Consciousness

[Aaron]

Hello folks,

 

It's late and I've had a long day, so I'm going to try to make this brief. In another thread we were talking about Tao and it sort of got a bit here and there, and that was great, really it was, but I realized that what I was talking about really had no place in that thread, rather it was my own idea and view of something that I felt could be Tao... the emphasis there is on could be. What I will share with you now isn't about the Tao, but rather consciousness.

 

When we are born we are already conscious, in fact there is evidence that we are conscious from the very first few days that we are in the womb. By conscious I mean we are aware, that we understand that there is a world around us and that we are a part of that world. This is amazing when you think about it, because for many of us we believe that consciousness begins when we are born, it's hard to realize that even before we can remember it, we are already thinking and aware of the world.

 

I sometimes wonder how different consciousness was for us then compared to how we think about it now. After years of being taught about who we are and what we are, has our perspective of the universe been altered somehow, have we lost some cosmic knowledge that we were born with? Many religions, Taoism included, believe that the only perfect being on the face of the Earth, or perhaps the most perfect are infants.

 

When you examine an newborn infant, what you find is a person that is very much unlike an adult, not simply in their understanding of the world, but also in their priorities. Infants focus on hunger, warmth, and comfort. As long as they have these things in their life they are at peace. I think for an infant it is very hard to tell where they begin and the world ends. It's only as they grow older and begin to view the world and are taught how to view the world, not only in learning to speak, but also where their place is within the world that this changes, that they begin to view things infinitely different.

 

I sometimes wonder when I first began to think of myself as not simply an I, but as a being that existed within a body, a consciousness connected to a physical form. When did I truly believe that my thoughts were separate from my thumb, my nose, and my belly button? When did I stop seeing myself as a whole being and started to view myself as fragments of being. I think if I could go back and recognize that moment, I'd realize when I began to become separate from the world, when I stopped being the world and started being me.

 

I spent twenty years struggling to get back to that point without even realizing it. In my early years I looked into the colorful and exciting schools of thought, magic, shamanism, and even Christianity, but after suffering a great deal and having a deeply spiritual experience my pursuits changed. Shortly after my spiritual experience I began studying Taoism. It was the year my father died to be exact, 1991. I was barely old enough to drink and a friend of mine pointed me in the direction Taoism. I didn't know what to expect, but I read the Tao Teh Ching and it made a lot of sense to me.

 

After reading the Tao Teh Ching I started to study more about Taoism. I learned about the religious aspect, the martial aspect, Qi, Tai Chi and such, but it never stuck with me, because I was a deeply introspective person, examining the outside didn't seem as important to me as examining the inside. Meditation was wonderful. I spent hours meditating each day, if only because it allowed my troubled mind moments of peace from all the insanity. I meditated nearly every day for decades expecting at some point that my meditation and study of the Tao Teh Ching would suddenly allow me some realization of what the world was really about... but it never happened.

 

I mention this only because it plays a large part in my current understanding of consciousness, because even though I never became enlightened from reading the Tao Teh Ching, what I did become aware of was that there was a mystery and that if I was diligent and practiced, I would become aware of that mystery.

 

As I said I struggled for nearly two decades, never feeling very spiritual or enlightened, but wanting so much to be and when it never came, in a fit of disgust I gave up on enlightenment, decided that it was a hoax, that there really wasn't anything more to this universe than what I could see. I gave up on Taoism for the most part. I started to study other philosophies, hoping that maybe I could learn something from them that I missed in Taoism.

 

I started to study Zen. I hated Zen and Buddhism at first, if only because they seemed so focused on the negative, at least in my mind. Everything is suffering... how silly that sounded then. I still don't buy it mind you, but after some time learning more about samsara, I can understand it.

 

After several months of Zen I stumbled across Alan Watts "The Book" and it was there that a gradual spark of understanding took place. I understood on an intimate level what I really was, that I wasn't simply a being within a body, but I was the body and the universe and everything that existed. At first this was just an intellectual understanding, but then it happened. I was sitting in my bedroom on my worn out mattress, trying to find a comfortable place to begin reading a book when suddenly it all made sense. It was literally like a bolt of lightning hit me, a sensation moved through my body, like electricity, every bit of me felt tingly and I just knew.

