There’s a quote by Nisargadatta Maharaj that I’ve been reflecting on lately: “When I look inside and see that I am nothing, that is wisdom. When I look outside and see that I am everything, that is love. And between these two, my life turns.”
Gah! So good, right?! It slays me every time.
It sounds really mystical, or maybe even confusing, but if you sit with it long enough, it starts to reveal something really profound. And simple.
Something grounded. Intuitive. True.
“When I look inside and see that I am nothing…”
The “nothing” here isn’t supposed to be nihilistic or depressing. It’s referring to the vast, quiet, emptiness mystics have talked about forever. It’s the spaciousness beyond ego-identity, beyond our to-do list, and beyond the roles and stories we’ve been carrying about who we’re ”supposed” to be.
It’s not a scary void. More like a wide open sky. Limitless, still, and free.
If you’ve ever sat still long enough, whether on your cushion or just staring out a window, you’ve probably touched it. That sense of being aware, but not being anyONE in particular.
In that stillness there is a kind of freedom.
That is the wisdom that Nisargadatta points to. The kind that arises not from accumulating more to be, do, and have, but from letting go and emptying out.
The next piece of the quote, “When I look outside and see that I am everything…” is where love comes rushing in for me. The sound of your dog barking, the ache in your chest when someone misunderstands you, your best friend’s laugh, or the rustle of the trees…everything contains everything else.
And here’s the thing – it’s not that he says we see everything and feel compassion. He says, “I am everything, that is love.”
That is the heart of nonduality. It’s not about detaching from life. It’s about realizing that we ARE life. We aren’t separate. We are the birdsong AND the ambulance sirens. The laughter AND the grief. The sky, the sound of our favorite singer’s voice, AND the stranger’s pain on the subway.
And so the line between “me” and “the world” dissolves. Not as a concept, but as a living truth.
We are completely of it. No separation. We see the lie of separation and that it was an illusion.
And that changes everything.
When we start to dissolve into an inner stillness and begin to really see what’s in front of us, it’s not lonely. In fact, it’s love.
Not the kind we have to manufacture.
Not the kind that depends on whether we like what we see or not.
But the kind that arises naturally from pure and simple presence.
We love because that is what arises when separation falls away.
This is where the two truths meet: The nothing and the everything. The emptiness and the fullness.
Wisdom AND love.
And then, this line: “And between these two, my life turns.”
Welcome to the human experience. One moment, we’re resting in the quiet emptiness of awareness. And the next, we’re caught up in the swirl of being everything.
And life moves through us like a breath. We’re not stuck in the formless, but we’re also not lost in the form. We live between them.
This moving between the two isn’t something to fix. It IS the path.
So what does this look like in daily life?
It looks like washing dishes with awareness. Pausing before reacting. Forgiving yourself again (and again, and again).
It’s letting awe crack you open in something as mundane as the checkout line. Listening—really listening—to someone without planning your reply.
We don’t need to renounce our life or be more “spiritual” or finally get it all together.
We just need to enter life more deeply.
That, rebel, is everyday enlightenment. Not some faraway state for the chosen few. But a moment-to-moment practice of showing up.
Fully. Tenderly. Awake.
You will learn:
// Why “nothing” isn’t a scary void, but a limitless place of freedom and wisdom, and how we can touch it
// How realizing the illusion of separation can lead us to love
// Where wisdom and love meet, and why living there IS the path
// Ways to find this in our daily lives
Resources:
// Episode 198: WTF Is Enlightenment?
// Episode 209: Ripening and the Inevitability of Our Awakening
// Episode 260: Wild + Woven – Why We Need Both Nature and People
// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.
// Want something more self-paced with access to weekly group support and getting coached by yours truly? Check out Freedom School – the community for ALL things related to freedom, inside and out. We dive into taking wisdom and applying it to our daily lives, with different topics every month. Learn more at JoinFreedomSchool.com. I can’t wait to see you there!
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