Richard Hurl: Inner Alchemy

2 months ago | [YT] | 0

Richard Hurl: Inner Alchemy

Grab a copy of my book "Beyond I Am"!

1. Simply scan the QR code through your photos 2. Send over any donation
3. Email me at sadhakaram@gmail.com
4. I'll email you a digital version
5. Be well and enjoy!


Here's a snippet of the book:


"Beyond I AM" by Richard N. Hurl

Chapter One: The Apparent Centre

You wake each morning into a familiar shell, the body. It stretches, it aches, it hungers. You call it me. There is skin, there is movement, there is a particular voice, a face in the mirror, and a catalogue of memories, some sweet, others painful. This body seems so personal, so central to who you are. But pause. Look again. What is this body made of, truly? It is food, restructured, digested, shaped and animated by breath and awareness. The hair, the bones, the blood, the eyes, all of it borrowed from the elements, assembled temporarily into what you call your form. The body is not yours. It is not even you. It is Earth wearing your name tag.

Likewise, the mind. A stream of impressions flowing through time, shaped by what it has consumed. Not only food but impressions, voices of your parents, the songs of childhood, your culture, fears, cravings, praise, and blame, all etched into this bundle of thoughts and reactions you’ve come to believe is you. This mind, this habitual interpreter, is simply a memory machine. It is not the seer; it is the seen. Like a mirror reflecting countless scenes, it never holds anything of its own. And yet, it claims ownership: my thoughts, my views, my life. But who is the one that watches the thoughts come and go? There is in each of us an unnoticed shift that happens early in life, consciousness, pure and centerless, begins to mistake itself for this body-mind, for this particular form and narrative. The infinite becomes local. The universal becomes personal. It is as if the sky started thinking it was a single cloud. And once this misidentification is in place, all seeking begins. Seeking safety, pleasure, validation, permanence, chasing completion through a self that was never broken to begin with. But the great paradox is this: even while consciousness appears to be locked into a body, wrapped in memory and sensation, it never ceases to be what it has always been, boundless, untouched, free.

The body changes. The mind fluctuates. But something in you remains still, aware, watching all of it. This silent witness is not a part of the body. It is not a product of thought. It is the very light in which both appear. This is where we begin, not in abstract philosophy, but in the plain, living fact of your own experience. This body you sit in, this mind you call yours, are simply temporary appearances in That which has no name, no form, no beginning, and no end. We begin here not to dismiss the body or the mind, but to see them clearly. Only then can we turn gently, unmistakably, toward the Reality that was never lost, only overlooked. But what is this sense of I that clings to the body and mind so tightly? Where did it begin? Observe closely: in your earliest memories, there is not a fully formed person, just sensations, experiences, and a gradual association between them. Over time, the child hears their name repeated, sees their body in the mirror, is told what is theirs and what is not, what is good and what is bad. The innocent openness of awareness slowly contracts around a centre, me. This centre is not found in the body, but rather in the feeling of being the owner of the body. It is not found in the mind, but in the idea that the thoughts and feelings are mine. This contraction, this claiming of experience, is the beginning of the false self. The I Am is the root of self-awareness, it is pure being before it becomes this or that. It is your original sense of presence, untouched by content. But it doesn’t remain pure for long.

The moment consciousness says, I am this body, I am this mind, the veil begins to descend. From pure being, it falls into becoming, becoming a person, a story, a role in the world. And from that moment on, the search begins: the search for peace, love, meaning, and fulfilment, all through the very identity that veils the Source from which these qualities naturally radiate. This is why every effort to secure happiness in the world, no matter how noble, how disciplined, or how well-meaning, ultimately ends in dissatisfaction. Because what is sought is already here, but the seeker is looking with eyes clouded by misidentification. Imagine mistaking the reflection in the mirror for yourself, and then trying to fix your appearance by polishing the glass. You may make the reflection clearer, more pleasing, but you will never find yourself in the image. The self is not in thought. It is not in memory. It is not in the mirror of the mind. It is the one who sees.

The journey we are about to undertake is not one of acquiring anything new. It is not even a journey in time. It is a return to the timeless, to That which was never absent, only overlooked. It begins with sincere attention: not to what you think you are, but to what remains when all thought subsides. Not to the changing world of name and form, but to the changeless presence in which all arises. This is not philosophy. This is the invitation of direct perception. The sense I Am is sacred. It is the first light of pure Being shining within the field of experience. Before the name, before the body, before the stories of “who you are” arise, there is simply this undeniable sense: I exist. Not as a man or woman, not as a success or failure, but as presence itself. This feeling of existence is the threshold between the formless and form, the infinite and the personal. If you rest in it without reaching for definition, it becomes the silent doorway to the Self. But if you rush to clothe it, I am this, I am that, it quickly becomes the seed of illusion...

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3 months ago | [YT] | 1

Richard Hurl: Inner Alchemy

4 months ago | [YT] | 2

Richard Hurl: Inner Alchemy

Namaskar everyone!
I haven't posted here in a while and thought I should!

Is there any kind of content you'd like to hear me speak about? I'd be more than happy to discuss whatever it is you're wondering about.

Let me know in the comments.

Hari Om!

Ram

9 months ago | [YT] | 3

Richard Hurl: Inner Alchemy

Namaskar 🙏🏽
Welcome everyone!

Let's create a safe space to discuss spiritual topics and learn together.

1 year ago | [YT] | 3