came on last night inadvertently, waking me, and I resolved to check it before bedtime. Dedicating myself to music is getting better results. Finally, in meditation practices, welcoming feelings resolves them, and when I remember I do. The question is: do I have control? Some, a little, a lot, none? Magdi: It depends what you mean by I. If by I you refer to the world of images you hold of…
The body and the realization of the Self
April 30, 2018
THE BODY AND THE REALIZATION OF THE SELF Friend: In what way does the body help realization? Reply: The body is an appearance. All appearances, such as the body refer to their ultimate perceiver. Contemplation of the body reveals that it is not different from the perceiving awareness out of which and as which it appears. The body appears as perceptions, thoughts and sensations which are known as awareness. Also, the body is the most common appearance with which we identify consciousness. As a…
In what way does the body help realization?
April 25, 2018
Bill Reinecke: In what way does the body help realization? Magdi: The body is an appearance. As all appearances refer to their ultimate perceiver, the body (as well) refers to its ultimate perceiver. Also, the body being the most common appearance with which we identify consciousness, we can experience (via the body) the consequence of such identification. Bill Reinecke Yes, and this seems to omit the practical or obvious side of life. I brush my teeth, not yours. Isn’t there something…
What is the relationship between the body and consciousness?
April 25, 2018
Bill Reinecke: What is the relationship between the body and consciousness? Meaning - blasphemy here - MY body. This one’s usually around. Other bodies come and go thru the door. Magdi: 'Your body' appears to you (and disappears to you, such as in deep sleep). Consciousness on the other hand (not the concept consciousness) neither appears nor disappears. The body appears as thought, perception and sensation. Consciousness (not the concept) neither appears nor disappears. While the body is…
Awakening to the Self and mindfulness
April 17, 2018
Question: With the shift that happened for you, or awakening, whatever word you want to use, after that happened for you, how do you experience yourself now? I know you don't experience yourself as a self. What is the experience? Reply: Awakening to the Self is the end of angst and the end of worries and concerns. You are the peace, the inner stillness. The mind is still, quiet and clear. The body is transparent and the world is experienced as beauty. Our true nature is causeless peace and…
Surrender the one who surrenders
April 7, 2018
Question: Magdi, You said something that has stuck with me for awhile - Surrender the one who surrenders. I think I get that if surrender is a strategy or even a practice, that something is being sought in return. For me it feels like a self desire to avoid something, avoiding what I'm not sure. Also I remember in the retreat you mentioned feeling hit by a Mac truck, and I was thinking - Great, all the practices you did, insights you had, sense of Being you loved, and it still came down to…
The process of mind
April 7, 2018
Question: Can you explain the following quote by JK: "To speculate the eternal without understanding the whole process of mind is child play". Thank you. Magid: The Eternal, Consciousness, God, the Absolute can be a concept. When it is a concept, we are engaged in thinking and we remain as a separate observer, a separate subject. The eternal is only meaningful when you experience the eternal, when you are referring to your direct experience and not to a concept. You may have a glimpse of the…
Dying before the body dies
April 7, 2018
Question: In one of your videos, you speak about karma and you mentioned 'dying while the body is still alive'. What do you mean by that? Can you speak to your experience of this death and what happens to karma? Also science is speaking of the brain microtubules continuing to contain quantum information after death. That is very intriguing to me. How do you understand this? Thanks. Magdi: How could life die? If life dies, then life and death are one continuum, one movement. If you consider…
The current of ignorance
April 7, 2018
Magdi Badawy· March 19 at 9:05am THE CURRENT OF IGNORANCE Question: I feel that the current of ignorance is very strong and I cannot stop the thoughts and the feeling of being miserable. What tools are available that I can use to end this? I just can't stop it. I am thinking non stop. ~~ You have available to you consciousness. It is closer than close and is available 24/7. Consciousness is omnipotent. The approach is a two pronged approach and can be done simultaneously: First looking into…
Dementia and Awareness
April 7, 2018
Question: If a person has dementia are they aware of it or is the capacity for awareness diminished? Reply: One of the definitions of dementia is: "Dementia describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning." ~~ You are aware that you are dysfunctional only if you remember what being functional means. Now, in case you completely forgot all social norms, in case you are completely unaware that you are dysfunctional,…
What is the difference between the ego and the Self?
April 7, 2018
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EGO AND THE SELF? Question: What is the difference between the ego and the self? Reply: The difference between ego (the me/personal impression) and the Self is similar to the difference between the moonlight and the sunlight. The moonlight belongs to the sunlight, that is its source. The light of the moon is, in fact, not the moonlight. It is the sunlight shining onto the moon. The reality of the moonlight is the sunlight. Similarly the reality of the ego is…
How come my clarity does not last?
February 17, 2016
Friend: I have been contemplating a lot lately, and I have discovered (again) that I am not what I think or believe. The 'me' that I take myself to be doesn't really exists. It's just that every thoughts that arises, the 'me' attaches itself to it automatically, and this brings the feeling of Me-doing. I create thought, but this is erroneous !! Feeling arises, and a false I, attaches itself to it and claim responsibility. I've noticed that this happens very fast, the identification of a 'me'…
Is it good to keep learning more concepts
February 17, 2016
Friend: I have a question. Is it a good idea to keep on learning more concept about the truth, self inquiry, freewill, ego?.. I found myself thinking more about these things than actually doing the practice itself.. I found myself also thinking about business and reading more, yet I'm not doing something of value, just reading and thinking. I decided that I need to DO, and stop thinking Reply: Reading and thinking about Truth is of value. Remembering God is a gift from Grace. Whatever reminds…
Losing the bliss
February 17, 2016
Question: "Why would God create a mind that can be manipulated and controlled to trap and corrupt our God created spirit? I had an experience of complete and total bliss...I saw gold glitter, my head felt like electrical circuitry going crazy, and my arms started to go numb, and I started to get scared. The next few weeks were amazing and blissful (state of being). Then as I was on the phone and began arguing with my sister...my head started feeling painful as if whatever opened started to…
I am confused
January 4, 2016
Question from a friend: I have this new job and they are expecting a lot from me. I was hired as a marketer to get referral business for them. And I am confused about this self inquiry while I am trying to be a marketer. If you would be so kind and give me suggestions on how I can use my mind working as a marketer. I fear that if I don't meet their expectation they will let me go and then I will have no job. Please help. ~~~~ Reply: The best self inquiry while you are doing your job is to do it…
I understand, but it is not my experience.
