Q&A, Part 3

It’s rare such back and forth continues. But there was more. This continues from Q&A 2…
I have some other writing to come but life has other demands at the moment.
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When acting, if there is a sense of things coming “through you” rather than from you, this is the difference between being in the flow/ acting from source vs acting from ego. A good example would be writing something you didn’t know. Creatives talking about the muse is the same. Once awake, it is progressively more like this as we wind down the ego drivers.

(to be clear, I’m not referring to channelling. Channelling generally refers to having an astral entity acting or speaking through you. This is dis-integrative and not recommended for spiritual progress)

Acting is in the field of karma. It can create more karmas or not, depending on how attached you are to the actions. None of that is spirit so your work cannot “harm” your spiritual path. Harm in this sense is a dualistic perspective that is judging material things right and wrong. To act against spirit essentially means acting against the momentum of the entire universe. Not so easy. The idea you can screw up your path due to something you do or don’t do is motivated by the ego and fear. In the witness state, you discover it is not you who was acting and there is a perfection to it. Nothing was ever “wrong”. But it may be a learning experience (laughs)

(we’re not talking about being violent or irresponsible – just about rightness of work)

You work with your clients on the level of mind. [a psychologist] Their thoughts and emotions. Becoming more conscious of their relationship with them. For some, empowering them to take control is appropriate. For others, learning to let go. You know you’ve helped people with their challenges. Nothing bad there. Other techniques may make you more helpful but we do our best.

Karma is the field of action, of being in the world. It can be related to what you do but you’re working with how people relate to it, not the karma itself as I described prior. Your actions can help them resolve what would be karma. But reactivity is not karma, just the potential for it. It’s like potential vs kinetic energy. A battery in a package vs a battery in a flashlight turned on. Related but not quite the same.

OK – but just to be clear: there are experiences or tastes and there is actual waking. Actual waking is a change in being. It is not imagined. The clarity can be variable for a time but the shift is “unmistakable” as one teacher puts it.
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“Can we be aware of Consciousness?”

Well – it depends on what “we” is. When we are identified with the ego, we see ourselves as a me, a body-mind. This body-mind can notice it is conscious but cannot in itself be aware of consciousness itself. This is why it is common in science today to see consciousness as a byproduct of brain function and the states of consciousness (waking, dreaming and sleep) to be its only states. Consciousness as a kind of accidental side-effect of complex brains.

However, when you have an experience of pure samadhi, you experience pure consciousness. Consciousness without content (thoughts, etc). While the quality of that experience can be recognized to be dependant on the physiology, it soon becomes clear that consciousness itself is boundless infinity, eternal and unchanging being. It Is, beyond all phenomena and experiences. It is the container of all experiences.

As this deepens, we recognize that all thought and emotions, then all phenomena, arise in this consciousness. This is due to consciousness being aware of itself. Self-awareness is the fundamental principle of being; The self-interacting dynamics of consciousness.

Still deeper, we realize we’re aware of awareness aware of itself. We observe those self-interacting dynamics. Still deeper, we recognize that consciousness is self-aware both globally and at every point within itself. It is profoundly self-interacting. And that unfolds the origins of consciousness itself.

Of course, this or that person will use different language and may frame it a little differently. But that’s the basis. We are consciousness and the essence of higher stages is in awareness of that consciousness.

(I’m using consciousness and awareness more or less interchangeably here.)
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I would frame it slightly differently. “Awakening is the dissolving of thought” is better worded ‘Awakening is the dissolving of attachment to thought.’

A person who is awake (an oxymoron) still has thoughts. But they are no longer “my” thoughts. Thoughts (fewer) simply arise and move on. Also it’s useful to clarify that what “dies” in awakening is the identification with a me. For the occasional person, this can be high-contrast and feel like a personal death. But for most, the sense of “death” is more like a falling away of the old. What is far more dominant is what is now present. Being boundless, liberated, and in deep peace.

It is a big change in how you see yourself, but I would not frame it as a bad thing or a loss. Nothing is lost while everything is gained.

