"Awakening" and Light work - a fascinating system

[dwai]

Over the years here at Daobums, I've interacted with a lot of people. All good people (even those who have argued with me most vehemently, and I with them).  

 

I've had what many would call an "awakening", but it is really a non-event really as there's no separate entity who wakes up. It is just a shift of perspective. This doesn't really make me a "special" individual, rather it makes it clear to me that I am nobody...nothing. 

 

The "I" that lived in the material world just dropped it's hold on my attention. And then I realized that I was never not that which supposedly was "realized" in this so-called "Waking up". It was an apparent waking up, like one wakes up from a dream into waking state. Similarly, we seemingly wake up from a waking state into an "awakened" state. But really, all these states are that "awakened" state, just as all the masters and texts state.  It is just that the states of "dream and waking" lose their hold...suddenly things fall into "perspective" -- that all the things that we apparently experience are just happenings and have no hold on us, the root of our consciousness is free, empty (of objective nature), non-spatial and atemporal (i.e. space and time don't have any meaning for it). Call it "Atma jnana", Self-realization or realizing the Emptiness of the Self.

 

There are many many insights that arise from this, for the mind-body complex to navigate the complex and suffering-ridden world. Wisdom (Jnana) that arises by just staying with the presence, that is the root of our consciousness. 

 

In the Advaita Vedanta tradition, we say that "the knowledge of the Self or Atma Jnana" and the realization of Oneness (Atman is Brahman or Brahma Jnana) are two distinct phases. There is the non-realization of emptiness of mind-body (staying in the ever-present now) and there is the expansion of the Self to everything-ness. We are taught that the "oneness" is a matter of grace, and eventually we get there, when the time is right. 

 

@Jeff and I started interacting a while back (a few years maybe) and our perspectives didn't match wrt. what the "end-game" is. I couldn't understand how what he terms "residing in non-local mind" and "expansion of mind beyond non-local" was any different from just the mind just seeing more objects. What I failed to understand that time is that the expansion that Jeff was referring to, is outside the domain of the local mind. 

 

Do I know that now? Yes. 

 

How do I know? By taking the plunge (sic. dive)  and actually trusting the process and the individuals (all kind, loving and wonderful people). 

 

I will try to explain how the non-local mind expansion differs from the local-mind experience.

 

The Local mind is very powerful. But it's primary function is to bind a series of stimuli from the sensory apparatus into a "story"...one that the individual seemingly experiences.  The story is the story of our lives, that we are "born into" -- with a body, an ego, a sense of individuality and one that experiences pains and pleasures, emotions, thoughts, is inspired to create wonderful things, is driven to do things - good or bad. In a single word, "samsara". 

 

Towards this, I'm going to construct sentences that will imply some sort of "special" doing, but as I have explained before, it is not really "doing" in the sense that the local-mind/body is "doing" something. So, kindly bear with me as I elaborate...

 

When we get to the root of consciousness (the ever-present Nowness aka pure Awareness), we realize that all the happenings of samsara (life as we normally refer to it) happens on its own. It has no bearing on any kind of "doing". Until we get to the root of consciousness, there is doing and there is causality (karma). But after, it is just happenings. Like a few here have expressed before, the old habits and patterns start to lose steam and eventually just stop. 

If you come from a Hindu (or Buddhist) background like myself, you might have encountered a colorful multi-verse that we pass off as mythology (Westerners seem to study this sort of thing with mild amusement in the form of Greek Mythology). In this mythology are references to gods (devas) and goddesses (devis) aka deities, their realms, different realms (lokas), different rules for different worlds, etc.

 

Most of us modern people scoff at these as over-active imaginations of our relatively primitive superstititous ancestors. I am happy to inform you that, such an idea is abjectly untrue. These beings, realms indeed do exist, and there exist "higher" planes. These are accessible when consciousness expands beyond the "local mind" level.  There are many things to learn from these planes and our work in these planes inform us in the local-mind state. It is not the emptiness of Self, but an expansion that starts to encompass many things, including things beyond this mundane samsaric existence of the local mind-body. This is the expansion of the mind from local-mind to Universal mind, to get to the "all is one" knowing. 