January 4, 2016
A conversation: Friend: I know that I am present always, perceiving the world through this window. But this knowledge is just a concept for me. It is not my real experience. How can I realize my true nature, which I am already? Reply: The revelation of true nature simply requires your ardent love and interest. If your interest is shallow, the revelation of the Self is shallow. It is not enough to love the Self. You must live your love, live according to your love for truth and live according to…
Does identification cease with the death of the body?
October 5, 2015
We all know that before long, this 'me-the body-impression' will dissolve with the death of this body. This could be simply a temporary dissolution of the identification. Does the identification really cease with the death of this body? What leads you to believe that it does? After all, there are endless bodies being born all of which are infected with the 'me-the body-impression'. Identification appears to be endless, beyond bodies dying. The real ending is not with the death of the body.…
I seem to lose Awareness in situations
October 1, 2015
I am sensing this present-moment awareness more and more as I contemplate regularly and sit in silence watching thoughts appear and disappear. However, in my work setting, I find that my body is very contracted most of the day and that I am identified with mind and body. Sometimes I notice these experiences in the moment and other times I don’t notice them until later in the day when I feel tense and heavy. Are there ways to not be so identified with mind and body while interacting with others,…
About teachers and teaching
August 19, 2015
Friend: Hello Magdi; two considerations: One with respect to the teacher. I do not think a teacher has to have an answer for all questions or have to pretend he knows everything, and second, does not a teacher have to deal with a question according to the understanding or level of maturity of the one who asks it? Reply: The teacher is the Self, IS the answer and is not a person with personal knowledge. There is nothing to pretend. And, yes, the answer is tailored to the capacity/maturity of…
A glimpse in the Self is the beginning of the path: A conversation
July 7, 2015
It is a great fortune to see the Queen or king. And a greater one to be admitted to the king's court. A simple glimpse into the Self is the beginning of the path and not the end. A sip of water does not fulfill your thirst. There is no higher dissolution than the complete dissolution of the me-impressions ... vasanas. Apply yourself by maintaining the revelation of the Self as your priority. Your love for truth and your dedication to the love for truth will open all doors. Once you are in the…
How can the dream character be aware that he is not the movie?
June 16, 2015
Question: My true dilemma is: How can the dreamt character be aware that he is not the movie being run on celluloid? Magdi: Awareness belongs to the one and only real 'awarer', to the one and only reality: Universal consciousness/awareness. Awareness is not an attribute of what is dreamt. Awareness is not an attribute of any dream character ands does not belong to the dream characters. In other words, the character you are dreaming cannot be aware of what is dreaming it. Only YOU are aware.…
The knowledge of the Self: An exploration
June 6, 2015
Magdi: The knowledge of the Self is the only true knowledge and defies all knowledge at the mind level. Turjuman:Why? Magdi: It's the only permanent knowledge. Mind knowledge changes with the weather. The flat earth is revealed to be round. Time and space are revealed to be one continuum according to Einstein's theory of relativity. Only the knowledge of the Self, the revelation of the eternal and universal nature of consciousness is permanent. Nayan: The greatest of all delusions is the…
Our true nature is peace
June 3, 2015
Friend: Thank you very much for your writtings which gives inner calmness. May i know where are you from? Magdi: Our true nature is peace. Friend: Agreed. How can we achieve silence or how can we be silent ? Magdi: When the mind returns to the source, then you know your true Self, silence. You realize that you have always been the silence even while imagining otherwise. Your experience becomes truth, peace, happiness and complete freedom. You achieve silence by realizing that you are silence…
How can sex be experienced without attachment
June 3, 2015
Dear Magdi, I Came across this quote from Nisargadatta: "Sex is an acquired habit. Go beyond. As long as your focus is on the body, you will remain in the clutches of food and sex, fear and death. Find yourself and be free." This is true, yet sexual relations are a necessary precursor for birth in human form. Being human provides opportunities for aware presence not found in other forms of existence. Since you have personal experience as a householder & with aware presence, would you please…
Should we only be aware of experience without identification?
May 25, 2015
Sevgi: Should we only be aware of the thoughts feelings sensations without getting identifying with them?should we witness them as a detached observer? Magdi: Yes Sevgi Notice the aware presence, the openness out of which and in which everything appears. Notice that this openness and whatever appears are at zero distance. They are not two. Notice that the appearances come and go while you don't. What is real does not come and go and does not appear nor disappear. You are this borderless…
Question about self judgment and worthlessness
April 29, 2015
A question about self judgment and worthlessness. ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ Dear Magdi, Could you say something about thoughts of unworthiness? I continue to have judgmental thoughts about myself. According to my own self judgement, I am not good enough, attractive enough, doing enough, and on and on..... These thoughts are a burden. There is always a better version of "me" to become. Always a work in progress. The current version is never totally right. Never exactly good enough. It is a hopeless…
The illusion appears as real
April 28, 2015
As long as you consider yourself a body mind event, your house and bank account will haunt you both in your waking and dream state. The illusion appears as real. It is only upon the realization of the Self that the roller coaster ride comes to a real end. Ozgur: The Self means witnessing awareness? Magdi: the Self refers to the one and only reality. I define the Self, as my teacher defines it: Whatever it is that truly hears those words, whatever it is that truly perceives this perception.…
About: There is nothing to attain
April 15, 2015
About: 'There is nothing to attain' ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ Some people teach that there is 'Nothing to attain' I have read someone quoting the following sutra to support their point. They used the following quote: Subuhti said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, when you attained unexcelled, perfect enlightenment, is it true that nothing was attained? ... That is so, Subhuti. That is so. When I attained unexcelled perfect enlightenment, I attained absolutely nothing. That is why it is called unexcelled…
The One dreamer of all dreams
April 4, 2015
There's but one dreamer of all dreams. The mind cannot perceive God's logic since what is dreamt cannot know its Dreamer. The only certainty is that of the infinity and eternity of consciousness where the mind find its true rest. RS: So do we call to complete discarding of the mind and reason? Magdi: It is sufficient not to take the movements of the mind to be your movements. The recognition that you do not move frees you from the illusion. Reasoning can help you to understand and free you from…
About yogic practice and meditation
March 28, 2015
Conversation about Yogic practices Friend: Magdi, are daily meditations practices, sun salutations, as well as other yogic practices considered ritualistic attachments? Reply: Whatever you do out of love is OK. Meaning action that is not coming from personal desire that maintains the impression of personhood. Any activity that you feel you 'need' should be examined as needs hide the fear of extinction. Meditation is natural since, at our core, even if we forget it, we all love truth and…
I feel out of touch with divinity
March 27, 2015
A question from a friend Dear Magdi I feel out of tough with divinity. I feel like i have lost connection with myself and I long for this deep connection. I just know my daily life events but there is not a happiness or aliveness. it feels more like a burden. How can I possibly get in touch with causeless happiness and know this deep connection? Can I be truly happy? Is that really possible? Dear Friend: Yes. Causeless happiness, joy, freedom are absolutely possible. You already are that.…
Right contemplation – Conversation
March 27, 2015
A conversation with a friend Friend: Magdi, I would like to ask you about how to do contemplation right! I spent 3 hours yesterday contemplating but i felt as i did nothing there was great peace however and i forgot that i do live in this world but thoughts kept on coming and rarely did i have a moment of total peace that's it Reply: It is good you had some peace. Your love for contemplation is what matters much more than the result. Do not try to fix the situation with thinking. If you…
What do you think of Einstein?
