COMPREHENSIVE NON-DUAL PRACTICE – SUNDAY FEB. 21 (12-1PM) – CASA DE LUZ – AUSTIN

Comprehensive Non-Duality is a new field that we have helped to develop and was introduced in our book on Non-Dualism under the title of Biological Non-Duality. It expands our current understanding of traditional Non-Dual practice into the sciences and also shows how this philosophy can be applied for various types of people. Some of us are more emotional, some more intellectual, some like work more and are very active and others are profound philosophers and enjoy deep introspection and critical thinking. Comprehensive Non-Duality fulfills all of these qualities when correctly understood. For example, some believe that Non-Dual practice is confined to only the highly intellectual understanding of our True Nature. This is not exactly correct. We can use profound devotional methods along with certain rituals to further help us in the uncovering of our true Non-Dual nature. In Vedanta they have developed the Four Yoga systems for this (Jnana, Bhakti, Karma, Raja) or Knowledge, Love, Work and Meditation. We can use Bhakti in our pursuit for the highest knowledge. A perfect example of this is Ramakrishna the 19th. Century metaphysician who it is said ‘ was all Bhakti outside and all Non-Dual knowledge inside.’ Or we can take the example of the Dalai Lama and his explanations of ‘Diety Yoga’ where one uses the image of the Buddha to realize the profound state of ‘Wisdom realizing Emptiness.’

So a more thorough knowledge of Non-Duality and its practice will have to take into consideration these various methodologies along with many of the latest findings in terms of health, healthy relationships, cognitive biology, evolutionary theory, sustainability, etc.

This year we will be exploring these topics to enrich our understanding and practice of a Comprehensive Non-Duality.

OVERCOMING EMOTIONAL OBSCURATIONS – A NON-DUAL PERSPECTIVE (Jan 17th, 12:00-1:00pm. Casa de Luz-Austin)

We are excited to start our second year of the Center. Have you ever felt that traditional religions were not enough for you and you want an educated, sophisticated process for exploring the inner dimensions of your life? Are you interested in spirituality, but not religion per se? Are you a scientific or devotional type person, but want to explore the nature of consciousness? If so, a comprehensive approach in Non-Duality may be exactly what you have been seeking. This approach can include several profound aspects of various religions but is not directly linked to any specific religion. It also is totally open to the latest findings in science in relation to ourselves and the world we see around us. In a sentence, it is an Open, Organic, Free and Exploratory look in life, mind, freedom and joy.

We have seen much interest among our prior participants. Last year we laid a foundation of beginning and intermediate level Non-Dual practice and looked into several primary Dharmic texts. This year we will have an overarching theme of showing what Comprehensive Non-Duality is and how it can be implemented for a well-rounded approach to our inner and outer development according to several authentic sacred traditions and some of the latest findings in science.

Our January class will be on studying techniques for overcoming several of the emotional states that keep us from realizing our ever-free nature. We will look at emotions from the evolutionary biology perspective, and various Non-Dual traditions such as Vedanta and Buddhism. Fear, anger, greed, deceit, anxiety and many other emotions can cloud our judgement and make our practice difficult. Both science and the Non-Dual traditions have much to teach us in how to overcome these destructive emotions. This is not just for the beginner but even very advanced practitioners have problems sometimes with these various emotions. We will also explore some of the pitfalls of a misdirected philosophical and depth spiritual practice in this in-depth look into obscuring emotions.

Remember, this class is a free community service and is provided for educational purposes only. Come and let’s generate real enthusiasm for ourselves and others this coming year and help others to realize their deep, wide and free potential, in this very life.

NON-DUAL MEDITATIONS – NOV. 8TH – 12:30-1:30PM – CASA DE LUZ- AUSTIN

This will be our final meeting for 2009. We had enthusiastic attendance for the various meetings and it has been a good start to such an educational undertaking. Also, because this is purely a free community service educational activity it will take some time for those interested to truly understand the breadth and depth of what we are accomplishing. For those interested in Non-Duality, this is a very unique opportunity to learn a comprehensive, fully integrated process and program that is at the level of a university course on the subject.