 

Trying to explain it is very difficult and perhaps it's hubris that leads me to explain it, this idea that it can be explained, even though every time I try to, it seems to never succeed. Recently however I was fortunate enough to watch a documentary called "The Quantum Activist" and it was that documentary that made sense of what up until then I could only describe as a deeply spiritual experience and awareness.

 

See part of my problem was my inherent disbelief in God or any sort of higher power that worked within the framework of this Universe. Someone asked the question, "what created the Gods?" I, however, in my state of "enlightenment" was baffled, because I knew, without a doubt that there was no God, at least not how others conceived of it. How could I reach enlightenment if I did not believe in Samsara, or Krishna, or any type of higher power, where did my enlightenment come from and if it didn't come from "God" then where did it come from.

 

What I learned from "The Quantum Activist" changed my perspective and made sense of all the things that up until then had baffled me. I realized that what connected everything together, what created and managed the universe wasn't an embodiment of intelligence and force of will. It wasn't some human looking being that sat on a golden throne deciding what was good and what was bad, rather it was a force that permeated the entire universe, a force that was every bit as real as my own thoughts are. That force was consciousness.

 

My sudden awareness did not stem from understanding that I was God asleep, but rather that I was conscious and that the universe I lived in was conscious. That my consciousness, even though it seemed only to exist within myself, was connected to this collected consciousness, this universal consciousness.

 

The reason I felt this affinity for all things, whether it be a cockroach or my neighbor, or even you, didn't arise because I suddenly became aware of the true existence of God, or because I suddenly destroyed my ego, but rather because I realized that my ego was merely the construct that hid this consciousness from me.

 

I understood that at every waking moment this consciousness that permeates all things, permeates me as well. That I am in fact you and you are me, simply because we are born of the same thing, the physical shapes we see are just illusions that fool us into believing that we are separate, when in reality, even the space between us is filled with consciousness. There is nothing that separates me from you. There is nothing that separates me from anything else in this universe, no matter how distant it might be from me.

 

A friend of mine recently made the statement, "I am a rock!" That's funny, but it's very much true. I am more than simply Aaron. I am a rock. I am the water passing through the sea. I am everything that exists, yet I am also me.

 

This is the part that people seem to get confused about, at least when it comes to Buddhism and Taoism, that in realizing that you are not simply yourself, that somehow you cease to be yourself, but that's not how it is at all. I am conscious of this Universal Consciousness, I can feel it and sense it, yet I am very much myself as well. The point is that even though I am the physical being known as Aaron, I am also the entirety of existence. I am the alpha and the omega, and in being the alpha and omega it would be very easy to fall into the illusion that I am God, but I don't believe that to be true, anymore than I believe an apple tastes like an orange, rather I understand that I am distinguishing between the apple and the orange.

 

I am consciousness. I am aware and in being aware I have come to know the universe and know that because I am conscious, because I am aware of my state of consciousness, I am of the utmost benefit to this universe. I mention this because someone asked me, how are we necessary for the existence of the universe? The answer is that if I did not exist, or you did not exist, the universe would not exist. Everything that exists now is a necessary part of the existence in this universe, because there is a reason for us all to be here.

 

Do I know that reason, well you wouldn't like the answer I have to give, at least I don't think you would. The reason isn't that we each have this higher purpose to do good or help our fellow man, rather the reason is that the collective conscious has created us, nothing more. We are all born from this collected conscious. Why? I think it's merely to be a part of the physical universe, to have a vessel for the expression of consciousness.

 

Is this conscious intelligent? Well it depends on how you view intelligence. Is a baby intelligent? Can an infant explain to you why they are hungry? Does their inability to explain this suddenly make them unintelligent? The problem stems from our attempt to define consciousness from our own individual experience, which has been distinctly separated from consciousness. So long as we try to apply human terms to this consciousness, then we're missing it, because it is not human, even though it created humanity.

 

Consciousness has no physical form, yet everything physical comes from it. Consciousness can not be felt or touched, yet without it we could not feel or touch anything. Consciousness is the totality of everything. When I say I am you and you are me, I do not mean that I am physically you and you are physically me, but rather that we are all one thing without even knowing it.

 

When you understand this on a deep level your perception of the world changes. My connection to you is very intimate, because we are more than just brothers and sisters, we are each the totality of existence. If I help you, then I am helping me. If I love you then I am loving me. If I cannot love you, then I can never love myself. It's that simple. Compassion arises from this awareness because you understand that you are not simply being compassionate out of selflessness or true love, but rather because there is no logical reason not to be.

