Category: philosophical counseling

• January 23, 2023

  ‘My Mind Is Constantly Racing. How Can I Be Thought-Free?’

  Question: My mind is constantly racing. I know that having no thoughts is the goal of meditation, but for me it’s unattainable. How can I possibly come to a thought-free state? The first step is to see that the mind is not constantly arising. Realize that what we call mind is nothing apart from, or…
• January 19, 2023

  The World Is An Illusion: Can That Really Be True?

  What Does “The World is an Illusion” Mean? It does not mean that there isn’t any appearance here. When you see a mirage, it’s not that you’re seeing nothing; you are seeing an appearance; it’s just that you’re not actually seeing an oasis. The question–“Is the world an illusion?”–really turns on the epistemic status of…
• January 18, 2023

  ‘When I Meditate, I Keep Looking At The Clock’

  Question: Often when I’m meditating, I feel like all I want is for it to be over and I find that I keep looking at the clock. It feels like those are the days I need it the most. Should I extend the time when that happens? Do you see the mental affliction? Is the clock…
• January 4, 2023

  Sri Ramana’s Core Teaching On Self-inquiry
• January 3, 2023

  Being The Witness Purifies The Bodymind

  While re-reading Nisargadatta’s “modern spiritual classic” I Am That, I was pleasantly surprised to find him making two sorts of claims about taking one’s stand as the witness. You can find both claims in one marvelous sentence: “The idea ‘I am the witness only’ will purify the body and the mind and open the eye…