March 9, 2015
A conversation with a friend Friend: What do u think of Einstein? Reply: A scientific genius who discovered the theory of relativity. Great scientific mind. Friend: But i wanted to ask u something. .he is a genius ..but he did not grab the truth about everything being an illusion... Reply: The realization of the Self is a different matter and goes beyond such genius. Friend: My question is: Could everything be an illusion? Reply: The reality of the Self is not an illusion Friend: vast…
By Ted Thompson: God is all pervading
March 6, 2015
By Ted Thompson: "Mainstream religion speaks of the Immanence and Transcendence of the Divine. God is All-Pervading, present everywhere. God is also trancendent, existing beyond all names and forms, beyond all thoughts and perceptions, beyond body, mind and world. "God" is just a pointer toward that which is the essence of everyone. In this moment there seem to be a couple of things happining. There is the Awareness, the unchanging witness of fingers on keyboard, the noise of the keyboard, the…
Consciousness is not affected by appearances and disappearances
March 3, 2015
Consciousness is not affected by appearances and disappearances. The wide open sky is not stained by the clouds that appear no matter whether they have the shape of an angel or a dragon. The dreamer is not devoured by the lion that devours the dream character. In fact, it is a very rare blessing when the lion devours the dream character. The dreamer usually wakes up an instant before. On very rare occasions, it is devoured. ~~~ ~~~ Friend: When you're asleep, life is a dream. When you're…
The eternity, infinity and universality of the Self
March 1, 2015
NDEs (Near Death Experiences) can provide a glimpse in the eternity, infinity and universality of the Self. The realization of the Self is the establishment of this glimpse as your one and only reality. The revelation that you are this reality, that you are the Self eternal that is not contained and that is not subject to the impressions of time and space. The revelation of your infinity, eternity and universality awaits you as you desire it beyond all else. Comments: JT: I don't think…
Memory does not affect presence
March 1, 2015
Memory does not affect presence. Memory may be a useful tool for navigation purposes. It is an appearance in the wide open sky of presence and does not stain it. It is the belief that I am a mortal appearance, a mortal body mind rather than the presence itself, that leads to the impression of limitation, separation and selfhood. It is identification with a form that constitutes the virus of ignorance and mortality. Comments: Rita: True. It is identification with those memories as reality that…
The mind seeks confirmation – Reply
February 28, 2015
Hola Magdi, I am glad to be in touch with you who seem to be so open to communicate, after listening to some of your satsangs, I would like to share a bit, that helps me to reflect about myself and at the same time maybe if possible, to get some insights from you. Thanks in advance. Currently it seems life is at the drivers sit. I am just being carried ( I think it is always like that, but before I didn´t let it happen, and struggled). I used to be a university professor for about 22 years,…
Letter from a friend: A testimonial
February 28, 2015
Hi dear Magdi, Here some thoughts that came out, There is a smell in the surroundings, a delicious smell. The sorrows of the past are gone, the worries about what will come are far behind. Peace abides. Music is dancing inside, yet nothing has changed. My grandson reminds me the beauty and purity we all have, and more and more I can see it in your eyes, in the eyes of a friend, the eyes of a client, of the person passing by; my own eyes have different lenses as if they could explore the…
A sensation of discomfort
February 28, 2015
Hi dear Magdi, I would like to ask your input please. These days there is a mix between relaxation and confidence and seeing the magic unfolding, and then in the same day, something different happens that the mind classifies as "not nice" and for a little moment there is a sensation of discomfort (identification right?). so both happen at the same time and while I write I see those belong to the changing realm they come and they go, even though magic is magic! Since I wrote to you last time I…
About mind control
February 28, 2015
Hi dear Magdi, Thanks for having Satsang. loved the analogy of the shepherd. This is the thing: when I was younger I used to "program" the mind, I learned this Silva Mind Control technique and I was good at it, things I programmed, usually materialized. So much that at some point I became a bit scared and stopped doing that. now I see there is that possibility and it happens almost unconscious, example I went to the city and I sort of had this weird feeling that something was going to happen…
The magic is the magic of awareness
February 23, 2015
Question: "What I know to be true is what is true in this moment? Is it so?" ~~~ Magdi: In this moment, I look out the window and there is a soft blanket of snow falling gently on the surrounding woods, covering the entire landscape in a white cottony blanket. So beautiful. What is it that is true in this moment? Where do I look? If I look at the scene, I may conclude that the snowy landscape is what is true. A moment later, a different landscape is true as I look at the computer screen. A…
Can there be experience without an experiencer?
February 23, 2015
Friend: There is no experiencer, but is there still an experience. Is it possible to have an experience without an experiencer? Reply: No. As long as there is an experience there is an experiencer. As long as there is an experience you are still in the mind. Once the experience dissolves into experiencer, only the Self (Truth) remains. Bring the experience back to the source.
