Technique to Reduce Stress

Relating to Yourself

Relationships and Conflict

Relationships and Loneliness

Relationships and Learning

Fear of Death

Relationships

Ego and Consciousness

Living Without Stress

Pursuit of Pleasure

AS - Attribute Substitution

AS in psychology is when a problem is so subtle that we cannot imagine what this problem is but even so there is some awareness of something being wrong. It is as though we cannot see the problem consciously but unconsciously there is a feeling of disturbance. The disturbance is rightly assumed to be a problem but at the same time because it is unconscious it cannot be located. When the mind experiences this state we are faced with the old problem of nature abhorring a vacuum or not knowing. When faced with this vacuum there is a strong tendency of the mind to invent a problem that is knowable. This is AS; rather than not know what this unconscious feeling is the mind invents a problem that can be defined and known even though this is pure invention the mind is satisfied. As a result of this substitution we now have what appears to be a very real problem such as anger, depression, addictions of various kinds and many other possibilities. The idea that alcohol addiction is a disease and can never be cured is not true, the problem is that the original problem is not known and a substitution is created. Once created it becomes so convincing that we may never see or be aware of the real problem. The real problem turns out to be the problem behind all the problems of the world. To understand this it is necessary to understand the relationship between the physical sensations of the body and the meaning that the mind uses as a substitute and superimposes over the physical sensations, the result of which becomes indistinguishable from reality. This is how our individual sense of reality whatever that may be is created. The physical sensations of the body are there so that we can navigate the physical world but once AS is created it is as though reality has been hijacked by whatever meaning we may attribute to the physical sensations. Sensation plus meaning = reality. Meaning can be constructed to be anything we want. Meaning or beliefs are part of this substitution in that whatever belief we may hold can only exist  as the result of a memory from the past. This memory of the past is related to something that we believe we experienced that is used in the present to give meaning to whatever feeling or physical sensations that may arise. The mind holds the memory of everything that ever happened but these memories are often wildly  inaccurate. When an inaccurate memory is triggered a flood of physical sensations washes through the body and is experienced as negative thoughts and feelings. The sensations of the body is like a charge of electricity that gives a sense of absolute meaning. In other words something that was invented is added to physical sensation and becomes absolute in that we no longer have any awareness of the substitution or fantasy that has occurred and is now taken to be real. I assume this substitution happened a very long time ago at the time when the shift from animal to animal/human happened. Korzibsky refers to this as time binding when humans began to use and pass on information from memory. It is this ability that defines what it is to be human more than anything else and accounts for most of what we see in the world today in terms of science, technology, language, beliefs, art, music, and architecture etc. All of this came from AS, the substitution of knowledge for physical sensation. Although we still have access to physical sensation it is now a fraction of what it was before the substitution took place. The result of this is that reality as it is is not enough it needs to be enhanced, it is enhanced through the use of drugs, alcohol, sex and various forms of mind entertainment. It is enhanced most of all through the use of stories we tell ourselves that are used to create drama and meaning in our lives. At this point in time this substitution is so prevalent that the human race has become completely lost and unaware of the true problem; the substitution of knowledge for physical sensation. Rather than see this we look for other forms of substitution to explain what our problems are, this is blood washing blood or the ego trying to solve the problem it has itself created by creating another problem.

Conversation with Ishi

Hmm, Ray I just reread this part 5 (Rules of Consciousness) 

I will read it again later....these are powerful words 

Sri Harilal Poonjaji aka Papaji, whom I had the good fortune to spend some time with allowed David Godman to write a biography of him......it was thee volumes long--full of extraordinary happenings and visions as well as a very common man just doing his thing working for a living and "working" with devotees.....more than 1000pages were these 3 volumes taken together.....Papaji himself, I am sure, chose the title: NOTHING EVER HAPPENED 

your words indicate to me why Papaji must have chosen this title. Om Shanti, brother Ishi

Hi Ishi I agree in the light of this knowledge nothing ever happened it is a world of make believe in which we believe what we imagine

Love Ray Namaste,

Ray  Chai pio?.....or maybe a cup of English Tea, with sweetner on the side?

Would not the logical extrapolation of "Nothing Ever Happened" be "nothing is happening"?  I ask you...I ask papaji...i ask myself 

This stillness can be a bit breath taking.....this vastness can seem overwhelming to the conceptual self....yet there is this sense of intimacy with existence, as existence......and the bird "seemed" to enjoy the crust of toast. 