 

Anyways, I have to work tomorrow and it's gotten late, so I'll stop there. I think I've said enough already. As I said, trying to explain this is very difficult. Amit Goswami does a much better job than I do, so if you're really interested, go watch "The Quantum Activist". You can stream it through netflix if you are so inclined.

 

If you have any questions or wish to share your own perspective, then feel free, but I would ask that you treat each other and me with respect. I hope that everyone is doing well.

 

Aaron

Edited March 24, 2011 by Twinner

[C T]

Hi Aaron,

 

Interesting thoughts... thank you for sharing another layer of your understanding. Such endeavors will yield many fruits, so i wish you much happiness and vigor as you meander along the path towards deeper insights.

 

Perhaps these words from Thich Nhat Hanh could further highlight some of the intricacies of the hows, the whys and the wheres of Consciousness. I think you will find this quite useful../ http://archive.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2006/summer/consciousness.html

 

Have a nice day.

[Lotus7]

wow... thats all I can say Aaron. Beautifully put. I will meditate on this. Ever since I began studying Taoism, I have heard the phrases like "We are all one." "I AM everything" etc. However, I have yet to grasp the true concept of this intellectually until now. Thank you so very much. Now to let it resonate with my whole being so that I can allow it to permeate my personal awareness on the spiritual level.

You have very good insight... what, may I ask, is your main form of meditation?

Again thank you, Namaste- Matt

[Marblehead]

Hi Aaron,

 

You already know where I stand concerning this concept so I will not speak to that.

 

Great post. I don't think you made it brief though. Hehehe.

 

Yes, I think you put a lot of thought into this concept and from your perspective you supported it well.

 

Have a good work day!

[Birch]

Nicely put Aaron!

Although I would also add that your ego is the way that consciouness experiences everything. Not just love.

In other words, consciousness includes hate as well. I could have been vague or used prettier ideas but I thought it would be worth being blunt.

I could push it and say that this killing ego stuff is therefore pointless. Given it's yourself :-)

So while I totally agree with the everything is consciouness stuff (and yes it is beautiful and it sometimes creeps me out -when I see dogs on leads for example, but I digress) I also consider there are aspects of it that merit further enquiry. Like how did us humans get ourselves into the state we're in? How was it allowed?

How do we unalllow it?

That sort of thing. Taoism IMO also provides a map for getting out of the state we're in in practical, embodied terms, unless you no longer desire embodiment of course:-)

[zerostao]

Howdy Aaron,

 

i will also add that at one time i felt the collected (un)conscious was the tao

i am not saying it isn't either, but i no longer "feel" that it is. or that is the complete answer.

 

if i may ask,respectfully, about your view "rather the reason is that the collective conscious has created us, nothing more"

i am not trying to be critical, as overall i like your opening post here, and i love the subject of this topic. but you have brought creation into it, so i would like to hear more about that. specifically how the collected conscious has created us. is this your opinion? or do we have other basis we can look at ?

[Aaron]

Howdy Aaron,

 

i will also add that at one time i felt the collected (un)conscious was the tao

i am not saying it isn't either, but i no longer "feel" that it is. or that is the complete answer.

 

if i may ask,respectfully, about your view "rather the reason is that the collective conscious has created us, nothing more"

i am not trying to be critical, as overall i like your opening post here, and i love the subject of this topic. but you have brought creation into it, so i would like to hear more about that. specifically how the collected conscious has created us. is this your opinion? or do we have other basis we can look at ?

 

Hi Zerostao,

 

It's conjecture and in my opinion not that important on the whole. The beginning isn't as important as the here and now. We can't change what's happened, only what is happening. Still people tend to worry about meaning and such so I try to answer that if I can... for me there really is no other meaning that just existing in this moment. Our desire for purpose is driven by this idea of separateness, when we understand our connection I think a lot of that is understood for what it is, a want that has very little to do with our day to day needs.

 

Aaron

[Aaron]

wow... thats all I can say Aaron. Beautifully put. I will meditate on this. Ever since I began studying Taoism, I have heard the phrases like "We are all one." "I AM everything" etc. However, I have yet to grasp the true concept of this intellectually until now. Thank you so very much. Now to let it resonate with my whole being so that I can allow it to permeate my personal awareness on the spiritual level.

