CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS, Part Two

FROM A SITE VISITOR: Please explain consciousness as opposed to awareness. Thank you. Harish

F.: Hello, again, Harish. Now the discussion begun in Tuesday’s post will continue. In the no-concept, non-dual reality, there is nothing “opposed to” anything else, but the terms are pointers used in explanations of energy manifested, energy not manifested, pure energy, corrupted energy, and energy unmanifested. Know first, though, that since reality is non-dual, consciousness/awareness is not two, just as I Am/I Am That is not two. That said, “attributes” can nevertheless be pointed to for the sake of discussion and understanding.

In the consideration offered in the 1 May 2007 post, did you find an understanding in the “light analogy”? Those who missed the analogy can review this summary:

A storm approached; skies darken. Along a walkway, lights on posts came on automatically. Water puddled and the lights cast diagonal reflections that appeared to become a thousand smaller lights. The reflections were not the real light, were they? The appearance of a thousand different lights was also a misperception. The actual light fixtures in the background were the source of the perceived perceptions, but they are only a temporary combination of elements that happened as a result of human conduct. Ultimately, behind/beyond the light bulb and the supposed reflections and the supposed smaller lights was a form of energy that actually allowed the entire scene to happen.

In that analogy, the bulb temporarily Is because of human behavior, just as an act of friction involving two humans made possible the temporary Is-ness of the short-term manifestation of consciousness presently being called “Harish.” Because that bulb (consciousness) Is, the reflections seem to be. Yet neither the consciousness (bulb) nor the perceived reflections are real; that is, neither are That Which Is permanent. The bulb (consciousness) will someday not be as the elements combined as the space called "a bulb" will return to the pool of universal elements. When the consciousness (bulb) is manifested no more, then the reflections that only appear to be real will no longer be perceived at all. What remains? The energy that made possible the temporarily manifested consciousness (the lit bulb), which had made it possible for false reflections to seem real and which made it possible for the false smaller lights to seem real.

That Which Is behind and beyond the bulb—the Awareness—allowed the consciousness to be temporarily manifested. The temporary manifestation of consciousness generated the temporary misperceptions. Thus: “Those alone who understand that I, the Absolute, am beyond the states of being and non-being realize my true nature, and all others are fools.”

Here's another analogy that might provide more clarify for some seekers regarding the nature of reality beyond Self-Realization:

Consider glue sticks. Happenings by humans result in elements being combined and result in the temporary manifestation of glue sticks. Glue can be described as “sticky” but, ultimately, “stickiness” is why it can be sticky. Similarly, Consciousness is what allows consciousness of to happen, but Awareness is why the Consciousness can happen. (To extend the metaphor, and possibly the understanding, Awareness is the “stickiness” that allows the sticky glue of Consciousness to happen. The sticky glue is temporary; "stickiness" is the nature of the glue that is eternal.)

NOTE: The full treatment of this subject matter is book-length. All aspects of Consciousness/Awareness are explained completely in the soon-to-be-released book, CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute). For now, here’s an excerpt from the book, which is only for those who have already Self-Realized. The “glue stick” passages might provide some clarity for you:

Realize that glue, while a temporary combination of physical elements, has no independent and eternal existence apart from that fundamental background of “stickiness.” Similarly, Consciousness, while manifested via a temporary combination of physical elements, has no independent existence apart from its fundamental background of Awareness.

To illustrate, look at this picture taken from a window of the apartment used during stays in Tuscany:

In the foreground, preparation is being made to harvest crops; a new house is being built; some people are driving to work; down the road to the right, people are waiting to catch the local bus to the mercato in nearby Villafranca; someone is making a delivery in the white van approaching from the right. In the foreground part of the picture, drivers are conscious of obstacles and intersections and traffic signs and lane markers. It appears that there are do-ers and it seems that they are doing. Take the background to include the portion illustrating trees, mountains, clouds and sky. Beingness, rather than doingness, appears to be happening there.

Now, you’re invited to study the picture and (a) determine the ways in which the foreground might represent Consciousness manifest and (b) determine what the background might reveal about Awareness. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)

SAMSKARAS AND ARCHETYPES: DELUSIONS AND DUALITY

F.: A recent series explained how the mind was once an asset but has now become a liability. That series triggered a number of e-mails asking about samskaras as well as archetypal images. Tomorrow, archetypal images will be discussed. Today, some considerations regarding samskaras will be offered, as explained earlier in the following exchange that is an extract from the soon-to-be-published book entitled CONSCIOUSNESS, AWARENESS, AND THE NATURE OF REALITY (Peace Every Day When Abiding as the Absolute) :

Seeker: And how has my consciousness been corrupted, according to you?
F.: Via impressions—or samskaras—as my teacher called them. Here’s an analogy: imagine you’re at the beach, a few yards from the water’s edge. As you walk, you leave behind impressions of your feet. Are those impressions real?
Seeker: For the moment, yes.
F.: Really? What’s real about those impressions? They are only space—nothingness, emptiness—that seems to your eye to be “something” when in fact they are nothing. Will they last?
Seeker: They’ll last until the tide comes in and washes them away.
F.: So are they an actual form, or just a temporary space that appears to have shape and form?
Seeker: OK...they’re temporary.
F.: So it is with everything you think you see. It’s only an appearance, and appearances are distortions, and distortions trigger misery. You look at the body called “floyd” and all that is there is a space, but you think you are seeing some thing. It is emptiness…nothingness. Just a handful of elements with air and energy temporarily circulating through the space. If you remove the water that is within the body, then those elements won’t even fill a small urn.