I was just sitting in my nephew's backyard in the desert town of Tuscon, Arizona in Western USA en-joy-ing myself with a cup of the all-american drug, coffee. Sight, sound, thought, perception are "there", but what is Here Ishi asks himself/yourself. Obviosuly, to jump from sight and sound to concepts like "bird", "tree", "self" "other", etc is merely that--conceptual reality based in belief about how I think things Are. 

Sat-Chit-Anand-Self.....if I may borrow a concept from good ole Ribhu.....is a good dance floor! Thank you for sharing the Rays of Light.....they intensify and magnify the light within what is conventionally called "me"....HeHeHe....Haha 

Namaste, Ishi 

Hi Ishi, as you suggest I am asking myself this question - to extrapolate nothing ever happened would indicate as you say that nothing is happening. We can only talk about something happening or not by inventing beliefs, therefore without beliefs it makes sense to say that nothing is happening even though saying this would clearly be a belief. Allowing that anything I say can be taken as a belief I nevertheless enjoy this kind of question. There is a wonderful paradox here, to say something is happening suggests there is a someone who experiences this happening, this notion breaks down when looked at closely. As I said in my rules of creation this someone can be identified as the ego and this in turn has no true existence being nothing more than a bundle of beliefs and concepts. Also the ego can be seen as a particular state of evolution. It is also clear that there is another evolutionary step that comes after this step. In this next evolutionary level the ego does not disappear but is seen through the filter of consciousness. Through the filter of consciousness any thing we may say about anything is stripped of any absolute meaning but from the perspective of a human being retains a relative meaning of useful or not. The big questions like ‘is anything happening’ does not fall under this category as again it would suggest there is a someone who experiences this happening. The next evolutionary level involves seeing from the perspective of ‘one’ where separation  is seen to be illusory. When the mind is still the notion of things appearing separate dissolves in terms of meaning but not in terms of appearance. It seems that colour is an invention of the mind/ego so it can be said to not actually exist even so the appearance of colour from a human perspective is definitely useful and quite extraordinary. Krishnamurti often said that ‘god is colour’. When this next evolutionary step takes place there is the ability to see the ‘one’ and the many simultaneously but it is also seen which of these two is real or significant. This is important because when we just see the appearance of something and take this to be absolute or significant then we become trapped in a world of suffering. Suffering can be said to be the method by which the absolute returns us to the truth. Nothing is happening and everything is happening all at the same time, the creation of separation can now be seen as a reflection of the absolute and because separation is now seen to be illusory the ‘one’ and the many can be seen as identical. Everywhere God looks he sees himself and loves what he sees.  Namaste Ray

Rules of Creation Part 6

6. Adharo  Dhikaranam

The Substance of the Absolute.

