You are not the Story of your-self ! 3

17 Dec 2019   | Consciousness · Non Duality

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Oh, now, for anyone with an interest in all-things-Spiritual, I am sure you will have already heard about (from varying points of view) HOW it is that the one-who-you-consider-yourself-as-being is ONLY a Delusion, like a Mirage and that the “Real You” is just in-hiding awaiting your “Waking Up” to its Always-Present-Presence eh ? 🤔

But perhaps there’s another Explanation as to why it seems like all us Human Beings are Designed to Endlessly Suffer unable to Transcend our Worldly Predicament ? And quite simply it all comes down to self-preservation, inasmuch as unbeknownst to most, your day-to-day Identity (as a felt sense-of-self) actually stems from an Unconscious Instinct for Survival !

In neuroscience it’s called the Default Mode Network and as such, it’s what gives you your apparent sense-of-free-will, your capability for Autobiographical self-referencing YET it’s just Brain Circuitry (you could even say it’s like some Software running the Program of “self”) eh ?

Here’s a presentation by Richard Miller on this subject that I’d suggest is very worthwhile spending one’s most valuable free-time contemplating :

As self falls away, three subtle but distinct aspects of identification with being a separate ego-I-self are revealed, which need to be understood and, in turn, set free. Then, the realization of what lies beyond all sense of self, mind and separation can be recognized, and its fragrance integrated into all aspects of daily life

But so what you may ask ? And IF the above is true, what does it really mean ?

Put simply, I’m saying it means that there is a mode-of-Being wherein all sense-of-separateness has Vanished, all Hope and Fear Vanquished and despite all appearances to the contrary, there is a Gestalt-like sense-of-Perfection in that nothing needs changing (or fixing) … it’s innately Peaceful, centered AS an Empty Aware Compassionate Presence that can only Laugh repeatedly at our own self-Deception !!! 😀

3 thoughts on “You are not the Story of your-self !”

  1. Reply Simon Dec 18,2019 12:26 am

    Ah, I have this book on order and it is due to arrive in the next couple of days … am looking forward to reading it given the Pedigree of its Author ! 🙂

    Because all the various factors of dualistic vision, such as Samsara and Nirvana, happiness and suffering, good and bad etc., arise from the mind we can conclude that the mind is their fundamental basis. This is why non-distraction is the root of the Paths and the fundamental principle of the practice. It was by following this supreme path of continuous presence that all the Buddhas of the past became enlightened, by following this same path the Buddhas of the future will become enlightened, and the Buddhas of the present, following this right path, are enlightened. Without following this Path, it is not possible to attain enlightenment.

    Therefore, because the continuation in the presence of the true State is the essence of all the Paths, the root of all meditations, the conclusion of all spiritual practices, the juice of all esoteric methods, the heart of all ultimate teachings, it is necessary to seek to maintain a continuous presence without becoming distracted. What this means is: don’t follow the past, don’t anticipate the future, and don’t follow illusory thoughts that arise in the present; but turning within oneself, one should observe one’s own true condition and maintain the awareness of it just as it is, beyond conceptual limitations of the ‘three times’. One must remain in the uncorrected condition of one’s own natural state, free from the impurity of judgments between ‘being and non-being’, ‘having and not-having’, ‘good and bad’, and so on.

    The original condition of the Great Perfection is truly beyond the limited conceptions of the ‘three times’; but those who are just beginning the practice, at any rate, do not yet have this awareness and find it difficult to experience the recognition of their own State; it is therefore very important not to allow oneself to be distracted by the thoughts of the ‘three times’. If, in order not to become distracted, one tries to eliminate all one’s thoughts, becoming fixated on the search for a state of calm or a sensation of pleasure, it is necessary to remember that this is an error, in that the very ‘fixation’ one is engaged in is, in itself, nothing but another thought.

    From : Namkhai Norbu’s book The Mirror: Advice on Presence and Awareness

  2. Reply Simon Dec 20,2019 12:31 am

    Ah, now with regards to “you” not getting “distracted”, I’d say the state of non-distraction is meant in a very specific way eh ?

    From page 14 : Dzogchen teaches the way of self-liberation, in which it is understood that there is nothing to reject or to transform. Knowledge of one’s own state is itself the only base, the only path and the only fruit. In order to develop and realise this knowledge, different methods of practice are used, all of which aim to bring one into a state of contemplation, that is, a “pure non-dual and instant presence” or Rigpa which is the basis of self-liberation.

    From page 41 : The most important point is not to get distracted. Usually the mind creates confusion and is always distracted, that is, distracted from its true condition.

    From page 26 : … we should let the mind become relaxed, maintaining only a clear presence of its natural condition, without getting distracted, forgetting, or letting ourselves get wrapped up in our thoughts, When the mind is naturally relaxed and present, it comes to itself in its authentic State.

    🙂

  3. Reply Simon Dec 20,2019 11:07 pm

    Oh, here’s a pertinent quote, I’d suggest, as regards the Value of Spiritual Material and whether or not it helps us all to see our own Blind Spots eh ?

    From page 54 : If our awareness is always accompanied by presence, we will never have problems or conflicts. Observing ourselves we can really understand our condition and hence that of others and thereby act with awareness. In Dzogchen the symbol of the mirror is used because usually our senses are turned outwards, the eyes towards form, the ears toward sound and so on. We see and we judge everything that happens in front of us but we do not examine what happens inside us. We easily notice the mistakes of others but ignore our own, and if someone tries to point them out to us we get angry and become defensive. That is why it is said we need a mirror to observe ourselves.

    In general we are all dominated by the passions and by dualism and we will never really be free until we overcome all our conditioning. Therefore first of all we must know ourselves. If we understand our condition, our feelings, then we can understand those of others because we are all human beings. If we imagine how we would feel if we were in the shoes of someone who is suffering, then a real awareness can arise in us and consequently pure, genuine compassion can develop.

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