Robert Dittler

From beyond the "I" - certainly not a new idea at all. Said in many ways: the Advaita Vedanta ("not this-not that"), Zen ("a field far beyond form and emptiness"), the Tao Te Ching ("The Tao that can be named is not the Tao that is") and on the contemporary scene - Thoughts without a Thinker by Mark Epstein, MD. The Christian tradition mentions the nondual mind of a child: Unless you have the mind of a child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. What is this nondual mind of a child? How do we re-awaken this mind and be Nonduality?

From beyond the "I" – we will sense how our belief systems impact our day-to-day living. We will review how our belief systems regarding people, places, things and events invite unnecessary pain and suffering as well joy and pleasure as into our own lives and, by extension, into the lives of those with whom we work and play. Then let us center on the belief systems behind our thoughts, feelings, and emotions that preclude our perceptions about peoples, places, things and events. We may even open the door and be Compassion.

Let us glean a living perspective from beyond the "I" – the nondual mind of a child, selfless, without ego as such - how do we do this? We will have the direct experience of various means by which we can experience our ego just as it is and be beyond the alleged “I” we have created. From beyond "I" – we will experience how being more dispassionate actually, paradoxically, enhances our passion for life. We cease interfering (resisting) and experience a sense of equanimity.

Being Equanimity, we, whether aware or not, are The Center of the Cyclone (John Lilly), being just peace amid the chaos of the world, of our own mind. So doing, we will experience a still mind, a thinking mind, a reflecting mind, and mind in relation to the body. Then we will experience both the still and the thinking mind in sequence. An awesome experience! Join us for a refreshing, insightful, and somewhat pleasant, if not an enlightening, startling experience. And yes, words are difficult. Peace. Just be Peace. Thank you.