The non-dual state that has been here since 2007 has some qualities about it that I haven’t yet sussed out. You may have heard me say or write before about how I took it for granted for many years. I don’t mean I didn’t appreciate it, but I didn’t investigate it. I took it as it was. As a tool for life. It has been remarkable.
It’s largely still a mystery to me.
What are its qualities? What is this state?
I’ve written a couple of in-depth posts about what the state is like here:
- Direct Observations of the Non-Dual State
- 132 Questions/Answers about the Non-Dual State of Mind
I want to go further with it. I want to do some small experiments and see what happens and publish the results.
Tonight is the first Non-Dual Experiment. In this one I was sitting at my computer and listening to music by Led Zeppelin, The Rain Song, and Going to California, then Neil Young’s Old Man. These are three songs that I grew up with in the 1980’s.
I was listening to Going to California and decided to slip into the non-dual aware state of mind to see something.
Could I stay in the state for the duration of one of my absolute favorite songs ever?
I sat. It played through my headphones. I could sense anxiety in the body – under the surface. The ego-filled side of me – Vern – wanting to take over and sing and enjoy the song. There was some tension between the Non-Dual and the Ego State. It was palpable, and yet while one was aware that the body felt oddly, there was no thought about singing along while in the ND State.
When the song finished, the state persisted peacefully. Without sigh of relief. Without change.
As I sat, the next song in the playlist began. Old Man. I’d been listening to that song since 1982 it probably was. My buddy Steve had a Neil Young cassette I remember listening to. Not sure this song was on it, but this is how I was first introduced to Neil. Steve had an older sister who probably got him interested in it.
The song is so simple. Neil’s voice so iconic and memorable. I’ve probably heard the song a few hundred times. Like most of my favorite songs I know every word and every note.
This song too, caused a disturbance somewhere in the body. The hands felt pulsing as if to tap on the table. There was a sort of vibrational energy or something that was felt during the song. Again, it seemed like some part of the brain was aware the song was one I ALWAYS enjoyed through singing and moving around – usually tapping out the beat or rocking my head or something.
I’ll do it again now with another song. This one, certainly one of my top 20 all-time favorite songs.
End of the Party by The Beat. Later known as The English Beat. This song was released in 1982 but I first heard it in 1985.
This one I have probably heard well over 1,000 times, and possibly 2,000 or more. The English Beat captured my heart, my spirit, when I was in the Air Force stationed in Hawaii. My friend Tim from California had some of their cassettes and we played them endlessly in the dorm, in our cars, and at the beach.
Sitting at my desk with my eyes closed. Volume of the song in my earphones is about 7 out ot 10 loudness. It’s super clear. The song played for probably around 50% through before I noticed that the mind was aware of each word that was being sung. Just naturally. I didn’t fully drop out of the Non-Dual State and jump over to Vern, but Vern wasn’t entirely absent either.
This is a song that I think has become a part of Vern. It has become a good piece of the Ego State over the last 40 years.
As I sat and the song played, the mind could not help following it for a short time. Then the full ND State would prevail for a while until it didn’t and more words were recognized for what they were. The meaning of the words evan began to come through.
I have a guess that with time if I did this exercise over and over, the song would become less meaningful to me. I’d see through the song as nothing special, the beat and the horns as nothing special, and i’d drop it as I have many other things I’ve become disenchanted with over time.
Not sure, just a guess.
I certainly DO NOT want that to happen, so no more experiments with that song. Not even that band. Heh-heh.
Result
Listening to some of my favorite songs seems to speak directly to my emotions. The words have started positive emotions in me for decades. Though starting from a rock-solid Non-Dual State of mind before the music starts, some of the songs can break through and cause an Ego connection and awareness.
Super interesting because I wasn’t sure what would happen. I didn’t expect this to be honest.