In non-duality, the sense of a separate personal self is an illusion that prevents us from recognizing our true nature; we are already what we seek, and the mind's attempt to achieve fulfillment through the personal self is fundamentally flawed because it can never succeed, as the self is merely a limited construct that cannot contain the vastness of consciousness.
Deep Dive
Prerequisite Knowledge
- No data available.
Where to go next
- No data available.
Deep Dive
Non-Duality: Is There Actually a Purpose to All of This?Added:
Hey, how are you doing? Good, how are you? Good good to see you.
Um Uh you know, if uh I don't know I don't even know how to put it.
Uh the the problem or I don't know if it's a problem.
Um the more I stay with this the more often I become tired or fall asleep.
>> [laughter] [clears throat] >> Or get get really sleepy. Maybe I'm not having enough sleep, but Well, it's unconditional.
This whole seeming process of this seeming undoneness that's seemingly happening is happening all by itself.
Can't attribute this undoneness coming to see or coming to understand or realize that you cannot attribute that to a person.
So, you can't attribute it to Also, you can't attribute it to a person that is sitting here and I'm sitting in the just this and I don't know what seems to happen is I seem to fall asleep.
>> [laughter] >> That too is simply what's occurring.
There's no There's There's There's no person who gets this.
The illusion of the person is finally seen through.
That's it.
>> [laughter] >> Okay.
So, it's all okay. Okay, so you sit there saying to Yeah, I'm just sitting with your sister.
Oh, I'm not falling asleep.
Now, this will go one or two things. Ah, it's good. I needed to sleep anyway.
Or this will go, "Damn, I wish I wasn't falling asleep. I'd like to be able to sit in the justice more often."
And both of those statements are wrong.
Yeah, okay, yeah.
Yeah, I get that. Yeah, good.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It look, you know, there's either a personal self here or there's not.
And if you believe that there's a personal self here, yeah, that's trying to get this, the sad news is it never does.
No matter how hard the seeming personal self tries to get this.
Yeah, that's applies clear, I think. Yeah.
Yeah.
That's why I always start with, "Hey, yeah?
Let's start from Let's start from what you actually are, right? Not that people will fully grasp that, but let's start from what where and what you actually are, and from there, let's work out what you're not."
Yeah, sure.
Yeah.
It was just maybe, yeah.
But of course, you could always say there's no problem with getting tired or not getting sleepy or Yeah. whatever, yeah. That's just what's happening. It's cool. There's just an acceptance of that 100%. No judgement around it. Okay.
Mhm, next time you just find yourself saying again. Yeah.
And you let it fall asleep or you want.
Isn't it doesn't matter.
The real investigation Yeah.
is into what you're not.
The actual the actual investigation into what you are is done from direct experience. It's not done with the mind.
At all.
Is it done with the mind?
I could sit with you all day long and if you'd never been in water before and I could we could have be having this huge conversation about what it's like for to step that body into a you know, a swimming pool into water. We could have a huge conversation about it.
Yeah, you cuz you've never done it.
Yeah.
Talking to you about it.
It's not until you get in the water you go, "Ah."
Guess what?
It isn't into some extent. But the conversation we're having is we're all wet all the time and don't realize anymore that we're wet all the time and missing it.
It's fantastic. Yes. Uh That's a big yes.
That's the That's the great cosmic joke about this this whole process.
That that we're looking for we already are.
Yeah.
>> And I might remember my teacher saying that you know, time and time again. That that you're looking for you already are.
You know, or he would say, "Thou art that. You are that."
What's he talking about?
Cuz I you know, at the time I seemed to be having a personal experience.
Seemed to be having had experience.
You know, the reason for that mind was still identifying with the body.
Yeah, these feelings are mine.
I get this intellectually but Jesus it still feels like I'm here.
It feels like I'm here.
Of course it feels like me is here.
That's what's been identified with your whole life.
Since the age of two.
This being mind steps in and says, "Ah, this feeling here that's me."
So it can take a moment to to kind of unravel it.
How long, you know, I'm not you know, I'm not suggesting at all that you have to get into all your past traumas and all the things that have happened to you as a kid growing up and you got to work through all of it. No.