About fear of losing my identity
February 23, 2015
A conversation about fear of losing my identity Friend: I'd like to ask you about an experience i've had. I was contemplating yesterday before sleep and i was so focused on the awareness or space. i disregarded all thoughts no thought appeared but i felt a huge fear, because i felt as i was going to lose my mind or my identity so i stopped Reply: You must be fearless when you contemplate the Self. You must trust the Self absolutely You will not regret it If you do not fully trust the Self, you…
Holiness is in the source
February 21, 2015
Holiness is not in the scene but in the source. It is not the scene that gives meaning. It is the source that is the meaning, the only meaning and it is the source that gives meaning to the scene. A holy scene is one that reveals the source and emanates the perfume of the source.. Magdi: Out if its infinite freedom and sense of play, effortlessly, the light of consciousness takes on the nondual form of world body mind. Phenomenal events, the world body mind are at zero distance. Separation and…
Comment by Ted Thompson
February 21, 2015
Comment by Ted Thompson: There is a world of difference between parokshanubhuti, or indirect verbal knowledge, (even backed by intuition, insight and understanding) and aparokshanubhuti, or direct experience of the Self. The Self is what it is, nothing new is created. But when ignorance disappears, the Self is revealed, in a burst of glory or in merely a simple noticing or acknowledging of what could have been obvious all the time. Magdi: Joy-full noticing, joy-full acknowledgement of the…
Does awareness include the personable self?
February 21, 2015
Awareness seems to 'self' as long as truth is not fully revealed, as long as the me-identity remains. The revelation of the Self reveals that Awareness does not 'self', does not do any 'selfing'. The mind seems to. 'Selfing' is a mind impression and not truth. The revelation of the Self eternal brings an end to ignorance, brings an end to the 'selfing' impressions and processes. The screen does not take the form of the minds image. It remains pristine, unmoved and untouched. PB: This 'selfing'…
Discussion about ignorance
February 21, 2015
Magdi: Ignorance is the belief that there is someone that believes. MC: Ignorance is also the belief that no one believes. Magdi: Indeed, it is not enough to believe that the separate self is not real, it has to be your direct experience. It is important to inquire and investigate the belief in a separate self as well as the sense and felling of separation. MC: I think, depending on the viewpoint, we can say that there seems to be someone or there seems to be no one. I can't say that either…
What is the role of suffering?
February 5, 2015
Friend: In suffering you will become either a) heartless robot ignoring human emotions and devoid of compassion, b) broken down scared victim, or c) true human with heart and soul, able to face reality with honor and sincerity. Magdi: d) you are drawn to the contemplation (of the source). Friend: Yes good one of course. However, something happens then, doesn't it? Magdi: Yes... Since it is via grace that one is drawn to contemplation. An impersonal calling of sort... Friend: ...and then what?…
Discussion about how separation is maintained
February 3, 2015
The seeming continuity of the impression of the separate self and the external world require your approval and acquiescence. It is by saying Yes to: 'I am a mortal body mind', that the external world, body mind and the internal separate self are maintained. This sense of separation is unhappiness. Subsequently, it is by saying: 'No, I am not the impermanent. The world body mind appear to ME, the aware presence, the witnessing presence that does not come and go', that the illusion is momentarily…
The interim Advaitic understanding and the goal of Advaita.
February 3, 2015
In advaita, there is an interim understanding where a half point is reached. At that interim point, the realization is that: 'all is the same Self, including misery and unhappiness.' Traces of ignorance (separation) remain but they are unseen and undissolved. The ultimate realization is the realization of causeless peace and happiness that is eternal, effortless and unwavering. It is important not to dwell too long in the interim station and continue your exploration until you are absolutely…
Questions about mind, cognition, brain and more
January 30, 2015
A response to a friend's comment/Question: Friend: : "Magdi, What is, is ordinary. You have never been in absence of your ability to cognate. Whatever you point to as consciousness is arising from a process of cognition. That cognition is informed by many things, your brain chemistry and neural structure, it is informed by your genes, the earth, society, your attachments and beliefs. Your mind isn't some 'thing' it is a process from which YOU are inseparable. You are one being right now, not…
What is the I that is here?
January 29, 2015
The mind says: I am here, you are here. But what is this I that is here? And what is here-ness? Is there anything that is separate that can be said to be here? Isn't awareness open, borderless, mysterious and wondrous? An infinite field of here-ness, being-ness that belongs to no one, to no specific separate self? Isn't awareness awake presence with no specific center? An entire field of presence, undivided... that does not make any personal claim, as it recognizes its limitlessness and…
What is it that is here?
January 29, 2015
The mind says: I am here, you are here. But what is this I that is here? And what is here-ness? Is there anything that is separate that can be said to be here? Isn't awareness open, borderless, mysterious and wondrous? An infinite field of here-ness, being-ness that belongs to no one, to no specific separate self? Isn't awareness awake presence with no specific center? An entire field of presence, undivided... that does not make any personal claim, as it recognizes its limitlessness and…
How can Higher Reasoning, which is still thought, make a change?
January 24, 2015
Conversation with a friend Friend: How can thinking about what you are not change your mentality of who you think yourself to be? Reply: No thought or idea can reveal the truth. No thought can reveal the Self eternal. The use of Higher Reasoning can only deconstruct the false belief structures by revealing how insane they are. Friend: Higher Reasoning? But is this a trap? A decoy away from the real excavation that would reveal the knowing that you are awareness, experiencing in this very…
How to differentiate Intuition vs. Mind stuff?
January 22, 2015
Hi dear Magdi, I would like to ask your input please. These days there is a mix between relaxation and confidence and seeing the magic unfolding, and then in the same day, something different happens that the mind classifies as "not nice" and for a little moment there is a sensation of discomfort (identification, right?). So both seem to happen at the same time and while I write, I see those belong to the changing realm. They come and they go, even though magic is magic! Since I wrote to you…
Contemplating the divine
January 21, 2015
Contemplating the divine, opens your heart to the infinite, to the eternal. If you single heartedly contemplate what am I? What is the reality of this experience?... Without accepting any second hand answer from the mind, your path home will be paved with revelations. If your interest remains in the world body mind, you will find yourself engrossed in the phenomenal, in the impermanent, and the peace and happiness that your heart desires will evade you. WVO: Like the Tibetan book of the dead…
How to deal with depression?
