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.