Among the various religions, it is to be
noted that the highest teachings emanate from the evolved teachers
themselves, often termed ‘mystics’, who have transcended the dualistic
limitations inherent in ecclesiastical traditions. The core of truth is the
pristine, nonlinear essence, which is nondualistic and arises at
consciousness level 600. Very rarely, it may evolve still further to transcend
the dualities that are intrinsic to even very advanced levels of
consciousness. The conscientious devotee accepts as provisional the innate
authority of advanced levels of truth, especially if they are corroborated by
consciousness calibration.Notable is that pure spirituality has no requirements, obligations,
dependencies, attachments, neediness, or other evidence of specialness, nor
the imposition of control, such as signing up members for classes or
‘trainings’. Commitment is to the core of truth itself and is free of seduction
by proselytization or secrecies. All that is necessary are a curiosity and
attraction to truth, which is complete, total, and self-sufficient. The teachers, teachings, or groups that are found to be attractive or
meaningful depend on the stage of evolution of the seeker’s level of
consciousness at any given time. While the calibrated consciousness level
of the typical human advances an average of about five to ten points in a
lifetime, in the spiritual seeker, that rate advances much more rapidly and
may take very sudden and major leaps. Therefore, this potentiality and
likely eventuality should be prepared for in advance. The Evolutionary Journey
For the serious student, spiritual commitment changes the context of
life, which is then viewed from a different perspective. What was once
attractive and exciting may now seem superficial, shallow, irrelevant, or
even annoying; and what was previously considered to be boring is now
attractive and valued as a great opportunity. Preferences and values change,
and one may also be surprised at the strength of spiritual energies that,
when activated, can be experienced as though one has stepped into a current
that is more powerful than one had suspected. Efforts to control and
rationally regulate the process are progressively revealed to be illusory. On
the other hand, some trends that seem simple on the surface may turn out to
be resistant and tenacious. Those that at first glance appear almost
impossible may be resolved with surprisingly relative ease. It will be discovered that all experiences and phenomena have an
intrinsic value to spiritual evolution and discovery. Eventually, it becomes
necessary to simply subordinate the personal will to the process itself,
which tends to become progressively stronger. The unfolding of the life of
the serious spiritual devotee becomes increasingly orchestrated by the Self
rather than the ego/self. Former presumptions become meaningless, and
Divine Intelligence and awareness reinterpret meanings that were once
considered beyond comprehension. Thereby does the world continuously
become ‘newly born’ each instant, as by the radiance of the Self, the clouds
of illusion fade away and Essence replaces appearance.Operational Values and Principles
Along the spiritual pathway blocks and temptations appear, as well as
doubts and fears. Classically, they have been termed the ‘tests’ that arise
from the ego that does not relish relinquishment of dominion. These are
overcome by reaffirmation of goals and commitment, as well as by
reinforcing counterbalancing principles, such as dedication, tenacity,
constancy, courage, conviction, and intention. The greater the challenge, the
greater is the development of inner strength, decision, and determination. By persistence and discipline, it can be seen that temptations are options to
merely refuse rather than call for attack or negation. This is also a
consequence of the subordination of the lesser to the greater, and thus,
priority prevails by an act of the will, assisted by surrendering the personal
will to God. All the above are subsumed under the quality of devotion, which is
empowered by love and not just reason or mental comprehension. Devotion
is of the heart for, at times, it is solely by the power of the heart and Divine
Love that an obstacle can be transcended. A useful practice is to look ahead on the spiritual road and see what will
eventually have to be surrendered, such as attachments to the world and its
values. This awareness facilitates greater ease, willingness, and readiness to
surrender the attachments voluntarily. (If not now, when?) The ‘letting go’
of materialism and worldly gain is facilitated by the realization that
everything belongs to God, and that humans have only temporary custody
or stewardship. Thus, in reality, there is no ‘my’ anything. In fact, nobody
even ‘owns’ their own body, for it belongs to the world and returns to the
world from whence it came. As a paradox, it will be noted that the ego/self
believes that it has ownership of its possessions and properties but, upon
examination, the opposite is true, that is, one is owned by their possessions
and properties, not the reverse. The capabilities that ensue from spiritual devotion and commitment are
often of greater magnitude than originally suspected, and the seemingly
‘impossible’ turns out to be ‘possible’. What seems impossible dissolves as
such if one imagines whether they could let go of an attachment if a loaded
gun were pointed at their head. One can also witness the extremes to which
humans have gone over time and in other cultures in the service of
devotion, including major deprivation, hardship, and voluntary sacrifice.Although these options may not appear during spiritual practice, their
psychological equivalents may well appear to be ‘sacrifices’. It is helpful to remember that value and attraction are in the eye of the
beholder and are not qualities of the world itself. What is imagined to be