You have very good insight... what, may I ask, is your main form of meditation?

Again thank you, Namaste- Matt

 

 

Hello Lotus7,

 

I spent much of my time using silent mind meditation, i.e. silencing my thoughts. Although useful in achieving an understanding of consciousness, it is not the only thing required. You can meditate any way that you choose. For me meditation is less to do with understanding consciousness and more to do with helping one to maintain balance and peace in their lives (imho).

 

Aaron

 

edit- I wanted to add that there are many ways to live one's life. If you are finding fulfillment in what you are doing, then by all means continue your practice. When it is time, it will happen, there's no need to struggle, just allow it to happen. I know that sounds very new age-esque, but it's very much the truth.

Edited March 24, 2011 by Twinner

[ejr1069]

I can believe what the original poster said about consciousness, about unity, about oneness. It makes sense to me, but only on an intellectual level, not experential. It's a belief that I have: we all are one. It's common to the mystics of any religion, not just taoism.

 

However, to me it's just an intellectual belief. What I would like to do is experience this unity or this oneness. Does this happen when one experiences the bliss of spiritual awakening? My kundalini has been poking through now for 4 years. I have undergone many changes. But I cannot say that I have experienced oneness yet. Reading a wise thought on-line and believing it is one thing, but knowing that the statement is true through the eyes of experience is something entirely different.

 

Also, I wonder if this is the same oneness that Jesus spoke of. Is it the same oneness that yogis refer to. And is that the same oneness as the buddhas enlightenment. Do all spiritual paths truly head to the same place? And if so, does it really matter if I pursue shamanism or tantra or any other path?

[Otis]

When you understand this on a deep level your perception of the world changes. My connection to you is very intimate, because we are more than just brothers and sisters, we are each the totality of existence. If I help you, then I am helping me. If I love you then I am loving me. If I cannot love you, then I can never love myself. It's that simple. Compassion arises from this awareness because you understand that you are not simply being compassionate out of selflessness or true love, but rather because there is no logical reason not to be.

Good stuff, Aaron. As I mentioned in your earlier thread, this is a very compelling metaphor for me, as well.

 

But I do stop at calling it a metaphor, for the same reason that I mentioned on the earlier thread. My 1st-hand experience of the universe ends at my own borders (wherever they are). None of my experience of the world takes place outside of me, so I see it as fruitless to project my experiences of consciousness or unity on the world, just as fruitless as to project my experience of "God" on the world.

 

I hear the ancient statements about unity as suggestions to the ego. The ego, by believing in separation, feels alienated from life, so it is useful for the ego to surrender the concept of separation.

 

And, it is very clear, on an a priori level, that I am NOT separate from life. There is no part of me that is not part of my life, or vice-versa. I and "my life" are one and the same.

 

That's as far as I'm willing to go, in terms of proclaiming unity, because beyond that, I cannot know. I think it's enough, however. Since I am the same as my life, then I realize quickly that there is no point in resenting, fearing, wishing, or trying to control that life. Every contraction, every dislike I have, is just me turning against me, because my life is me. I don't avoid hate because of the cosmic connection between me and another; I just stop hating because hating is just poisoning myself. I don't open my heart, because I believe in an invisible bond with another, but because opening my heart also opens my life.

 

Again, I'm not disputing your view, because what you're saying is the most appealing world-view I know of. But I do think that "world-views" (especially ones about the absolute) are inherently misleading, and end up missing the point. It is not "what's out there" that matters, but only "how I relate to it".

 

With respect,

 

otis

Edited March 24, 2011 by Otis

[Aaron]

Good stuff, Aaron. As I mentioned in your earlier thread, this is a very compelling metaphor for me, as well.

 

But I do stop at calling it a metaphor, for the same reason that I mentioned on the earlier thread. My 1st-hand experience of the universe ends at my own borders (wherever they are). None of my experience of the world takes place outside of me, so I see it as fruitless to project my experiences of consciousness or unity on the world, just as fruitless as to project my experience of "God" on the world.

 

I hear the ancient statements about unity as suggestions to the ego. The ego, by believing in separation, feels alienated from life, so it is useful for the ego to surrender the concept of separation.

 

And, it is very clear, on an a priori level, that I am NOT separate from life. There is no part of me that is not part of my life, or vice-versa. I and "my life" are one and the same.