It’s very important to understand that as you get close to awakening, the ego can become afraid of loss of control and will throw up all kinds of distractions, reasons to avoid it, fake experiences, and so forth. It can frame awakening as a bad, difficult, or otherwise hard thing. A key aspect of the shift itself is seeing through this noise as the final drama. We just have to stop believing the story. That happens when we see through it. And that’s what the ego is desperately trying to avoid.
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Back to your 2nd question. Purpose and meaning are both massive subjects. Meaning is essentially what we give to our experiences. How we interpret them.

On purpose – In India, they speak of dharma. This is commonly translated to mean purpose. But more deeply it is that which sustains life beneficially so awakening can unfold. Dharma has 4 levels – personal, life period, community, and world. (simply put)

From a larger perspective, all of creation arises in the self-interacting dynamics of consciousness as a means for That to know itself more fully. Without content and a process of experience, there is nothing to be known, discovered, etc. Thus, consciousness arises and interacts, giving rise to all experience.

We thus arise as a means of self-knowledge on a local level. A way of bringing out all the details. Thus, self-exploration, relationship, the expression of talents and gifts, and spiritual development are the fulfillment of purpose. Our very life is our purpose.

Creation is expressed out through us, then with spiritual development we return home and bring it all together. An outward and inward cycle expressed in the stages of human development from conception.

Hopefully, this very short blurb is clear. Massive subject that is also somewhat dependent of stage of development.
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Back to the previous comment on the ego.
The ego tries desperately to cling to control. But the irony is that it was never in the slightest control in the first place. That’s the core of the illusion of a me. An idea that I’m in control so I can feel safe and confident. Claiming events to be “my” doing and on and on. It’s just a story. It was never true.

The real security and stability is in recognizing ourselves as eternal being, not holding on to the ego story. And it’s that apparent loss of connection to source that caused the ego drama to begin in the first place.

When we awaken, some people find it very, very funny. That it was all so obvious and easy – why didn’t they “get it” before?? And that they ever believed the ego story…
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I agree on the nature of thought. But to say it is a constant stream going by, then counter that to say we’re responsible for it is to believe the ego’s idea they are “my” thoughts. This attachment to thoughts is not energetic but by association. The subtle idea that they are “my” thoughts, this is “my” body, etc. This is the ME idea that awakening winds down.

When this attachment lets go, it can be a very distinctive experience. This can happen with awakening or prior and sometimes happens in stages. The detachment from doership is a core teaching in India – from Krishna, Vasishtha, Patanjali, and more. All major eastern traditions speak of this. Even Jesus did.

Sorry but someone who has no thoughts ever is dead. The awake no longer have MY thoughts, just thoughts. Like a breeze going by. An awake monk in a cave who spends his time in deep samadhi has few thoughts but not none. But most of the awake are out in the world, planning, choosing, and otherwise thinking. They’re not zombies.

Yes, thinking happens in the field of time and space, the field of karma. As long as there is a body, there is an aspect of being in that. The awake live in timeless being, observing but detached from action. But it continues.
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I agree there is a lot of nonsense floating around non-dual circles. Like people following a belief in non-doing and abdicating feelings and responsibility. This is just another belief system and a pretty lame one at that. This clip illustrates an example.

What I am referring to is the shift into the observer or witness mode. From that perspective, we see ourselves to be eternal being and the activities of the body and mind are observed as passing events, much as we might observe the activity of the world. They continue to occur, driven by momentum, the physiology and natural laws.

This however is not an abdication of responsibility. In fact, when properly integrated, we recognize ourselves as part of the one whole and seek the betterment of all as aspects of ourselves. It is the dawning of true compassion and a deepening appreciation for life.

This is not yet the stage of non-duality or Oneness. That typically comes later. I outlined that prior. As with all human growth and development, progress comes in stages.

Where thoughts come from can be described in considerable detail but that would take extensive explaining. It is quite different from our usual understanding. The mind is no more a creator of content than a radio is.

But I fully appreciate this is not your experience. It is very important to have self-authority and find a truth that aligns with how you experience the world. But it’s also useful to find a teacher or community that can support your growth into a greater vision.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about this subject. But that does not invalidate the source teachings. Only that those for whom it is not yet the experience or who don’t understand how it is they came to awaken may misunderstand some. As more and more speak about it from direct knowing, the old nonsense should largely fall away.

Last Updated on June 25, 2023 by Davidya