Greetings from Sedona, Arizona. It is beautiful, it is hot, the hiking is superb and the food excellent. Yes, I am here to attend a 9 day Sedona Method retreat, but being in Sedona is part of the experience. I came early this time, so I had a day and a half to enjoy this marvelous town. I’ve been to Sedona 14 times in 12 years, both for retreats and pleasure. One of my favorite places in the world.

Last night the retreat began. The supposedly “advanced” 9 day retreat is a mixture of Advaita-style non-duality teachings (think Nisargadatta Maharaj and Adyashanti) with a touch of personal development and a pinch of basic Sedona Method. It is very different, though, from what other teachers do for a non-dual type retreat in that our “guru” for the 9 days, Hale Dwoskin, actively yet gentle engages people directly to see past their limited sense of self or “me-ness” as he would say.

It was very obvious that for a lot of people in the audience (160 attendees, by the way), these ideas, while not complete new, were a bit difficult to understand. Hale’s intro left a lot of people scratching their heads. Even those of us who knew all about it were forced to wonder. As my friend Kerry put it, “Even though I did this same retreat 15 months ago, I am still wondering what we are going to be doing here for 9 days.”

This bit of confusion was not due to a lack of communication on Hale’s part or understanding on ours. It simply stemed from the fact that these teachings are perplexing to the mind. They are teachings for that which we truly are which is beyond the mind, beyond thought, beyond the ability to conceptualize with words.

Think about it (if you dare): what you are is not your mind, not your body, not any concept, not any idea. Even the words I’m about to use to describe it aren’t it and don’t even come close. Words like awareness, consciousness, spirit, Life, these are merely pointers to the Truth. But not the truth.

The implications of these ideas are astounding:

• Your self, the person you think of when you say “I” is not who your are.
• Your problems, while seemingly real, are not problems. They are just thoughts about the experiences you had, in the past, but having little to do with right now.
• Your thoughts are just stories about the past, even if it is the very immediate past
• Your stories about your life simply are not true. They are just the inventions of the mind.

I know some of the above may sound crazy to some of you, but further investigation reveals that these are more accurate representations of the way things are than most of what we believe. I invite you to investigate them for yourself.

These retreats are quite different from what you find in the Sedona Method audio course and book, as well as the normal 7 day retreat. But they are equally helpful in letting go of problems. Actually, more so, simply because they help you to see beyond all problems. They offer the possibility of a true ending to the issues that have plagued you for a lifetime.

As I mentioned, I will try to post daily during the retreat. I hope to be speaking with you tomorrow. Namaste.

credit: indi.ca