The Witness
The
following is a list of dilemmas the seeker faces on the path to
understanding. From the initial standpoint it appears as a labyrinth of
conflicts that need to somehow be resolved in series or on an
individual basis but in truth there is only one simultaneous answer to
all dilemmas and that is understanding. So what was once a 'mountain
to climb' is then a plateau to stand on...
Understanding in this context is:
'understanding the personal dilemma... from the simultaneous standpoint of impersonal being'
The 'witness' is the 'witness' to the 'personal dilemma'...
NOTE: The 'personal dilemma' is realized from the standpoint of detachment or awareness that somehow our impersonal witnessing 'being' has become associated with this separate personal life... and we have no choice in the matter... nor do we have a 'problem' with that. But it's still a dilemma... but a workable one. It's a dilemma because we are somehow responsible for honoring this 'personal' life... but we are clearly not 'it'.
The 'witness' is the 'witness' to the 'personal dilemma'...
NOTE: The 'personal dilemma' is realized from the standpoint of detachment or awareness that somehow our impersonal witnessing 'being' has become associated with this separate personal life... and we have no choice in the matter... nor do we have a 'problem' with that. But it's still a dilemma... but a workable one. It's a dilemma because we are somehow responsible for honoring this 'personal' life... but we are clearly not 'it'.
Once
you understand the 'personal dilemma' then all dilemmas are seen in the
same light as they all have the same source in the one 'personal
dilemma'... thus all dilemmas are resolved at once with understanding.
That's how you validate that you understand... by seeing through all dilemmas simultaneously with the view
from impersonal being. It's suddenly 'seen' that all conflicts are
resolved in your mind with understanding because only impersonal being completely 'understands' the personal. No one has to tell you that... it's just
understood. So this is a valuable tool in evaluating progress towards
understanding... when you read the list below and when they no longer
are 'dilemmas'... you understand. And only being 'understands'... so
if you 'understand'... you're 'being'.
Everything makes sense from the standpoint of understanding... so if everything makes sense... you understand.
When you're looking at your 'personal' life from the simultaneous standpoint of impersonal being... you are looking at life from "both sides now"...
The list of dilemmas:
NOTE: Impersonal being does not 'personalize' its experience... so it's not attached to it.
Being 'unconscious' is simply being only conscious of 'things'. Thoughts are 'things' as well as 'things'. You can't be conscious of awareness... only aware of it. So being 'unconscious' is simply being only conscious of things... because awareness is lost in the fog of consciousness. You can't be aware till you understand what it is to be unconscious. You can't understand the answer unless you understand the problem. Once you understand the problem... the answer is obvious. When awareness is obvious... you understand. When you understand... the problem is no longer a 'problem'... because being has no problem... it just 'is'. When you understand... you have a 'personal life' with 'problems' that require attention... and... you're a being with no problems... simultaneously. It's a paradox. When you're a walking paradox... you understand... when you understand... you 'have a life',
Being puts everything in perspective... because being is free of that which has 'problems'.
When you suddenly realize you are only conscious of things... that's an opportunity to be aware of awareness. Once you understand the problem... there are suddenly unlimited opportunities to be aware. When you understand that there are unlimited opportunities to be aware your chances of being aware go up exponentially. When you understand there are unlimited opportunities to be aware you can be aware in any moment. So being in action (IE doing) is no longer a problem... it's an opportunity. If action was a barrier to awareness... we'd be nailed to this place.
NOTE: Thoughts are 'actions'... that takes place in the context of being.
When you search only for the answer it will elude you. When you define the problem... it has nowhere to hide. Defining the problem keeps the problem in sight. When you realize there is a problem you're more likely to come up with the answer. Searching only for the answer is futile... till you come to grips with the problem. Once you have a grip on the problem the answer is not a 'problem'. Start with the problem... and the answer is obvious.
PS - resolving dilemmas doesn't 'solve' them... it just removes the conflict in ones mind because now we 'see' both sides of the dilemma simultaneously... so we 'understand' both sides now. Problems still need to be dealt with but now it's done without inner conflict. So they are 'simpler' to deal with... thus your success rate with problems goes up with understanding. So it's an asset in phenomenal life as well as spiritual life.
Everything makes sense from the standpoint of understanding... so if everything makes sense... you understand.