This lecture is given by Michael who was a prior Vedanta monk with over 35 years of practice in Vedanta, Zen, aspects of Tibetan Buddhism, Native American practices, along with various yoga processes. He is also a trained scientist and prior university instructor. His field is biology applied to land planning and sustainability. He sees ecological systems as a scientific process that educates us on the unity of energetic interactions throughout natural systems and also helps us to experience our Immanent/Transcendent aspect of Non-Duality. Certain sciences and Non-Duality will merge their processes in the future to create a new human race that is both deeply integrated in Spirit and the functional processes for making a better life for all species.

This month we will end with a lecture on Non-Dual Meditations. This will cover some specific meditations, advantages of such meditations, progressive techniques for meditation in Non-Dual traditions along with many of the benefits. This is meant to show students various methods that Non-Dualists use to meditate and how these can affect our lives to make us live a more profound, giving and unselfish life along with helping to deepen our understanding of how and why to contact our inner source.

These meditations will be strictly for educational purposes only and are not meant to influence a direction of particular private meditation practice. This is completely up to each individual and their individual teacher to decide, if they have a teacher. Our mission at the ‘Center for Non-Dual Studies’ is to provide free educational information on various aspects of Non-Dual theory and Practice.

Intermediate Non-Dualism – October 18, Sunday, 12:00 Noon – Casa de Luz – Austin

There are currently many faces given to the Non-Dual path in the West. Michael, our facilitator, along with Ken Wilber and a handful of others have devised processes for delineating what this path is. Michael is one of the longest practitioners of this path, having practiced since the early 1970’s and will share his perspective on the progression and sudden illumination potential in Non-Duality. We also point out some of the pro’s and con’s of both accurate and inaccurate practice. In the West, we are very creative, but sometimes we have not developed the ethical foundations and the educational background necessary to undertake such a profound process as Non-Dual unfoldment. On the other hand the West, with the benefits of various sciences and the ability to cross-reference different Non-Dual traditional systems, has the advantage of uncovering some essential processes that will both speed progress and clarify procedure. We have covered some of the beginning stages of this path and will move on to intermediate stages in this class. Many believe we can just affirm our Non-Dual Unitary nature and then we are finished. This is true if someone is a fully enlightened Buddha, but for the majority of humanity it will also be a progressive path, albeit not always in some linear fashion. There will be spirals, circles, peaks and valleys. The advantage of ‘The Center for Non-Dual Studies’ approach is that we explore various authentic traditions and draw out the best from different paths and create new processes also. We also have the advantage of having Michael, a prior Vedanta monk for many years who has been practicing for over 35 years to help direct these studies. He does not take any ’spiritual teacher’ role, but only looks upon himself as a fellow traveler and educator of Non-Dual studies. Non-Duality offers many advantages over dualistic pathways and these will also be discussed along with how this path can be a simple way to strengthen the mind, open the heart and bring deep stress relief to our everyday existence. Non-Duality is not simply about an escape to a transcendent existence but is a very practical and completely Unitary Path all in One. It brings fulfillment and unfolds our deepest innate happiness.

SEPTEMBER 27 CLASS – CASA DE LUZ – AUSTIN, TX – 11:00 AM

This is an ongoing class on Non-Dual education and practice.  The word Non-Duality  is becoming more and more popular but the profound meaning and process of learning the real prerequisites are often missing in some modern interpretations.  In this class we will continue to point out some of the essential step by step prerequisites necessary to truly practice such a profound way of life.  In our last class we covered some of these via, Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta. In this class we will explore various Buddhist Non-Dual procedures.  We are not tied to any one system of Non-Duality and we look into cross-cultural and cross-discipline approaches for maximum benefit and also so we do not become overly ’stuck’ on ‘the’ approach.  By this cross-cultural and multi-disciplined approach to Non-Duality we will develop a more universal and powerful procedure to quickly and effectively penetrate the heart of Non-Duality.  We will also discover how to use deep devotion in the path of Non-Duality which is not at all understood by some who attempt the path.  It is usually thought to be a totally different discipline, but in our study of ‘COMPREHENSIVE NON-DUALITY’ we will discover this process in due time.

