The illusion of separation is at the root of all suffering. In reality, there are no separate objects or people. No 'inside' separate from 'outside'. No 'me' separate from 'you'. No 'seeker' separate from what is sought.
There is only Life, appearing as everything. Only no-thing manifesting everywhere. Only Oneness, playing at being a world.
But there is nobody there pulling the strings. No person in control. No 'individual' separate from Life itself. No wave separate from the ocean.
And so there is nothing to find, because nothing was ever lost. You are already Home, and always have been. And somewhere beyond thought, somewhere beyond time, you have always known this. Life Without A Centre is life - as it is - seen with brand new eyes.
NEW ON THE SITE - "As It Is" - a short film by Tom Bolton with words/narration by Jeff - see below - New introductory mp3, an interview with Patrick Kicken (Radio Veronica, Netherlands), plus in-depth audio discussion with Scott Kiloby touching on many aspects of nonduality - see Audio/Video page - New 'Amigo' interview on the Q&A page. - Listen to "Life is Just Living" by Amihay Zelinkovsky, and "Where is Yesterday?" by SoNic Smith, two tracks inspired by Life Without A Centre
OPEN MEETINGS IN NONDUALITY Amsterdam Weekend: 4th and 5th July 2009 - Booking now. Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, UK: Sun 19th July, 11am - 5pm Brighton, UK: Sat 25th July, 2.30 - 5pm Devon, UK: Meetings planned for 1-2 August. Details coming soon. Day Retreatin Midhurst (South Downs), UK: Sat 8th August, 11am - 5pm See Meetings page for details of all meetings. 7 DAY SUMMER RESIDENTIAL. De Heidehoeve in Someren, Netherlands, 8-15 July '09. See Residential page for details. - Only a few places remaining. RETREAT IN GREECE, SEPTEMBER 2009. Kissos, Greece, 25th Sep - 2nd Oct. See Retreat page for details.
Jeff will be speaking at the Science and Nonduality Conference,
21st-25th October '09, Embassy Suites/Marin Civic Center, San Rafael,
California, USA. For more information and to view the schedule, visit www.scienceandnonduality.com. Stay tuned for more USA meeting dates.
Jeff's new book "An
Extraordinary Absence: Liberation in the Midst of a Very Ordinary
Life", will soon be available from Non Duality Press, and there are
some extracts on the writings page. Listen to Jeff's recent dialogue with Scott Kiloby which touches on issues raised in the new book. Jeff's other books on nonduality are now available in English, Spanish, Dutch and French.
This is not a teaching, and I am not a teacher. This is a sharing of something so intimate, so present, so damn alive that words cannot even begin to touch it. A sharing of the possibility of absolute freedom, of liberation, right in the midst of this very ordinary life.
This has nothing to do with gurus and disciples, spiritual teachers and students, lineages, awakened sages or enlightened masters. That is all in the dream of separation, the dream of separate people.
You see, the moment you have an 'individual', a 'person in the world', you have separation, and the moment you have separation you have the longing to end that separation, to heal the divide, to come Home. It’s the wave longing to return to the ocean. But of course there never was an individual wave separate from the ocean. The wave was always part of the ocean. It was the ocean itself, playing the game of being a separate wave.
But the little wave is inherently a seeker, and he or she runs around the world like a headless chicken, desperately trying to fill the void, to put an end to that felt sense of separation and lack. And whether it's the search for material wealth, or the search for spiritual enlightenment, it's essentially the same search. It's the search for Home. That's what we long for more than anything - to come Home, just to come Home.
What we are sharing here is the possibility that you never left Home in the first place. The little wave was always trying to find something that was never actually lost. You cannot find Oneness because you never actually lost it. And you never lost it because you never had it. You always were it. The wave was always, always, a perfect expression of that which cannot be expressed. You have always been the divine expression, expressing itself perfectly, completely, leaving no trace, no residue.
Life Without A Centre is about the possibility that the lifelong search for 'something more' can collapse, and along with it, the sense of being an individual separate from the whole. It’s not an intellectual thing. It's a freefall into Intimacy. Totally beyond the intellect. Totally beyond words. And in that collapse, all religions, all philosophies, all ideologies, all spiritual teachings, paths and practices are rendered obsolete. This is not a rejection of paths and practices, but a movement beyond them. For those who are ready to listen, for those who are ready to lose everything and gain everything, for those who are ready to 'die before they die' and discover something beyond death, this is the possibility of total freedom, right in the midst of a very ordinary life.
- JEFF FOSTER, BRIGHTON, UK
This isn't a special 'state' to be reached. It's not something that some individuals have and others don't. It's more like awakening from a dream, and realising, with crystal clarity, that it was only ever a dream. It's like being a newborn baby. Present. Open. Uncontaminated. Seeing with fresh eyes. Seeing for the first time.
It's not an intellectual understanding. It's not contained in words or systems of thought. It's an Intimacy beyond words.
When the search of a lifetime comes to an absolute end, Unconditional Love reveals itself in and as everything.
Location: De Heidehoeve in Someren, The Netherlands
8 - 15 July 2009
- 2 Group meetings with Jeff every day - Daily yoga and other activities optional - Private retreat centre with sauna and swimming pool - Comfortable 2-person bedrooms with private shower & toilet - Vegetarian meals
BOOKING NOW *Only a few places remaining * SEE RESIDENTIAL PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE RESIDENTIAL PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Jeff Foster offers a fresh perspective on nonduality, Advaita and spiritual awakening. Includes nonduality video, nonduality dialogues, nonduality books, nonduality audio, and details of open meetings in nonduality. Includes advaita video, advaita dialogues, advaita books, advaita audio, and details of open meetings in advaita.
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments... and life itself is grace. - Frederick Buechner