 

How do I know that these states are beyond the "local-mind"? It is because as the mind/consciousness expands, each of these "planes" are accessible simultaneously, while being rooted in the ever-present now.

 

I will halt my post here. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

 

P.S. -- I'm not the person Jeff was referring to in the post about levels of conscious mind residing BTW.

Edited September 26, 2017 by dwai
grammar edit

[s1va]

23 minutes ago, dwai said:

Most of us modern people scoff at these as over-active imaginations of our relatively primitive superstititous ancestors. I am happy to inform you that, such an idea is abjectly untrue. These beings, realms indeed do exist, and there exist "higher" planes. These are accessible when consciousness expands beyond the "local mind" level.  There are many things to learn from these planes and our work in these planes inform us in the local-mind state. It is not the emptiness of Self, but an expansion that starts to encompass many things, including things beyond this mundane samsaric existence of the local mind-body. This is the expansion of the mind from local-mind to Universal mind, to get to the "all is one" knowing. 

 

How do I know that these states are beyond the "local-mind"? It is because as the mind/consciousness expands, each of these "planes" are accessible simultaneously, while being rooted in the ever-present now.

 

Yes, the realms and beings do have their own existence, just like the existence of numerous other things we see every day.  I used to believe for a lengthy period that these realms and beings were just made up things for humans to connect to one formless divinity.  I thought they were expressed separately because, one formless reality cannot be grasped by the mind. I also thought such separation of divine beings/deities were just the way each person chooses to interact with the one single divinity, according to their own nature or what they are drawn to. 

 

Based on my own personal experience, I can confirm the existence of different realms and beings.  The subjective experience of how an individual perceives these can be different from one person to the next.  It is the same like anything else that we see/experience with our outer senses in this world.  I might see and experience something in a certain way in the outer world.  Some other person might look and feel the same exact thing and experience it in a different way.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Excellent post.  

 

Edit:  I also took the plunge.  It is one of the best thing that's ever happened in my experience.

Edited September 26, 2017 by s1va

[Lost in Translation]

1 hour ago, s1va said:

Based on my own personal experience, I can confirm the existence of different realms and beings.  The subjective experience of how an individual perceives these can be different from one person to the next.  It is the same like anything else that we see/experience with our outer senses in this world.  I might see and experience something in a certain way in the outer world.  Some other person might look and feel the same exact thing and experience it in a different way.

 

Pure gold, this. Thank you.

[Jetsun]

1 hour ago, dwai said:

 

 

Thanks for your honest explanation dwai. I relate more to the first half of your words than the second half, but I don't really see how the expansion that Jeff plays with is related to the first part of what you talk about. Yes these planes exist beyond what most people consider regular mind but what do they have to do with awakening? What do they have to do with ending non-separation?In all the posts I have seen the light workers write I have never got the impression that they have got that first part, Jeff has said to me that he sees differentiation though all levels.. in other words separation. So I don't really see how they are related

[dwai]

17 minutes ago, Jetsun said:

 

 

Thanks for your honest explanation dwai. I relate more to the first half of your words than the second half, but I don't really see how the expansion that Jeff plays with is related to the first part of what you talk about. Yes these planes exist beyond what most people consider regular mind but what do they have to do with awakening? What do they have to do with ending non-separation?In all the posts I have seen the light workers write I have never got the impression that they have got that first part, Jeff has said to me that he sees differentiation though all levels.. in other words separation. So I don't really see how they are related

HI Jetsun,

 

I know the first part seems to be IT for many of us. The non-separation ending is by merging and expanding.

 

First I used to find myself in the hearts of others, as themselves. 

During the "light work" I find them in my heart as part of me. It is a subtle difference of perspective. it is the same thing (and Jeff confirmed to me that it IS the same) but manifests differently. 

 

The sharing of light is non-duality. It only works (or at least works best) when we don't consider ourselves separate from the other. The differentiation that Jeff refers to (as I understand it, Jeff please correct me if I've misunderstood) is of polarity only. He calls it Female-Male, I see it as Yin-Yang. So each expansion requires a corresponding "differentiation".  As the differentiation is held, the field of awareness expands and encompasses more and more "stuff". 

