What can be observed about
Stuart is that he loves the
Silence, and his passion for the
Silence is contagious. To be
around him for any length of
time is to find one’s attention
drawn inward and to have one’s
thoughts replaced by what Stuart
sometimes refers to as
"no-thing" which lies at the
center of everything thought,
seen, and held. He lives and
teaches by allowing this silent
Presence, at the heart of all
things, to soften and dissolve
all knots of the heart. In
satsang and during retreat
Stuart simply directs those
present to bring everything; the
so-called good and the presumed
bad, worldly success and
failure, praise and blame,
desire and aversion, to Presence
and that is all that has to be
done! Presence, the lone,
eternal parent of "I am", does
the rest. In fact, Stuart says
that the less we feel that we
must do something to attain
something, the closer to the
truth we find ourselves.
In love with Presence, Stuart’s
vision is radically "non dual"
--- a perfect foil for the
thoroughly conditioned,
dualistic image maker, story
teller called the mind. At
first, his approach to mind
might appear too pithy. "Your
mind is not your friend. Leave
it alone." And "if you want a
quiet mind, don’t listen." But
wisdom often hides behind
simple, direct phrases.
Along with his radical "seeing",
Stuart has an uncanny knack,
honed by years as a group
facilitator, of meeting people
where they believe their
defenses are most solid.
Amazingly enough, with just a
few short words such as, "How
are you doing today" or "What
brought you to satsang tonight?"
an openness develops before our
eyes. Persons who were perfect
strangers a few moments before
can be observed ridding
themselves of a lifetime, or
perhaps lifetimes, of
debilitating core beliefs about
who they are and what they are
about. In his new book, Stuart
calls this ‘the great undoing’
and gives all of the credit for
this phenomenal unlearning
process to our innate love of
truth and the all-powerful
Presence, which is truth itself,
meeting, digesting, and
dissolving all limiting core
beliefs - once simply seen and
acknowledged.
For Stuart, undoing isn’t about
growth, improvement or
advancement. Truth needs no
improvement. Truth IS. Coming
from truth, advancement and
improvement of the personal have
no meaning. When the center
shifts to The Center, who is
there to be perfected?
Perfection is all.
Satsang with Stuart means
Silence - a Presence so palpable
that mind cannot obscure it.
Satsang with Stuart means
dialogue - question and answer -
at once suggestive and
supportive, in which the sharp
sword of discrimination,
gleaming with light, is handed
to and wielded by all in the
circle who would take it.
Satsang with Stuart neither
harbors sacred cows nor
recognizes forbidden taboos. If
you’d like to get rid of
something or somethings that
aren’t really you, come along
and sit in the circle....
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