‘out there’ stems from ‘in here’. The same applies to cherished
positionalities and seductive presumptions. There are no temptations ‘out
there’, and their attraction diminishes by simple refusal and renunciation. Religion vs. ‘Religionism’
Devotion often starts with dedication to the religion of one’s upbringing
and is therefore experienced as complete and satisfying. Faith plus worship,
prayer, and religious observances serve the needs of the majority of truly
religious people. Their faith is often augmented by selfless service or
support of humanitarian activities. The traditional pathway of religion is self-fulfilling and leads to
advanced states of consciousness and selfless saintliness that may eventuate
as dedication to the goal of Enlightenment itself, which is frequently
associated with a change of lifestyle. The downside trap of religion could best be termed ‘religionism’, by
which overzealousness is expressed as extremism or by the alternative of
worshipping the religion instead of God. This is characterized by an almost
obsessive-compulsive preoccupation with the written word and
ecclesiastical doctrine. This aberration is typified as ‘confusing the map
with the territory’, a phrase taken from Our Language and Our World
(Hayakawa, 1971) and also expressed as ‘missing the forest for the trees’. This signifies limitation by the intellect to content and ignorance of context,
meaning, and significance, which reflect conversion of language/symbols to
subjective realization and contemplation. This error results in religionists’ using concrete quotations of religious
doctrine to justify behaviors that are the exact opposite of the true, abstract,
nonlinear meaning of the cited scriptures. (The Inquisition; burning heretics
at the stake; Islamic terrorism; religious wars; and hatreds, including
prosecution and genocide, are some examples.) Thus, religionism in the
extreme becomes fanaticism and a pathological, destructive aberration that
often seeks secular totalitarian power and political extremism. As is well known, it is a simple matter to find a quotation that justifies
any position when it is taken out of context (e.g., confusing the ‘sword of
Truth’ with the ‘sword of steel’). Thus, there is a very wide disparitybetween dedication and zealotry, and by their fruits, the distinction becomes
obvious. That pathological states may cloak themselves in religiosity does
not preclude the more serious fact that they are intrinsically pathological
despite the efforts of apologists to ignore the distinction. As would be expected, religious zealotry calibrates extremely low, and,
in contrast, true religious devotion calibrates very high. Religious
extremism also contributes to the social appeal of secularism and even
militant antireligionism, as was seen in the wake of communism (Tibet,
China, etc.). True religious devotion is not coercive nor does it impair the
lives of others or imperil their survival. Thus, balance counters extremism
and is a component of spiritual wisdom and maturation that offsets the
substitution of rituals for religious observances. The value of scripture is in
its meaning and capacity to facilitate subjective transformation that is often
consequent to interpretation of meaning rather than literal translation. Renunciation As A Process
The primary renunciation is to refuse and refute the value and attraction
of that inner theater processor of the ego called the ‘experiencer’, which is
desirous of attention as a focus of energy. The ‘experiencer’ is a quality of
attention processing that greedily and endlessly searches for a subject of
focus, interest, and excitement. This aspect of consciousness is like a
compulsively exploratory probing fueled by curiosity. It is greedy for linear
data, sensation, and form, as well as the payoff of emotionality itself. It
feeds on ‘change’ and something ‘happening’ and is attracted by the allure
of excitement. (Witness the pile-up of slow cars as they pass even a minor
accident on any highway.) Its characteristics are also displayed by nature
films of the creatures that live at the bottom of or in the sea. The ‘experiencer’ consumes energy, and as a result, the human being
requires sleep for renewal of energy and the capacity to function. It is this
focus of the experiencer that is to be transcended by meditation and
contemplation. The experiencer is hungry for novelty and ‘interesting’ data about
which the ego is eager to react in order to keep the emotional circus
activated. The experiencer’s circuit is seductive to involvement and
participation in the kaleidoscopic melodrama of life. It is important to appreciate that the reactive, eager ‘experiencer’ aspect
of the ego seeks to be on center stage and performs as the inner ‘celebrity’
of the self. It is the hero/heroine of the ongoing story that is entitled ‘me’,‘I’, and ‘myself’ and is thereby considered to be of great value and
supposed worth. It is the focus of the self’s narcissistic involvement and is
thereby highly invested with psychological energy and prioritization. The
‘experiencer’ is the central actor/actress that is credited as the doer of deeds,
the thinker of thoughts, and the secret causal agency of actions and
decisions. It is the victor and the victim. Most important of all, it is believed
to be the core, source, essence, and cause of one’s life and therefore central
and crucial to existence itself. Its demise is thus inwardly feared as death
and therefore heavily defended. It is this experiencer/personhood that is the
substitute identity for the Realty that is the true Self. Pitfalls and Distractions: Mind and the World
The limitations of the karmically inherited ego/mind result in an innate
proclivity to error and are a consequence of both innocence and naïveté. Unaided, it is not able to transcend its innate limitations nor does it even
realize the extent of its impairments. Like a computer whose hardware will