The beginning that is not a beginning and the end that is not an end. The substance of the absolute cannot be formed of any substance and so in the absolute we are in the realm of a singularity. It is beyond science, beyond matter, beyond life, and beyond consciousness. It is beyond the known and the knowable nevertheless it is. In creation there is conception from which arises creation but this is only an appearance. In truth there is only the absolute everything else is a reflection of that absolute. In each apparent stage of creation such as matter, life, consciousness and the absolute we move from the apparently solid to increasingly more refined and subtle states. In the beginning we believe what we are told and what we experience are absolutely true. In time what appears absolutely true is found to be absolutely not true and then we move beyond even that. We move beyond these things because these things are only appearances and so do not really exist; they are not true. Whatever appears to be true but is in fact not must inevitably break down and reveal itself. This process of what we take to be true that is in fact not is in the beginning always difficult and likely to be resisted strenuously. In time it becomes easier and eventually we begin to see that as we let go of beliefs that were not true, suffering naturally decreases. Once this is noticed we start to become more and more committed to completing this process. When buddha said ‘I will not move from this place until it is finished’ he was saying in effect ‘I will not move from this place until this process is complete’. It can be likened to a line of dominoes standing side by side as the first one falls it is inevitable that the second and the last will also fall and as this process continues it gets faster and faster and harder and harder to stop. A momentum is built from which there is no turning back but at a certain point we would not wish to turn back. Our early fears and projections of what this process is and where it will lead are inevitable wrong. We fear that we will cease to exist and that all human meaning will be removed. While this is actually true it is not true in the way we think it is. The part of us we call the ego is found to be based on assumptions that are not true. We believe that this ego which is actually composed of beliefs and measurements that have no true existence is all there is and so are terrified of losing it. How can we lose what was never there in the first place. Beliefs and measurements have no true existence or meaning other than what we give to them. Even though these beliefs and measurements do not exist in any real sense they are not lost what is lost is our dependence on them. Beliefs may be useful or not and if a belief is useful why would we discard it. On the other hand if a belief is not useful it will likely produce suffering which becomes a discouragement from believing something that is not true. In the end we find that fear itself does not exist; it exists because we conceive of it and once it is conceived it is created and even proven to be true. If we do not conceive of fear then it is not created and so does not exist. This can only be seen when our beliefs lose their validity. If a coil of rope is seen in a darkened room we may easily mistake it for a snake. Once we have mistakenly identified the rope as a snake we naturally become fearful and this fear is taken to be real and based on something that is perceived to be dangerous but at no point was the rope anything other than a rope. This analogy illustrates very clearly how easily we can make a mistake in perception and then have to live with the result of that mistake. In the case of a rope that appears as a snake when we see our mistake the fear ceases to exist but at no point can the fear be said to exist. We can believe that an error in perception is true but what appeared to be true was not. When the appearance breaks down as it must if it is not true then we see that we have been tricked by our own mind into perceiving something that was never actually there. In this process of moving from the apparently real and solid to the more refined and subtle this learning is very slow, natural and difficult to avoid. Even so learning eventually must take place and increasingly we find that everything that was taken to be true but was in fact not breaks down and as it does our suffering begins to dissipate. It dissipates because suffering like fear does not exist except in our imagination. The whole of this apparent existence is only a reflection of the absolute and what is a reflection must have a source. To find the source we must find our way out of the maze of reflections in which we find ourselves. This maze of reflections has a purpose, a maze with no way out could also have no way in and so would be meaningless. The fact that we are inside this maze of reflections means that there was a way in and therefore also a way out. The way out is to see that the reflections themselves although not real indicate that which created them; the absolute. Within the reflections there seems to be no end of possibilities for  mistaking the unreal for the real. Even so the fact that something taken to be real is in fact not real indicates that behind or within the unreal is also the real. In Sanskrit the word maayaa is usually taken to mean illusion but the best translation is more revealing. Maayaa is composed of that (yaa) which is not (maa) so maayaa is that which is not. Life can therefore be  seen to be composed of what is and what is not and through the enquiry that leads to revealing what is not we are finally left with what is. The strength of the illusion is due to the mistake of giving meaning to that which has no meaning. Physical sensation has no meaning the fact that we give it meaning is the mistake. If the truth is that physical sensation has no meaning then finding this truth would negate most of the illusions we take to be real. When we come to believe that physical sensations are real we also begin to create states that are not, like anger, fear, sadness, depression,desire and even pain. Without meaning the physical sensations become nothing more than physical sensations that have no meaning. Getting to this point we are free from all the negatives that confuse us so much. Adding meaning to that which has no meaning we become trapped in a world of suffering which must continue until the truth is realised. In the reflections are reflections of the absolute so lying just behind or even within the reflections resides the absolute. In the reflection is an appearance that tells of the implication of the absolute. 

Rules of Creation Part 5

5.Dhruvamapaye Padaanam.

The source of all movement and potential is the eternal unmoving to which all movement and potential returns.

All that is can be seen as some form of movement. It is almost as though if it does not move it cannot be known to exist. Equally if it does move then in some way it can be said to not exist. This obviously sounds contradictory until it is looked at more closely. In quantum theory it is suggested that all matter has a dual nature that exists and does not exist and fluctuates from one state to the other in rapid succession. The whole universe exists and does not exist almost at the same time. It is not unlike what takes place at the cinema where light is projected through a film at a particular speed and suddenly the appearance of reality is presented to us on a blank screen. What appears as reality is actually light on a screen. This reality that is made of light is so effective that we can laugh, or cry or feel fear as well as many other emotions. As well as the light on the screen there is also to be taken into consideration the meaning that is given to the light by the brain and consciousness. Light has the appearance of being measurable but this too is illusion the same illusion that allows music to be heard, recorded and measured, In effect sounds are stitched together and held in the mind to produce music. Sound has no meaning other than the meaning we give it. This is true of light and colour or anything produced and experienced by the senses. Even matter which we take to be solid can only appear solid due to the meaning we attach to it.