January 20, 2015
An edited conversation with a friend: Question from a friend: I wanted to ask you, on how to deal with depression, my brother is abroad and i'm here alone, and i feel depression for no reason at all !! Reply: What do you mean by depression? Emotions are bodily sensations with a me-story. They are neutral sensations with an I-thought. The I-thought keeps feeding the feeling and maintains the emotion. Thought and feelings form a feedback loop. This feedback loop gives the impression that there is…
Understanding alone is not enough, right?
January 19, 2015
Awakening goes beyond the revelation and the understanding that there is no separate self. The revelation of the universality of consciousness remains to be revealed. The understanding of what I am not is only a step along the path to the revelation of what I am. WVO: Dear Magdi, would you please elaborate on this? Is consciousness a fraud, like Nisargadatta says? And are we beyond it? Reply: Dear WVO, First I would like to clarify that while I use the term consciousness (Self) to refer to…
Should I heal the past?
January 18, 2015
Dear Magdi, I had an unpleasant interaction with someone and it bothers me. Should I try to heal or harmonize such a past event, even if i don't se that person again? Is it good to heal the past? How can this be done? The past is memory and, usually, it has a me-character in it, as well. What needs to heal is not the event, but the me-character. It is not the behavior of the me-character that needs maintenance; rather you need to inquire and contemplate the nature of that me; you need to…
Why does consciousness act as if it is a person?
January 14, 2015
Question: Although consciousness is NOT a thing, it acts like one in the mere person identity. It acts as a human being? Did consciousness somehow forget that it is playing the game of hide n seek to experience itself like such? Consciousness acts and seems to be a person named such and such. Can you explain? Reply: The mind perceives persons, consciousness does not. It is thought that perceives a human being. Reality is One. Consciousness is that reality. While consciousness is the reality of…
How can emptiness know itself?
January 14, 2015
Question: How can that which is empty know itself unless there is some intelligence behind it? Even the knowing of who we are cannot be understood unless we think of it? If one is in silence, awareness is there but I see that thought. Who am I? Unknowingly, unthoughtlessly. Reply: The Self is all knowing intelligence, awareness. It is not a dead empty void. It is not known via thought since thought is perceived. Thought is known and does not know. While the Self is a non-event, thought on the…
How to live from openness?
January 12, 2015
Dear Magdi, Could you speak about the process of ones life becoming harmonious as one lives more from openness and less from ignorance? I no longer wish to go down the path of fear and worries, but to live from love and wisdom. This path of living from peace and love and wisdom is new, so I am exploring. Fears still arises, but there is also understanding. The "me thought" still arises, but it is seen and there is understanding that this old habit is intrinsically linked to fear and not peace.…
What is, between two thoughts?
January 10, 2015
What spans between two thoughts? What spans between two events? Magdi: What spans between two thoughts? Is it not consciousness? From the perspective of the imagined separate me, the span between events is imagined to be a person. Me as a person. Me as a body mind. Me the mortal human. That is what the limited mind (thought) says. That is how the separate mind maintains itself. But when you take a closer look, do you find a person between two events, between two thoughts, or do you find…
Does this contemplation ever end? or is it on-going?
January 5, 2015
Question: Is there a completion to this contemplation or is it an ever ending process of realization? ~~~ The revelation of the magnificence, eternity and infinity of consciousness completes itself when the body mind is purged from the mental residues that inhabit the mind as well as the body. The purging at the body feeling level is of utmost importance. Life events help you in triggering and bringing to the surface your latent hidden tendencies of separation. This purification at the feeling…
Is everything I perceive a projection of the mind?
December 27, 2014
Via thought, the world, body mind is downloaded and the impression of time and space is perceived. The me impression is thus born and the exhausting pursuit of external happiness follows. The entire display is a dream impression. Like the diffraction of white light by the prism does not truly separate anything, dream impressions do not create any real division. Nothing divides wholeness. The reality of consciousness is whole, undivided, eternal and infinite. It is beyond the seeming appearance…
Is it the mind that makes sense of it all?
December 22, 2014
Conversation with a friend. Friend: Hi Magdi. So as i was learning more about the universe, i saw how small we actually are...It's like our bodies are nothing compared to existence. Reply: The mind speaks of small and large. Truth is beyond such treatise. Consciousness does not perceive small or large... it is the mind that does. Friend: Yes and that's exactly what i'm looking for, the truth! Yes, but yesterday i was like hit in the head! i've realized how little i know about anything. Life…
What does Accepting the moment mean? Suffering too?
December 22, 2014
A conversation with a friend: About acceptance Friend: Magdi, I wanted to talk with you about accepting the present moment. Does it mean to totally accept everything? To be ok with problems, suffering... Reply: Ultimately, acceptance means to realize that there is nothing to accept and no one that is separate. Resistance is what the illusory separate self is. Resistance are thought impressions of the limited mind. Friend: Are you saying that resistance is a form of thought ? A feeling? Reply:…
How is Memory recognized, in the Now?
December 20, 2014
About memory Friend: How is memory recognized or brought into the Now? Just now as I woke up, it seems that I didn’t remember the address of the place where I live? But then all of sudden a thought arose without me thinking about it with the correct address. Reply: Memory arises as images and as bodily sensations. There is a seeming continuity to the images that arise in memory. This continuity is usually attributed to the object. That is how come the objective world is imagined to be real.…
Is Joy personal?
December 20, 2014
A question from a friend. I experience joy and expansion. I know it is not 'my' expansion and yet it is felt in this body. Can you comment on this? Reply: The expansion is the result of consciousness revealing itself and not that of the body mind. Given that the body mind has, for so long, been contracted in personal identification, when the contraction releases, even a partial release, it is felt at both the mind and the body level. At the mind level, the feeling is that of less problems, less…
How to rest in discomfort, when there is an opening?
December 20, 2014
Question from a friend: Magdi, could you please talk about resting in discomfort when there is an opening. I struggle sometimes with resting in it. Tips? Reply: Well, you are aware of the discomfort and therefore you are not the discomfort. Awareness is already on board and there is little left to do. Recognize the awareness rather than simply being concerned with the images that are appearing. Rest in the awareness. Awareness does not give a hoot about the images on the screen. It is…
What is the goal of consciousness?
