There are some curious distinctions in the core values of reality.
For example, being or the sense of existence.
We first may recognize this as a sense of I Am.
As we progress spiritually, we can settle into values of pure consciousness beyond the I-sense. There we find a sense of Amness, of our existence without personal identification.
And still deeper, we can come to universal consciousness where the sense is of Isness, an impersonal but universal existence.
That sense first arises when consciousness becomes aware of itself, it becomes aware of its own existence.
“When existence becomes conscious, intelligence becomes intelligent.” as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi famously said (SCI tape 8).
However, when we transcend consciousness into Brahman, even the subtle dualities of conscious / not-conscious and existence / non-existence fall away. It is beyond form and qualities. There is no sense of being there.
However, because it contains the Divine quality of alertness, Brahman can be conscious of itself. Not as consciousness, but as simple alertness.
As we go still deeper, we discover the core, pure Divinity. As it is pure, She is without qualities or distinctions. And yet simultaneously, She is the source of all qualities. She brings us alertness, liveliness, love, intelligence, power, and so much more.
And yes, the Divine has a sense of She, of the Divine Mother from which all is born and have their being.
As the source, she has an unmanifest quality of being. Not overt being as in consciousness but as a subtle Isness. She Is beyond conception.
Davidya
You are fully enlightened. You are very lucky to know all there is to know about spirituality. I wish I can get your blessings as I don’t have any knowledge or experience of anything good and spiritual.
Hi Vandana
That’s not the experience here. For one, it’s not the person who wakes up. We wake up From the person. For two, it’s very clear there’s a great deal more to go.
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I also certainly don’t know everything there is to know. I’m learning every day.
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And we’ve gone over what I recommend and what brought me these results. If you don’t do the practices, you can’t expect results. It takes time.
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When I began meditating, I thought it might be nice for anxiety. I was oblivious to most of this.
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But sometimes, we get caught in a role as a victim. Then, doing something about it seems impossible. Then, the first step is taking a step away from that.
What type of meditation do you practice?
Hi Morris
My recommendations are on the Recommended tab. I’ve been practicing TM for some 45 years. Effortless mantra meditation brings you reliably to source and cultures the ground for awakening.
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My response above was to the specific person as she’s been in a similar place for awhile.
Very lovley! 🙂
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I do take from Davidya’s writings that much about spiritual development is letting go of our personal sense of self. Ironically, we need a healthy sense of automony and then we need to let it go – trading it in so to speak for that universal sense of self that arises in the space of no-self.
The personal self is a gift of the personal mother and the universal the gift of the divine mother. Our souls are twice born. Much gratitude to both mothers. I think my path has been learning to trust and abide or rest in both fields of consciousness. Its not always blissful especially bringing to awareness the deficits and traumas, etc that have clouded the connections and nurturing inherent in those fields. I do see more and more how unfoldment in one supports the other. Maybe there is no such thing as spiritual bypassing. Its all an invitation to embrace and give a place to everything that is in our field of awareness.
Hi Harrison
I refine that a little bit. It’s letting go of the attachments to the personal self. We still need a person to function in the world. And the spiritual process is much easier if the person is in good shape, like the healthy sense of autonomy you mention. Self Actualization is ideal.
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Those attachments develop naturally when we’re unaware of our universal self. But they deeply limit us. By becoming aware of and adding our universality, we wind down the attachments and spread our wings.
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Yes, the texts describe Self Realization as being “twice born” or reborn. Unity is thrice born. 🙂
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Agreed, much gratitude to both mothers. To all mothers. Without the personal mother, we have no chance at liberation. Without the Divine mother, no liberation.
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And yes, the process isn’t always easy and joyful but is very worth the effort. Very much one supports the other.
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I’ve been surprised at the degree of trust I’ve developed from direct experience.
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Oh there is very much spiritual bypassing. Even the best techniques can be manipulated to serve the ego. But if we practice them properly and engage the process openly, its not a trap we’ll fall into for long.
I appreciate your focused comments and specifically the suggestion about letting go of attachments to my personal self. i realize asking “how” may not be the right question but I’ll ask it anyway and trust its pointing in the right direction. I’ve been collecting my self through the day – stopping, breathing, noticing, being with, and letting go as a practice yet the mind stream and personal sense of self dominates mostly with some lapses – stillness is in the background. When I do remember I apply enquiry into that sense of I-ness and who is wanting or avoiding. What else would you suggest? Can you share more about the nature of or types of attachments to the personal self? Thanks!!
Hi Harrison
My apologies – my initial reply apparently didn’t save.
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The key to awakening is letting go aka surrender. Getting out from under the ego trying to control everything.
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The issue with practices as you describe is that a lot of that can be ego trying to manipulate the day to day experience. Finding new ways to control through spiritual practices.
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Letting go isn’t really a practice as that’s a doing not an allowing. Real letting go is a non-doing, an acceptance.
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As Yoga tells us the key is samadhi, going beyond the mind and emotions and into our deeper nature. With regular stepping into source, we develop presence and begin winding down the mind stream.
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But even there, quieting the mind can be a fools game as the mind is naturally busy. Occasionally silencing it in going beyond in samadhi is good but the key is in letting go the attachments to the content of the mind. Then mind can do its thing without influencing our sense of self. We detach from all that naturally, not from any doing.