automatically accept any software input, the human mind is unprotected and
vulnerable to almost any conceivable programming to the degree of even
the most bizarre and extreme falsity of which the classic ‘Luciferic
inversion’ is a striking and currently displayed example (i.e., to misidentify
opposites by which good becomes classified as evil, and vice versa). The unprotected mind is impressionable, and even the most basic
protection of reason can be overruled by emotionality or social
programming. The whole world’s population has commonly held
completely false beliefs for many centuries and still does to this day. Therefore, to depend on popular belief systems is to be prone to error (e.g.,
Mackay’s Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds,
[1841], 2003). All such assumptions should be viewed as provisional at best
in view of the inherent limitations of the mind itself. Other than the irreducible, irrefutable fact that one is, all else is
presumptive at best. This does not mean, however, that skepticism (cal. 160) is a substitute for wisdom for it also is based on an illusion. Other than
the Self and/or an advanced Teacher, the mind has not had, until recently, a
verifiable source of assessment of truth. Due to the evolution of consciousness, a means is now available for not
only discerning truth from falsehood but also of calibrating the degree of
truth as compared to the Absolute. Therefore, the pragmatic Map ofConsciousness is an extremely useful tool for it can throw light where there
is darkness to reveal that which is hidden or obscure. The key to transcending the inherent limitations of the ego/mind is
humility, without which the mind is hopelessly trapped in its illusory house
of mirrors. The evolution of the intellect as reason, logic, and science
eventuated as the upside of modern civilization with its great benefits to
humanity. It is a confirmable observation that the higher the calibration of a
thought system, the greater has been the benefit to humanity and the relief
of its suffering inherent to ignorance. The overall positive effect of the
evolution of consciousness/mind is obvious within the linear dimension, but
it becomes even more so as consciousness advances past the linear domain
at calibration level 499, when the nonlinear spiritual energy becomes
dominant. The educated spiritual student of today has fortunate advantages that
were not available in the past. Sophistication about the nature of the
ego/mind and its evolutionary foundations is a distinct advantage for it
facilitates self-honesty and awareness that historically was made difficult or
even impossible due to programming with guilt and shame that resulted in
denial and repression of the awareness of inner hidden proclivities. Pitfalls and Distractions
An area of limitation that is often overlooked by spiritual students is
that of the social programming of belief systems, which is the consequence
of memes (presumptive stereotypes via brief slogans and repetitious ideas),
as well as more vociferous propaganda and political distortion of the
implications of facts. These promulgate via their cleverly concealed
seduction to intellectual vanity (Dawkins, 1992; Beck and Cowan, 1996). This downside of vulnerability to rhetoric was also discussed at length in
Truth vs. Falsehood (Chapter 12). Like anyone else in society, the mind of the aspirant has also
unwittingly been programmed. This often escapes notice unless highlighted
by a Teacher. Many students adhere to a stereotype of what ‘being spiritual’
implies. Thus, there are often political/social/intellectual stereotyped beliefs
that need to be investigated as naïve programs. To seriously seek enlightenment is a very strict discipline that therefore
eschews the attraction of involvement in supposed spiritual movements that
are actually intrinsically political in nature and factional. The attraction of
‘changing the world’ (for the presumed better, of course) appeals to thenaïve idealism of the inner spiritual adolescent and is transcended with
maturity. The nature of human life is the automatic consequence of the
overall level of human consciousness itself. Therefore, to benefit the world,
it is necessary to change not the world but oneself, for what one becomes is
influential by virtue of its essence (nonlinear) and not its actions (limited
and linear). The purpose of action is to control others. Force (emotional or
otherwise) results in counterforce; power comes from the nonlinear level of
consciousness itself. Straight and narrow is the path, for without inner discipline, the spiritual
energy becomes dissipated in diverse attractions. Profound silence is more
influential and beneficial than an avalanche of redundant words and actions
that emanate from the spiritual ego and its platitudinous rationalizations. Spiritual rhetoric is still just rhetoric and represents spiritual sophistry. Commitment to Enlightenment alters and recontextualizes social roles. There are many attractive, aberrant spiritual groups, techniques,
practices, and teachings that become glamorized, popularized, peddled, and
even literally marketed. There is also seduction by proselytization, pop-
culture promotional venues, and effusive emotionality (Lewis, 2001). All
these attractions signify the seeking of a gain by their promotion. In
contrast, that which is integrous is self-fulfilled and therefore does not need
promotion. Eager, naïve students may be impressed by the opinions and enthusiasm
of followers of attractive, diversionary spiritual groups and leaders. Some
are impressed by web sites, celebrities, or emotional claims. There are
supposed ‘avatars’ by the dozens who are imagined to be the great saviors
of humanity (sometimes even by a prescribed date). These routinely
calibrate not only low but often below level 200—the critical level of Truth. Often added to the attraction are claims of performance of the miraculous
