"To rid ourselves of our shadows - who we are - we must step into either total light or total darkness." - Jeremy Preston Johnson
The Naked I
Enlightenment and the Nature of Reality in 1000 Words
Only stillness made sense now. And I was that stillness, that tearful bliss, that eternal presence. Whatever thoughts arose had no significance anymore. How could they? To whom could anything matter in the absence of identity; in the absence of the very need for an identity? Yet I wasn't dead. I hung there on the screen of my awareness like an on-line profile; an avatar for the world to interact with. Only, I no longer had any reason to interact with the world. What was the world, but a phantasm? And what were people, but threads of thought; bodies of words; all contained within my truest Self, my only Self. God.
It all seemed so obvious now. The thoughts that we hold about ourselves are actually a lens, offering unique perspectives to a single viewer. And together they act as a prism, refracting the light of consciousness into the full spectrum of infinite possibility. I knew this because the lens of 'me' had fallen away, clearing my vision to see from - and as - the totality of the whole experience. For I am the totality; the cause and the effect; the alpha and the omega; the becoming and the become. Not just a theory any longer, or a matter of faith, but a direct perception, an inherent knowingness, a revelation!
Still, it wouldn't be accurate to say that we're all One, for the we itself lends credence to the illusion of autonomy and volition. The whole concept of free will is really rather absurd when considered from outside of 'the process', which best describes what consciousness is engaged in.
The largely unquestioned assumption of freedom is testament to the power of the illusion. And whilst the experience of free will is certainly an authentic one, who or what is actually experiencing it? In other words, if your own apparent will cannot be separated from your identity, which it obviously cannot, then neither can 'you' claim ownership of the experience. Rather, and more simply, you are the experience; the lens through which your true Self is peering.
Some say it started with a bang. I say it started with the emergence of thought within consciousness (the Word), triggering a refractional process of assumed identity, leading to ultimate self knowledge. In other words, the experience of infinite possibility within the imagination of God.
Can it be said that a child's imagination has any less potential? If not, whose imagination is it, really? And is that imagination in us, or are we in it? The answer, of course, is both. And that neatly describes the process of co-creation through which infinite possibility is explored.
The notion of thoughts directly creating reality has only recently become scientifically credible. Anyone can experience it for themselves, however, during conscious or lucid dreams. I have personally created and explored entire cities and other imaginary environments, all as apparently real as anything in waking life.
Most people dream unconsciously, of course, and so what they manifest at night is largely a reflection of the persona they believe themselves to be. And so long as that perception continues, they'll remain bound to the 'matrix' from which their identity - all identity - emerged and developed. People are essentially puppets, therefore. They simply haven't noticed the strings.
Do not be dismayed, however, for that is also the point! It is your identity, after all - your mistaken identity - that allows infinite possibility to become infinite experience. Were it not this way, there would be no 'ride' at all. In other words, there was never an authentic you to have been enslaved in the first place. There is only consciousness experiencing the bundle of thoughts - the process - that you are. In short, your identity is the prison that you experience as freedom.
And so to enlightenment - which is not something that anyone will ever experience, for the experience itself necessitates their absence. All that remains afterwards is a kind of residual self-image. One that is acceptable to God owing to its inherent lack of self-interest (ego). One's process is quite literally 'saved' to memory.
Other processes descend within the matrix due to fear, and go on to represent the darkest light of the spectrum (evil). This is because consciousness gradually withdraws (turns away) from any process that's on a downward trajectory. And this 'descent' is what creates the polarity and drama that we perceive as good and evil.
What's actually taking place is the expansion and contraction of consciousness within the matrix; within our own apparent selves. And it's the suffering that evil (unconsciousness) generates that leads to the awakening of consciousness from the illusion. In other words, it's through darkness that God came to know himself as light. All suffering, one should remember, is ultimately experienced by the true Self. Hence the inevitability of love, of God.
Needless to say, the descent of something into darkness has obvious religious connotations. Some may even see it as losing one's soul. However, because the consciousness of an 'individual' is directly proportional to its level of self interest, there is never actually anyone there to experience any kind of ultimate death or hell. What's more, the process itself, even when completely devoid of consciousness, will continue running. This is what sustains the darkest pole of the matrix. Some have likened it to a sophisticated computer program. Others see it as a super-ego or skin of evil - Satan. As with everything else, however, it's just the inevitable result of the process itself. For aren't all things inevitable within infinite possibility?
And so there you have it, my friends. The nature of reality - or, rather, illusion - in one thousand words. Is it what you were hoping for?
Enjoy the ride.
On the Subject of Free Will
"It is abundantly clear that any argument or discussion regarding free will or lack thereof is just the last vestiges of the 'me' looking for control." - J Krishnamurti.
"All of our thoughts are conditioned. We all are thinking exactly along the lines we are conditioned to think. Programmed like a computer. Anybody who thinks they are actually choosing of their own free will the line of thinking that they have is completely deluded by their thinking." - Adyashanti
"One thing that I always emphasize is that it is culture that has created us all for the sole purpose of maintaining its status quo and its continuity. So, in that sense, I do not see that there are any individuals at all. At the same time, the same culture has given us the hope that there is something that you can do to become an individual and that there is such a thing as free will. Actually there is no free will at all." - UG Krishnamurti.
"We are governed, our minds molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of… In almost every act of our lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind." - Edward Bernays
"Most people live in the delusion that they make decisions out of free will. In reality their actions are completely determined by their past. How you think, what you want and what you consider important are all determined by your upbringing, your culture, your religion – in short, by your concepts. As long as you still think you are your mind, you have no free will. Spiritually you are unconscious. You may think you know what you want, but you don't. It is only the conditioning of your mind that says: 'This is what you need to have'. That’s not a choice, it’s mechanical." - Eckhart Tolle.
"You do not choose, you do not decide, when you see things very clearly... Only the unintelligent mind exercises choice in life. A spiritually advanced or truly intelligent mind simply cannot have choice, because it can only choose the path of truth. Only the unintelligent mind has free will." - J Krishnamurti
"All actions are determined except the ability to inquire into one's true nature." - Ramana Maharshi
http://www.barrylong.org/statements/...gmycows1.shtml
http://www.naturalism.org/strawson_interview.htm
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6428481/On...-and-Free-Will
