dwai Posted August 27, 2018 32 minutes ago, joeblast said: in the maths, there's no time component to consciousness/awareness Interesting. How can that be? No time? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted August 27, 2018 I don't have a problem. My ego always keeps me aware of itself. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 27, 2018 49 minutes ago, rideforever said: Q : How can the Upanishads be wrong ? A : Read Astavakra. He makes it clear that the state of awakening is rare even for monks. Q : Are we not "the one Brahman" ? A : The point of the invocation "You are The Brahman" ... is to encourage you to feel inside you for the One, and in so doing it activates and grows that part of you that would otherwise remain dormant. This invocation is not a statement of fact, but a practice. Setting aside the opinions on Papaji, From the Ashtavakra Samhita, I get what this thread indicates. It is not a rant against the "foolish unawakened" masses...it is a pointer to what already is WRT "Tat Tvam Asi", is it not an encouragement. It is an exhortation to the individual -- Don't think for one moment that you are NOT the Brahman. You Are That! The Practice is not chanting "I am Brahman", but after realizing what IS Brahman, abiding in continuously. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joeblast Posted August 27, 2018 (edited) 11 minutes ago, dwai said: Interesting. How can that be? No time? everything's happening right now, last I checked its the darndest thing - every time something happens, it happens right now the observing, is all done right now... the doing, is all done right now... that which sees only experiences right now Edited August 27, 2018 by joeblast 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonesboy Posted August 27, 2018 (edited) 10 minutes ago, dwai said: but after realizing what IS Brahman, abiding in continuously. Isn't part of the problem in realizing what Brahman is? With your original question most will experience a moment of silence. Is that Brahman? Does not the "abiding in" indicate ever changing states of being more so than a true change in ones being so that the definition of Brahman therefore would change as ones clarity changes? Edited August 27, 2018 by Jonesboy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted August 27, 2018 6 minutes ago, joeblast said: everything's happening right now, last I checked its the darndest thing - every time something happens, it happens right now the observing, is all done right now... the doing, is all done right now... that which sees only experiences right now You wouldn't believe how difficult it was for me to accept that concept. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted August 27, 2018 before the 'i' thought kicks in there is no distinguishing me from other there just is what is and i am this i am 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted August 27, 2018 Yep. You am what you am. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheshire Cat Posted August 27, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, dwai said: Very nice, albeit it'd be good if you were able to narrow down a reason why you can't find the identity. What DO YOU/CAN YOU know about that which you can't identify? Identity is the business of conceptual thinking and it takes a fraction of time to give birth to conceptual understanding. All that I can know is that perception comes first and concepts develop shortly thereafter: identity does not perceive. Edited August 27, 2018 by Cheshire Cat 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 27, 2018 26 minutes ago, Jonesboy said: Isn't part of the problem in realizing what Brahman is? With your original question most will experience a moment of silence. Is that Brahman? Is it merely silence and is that an experience? 26 minutes ago, Jonesboy said: Does not the "abiding in" indicate ever changing states of being more so than a true change in ones being so that the definition of Brahman therefore would change as ones clarity changes? I will not answer this question at this stage of the thread Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 27, 2018 19 minutes ago, Cheshire Cat said: Identity is the business of conceptual thinking and it takes a fraction of time to give birth to conceptual understanding. All that I can know is that perception comes first and concepts develop shortly thereafter: identity does not perceive. Perception. What comprises perception? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheshire Cat Posted August 27, 2018 15 minutes ago, dwai said: Perception. What comprises perception? We haven't the tools to get to a definitive answer. We can just speculate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 27, 2018 27 minutes ago, Cheshire Cat said: We haven't the tools to get to a definitive answer. We can just speculate. Why do we need to speculate? I'm not interested in the physiological process. At a high level, can we say one perceives because one has sense organs? