i've been reflecting lately on the nature of consciousness. or moreover, reality. well, actually, they're very entwined, so both.
and as such, i've come to the realization that everything we experience is thought. both the thoughts unseen in our minds, and our external world - the image of which is generated in our minds. thus, it too is thought. our entire reality around us is simple mindstuff. thought. so the question, then, is what lies beneath the thought? for with the revelation that the reality into which we have invested so much is as ineffable as a cloud splayed across a sky, we must beg to realize what lies beneath. or above. or to the left, as we see that such concepts, too, are mere thoughts.
through meditation on the concept of reality as a thought, i am realizing that beneath the thoughts lies silence. upon meditating on all of this thought-ful-ness, the mind naturally defaults to the silence of realization - realization that it is the mind itself which creates all the suffering it experiences. so in this silence, there is nothing - no thoughts, no fleeting desires, no concepts, no biases. just stillness. and it is from this stillness which thought arises - from which our reality arises. thus, silence is a more basic aspect of our nature than thought. yet, some may still see a problem; a loophole in this philosophical logic. that problem is: how does one know that silence itself is not just a thought? what makes silence more fundamental than thought itself? if silence also arises in the mind, is silence not just as superficial as thought itself?
the answer to this, is that the silence one experiences in meditation on reality is not, in of itself, thought - it is realization of nothingness. silence is not tangible in the same way as thought - silence is, in of itself, nothingness. pure nothingness. indivisible nothingness.
nothingness is everlasting; infinite. complete void of all things. and because of this, nothingness is our true nature. indivisible, all is one in oblivion. our thought; our reality; all that constitutes our universe does not exist. it is nothing - it is not nothing - it is all things in nothingness.
a difficult concept to communicate in words. but if you will, take a moment to sit back, close your eyes, and imagine nothingness. complete void. not a concept of nothingness - no, not something which can be visualized - but even beneath that. once you have an idea of nothingness, observe and disregard even that, for in the moment of conception, that nothingness turned into somethingness. meditate deeper, and see that this ocean of stillness beneath your thoughts is your true nature - infinite, and nothing.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
plants & subjective/objective reality
how does a plant experience life?
plants have no sensory organs, unlike humans, with which to experience life, but 'to live' by definition, encompasses experience of life - so how?
i suppose it would be a bit like a human being born without senses from birth - they would be living, but their consciousness would be radically different from that of their peers, because they do not have the same or similar experiences around which to base their personality... for what are we, if not a reflection of our relations?
furthermore, humans, and indeed, all animals have a subjective experience: no matter if life is individual or unitive, the experience is still subjective - just in a slightly different way (or is it that different, after all? i am but one man yet i am composed of many smaller elements that come together to form the whole; does that not make me many in the same way that a collective consciousness must be?) so then, the question that remains, is it possible to experience life through an objective point of view? to do so one would have to live outside of life, which i speculate would be impossible, as complete and total dissociation must occur prior. this might be conceivable through either meditation or dissociative drugs such as salvia or ketamine, yet, i think perhaps even then a subjective view might remain as it would be leftover from memories and previous interaction with personal & intimate reality.
plants have no sensory organs, unlike humans, with which to experience life, but 'to live' by definition, encompasses experience of life - so how?
i suppose it would be a bit like a human being born without senses from birth - they would be living, but their consciousness would be radically different from that of their peers, because they do not have the same or similar experiences around which to base their personality... for what are we, if not a reflection of our relations?
furthermore, humans, and indeed, all animals have a subjective experience: no matter if life is individual or unitive, the experience is still subjective - just in a slightly different way (or is it that different, after all? i am but one man yet i am composed of many smaller elements that come together to form the whole; does that not make me many in the same way that a collective consciousness must be?) so then, the question that remains, is it possible to experience life through an objective point of view? to do so one would have to live outside of life, which i speculate would be impossible, as complete and total dissociation must occur prior. this might be conceivable through either meditation or dissociative drugs such as salvia or ketamine, yet, i think perhaps even then a subjective view might remain as it would be leftover from memories and previous interaction with personal & intimate reality.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Rainbows
Why is there a seventh color to the rainbow? Shouldn't it only be the three primary colors and the mixes of those colors, yielding six colors in all? Why is there a seventh color?
why second guess?