When you're looking at your 'personal' life from the simultaneous standpoint of impersonal being... you are looking at life from "both sides now"...
The list of dilemmas:
* Willfulness vs free will
* Detachment vs engagement
* Awareness vs consciousness
* Personal life vs impersonal life
* Linear vs paradox
* Time vs timeless
* Complex vs simple
* The 'problem' vs the solution
* Concepts vs knowing
* Doing vs non-doing
Only impersonal awareness or being can completely 'understand' the person and the personal. The 'person' can never fully understand its 'self'. Once you 'see' that then your focus will shift from only wanting to understanding the person from the standpoint of the person and it will naturally shift to seeking the impersonal as a vehicle for understanding. We still honor our 'personal' understanding as it is useful to keep the person in line... but we are now beginning to value impersonal understanding as well... as it understands completely.
Being is 'to be'... in action... as in 'be-ing'. So being is not
incompatible with action... because being is awareness and awareness is
always available. Being is being aware of awareness that's distinct
from consciousness. Consciousness is consciousness of 'things'.
Awareness is aware... and it 'is'. To 'be' is to know that you
'are'... distinct from that which you are conscious of. To know that
you 'are' is to know you exist... as awareness... distinct from the
separate person. When you're 'being' you're aware of awareness while doing what 'persons' do. So being is experienced as a paradox. When you 'understand'... you understand paradox. Paradox is obvious when you 'are'... and you're aware.* Detachment vs engagement
* Awareness vs consciousness
* Personal life vs impersonal life
* Linear vs paradox
* Time vs timeless
* Complex vs simple
* The 'problem' vs the solution
* Concepts vs knowing
* Doing vs non-doing
Only impersonal awareness or being can completely 'understand' the person and the personal. The 'person' can never fully understand its 'self'. Once you 'see' that then your focus will shift from only wanting to understanding the person from the standpoint of the person and it will naturally shift to seeking the impersonal as a vehicle for understanding. We still honor our 'personal' understanding as it is useful to keep the person in line... but we are now beginning to value impersonal understanding as well... as it understands completely.
NOTE: Impersonal being does not 'personalize' its experience... so it's not attached to it.
Being 'unconscious' is simply being only conscious of 'things'. Thoughts are 'things' as well as 'things'. You can't be conscious of awareness... only aware of it. So being 'unconscious' is simply being only conscious of things... because awareness is lost in the fog of consciousness. You can't be aware till you understand what it is to be unconscious. You can't understand the answer unless you understand the problem. Once you understand the problem... the answer is obvious. When awareness is obvious... you understand. When you understand... the problem is no longer a 'problem'... because being has no problem... it just 'is'. When you understand... you have a 'personal life' with 'problems' that require attention... and... you're a being with no problems... simultaneously. It's a paradox. When you're a walking paradox... you understand... when you understand... you 'have a life',
Being puts everything in perspective... because being is free of that which has 'problems'.
When you suddenly realize you are only conscious of things... that's an opportunity to be aware of awareness. Once you understand the problem... there are suddenly unlimited opportunities to be aware. When you understand that there are unlimited opportunities to be aware your chances of being aware go up exponentially. When you understand there are unlimited opportunities to be aware you can be aware in any moment. So being in action (IE doing) is no longer a problem... it's an opportunity. If action was a barrier to awareness... we'd be nailed to this place.
NOTE: Thoughts are 'actions'... that takes place in the context of being.
When you search only for the answer it will elude you. When you define the problem... it has nowhere to hide. Defining the problem keeps the problem in sight. When you realize there is a problem you're more likely to come up with the answer. Searching only for the answer is futile... till you come to grips with the problem. Once you have a grip on the problem the answer is not a 'problem'. Start with the problem... and the answer is obvious.
PS - resolving dilemmas doesn't 'solve' them... it just removes the conflict in ones mind because now we 'see' both sides of the dilemma simultaneously... so we 'understand' both sides now. Problems still need to be dealt with but now it's done without inner conflict. So they are 'simpler' to deal with... thus your success rate with problems goes up with understanding. So it's an asset in phenomenal life as well as spiritual life.
PSS - the source of the 'personal' dilemma... the cause of it... is also seen as 'unknowable'... and realizing that
leads to greater appreciation of the unknowable... and acceptance of
that. Recognizing the unknowable puts the 'individual' in it's proper
place by putting it in the proper perspective.
