Hello Everyone,
Thank you for visiting nonconceptualmeditation.org I’d like to begin by introducing myself, as well as share some of my history, before presenting the revelations that have inspired this site.
I’m currently in my 70s, living in rural Pennsylvania, with my wife Phyllis, and our dog Snow. We are members of the community’s Episcopal Church, and serve by providing deliveries for the food pantry as well as weekly non-dual meditation sessions. We also hope to host Non-Duality meetings to bring together those who have been touched by non-duality in any of its many guises. Non-duality has lots of approaches including philosophy, humor, koans, science, prayer, music, theater, gurus, meditation, and even the unseen world of potential (a.k.a. "nothing").
I'm but one type of non-dualist -- a practitioner of Non-conceptual Meditation, which is described and taught on this site.
I have a long history with meditative practices, and related disciplines: My first contact with contemplative disciplines occurred roundaboutly, as a child, in the late 1950s, when I saw a film of Master Morhei Ueshiba, performing his innovative martial art, called Aikido, on our black and white television. Ueshiba displayed remarkable self-defense skills, based on a strategy of harmony. I was inspired, as well as intrigued: Ueshiba made a very curious declaration saying: “I am the universe.” This puzzling remark stuck with me for decades to come. It was eventually understood in my odyssey of self-inquiry.
Martial Arts were, for me, love at first sight. By 1965, at the age of 17, I was teaching self-defense in Flushing, New York. Jumping forward, by 1974 I had opened my own martial arts school on 86th street in Manhattan. It was here that I met Eugene Sorenson, an aspiring playwright and artist, who took a 15-hour self-defense course with me. Eugene introduced me to the Hindu philosophy known as the Vedanta. Eugene was an American devotee of the Vedanta at the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, on 94th Street in Manhattan.
It was Eugene, who first alerted me that my own reality is a DivineDream—the DreamOfBrahman. “Brahman” may be understood as the Vedic name for God. Vedanta provided me with the key to unlock the mysteries of the world’s avatars, like Jesus and Krishna, as well as luminaries like Buddha and Lao-tzu. I learned through the Vedanta that God-consciousness is not an anomaly, but a norm in human history. “Truth is one, sages call it variously,” declares the Vedanta.
Breaking Through With Meister Eckhart
Ten years after being introduced to the universalist perspective of the Vedanta, I entered Columbia University to earn a bachelors degree in the secular study of Religion. It was during these years that I encountered Breakthrough, Father Matthew Fox's book on the enlightened 14th century priest Meister Eckhart. The Medieval Dominican mystic taught there is a Christ potential in each person, just as Buddhism instructs its disciples to recognize that Buddha-nature is inherent in all beings. Eckhart’s realizations, like those of the Nazarene, arise in non-dual awareness. Eckhart taught the path of non-conceptual meditation, as I do now.
I returned to Columbia University in 1994 to complete a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work. My spiritual interest took a practical and secular course. Though I had two ministerial ordinations by 1997, I was principally focused on the art of psychological healing, especially the treatment of irrational anxiety. I was very attracted to Cognitive Therapies, especially when the approaches were integrated with Mindfulness Meditation, which is a form of non-conceptual practice. In 2011, I innovated Mindfulness-based Anxiety Reduction (MBAR). You will note that I have dedicated a section of the site to this therapeutic practice. Reducing my own irrational anxiety has supported my capacity to move beyond my early maladjusted modes of coping. Status Seeking, Looking Good, and even "Being Someone Else" have surfaced as hindrances in my own process of maturing and awakening. Cleaning-up these psychological hindrances has provided me with the necessary sense of authenticity and confidence to approach TheSacred.
I have learned in my journey of self-inquiry that TheSacred is my TrueNature. Like most people, I grew up believing that I was solely a creature, limited by time, and circumstance. It was through the grace of my teachers that I learned differently. One of these teachers was the Enlightened Catholic Priest Meister Eckhart. Through his legacy of teachings, Eckhart alerted me that God, Nature and All Creatures are one and the same. This understanding has liberated me from feeling trapped in time, and bound to my circumstances. Such liberation is a wondrous blessing. And yet, this blessing continues to challenge my capacity to accept that what I am is IndivisibleReality.
Seeing myself as RealityItself means recognition that I am not separate from the context of my environment. I am both, subject, and object, perceiver and object of perception. I am the food I eat, the enemy at my door, and the ground I stand on. The realization of indivisibility is non-dual revelation, as it is ChristConsciousness. When saying this, I think of Master Morhei Ueshiba, who beautifully applys indivisiblity, in his Aikido. His strategy of non-resistance is to unite with the energy of his assailants to become a singularity. Interestingly, Ueshiba recalls that Jesus applied Aikido-like movement, when assailed by an angry crowd of people from his home town, Nazareth. According to the biblical account the townspeople, furious with his teachings of unity with God, tried to push him off a cliff. Rather than resist his assailants, "he walked right through the crowd and went on his way." (Luke 4:30). Ueshiba reminds us that non-dual revelation is universal. Indivisibility is not bound to any particular tradition, or religion.
My Health Condition
I believe it is important to acknowledge my unusual affective state, which you may observe in some my videos. You may notice delays in my speech, and some "reaching for language." These affective symptoms are secondary to my condition of Chronic Lyme Disease, also know as Tick Borne Disease. At the time of writing this essay, I am in my 11th year with this condition, which is attributable to bites from ticks. So, hang in there with me, and forgive my delivery, as I am doing my best to communicate these life-giving teachings, and practices.
Life, of course, can be quite battering. I lost my left eye to an accident as a child. So, this further describes my physical condition, which I remain deeply grateful for. Though I am somewhat battered, and have endured egoic disappointments, I'm simply in solidarity with all life forms that suffer hardship, and death. I would like to see suffering reduced in this world. It's my nature to feel this way. Numerous life forms suffer at the hands of human beings, as we slaughter, and devour them to promote and sustain ourselves. Sometimes we do this callously, rather than respectfully. I am devoted to awakening ecological justice, and compassion for all beings.
I'm inviting you to join me and Phyllis on this journey of awakening to OurTrueDivineNature, which is beyond dualistic understanding.
Smiling,
Cesar
Follow us on:
Useful Links
2020 © All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service