 

That's as far as I'm willing to go, in terms of proclaiming unity, because beyond that, I cannot know. I think it's enough, however. Since I am the same as my life, then I realize quickly that there is no point in resenting, fearing, wishing, or trying to control that life. Every contraction, every dislike I have, is just me turning against me, because my life is me. I don't avoid hate because of the cosmic connection between me and another; I just stop hating because hating is just poisoning myself. I don't open my heart, because I believe in an invisible bond with another, but because opening my heart also opens my life.

 

Again, I'm not disputing your view, because what you're saying is the most appealing world-view I know of. But I do think that "world-views" (especially ones about the absolute) are inherently misleading, and end up missing the point. It is not "what's out there" that matters, but only "how I relate to it".

 

With respect,

 

otis

 

Hello Otis,

 

It doesn't matter really. In the end what is, is, regardless of our beliefs. I can understand your skepticism. I was skeptical too for a long time. I am still skeptical of much of what religions and ideologies have to offer, but in this regard, in the regard of consciousness and our connection to it, I have no skepticism, because I have experienced it. It's not even faith, in the sense that I am not believing something based on ideology, but rather because I know for a fact, by experience that it does exist.

 

I think it would be nice if I could snap my fingers and allow you to experience what I did. I share what I can about it because I think it is something beneficial, but there is no requirement to believe it. Man can go their entire life without knowing it. Does understanding our connection bring us closer together, I'm certain it does, but in the same way you can't force someone to believe something.

 

I would say that if you don't believe it is possible, don't dismiss it. You never know what might happen. As I said I gave up because I tried to find "enlightenment" and couldn't. It really wasn't until I gave up looking for it that I actually found it. I hope life is treating you well.

 

Aaron

Edited March 24, 2011 by Twinner

[Aaron]

Nicely put Aaron!

Although I would also add that your ego is the way that consciouness experiences everything. Not just love.

In other words, consciousness includes hate as well. I could have been vague or used prettier ideas but I thought it would be worth being blunt.

I could push it and say that this killing ego stuff is therefore pointless. Given it's yourself :-)

So while I totally agree with the everything is consciouness stuff (and yes it is beautiful and it sometimes creeps me out -when I see dogs on leads for example, but I digress) I also consider there are aspects of it that merit further enquiry. Like how did us humans get ourselves into the state we're in? How was it allowed?

How do we unalllow it?

That sort of thing. Taoism IMO also provides a map for getting out of the state we're in in practical, embodied terms, unless you no longer desire embodiment of course:-)

 

 

Hello Kate,

 

I don't necessarily view the ego or consciousness in the same sense that Buddhists view it. I like to refer to our perception of self as localized consciousness. We are localized conscious beings. I know it is much longer definition, but it seems to me to be closer to the point. As you stated, there's no need to eradicate the ego, there is only a need to understand who and what we really are.

 

I hope life is treating you well,

 

Aaron

[Aaron]

Hi Aaron,

 

Interesting thoughts... thank you for sharing another layer of your understanding. Such endeavors will yield many fruits, so i wish you much happiness and vigor as you meander along the path towards deeper insights.

 

Perhaps these words from Thich Nhat Hanh could further highlight some of the intricacies of the hows, the whys and the wheres of Consciousness. I think you will find this quite useful../ http://archive.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2006/summer/consciousness.html

 

Have a nice day.

 

 

Hello CowTao,

 

Thanks for the link. I'm not so certain that the article is referring to the same thing that I am, but it was a very interesting read. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

 

Aaron

[zerostao]

just putting this into play here.

[Otis]

I think it would be nice if I could snap my fingers and allow you to experience what I did.

Ah, but maybe I have experienced what you've experienced, Aaron, and just drawn different conclusions from it.

[Marblehead]

Our desire for purpose is driven by this idea of separateness, when we understand our connection I think a lot of that is understood for what it is, a want that has very little to do with our day to day needs.

 

Aaron

 

That is very interesting and possibly worthy of its own thread if you ever find the time to work up an opening post.

[adept]

because even though I never became enlightened from reading the Tao Teh Ching,

 

in a fit of disgust I gave up on enlightenment,

 

where did my enlightenment come from and if it didn't come from "God" then where did it come from.

 

 

 

Good post, but I have some questions for you.

 

1. What is enlightenment ?

2. Who is it that becomes enlightened ?

 

What you imply is a duality. That there is a seeker, and that which is sought.