and unnatural oddities. Thus, it is not unusual at all for very famous, highly
proclaimed ‘miracle workers’ to calibrate as low as 175. It is therefore best
to avoid the bizarre or the unlikely and to remember that there is no
‘person’ who performs miracles in a cause-and-effect kind of
contextualization. The truly ‘miraculous’ is the emergence into actuality of
potentiality as a consequence of an overall contextual field that includes
karma, and it is therefore not ‘caused’ by nor can it be claimed by an
individual personality.Also invitational is the seductive lure of ‘secrets’ and membership (at a
cost) in ‘select’ inner subgroups, with accompanying titles and privileges. Common to such groups are also submission and obedience to the leader as
well as a variety of personal restrictions. All of these linear distractions
denote specialness rather than rational distractions of essence. As with any human endeavor, there is a sequence of levels of
maturation and mastery to progressive levels of sophistication, education,
experience, and acquisition of skills and knowledge. Early in the search for
truth, there is vulnerability to the allure of various promulgated programs
and personalities that tend to become an attractive theater invitational to
mystical and magical allure. There are glib ‘masters’ who even claim to be
‘higher than Jesus’ and attract great wealth. Others promote various forms
of sexuality and even ‘holy sex’ encounters with the leader. (These persons
all calibrate below 200, although some of them were temporarily in the
500s early in their careers.) Common are claims to exotic ‘other dimensions’ or realms with unique
nominalization. None of the aberrant pathways, teachers, or organizations
calibrates at an acceptable level of truth, and none appears in the list of
confirmed spiritual teachers or teachings (Chapter 11). The rule ‘caveat
emptor’ obviously applies and is adhered to by the wise (Partridge, 2003). While exploration of the new may seem like a harmless educative and
entertaining novelty, even that degree of exposure has unanticipated
consequences that are usually unrecognized. The mind is like the hardware
of a computer that is instantly programmable by linear content as well as
nonverbal energy patterns. Thus, the explorer of the pop pseudospirituality
of the astral circus of the typical ‘New Age Fair’ inadvertently picks up a
variety of energies that are out of awareness. The best protection is
avoidance out of humble respect for the limitations and the weaknesses of
the ego/mind. To flirt with that which is seemingly harmless is attractive to
negative subliminal energy patterns. The acquired spiritual flaws may later
affect the student adversely in ways that are out of awareness but detectable
by others. Thus, avoidance of that which can be deleterious to or delay
spiritual evolution is advised out of humility and respect for limitations
rather than fear. As mentioned elsewhere, traditional scripture advises to
eschew the paranormal and just ‘don’t go there’. As with other attractions, it is the ‘experiencer’ aspect of the ego that
leads to involvement with distractions and naïve errors of judgment,mistaken decisions, or conclusions. The avoidance of diversions and
attractions is not based on judgmentalism but instead on respecting the
value of the validation of truth. There are numerous integrous teachers and
teachings; thus, it is not necessary to seek for novel byways. The great
traditional pathways have sufficed for thousands of years, and their essential
truths have been confirmed by experience. They are now even more
adequately understood and confirmable. Frequently, serious spiritual students become waylaid by attractive,
deviant pathways, schools, and teachings and thereby devote time and
energy in fruitless pursuit of spiritual illusions. This may take up years,
decades, or even whole lifetimes that sometimes end up in regret or even
bitter disappointment. With the current availability of the techniques of
calibrating levels of truth, such errors can be circumvented. There are even
professional ‘deprogrammers’ to assist in recovery from cult indoctrination
and brainwashing that can result in severe loss of reality testing and
rationality, even to the degree of cult group suicide or bombing the
innocent, allegedly ‘for God’. Alignment with a Pathway
Chapter 11 gives the necessary information and guidelines to ascertain
purity, authenticity, and validity of teachers, traditions, religions, spiritual
schools, and organizations. Dedication is a more important sign of integrity
than enthusiasm. It is necessary to have faith in a pathway and clear away
doubts to ascertain if they are realistic or merely forms of resistance. A
seeker should have the security and support of inner certainty and firm
conviction that are consequent to study, personal research, and
investigation. Thus, a pathway should be intrinsically reconfirming by
discovery and inner experience. A true pathway unfolds, is self-revelatory,
and is subject to reconfirmation experientially. As spiritual awareness advances, the flow of spiritual energy increases
and enables transcending prior, seemingly insurmountable, obstacles. As the
attractions of the world and emotions decrease, there is a progressive
attraction to qualities, such as beauty, lovability, and peace, rather than
things or seeming gains. Forgiveness becomes a habitual attitude, and the
innate innocence of all Creation shines forth. The teachings of great saints
and teachers become one’s own from within. Q: Please discuss materialism.A: Formally, the term denotes belief in the theory that the material/physical
world is the only reality and that all phenomena are the consequence of
and can be explained in terms of physicality. It is expressed as physical
reductionism in the traditional scientific Newtonian paradigm and in
intellectual discourses pertaining to the arguments of ‘bottom up’ versus
