Post by lightmystic on Sept 21, 2009 15:04:15 GMT -5
Hey freedom1,
Cool. Nice to know we are on the same page in many respects.
What I've noticed is that confusion seems to be the order of things until we realize how confused we've been this whole time. That's when it really seems to his us in the face, and so becomes very obvious.
I wouldn't think that it can be safely assumed that we are not confused coming into this life. My perception/experience seems to be that we come into this life believing we are separate individuals and so those patterns of believing in separateness are actually continuations from lifetimes and lifetimes of that confusion. It's definitely true that the connectedness and meaning can seem more apparent on realms that are not as gross as the physical, because each experience is not a solid-feeling, and so not as intense and not as overwhelming. But there is still the belief that we are somehow different than Creation itself. We believe there is an individuality there. That's the fundamental misunderstanding from my perspective.
So the confusion comes when we are most aware of how confused we've always been. We finally get a taste of seeing clearly and just begin to get a sense of how confused we really have been this whole time! The confusion seems to stem from the idea that we are separate individuals. As long as that feels like the truth at that most fundamental level, then we can be threatened, and we can't feel fully connected to others and life, and so feels confined on some level. We tend to have the misconception that events "out there" are the cause of our happiness and suffering. In reality, those appearances just make us open up more or shut down based on our misconceptions of what they really are.
To use an analogy: if there is a rope lying on the road, if one sees it as a snake, then they are genuinely going to respond as such. If they realize it's just a rope then the whole experience changes (relaxes!). That's the same principle as being able to see life clearly for what it is versus, old ingrained misconceptions of disconnection.
When something appears to be threatening, we shut ourselves down to it, we resist it ("I don't wanna look!") and so of course cannot see it clearly while simultaneously feeling confined (shutting ourselves down of course makes us feel confined). And so the noticing of the resistances and confusion that are already going on, and the gently feeling into them, like massaging a tight muscle, will let the resistance (like the muscle) slowly relax over time. It might hurt more at first because the resistance can become stronger when it's initially felt into (just like a tight muscle), but then it eventually has the chance to see what is really being resisted and then it's recognized to be safe, because it is not separate from us.
In order to do this, however, it means really getting to the bottom of our assumptions about everything. There is this experience that is more fundamental than then mind (a priori to the mind), that cannot be said with words, only referred to. It's this "thing" called Awareness, Self, Consciousness, Void, Infinite, etc.. Do you have some sense of what I'm referring to? Because, if you don't, then there are some ways to get a feel for what is being pointed to, to start to experience that directly. If you already relate, then that is the basis from which to start to recognize it's relationship to yourself and all things. And then the unwinding process can really start in the most direct, all encompassing sort of way.
So, do you relate to that experience beyond all concepts? What does it feel like to you?
Does everything else I'm saying make sense so far?
Agreed that we are love in perfection and it is a matter of confusion, just didn't say it that well. It seems we come it to this world without confusion, and the confusion then obscures the awareness of the love we are. My real question is does the confusion begin the first time we become hungry? Is the confusion we experience from the fact that the ego expects love to flow in before flowing out rather than simply flowing out, unconditionally? From different sources there is much ado about fasting, eat the bread of life and you will not be hungry, the apple in the Garden of Eden, etc. Does hunger create the ego which creates the illusion that love must flow in?
Cool. Nice to know we are on the same page in many respects.
What I've noticed is that confusion seems to be the order of things until we realize how confused we've been this whole time. That's when it really seems to his us in the face, and so becomes very obvious.
I wouldn't think that it can be safely assumed that we are not confused coming into this life. My perception/experience seems to be that we come into this life believing we are separate individuals and so those patterns of believing in separateness are actually continuations from lifetimes and lifetimes of that confusion. It's definitely true that the connectedness and meaning can seem more apparent on realms that are not as gross as the physical, because each experience is not a solid-feeling, and so not as intense and not as overwhelming. But there is still the belief that we are somehow different than Creation itself. We believe there is an individuality there. That's the fundamental misunderstanding from my perspective.
So the confusion comes when we are most aware of how confused we've always been. We finally get a taste of seeing clearly and just begin to get a sense of how confused we really have been this whole time! The confusion seems to stem from the idea that we are separate individuals. As long as that feels like the truth at that most fundamental level, then we can be threatened, and we can't feel fully connected to others and life, and so feels confined on some level. We tend to have the misconception that events "out there" are the cause of our happiness and suffering. In reality, those appearances just make us open up more or shut down based on our misconceptions of what they really are.
To use an analogy: if there is a rope lying on the road, if one sees it as a snake, then they are genuinely going to respond as such. If they realize it's just a rope then the whole experience changes (relaxes!). That's the same principle as being able to see life clearly for what it is versus, old ingrained misconceptions of disconnection.
When something appears to be threatening, we shut ourselves down to it, we resist it ("I don't wanna look!") and so of course cannot see it clearly while simultaneously feeling confined (shutting ourselves down of course makes us feel confined). And so the noticing of the resistances and confusion that are already going on, and the gently feeling into them, like massaging a tight muscle, will let the resistance (like the muscle) slowly relax over time. It might hurt more at first because the resistance can become stronger when it's initially felt into (just like a tight muscle), but then it eventually has the chance to see what is really being resisted and then it's recognized to be safe, because it is not separate from us.
In order to do this, however, it means really getting to the bottom of our assumptions about everything. There is this experience that is more fundamental than then mind (a priori to the mind), that cannot be said with words, only referred to. It's this "thing" called Awareness, Self, Consciousness, Void, Infinite, etc.. Do you have some sense of what I'm referring to? Because, if you don't, then there are some ways to get a feel for what is being pointed to, to start to experience that directly. If you already relate, then that is the basis from which to start to recognize it's relationship to yourself and all things. And then the unwinding process can really start in the most direct, all encompassing sort of way.
So, do you relate to that experience beyond all concepts? What does it feel like to you?
Does everything else I'm saying make sense so far?