There is no difference between samsara and nirvana.

Enlightenment is found everywhere in the most ordinary, normal mundane activities. Not as a separate blissful mind-blowing superstate, free of all worries.

 

Today was a day of enlightenment for me:

 

I meditated

I emptied the cat litter

I practiced qigong

I took a shit

I scolded my children

I had a walk in the woods on my own

I drank coffee

I recited the nembutsu

I pruned the trees in my garden

I chatted with the neighbours

 

Best wishes

[manitou]

Aaron, if that beautiful expression came through your channel when you were exhausted after work, I would give good money and hang outside your bedroom window to hear what you sound like first thing in the morning.

 

My thoughts are so very similar to yours - I would love to add my thoughts to a few of your words.

 

 

"I sometimes wonder when I first began to think of myself as not simply an I, but as a being that existed within a body, a consciousness connected to a physical form."

 

 

The very same presence dwells inside me too; I sometimes even picture my insides as a giant amoeba in human form. Because the same presence dwells within both you and I and everyone, whether they realize it or not. It is this amoebic essence that is all One. I am you and you are me. Females are males and males are females.

 

After I had a few years sober in AA, I found myself going every Tuesday night to hear one particular old nearly blind man speak; it wasn't a speakers meeting, but it was just understood that old Herb would just begin to talk. Actually, it was more like he would channel. Metaphysical beyond belief, the spirit of the One, things I had no understanding of at the time. But his soul captivated me.

 

One day I ran into him up at the Krotona Library in Ojai, California. He and his wife were pouring over some huge tome, and at that moment, Herb looked up and saw me. He recognized me right away, but I'll never forget the look on his face. Like he'd seen a ghost. He said quietly, "Do you know there are souls in the sun?" He looked astounded and looked back down, and I left. I was with someone else and didn't want to disturb Herb any further, and I was still trying to process what he said. Which I've never really been able to do.

 

Something has niggled in the back of my mind about that ever since I saw him that day in maybe 1984 or 1985. I've never forgotten what he said, because I've never been able to understand it. But if you think about it, the sun is the perfect analogy for how we are connected. The sun is our connecting essence and we are the individual rays. You could even say we are all joined at the hips and everything else is our individual illusion.

 

But do you think it remotely possible that the sun is where the spirit and the physical combine? That the sun is the collective soul residence for our solar system, expressing outwards? And that it continues to express outwards through the molten bit of sun in the center of the earth? That we are merely the most recent manifestation that looks like it's either on the eve of total destruction or the dawn of a new age?

 

After several months of Zen I stumbled across Alan Watts "The Book" and it was there that a gradual spark of understanding took place. I understood on an intimate level what I really was, that I wasn't simply a being within a body, but I was the body and the universe and everything that existed. At first this was just an intellectual understanding, but then it happened. I was sitting in my bedroom on my worn out mattress, trying to find a comfortable place to begin reading a book when suddenly it all made sense. It was literally like a bolt of lightning hit me, a sensation moved through my body, like electricity, every bit of me felt tingly and I just knew.

 

The one that did exactly that for me was The Impersonal Life, by Anonymous. Same wonderful conclusion and same wonderful sensation of the tumblers finally falling into place in the very back of your mind. Once that seed of Awareness has been planted, the knowledge gets more and more wearable every day as the years go on.

 

 

 

 

See part of my problem was my inherent disbelief in God or any sort of higher power that worked within the framework of this Universe. Someone asked the question, "what created the Gods?" I, however, in my state of "enlightenment" was baffled, because I knew, without a doubt that there was no God, at least not how others conceived of it. How could I reach enlightenment if I did not believe in Samsara, or Krishna, or any type of higher power, where did my enlightenment come from and if it didn't come from "God" then where did it come from.

 

My personal observations are that atheists that I've known and loved can quite easily become highly aware because they don't have all the framework to ditch. Our egos are involved in our spiritual framework, most particularly the more knowledgeable that we get. We'll find a rut, furnish it, and move into it.

 

 

It wasn't some human looking being that sat on a golden throne deciding what was good and what was bad, rather it was a force that permeated the entire universe, a force that was every bit as real as my own thoughts are. That force was consciousness.

 

It is for this very reason that the best movie scene ever written, ever conceived of, in my opinion, was the scene in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy and the gang discover that there's merely a man behind the curtain. What a bummer. Throws all the responsibility on us.