There are many translations of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras here is my translation of the second Sutra.

Yogas Citta Vrtti Nirodah

Yogas - Absence of belief, concept, illusion. As well as the knowledge that what we are experiencing is illusion. So even while experiencing the illusion it is known to be illusion.

Citta - All aspects of consciousness including belief, concept and illusion as well as pure consciousness or that which remains when belief, concept and illusion are seen to be unreal and non existent.

Vrtti - Belief, concept and illusion which together form the ego. That which is self created and which appears in the field of  pure consciousness. Patterns of measurement that form the totality of the universe that is experienced by the body/mind as thoughts and physical sensations that form feelings and emotions as well as sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Stories created in the mind that link all of these together to form the illusion of separation and movement. Vrtti is movement or vibration of the mind in such a way as  to form the illusion of reality in all its varied forms.

Nirodah - Cessation of Vrtti or cessation of belief, concept and illusion. Cessation can only occur when these three are seen to be unreal and non existent. No action can be taken to cause cessation, action to cause cessation would imply that there is something real that needs ending and trying to end something in this way would only be confirming that this something is real. Cessation can only occur through understanding or realisation of the truth; that everything we take to be real in terms of beliefs, concepts and illusion are in fact not real and non existent. We are designed to naturally come to this understanding or realisation and the whole of existence is aimed at causing this through the intervention  of suffering. The body being vulnerable to ageing, physical and mental harm as well as death is ideally designed to come to this understanding. There is no way to control this, all that is possible is that we learn directly from the phenomenon of suffering in all its forms that suffering can only exist when we believe something that is not true.

All that is experienced by the body and mind is illusion but this illusion has a purpose, the purpose is for the circle to complete itself. In the beginning without a beginning there is the Absolute or consciousness which is also potential. Within the Absolute arises the desire to create something that although this something will appear separate and other than the Absolute is nevertheless always nothing but the Absolute. The Absolute is ‘the eternal unmoving’ and that which is created is ‘from which all movement returns’. That which is created which is everything that can be known must inevitably return to its source ‘the eternal unmoving’. This is like a virtual reality game that is so convincing that we have forgotten it is a game but even so the rules of the game determine that no matter what we do the game is arranged in such a way that the results of our beliefs and actions will ultimately and inevitably break down to reveal the source. The reason our beliefs and actions must break down is because they are based on something that is not true. When something that is not true is taken to be true is the point in which the rules of the game say that the belief and actions arising from what is not true must in due course manifest in suffering. Also that this suffering will be in direct proportion to the degree of error in our beliefs. We can believe anything we like but we cannot escape the rules of the game.

Rules of Creation Part 4

Karmanaa Yamabhipraiti Sa Sampradaanam

The Ultimate Purpose of Realising that Potential.

