David Bingham is a respected, very effective non-duality teacher. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND his short, concise, very clear book: David Bingham, Jessica Wood. “Effortless Being” 2023 (70-page paperback $17. from amazon.ca) which clarifies ancient non-duality teachings, as directly experienced by sages, saints, mystics and now increasingly, by ordinary people like you and me. This book greatly eases awakening to our true nature, which in turn eliminates most of the unnecessary suffering we unwittingly create for ourselves.
His website (https://davidbingham.org/interviews/) has MANY FREE interviews and other valuable resources.
Below are short segments from 2 of his early conscioustv interview transcripts:
Interviewer Iain McNay: "... you seem to be in a place which we would call ‘self-realisation / non-duality’ - but I don’t know how you would describe it for yourself.
David Bingham: "Well, I like the term self-realisation because it’s a realisation of what is already the case for us all, and I like to keep it quite simple because the opportunity for self-realisation is something that is openly available now. In the story of human history it has been something that has appeared in the distant past, or something only other people have, or something you have to achieve after a long time of spiritual practice. But the way consciousness is unfolding, the opportunity for self-realisation is something that everyone can now attain."
Iain: "... that’s right, it used to be that this was a special state and you had to live in a mountain for several years and a lot of them actually became hermits, or they were gurus. And now it seems that it’s happening more to fairly ordinary people, even British people."
David: "Absolutely. And I think that’s how it starts. It seems as though it’s something that’s wonderful & amazing, and then there’s a realization that people from your own country have actually made the shift, and then people that you know, and then you think, 'Well, hang on a minute - maybe there’s a chance for this to happen here as well'. And so the whole process is actually going on by itself and, in the story of human awakening, the opportunity is there very widely now. And if you look at the story of the way the world appears to be, it’s probably required. I think it’s something that could make a massive difference, because it is realization of one’s true nature."
Iain: Yes, we’re now towards the end of 2008, and… the last few months have been a pretty hairy time in the outside world. So let’s just run through ... what happened in your life up to where you are now ..."
David: "Yes. Up until the age of about four, things seemed really wonderful and I just felt in a great space. Then there was a shift in circumstances and the point of separation was very clear. I think for everyone there’s a period of time where you feel just really comfortable. If you look at photographs of children, especially up to the age of two, you can look into their eyes and see that they’re in absolute total ecstasy, and there’s a sense of completion, there’s no problem; and in that state, there’s nothing wrong at all."
Iain: "But they are crying sometimes. They’re not in ecstasy then, are they?"
David: "Well, they’re crying because there’s a physiological need. Usually it’s because they need some food or something, but the awareness in which they’re residing has no ruffle or strain or discomfort. The story we all take part in, in human life, is to move from the state of complete integration, through a cycle of separation - or apparent separation (because it actually has never taken place) - and to return again to full knowing of our true nature ..."
David Bingham - Non-Dual Pointing - Part 1 Interview by Iain McNay https://conscious.tv/text/09.htm
Interviewer Renate McNay: "In the interview you had before with my husband Iain (above), you mentioned twice that at this present time the human race has the possibility to awaken, and I thought it was a very interesting statement, and I would like to know how you came to this conclusion. What is pointing in this direction?"
David: "OK. The world as we experience it can be perceived on many different levels. So it can be perceived as being an absolute reality or it can be perceived in a way where it’s known to be a phenomenon or a manifestation. What points to the development of consciousness is the sequence of unfolding throughout life. It appears to me that, from there having been the opportunity for a very few people to be able to realize self-awareness, the same opportunity is coming into focus for many more people now. The way consciousness is revealing itself is with greater and greater simplicity, as in reality there is only presence-awareness-existence. The way consciousness plays the game, though, is to disguise itself, so nearly everything appearing in the manifestation is to conceal the fact that there is only presence-awareness-existence. So, the concept of time, the thinking process, the body - they’re all devices that consciousness uses to hide itself and…"
Renate: "So, excuse me... I just wanted to ask, why is it doing that?"
David: "Because it can. Because the nature of consciousness or awareness is that it is infinite, it’s a field of infinite possibilities."
It can be seen in terms of cycles. There can be cycles where there can be ups and there can be downs; and there can be concealment, complete ignorance, and there can also be complete knowing. And it can move from one to the other and it loves doing that. So that’s why it does it, just because it can, really.
And it’s a fascinating stage at the moment because self-realization is something that is becoming universally available. It’s a time when the invitation is there for many, many people because the fabric of life, the apparent security that people have adopted in relative terms - so things like their work, their relationships, their family, the fabric of society, financial structures, social structures - are all being shaken. So it’s offering an invitation.
People are saying, 'Well hang on! I thought I was safe here, and I’m not'. So that’s giving rise to a question. But actually it’s consciousness that’s giving rise to the question because that’s the invitation to see what is real and what’s present? It plays the game of pretending that it really is this person called Renate [gesturing to Renate] for a period of time, and then it (consciousness) reveals itself (Renate) as itself (consciousness).