December 4, 2014
Friend: Magdi, what is the goal of consciousness ? Why is it doing all things? Can i ask why do i exists ? Reply: Why not? It is fun after all... it is better than nothing :) Reply: Hahhhh! Yes It's much more fun than nothing. Reply: The revelation of consciousness is that the i is infinite and not limited... Friend: So, all life is about the "I"? Reply: Not about a finite personal self. Absolutely... all life is the absolute I Friend: But i see that there are people everywhere, there is…
Why is my motivation for truth dropping?
December 4, 2014
Friend: Hi Magdi. I was contemplating after i woke up and then i wondered why my motivation for contemplating has dropped or why am i not interested in the truth as much as when i first read about spirituality. I remember that when i begun my journey toward the truth -of the self- i was so energized and motivated to inquire the whole time! In those days i sometimes imagined myself in a prison so that i could concentrate more, (i didn't think about it seriously though) because i felt the need…
The agitation of thought and the danger of freedom.
December 4, 2014
Friend: Hi Magdi, I wanted to tell you that i was contemplating yesterday and for the first time i had an awareness of my thoughts. I realized they do not hold any truth and i wasn't identifying the I with the thoughts. I felt that all the thoughts are directly linked to the person i believed i am while actually there is an unlimited space and all thoughts are limiting. They are related to the idea that i am a person! I saw also that thoughts are coming from nowhere and whenever a thought…
Right, Wrong, Separation, Mind… What to do?
November 30, 2014
Hello Magdi, My name is Katy ---recently a profound experience has happened to me. I am eager to inquire about the event so that I might learn from it, and in doing so direct my learning in a way most effective. A few nights ago when I was at work, a sudden realization and understanding occurred to me after opening to a page of Krishnamurti's book where it says, "Love only exists when there is self-forgetfulness." I must tell you that before this night, I had been vigilantly observing with rapt…
About God
November 30, 2014
Magdi: Everyone is given their dream. All dreams are meant to bring you to God. Very few, whether they are in Third World or European nations, whether they are born in prosperity or poverty , whether they are educated or illiterate... very few recognize the message of God. They get lost in the mind and self identity. Once you are lost in the world, no matter what shape the world takes, you are lost from God and all you know is unhappiness. It is the remembrance of God that returns you to her…
A conversation about awakening to our true nature
November 8, 2014
Friend: Magdi you are such a nice guy. But I really do not get your message. At times, your message seems as truth but sometimes not. Reply: Follow the path that speaks to you. Follow your heart. Follow what resonates. It has nothing to do with what I say. Friend: Yes. It is interesting to realize there are so called others who are so clear. Reply: The clarity, is the clarity of consciousness. Friend: Yes. My main concern here is: Can anyone assume he has reached the top where only a few very…
Coming out of the dream of personhood
November 7, 2014
You believe you are a person living in the world. You perceive problems in the world. You try to fix them in order to find happiness for you, you this person. It's a useless task. Happiness in the world is a pipe dream. Fixing the world is spinning and spinning your wheels. In vain. You pay lip service to consciousness and you pitch your tent in the world. No wonder you are on the roller coaster. That is the nature of your world when you perceive yourself as a person. How much longer will this…
Am I my perception?
November 7, 2014
Dear Magdi, Could you explain what it means that "I am my perception"? Does this mean I am my experience? I am everything I know, feel, see, hear, sense? This seems to be what non-dual mean. Not two things such as "me AND my perception". So, I am my perception? There is no distance between me and anything I know, experience, see, feel? Thank you The main non dual teaching refers to the illusion of the belief that I am a personal body mind. In other words, believing and feeling that I am a…
So what if I realize there is no chooser?
November 5, 2014
Question: I realize that there is no chooser. I look at my experience and I don't find anybody making a choice. It is just a thought. But this does not seem to change anything in my life. So what if there is no chooser? Where does this understanding lead? Reply: The understanding that there is no chooser goes to the core of the sense of separation. The belief that I am a separate entity is mortally wounded by that understanding. The change caused by this understanding may be subtle or…
Are things just happening? To no-one?
November 3, 2014
Question: I heard someone saying: 'Things are simply happening. They are happening to nobody. And that there is nothing to do.' Can you comment on this? Reply: I, consciousness, am not 'nobody' nor am I 'somebody'. Consciousness, what I am, is not defined by the mind. The mind arises in consciousness and is made out of the source out of which it arises. Thus, the mind is not the appropriate vehicle to know the Self. 'Nobody', as a thought, or as a sensation or as a feeling, or as a belief,…
How the illusion takes hold, and what is its reality?
November 3, 2014
As long as you remain focused on the form, As long as you remain focused on the appearances, meaning, as long as you remain focused on the feelings, the sensations and the perceptions, you perceive multiplicity. This multiplicity that you perceive, is unified via the unicity, via the oneness of consciousness. One way of looking at it, is that the multiplicity of what you see is unified via YOU, the one perceiver of all perceptions. This one perceiver of all perceptions is whatever it is that…
Ignorance vs. Wisdom
November 2, 2014
Like a leaf blowing in the wind of fear and desire, in ignorance I go from place to place seeking happiness. In wisdom I am unmoved. Friend: Nothing moves in fact. Reply: Nothing moves in fact only when that fact is realized as your experience. Until then, the illusion is real and we are running away from the tiger that is chasing us. Friend: Magdi, no one ever had any experience! that's the coolest thing! Experience thingy is totally mind's attribute. Reply: Indeed, there is no separate self…
When will I be continously in awareness?
November 1, 2014
Friend: Hello Magdi, I am still trying to notice awareness/staying as I am. But when will I continually be in that state. Without effort I mean. Reply: When your love for the path is absolute. But when your love for a state overcomes your love for the path, you remain in the effecting since you pursue a state. Maintain your love for the screen and not for any life event or any state that appears on the screen. Do not be focused on future results since that creates the illusion of time. Rest in…
How do I notice awareness?