To create, think, feel or do anything, potential has to be activated. For anything to happen in this universe potential has to be activated. For the universe to exist means potential has been activated. The universe being created is not a static thing rather it sets in motion a continual movement of more and more creation, destruction and potential. Once there is life there is an explosion of potential being activated. Once potential is activated there is movement, change, and consequences. Potential can be activated consciously or unconsciously and there seems to be no limits to what can be created. In each act of creation conscious or unconscious there needs to be a desire. That desire whatever it may be will produce a series of consequences and these consequences will in time cause new creations to emerge. These new creations can be seen as learning or evolution. What we may call mistakes are part of this learning or evolution. Seeing this we can then see that the so called mistake was a necessary part of the learning and evolution and therefore was not a mistake. Whatever ‘mistakes’ taking place in the world right now are a manifestation of the learning that is a natural consequence of the activation of potential. Even the suffering that is a consequence of a ‘mistake’ is necessary for the learning to take place. Consequences and the learning that follows can take place over any period of time. Time itself is an illusory framework in which the learning takes place and is created by various activations of potential. Because of the constraints or consequences that come with the creation of time it becomes very difficult to see the big picture. It is easier to see the consequence of actions in the short term such as touching something hot but some consequences will not appear for many years or may appear for many generations to come. The world as it is today is the consequence of every act of potential that went before and most of what went before we have no knowledge of. From birth it seems the only knowledge available to us is the very limited knowledge left by past generations. In the beginning we trust and believe in this knowledge that we inherit but in time we find out that it is not to be trusted because sooner or later acting from this knowledge  produces suffering. Fortunately past knowledge is not our only source of learning any real learning can only take place in what I call responsibility. Responsibility is the direct consequence of our thoughts, feelings and actions as experienced by the body. With responsibility there are no excuses for what we do think or feel. Because of the knowledge we inherited from the past we continue to do what was done in the past we make excuses for what we do or we blame someone as when a child says ‘he/she made me do it’. No one can make or cause us to do anything we are always responsible for what we do because we will experience sooner or later the consequence of our actions. Responsibility is the only thing that works consistently. When we act on beliefs we are not being responsible although we will experience the consequence of acting on our beliefs. Belief is knowledge inherited in the past or formulated in the present it therefore has no relationship to responsibility or the world as experienced through the senses alone. When we are able to live through the senses alone we are at peace with ourselves and the world there are no beliefs to take us away from that peace. Everything we think feel or do results in learning however long that may take. With responsibility the learning is always immediate because the senses are always at their best in the moment they are activated in the present. When we respond from memory we are responding to the present with knowledge from the past. Memory is not just data from the past it is instructions from the past and our tendency is to use memories as instructions. Sometimes we are following instructions from memories that were laid down when we were very young or when we were less able to comprehend what was happening. We base our beliefs on what we experienced and the limited ability we had to understand what we were experiencing. Once a memory is formulated it tends to be accepted as truth and even when the result of following these memory instructions is suffering we rarely deviate from following these instructions.. Reliance on memories as instructions means that we are unable to learn or that learning will be very slow. Activating potential no matter how that is done must ultimately result in perfection or consciousness. This can be a very slow evolutionary process or it can be immediate. When we are able to activate the potential through our body and its senses the learning becomes much more immediate. Everything we do is done when we have a purpose even if that purpose is negative. The ultimate purpose we can have is to transcend our own beliefs and by so doing come to the realisation that everything we do we do for and from consciousness.

Rules of Creation Part 3

3. Sadhakatamam Karanam.

The most direct means to the accomplishment of the desired potential.

In the beginning or when we are very young the most direct means to the accomplishment of the desired potential does not exist or exists in a very limited form based on whatever we have learned so far. As our learning grows we begin to process information faster and more effectively. In time we reach a natural barrier or limit to this ability to process information. This limit occurs because at some point we find that it is not just about processing information but from where that processing takes place. There are two possibilities as to how information may be processed. For most in this period of evolution it will seem impossible to escape the first possibility. To understand these two possibilities it is important to look at the whole thing as a process. It is not that anyone is making a mistake it is just that each individual is looking at the world from a very particular place. This place is what I call the ego. Each of us views the world from this ego which has virtually not changed at all since it was formed. Any change that has occurred in the ego is probably for the worse. In terms of evolution it could be said that the ego is in a very early stage of development. This is not apparent to the individual who feels that what they are is more or less the finished product. Because this early stage of development is based on memory and what we assume to be knowable information we form a preference for what we already know regardless of whether what we know works or not. What we know is deemed safe just because it is in our memory bank regardless of how it got there. What this means is that we trust and act from what is in our memory and seem not to be too concerned as to how that memory or information was obtained. The end result of this is suffering which can be seen as simply the inability to process information effectively because of this preference to trust what we know. In terms of evolution this suffering will continue until it dawns on us to question where the information we are so trusting of came from in the first place. It is only at this point that the evolutionary process can proceed to its next stage of development. The next stage of development begins when we question not only where and how information is obtained but what information actually is. In the first stage information is seen as ‘knowable’. It  is assumed that this form of information is real and true and that a word or a belief is also real and true. With this knowable information we begin to take words and beliefs very seriously, we can be hurt by someones use of words and hurt also if words are used to challenge our beliefs. This is the single cause of most problems in the world that words and beliefs are taken far too seriously. This is why I say that the ego has not changed much at all since it was formed many thousands of years ago. This problem of taking words and beliefs too seriously has a more important side effect which is that so long as words and beliefs are taken too seriously we are blocked from reaching the second stage of this evolutionary process. So long as our attention is focused on what is not true the truth will be impossible to see. Truth will be rejected in favour of our preference for what we assume we already know. The second stage of the evolutionary process can only begin when words and beliefs begin to lose the absolute meaning we give them. Once we are able to accept that this way of looking at the world ourselves and others may be untrue a process is begun in which all words and beliefs begin to lose their validity. The end of this process is what I refer to as a collapse of all beliefs in that beliefs are no longer taken to be absolute, real, or true. They are no longer taken seriously. At the point of collapse what I call consciousness is seen to be what we and everyone else truly are. Words and beliefs are not lost they are now filtered through consciousness. Through this filter all beliefs are seen for what they are and beliefs are found to be useful or not useful. The desired potential therefore is that which will facilitate the accomplishment of this transition from ego to consciousness and what proceeds from there.

Rules of Creation Part 2

2. Karturipsitatamam Karma.

Consequence of activating that potential.

Once the potential has been activated an inevitable and often predictable consequence or series of consequences must follow. This is evolution or the process of continual learning we are immersed in. What we have learned so far is what we are and the consequence of what we are is the world as it appears to each of us. Because all the factors that determine what we are is infinitely diverse no two humans could live in the same world. We literally live in a world we have created based solely on what we have learned so far. This learning involves the formation of matter and energy and the eventual appearance of life. It is estimated that the time this process has been running is around 13.8 billion years. Once there is life there is a being with apparently little or no information as to what we are or why we are here. What all creatures are at this point in time is a perfect consequence of all that has been learned so far. Perfect means that we could not be any more or less than we actually are right now. We  may not believe this and others also may not believe this but it is true. Because of this lack of understanding we assume we are imperfect and we assume this because we experience pain and suffering part of which comes from other peoples opinion of what we are. What we believe is always untrue and although what we are is based on what we believe this does not mean that what we believe is true. When beliefs about what we are are untrue (always) we will suffer and the suffering may take place now or at any time in the future. Because of this gap between learning from suffering now or at any time in the future this process of learning tends to be very slow. Some times we have to wait years to experience the results of our actions. Learning involves reducing this gap by paying more attention to this process as a whole. If we are happy to just wait for the suffering or learning to take place then the process is inevitably very slow or evolutionary.  When we realise suffering must have a cause and further that this cause is the result of what we believe then the process speeds up incrementally. At this point we begin to pay much more attention to both the cause and the beliefs behind that cause. Once the beliefs that cause suffering are understood enough the belief dissolves and along with it the cause to further suffering is negated. When all beliefs are dissolved so too is all suffering negated. Life is the process whereby this learning takes place. It is not an option or something we can choose to partake in or not it is inevitable. Suffering occurs because we believe things that are not true and this suffering must continue until the beliefs that cause it are understood and dissolved. In our mind, brain and bodies as well as the world we reside in is everything we need to solve the problem of  believing things that are not true. Sooner or later all beliefs have inevitable consequences. When we believe things that are not true it seems as though the world itself takes on an active part in that suffering. This is because the world is not separate from what we are and so what we are or believe is mirrored externally. This is not a punishment it is a guide. At every step we will experience directly the result of our beliefs if we do not pay attention this will not be noticed but once it is noticed the end of our beliefs is inevitable. Whatever beliefs we have become activated by the potential that is the root of what we  are. What we truly are has nothing whatsoever to do with beliefs so beliefs have the dual function of revealing what we are and what we are not. All suffering has a cause and cannot exist without a particular belief that is not true. Understand that when you are suffering  you are believing something that is not true keep bringing your attention back to that fact. The real problem is that we take our beliefs to be true and because we believe this we also tend to believe that the way to solve our suffering is to manipulate the world in some way so that it no longer hurts. Because this solution is incorrect the suffering will continue and all we have really achieved is a longer duration of suffering. The world is not responsible for our suffering it merely reflects our beliefs back to us. The universe does not consider how long the learning or evolution should take it just puts everything in place and in movement to achieve its goal.

Rules of Creation Part 1

1. Svatantrah Kartaa

He who has the potential within himself.

