What are those logics?
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There are many things that I can doubt, but I cannot doubt my own consciousness in this moment. My consciousness IS, and even if I tried to doubt it, it would be my consciousness doubting. I can imagine that my senses are being presented with a fake reality – say, a completely virtual reality or digital reality, which looks real but is merely a series of extremely realist images. But even then, I cannot doubt the consciousness that is doing the watching…
The very undeniability of my present awareness, the undeniability of my consciousness, immediately delivers to me a certainty of existence in this moment, a certainty of Being in the now-ness of this moment. I cannot doubt consciousness and Being in this moment, for it is the ground of all knowing, all seeing, all existing…
Who am I? Ask that question over and over again, deeply. Who am I? What is it in me that is conscious of everything?
If you think that you know Spirit, or if you think you don’t, Spirit is actually that which is thinking both of those thoughts. So you can doubt the objects of consciousness, but you can never believably doubt the doubter, never really doubt the Witness of the entire display. Therefore, rest in the Witness, whether it is thinking that it knows God or not, and that witnessing, that undeniable immediacy of now-consciousness, is itself God, Spirit, Buddha-mind. The certainty lies in the pure self-felt Consciousness to which objects appear, not in the objects themselves. You will never, never, never see God, because God is the Seer, not any finite, mortal, bounded object that can be seen…
This pure I AM state is not hard to achieve but impossible to escape, because it is ever present and can never really be doubted. You can never run from Spirit, because Spirit is the Runner. To put it very bluntly, Spirit is not hard to find but impossible to avoid: it is that which is looking at this page right now. Can’t you feel That One? Why on earth do you keep looking for God when God is actually the Looker?
Simply ask, Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?
I am aware of my feelings, so I am not my feelings – Who am I? I am aware of my thoughts, so I am not my thoughts – Who am I? Clouds float by in the sky, thoughts float by in the mind, feelings float by in the body – and I am none of those because I can Witness them all.
Moreover, I can doubt that clouds exist, I can doubt that feelings exist, I can doubt that objects of thought exist – but I cannot doubt that the Witness exists in this moment, because the Witness would still be there to witness the doubt.
I am not objects in nature, not feelings in the body, not thoughts in the mind, for I can Witness them all. I am that Witness – a vast, spacious, empty, clear, pure, transparent Openness that impartially notices all that arises, as a mirror spontaneously reflects all its objects…
You can already feel some of this Great Liberation in that, as you rest in the ease of witnessing this moment, you already feel that you are free from the suffocating constriction of mere objects, mere feelings, mere thoughts – they all come and go, but you are that vast, free, empty, open Witness of them all, untouched by their torments and tortures.
This is actually the profound discovery of… the pure divine Self, the formless Witness, causal nothingness, the vast Emptiness in which the entire world arises, stays a bit, and passes. And you are That. You are not the body, not the ego, not nature, not thoughts, not this, not that – you are a vast Emptiness, Freedom, Release, and Liberation.
With this discovery… you are halfway home. You have disidentified from any and all finite objects; you rest as infinite Consciousness. You are free, open, empty, clear, radiant, released, liberated, exalted, drenched in a blissful emptiness that exists prior to space, prior to time, prior to tears and terror, prior to pain and mortality and suffering and death. You have found the great Unborn, the vast Abyss, the unqualifiable Ground of all that is, and all that was, and all that ever shall be.
But why is that only halfway home? Because as you rest in the infinite ease of consciousness, spontaneously aware of all that is arising, there will soon enough come the great catastrophe of Freedom and Fullness: the Witness itself will disappear entirely, and instead of witnessing the sky, you are the sky; instead of touching the earth, you are the earth; instead of hearing the thunder, you are the thunder. You and the entire Kosmos because One Taste – you can drink the Pacific Ocean in a single gulp, hold Mt. Everest in the palm of your hand; supernovas swirl in your heart and the solar system replaces your head…
You are One Taste, the empty mirror that is one with any and all objects that arise in its embrace, a mindlessly vast translucent expanse: infinite, eternal, radiant beyond release. And you… are… That…
So the primary Cartesian dualism – which is simply the dualism between… in here and out there, subject and object, the empty Witness and all things witnessed – is finally undone and overcome in nondual One Taste. Once you actually and fully contact the Witness, then – and only then – can it be transcended into radical Nonduality, and halfway home becomes fully home, here in the ever-present wonder of what is…
And so how do you know that you have finally and really overcome the Cartesian dualism? Very simple: if you really overcome the Cartesian dualism, then you no longer feel that you are on this side of your face looking at the world out there. There is only the world, and you are all of that; you actually feel that you are one with everything that is arising moment to moment. You are not merely on this side of your face looking out there. “In here” and “out there” have become One Taste with a shuddering obviousness and certainty so profound it feels like a five-ton rock just dropped on your head. It is, shall we say, a feeling hard to miss.
At that point, which is actually your ever-present condition, there is no exclusive identity with this particular organism, no constriction of consciousness to the head, a constriction that makes it seem that “you” are in the head looking at the rest of the world out there; there is no binding of attention to the personal bodymind: instead, consciousness is one with all that is arising – a vast, open, transparent, radiant, infinitely Free and infinitely Full expanse that embraces the entire Kosmos, so that every single subject and every single object are erotically united in the Great Embrace of One Taste. You disappear from merely being behind your eyes, and you become the All, you directly and actually feel that your basic identity is everything that is arising moment to moment (just as previously you felt that your identity was with this finite, partial, separate, mortal coil of flesh you call a body). Inside and outside have become One Taste. I tell you, it can happen just like that!- Ken Wilber, "The Simple Feeling of Being"
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Originally posted by angel7030:
I do not know what teaching or religion you are in, but one tends to feel the pyshological effect of one religion or teaching, for eg, the teaching of buddhism avocate that life is an illusion, at such, those who followed will lead a simple and contented life, on the other hand, extremist religion or teaching give rise to competition and a never satisfactory life, no matter rich and comfortable they are...teaching also include education, the base of one education can determine the thinking of an individual in due course. Therefore, you have to look back on what set up to such kind of thinking. You should know the best.
