I was sent a link to this blog today, an anonymous experience record. He asks that we read the bottom post first and progress up. Not a light read but some nice gems in there. And good examples of a lot of what I talk about here, presented in a more subjective way. My favorite is The structure of love. Always nice to hear another perspective, another way of seeing. This can trigger realizations in others.
Inside the Awakening Mind (the title underestimates the content)
As I’ve mentioned before, emptiness is not the end of the journey and the divine is not some mythical throwback that some teachers suggest.
The reference to Fairfield in Intimate Absolute is a town in Iowa where some 1,600 to 2,000 people meditate together twice a day. The pandits he mentions are a group of over 1,000 Vedic pandits from India who are doing special world peace yagyas. (like pujas) Oprah happens to be doing a show on the town, broadcast this Sunday. Evidently it includes clips of the pandits and the meditation domes where she joined them. The meditation picture is on her home page presently.
UPDATE: Here’s a clip of the Pandits from the show. And the domes.
I believe I can distill my view on understanding oneness down to 6 words:
everything is private, nothing is personal
Thoughts?
Hi Raz
The trick is, mind cannot grasp what is beyond itself until it is the direct experience. Any concept, even of initial awakening, will always fail to grasp the truth of it. Oneness, even more so.
Much as I might describe and compare the taste of a Saskatoon berry to you, until you’ve tasted it, you will not know it. If you’ve never tasted a berry, what comparisons can you even make?
Often after one of the many shifts typical of the awakening process, it takes the mind a few days to catch up to the experience. At a few key points, all prior concepts fall away and must be discovered anew from the new vantage point.
When one looks at descriptions of such states, the field is further complicated by teachers describing an impersonal experience of oneness while others describe a similar sounding but totally different inner unity of Self realization. Self realization is kindergarten for oneness.
For your understanding, early experiences of source can seem very private and individual. But it takes individuality for anything to seem private. That is not waking. Self realization is discovering you are the one self that is the self of all beings. Oneness is a total inclusivity of everything, even that which is beyond your perception. “Private” is meaningless then.
Some people experience a very dry, impersonal awakening. And some people take a very impersonal approach to their journey. But most don’t. For most of us, spiritual awakening is deeply, intimately personal. We come to discover all those that have been helping us along. We can develop personal relationships with those running the show, and with God. As this progresses, we come to unify with all of it. Oneness is then a profoundly personal reality we share with everything.
My advice – read about it, think about it, but hold your ideas of it loosely. When it’s your experience, when it’s who you are, you will understand it well. And writing such as the above blog will enrich your experience further by adding perspectives that may not have arisen for you yet.
Love says “I am everything”. Wisdom says “I am nothing”. Between these two my life flows.
~ Nisargadatta
Thanks for your reply Davidya.
I don’t believe that for something to be privet you need an individual. For something to not be privet you need indivi-duality. One interacting with one is absolute privacy; it cannot help but be privet as there is nobody else to share with. When mind understands there is only one, it understands that all is privet.
For me, when the notion of privacy expanded to include all without exception, it was like a pressure gradually released. Like there was something I had been holding trough my life that I finally let go.
Don’t get me wrong, on the level where this 3d body dwells I still think it´s important to have a sense of integrity and respect of what we put in to play in relation to other 3d body’s.
I just can’t help but relish in the sense of privacy that flows through faith in my experiance that we are indeed al(l)one =)
Hi Raz
Ah – I see your point. In the oneness of Self, there is only one, so complete privacy. Your experience is completely valid. Quite profound actually. And I certainly understand that letting go. It is such a relief.
There’s a semantic thing going on here though that would be good to clarify. I bring it up here and there. What you seem to be describing is a very clear experience of the internal unity of Self. For example, you mention the body on another level.
When I describe Unity or Oneness, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about something deeper. The internal Unity of Self you describe is the foundation of complete unity, but it is not that yet. The Unity stage of development I refer to is a progressive unification of everything with that internal oneness. All the other layers, including the body, all the layers of your experience, memory, past and future, the whole shebang.
The body may still be seen as on “another layer” in the sense of layer of creation but all of it is contained within the one. Its not on a separate layer outside of That. That’s the flag of duality.
It’s a tricky distinction. Someone with clear Self Realization can relate to the basics of someone describing Unity. They have that within. Some are confusing the 2 and making the assumption they’re done. It can certainly feel complete as the Self is complete. But its not the whole enchilada. In fact there is much more possible as it develops further.
For myself, it felt done but I knew there was more because of the teaching I was in. Soon enough, I felt like I was in kindergarten again. 😉
Just stay open to what is arising, let go of resistance that comes up and the abiding silence will mature the vehicle and unfold a fuller picture of reality. Stepping through the process is very worthwhile as it mirrors others journeys and the nature of creation itself. Its a great way to get to know it all.
I playfully made a list of more from the Yoga Sutras.
https://davidya.ca/2012/01/29/108-reasons-to-seek-enlightenment/