Hello,
Being Is A Verb is not meant to be read and absorbed all at once, especially if nondual awareness is a new concept for you.
The ideas explored here are not abstract or theoretical, although they may appear to be at first. No special knowledge in philosophy, psychology, religion, or science is required, at all. In fact, any schooling or conditioning rooted in dualism (the concept that reality is composed of two fundamentally distinct principles, mind and matter) is an obstacle to understanding.
Sometimes simply an earnest desire for peace and happiness is enough to create an opening, a space for receptivity, through which a different way of being can be known. This is not a call for receptivity to new information; this is a call to recognize what is self-evident by direct experience.
The material is presented as it is written, chronologically, and the topics are largely determined by what is on my mind at the time. One reader may start from the beginning while another may prefer the organization of the Topical Guide.
Also, the content is not necessarily meant to be read from beginning to end because, for some, when the recognition occurs, there is a realization that becoming firmly established in nondual awareness happens in the world. When the world is the teacher, the book can be closed.
Alan Watts said, “When you have reached the opposite shore, you do not carry the raft on your back, but leave it behind.”
It is my sincere hope that this raft carries attentive readers safely to the solid ground of their essential Self.
—Greg Reddick
What is Nondual Awareness?
Nondual awareness refers to the direct experience of the nature of reality minus the belief in a fundamental separation between mind and matter, between subject and object. Through understanding one knows that although separation is real as an appearance in awareness, the reality of awareness—that by which anything is known—is utterly indivisible.
Nondual Awareness vs. Nondual Understanding
Nondual awareness can be difficult to embody due to several factors, including cultural conditioning and the egoic need for control stemming from a natural desire for security and survival. Nondual understanding, then, with its concepts, analogies, and philosophical frameworks like dual-aspect monism,* can serve as a helpful guide.
*Dual-aspect monism suggests that the two aspects of reality—mind and matter—are ultimately manifestations of the same underlying reality. According to the nondual understanding, the underlying reality is consciousness, or, to use religious terminology, God’s infinite being.
About Being Is A Verb
Being Is A Verb explores the essence of nondual awareness and the experiential reality behind the concept of God.
The Introduction provides samples of the understanding for context. The primary articles are on the Main Pages. The Topical Guide is an alphabetized and categorized list of the content for easy reference. Articles from each main page are listed in the Table of Contents.
The three pages of Q & A offer brief comments on topics like the similarities and differences between nondual interpretations of Jesus’ core teachings and the traditional views of Christianity; the question of salvation; the nature of our sin nature; the nature of our true nature; witnessing presence; the deeper purpose of life; the nature of reality; the hard problem of consciousness; near-death experiences; the problem of evil; angelic beings; unfavorable influences and the paranormal; protection; and the innate freedom and happiness at the heart of experience.
New articles are added weekly.
Extra bits on are on Instagram: @nondualunderstanding
