The ground of being (True Nature, Essence, Being, the Universe, Nature, Brahma, Godhead, Holy Spirit, etc) delights in manifesting & thus knowing itself, in innumerable distinct ways. In manifesting physical form, apparent opposites & other apparent paradoxes (eg countless separate individual people, countries, races, religions, political parties, etc all with apparently different "self-centered" agendas) appear. At this time, a frightening number of people rigidly identify with partisan politics and live (& will probably die) exclusively in echo chambers. When, by somehow sensing our one common origin, we're able to see past ("transcend") apparent opposites & paradoxes, we will find ourselves right back in, & living from, our ground of being.
“the task is to stabilize attention on the fluid, unpredictable, and contingent nature of experience as the ground that enables one to take ethical choices that are not conditioned by habitual reactive patterns of greed, hatred, and self-centeredness.
… this (is a) shift in perspective from a life governed by attachments, to one founded on a vision of contingency & nonreactivity.”
Stephen Batchelor. “Secular Buddhism. Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World.” Yale University Press, 2017.
“The enlightenment instinct is the instinct for the ground of being to become fully conscious of itself.” Adyashanti
“Nothing is finite which doesn't include the infinite. The finite is the byproduct of the infinite as such becomes the outer form, the mirror of the infinite, its external revealing image. Essence and form are inseparable. Essence is the eternal Being. But living form is its constantly ever new manifestation - everlasting revelation... I try to learn from the finite sciences the lessons of the infinite.” Arthur M. Young
“True Nature needs no object to know itself. When the mind disidentifies from all movement, we stand at the threshold of True Nature, as radiant Being that transcends, yet exists in all movements.”
Richard Miller. “Yoga Nidra. A Meditative Practice for Deep Relaxation and Healing.” Sounds True, 2005.
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| Frederic Benaglia |
Yes, very thought provoking and integrating, John. You continue to be a seeker and there's no cage on your head! It's been said that when we are older we seek for the universals, which for me often has meant finding ways to bring together things that at first glance might seem compartmentalizable, but again, the cage image suggests there is another way, and many more of us can get on a common page, which has all kinds of nice outcomes. I half (only half) jokingly said to a friend that I'm addressing the integration of the various flavours of the Christian faith, with special emphasis on my Evangelical Missionary, Anglican and Orthodox perspectives, and I guess I should add Independent Community to include Mark and family. I told my friend that when I finish this project (do wever finish?) I would tackle the Catholic, Reformed and Wesleyan variations.
ReplyDeleteI need to go back to the last thing you sent and work on that. Unfortunately we're running full steam getting ready to increase the residency at this home from 2 seniors by 2 adults, 2 teens, 1 child, 2 dogs and 2 puppies. That sheds a whole new light on the word "integration."
Glad you found it thought-provoking Jim! My current understanding is that some of us are born with armoring due to inter-generational trauma (epigenetics, karma), and all of us develop armor soon after birth due to trauma & attachment injury. Armoring is a primitive, but potentially life-saving attempt to put up protective walls between ourselves and past & present threats to our safety. If / when we achieve an adequate level of safety, security & psychological healing, we may (or may not) be willing & able to dismantle & release these artificial boundaries. If we do let these go, we find ourselves back from whence we originated. It may be a bit like breaking an arm, getting a cast, healing, having the cast removed, and regaining normal use of one's arm. Maybe. We'll have more insight to discuss this in a few decades (or less).
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