How do I understand Advaita?

“I”, “me”, “mine”, “you”, “yours”, “him”, “her”.  These are very isolating terms when you’re trying to understand non-duality.  How can “you” realize the true nature of awareness when everything has a name or a label?  I had blogged a while ago about how my mind identified every little thing I looked at without even trying.  When I look at a field of grass I see “bermuda”, “fescue”, “wheat”, “dandelions”, and on, and on.  I see the lay of the land, the direction of the sun – which way is North?  I know that to truly see means to see without the lens of the mind, to just see, and that’s it.  No labeling, no identification, no feelings, just seeing.  I don’t know how to do that, and it’s very frustrating.  I envy my 10-month old son because he hasn’t learned to label things yet.  Although, we have been teaching him the names of things… Mommy, Daddy, doggie, ball, car, and he’s responding, so that means he’s learning.

 So, do you have to think when you see?  Is there a way to turn your mind off for just a little while, and just see?  How ’bout this; can you turn your mind off and just BE?  That’s more like it… just BE.  No thoughts, no mind-noise, no body, no me, just BE.

I’ve been reading a lot of stuff by Gilbert Schultz lately.  I never heard of him before last week.  Somehow, I stumbled upon Sailor Bob Adamson (don’t know how), and found a link to Gilbert.  On his website (www.shiningthroughthemind.net) I found a link to a free e-book, which I am now reading.  The book is messing with me like… hmm… you know that thing where you move your finger up and down across your lips and it makes a bidibidibidi-type sound?… yeah, like that.  I see so many paradoxes, but I know the truth is in there somewhere.  Thanks for that, Gilbert!

Gilbert uses a few quotes from a guy named Nisargadatta Maharaj.  I’ll check him out some more later, but for now I have to bounce off the walls a few more times with Gilbert’s book.  If you want to go deep, maybe even find freedom, I think this thread is a great place to start.