‘top down’ theories of causality. The subject recurs in conferences
pertaining specifically to ‘science and consciousness’, or science and
religion or theology. Although the subject may sound abstract and primarily philosophical,
in practice it has profound practical consequences. Dialectical
materialism emerged as Marxism, which fomented worldwide
revolution and the deaths of many millions of people. Materialism
denies the reality of Divinity as the Source of Creation and life, and
consequently, it calibrates (as does Marx) at 130. Mechanistic
materialism sources skepticism (cal. 160), which is limited to the linear
domain. It denies the reality of the nonlinear, which calibrates at level
500 or above. Paradoxically, although skepticism ridicules faith, it has
great faith in its own very limited paradigm and philosophical
presumptions of which it is naïvely unaware. When applied to consciousness research, the bottom-up theorists
attempt to demonstrate that consciousness is solely the product of
neuronal activity. All such projects calibrate very low and fail to
demonstrate the materialistic premise. The last research project of Crick
(of DNA fame) before he died was so designed (it calibrated at 150-
160). Thus, the design of all similar projects calibrates very low and
reflects not only a fallacious basis and defect of vision but also a
philosophical, antispiritual, or atheistic bias. Therefore, such research is
also not truly scientific to begin with and violates the principles of
objective, unbiased, pristine investigation. In the field of spiritual endeavor, materialism denotes an ego
attachment to linear limitation and an imbalance of projected worth to
that which is transitory at the expense of spiritual values that are long
term. It is the consequence of ‘left-brain only’ processing of information
that precludes awareness of abstract meaning and inference. Thus, it
reflects impairment of potentiality, which is consequent to brain
physiology itself (see Brain Function chart in Chapter 6). The alternate
error is to give a negative connotation to all interest in that which is‘worldly’, such as money or possessions that can be respected as assets,
which requires stewardship and responsibility. Because human existence includes the physicality of the body and its
requirements, the material world is appropriately important and
represents Creation in linear form. Thus, a balanced view is to accept
and integrate materiality from an overall spiritual viewpoint and
appreciate but not become attached to that which is transitory. ‘Wearing
the world like a light garment’ expresses an attitude of appropriate
balance. Asceticism may have a value in the attempt to overcome sensory
attachment, but extremes may also signify fear or aversion. The ‘lure’ of
the world is not innate to the world but instead is a projection of desire
by the ego that ascribes inflated value to that which is linear and
transitory. Q: Can the world thus be designated as ‘secular’? A: That can be a limiting positionality reflective of contextualization. True
secularism is the belief that denies the reality of the presence of the
nonlinear within the linear. Secularism (cal. 165) ignores or denies the
Reality of Divinity as the source of existence and Creation. Q: How best to choose a pathway? A: The selection is a consequence of what a person has become and where
they are in the evolution of consciousness. Personal choice is the result
of myriad factors, such as family of origin, culture, education, age,
karmic patterns, personal relationships, and life experiences. In addition,
it is now possible to ascertain the level of truth of various teachings and
organizations so that the spiritual student of today has additional
advantages. A higher calibration does not mean ‘better than’ but instead
delineates the level of an expression of Reality and spiritual truth. The most important principles are those that are most basic, such as
good will, forgiveness, respect, integrity, lovingness, and compassion. The blocks to these are relatively easy to discern and resolve with
recontextualization, which reduces or removes positionalities. An
adequate pathway is one that offers the means of resolving conflicts
rather than compounding them with categorization as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Hate, greed, etc., are ‘wrong’, of course, but that is not of any help inresolving them. An effective pathway should offer other ways of seeing
things so that obstacles dissolve by a mere comprehensive
understanding. This means the identification of the obstructive
positionality and clarifying the duality that is the basis of the conflict. Q: Can you give an example? A: Each positionality is the result of a construct, like building blocks. It is
unraveled by inner investigation. A seeming problem requires honest
research. Let us use ‘hate’ as an example. What is its basis in a given
situation? Envy? Jealousy? Fear? Pride? It is usually due to a
combination of factors. Is it rivalry for status? Competition? Hurt
feelings? An insult to the pridefulness of the ego? Being right? Winning? Threat? Programmed by propaganda/media? Completely resolving even one issue tends to decrease all of them, for
at the bottom is usually the narcissistic ego’s problem of humility, which
is the keystone to surrender. The central conflicts to each level were
examined in some detail in Transcending the Levels of Consciousness,
but essentially, they are similar. Each positionality is held in place by a
dualistic set of attractions and their corresponding aversions. With
humility arises the acceptance that everyone is somewhere along the
evolution of consciousness, and spiritual development for that is the
core purpose of human life in this world. Q: Why does life in the world seem to be so difficult at times? A: Multiple evolutionary species coexist on a planet that itself goes through
constant change. Hominids are of recent origin, and Homo sapiens are a
