No matter how exalted a teaching is, the student is still left with the arduous task of living it. Wisdom is presented; in other words, but only to the intellect at first. It has yet to seep into the whole being and be easily lived. Vernon Howard told students to always begin on the physical level. One might not be able to lift his heart to universal truth, but anyone can lift the head and look up at the sky. He might be able to read a book with wisdom in it. But the next thing he knew, he would find himself lost in an endless argument with a loved one. All of the teachings would be forgotten and he would be hurling bitter words at his partner.

So one step of the teaching is to learn when one goes astray from the knowledge that we are all one. If that is true, how come the divorce rate is so high and crime can never be erased from human behaviors? We learn to divide ourselves into two consciously. Man A is a student of truth. Man B is still lost in his own personal world. There is no blame attached to this. It is simply how it is. “We are the fallen people,” a woman said to me while visiting Vernon Howard’s group. He taught us how to get back up and go on.

These days the nondual community is bending under the weight of everyone espousing instant perfection and ongoing enlightenment. What a load of fertilizer. Youtube is crammed with people  yammering on and on about how they came to be one with everything. Give me a break. I need a moment. Talk amongst yourselves.