 

I started to understand this better as articulated here -- 

The two (nothingness and Oneness) are two sides of the same thing. They are not separate. Since we (i.e. the I AM) is in the middle, either way is sufficient, imho and will lead to the other. On the other hand, both ways are equally fascinating and reveal and help us clear stuff that we are not aware of in the dualistic world in different ways. One of the most useful aspects of the expansion/light work is the ability to clear chronic issues (stubborn traumas that refuse to release awareness and which tends to draw one back into samsara) by initially sharing the light/presence and eventually just letting these issues arise and dissipate spontaneously.

Edited September 26, 2017 by dwai
adding more context

[ChiForce]

I was awakened when I had my kundalini energy rising experience or "experiences."  Or MCO...all spontaneous.  I was awakened to what??  Through years of exhausting my mind to understand my mental state of confusion and delusion (I would spare you all my life stories and many, many tragic embarrassing moments), I just stopped myself from becoming.  The idea that I should become something or somebody in this life had ceased to be.  And I was just left to be without trying to become something or somebody.  It was that one night, my kundalini energy risen...and continued on for the next 15 days.  In this awakening, I felt what you called the Self..or the Atman.  Previously, all the energy I devoted to become something outside of myself, they were found within myself.  For the first time, I sensed there was something inside me.  There is this Self presence inside my mind.  People called it bliss.  I was never versed in these new age talks and other religious talking points.  

 

The experience opened up my mind to another dimensions (past life or past lives)...which took another decade or so to "clear" up.  But..really..is all illusions other than they can provide information and insights and wisdom into another cultures, another races, and in another countries..and in a different time frames too.         

[Jeff]

15 minutes ago, dwai said:

...

 

The sharing of light is non-duality. It only works (or at least works best) when we don't consider ourselves separate from the other. The differentiation that Jeff refers to (as I understand it, Jeff please correct me if I've misunderstood) is of polarity only. He calls it Female-Male, I see it as Yin-Yang. So each expansion requires a corresponding "differentiation".  As the differentiation is held, the field of awareness expands and encompasses more and more "stuff". 

...

 

While I would agree that the differentiation is in polarity (transmission-reception), it is really more than that.  The Tao Te Ching describes it like this, from chapter 28...

 

...

Being the stream of the universe, 

Ever true and unswerving, 

Become as a little child once more. 

Know the white, 

But keep the black! 

Be an example to the world! 

Being an example to the world, 

Ever true and unwavering, 

Return to the infinite.

...

 

The differentiation that is being describes is that after you are the "stream of the universe" (light level), you need to relearn (become a child once more), and "know the white" (differentiated stuff), while you "keep the black" (always know the truth). What we are talking about is a state of being, and that being expands to all. More like you can feel your finger tips, but know you are the entire body.

[dwai]

23 minutes ago, Jeff said:

 

While I would agree that the differentiation is in polarity (transmission-reception), it is really more than that.  The Tao Te Ching describes it like this, from chapter 28...

 

...

Being the stream of the universe, 

Ever true and unswerving, 

Become as a little child once more. 

Know the white, 

But keep the black! 

Be an example to the world! 

Being an example to the world, 

Ever true and unwavering, 

Return to the infinite.

...

 

The differentiation that is being describes is that after you are the "stream of the universe" (light level), you need to relearn (become a child once more), and "know the white" (differentiated stuff), while you "keep the black" (always know the truth). What we are talking about is a state of being, and that being expands to all. More like you can feel your finger tips, but know you are the entire body.

As i've experienced (and your explanation), being the "valley" is a matter of responsibility too. As there are others who are dependent on us...so is not be taken lightly or trifled with. Correct?

[Jeff]

10 minutes ago, dwai said:

As i've experienced (and your explanation), being the "valley" is a matter of responsibility too. As there are others who are dependent on us...so is not be taken lightly or trifled with. Correct?

 

I would agree that all joint energy activity (of any form) should not be taken lightly.  It can have huge effects on people.  Additionally, the energy flow can create some very powerful imagery and dynamics between people.  Some of this is described in my old Ask Jeff thread.