mixture of great variation in levels of consciousness, not only of
individuals but also whole cultures and countries. Still present are
illiterate stone-age and nomadic tribal cultures along with sophisticated,
highly-educated, computerized countries with very advanced
technology and economies. In addition, there are different, often conflicting religions and
antireligious belief systems as well as their political ideologies. On top
of the difficulties of all these potentially conflicting diversities is the
primordial, inherent basic obstacle that the human mind is, by its very
design, unable to discern truth from falsehood. In all recorded human
history, peace has prevailed only seven percent of the time and warninety-three percent of the time. The linear dimension entails suffering;
thus, the best Teachers of history taught the ways to Salvation or
Enlightenment as the only answer to escape from that suffering. OceanofPDF.comCHAPTER 13
Transcending Identification with the Ego/Self
Introduction
This subject is the core of all spiritual endeavors. The undoing of the
identification with the ego/self is the primary focus of spiritual evolution
and is the enigma that has baffled even the most erudite minds of history. The crux of the problem is misidentification with qualities of the ego/mind
processing function already identified with the linearity of the localization
of phenomena. This is a natural consequence associated with the physical
reality of the experience of life as a body. The primary problem is
misidentification of the actual source of subjectivity and the presumption
that it is local rather than nonlocal. An analogy to the above would be that of electricity, which is a generic
type of energy and therefore ‘impersonal’. When it runs through a toaster or
a fan, the device would then mistakenly identify itself as being the primary
source and not realize that it is only an outlet unit. Without the ‘life’ energy
of electricity, each receiving unit would be inert. The disassembly of the ego mechanism is facilitated by an
understanding of its evolutionary origins and progression over eons of time,
which have already been alluded to with charts and examples. By historical
origin, the requirement for the survival of life in physically separate units
required acquisition and therefore the capacity for investigative processing
of energy sources. This processing function then became identified as ‘I’ by
virtue of experiential subjectivity. To continue the analogy, the primordial
source of life energy is independent of localization as units. The units
assume themselves to be primary rather than merely expressions of a
universality. The energy of life is a radiance from the field of
consciousness, which is the mode of the Presence of Divinity that manifests
in physicality as Creation. The capacity for Enlightenment is merely a
consequence of consciousness returning to its source, which is Divinity
Immanent as Self. The ego/self identifies with its various functions and qualities and labels
them by ownership as ‘me’ and says that is ‘who I am’. This results in the
vanity of authorship, an error that originated during evolution as aconsequence of identification with the experience of the senses. Thus comes
about a typical conclusion that ‘I’ itch instead of ‘the body’ itches. The
same error of authorship/ownership occurs with feelings and thoughts in
that the witness identifies with the subject and the content of the
experiencer. The experiencer function is an information probe that collects linear
data and therefore is an ‘it’ and not a ‘me’. It is a functional processing unit
similar to the senses of smell or touch. Thus, the Buddha spoke of man as
having six senses instead of five and contextualized the brain as a sensory
organ of sensation, perception, and information processing. Prior to the evolution of consciousness reaching calibration level 200,
there is no innate subjective awareness of beingness or existence as such. The living organisms experience the qualities of their existence without
realizing the reality of existence, is-ness or beingness. Although it ‘is’, it is
not innately conscious and substitutes experiencing in lieu of the awareness
of existence. As consciousness continues to evolve, the quality and the
value of existence itself arise, and hence the search for its source. Disassembly of the Ego/Self
Once the evolutionary structure and function of the ego are understood,
its disassembly is facilitated by the inner decision to pursue that which is
real and eternal rather than that which is temporal, transitory, and
ephemeral. When one has chosen the spiritual pathway, the question arises of how
to proceed through ordinary human life now that one has a different overall
motivation. It will be found that, as a consequence, it is not usually
necessary to initially abandon ordinary life but instead to recontextualize it. Curiously, the degree to which one values one’s own life determines the
answer. Those who see it as a precious gift do not wish to waste it on that
which is trivial and transitory, for the demise of the physical body is an
inevitable certainty. The pleasures of life can be accepted as a gift while
rejecting becoming attached to them. In the past, especially during the era
of Gothic religionism, piety was equated with penance, guilt, poverty,
sackcloth, and ashes. A more effective form of renunciation is to relinquish
the projection of value onto the world and its overvaluation. Worldly
success still occurs but is accepted with gratitude instead of pride, and
humility allows continuation in the world without egoistic perceptual
projections.Rejecting the seduction of the activities of the mind and its endless
operations is the most effective and ultimate renunciation. Upon even casual
observation, one sees that it is composed of an endless kaleidoscope of
opinions, viewpoints, attitudes, preconclusions, assumptions, and prevailing