why second guess? we should be confident in what we know we have, not what we might or might not; to question our own will is almost fundamentally absurd, or even totally fundamentally absurd - if we cannot trust our own thoughts, then to whom do we turn for guidance? lucidity and clarity are key to understanding the human condition, this much is clear, but why then is it so easy to lose this lucidity? although admitting it pains me, i too am susceptible to the absurdity of life, we all are, to some degree, but perhaps the trick to keeping clear of the poppycock and balderdash is to not take life so seriously - we are here for a finite amount of time, but that time is eternity - it just depends on how we utilize it. be grateful with what we have, to want more than the gifts we've received by the great bounty of life, and truly the luck of the draw, is selfish and juvenile; we must move past our insecurities and embrace ourselves for the incredibly unique and beautiful people we all truly are, not who we might be if we applied more effort here, or more determination there: embrace yourself! you are incredible and this moment is incredible - live now, not then, don't be concerned with the past, or the future, or the mistakes we've made and the blunders that have crept in - live simply in the present! we just need to open our eyes enough to let the light in and caress us, and make us whole again. don't care about the opinions of others, for we are all in this together, and others are just as clouded and insecure in their own path - we must learn to trust our own thoughts and intuitions, because we have this fantastically complex and powerful mind for a reason, even if that reason isn't immediately apparent, and it won't misguide us, for what are we if not our mind? no matter how hard we try to, or how easy it seems it might be stray from the path of the fundamental truth, all the corkscrews and split roads eventually lead to the same path - stay true to you, and you'll get there faster.
maybe, just maybe, reality isn't what we think it is
the entirety of the material universe is truly not material at all, but instead composed of manifest consciousness.
hallucination indicates that reality is subjective to the experiencer - many function in consensus reality, but others reside in a reality of their own construction: those under the influence of a psychoactive drug, those with mental phenomenon such as schizophrenia. if reality is relative, one could construe that one's own consciousness has profound affect on the world in which we live, and i would go so far as to say our consciousness actually exists as the fundamental building blocks of reality. living organisms receive information from a basic realm through our sensory organs (our eyes, mouth, and skin) which is relayed to our brain, and therein is constructed our view of reality. the trees in front of us, the bright red car that just flew by, the symphonic concerto on the radio, are all merely portraits of this fundamental world, expressing itself through consciousness, [i]within[/i] consciousness. everything we perceive is a mental picture.
if consciousness is expressed in all that we experience, then i, too, am consciousness, just as is my loved ones, my friends, and all i come into contact with. the true nature of the matter is that i, you, he, she, and they are all one - because we are built of the same ineffable mind-matter. our notion of individuality is created when we adopt a separatist world view, but it an illusion; everything is a different spoke of the same wheel, a finger on a cosmic fist.
what are the implications of this revelation? mystics throughout the ages have been correct in their positing of a consciously-created world, and modern science is flawed in its assumption of all matter being composed of atoms and electrons; that our consciousness, our sense of self, and our free will are all illusory epiphenomenon of our highly advanced mechanistic brain. programs, if you will, on a computer. i see now that this is incorrect. our complete oneness with one another must be realized and embraced, else petty, profit-driven wars will continue to dominate our culture. we will brutally murder our brothers, and in the process, ourselves, for the temporary, fleeting pleasures of carnality and all the sensory circuses that modern culture calls its own: sex, drugs, and rock & roll.
it is no wonder that such crushing unhappiness weighs down upon the world and corruption runs violently amok in our 'highly advanced civilization'. we are not an advanced people whatsoever, but merely fools who have convinced ourselves of our own godhood. we must be brought begrudgingly to admit that we are not actually the only species on this blue planet, although we are so enamored by our own illustrious image of power and dominance that oftentimes we lose sight of the world around us. shockingly, this comes as a surprise to people, and even today scholars and philosophers globally contemplate the matter, confused, perplexed over the state in which we have entangled ourselves.
