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Question: There are a few questions (well, only really one). Could I give a quick rundown of the 'story' first then get to them? (not that we have any choice! ..ha!) anyway, babbling again. Will be using lots of I's and me's for the purposes of convention here; its too tricky to communicate otherwise in words ..I'm sure you get this a lot :-)..I know it doesn't matter what is said.. how is your goose?! why do you prefer the color Gerald to the great marshmallow of cheese? (for example!), I know there's no point or certainly no reasoning to be done anymore ..yet this email arises..
So perhaps it can be said that there lies a question… or at least a sense of having to ask an opinion of 'you' ..and that's whether or not you get a sense of there being anyone left at home here (for me) ..or that my apparent understanding is intellectual only.. Answer: Although I recognize what you mean, I do not really make a distinction between 'real' and 'intellectual' understanding. Understanding -or the lack thereof- just happens. The certainty about this understanding comes by itself, whether or not Leo labels it as true understanding. Just go with your gut feeling on this and see that even certainty and uncertainty are temporary occurrences in (or appearances of) What-You-Truly-Are. Whether or not there is the sensation of 'someone home' at your end doesn't really matter.. IT expresses via a rose as perfume, and via the human mind IT conceptualizes Its presence as 'I AM..' This concept of 'I AM' points to an undeniable Presence. Presence/Beingness is here, whether or not it gets conceptualized as I AM. When this I AM is interpreted as an entity it may get translated by the mind/organism into a 'personal thing' but, as there is only One, even this sense of 'I AM' being personal, is nothing but the One appearing AS such. Speaking from direct experience, here there is a preference for spaghetti over turnips, there is speaking Dutch rather than Chinese, and 'I' respond to the name Leo more readily that to the name John and so on. This collection of conditions could be labeled or I-dentified as an 'I'. This 'I' appears as a fluid reference point, which cannot be located anywhere, nor is it known as anything specific. Depending on the situation this 'I' may be totally forgotten… or assumed to be present as whatever appears. Also, this 'I' is seen as an object appearing in Awareness. It does not 'have' awareness, but there is awareness OF it. One of the I/object's characteristics is that it contains the notion of being the subject. As such we could call it the 'pseudo subject.' Its presence seems to be part of the natural functioning of the organism, and to have its place in 'the overall scheme of things.' So to your question I have to say that neither for 'you' nor for 'me' there is a 'real' somebody 'home' -even when this 'I' I-dea does appear- as it is not anything fixed or concrete. It seems like a chameleon, changing according to whatever presents itself. It has the same substance as a shadow, a thought, or a mirage: Like an apparition, which is often forgotten and then remembered again, It is and it is not.
If or when you have a question you'd like to see answered in this newsletter send it to:
author@awakeningtothedream.com Art by: Salvador Dali Title: 'Apparition of the Face of Aphrodite'  Fair Use Notice |
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When you say, 'Things just happen', for me it appears that they are
happening to a 'someone', and also that in some way I am instrumental
in, for example, going and getting the car and driving. There is a felt
sense of 'I'.
Yes. This felt sense of 'I' is the functional sense of being that arises in conjunction with bodily location for daily living in the play. The 'I' with which we are generally concerned here is the 'I' thought which, when assumed, is the basis for the psychological self-sense, which is the story of a life extended in thought, in time. I can temporarily see that. Yes, maybe this seeing comes and goes - this 'I' will likely continue to appear and disappear. That's the nature of the play of life. Maybe the 'I' disappears altogether, maybe it is simply seen through - all of this is the play. Within the play there may be a move to inspect the 'I', whereby it is noticed that it is merely a thought, an idea; that this life of the character apparently extended in time has no actuality outside of the present. The present, or presence, is awareness and its content. Well, we say 'awareness' but, of course, that is a concept as well. There is awareness, right now. There is registering of the wall, of the body, of thought. This registering is what the concept 'awareness' points at. Awareness is devoid of all qualities, and so it gets overlooked. It is what is looking, registering, right now - the awareness aspect of your true nature. This registering and what is being registered are not concepts. They are present, obvious. No recourse to thought is needed. |
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~ Ananda Wood ~
From his interpretation of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad For a free download of his book "From the Upanishads" got to: http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/ananda_wood/ananda_wood.htm |
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7. Those who dwell on creation consider it a divine miracle. Others imagine it is like a dream or an illusion. 8. Some are convinced creation is by the mere will of God. Those who are fascinated by time declare time to be the source of all things. 9. Others say creation is for God's delight, others that it is for mere sport. But it is the true nature of the Divine One - what desire can He have whose every desire is always fulfilled? ~ Gaudapada ~ From his: Karika on the Mandukya Upanishad
the oldest known systematic exposition of Advaita Vedanta. Art by: Charles Frizzell Title: 'Oneness' Found at: http://iasos.com/artists/frizzell/ Fair Use Notice |
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Oh, is that so? God is sitting in heaven when a scientist says to him, “Lord, we don’t need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the ‘beginning.’” “Oh, is that so? Tell me...” replies god. “Well, says the scientist, “we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of you and breathe life into it, thus creating man.” “Well, that’s interesting. Show Me.” So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil. “Oh no, no, no...” interrupts God, “Get your own dirt.” |
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