This class is taught by a prior Western monastic in Advaita Vedanta who is cross trained in several different Buddhist processes (such as Zen and Tibetan Buddhism) and has an extensive knowledge of philosophy, both East and West and also a scientific background.  He has over 30 years of training and sharing of this most profound philosophy.  Michael is the author of Non-Dualism ‘A New Experiment in Living.’ 

Third Class Schedule

Date: Aug. 30, 2009 (Sunday)
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm
Place: Casa de Luz – (Toomey Rd) – Austin
Room: Serena Room

THIRD CLASS – PROGRESSIVE PROCESSES

In this third class we will continue to pursue the line of reasoning wherein we discover a progressive path to Non-Dual understanding, via becoming authentic to our actual level. This means we will delineate what it means to be at the beginning, intermediate, advanced or very advanced stage of Non-Dual understanding and practice. We will also have to correlate this understanding with our actual ethical establishment. If we understand very advanced theories of Non-Dual practice and yet we are at the beginning stages of ethical and emotional practice, we need to know this to honestly progress. In Non-Dual practice it is sometimes thought that we can just skip all the steps and remain in the Non-Dual, that is beyond all stages of practice, but this is not the case unless a person is very advanced in both ethical standards and deep profound knowledge of Ultimate Truth. This is not something that happens immediately and will take time to mature and ripen. First we have knowledge and then through the fire of life experience and deepened awareness and manifest love we grow into the state of ‘Deep Wisdom.’

We will also continue to refine the definitions of what we mean by Non-Dual understanding and practice. All practitioners are welcome from beginning stages to advanced practitioners and all should gain a valid help from the class. Also if you know nothing of Non-Duality you are also welcome to come and learn with us. This is an educational format and everyone is welcome.

Michael is the instructor/facilitator and he has been sharing Non-Dual knowledge for over 30 years. He is a retired university instructor and a trained scientist as also a prior monk in the Vedanta lineage with 10 years of monastic training. He is uniquely qualified to help individuals in their understanding. He is also the author of Non-Dualism ‘A New Experiment in Living.’

SECOND CLASS – PROGRESSIVE NON-DUAL PROCESS

Class: Progressive Non-Dual Practice
Where: Casa de Luz -Toomey Rd, Austin
When: July 26th
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm Cost: Free

CONTENTS: This is a detailed class on the progressive approach to Non-Dual studies, that includes beginning, intermediate, advanced and very advanced processes and procedures. In modern culture, we have a tendency to gain a quick intellectual knowledge of a topic and then believe we understand it. In Non-Dual understanding and practice this, quick intellectual approach is not completely valid because there are concomitant ethical practices that need to be included at each level of understanding for the teaching to be truly understood and then eventually directly realized in the depths of our being. This class will cover such a progressive path and clear up some misunderstandings that individuals might have in regards to Non-Duality, how it is practiced, how it is adapted to different individuals etc. There is not one exclusive path to Non-Dual practice but there are different nuances of the path for each individual according to their own stage of inner evolution.

“Progressive Non-Duality practice can include different modalities of approach, depending upon the understanding and qualifications of the student. This is an open, flexible and ancient system that lends itself to modern interpretations, while adhering to fundamental principles, lodged in the various ancient ‘wisdom traditions’ and even some of the new understanding from modern science and from around the globe.” – Michael Morrow

More about the Center.

First Class in Series: Discovering the Essence of Non-Duality

Meeting Date: June 28th, Sunday
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00
Where: Casa de Luz
Address: 1701 Toomey Rd. Austin, TX 78704
Class Title: Discovering the Essence of Non-Duality
Cost: Free
This is the first in a series of learning/practice/contemplation processes on Non-Duality.