our current science prohibits the image of god, positing that there is no use for such an entity in the approaching paradigm of technology and scientific knowledge, and there isn't - at least in the classical sense. modern religion is only a tarnished, broken image of the original message of the prophets, who, interestingly, spoke of a world much like the one i described earlier, a reality constructed by the mind. misguided followers misconstrued the conveyed message, and it was distorted until it became more palatable and understandable for the largely ignorant and complacent masses, only this time with an ironic twist: profit is involved. of course, how could what quickly became the world's greatest lie not generate profit? people today have been swindled to believe that if one does not follow a select set of rules, that person will be ablaze eternally in hellish damnation - painful infinity inevitable unless one conforms to doctrines that seem suspiciously like methods to maintain social control amongst a docile and obedient people by the select elite in charge; be it government, or the church.
one look at today's media will render the viewer unable to deny the materialistic, profit-driven world in which we reside. we are flooded daily with advertisements that speak out against our would-be contentment with dictations exemplifying physical beauty, neglecting absolutely emotional or mental health. one cannot buy yoga, one cannot buy meditation, one cannot buy emotional stasis, so such matters are ignored. we instead focus merely on the physical, because, in our culture, the physical is all that is real.
hallucination indicates that reality is subjective to the experiencer - many function in consensus reality, but others reside in a reality of their own construction: those under the influence of a psychoactive drug, those with mental phenomenon such as schizophrenia. if reality is relative, one could construe that one's own consciousness has profound affect on the world in which we live, and i would go so far as to say our consciousness actually exists as the fundamental building blocks of reality. living organisms receive information from a basic realm through our sensory organs (our eyes, mouth, and skin) which is relayed to our brain, and therein is constructed our view of reality. the trees in front of us, the bright red car that just flew by, the symphonic concerto on the radio, are all merely portraits of this fundamental world, expressing itself through consciousness, [i]within[/i] consciousness. everything we perceive is a mental picture.
if consciousness is expressed in all that we experience, then i, too, am consciousness, just as is my loved ones, my friends, and all i come into contact with. the true nature of the matter is that i, you, he, she, and they are all one - because we are built of the same ineffable mind-matter. our notion of individuality is created when we adopt a separatist world view, but it an illusion; everything is a different spoke of the same wheel, a finger on a cosmic fist.
what are the implications of this revelation? mystics throughout the ages have been correct in their positing of a consciously-created world, and modern science is flawed in its assumption of all matter being composed of atoms and electrons; that our consciousness, our sense of self, and our free will are all illusory epiphenomenon of our highly advanced mechanistic brain. programs, if you will, on a computer. i see now that this is incorrect. our complete oneness with one another must be realized and embraced, else petty, profit-driven wars will continue to dominate our culture. we will brutally murder our brothers, and in the process, ourselves, for the temporary, fleeting pleasures of carnality and all the sensory circuses that modern culture calls its own: sex, drugs, and rock & roll.
it is no wonder that such crushing unhappiness weighs down upon the world and corruption runs violently amok in our 'highly advanced civilization'. we are not an advanced people whatsoever, but merely fools who have convinced ourselves of our own godhood. we must be brought begrudgingly to admit that we are not actually the only species on this blue planet, although we are so enamored by our own illustrious image of power and dominance that oftentimes we lose sight of the world around us. shockingly, this comes as a surprise to people, and even today scholars and philosophers globally contemplate the matter, confused, perplexed over the state in which we have entangled ourselves.
our current science prohibits the image of god, positing that there is no use for such an entity in the approaching paradigm of technology and scientific knowledge, and there isn't - at least in the classical sense. modern religion is only a tarnished, broken image of the original message of the prophets, who, interestingly, spoke of a world much like the one i described earlier, a reality constructed by the mind. misguided followers misconstrued the conveyed message, and it was distorted until it became more palatable and understandable for the largely ignorant and complacent masses, only this time with an ironic twist: profit is involved. of course, how could what quickly became the world's greatest lie not generate profit? people today have been swindled to believe that if one does not follow a select set of rules, that person will be ablaze eternally in hellish damnation - painful infinity inevitable unless one conforms to doctrines that seem suspiciously like methods to maintain social control amongst a docile and obedient people by the select elite in charge; be it government, or the church.
one look at today's media will render the viewer unable to deny the materialistic, profit-driven world in which we reside. we are flooded daily with advertisements that speak out against our would-be contentment with dictations exemplifying physical beauty, neglecting absolutely emotional or mental health. one cannot buy yoga, one cannot buy meditation, one cannot buy emotional stasis, so such matters are ignored. we instead focus merely on the physical, because, in our culture, the physical is all that is real.
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