Questions

[Myself]

Are all questions linked to the idea of separateness?

[zendancer]

Yes, because all language and thought is based upon the idea of separateness. "Laws of Form" by G. Spencer Brown spells it all out. As the third patriarch of Zen put it, "Make one distinction and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart."

[ethereal]

I wholeheartedly agree with Zendancer, by definition all questions must be dualistic and based on separation.

But I want to add, asking certain questions, while still being dualistic, can help you shatter your illusions and concepts and become less separate. Like Ramana Maharshi said, "You remove the thorn from the sole of the foot by another thorn and when done, throw away both thorns."

I'm thinking of all the famous zen koans, all forms of spiritual inquiry like "who am I?" and "what is infiniteness?", etc.

A favorite question of mine is one that I recently picked up in Jed Mckenna's book, which is basically, "what do you know to be true with absolute certainty?" Everything I thought I knew gets obliterated with that question

[eputkonen]

May 18, 2010 13:35:23 GMT -5 @Myself said:

Are all questions linked to the idea of separateness?

I also agree with zendancer.

[Myself]

Thank you for your replies.

Wow, so the mind really cannot comprehend the Truth....

[zendancer]

Correct. Truth can be experienced and understood directly, but not through the mind. The mind only deals with abstractions, cartoon-like simulations of reality.

[enigma]

We could say the function of mind is to form experience, and since oneness (Truth) is not an experience as such, it must be shattered, and so mind perpetually seeks distinctions. A look at the way mind functions on this, or any, forum will reveal the relentless search for differences, and the indifference to similarities. These distinctions take the form of self defining pairs of dualistic conceptualizations, which are more or less imagined into apparent existence and lived out as though there were real. These opposing polarities form an inherent tension, and that tension creates a movement, and this movement is an event, and this event is experience.

When this focus of attention is turned toward that which is attending, there is no movement detected, just stillness, blankness, nothingness. This is 'mind' staring into the face of God and desperately bored to tears. So where is this God? You can feel his sweet breath on the tip of your nose, and sense his penetrating stare in the spaces between every pair of thoughts, but you cannot see the seeing.

"I have lived on the lip of insanity,
wanting to know reasons,
knocking on a door.

It opens. I've been knocking
from the inside."

- Rumi

[ethereal]

I've been having brief experiences of this other state, and I scribbled down some notes that seems to help me disidentify with the mind and enter into a deeper state.

state of no-self: basically, a non-experience...you can't experience what it is, but it is like pure subjectivity without a self...current experience doesn't have to change in order to enter the state...let go of the perceiver, and allow the state of no-self which is a self-existent reality beyond the perceiver/perceived duality

opening/accessing the deeper part of your consciousness that is already One with God...a deeper state of being / awareness / attention that is already One with Reality/God.

surrendering form-based/attached/dualistic experience and perception to the state of formless awareness/attention

without using perception or cognition or experience, how do you reach your Self? your Subjectivity? your Beingness? Your awareness/consciousness? Reality?
how do you penetrate into Reality? (with your awareness/attention)

feels like nothingness/emptiness/space...like empty aware space, without even the concept or experience of "empty aware space"

experience does not have to change in order to recognize the state, you do not need to change or manipulate your current experience
the state is not a subtle object of experience
threre is a recognition of the state but it is not a knowledge/experience that the mind can grasp onto
Allowing all the content in mind to stay as the content, while you enlarge your context as much as possible

holding the mind and content still, allowing it to be, while "pushing" or "allowing" the boundaries/context of your mind into a higher dimension

what is always there, just unrecognized

let everything be as it is

assuming that a deeper part of your consciousness is already in that higher state, and just be that state

black void of no-self in the deeper part of your being/mind, allow yourself to get sucked into it, surrender your beingness to it, surrender your sense of self into it

allowing THAT (pure subjectivity) to devour all form-based / dualistic experience / perception

surrender your sense of self to what IS...to subjectivity...surrender objectivity to pure subjectivity...pure subjectivity without a subject (which is still an object)

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I know these probably aren't completely accurate, so everybody feel free to correct any of them

[karen]

I had a really great day yesterday just looking at the me-ness of me as much as possible. If disturbing thoughts came up, I'd look at me even more intently.

Looking at me fully made "me" dissapear if for only a brief moment.