Nondual Inquiry and Specialized Knowledge: An Invitation

If I were going to describe the chief methodology of The Living Method of Spiritual Awakening (which includes both the event, if one is noticed, and the process which both precedes and follows the event), then I would say “nondual inquiry.” Ramana Maharshi, whom I always admire and adore, and whom I occasionally address directly, used the term “Self-Inquiry.” Since he’s surely the best known guru of the 20th century, I won’t argue with him.

However, I like “nondual inquiry” or “direct inquiry” better because while I completely agree with Ramana that inquiry is the only direct means of awakening (other than surrender, which happens even more mysteriously), I have noticed over the years that we can’t always do the “self” part sharply enough to encourage the often subtle shift into Conscious Awakeness. If we could, I could quit hosting Awakening Sessions. (This would be fine with me, by the way. I serve as I am bidden.)

We are all so keen to beat ourselves up. “I can’t do this! I should be able to!” That statement is coming from the one who wants to wake up, and that one never will. It’s Awakeness that uses a unit to perform Self-inquiry. Who are we to judge what Awakeness “should” or “should not” do? There’s no sense in doing anything more than noticing what Awakeness does “do.” (In truth, I, Awakeness, am gainfully unemployed!)

Forty years ago, when I read “Think and Grow Rich,” part of Napoleon Hill’s advice to seekers (who believed they were after money) was to acquire what he termed ‘specialized knowledge.’ Let me here list just some of the professions of past and present clients and students:

Psychiatrists
Surgeons
Head of a major hospital’s heart center (one)
Physicians (many, many specialties)
Physicists
Neuro-scientists (two who have confessed, and surely some others who are in hiding)
Pastors (of all stripes)
Professors (of all stripes)
Psychologists (lots of different kinds and my largest bloc of clients)
Lawyers (lots of different kinds of these, too)
Spiritual teachers
Engineers
Philosophers
Entrepreneurs
Wall Street-type money managers
Wall Street wonks
Wall Street traders
School teachers (many, many)
Acupuncturists
Astrologers
Homeopaths
Farmers
Artists (name the medium, and I’ve worked with them)
Famous European record producer (just one that I am certain of)
Famous European pop singer (just one each of these last two, though there was no connection between them)
Actors
Entrepreneurs (some who are very, very successful)
Retired people (actually THIS would be my biggest bloc of clients)
Managers (a surprising number of CEO’s of large and largish companies)
Accountants
Truck drivers
Contractors 
Musicians
Inventor (a multi-multi-millionaire, not a kook!)
Scientists (many, in a wide range of fields)
A former heavy-weight boxing champion of Australia, but I won’t tell you which one
And on and on and on

What I’m saying is this: we all have our specialties. When we need a specialist, there is no embarrassment in calling one. Except in this field. In nonduality, we all want to wing it. We are all Frank Sinatra, and we are all gonna do it “our way.” And if that gets the job done, I applaud you.

But what if it doesn’t? Seek help. Seek someone who is skilled in an area that you are not. There are people out there who will work with you for little or nothing. Find them, do the work, and join Me.

Love,

Fred