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Yoga calls the process Raja yoga or the royal road. So many paths are taking the hard way that takes many lifetimes. But thats not necessary if you culture source directly.
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Still, it does take time and some patience. We’ve had these habits for a very long time.
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On the question of types, it doesn’t really matter what type an attachment is. It’s mind that wants to figure that out. What matters is liberation from them.
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We can be attached to anything if we’ve somehow associated it with our sense of self. The possessive me makes it “mine”. My house, my car, my mate, my job, my tennis ball, my parking spot, my space on the road, my favorite seat in the restaurant, and on and on. But broadly, I talked about that here:
https://davidya.ca/2020/02/20/types-of-vasanas/
David, that was very well written. Let the ego go.
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Certainty of oneness overcomes most of the uncertainties of this life. Liberation from ego and individuality leads to a freedom seldom experienced in worldly existence.
Thanks, Ron. Agreed, yet it is an assured destiny. Nice to enjoy it sooner rather than later. 🙂
You describe this terrain better than any I’ve found. Thank you for this. Beyond and prior is the sense here. Prior to…yet presently here.
Thanks, Sarah.
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As usual there is a bit of sorting to do. Being is the eternal reality. And then it’s not. And then a more subtle flavour of being…
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Always a joy to have you comment.
Thanks David for your clarification; let go of letting go – surrender surrendering – just be – I hear also Lorne’s call for being simple and innocent. Not knowing. Not figuring anything out. Allowing. Non doing. Detaching. Trusting has to be a part of this too – a sort of cosmic trust fall into nothingness and fullness
Exactly, Harrison. And the mind will continue to do it’s thing but as we step out of that, the drivers of the monkey mind gradually wind down…
Could you elaborate a bit more on the divine having a she sense or do you think maybe a whole separate post would more suffice to explain that
Hi Ismail
It’s difficult to describe. This is beyond self-aware consciousness and any manifest forms or even qualities. Yet as the old texts say, Shiva (observing consciousness) is dead without Shakti and Shakti is of the Divine Mother. Shiva bows to her, the source of the source.
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Some do experience the Divine as neutral and some with a masculine flavour. But from the experience here, these relate to stages of unfolding, of impersonal and personal experiences of the Divine. But when you get to pure Divinity, much like pure consciousness before, you are beyond personal and impersonal.
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Just a profound sense of abiding presence, intelligence, and nurturing power.
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Others I know experience Her similarly but I can’t say if this is universal.
One question this raises for me is about cultivating that “profound sense of abiding presence.” Remembering to notice presence may be one aspect and how it abides in the “now” of the present moment. Allowing more space in one’s awareness for presence might be another. What esle moves it from the background to the foreground or moves us to abide in it? Or, is this not about any effort or practice and just being innocent, still and surrendered? Thanks for listening….
Hi Harrison
The primary approach here has been transcendence or samadhi through meditation, then just living life. There has been some spontaneous inquiry and noticng but it’s never been a practice.
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The issue with a practice is being clear on whats mind awareness and whats awareness itself. Mind is more than happy to be noticed but that doesn’t develop presence itself.
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What moves it to the foreground is awakening. So yes, the approach here is not as a practice but an allowing.
thanks for the guidance and the distinctions between striving and allowing
You’re welcome, Harrison. Apparently small differences can lead to big benefits long term.
If real is unchanging, is that source of all? Then rest are changing. Established self realization is also relative with respect to source. No practice can make us to go through these aspects (I was not sure whether state is the right word). I feel blessed to read your blogs. you share it for the benefit of confused souls like me. I also enjoy comments, they show from where or stage of their journey. when I read my earlier questions i posed to you, I can see where I was.
Hi Guru
Once we become conscious of consciousness and right through Self Realization, there is an unchanging absolute and a changing relative, a duality.
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With the unity shift, the 2 are seen as one. One reality that is both. Then there isn’t a distinction.
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We start by seeing the world as real. Then we come back to that again later when the world is seen as nothing separate from or different from reality. In the latter case, this doesn’t mean the world appearance is real in itself but that it arises from and in reality.
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So again, we have to recognize that reality is different in different stages. And of course, it is our reality. Reality itself doesn’t change, just how we experience it. Like waiting for a long time in an office is experienced very differently than when we’re caught up in a favorite activity.
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And yes, practices don’t take us through the stages – direct experience and grace do. But practices do help prepare the way so that when grace arises, we can sustain it. Good practices also really help quality of life.
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And yes, because I was once a confused soul too. Not that anything is perfect here but it’s good to help fellow travelers just as others have helped me.
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There are people in many stages commenting here but I wouldn’t assume too much from a comment. Time is relative so no one is “ahead” of anyone else. Not to mention that we’re in this together. As others wake up, it’s the same Self waking up still further. That adds to everyone’s awakening.
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Similarly, don’t judge yourself too harshly. We’re each doing our best in the moment. Hind-sight is always better. 🙂
Thanks for responding. I appreciate your spontaneity and compassion.
You’re welcome. I don’t experience them as personal qualities but collective ones we share. 🙂