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joeblast Posted August 27, 2018 8 minutes ago, dwai said: Why do we need to speculate? I'm not interested in the physiological process. At a high level, can we say one perceives because one has sense organs? sense organs relay information per·ceive pərˈsēv/ verb verb: perceive; 3rd person present: perceives; past tense: perceived; past participle: perceived; gerund or present participle: perceiving 1. become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand. "his mouth fell open as he perceived the truth" synonyms: discern, recognize, become aware of, see, distinguish, realize, grasp, understand, take in, make out, find, identify, hit on, comprehend, apprehend, appreciate, sense, divine; More informalfigure out; informaltwig; formalbecome cognizant of "I immediately perceived the flaws in her story" become aware of (something) by the use of one of the senses, especially that of sight. "he perceived the faintest of flushes creeping up her neck" synonyms: see, discern, detect, catch sight of, spot, observe, notice "she perceived a twitch in his nose whenever he lied" 2. interpret or look on (someone or something) in a particular way; regard as. his mouth did not come to realize or understand, sense organs are a proxy 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lost in Translation Posted August 27, 2018 5 hours ago, dwai said: What? No takers? I get a microsecond of perception followed by a fleeting sense of loss as my consciousness rushes in to fill the void. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 27, 2018 44 minutes ago, joeblast said: sense organs relay information per·ceive pərˈsēv/ verb verb: perceive; 3rd person present: perceives; past tense: perceived; past participle: perceived; gerund or present participle: perceiving 1. become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand. "his mouth fell open as he perceived the truth" synonyms: discern, recognize, become aware of, see, distinguish, realize, grasp, understand, take in, make out, find, identify, hit on, comprehend, apprehend, appreciate, sense, divine; More informalfigure out; informaltwig; formalbecome cognizant of "I immediately perceived the flaws in her story" become aware of (something) by the use of one of the senses, especially that of sight. "he perceived the faintest of flushes creeping up her neck" synonyms: see, discern, detect, catch sight of, spot, observe, notice "she perceived a twitch in his nose whenever he lied" 2. interpret or look on (someone or something) in a particular way; regard as. his mouth did not come to realize or understand, sense organs are a proxy So would it be fair to say that the sense organs gather sensory input, and that gets processed by the mind in form of objects and something (consciousness) makes sense of these thought objects by pattern matching and labeling them as x, y or z? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 27, 2018 3 minutes ago, Lost in Translation said: I get a microsecond of perception followed by a fleeting sense of loss as my consciousness rushes in to fill the void. Is it the consciousness that rushes in to fill the void or is it your mind? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lost in Translation Posted August 27, 2018 Just now, dwai said: Is it the consciousness that rushes in to fill the void or is it your mind? ... I don't know. That's a funny feeling. It's "me" but in order to define "me" I need to pull out to another level and when I do that... poof, it's gone! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 27, 2018 4 minutes ago, Lost in Translation said: ... I don't know. That's a funny feeling. It's "me" but in order to define "me" I need to pull out to another level and when I do that... poof, it's gone! Is it gone or just hidden behind the "definitions"? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lost in Translation Posted August 27, 2018 2 minutes ago, dwai said: Is it gone or just hidden behind the "definitions"? I'm sure it's not gone. Now I've gone and thought about it way too much and I can't seem to get back there. I've "wised up" to the trick. We'll have a wait a while and I'll try again to see what I can see. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rene Posted August 27, 2018 8 hours ago, dwai said: What do you get? There's nothing there. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 28, 2018 1 hour ago, rene said: There's nothing there. Any sense that you exist at all there? Just existence? Being? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rene Posted August 28, 2018 3 hours ago, dwai said: Any sense that you exist at all there? Just existence? Being? Not even that. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted August 28, 2018 1 hour ago, rene said: Not even that. Who observes that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheshire Cat Posted August 28, 2018 (edited) 8 hours ago, dwai said: Why do we need to speculate? I'm not interested in the physiological process. At a high level, can we say one perceives because one has sense organs? I think that we should consider a few possibilities. Given that as individuals who study themselves in the realm of subjective perception, we feel to be "observers" at the most fundamental level, we should consider that: 1- identity of the one who perceives could be a cognitive process generated by the mere activity and existence of the sensory organs. To support this thesis we have the fact that we can't shut down perception and when there's no perception there's no identity. 2- it could be a mental trick, a false perception like a mirage or those images that the brain can interpret as different representation simultaneously. There are are a lot of perceptual tricks that our mind produces and we can study them trough popular images ready available online. 3-there might be a Self that observes, but we don't know any of its qualities. It could be something that dies daily, or it could be immortal. It could be supported by physiology... or not. Edited August 28, 2018 by Cheshire Cat 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites