The Moment and the Unknown

It was the late evening and we were having a discussion about self realization and levels of attainment. It is interesting how the mind works when it comes to seeking out what we desire. We want things, both the material and the psychological, but we seldom look at or realize the truth about why we desire. There is that overwhelming urge to be somebody, to be separated from mass perception. "I am me the definition of something that has occurred in time/space, an event of some significance". "An accomplishment of time". So we go through life seeking the continuity of a defined existence.

C said, "L, I have listened to you talk about the "moment" and how that the truth of it sets you free". "Could we go into it further, I don't feel I am grasping fully what you mean". In the absolute moment, what is the true reality? It is important to be able to look in a manner that is absent the self that knows. If you look with the self in tact, that is through your conditioning, then what you see is the reflection of your own mind. You are incapable of seeing and realizing the actual. For some this is a very difficult thing to grasp. The mind wants definition so that it can create an ideal or mental picture. What is difficult is to realize that in the absolute moment there is no ideal because the self (conditioned consciousness) that creates the ideal is really an illusion. It is the illusion of knowing. Which is the limitation of ones experience and the application of that experience. Your conclusions, opinions and judgements are all a product of this knowing. So what you discern about a given circumstance is actually a projection of the one that is a product of the known, which is the conditioned self. Once you see this in the moment then it is possible to go beyond your own conditioning to a state of emptiness that allows the truth of the moment. That truth does not become a part of self identity, it cannot be made into a defined ideal to be organized and worshipped. It is only in the moment and loses its validity once one attempts to conceptualize it and create an idealized continuity. This then is the essence of the illumination of "no mind".

B asked, "But L, don't we need to "know" in order to move forward in our search for a higher level of consciousness". You are not grasping the significance of what was said. The self that is searching always seeks out of its need for further conditioning. The defined self only wants validation of its illusions, it does not want to find the truth. Because truth is without definition , it is always "unknown" in the sense that one cannot conceptualize it into a division of thought. It is not a part of anything that one can imagine. What one imagines as truth is not truth it is the projection of self. A person seeks out of illusion. There is no "illuminated" seeking. As soon as you create a concept out of what is said you are lost. That concept becomes the known as past tense which one may rationalize and reconcile in an effort to find continuity within what one already believes. So mind builds on ones illusion and its continuity as something to be sought, acquired and idealized. If a person is ever to go beyond the conflict and confusion of a self that knows, one must realize the total freedom of the absolute moment. That which is the outcome of a consciousness that is unconditioned.

B said, "But I am still not sure about what you are saying." "I still feel that there is a state in which you can know, one that is in the spiritual realm". That is because you are continuously referencing what you know and projecting it as the perceived truth of the moment. "Spiritual Realm" is just a catch all for the vagaries of personalized esoteric thought. Which is not any different than any other thought. It is still the result of ones conditioning, what one is conditioned to believe. B replied, "I cannot agree with you". "I must be able to know". Do Not agree or disagree, I am not seeking your agreement. What is said is that you only look without judgement, opinion, and conclusion. If you can do this in the moment then perhaps something will happen that is uninvited, that is not a continuity of what is sought. As long as you think you know then one will never be experiencing the new and never before. Which is the outcome of the unconditioned.

