Another Way To Live? Yoga and Non-Duality by Scott Kiloby Teacher and Author In the hustle and bustle of our everyday experience, we are often stressed- out, overworked, stuck in thoughts [of past and future], complaining about our lives or about other people, in resistance to what is happening on the highway or at the workplace. Many of us live with a constant sense of lack, as if something is missing and think that if we just keep moving into the future, we will find it. Of course, not everyone lives this way. But it is really common. And it is considered to be so normal or usual that we never question. I remember the first time I did Yoga. I was surprised at how physically strenuous it was. I imagine many people underestimate how physical Yoga can be. I was doing a type of Vinyasa Yoga that involved lots of movements and positions that were hard to hold. My muscles ached. I was breathing heavily. The body was clearly not in as good a shape as it used to be. As I was listening to the Yoga instructor, I asked myself, “Why am I doing this?” Am I seeking something from this experience? I had no answer for the question. Clearly, afterward I felt physically good, a little tired ... but good. The benefits of Yoga are pretty clear—emotional and psychological well-being, muscle toning, increased flexibility, and all sorts of internal benefits for the blood and organs. But why was I doing this? I walked away from that experience with a peaceful mind. I always have a peaceful mind. From what, you say? Well, years ago, I had a non-dual realization. Sometimes called, “spiritual enlightenment,” this instantly relieved personal suffering and seeking towards future. This is the kind of realization that Zen masters and sages talk about. From that point on, I've had a peaceful mind, a sense of well-being, joy, and freedom as constants in my life — they never go away. So why was I doing Yoga? Could it be that it was just fun? Maybe a little challenging? Yes, maybe ... It felt physically good. It was challenging to try to allow my body such free movement, to experience the energy of that. There are definite benefits from Yoga on every level—physical, emotional, and psychological. It wasn't until years later that I realized why a lot of other people might be doing Yoga. Perhaps they are seeking what I found through non-dual awareness. They want a more peaceful mind, a permanent sense of well-being. Not everyone doing Yoga does it for these reasons. That would be an over generalization. But as I gained Yoga friends through the years after my first “Yoga experience”, I would ask them why they do Yoga. The responses were varied like, “It feels good,” or “It calms me down,” or the most telling one, “It keeps me centered.” It seemed to me that they were looking for something from Yoga. I lived in a constant state of looking for something for most of my life. I lived with the stress and lack that many of us experience on a regular basis. I tried everything — self-improvement plans, material success, job changing, vacations, relationships, spiritual programs, and even mood altering substances. I didn't try Yoga during those early years of seeking, but I'm sure if I had, it would have been because I was trying to escape all those everyday ills. I was trying to cover up or escape negative thoughts and feelings. I was chasing positive thoughts and feelings. That is ... until the non-dual thing. In seeing that all my problems were mind- made, that they were thoughts, not real problems, it all fell away — that seeking, suffering, and resistance to life. When I say “seeing,” I don’t mean some mental conclusion. I mean realizing this with my whole being, permanently, irrevocably. Something shifted or changed. Peace became ever present. Problems became hard to find. Life has just flowed, effortlessly, since that time. What happened in that realization is the ego [the “story” of me lodged in my thoughts] released itself. Now, if negative feelings or thoughts arise, they disappear immediately, leaving no trace. And most of the time, they just don’t arise. Everything is alright, always. Joy, peace, a life lived simply in the present moment. What more can I ask for? Spiritual enlightenment or non-duality, then, is really just presence without believing thought. It is so simple that we often overlook it when we believe our thoughts, instead of letting them appear and disappearing quickly as if they are brush strokes on water. Imagine if every thought were like that ... like a brush stroke on water. The moment you begin to paint on the water by emphasizing a thought, the thought is already disappearing. At some point, you stop emphasizing thoughts, and just start living in the present moment without needing to understand anything about yourself, others, or life. So when I talk to my Yoga friends, or see them carrying their mats, or driving to Yoga class, I would like to say to them, “What if you can have peace of mind always?” I know it sounds way too far “out there” or it sounds preachy. But non-dual realization isn't way too far out there at all. Every time we emphasize past thoughts [for a sense of identity, emphasizing future thoughts in the belief that our freedom lies in the future] we miss it. We miss the present moment. When we live life without over-relying on concepts, life is easeful, effortless. It’s a natural flow. So I don't ask my Yoga friends that question. I suspect they are perhaps looking for non-dual awareness, but maybe just don't realize it yet. Some of them call it, “Being centered” or “peace of mind.” At the end of the day, Non-dual realization does not outlaw Yoga at all. Yoga is wonderful and more and more people are discovering it in 2010. In fact, non- duality led me to be interested in Integral Yoga and Emptiness Yoga. The amazing thing I realized through non-duality is that peace is ever present—on the Yoga mat, at home, at work and in every other conceivable place. In non- duality, I realized that peace is what I am. A complete peace-of-mind is truly available to all of us here on Earth. Scott Kiloby is a "Non-Dual" author/teacher from Southern Indiana (USA). He is the author of "Love's Quiet Revolution: The End of the Spiritual Search” and "Reflections of the One Life: Daily Pointers to Enlightenment." He is also the creator of a revolutionary addiction recovery method called Natural Rest. His book, "Natural Rest: Finding Recovery Through Presence," is scheduled for release in early 2011. Scott's website is kiloby.com. In addition to details of his meetings and retreats, there are many essays, quotations and videos which can be viewed on his web site. He also holds frequent meetings all over the world (in person) and online via Skype and teleconferencing. To quote Scott, "We live our lives asleep. Our minds are programmed for self-centeredness. This programming causes us to spend our lives seeking the future for a sense of contentment we can't seem to find. It causes conflict in our relationships. To say that we live in self-centeredness is not a moral judgment. It's a statement of fact. The good news is that awakening from this self-centered dream is possible in this lifetime. This awakening reveals a depth of freedom and contentment that no relationship, job, material item, self-improvement plan, or any other accomplishment or attainment in the material world can bring. This level of freedom frees us from our endless seeking towards future. It frees us from conflict so that our real nature as love shines through, affecting every area of our lives." Scott's message is devoted to simplifying and demystifying spiritual enlightenment. He invites anyone who has a desire for Truth to wake up from living within a story. In waking up from that story, our authentic lives can finally begin. RETURN TO OMPLACE HOME