NOTE: Witnessing is 'the detached view' from impersonal being or awareness... in relation to the 'person'.
Witnessing is any level of detachment from attachment to the personal self or 'person'... so it can occur in varying degrees. It doesn't have to be 'total' detachment... especially at first. All detachment is detachment from 'personal attachments'... there are no impersonal attachments. For more on that see... The Transpersonal Reality
'Witnessing' is preferably experienced from the normal point of view... IE 'inner detachment'. Detachment can even be exciting... and a little excitement makes things 'interesting'... so to speak. It's interesting because from the standpoint of total 3rd party detachment we have no stake in how this personal life is going to unfold... but it's interesting to 'watch'. Less obvious degrees of detachment can manifest as varying degrees of relief from the burden of the 'personal' life or 'person'.
Once you understand detachment you understand what it means to 'understand'... you're 'good to go'... you're an Independent spiritual seeker... you understand. The 'rest' is a matter of practice. The individuals job is to practice and to understand... but now understanding makes practice "make sense"... so to speak. Understanding makes the path 'make sense'... which is a big part of the battle... and a huge boost to the seeker... because all so called dilemmas are 'seen through'... which makes everything 'simpler'... and improves our focus on what's required... because the 'problem' is now 'simpler'... so to speak.
You'll know you're beginning to detach more deeply when it's realized that the 'personal' has moved to the 'background' of the mind... so to speak... and awareness has arisen in the 'foreground'. This awareness or being was there the whole time but was obscured by the preoccupation with the 'personal' concerns... which is understandable. Practice makes 'space' for awareness to arise spontaneously... by putting the 'personal' in it's proper place... IE - the background of the individuals mind. So it 're-prioritizes' the personal aspect of our experience... so nothing is really 'lost'... and awareness of awareness is 'gained'... so to speak. This has actually been mapped out in the activity of the brains of meditator's as the activity shifts between the frontal lobes and the parietal lobes in the back of the brain. Kinda interesting...
NOTE: Einsteins parietal lobes were 15% larger than normal. Einstein had the brain... of a meditator.
NOTE: Witnessing is 'the detached view' from impersonal being or awareness... in relation to the 'person'.
Witnessing is any level of detachment from attachment to the personal self or 'person'... so it can occur in varying degrees. It doesn't have to be 'total' detachment... especially at first. All detachment is detachment from 'personal attachments'... there are no impersonal attachments. For more on that see... The Transpersonal Reality
'Witnessing' is preferably experienced from the normal point of view... IE 'inner detachment'. Detachment can even be exciting... and a little excitement makes things 'interesting'... so to speak. It's interesting because from the standpoint of total 3rd party detachment we have no stake in how this personal life is going to unfold... but it's interesting to 'watch'. Less obvious degrees of detachment can manifest as varying degrees of relief from the burden of the 'personal' life or 'person'.
Once you understand detachment you understand what it means to 'understand'... you're 'good to go'... you're an Independent spiritual seeker... you understand. The 'rest' is a matter of practice. The individuals job is to practice and to understand... but now understanding makes practice "make sense"... so to speak. Understanding makes the path 'make sense'... which is a big part of the battle... and a huge boost to the seeker... because all so called dilemmas are 'seen through'... which makes everything 'simpler'... and improves our focus on what's required... because the 'problem' is now 'simpler'... so to speak.
You'll know you're beginning to detach more deeply when it's realized that the 'personal' has moved to the 'background' of the mind... so to speak... and awareness has arisen in the 'foreground'. This awareness or being was there the whole time but was obscured by the preoccupation with the 'personal' concerns... which is understandable. Practice makes 'space' for awareness to arise spontaneously... by putting the 'personal' in it's proper place... IE - the background of the individuals mind. So it 're-prioritizes' the personal aspect of our experience... so nothing is really 'lost'... and awareness of awareness is 'gained'... so to speak. This has actually been mapped out in the activity of the brains of meditator's as the activity shifts between the frontal lobes and the parietal lobes in the back of the brain. Kinda interesting...
NOTE: Einsteins parietal lobes were 15% larger than normal. Einstein had the brain... of a meditator.
For a deeper look at whats expressed here see... Back to the 'Who Needs the Higgs' blog
Robert McCoy
Authors Blogger Profile
Contact Info: bommac123 at gmail.com