[johndoe2012]

On 9/26/2017 at 9:11 PM, Jeff said:

 

While I would agree that the differentiation is in polarity (transmission-reception), it is really more than that.  The Tao Te Ching describes it like this, from chapter 28...

 

...

Being the stream of the universe, 

Ever true and unswerving, 

Become as a little child once more. 

Know the white, 

But keep the black! 

Be an example to the world! 

Being an example to the world, 

Ever true and unwavering, 

Return to the infinite.

...

 

The differentiation that is being describes is that after you are the "stream of the universe" (light level), you need to relearn (become a child once more), and "know the white" (differentiated stuff), while you "keep the black" (always know the truth). What we are talking about is a state of being, and that being expands to all. More like you can feel your finger tips, but know you are the entire body.

 

I found the Tao Te Ching you quoted here

 

http://www.wussu.com/laotzu/laotzu28.html

 

The two sentences 

 

Quote

Know the strength of man,
But keep a woman's care!

 

I find it nicely fits with your male-female concept.

[allinone]

On ‎26‎.‎09‎.‎2017 at 7:44 PM, dwai said:

The "I" that lived in the material world just dropped it's hold on my attention. And then I realized that I was never not that which supposedly was "realized" in this so-called "Waking up".

loosely,

I think what you did was you came to your senses. While there you have no self, will or anything else. Sense organ like eye and seeing does things accordingly to karma- since its organic; it is not created thing like a machine, but still work similarly.

When try to see endlessly, we can't do it, we will be carried away, we even will get a notice that we did and get pulled back to task at hand. It happens automatically by respecting the set of rules. So you can give a task, and the desires induced by what we see may carry away for a while, but we will be noticed and come back.

 

But there is self coming,the ascending path next rung. You can use will and power to hold on to things, and move away, make decisions. You can decide to cultivate desires, put it as a command so if urge rises you notice it and can use body to absorb the habitual movement and notice the force, initiate craving, what is fire and the sensation what arises is water from fire, it is similar as when defeating a toxication, your body turns warm and sweat appears. It is a not a simply gotten sensation, it is the class of sensations like emarassment, shame, quilt. Not easy to cultivate those, these rises when also when you notice your past urge induced actions, they keep coming appearing into your mind and induce those feelings.

These will destroy your self confidence, your life, career and all other things. But what you gain is sense of self, its worth it.

 

[allinone]

On ‎26‎.‎09‎.‎2017 at 7:44 PM, dwai said:

non-spatial and atemporal (i.e. space and time don't have any meaning for it). Call it "Atma jnana", Self-realization or realizing the Emptiness of the Self.

 

when you get a sense of self, you can force it, pump it it expands till the pressure liberates into head pass neck by try see(using sense organ) through throat. You get to see things float. Heart at some point will break, pain will come out. The class of sensations is when you notice you have done something wrong all the time and can't admit it, but have to admit it and correct your moves. Basically admitting you are dumb on a situation where you just made a statement and its not as easy it looks to ah i am wrong Okay, it can make your chin stutter, eyes wet. Its hard, usually there is fighting involved.

 

Next is seeing clarity, light. Expect diarhea to visit at some point.

 

[allinone]

On ‎26‎.‎09‎.‎2017 at 7:44 PM, dwai said:

It is not the emptiness of Self, but an expansion that starts to encompass many things, including things beyond this mundane samsaric existence of the local mind-body.

 

samsara and nirvana are like pain and no pain, while no-pain is still a pain but you won't register it as so but know that the seed of pain is still there, that the pain will come, the process is not over. Cultivating the no-pain you get the one taste of the no pain, and can while the samsara and nirvana alternate, you can start replicate the same process and eventually can squash the sphere-like center point and the contents of it will equally fill the channel.

[allinone]

the universal and local mind distinction is a bit odd. I think, you won't go far from what sense organ is presenting to you. And that is just going from seeing to the space it sees (other words going from seeing to space where seeing doesn't happen)

 

and once you do it you won't come back, when you also get a fruition otherwise you repeat it. The fruition is again you get a channel, sensation and even a location while you repeat the process will inflict. And once you manually do it, you won't repeat it.

Edited October 13, 2017 by allinone