Please see the September 12, 2007 posting for the e-mail being responded to in this posting
F.: [Continued from yesterday]
2. Today’s post will focus on…
…the consciousness never comes or goes but only appears to have come
and
…cycles and cycling
Consider: Do parents really "make" babies? Has any baby ever really “come”? Will the baby grow old and die and thereby “go”? Or, did an act of friction result in an exchange of, and co-mingling of, fluids that triggered a grouping of already-existing elements? Will the laws of nature determine that all groupings will un-group at some point? And even when any given grouping is grouped no more, will anything have “ended” or “come” or “gone”?
F.: [Continued from yesterday]
2. Today’s post will focus on…
…the consciousness never comes or goes but only appears to have come
and
…cycles and cycling
Consider: Do parents really "make" babies? Has any baby ever really “come”? Will the baby grow old and die and thereby “go”? Or, did an act of friction result in an exchange of, and co-mingling of, fluids that triggered a grouping of already-existing elements? Will the laws of nature determine that all groupings will un-group at some point? And even when any given grouping is grouped no more, will anything have “ended” or “come” or “gone”?
Elements can group and be called "a bridge." The instant that the elements un-group, they will not be considered a bridge any longer. They will be re-labeled "rubble," and the happenings associated with the un-grouping will often be labeled "a tragedy" by the ignorant masses. But did anything come or go? Won’t the elements, which have been all along, still be? Won’t the air that was there still be there? Won’t the conscious-energy that has always been also continue to be?
Now, apply the same understanding to a "baby being born" or to an "elder dying." What nonsense. In either case, there was nothing more than a temporary grouping and then an un-grouping. No birth. No death. No re-birth. No resurrection. No recycling of a body-mind-personality. Nothing made. Nothing destroyed.
No parent has ever “made” anything. Already-existing “things” (air, elements, energy) merely grouped, naturally and spontaneously. The air already existed prior to any grouping of elements through which that air could circulate as “breath”; the elements already existed before they grouped into a space that appeared to be a form with name; and the consciousness had already existed before the grouping allowed that sense of presence to happen, temporarily.
As for “cycles” and “cycling,” since you have “advanced” far enough along the “path,” you can now be offered certain alternate considerations which probe more deeply than some provided when you were only beginning the “journey.” First, recognize that one of the most basic aspects of “the phenomenal existence” involves periods of sleeping and not sleeping.
No parent has ever “made” anything. Already-existing “things” (air, elements, energy) merely grouped, naturally and spontaneously. The air already existed prior to any grouping of elements through which that air could circulate as “breath”; the elements already existed before they grouped into a space that appeared to be a form with name; and the consciousness had already existed before the grouping allowed that sense of presence to happen, temporarily.
As for “cycles” and “cycling,” since you have “advanced” far enough along the “path,” you can now be offered certain alternate considerations which probe more deeply than some provided when you were only beginning the “journey.” First, recognize that one of the most basic aspects of “the phenomenal existence” involves periods of sleeping and not sleeping.
While consciousness appears to have “gone” for a time and while a person might appear to be “unconscious,” has consciousness really “gone” anywhere? When one awakes, does that mean that the consciousness has "come back"? That sleeping/not sleeping process can easily fool you into believing that consciousness comes and goes daily. Persons then expand that notion and conclude that consciousness comes "at birth" and goes "at death." But is either belief true?
Consciousness is still present during sleep and guarantees that your lungs and heart still function even though you are not awake and even though you are not causing those organs to function. The consciousness is that which Is, and that is neither coming nor going. It is manifesting or manifested or unmanifesting or not manifested, but it always Is.
On the drive to LA this weekend, many among that vast population of “love bugs” will strike the windshield of the car. Conscious-energy will be released from the space, and the air/breath will be released from the space. The elements, which appear at one instant to be "bugs," will appear at the next instant to be "a mess" which will require vigorous scrubbing for removal.
Consciousness is still present during sleep and guarantees that your lungs and heart still function even though you are not awake and even though you are not causing those organs to function. The consciousness is that which Is, and that is neither coming nor going. It is manifesting or manifested or unmanifesting or not manifested, but it always Is.
On the drive to LA this weekend, many among that vast population of “love bugs” will strike the windshield of the car. Conscious-energy will be released from the space, and the air/breath will be released from the space. The elements, which appear at one instant to be "bugs," will appear at the next instant to be "a mess" which will require vigorous scrubbing for removal.
Similarly, the space called "floyd" will eventually appear to be an urn of ashes, yet the fact is that in the bug-to-mess scenario or in the floyd-to-ash scenario, the air will not “go” anywhere to await “recycling,” and neither will the conscious-energy. It will not have to “go away” to some field of energy because the field is universal.
As a second consideration regarding “cycles,” consider: Does the sun really “rise”? Does the sun really “set”? Do these misperceived happenings that are labeled “sunrises” and “sunsets” really involve a sun that is “coming” and “going”? On a cloudy day, is the weather person speaking truthfully when reporting that "there will no sunshine today"?