Potential here refers to the source of creation. Anything that can be or has been created is created from this source. In Sanskrit this source is referred to as the ’system’ within oneself. Anything  can be created from multiple universes to anger. If it is not created it does not exist. To create, a wish or intention (Sankalpa) is required. This intention may be conscious or unconscious, known or unknown. Anger is an example of an unconscious intention. There is the intention to create anger while at the same time the intention to forget why this emotion needed to be created.  In this sense many aspects of human life are created unconsciously. Once created there must be a consequence to what has been created. This consequence manifests as responsibility and it is through this responsibility that we learn, that is, the physical and mental results of our actions. All that is known is also all that we have created and we are responsible for what we create. The result of what we create can be pain or pleasure, ignorance or wisdom. All that can be created carries with it a consequence until it is understood exactly what creation is. From the moment we are born until the moment the body dies we are in the business of creation. All that can be created can only be created from that potential that is at the heart of what we really are. When the baby that is just born suckles on the mothers breast it is able to do this with the knowledge the child is born with. This can be seen as genetic or instinctive knowledge. Much of what the body learns to do is from a potential we are born with. Walking, talking, eating, urinating non of these could occur without the potential that is the source of all creation. This potential or ability to create is sometimes referred to as Siva and what is created is referred to as Shakti. In quantum theory Siva is wave and Shakti is particle. Everything we have learned so far is due to the potential we are born with. This potential can be likened to electricity or an energy that can be used to power all the many devices that are in use in the world today. Even with electricity and the device say a television it is still necessary to want to use the electricity and the television and if not it remains dormant. When we are born this potential becomes the means to remember what we really are which could be said to be the potential itself. To create something it is necessary to activate the potential, to activate the potential a Sankalpa or intention is necessary. This intention may be conscious or unconscious. Suffering can only exist because we have activated our potential with an intention that is unconscious. To be angry it is necessary to be unconscious that is to be unaware of why we have created a state of anger. Anger could not exist unless we are in an unconscious state and to be in an unconscious state it is necessary that this be an intention in other words we could not be unconscious unless we wanted to be unconscious. The only reason we could want to be unconscious is because it is easier to be unconscious than conscious. This can be proved quite easily by choosing to meditate, it will be seen very soon that there is much resistance to this intention. Meditation is the art of learning to be conscious or awake and it can be done formally through a technique or naturally through living your life fully awake. Either way the resistance to being awake will kick in and create obstacles to hinder this particular creation. To counteract this it is necessary to create an intention that is pure and non personal this would be something like ‘I intend to be awake and conscious so that suffering ends for myself and all beings and that this intention will persevere through all obstacles and resistance however long that may take’. This then is the ultimate use of our potential and leads to the realisation that we are that potential. “I am That’. ‘That’ in Sanskrit refers to the Absolute.

There is no Illusion

Hi Ray

So I watched episode 1 of the Brain show on BBC. I then taught a mindfulness group about judgment versus discernment. However, two strong questions emerged from the groups.

1.Given how much of reality we project from a template in our brains, can we ever really know true reality?

2. Where does morality come in if our perceptions are so intrinsically biased? Is there such a thing as right and wrong or are these always figments of our perceptions?

1. The only true reality I am aware of is consciousness and until that is seen all we have to go on is whatever is encoded and projected from our brain. If somehow this projection of our brain were to become more accurate and truthful this would result in for instance the understanding that symbols, words, language, beliefs, and memory being inaccurate and ultimately false or non existent become what they actually are - non existent. These words I am using cannot convey the power of the meaning of what I am saying, but this is realisable and the whole of reality is using every means possible to bring about this understanding. It is in the hands of infinite intelligence and again the more we are aware of and trust in that intelligence the deeper our understanding becomes. Knowing that we cannot know reality from the perspective of the brains projection is what finally does the trick, so this is not about knowing reality it is not knowing reality and the realisation that within the brains projections it can never be know.

2. Morality is whatever you believe it to be this leaves the possibility of infinite ways of getting it wrong. Morality is not so much about right and wrong it is about what is most effective in reaching our true purpose. Negative thoughts, intentions or actions take us in the opposite direction to our true purpose because the result of negativity is always the creation of a reality in which we become  more and more lost in the desires inherent in that wrong direction. As I have said before one of the most important principles to understand is the difference between the absence of free will and the knowledge that we are absolutely responsible for everything, even from the wrong understanding of morality. In the relationship between you and the world the only thing you can be sure of is that whatever you do or think carries with it a consequence. The consequence cannot be uncreated once it has been created it can only be lived through and learned from. All life operates from the same rules in relation to responsibility. It seems that it is only in humans that the debate about free will exists and because for most humans reality is based on their false view that they have free will they have to go through the process of finding out this belief is false.

Morality based on the understanding that negativity of any kind takes us in the wrong direction so morality free of any negatives would be like signposts pointing towards the right direction, it is only in this sense that right and wrong exist. It can be assumed that consciousness is entirely free of negatives and positives.

Best

Ray 

Thanks Ray. That is immensely helpful. 