As I explained to him in the other thread, in Buddhism life is not an illusion but 'like' an illusion in the sense that it's ever-changing, ungraspable, and yet ever-present, vivid and clear.
Also we have to look within and just question, 'Who am I?', and not take our mental interpretations and ideas as answers (it is much more direct and simpler than this -- just pause all thoughts, your sense of Being is still undoubtedly present) and sense this undoubtable Presence, Spirit, Consciousness, Beingness. This essence of being cannot be doubted. If we realise this it will solve our existential doubts. It is to this ever-present, timeless, undoubtable Presence that statements like 'Before Abraham was, I AM' (not I Was, but I AM), or 'I AM THAT I AM' are made. We also understand statements like '"The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love." Yet even this realisation is just the beginning... but being grounded in this Knowing/Being is enough to resolve many confused thinking and doubts about identity and existence.
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
As I explained to him in the other thread, in Buddhism life is not an illusion but 'like' an illusion in the sense that it's ever-changing, ungraspable, and yet ever-present, vivid and clear.
Also we have to look within and sense this undoubtable Presence, Consciousness, Beingness. This cannot be doubted, and it is inseparable from our true nature. If we realise this it will solve all existential doubts. It is to this ever-present undoubtable Presence that statements like 'Before Abraham was, I AM' (not I Was, but I AM), or 'I AM THAT I AM' are made. Yet even this realisation is just the beginning...
AEN, I think the more you explain, the more they will become confused. always consider who the recipient of your intended messages are.
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
AEN, I think the more you explain, the more they will become confused. always consider who the recipient of your intended messages are.
My intended recipient is for anyone who reads the message, not just for a particular person, but anyone in general, anyone who is a conscious being reading these words. Why? Everyone already is fully THAT which is spoken of right now, yet we didn't recognised it since immemorable times because we're constantly chasing after our illusions, our thoughts, dream-like stories of an illusory 'me'.
Anyone who does the investigation will benefit from it.
I do not feel that any of my messages are a waste of effort even if the TS choose not to read it. I feel it is a good opportunity to spread the message :)
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As a kid, I often wondered why people and monks would claim 'life is an illusion'. It was only till I matured then I realized what that claim truly meant.
Being human beings, we often have dreams and aspirations, which are of the future, something that we are seeking and looking towards for. As all these had not happen yet while we are still living in the present, thus 'life is an illusion' - being the future, in truth, is only an illusion, YET to be realized, IF possible.
Those who are optimistic and hardworking will tend to believe it is a reality that can be acheived. It becomes their goals, an unshakable belief in themselves and their capabilities.
Those who are pessimistic and cynical, looking at others who succeeded, while they have not even made that attempt to do so, or did and couldnt make it, and DON'T realize why, will utter 'life is an illusion', a future that cannot happen, and walk away crestfallen.
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Similarly, 'life is an illusion' can be used to describe the past.
No human can be right or perfect in all he/she does. There are bound to be mistakes along the way, some minor, but some major ones which cause regrets. It is those regrets that makes one believed all that had been said and done in the past had not be real, for dreams had not been realized/turned into the perfect reality or the way it should be or believed to be. Thus, 'life is an illusion' or 'life had been an illusion'.
The keyword is BELIEF - a self conceptualisation or perception from the mind based on one's PRESENT living enviroment about the PAST and the FUTURE.
And the sad thing about beliefs are that they can be doubted. Beliefs are not as sure as the sun that rises from the east and sets in the west, or a glass of water before us - a physical reality we can see, touch, smell, taste, hear.
The 5 senses make up what we call consciousness. Dreams are illusions that we can never touch, or see clearly, or smell keenly, or hear about, let alone taste it!
So Are we living in an illusion, at this present moment?
Look in the mirror and slap your right cheek hard.The answer lies in your response.
Just sharing a thought. Cheers!
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Thanks for sharing... well written :)
Just curious, are you a Buddhist?
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Originally posted by An Eternal Now:
Thanks for sharing... well written :)
Just curious, are you a Buddhist?
Thanks for the compliments, and I would say the same of yours though it is a bit more esoteric.
Nope. I am not a Buddhist. Just someone as curious as you are and found out that learning never ends.
I am only a simple secular man.
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Originally posted by xtreyier:
Thanks for the compliments, and I would say the same of yours though it is a bit more esoteric.
Nope. I am not a Buddhist. Just someone as curious as you are and found out that learning never ends.
I am only a simple secular man.
I see... there's a book that just came to mind which I think you and everyone else should try to read... called 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle. E.T. is the author of two bestsellers books, both of which were NY Times bestsellers and heavily promoted by Oprah (Oprah also did a multiple episode webclass with Eckhart Tolle). It talks about similar things I mentioned but in a very transformative, inspiring and practical way.
It can totally change the way you live and truly reduce and eliminate suffering and result in spiritual realisations. The author is not Buddhist but undergone a spiritual awakening at the age of 29. This book sort of propelled me spiritually as well when I bought it in 2006. Just recently I had certain experience that made me understand better the experience that Eckhart Tolle undergone.
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So The Matrix actually misinterpreted the actual meaning of 'life is an illusion'? Oh yeah they are hollywood people anyway.. they can't even respect God, let alone correctly interprete phrases. Hollywood is such a disappointment. -_- I wonder what movies they will have next year. LOL