To develop an illustration in the book CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS as a third example for your consideration, suppose you own a glue stick. Does “stickiness” come when happenings result in a grouping of elements called “a glue stick,” or was the essence called “stickiness” always present? Does “stickiness” go when the Laws of Thermodynamics assure that a grouping of elements called "a glue stick" eventually un-groups?
The “stickiness” is, and it does not come or go. Now, humans might leave a glue stick in a bowl of water. That exposure to water can pervert the essence of the glue so that the aspect of “stickiness” is warped. But does any part of what is taken to be “a glue stick” come or go, even after the form of the stick is no more? Of course not. All of those parts/elements were already present in order for that glue stick to combine into a temporary form, and all of the parts/elements will remain after that temporary formation is no more.
As a second consideration regarding “cycles,” consider: Does the sun really “rise”? Does the sun really “set”? Do these misperceived happenings that are labeled “sunrises” and “sunsets” really involve a sun that is “coming” and “going”? On a cloudy day, is the weather person speaking truthfully when reporting that "there will no sunshine today"?
To develop an illustration in the book CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS as a third example for your consideration, suppose you own a glue stick. Does “stickiness” come when happenings result in a grouping of elements called “a glue stick,” or was the essence called “stickiness” always present? Does “stickiness” go when the Laws of Thermodynamics assure that a grouping of elements called "a glue stick" eventually un-groups?
The “stickiness” is, and it does not come or go. Now, humans might leave a glue stick in a bowl of water. That exposure to water can pervert the essence of the glue so that the aspect of “stickiness” is warped. But does any part of what is taken to be “a glue stick” come or go, even after the form of the stick is no more? Of course not. All of those parts/elements were already present in order for that glue stick to combine into a temporary form, and all of the parts/elements will remain after that temporary formation is no more.
The same applies to humans, plants, birds…to everything. Everything is really just one thing, each vibrating at different rates. It is only the differing rates of vibration that result in appearances that seem to be different to unaware observers. And it is only the learned ignorance that the masses take to be truth that causes them to believe that a human or a plant or a bird or anything else comes from somewhere or goes somewhere. (So much for a geographic "heaven" or a geographic "hell.")
Similarly, as with a glue stick being exposed to water and becoming "warped," exposure to programming, conditioning, enculturation and domestication can “warp” the manifested consciousness, so to speak. Thus, Maharaj’s pointer is accurate, and just as “stickiness” does not come and go, the “advanced seeker” can realize that the consciousness does not come or go but only appears to do so.
See that, unlike the noumenal (which is beyond objects and appearances and that can be understood via the pure consciousness when manifested), the sense of presence is phenomenal (and therefore involves objects and appearances and erroneous perceiving.)
Awareness is unaware of awareness unless Consciousness manifests and becomes aware of Self and aware of the Absolute (which is beyond beingness and non-beingness, beyond self-ness and even Self-ness). But that which Is, Is. The Real does not come or go. It always Was, always Is, and always shall Be.
Now, you may also consider these additional pointers:
Similarly, as with a glue stick being exposed to water and becoming "warped," exposure to programming, conditioning, enculturation and domestication can “warp” the manifested consciousness, so to speak. Thus, Maharaj’s pointer is accurate, and just as “stickiness” does not come and go, the “advanced seeker” can realize that the consciousness does not come or go but only appears to do so.
See that, unlike the noumenal (which is beyond objects and appearances and that can be understood via the pure consciousness when manifested), the sense of presence is phenomenal (and therefore involves objects and appearances and erroneous perceiving.)
Awareness is unaware of awareness unless Consciousness manifests and becomes aware of Self and aware of the Absolute (which is beyond beingness and non-beingness, beyond self-ness and even Self-ness). But that which Is, Is. The Real does not come or go. It always Was, always Is, and always shall Be.
Now, you may also consider these additional pointers:
1. Nothing is actually as perceived by observers.
2. Nothing comes or goes.
3. Rather than "cycling," a more accurate description might be that:
a. Groupings and un-groupings are happening (or not) and
b. Energy is merely in motion.
4. All which is supposedly "seen" is only a momentary appearance involving something being mistaken for what it is not (such as "You" being mistaken for "you.")
5. Continuity of anything with name and form is a mental, fictional construct only.
In the context of all of the above, you’re now invited to reconsider the pointers that you found confusing. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
READINGS RELATED TO TODAY’S TOPIC:
4. All which is supposedly "seen" is only a momentary appearance involving something being mistaken for what it is not (such as "You" being mistaken for "you.")
5. Continuity of anything with name and form is a mental, fictional construct only.
In the context of all of the above, you’re now invited to reconsider the pointers that you found confusing. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
READINGS RELATED TO TODAY’S TOPIC:
and
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