#112 - Nic Higham & Paul Dobson - Aliveness as a Doorway to the Natural State | Nonduality

In this episode of the Nonduality Podcast, Paul Dobson and Nic Higham invite the listener to witness how the natural state is ever-present and accessible in each moment by feeling into our sense of aliveness.

• “That sense of aliveness you already feel and already know so well – that is your entrance, that’s your doorway,” says Nic.
• “There is this fundamental aliveness, a fundamental potency of intelligence, a fundamental pureness that is both behind all things and which permeates all things.
• “This aliveness is built into everything – it’s what everything is made of.
• “Discovering, noticing and tuning into that aliveness is the essence of spirituality and the essence of living.”

The natural state we may appear to discover in this sense of aliveness is actually always already present but may seem to be obscured by thoughts and concepts, says Nic.

“Whatever Is appearing right now is always the natural state – it can’t not be natural. What makes it seemingly unnatural or distorted is in the interpretation of it and then approaching it from the interpretation as opposed to the actuality itself.

• “We misinterpret the natural state – we chunk it up and divide it with concepts.”
• To be in the natural state, therefore, takes no effort but recognising it may be frustrating.

Paul and Nic compare the process to that of a Chinese finger trap.

• “To release yourself from the finger trap its almost like you have to go through the process of going at it first.
• “You get the frustration, you pull and you push. Eventually, once you are worn out you might stop and your fingers come out.
• “The answer was there all along – doing nothing. But you can’t force a nothingness.
• “This is the subtlety of what we’re talking about.”

In the conversation Paul and Nic give several key pointers to help us see this clearly for ourselves including how:

• The process of illumination is to exclude all that isn’t essential to the natural state.
• Automatic assumptions will prevail for as long as we don’t question them.
• It is in the questioning of what we instantly believe to be so that these beliefs can dissolve
• Anything that arises, including difficulty, pain or struggle can be seen as the energy of aliveness and presents us an opportunity to recognise the natural state.

"Nonduality" refers to the recognition, realisation and fact that life is one in essence.

The Nonduality Podcast with Nondual Therapist Nic Higham and Paul Dobson. Nic Higham, nondual therapy: https://nisargayoga.org In this enlightening yet accessible podcast, co-presenter Paul Dobson and author and nondual therapist Nic Higham explore the truth of Nonduality. Join Paul and Nic’s real-time exploration of life beyond the illusion of separateness. They ask: ‘Who am I? What is the nature of our experience? What is self-inquiry? What is meditation?’ Inquire into the present moment and drop your false ideas. 

Music by Scott Buckley - https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/