Inquiry: He should appear more normal

He should appear more normal. (David W., a local teacher in the Ramana Maharshi tradition who seems to go into an absorption state when teaching.)

1. True?
   Yes. Feels true. I can find stories telling me it is true. In my mind, I can find others agreeing.
2. Sure it is true?
   No. Not at all. It is just an opinion. (Obviously a hangup, an unexamined story, since there is an emotional charge there.)
3. What happens when I take that story as true?
   • I feel annoyed.
   • I notice and keep inventory of what he is doing that is outside of “normal”: When he teaches, he seems to go into an absorption state. He looks, talks and moves as a zombie. He uses archaic English, even if he is relatively young.
   • I put him down in his mind, through “zombie” labels and more.
   • I make my own stories right, and the folks who don’t agree wrong. (In my mind.)
   • I tell myself that he is giving spirituality a bad name by acting in that way, weirdly. What will people think and say? What will they think and say about me, if they knew I was there?
   • There is an emotional charge, which fuels the stories mentioned above, which in turn fuels the emotional charge.
   • I experience separation. Feel that I am in the wrong place, with the wrong group.
   • When did I first have that thought? As a kid when I myself tried to be as normal as possible, unsuccessfully most of the time. I created a strong belief for myself that normal is good, and have carried that with me and into many areas of life. In this case, when I first saw David W. teaching.
4. Who would I be without it?
   • Receptive. Curious. This is the first teacher I have seen that appears to go into an absorption state or trance when teaching. I appreciate the difference, the richness in how different people teach. I am free to explore the gifts of this particular way of doing it. I am free to acknowledge that many seem to benefit, including people who’s opinions I respect. I am free to stay or leave, and to do so from more clarity and appreciation and less from reactivity.
5. Turnaround
   • He should not appear more normal.
     • No. Infinite causes…. The history of all of Existence has led up to that exact teaching style. (Which doesn’t mean I have to go to his teachings.)
     • Many seem to get a great deal out of it. It seems to benefit many, including many who are seasoned and smart about these things.
     • It triggers this belief in me so I can see it and inquire into it. That in itself makes it worth it for me.
   • I should appear more normal.
     • Well, yes. The advice is always for myself. The advice “act normal” comes up and it is for myself, not him.
     • It may have been good advice for myself as a kid. Now, I can inquire into it and find a wider field of possibilities.
     • When I take a story as true, I become “abnormal” in several ways. Inquiring into the belief, finding what is more true for me, I normalize. In that way, the advice is more than current.
   • My thinking should appear more normal.
     • Yes, when a story is taken as true, my thinking gets distorted. It becomes abnormal. When I find what is more true for me, my thinking normalizes. Thoughts are recognized as innocent questions.