social positionalities popularized by the media and glamorized by acclaim. Thus, the inner process is primarily one of de-energizing illusions rather
than one of acquiring new information. Awareness is predominately
revealing in nature rather than a private acquisition. The Self is already
aware of Reality and does not need to learn more about it. ‘Divine ignorance’ is a classic term that denotes the wisdom of
humility. The mind, in and of itself, cannot discern appearance from
essence, and thus the devotee learns to turn a deaf ear to thinkingness and
focuses instead on the knowingness of wisdom from within, as revealed by
the great teachers over long periods of history and reaffirmed as the
Presence of Self. These teachers, even though widely separated over the
centuries by time and geography, are in mutual agreement. Formal religions
always calibrate at a level below the truth of the teachings of their founders. Most spiritual students therefore seek confirmation of the essence of truth
within each, which is different from ‘syncretism’, the assumption that all
religions are equally true. Because there are major errors in all classical
religions, syncretism (although it sounds attractive) would also include the
errors of all the existent religions and their variations of translation. A problem with using the mind to discover truth is that it often cannot
tell the forest from the trees and instead focuses on problematic
irrelevancies and extraneous diversions, such as, Did the Buddha ‘really’ sit
under a bodi tree? Or, Where did Jesus spend his lost years? Did the Red
Sea actually part? Is the crucial, eternal truth that would save mankind lost
somewhere in a cave? Will the world end in 2068? Are the ‘end times’
here? Are UFO messengers here to save us? The ego loves to fiddle with
hypothetical conundrums and thus extends its attraction via fallacious
pursuits. If they were of great value, they would have been mentioned by
Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, or the great sages over the many centuries. The errors of specific content can be bypassed by aligning with
primordial, inviolate spiritual principles that would avoid postulations as to
whether God is angry, or whether wearing a beard or a hat is of any
importance. The ego is eventually cancelled out by the Truth of the Self,
and not by religious contention. The content of religious observances is ofsecondary importance compared to the intention because intention is
independent of circumstances and irrelevant details. Study, concentration, and attention tend to narrow focus and emphasize
content and details, whereas contemplation is aligned with the overall field
and its contextualization of significance, meaning, and value. The ego loves
detail and linear labeling. It likes stances such as, Isn’t that awful? and has
endless questions like, How come? Conflict is therefore of the ego, and
harmony is of the spirit. The personal ego/self never runs out of drama and
problems, which are invented as a tool of self-propagation. In its own
defense, the ego manufactures ‘boredom’ if precluded from excitement, but
it still manages to remain center stage by wailing like a two-year-old who is
not being entertained. To reveal the game of the ego, it is only necessary
when one is bored to merely ask, Why am I bored? This leads to self-
inquiry, which reveals the role of what has been termed the ‘experiencer’. Self-Inquiry as a Spiritual Technique
This was a favorite teaching of Ramana Maharshi, who recommended
posing the question, “Who am I?” The purpose was to direct attention from
the experiencer to the Source of Awareness itself, and thus lead from the
self to the Self. Taken out of context, the famous quote, “Who am I?” may,
however, lead most often to exploration of identity content or definition
rather than to intuiting context. It might be more beneficial to ask, What am
I? ‘What’ is impersonal and aligned with the universal energy, while ‘Who’
is aligned with the personal and the linear. The Pace of Worldly Life
Devotional commitment to inner spiritual work is not usually a major
interference early in the process but may later even necessitate a change of
occupation and relationships. Adjustments enable ordinary life to go on up
to a certain point, at which time there is a loss of interest in linear
processing and externalization of goals. Spiritual work eventually takes on a predominant priority that often
results in major changes. Frequently, the spiritual drive gains momentum
and becomes the predominant focus in what could be called the ‘radical
stage’. Although it seems to be a drivenness, it is actually the consequence
of the attraction of the Self that is now energizing the endeavor. One is not
propelled by the past but magnetically attracted by the future. The Self acts
like gravity that becomes ever more powerful as one nears its center. Theeffect of Self is akin also to a magnetic attraction whose effect increases as
one nears the goal. The passion for Divinity results in a de-energizing
interest in worldliness since the Self has no needs, wants, or desires, even
for the body itself. In more advanced stages, leaving the world is a common phenomenon. For one thing, the ego then has ‘nothing to do’ and is put into retirement. Subsequent capacity for activity is problematic and reflects residual karmic
propensities. At very advanced levels above 600, the option to leave the
physicality appears, and the majority of those who reach that level do so. Thus, statistically, at any one time, there are only a few very advanced sages
on the planet by virtue of having transcended the innate evolutionary
purpose of human life. Rarer still is it for an enlightened sage to return to
and interact with the world, which requires the activation of an aspect of
consciousness that could be called the ‘persona’. This is essentially and