Point 2 I still feel stuck on. 'Negative thoughts, intentions or actions take us in the opposite direction to our true purpose because the result of negativity is always the creation of a reality in which we become  more and more lost in the desires inherent in that wrong direction. '

What do you define as 'negative'? Is it possible to define ‘negative' in this context without getting caught in a circular argument?

Hi Louis,

 I define negative as non existent. In Sanskrit it is said that there is no illusion, negatives being non existent and therefore illusion do not exist except for the one who imagines they do.

Ray

If the past is memory what then is the present?

Repeating Om is probably useful in the same way all meditative methods can be useful. It is important that any meditative method not be practiced mechanically. What I consider more important is the understanding of what meditation is and what Om represents. The closer we get to the correct understanding the more effective these things become. In the end it is the understanding that is more important than the practice. With enough understanding there is no need to do anything. Memory is a recording of the past that is given importance because it is easy once a memory is created all we have to do is refer to it in any situation occurring in the present. We have become addicted to this way of living that does not require effort or attention this is why meditation is difficult. In meditation we can no longer rely on memory although we tend to continue to do so. Meditation and ultimately understanding require that we learn again how to live in the moment with full attention. This requires an understanding of the right effort needed to achieve this natural level of attention. If the past is memory what then is the present? Clearly the present is the place where a choice may be made as to how the potential inherent in the present may be used or created. In the moment we can either choose the past in the form of converting the present into the past with memory or not. This 'not' is important as by not converting the present into the past we remain in the present and in the present we have access to creation. All meditation should lead to the understanding of this potential of the present which is where the universe is created. We are interfaced with creation itself but somehow have become lost in a world created with memory that can never be as fresh and creative as the present. With memory we create a world for ourselves that is distorted, corrupted, and untrue and then wonder why we suffer. Suffering itself is a memory that we choose over the present just because it is easier to do this than to do the work that is initially required to find our way back to the present. It is not just specific memories that are the problem it is the fact that we impose our memories over everything to the extent that all that we see, feel, or understand about ourselves and the world is a bad recording of the past.

Sleight of Hand

Knowing and memory are the same. Whatever is known can only be known through referencing something that was previously ‘known’. American indians who had not previously seen a train referred to a train as an iron horse. God is a word denoting something that cannot be known unless somewhere deep inside  is the memory of God. In Kashmir Shaivism it is assumed that man being born is subject to this amnesia, forgetting that we are God. All of life is considered to involve the remembering of who we really are usually through the means of remembering or realising who we are not. It is inevitable that because of this condition that knowing can only occur through memory of something already known that we will get lost or sink into a world of illusion where all that is known or can ever be known is based solely on what we are able to remember or whatever happens to be in our memory bank. All things are inherently unknowable.and this fact needs to be denied at all cost. Safety and security could not exist without this denial. While it is necessary to deny that all things are inherently unknowable we are still faced with the problem that even if we deny the unknowable it does not mean and cannot mean our denial is true. Whatever is known or can be known is processed by the sleight of hand of replacing all experience into what has already been experienced. We are compelled to live our lives seeking only what is already known regardless of whether or not what is already known works. It seems it is preferable to know something that is already known than to know something that works or is true. When we meet someone for the first time we will replace what we see with what we already know we will add to what we see memories of experiences with others we have previously known. We will use any information in terms of looks or mannerisms as necessary to turn what we see into someone we already know. Again the principle of what is already known is preferable to what works or is true usually means that when we turn people into who we already know we will find out eventually that we have created mistaken assumptions. Finding this out we can either reevaluate our assumptions or go through the whole process again with someone else. In Sanskrit the word Om refers to that which is unknowable something without boundaries of any kind, timeless and infinite in nature. The repetition of this word is designed to inject into our minds an antidote to the replacing of what we see with what we already know. Beliefs are always related to what is already known and what is preferable to be known. The realisation of this is also an antidote to our tendency to see the world only in terms of what is already known. The ego is the part of us that in order to feel safe replaces what is actually there with what is preferable and known. In many ways this is useful, with food for instance where over long periods of time we learn which foods are safe and which are not and this is rarely questioned. In other areas this tendency may be our undoing. Replacing anything that does not suit us into something that does can have disastrous results and turn out to be very unsafe. Consciousness is similar to the idea of Om something without boundaries and infinite in terms of potential and intelligence. So long as we are addicted to replacing what is with what is already known we can never realise what we already have; the pure infinite potential and intelligence of consciousness.