The Illogic of Emptiness

It was a small group of men and women and they were discussing how being a member of a group of like thinkers and believers brings about a sense of well being and fellowship. M said that she always felt a sense of peace when around this particular group of people. She believed that it could be attributed to a communal atmosphere of love and respect. C expressed a similar view, he added that the absence of a competitive mind set allowed for a deeper understanding of each other perhaps even on an "astral plane". It was evident that they wished to initiate me into their circle of "sameness". C said that he listened to me speak at another gathering and thought that I would fit in with this group. He asked, " L would you like to comment on anything that has been said tonight"? My response, "Anytime you create in your mind a separation either physical, psychological or both from the rest of humanity you create conflict. It is because the mind creates the ideal of us and them. It is the self that is seeking the divisional activity of defining. And it is very subtle, one may not be intentionally engaging in activities that separate and divide. It is human nature to band together in our search for security and validation. A person has to be aware in the moment of the self that is constantly seeking conformity in what is. Conformity is the beginning of ignorance and illusion. If you are choicelessly and timelessly aware then the outcome will always be freedom. It is the negation of conformity and attachment to the ideal. C said, "But L, would you not agree that a group such as ours is necessary in order to encourage one another in our quest for higher understanding". Yes, come together as friends and discuss, but realize that you are not above illusion, especially in your own circle. One can learn more about the self from those that disagree and even hold you in contempt than from the cookie cutter psychology of so called like minds. If you are truly illuminated then you see yourself in all that is. The world is a reflection of the self. When you truly realize this in the moment then there is a change in you that becomes the change in the world. I am not just speaking in high sounding words of an esoteric nature. It is the reality of the moment if you can look and see without the self that knows, that projects. As such you cease to exist as an entity that threatens, that carries around all those prejudicial opinions. When you touch another it is out of love and understanding, it is the ultimate disarmament. To put a hand of kindness on another no matter how belligerent, disagreeable or opinionated they may be. They will look at you and a calm will come over them. Because they will not be able to define you. You will be the illogic of emptiness.

M said "I don't quite follow, how can you help another by being empty". In such a state you are allowing the moment. In emptiness a person is without a self that is defining. The activity of defining leads to comparison and conclusion. Simply put it means to be without the illusion of a projected self. When you see yourself in the other, that realization becomes the dissipation of the self which is the space between you and the other. The notion of space/time creates duality which is the basis of all conflict. So one must see that when you separate or divide yourself from the other, you create the illusion of duality, all that follows is rift with confusion, conflict and disintegration. So it is important to see that unattachment to ones self created ideals is the door to freedom and ultimately understanding that goes beyond the mind that defines. Psychologically when there is an absence of the self that "knows" then there is an unexplainable peace that comes over you. The mind that is conditioned to react has dissipated.

The Singularity of Existence

As before we continued to discuss differences in human nature and whether it would be possible for cultures of differing points of view and opinion to ever come together in peace and harmony. J said "I don't see that it can ever come about that the human condition will change much". " We have been at war with our neighbors and those that disagree with whatever our position is since the beginning of time." "I mean man is basically greedy, self serving, and without conscience when it comes to the welfare of those who do not conform." "If we are concerned about other people at all it is always to the benefit of the ourselves and what one can derive from assisting those who are essentially foreign in culture and belief". "L, you talk of selfless acts to others, but I don't know that there is a such a thing as 'selfless'." My reply, you are right there is no such thing as selfless as long as you are seeking and defining it as an activity of thought that "knows" and seeks to accomplish. The quality of selflessness is without the activity of defining and thus differentiation. As long as there is the me and the not me there is the conflict of opposites. A person must be able to see in the moment that he or she is the other. That whatever you perceive in the other is you, your projection of self knowing. So you cannot see the truth of the moment you only see the illusion of the self created. As you are disintegrated it is not possible for you look without the duality of self service. When one is integrated, that is one has a realization of the selfless, then it is possible to have understanding that is not relative to the self. It is to dwell in the singularity of an existence that goes beyond the despotic thinking of the separated and thus conflicted. J interrupted, "What do you mean by a 'singularity of existence'". In the absolute moment there is only the reality of what is. If there is no self that "knows" then there is also not the other as a defined limitation. It is a psychological event horizon that is the total integration of existence. The realization of the singular, a consciousness that is not relativistic, that has no relation to what has been or what will be. So it is whole, complete without the need for knowing. Knowing defines, creates limitation. The unknown has no limitation, it cannot be defined. If there is in reality no space/time, only the mathematics of thought, which is to divide in order to understand, how can one possibly comprehend that which cannot be divided? Once you divide, create a division, one has lost the ability to see because one has created time. Time being the space between the self and what the self knows, ones duality. One can see, if at all aware, that truth is only in the moment, all else the projected illusion of self. C jumped in, "Yes I can sort of see, get a feeling for what you are saying, but how on earth can one live it". Ah yes, now you are looking for a formula. And if I were a cunning "Guru" I would take your money and give you a plan or path and you would go on being deceived by the greed of accomplishment. You cannot "live it" you can only be aware of the movement of self. Out of that awareness comes freedom the outcome of which is the selfless, the consciousness of the unconditioned.