The first text will be NON-DUALISM: A New Experiment in Living by Michael Morrow who is our facilitator.  This introduces a ‘comprehensive’ approach to Non-Duality that ties directly to the latest discoveries in science about our selves and Nature.  It also delves into the ‘developmental model’ of uncovering our Essence, step by step that shows how to gradually overcome delusional states of mind and habitual emotional patterns that keep an individual in confusion and pain. This then leads to clearer states of being, deeper love of self and our fellow humans and culminates in Nirvana and then a vast love for all living and non-living entities.  It gathers knowledge from key traditional ‘wisdom traditions’, such as Vedanta, Buddhism, etc. while at the same time looking at the various advances modern science has uncovered about the ‘Nature of Nature’.  It sees enlightenment as a gradual uncovering of nature’s own potential and directly as an outcome of nature’s own inherent qualities of understanding, unification and transcendence. It finally simultaneously integrates the highest and deepest Non-Duality with its endless expressions in nature’s dance – this is what the author calls Biological Non-Duality.

Advantage of Study: To gain a more comprehensive knowledge of self and its connection to all living and non-living beings, to develop deeper states of ethical thought and action and to gradually help to free us from almost endless delusive desires that keep us from experiencing our inherent happiness and then transferring that happiness and compassion to our fellow beings and immediate family.

Educational Format: These classes and all of the blogs will be for educational and informational purposes only.  There is no attempt to influence a person to follow any type of belief system as this would be antithetical to Non-Duality and the purpose of these classes and lectures.  These classes are only meant to be a means for intelligent inquiry into the process and practice of Non-Duality and specifically Comprehensive Non-Duality, which is a new field of understanding.

Non-Duality is prior to any ‘wisdom tradition’ or science and therefore is not bound by any belief system, no matter how developed or advanced.  There are many teachers for individuals to follow and we will respect many of them, but do not directly advocate any specific practice for all people, because individuals are complex and need various methods for various stages of their evolution.  We are taking no role as a teacher, but only as a facilitor of various philosophies and methodologies of Non-Dual education and practice. Non-Duality is beyond teacher and disciple or subject matter and teacher, and it does not contradict it but rather includes and transcends and so this must be kept intact for an educational method of ‘Comprehensive Non-Duality’ for the purposes of our classes. The intent of these classes is only to give individuals general information about the how and why of Non-Dual understanding.

More about the Center.

Lecture and Founding Meeting: ‘Discovering Your Eternal Source and Interconnection with All Life’

When: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Date:  Sunday, May 17th.
Where: Casa de Luz
Address:  1701 Toomey Rd. Austin, TX 78704
Cost:  Free

Non-Duality is so profound that it is the very substance and expression of life.  No system, no matter how great, has ever fathomed its depth or expanse.  It has the potential to free us from conditioning and the limitations of conceptual systems.  What would be the impact on your freedom, your happiness, your capacity to love and serve if you were guided by life itself?

Please join us for this introduction to a Non-Dual approach, what it is, why it is needed, and what the benefits are.  The second part of the meeting will be a founding meeting for those interested in continued education and practices related to Non-Duality.  A tentative syllabus and explanation of the educational process will be presented.

The facilitator of this meeting, Michael, was a Vedanta monk for 10 years, an educator in sustainability and ecological systems at several major universities, a pioneer of the study, practice, and teaching of Non-Duality with over 35 years experience, and has written a book:  Non-Dualism: A New Experiment in Living.

“Non-Duality puts individuals in touch with their eternal
source and teaches processes of inquiry into our
interconnections with all of life.  It does this using
philosophy, science, and meta-science. It is a biological
and transcendent process simultaneously and a person does
not need any set belief systems to make this inquiry, either
religious or scientific but rather can take an ‘open organic
exploratory’ approach to life.” – Morrow

More about the Center.