Thanks very much, Mike, for a beautiful meditation. I very much appreciate your offerings.
I'll share two changes in perspective that - although conceptual and draw on imagination, nonetheless - help me arrive at a feeling of the unity (nonduality) you describe:
1. When passing people on the street, beach, etc. or viewing faces on a Zoom call gallery, I think, "you are I." Of course, the double meaning is readily apparent. "You are me, and I am you" is one. The second is that the others are not "objects," but "subjects" - each a center of awareness and action. Each is like a point on the circumference of a circle - each is equally and simultaneously the center - a center of subjectivity.
2. The Big Bang was (is) the beginning (continuation) of the expansion of "what is" (essence cloaked in mystery). As expansion continues, "what is" unfolds, differentiates, complexifies, evolves... such that at each instance "what is" manifests in multitudinous forms-all consisting of the original essence/emptiness. Hence, when I see the mockingbird, sky, people, mountains, etc. etc. etc. every thing and no thing, I experience a feeling (not idea) of natural harmony, unity, and not two.
To add another thought...I'm pleased if the experience you describe eliminates or reduces suffering for you. Assuming that the experiences we each have are similar, I would say that mine do not eliminate my suffering (by which I mean physical pain and emotions such as grief in addition to dissatisfaction/anxiety). But, I do not seek the end of suffering even if it could be achieved. Words fail, so the best description I can give is that my intent is to be fully awake to life in all of its dimensions and nuances, of which suffering is a significant aspect. The acute and chronic pain, grief, regret and fear as well as peace, happiness and ecstasy that I experience are as much a part of Just This! as the other people, sky, birds, flowers, thunderstorms, and galaxies.
Thanks, Noel. It seems to me that one of the most misleading aspects of the idea of awakening is that it is the end of our aggravations, moods, grievances, judgments…you name it. It has been a wonderful discovery that all of this stuff can still and does still happen after awakening with one big difference…there is no ‘me’ in the middle of it all. Not that one doesn’t still get caught in the stickier issues but, oh yeah, it’s a beautiful thing to realize, at some point, that it is all happening in empty space!
Thanks very much, Mike, for a beautiful meditation. I very much appreciate your offerings.
I'll share two changes in perspective that - although conceptual and draw on imagination, nonetheless - help me arrive at a feeling of the unity (nonduality) you describe:
1. When passing people on the street, beach, etc. or viewing faces on a Zoom call gallery, I think, "you are I." Of course, the double meaning is readily apparent. "You are me, and I am you" is one. The second is that the others are not "objects," but "subjects" - each a center of awareness and action. Each is like a point on the circumference of a circle - each is equally and simultaneously the center - a center of subjectivity.
2. The Big Bang was (is) the beginning (continuation) of the expansion of "what is" (essence cloaked in mystery). As expansion continues, "what is" unfolds, differentiates, complexifies, evolves... such that at each instance "what is" manifests in multitudinous forms-all consisting of the original essence/emptiness. Hence, when I see the mockingbird, sky, people, mountains, etc. etc. etc. every thing and no thing, I experience a feeling (not idea) of natural harmony, unity, and not two.
To add another thought...I'm pleased if the experience you describe eliminates or reduces suffering for you. Assuming that the experiences we each have are similar, I would say that mine do not eliminate my suffering (by which I mean physical pain and emotions such as grief in addition to dissatisfaction/anxiety). But, I do not seek the end of suffering even if it could be achieved. Words fail, so the best description I can give is that my intent is to be fully awake to life in all of its dimensions and nuances, of which suffering is a significant aspect. The acute and chronic pain, grief, regret and fear as well as peace, happiness and ecstasy that I experience are as much a part of Just This! as the other people, sky, birds, flowers, thunderstorms, and galaxies.
Thanks, Noel. It seems to me that one of the most misleading aspects of the idea of awakening is that it is the end of our aggravations, moods, grievances, judgments…you name it. It has been a wonderful discovery that all of this stuff can still and does still happen after awakening with one big difference…there is no ‘me’ in the middle of it all. Not that one doesn’t still get caught in the stickier issues but, oh yeah, it’s a beautiful thing to realize, at some point, that it is all happening in empty space!
A powerful one Mike.
Wow, Mike…home run….
This is beautiful, Mike -- thank you!
who is it?
no one knows at all 🙃🥰