If you take it from the point of view of a young child: for the first couple of years of life, there is just this field of awareness in which everything is being registered, but there isn’t a sense of individual self there. So there is an appearance of a body-mind, of a one- or two-year-old child, and everything’s experienced in a state of total wonder. But consciousness plays the game of hide & seek. It begins to pretend it really is this person from around the age of two and, through reinforcement, of being called by your name and the family structure being reinforced, you come to totally believe that; that’s who you are.
And then, through life, through the early years and through the teen years, there’s a building of the sense of self (small self, ego) in terms of what you’re good at, what you’re not good at, what you like, what you don’t like, and the preoccupation with the whole story of a little ‘me’.
You could say that, in recent history, the cycle hasn’t been completed. From the state of knowing, up until the age of two, through the concealment, in the early years, the concealment has continued because people have remained bound by the forms, so the identification has continued until death. The new opportunity is for the cycle to be completed. From the initial level of knowing, through the sequence of identification with the body & personality, there’s now an opportunity for consciousness to reveal itself to itself on a grand scale."
Renate: "But does that mean, David, that this whole game that we are playing, that consciousness is playing with itself, is coming to an end? On the surface, if we look at the world, that seems to be happening, that we’re somehow sliding down somewhere into extinction."
David: "Yes."
Renate: "And what you see on another level - the same is happening?"
David: "Yes. In terms of the story, or in terms of what’s happening in the world, it appears as though everything’s become very shaky, but it’s all part of the cosmic drama. It’s intentional because it’s revealing itself to itself. Previously, consciousness was concealing the fact that presence-awareness-existence is something that isn’t personally owned.
In this moment, if we take what there is, there is present awareness. There’s a knowing of everything that is arising in this moment, so present awareness knows this body sitting on this seat, it knows the sound of the gentle buzzing of that light; and it’s all being registered directly in present awareness. But the way consciousness disguises itself is to pretend that there is a person here experiencing that. If we look at the nature of awareness, it’s something that is just here. And it knows everything, it knows everything on a sensory level; it knows the sense of there being an individual here..."
Renate: "So, let’s do that now. So I feel myself sitting here now. I perceive myself as somebody sitting here looking at you. So what is the non-dual pointing? How would you tell me that I’m not really sitting here [laughing]?"
David: "OK [laughing]. With non-dual pointing, it actually clarifies the distinction between what is permanent and what is temporary; so what never changes is the awareness that knows that. Awareness is registering the sitting there directly, so it knows that the body is sitting there. Now the mind may come in as a secondary device, where it would say, 'I’m sitting here and this isn’t a very comfortable seat'; or it may make some other kind of judgement. But the knowing of the ‘sitting here’ is something that is just known in awareness, and it’s known directly and the individual isn’t required to know that."
Renate: "So because we learn that we are an ‘I’, so we say 'I am sitting here and I am feeling hot and I am feeling cold' - but those are actually, as you say, feelings which arise within awareness?"
David: "Yes."
Renate: "It’s direct knowledge, as you call it."
David: "Yes. Everything about the manifestation is reinforcing the manifestation. So if you turn on the TV or read the newspaper, or speak to most people, it’s always reinforcing the sense of there being a separate individual."
Renate: "I am receiving something from my senses?"
David: "Yes. But it’s just noticed very clearly that what is primary is the awareness in which it is known.
For instance, the common thing would be to say 'I think' but, actually, if it’s looked at carefully, it’s noticed that there is an awareness of thinking, so the thinking isn’t who you are; there’s something that is aware of thinking. In the same way people can say, 'Well, I can taste that water': the taste of water is registered in awareness; there isn’t actually an individual involved in doing that.
Also, if you take the various states of consciousness - the waking state, the dreaming state and the deep sleep state - awareness is actually continuous through those states. Continuous isn’t actually the right word because there is no continuity because there’s just this. But in the waking state, there is awareness of the waking state environment, so there’s awareness of the waking state body, the waking state thinking process, the waking state emotions and preoccupations, the waking state world. In the dream state, there is awareness of the dream environment, of the dream individual, of the dream emotions and of dream thoughts. In the deep sleep state, awareness is simply awareness itself. It returns to the level of non-manifestation, to the level of just knowing itself - which is home, which is why human beings crave sleep. They need some relief from the turbulence which is experienced in the waking and dream states."
David Bingham - Non-Dual Pointing - Part 2 Interview by Renate McNay https://conscious.tv/text/10.htm
Confused? Listen not just with the mind, but with EVERYTHING to some of Bingham's excellent interviews for clarification that comes from immersing yourself in any "new language" - in this case, the new (to you) language of non-duality:
David Bingham interviewed by Corina LaVonne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrULIbzuPUk
Effortless Being: A Deep Dive with David Bingham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_1Vt-gJ8j0
Hanna with David Bingham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbwg717keN4
End of Seeking — David Bingham Interview - Unity Consciousness & Effortless Being
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk0dhSI5GAs
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| Alan Syliboy |