 

 

I am the alpha and the omega, and in being the alpha and omega it would be very easy to fall into the illusion that I am God, but I don't believe that to be true, anymore than I believe an apple tastes like an orange, rather I understand that I am distinguishing between the apple and the orange.

 

The dichotomy of all this is that we actually are in some sense, but it must be utilized from a point without ego. This is what all the inner work is about, this is the centerpoint to where self-realization takes us. We manifest everything from the inside out, from that connected part of all of us; we are ALL shamans, sages; but we don't know it until it is experienced.

 

 

Everything that exists now is a necessary part of the existence in this universe, because there is a reason for us all to be here.

 

I remember something The Impersonal Life said about enlightened ones, when in awareness, can enter a restaurant and their auras automatically elevate the auras of everyone in the room. Do you notice sometimes that the level of happiness in a place is somehow different when you leave from when you came in? I suppose the same is true in reverse as well - if an angry man with a gun strapped to his belt comes in and sits at the counter, I suppose pretty much the opposite would be true.

 

 

Do I know that reason, well you wouldn't like the answer I have to give, at least I don't think you would. The reason isn't that we each have this higher purpose to do good or help our fellow man, rather the reason is that the collective conscious has created us, nothing more. We are all born from this collected conscious. Why? I think it's merely to be a part of the physical universe, to have a vessel for the expression of consciousness.

 

Also, this is where the straw dog analogy would come in. The Tao treats all men as straw dogs - the rain falls equally upon the good and the bad. Those of us who were born into Christianity and were programed from birth to see things as good or evil, right or wrong...I think we had a particularly good model of how Not to be to become self-realized.

 

 

 

Consciousness has no physical form, yet everything physical comes from it. Consciousness can not be felt or touched, yet without it we could not feel or touch anything. Consciousness is the totality of everything. When I say I am you and you are me, I do not mean that I am physically you and you are physically me, but rather that we are all one thing without even knowing it.

 

We were just talking on another thread about how by themselves, ants are rather stupid creatures, as they will pull against each other from opposite ends of an object. But in their anthill, acting in concert, they operate as a brain! All operations are attended to with various roles, and they even collect and maintain livestock! Sometimes I've even had thoughts about the brain-like properties of those huge mushroomy masses that are under much of the land. The earth is all wrapped up in this Oneness thing too, there are just too many metaphors to ignore, as far as human nature and the forces of nature. The molten mass in the middle? A chunk of the sun from long ago? This goes back to the soul in the sun (or fire?) thing which just makes me sound crazy so I won't say too much more about that until one day if it ever happens to click into place, lol.

 

 

 

When you understand this on a deep level your perception of the world changes. My connection to you is very intimate, because we are more than just brothers and sisters, we are each the totality of existence. If I help you, then I am helping me. If I love you then I am loving me. If I cannot love you, then I can never love myself. It's that simple. Compassion arises from this awareness because you understand that you are not simply being compassionate out of selflessness or true love, but rather because there is no logical reason not to be.

 

And it's just the little things. The little kindnesses. Also, you forgot to add that if you can't love yourself, then you cannot love me. Loving ourselves is the big enchilada, and the hardest to overcome.

 

 

Thank you, Aaron, for taking the time to share your enlightened thoughts. I truly loved reading it.

 

Barb

[manitou]

 

Also, I wonder if this is the same oneness that Jesus spoke of. Is it the same oneness that yogis refer to. And is that the same oneness as the buddhas enlightenment. Do all spiritual paths truly head to the same place? And if so, does it really matter if I pursue shamanism or tantra or any other path?

 

 

I think you're spot on on this. I don't think it makes any difference at all, though some would argue. Some are so caught up in framework that they are unable to release. I often refer to the Tao Bums as the Room Where All Paths Meet.

[Aaron]

Ah, but maybe I have experienced what you've experienced, Aaron, and just drawn different conclusions from it.

 

Hello Otis,

 

I think many people have had the same experience and drawn different conclusions... so maybe you have. I would love to hear your conclusions, if you care to share them.

 

Aaron

[onelove]

Hello Otis,

 

I think many people have had the same experience and drawn different conclusions... so maybe you have. I would love to hear your conclusions, if you care to share them.