November 1, 2014
Friend: Hi Magdi, Some time ago you gave me the advice to just notice awareness, as I have a tendency to overcomplicate things a little bit in searching for That. Is noticing awareness the same as "staying in the I am" or am I doing it again now (complicating that is)? Thank you and kind regards Reply: Hello, "noticing awareness" and "staying in the I am" are the same, as long as the 'I am' is not a personal 'I am', not the me identity. The awareness that I refer to is not personal. It is…
Does doing things for future happiness work?
October 23, 2014
There is this habit of doing things in order to be happy later, sometimes in the future. Do you think this works? Maintaining the pursuit of happiness tomorrow maintains the me in time and space. Unhappiness now with a promise of happiness tomorrow does not work, does it? The unhappy dream comes to an end whenever you settle into the presence that does not have a you or a me, that is not in time and space. Magdi Friend 1: How do you 'settle into you' when you can never not be you? Friend 2 (in…
I can’t seem to shake off the feeling that I am a person
October 21, 2014
Magdi, I am having trouble not feeling like the "self" from a logical standpoint. 1. I feel that I am this person, this mind-body, which has developed over time from childhood with new inputs and experiences. I am a result of all of that today, and so if I am insulted, it is a reflection of the person I have become and I am at least partially, if not fully, responsible for that. 2. not only do I feel I am this person, but others see me as this person giving it additional validity. they refer to…
How the illusion of separation works
October 21, 2014
Most, if not all of us, think and feel that we are a separate person, a mortal body mind. We think and we feel that we are this body, that we are contained inside this body and that others are contained inside their bodies. The belief is that each of us, independently controls their body and mind. This identification with the mortal body mind is today's religion. As a separate person, we also think and feel that we are born on a certain day of a specific year at a specific location and that, in…
Can you speak about Free Will?
October 21, 2014
About Free will Friend: Sounds like you believe that there is no free will. I get the whole determinist logic, if that's where you're coming from. I just don't buy into it. I can allow my body/mind to run on autopilot, I can follow external inspiration (perhaps what you call God's will) or I can consciously and deliberately direct what my body does, what thoughts I entertain and what feelings I harbor, and I can fall silent when I choose. Reply: Is that so? Can you really allow your body to run…
How to handle suffering and guilt?
October 15, 2014
A conversation with a friend Just a few moments ago I was aware of some dis-ease in the chest area, thoughts started to arise about my mom who recently passed and I started to cry. Then the thoughts went into a story about how If I only knew that I had one more year with my mom I would not have put her into a home. Now there is suffering and guilt. I saw myself go into inquiry to investigate if there was a choice. It seem to be about ending the suffering that the belief in the thought created.…
Is the pain in my chest a natural process?
October 15, 2014
Friend: Hello Magdi, since i'm contemplating my experience, the belief to be a separate self seems to weaken with time. However, at the body level, the more i offer my bodily sensations to awareness, the more i feel a big knot at the center of my chest. Sometimes doing nothing and just contemplating, the pain become quite sharp. Those days it became almost always presents during the feeling of presence. Could you comment? Is it a natural process? Pain becoming more aware, or awareness becoming…
Is contraction a bodiliy thing?
October 13, 2014
As a result of ignorance (the belief that I am a mortal body mind), specific contractions are embedded, stored in the body mind. These contractions are those of fear, worry, anger, jealousy, envy, regret, shame, pity, coveting and other negative emotions. These emotions arise when life triggers them. They arise as loud and often (seemingly) unbearable bodily sensations that can be traced in the body. In your exploration of the truth, sooner or later you will have to face them. Life will…
What is sin?
October 10, 2014
Question: What is sin? Actually .... what is it? I came to understand sin to signify moving away from God and turning our attention to the forms... loving the world, body and mind. Instead of loving truth and recognizing the reality of God consciousness, we love and give reality to the world, body and mind. That is the 'original sin' (separation from God) that leads to all subsequent sins (behavior that is triggered by emotions).
How the sense of separate self is maintained
October 7, 2014
The sense of self is maintained via the feeling state, via bodily sensations. That is where the me-identification roots itself. That is where we get entangled, in the feelings. Then the I-thought sticks to the feeling and relies on the feeling as its evidence that, indeed, I am a mortal body mind, since I feel that way. Feelings are not evidence that I am a mortal body mind. Feelings are a perceived form. Ask yourself, what are feelings? Are they not bodily sensations and are you not the…
What do you say about Near death Experiences?
October 7, 2014
A LETTER TO A DYING MAN - Bassui wrote the following letter to one of his disciples who was about to die: “The essence of your mind is not born, so it will never die. It is not an existance, which is perishable. It is not an emptiness, which is a mere void. It has neither color nor form. It enjoys no pleasures and suffers no pains.“I know you are very ill. Like a good Zen student, you are facing that sickness squarely. You may not know exactly who is suffering, but question yourself: What is…
Is seeking good or a hurdle?
October 7, 2014
Some folks say: 'As long as you are seeking, ignorance perpetuates itself.'They recommend: 'Stop seeking and grace will fill your heart.' Surely sounds good, but one should be careful not to stop seeking prematurely until we are established in freedom, peace and happiness. Love for truth is not ignorance. Loving freedom and happiness is not ignorance. Ignorance is the belief that I am a mortal body mind. Contemplation and exploration is necessary in order to restore truth and find liberation…
The body dies. Not consciousness. Please explain.
October 7, 2014
Consciousness does not die. What we truly are is not mortal. It is identification with the mortal body mind that gets in the way of our celebration of the full splendor of peace, love and happiness of our true nature. Questioner: Magdi, can you say more about this? Experientially, mustn't the body/mind form die in order for one to actually know this (that consciousness does not die)? Who can say this while still embodied? I hear this all the time, but I just wonder how does a living, breathing…
How to live one’s understanding?
October 7, 2014
Questioner: Hi Magdi, thank you very much for your talk. What resonated the most was what you said that once you realize that you are not the body-mind, you said to live up to that discovery... How to do that? I have a belief that that would only be possible if I pretend... which does not sounds very honest or authentic. Reply: Well, you pretended to be a woman, a separate person for all these years. Questioner: :0 Reply: It is important to live your understanding. What is the use of realizing…
I judge people and things. What to do?