But indeed, if you did need to do that, that too would be fine because it's unconditional.
But this isn't about that.
But if that's what was going on, of getting help from a therapist or a psychologist and and there's an interest in this as well, beautiful.
It's all unconditional.
And uh also well uh what came to mind when Chase said the thing about the decision about the burger or something was um you could also put it this way, there's signal processing happening in the brain and there's only part of it that arrives in awareness so to speak.
And that's what you're calling thought.
Yeah. But it's like there's happening so much more that you're not aware of.
That's actually driving the decision.
>> yes. Oh my The yes. That's like totally dualistic way of describing it, but like Yeah. in some sense your your brain, your wider brain and unconscious mind has already taken the decision what you're eating and it's like giving some kind of looks here's what we've decided now.
I'll tell yourself tell tell the story part of yourself that Yeah. like that's the decision you have taken and it has good reason or something like that. Yeah.
I often refer to the mind or if you want to call it the brain.
We think it's so precious.
We think it's so so precious.
And this is this is a a crude analogy.
The mind or thoughts or the brain or whatever is just one grain of sand on all the sand that there is on the planet.
And we focus on the one grain of sand and miss the rest.
Like let it go. Accept it.
There's there's there's a a shitload more happening than we realize. A shitload more happening than we realize.
And we miss it.
We actually miss it.
It's saying through the filter of the mind or the lens of the mind, yeah. You can only focus on things, little things.
Little things.
What do you mean by missing?
Um The whole. Yeah. Yeah.
I already realized how stupid the question was.
>> [laughter] >> Because I meant with respect to what's going on in the world or by what's going on in awareness.
But yeah.
It's all unconditional, whatever.
Just that thing.
I mean like 20 years ago, I don't know if any someone can find out the the the correct number, let me know, but cuz I'm just going to guess, but 120 years ago, you know, there's a couple of billion people on the planet. It's probably more, but let's just argue with it. There was a couple of billion people on the planet.
All alive, all getting up in the morning, all going to work in different countries, different nations, all doing different different cultures, and so on and so forth, yeah?
And those two billion people that are on the planet back then would have taken life extraordinarily seriously, like we do now.
Extraordinarily seriously.
Now, they're all gone.
So, to what ends was all that?
How serious was it really?
Couple of billion.
Poof.
They're gone.
We think our life is so precious. Yeah?
It's got a start time and an expiry date. So precious.
And we live like we're never going to die.
Life is so short, but for the character, the seeming character, it's so short. I was born one day, I'm going to die.
What the hell's the character trying to achieve in this lifespan?
Let's give it 80 years, just for argument's sake. What the hell is the character trying to achieve, and for what?
What?
Can't take the achievement with you.
So for what?
The thinking is so narrow.
With that personal character.
Okay, so what? What What was it all about?
For what?
And most people are bloody miserable.
So, for what?
For what?
Why are you so serious?
Thanks, Jordan.
If these talks resonate, there's a space to meet one-to-one. You can begin with a free 30-minute call and we can take it from there. You'll find that at www.terrencestavens.com.
Related Videos
BSA Goldstar - I gave up! And why animals beat humans!
thebingleywheeler
102 views•2026-05-31
The 'Islamic dilemma': Quran tells Christians to judge by the Gospel
canceledkings
1K views•2026-05-29
3 Dreams That Changed Philosophy Forever
mommyplus24
731 views•2026-05-31
Seneca - Escape The Crowd, Find Your Inner Peace!
realfreewisdom
114 views•2026-05-29
Scholar Explains: WHAT IS A GNOSTIC?
fightbackpodcast
965 views•2026-05-31
Fulton Sheen: A Mente Tenta se Manter Jovem para não Sofrer com os Impactos do Tempo
SantoCotidiano-port
673 views•2026-05-29
Why Pure HEDONISM Is IRRATIONAL
qnaline
12K views•2026-05-31
When They Ignore You, Do This Instead | Stoicism
ZenithWisdom-e3k
615 views•2026-05-31











