29 June 2016

You think you exist as a body/mind, relatively stably through time. Yet every night your body, mind and consciousness disappear for a few hours, until the waking state returns the next day. In that waking state you remember that you slept, and that you existed the day before. So your "stability" in existence is purely memory in the waking state, which comes and goes, comes and goes.

Identification with your body seems to make sense because then you have an apparently stable existence as a body that lasts 40, 60, 90 years, even though "you" exist for only a few hours each day as the waking state, within which is memory that ties all the waking state experiences together.

This waking state is not even the body, but an appearance that comes to you, and which disappears each evening.

In other words, as an analogy--Nisargadatta's analogy--you are like the flame of a cigarette lighter, that goes on and off all day, all week and month long. The flame, feeling its temporality, identifies with the lighter to gain some endurance and weight, but the lighter does not exist for the flame when the flame is not there. The flame just assumes the lighter was existent when it , itself, was not.

Is this not how we are, a flame during the waking moments that identifies with the body, and both of which disappear with sleep and death?

Just be aware of the flame or consciousness. Immerse in it. Be it. This is true self-inquiry.

3 comments:

  1. You say that consciousness is born from body, then why all this self knowledge needed? when this body dies "you" won't be aware of "yourself" anyway :) It kinda loses all the meaning of life and the meaning of self knowledge and etc.

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  2. Actually, it changes everything. Right now you think yourself a body with experiences. I am trying to change you to identify with the totality of consciousness, both of your personal existence, but also as it manifests everywhere. Step away from your body and you are stepping away from limitation and mortality.

    But you can't see that yet. It is a totally different way of perceiving/understanding.

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  3. I hope so, but am doubtful. I had some glimpses, but i still think that this is all mind creation. When brain dies - everything goes with it, including identification with consciousness, Void, out of body, astral worlds, this world, God, everything. I don't have any evidence that "going up" so to speak is not body related i.e. you always return to this ordinary consciousness, no matter what happens. And the one that observes it all seems very elusive and not understandable or perceivable in any way.
    Anyway, your blog posts always creates this strong pull to turn attention from the world at least for some time to practice your writings. You rise mind shaking points. Somehow i cannot discard it just like that... it has some feeling to it, i don't yet what. Lets see.

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