Deconstructing the “I”; Practical Analysis, Proven Approaches and Practices, Gary Weber, Ph.D. <happinessbeyondthought@gmail.com> (Author) Proven ancient and contemporary approaches to the investigation, practical analysis of the construction of, and deconstruction of the “I”, are presented. Practices drawn from Zen, advaita/non-duality, various yogas, and eastern and contemporary philosophy will be discussed and demonstrated. Understandings from current neuroscience, physics and complex systems mathematics which support these approaches will also be incorpo- rated. Typical approaches, barriers, resistances and challenges faced in constructing and maintaining a personal practice will be discussed for diff erent levels of interest. T e presenter has over 27,000 hrs of personal practice in yoga and meditation with various teachers over 38 years, as well as many years of teaching. T ese practices are derived from the author’s book “Happiness Beyond T ought: A Practical Guide to Awakening” (www. happiness-beyond-thought.com).


Bumming a Smoke from Nisargadatta--Attention, Non-Duality and the Healing of Smoking Addiction, Bear Gebhardt <bear@frii.com> (Smokers Freedom School)


Research sponsored by T e American Lung Association reveals that smokers trying to quit on their own have a 3-5% success rate. T e Centers for Disease Control found an average of 8- 18% success rate for stop smoking pro- grams across the country, regardless of whether the programs were using nicotine replacement or other pharmaceuti- cal aids. Somewhat biased research sponsored by the pharmaceutical companies shows a 25-35-% success rate. So at best, six or seven smokers out of ten fail when trying to quit. At times, nine out of ten fail. It’s a fi eld that needs new insights. Can we share the principles, insights and observations of non-duality to help smokers bring much needed light and fi re power to their urge to quit? Over the last fi fteen years the presenter, author of Th e Enlightened Smoker’s Guide to Quitting (1998, Element Books, 2008 BenBella Publishing) and Help Your Smoker Quit (1998, Fairview Press, 2009, Pathbinder Publishing) and a smoking cessation counselor for his county’s Health District, has been successfully incorporating non-duality insights into his professional work with smokers, particularly the insight that smoking is an addiction of attention. He has experienced an above average success rate with his clients, even though a large percentage are drawn from lower income and lower educational levels, traditionally the “hard core” smoking population. T is approach to quitting smoking is neatly summarized by Jean Klein, (T e Ease of Being, p.78 ) although smoking was not Klein’s context at the time: “Cease to be an accomplice to the mechanisms of comparison, evaluation and judgment and they will diminish from a lack of fuel…T e memory process comes to a halt. You fi nd yourself in silence, in freedom, in peace.” A lit cigarette burns at over 1000 degree Farenheit. Might objectless awareness cool it (and its holder) to ashes? Nisargadatta grins.


Emergence of Modern Abstract Art and the Concept of Nonduality, Carmel Byrne <carmel@ carmelbyrne.com> (Painter, Scratch Art Space) Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian are widely accepted as early pioneers of modern abstract art. Both explored


nonduality through T e T eosophical Society. Mondrian in particular was searching for the ‘pure’ and used as little of ‘reality’ as possible for he believed material opposed the spiritual realm. Australian Aboriginal desert artists accept fully the material realm and engage in a threedimensional acceptance of the material in relation to the spiritual, al- lied with a complex mix of cultural and personal narratives. Underpinning Australian Aboriginal creative expression are concepts of unity and connectedness and it is no coincidence that European modernists developed an abstract nonrepresentational language similar to that of Australian desert painters. It is the emerging contemporary practice of working with and in material, the here and now, that refl ects the end of the seeker. I further investigate contem- porary painters, such as Sean Scully and Brice Marden, who connect with ‘material intelligence’ in their creative work. T is is a visual presentation that includes some of my own journey as a painter.


OCTOBER 20–24, 2010 | SCIENCE AND NONDUALITY CONFERENCE 2010 55


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88