October 6, 2014
A question about judgment of stingy behavior. ~~~ Dear Magdi, I feel that I judge people who seem to only take, people who expect others to do things for them. They are not appreciative and don't offer to help or to pay. They attend functions and don't contribute or are stingy, taking whatever they can. Never bringing anything. They only use others. I tend to close off to them and I feel a resistance because they don't do their part. Just taking and not giving. But, with people who offer to…
Is consciousness a mind state?
October 6, 2014
A conversation with a friend: About consciousness and mind states. ~~~ Questioner: Is breathing an act of consciousness? Who breathes? What is living? Who is living? What is energy? Who is energy? If we did not have knowledge of the physical self how would we know who we were? Just as in deep sleep, no one is conscious of the one sleeping until when one wakes up? Reply: Breathing, perceiving, sensing ... are body mind activities. Consciousness does not breathe directly. The body does, but in…
Does consciousness have levels and does perception imply separation?
October 6, 2014
Magdi: For the one who know how to look, everything reveals the eternity and infinity of consciousness. For, what is not consciousness? What can be known if not via consciousness? Aren't all forms, all sensations, all experiences ... forms of consciousness? Is there a reality apart from that of consciousness? ~~~~ Questioner 1: Not to be controversial, I wonder what your interpretation on the following piece of text would be? "Consciousness is the receptive mechanism, receiving messages from…
Is the understanding ‘there is no one’ enough?
October 5, 2014
Is the understanding 'there is no one' enough? Neo advaita. ~~~ Friend: Being a teacher is not easy. Magdi: When you love music and have the talent to play and perform, you do not tire of playing music. When you are doing what you love. Friend: even if there is not a separate self and everything just appears in consciousness as consciousness, still the help to make the illusion dissapear need skillful means. As you say some pianist may teach jazz but not classical music. Magdi: Yes, there…
What is the meaning of life?
October 4, 2014
Questioner: Hi Magdi...I am having trouble finding meaning in this life. Why am I here? Can we actually awaken to truth in this life? Reply: Yes. Awakening to the reality of consciousness, awakening to truth is a divine gift that God offers us, as her children. You are here to return home, to awaken to the truth, to awaken to your causeless true nature. There is no other meaning. Questioner: I have studied spirituality and metaphysics since the 1980's. I am tired of reading, meditating and…
How the dream of separation occurs
October 4, 2014
Magdi: In the dream, the sense of separation is very prevalent... ignorance is the most popular religion today. Friend: Yes, the dream character is seen as a real separate entity Magdi: And is felt to be real... felt to be me... I-the body mind Friend: yes, the bondage is strong Magdi: It is in the body that the me-sense gets established ... the me-feeling. That is where it stubbornly anchors itself. Friend: and even if this is totally false it is established as a fact, and society lives…
So many teachings. What should I do?
October 4, 2014
An edited conversation with a friend: ~~~ Reply to a shared video I was recommended: Reply: It is best to keep the mind uncluttered and unburdened by academic knowledge. A teacher teaches the various stages of the path and guides her students as based upon her experience. There aren't many objectives. Only one: being established in unshakable and causeless peace and happiness. We know happiness. No one needs to explain happiness to us. The mistake resides in seeking happiness in the world,…
Why do you say Consciousness is the reality of the mind?
October 3, 2014
Question: You say that consciousness is the reality of the mind. What makes consciousness the reality of the mind? ~~~ Magdi: First of all, let us be clear about what we mean by reality. By reality we refer to THAT that does not come and go, that is unchanging throughout time and space. In other words, what is real now, is real tomorrow and has an eternal quality. Looking at your experience, you will notice that while appearances are constantly changing, consciousness, whatever it is that…
When I am open, tears and pain come. Why?
October 3, 2014
Questioner: Magdi...When I open to love, tears come and sometimes it is almost painful in my chest. It is not based on loss or abandonment, in fact I do not feel sad. Have you any idea why? Reply: The body mind is intricately wired and programmed. It is a very sensitive instrument. In a very sensitive manner, it registers, processes and responds to all phenomenal experiences. What makes this possible is the grace and creativity of consciousness. After all, it is via consciousness or awareness…
I understand intellectually, yet it seems so hard to remind myself
October 3, 2014
Dear Magdi, Although I have an intellectual understanding that I am Consciousness, I still wake up most mornings with a heaviness. The burden of life, work, finances, what will happen to me.... There is still fear. Thoughts automatically assume that I won't have a great day or won't be happy. There is an assumption that things will be a struggle and heavy. The burden of life. i notice the on-going judgements about people's behavior. I am not meeting life and people freshly. I must remind myself…
Do I need to figure out things? Presence seems enough
October 3, 2014
Question: I wonder about the following: As the energy begins to flow, I get this strange notion of needing to sort things out and needing to figure out what is peace and what is not peace. I wonder: What is the cause of conflict? And then as we sit here I find this sort of question to be unimportant. Everything dissolves in being here. The seeming sources of conflict just dissolve. The only thing to do is the deepening, the falling in the … (deep breath). Reply: Yes, in presence, all questions…
Isn’t Relationship between two people?
October 3, 2014
Question: On Facebook you were quoting somebody. You spoke about relationship. You said that you are in relationship with yourself and that there is no other person. And it was like “duh”. I unconsciously had been holding the other as a separate person. Do you mind discussing that some more? I thought that was really profound. Something so simple could slip by and yet it can be profoundly changing. Reply: Yes, conventionally there is the impression that relationship is between 2 people, between…
Why we don’t feel whole? Why the sense of lack?
September 28, 2014
Engrossed in the belief in separation and the me-feeling, we fail to appreciate and celebrate the fullness and wholeness of Being. As a separate limited identity, we think and feel something is missing. This body mind identification leads to the impression of mortality and eclipses the joyfull fullness, eternity and infinity of consciousness. As a truth lover, you take a step back from your beliefs and you contemplate your experience, without relying on your old files and folders, without…
Am I what thought says I am? Can thought define what I truly am?
September 27, 2014
A conversation. (An article inspired by a request from Elena Nezhinski, co-founder of Liberation Unleashed and co-author of the acclaimed book “Gateless Gatecrashers” ~~~ We all love and strive for peace and happiness. We love the joy-full celebration of life. We love to marvel at the magical mystery and wonder of life. And yet, our human condition is plagued with a sense of lack, incompleteness and a sense of impending doom. An incessant stream of resistance and seeking plagues us and disrupts…