 

Aaron

 

In my cultivation I have come to look at consciousness and awareness as 2 different things - consciousness being the many layers of the mind, our perception, the subconscious, while awareness is simply the state of being that exists beyond consciousness. My teacher asks her students to explore this awareness beyond consciousness, primarily through meditation and sleep/dream yoga. This has been a most fruitful practice for me and I think I have had tastes of the experience you describe Aaron. Of course in trying to describe my own experience in awareness I need to recruit my conscious mind, and the experience is immediately lost or at least altered my my own filters and lenses and limitations of language. And once expressed it is again altered by the lenses and filters of those receiving my words. Perhaps this is part of why the Dao that can be spoken is not the true Dao.

 

This concept was well articulated by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj in the book "I Am That" - that book provided the missing link for me in my development, and helped me put so many of the classics texts of Buddhism and Daoism in to perspective, as well as the often seemingly contradictory teachings/methods of the masters I have had the fortune of studying with.

[Aaron]

Hello folks,

 

I'm sorry if I haven't replied yet. Today is a busy day. When I have a chance I will reply to all of your questions. In the meantime, Manitou, thank you for your kind comments and I enjoyed your commentary very much. I can see you put a great deal of time and effort into your reply and you expressed yourself quite well. Anyways, I'm glad people are finding this thread useful and I hope to hear more opinions regarding consciousness.

 

Aaron

Edited March 24, 2011 by Twinner

[Stigweard]

Hello folks,

 

It's late and I've had a long day, so I'm going to try to make this brief. In another thread we were talking about Tao and it sort of got a bit here and there, and that was great, really it was, but I realized that what I was talking about really had no place in that thread, rather it was my own idea and view of something that I felt could be Tao... the emphasis there is on could be. What I will share with you now isn't about the Tao, but rather consciousness.

I'd like to congratulate you on a well articulated piece of writing

 

In agreement with you, I think it goes without saying that we are all a part of an integrated and interdependent "something", whether you call that "consciousness" or "Dao" or "whatever".

 

Referring to this cosmic field of oneness as "consciousness" always drifts towards the connotations of some sort of universal "personality", even though I understand that that is not your implication. And I can also see why you have concluded that this "universal consciousness," as you call it, is synonymous with "Dao".

 

Comments like the following create some interesting lines of discussion: "Consciousness has no physical form, yet everything physical comes from it."

 

I personally believe the reality of it is much more subtle than this. Dao is the physical form, there is no abstraction from the natural reality. Any "spiritual energy" is merely an natural extension of the spectrum of energy that is still interdependently resonant with the physical reality of now.

 

Physical form doesn't "come from" Dao ... physical form gives birth to incessant evolutions of physical form but "the way" in which that physical form evolves and changes IS Dao. The "stuff" that the universe is made of is merely different permutations and variances in the density of Qi. The coarser the density of Qi the more "physical" it is, the more subtle the density of Qi the more "spiritual" it is. But again there is no abstracted separation between what is physical and what is spiritual, they are just different emanations of the same spectrum.

 

Does Qi correspond to your notion of consciousness? Perhaps it does, there certainly has been much in depth research in this direction.

 

But yes overall a very well written and thoughtful post, thank you.

 

Edited March 25, 2011 by Stigweard

[Marblehead]

In my cultivation I have come to look at consciousness and awareness as 2 different things - consciousness being the many layers of the mind, our perception, the subconscious, while awareness is simply the state of being that exists beyond consciousness. My teacher asks her students to explore this awareness beyond consciousness, primarily through meditation and sleep/dream yoga. This has been a most fruitful practice for me and I think I have had tastes of the experience you describe Aaron. Of course in trying to describe my own experience in awareness I need to recruit my conscious mind, and the experience is immediately lost or at least altered my my own filters and lenses and limitations of language. And once expressed it is again altered by the lenses and filters of those receiving my words. Perhaps this is part of why the Dao that can be spoken is not the true Dao.

 

This concept was well articulated by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj in the book "I Am That" - that book provided the missing link for me in my development, and helped me put so many of the classics texts of Buddhism and Daoism in to perspective, as well as the often seemingly contradictory teachings/methods of the masters I have had the fortune of studying with.

 

 

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

[Marblehead]

Does Qi correspond to your notion of consciousness? Perhaps it does, there certainly has been much in depth research in this direction.

 

That's as close as I would get in a discussion such as this.