Realization is like the wave that can come along and sweep away all the false impressions imprinted on "the mind." Realization makes you aware that the nothingness that you’ve always taken to be something is not that thing at all. Those impressions were never real. You mistook an empty space to be something, and that’s what persons do all day long, all month long, all year long, year after year after year. Most spend their entire existence convinced that their perceptions are the “right” perceptions when if fact they have never seen anything “rightly.”

As a result, they will suffer from one false impression after another, not unlike all the impressions in your “mind.” Footprints in the sand appear to have some shape or form, just as mirages in the desert appear to have a shape or form, but the reality is that all impressions and all mirages are just a part of the fiction of the “mind.” To be “in touch with reality” is to be able to differentiate betwen what is illusion and what is real, between what is delusion and what is truth, and between that which appears to be dualistic as opposed to that which is One and truly Real. Please enter the silence of contemplation.

WORKING ON “THE FINAL PIECE” AND PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER?

Click THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS

Click FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)

TRANSCENDENCE: Not “Death,” but the “Death” of Ego, the “Death” of False Identities, the “Death” of Misperceptions, Part Three, The Conclusion

FROM A SITE VISITOR: [Received 1 March 2007] Found your site recently. Some of your writings have helped more since my wife left than the so-called “pros” I went to and the so-called “support groups” but that old husband idea is still kicking my ass (pardon the French.) What you wrote today about being energy and not really being a husband is trying to tell me something but husband still feels very real right now and so does his pain. Any other tips?

[Continued from yesterday]

F.: Next, accept that “she” will likely soon be playing another part, another role, with another actor. So it is. If you don’t awaken, you too will soon be playing another part, another role, with another actress. Do you really want such phoniness any more? If you do, then the readiness is not there and you’ll soon be back on the stage, lost in the angst of another bit of drama. This is not about your getting free of “her.” It is about your being free of “him,” free of a false identity called "The Husband" which you feel is now dying. The same applies to females visiting the site: the trap is to assume a false identity-lose the false identity-then go into high gear to re-create the false identity.

If you are tired enough of the misery and drama that accompanies this role (and all roles), then you’ll begin the “journey” of shifting to Truth and Reality. If not, the repetition compulsion will drive you to recreate the same drama all over again…and again…and again. It was asked recently by a site visitor, “Are you married, or at least dating?” The answer was, "That which is called 'dating' is happening, and happening in a most entertaining fashion, thank you very much. As for 'married,' yes; in fact, we are both married…to freedom."

So, to review: whimpers may happen during the relative existence since feelings can happen even as ego-inspired emotional intoxication ends. Sometimes sobbing might happen. Sometimes crying convulsively might happen. Of course emotional intoxication never happens among the Realized. If feelings are witnessed to rise and fall, none of that has anything to do with the re-purified consciousness. Should you continue to search for a peaceful resolution, then the core of the problem must be understood: abandon attachment to personality. A site visitor recently admitted that he is now overly-engaged in personality analysis, using the enneagram to better understand himself. That still keeps the focus on the personality or personalities and reinforces the false. He was offered this pointer after inquiring about the enneagram:

You do not need more knowledge. The only thing you need to be aware of about any of the nine types of personality is that they drive people, that none of the personalities are you, and that all personality is to be transcended if you would be sane and happy.

If you would realize That Which You Truly Are, then forfeit body identification first and then begin eliminating the belief that your personality and the roles you play can define What You Are. The result of belief in the fictional “self-concept” is this: the self-concept drives behavior, makes you think that you are entitled to this or that, that you do not have to tolerant this or that, that you deserve more than this or that, that you need this or that, that your fears are real and are justifiable, and that your desires are not only justified but will lead to happiness if attained.

The false self will drive you to believe that you “create your own reality,” which is maximum nonsense. [You can search this site for further discussion of the insane thinking that drives persons to believe that they can create anything, much less “reality.”] Belief in “the self” will result in a belief in your false, perceptual reality (which you will take to be “your own reality,” self-created). It will drive you to believe that you are in the world and will prevent you from seeing that the world is in you. [For more on this subject and the following pointer as well, visit http://www.advaitaquotes.blogspot.com]

That perceived "world" is actually nothing more than a subjective, erroneous perception that is unquestioningly believed to be real. You might as well believe that the actors seen on the screen of a movie theater are really there and are truly real. They are not real, and neither is the role that is driving your current misery. If you would stop the troubling thoughts, do not try to control the "mind" and do not try to stop thinking. It will never happen. Instead, find WHO is doing that "talking" inside your head. That is, ask, "Which role, which false identity, is generating the current thoughts that are so disturbing?" Only by eliminating belief in the role that is generating the thoughts will the thoughts come to an end.

Should the mourning that accompanies the “death” of ego, the “death” of false identities, and the “death” of misperceptions give way to the laughter of Realization, then please write to report the event. For now, you're invited to enter the silence of contemplation (or to consider forfeiting belief in the ego-states that are not allowing the silence to happen inside your head).