functionally only a quality of communication. There is no ‘self’ that
communicates, and the communication is its own self-sufficient reality. Thus, the communication has no ‘purpose’ but merely emanates as a quality
of its own essence. ‘Personhood’ is a projection of the observer and not a
quality of the teacher. Q: The description and analysis of the core of spiritual endeavor
clarifies the spiritual process that has often been clouded by
mystification and obscure religiosity. A: The true devotee welcomes clarity and precision. The naïve seeker is
often enamored by religiosity and mystification. Ceremonial practices
and trappings can have an attractive glamour by which spirituality
becomes romanticized with a mystical, magical, or even theatrical
allure. Some practices lead to trance states or altered states of
consciousness. The impressionable seeker is attracted by unusual
phenomena that are actually irrelevant, such as the siddhis. In contrast,
the real core of spiritual endeavor sounds mundane and unexciting. Q: If the ego has developed and dominated life for multimillions of
years and continues to dominate human life, can such a strong
proclivity actually be transcended? A: The ego is not the actual reality or source of life or existence and is
therefore vulnerable to dissolution. It is primordial but not essentiallysovereign. It is dominant only until its illusory quality is recognized. Until de-energnized, it edits perception. To merely recognize that it is
not the actual substrate of reality but only an evanescent appearance
already begins to reduce its influence. Q: Please further clarify the comments on Ramana Maharshi’s method
of ‘self-inquiry’. A: The method is worded as “Who am I?” The term ‘who’ suggests a linear
definition or even a recontextualization of personal identity. Basically,
the question is correct, for if properly understood, it leads from
identification with the personal self to the universal Self. What gives the
sense of ‘I’ its subjective quality of reality is the radiance of the true
Self, which is the Source of the Reality that emanates as the Presence. To clarify the pursuit, it is helpful to search for the innate quality that
accords the subjective experiential sense of identity itself. It may be
more fruitful to search for the source of the quality of subjectivity,
which is not a ‘who’ but an innate quality of sentient life. Q: That is focusing on ‘what’ rather than on ‘who’ is searching for the
truth? A: Yes. It will lead to the discovery that there is no ‘who’ that is searching
but some innate quality itself. The real Self brings up the false self for
investigation, which eventually leads to the disassembly of the ego
structure itself. In the beginning, a seeker assumes there is a personal
self that is seeking the real Self. Actually, it is the real Self that is
drawing the seeker to it. Q: The pursuit of Enlightenment appears to be a very major decision
with possible major impact on ordinary lifestyles. A: This may seem to be a source of worry or anxiety when it is first heard. In due time, resolution occurs as a consequence of recontextualization
and a shift in values. What may be perceived as disruptive by the ego at
calibrated levels below 600 is not experienced as such at 600 or over
when relinquishment of worldly life is natural and welcomed as a relief. The Self manages the transition. Most questions about adjustments or
seeming sacrifices do not take into consideration the power of decision
itself, which increases in intensity as the barriers are removed. Devotiondissolves fear, doubt, and hesitation and clarifies uncertainty. Intention
also becomes ever stronger as does trust in God. Then arises the inner
decision to totally abandon oneself to God. The evolutionary pathway is self-reinforcing and self-confirming as it
progresses. The ‘you’ that anticipates the future now is not the same
‘you’ that will have to later adjust to very different conditions. Identification shifts from the content of personal self to the contextual
field of transcendent Self. What is seemingly impossible to the self is
easy and simple to the Self. Q: All doubts and questions arise from the ego’s perceptions and
projected values. A: That is true. Therefore, all anticipations and projections into the
hypothetical future are illusory because the Self that emerges becomes
progressively dominant and is free of worldly attachments or projected
values. It has no ‘needs’ to worry about and is autonomous and
sufficient unto itself. It has no ‘wants’ that need to be sacrificed so none
are necessary. A butterfly no longer needs a cocoon. Q: That is reassuring. A: Divinity is Infinite Love. Within its Presence, even relinquishment of
bodily existence is not a ‘problem’ or even a source of resistance. If it
serves Divine Providence, physicality walks on to fulfill its karmic
destiny and commitment. If, on the other hand, it just falls over and
quits breathing, that is just fine also. As the ego dissolves, so do all its
fears and presumptions. The Inner Reality is immune to considerations
or doubts. The Self is Certainty. Q: Despite dedication to the goal of Enlightenment, the mind seems
reluctant, resistant, or even too lazy to go through the necessary
process. How can that be overcome? A: Resistance is to be expected and accepted as an innate quality of the
ego. Part of its function is stabilization in order to facilitate performance
and reliability. It does not like to feel out of control or off balance and is
thus resistant to being questioned or examined, which is perceived as a
potential threat to its sovereignty. The ego has a vested interest in its positionalities, presumptions, andassumptions. There is therefore an ambivalence regarding change—on
the one hand, it is exciting and interesting, but on the other hand, it can
be viewed as an unwelcome challenge and resented. Thus, it tends to
maintain the status quo, even if doing so continues to be unsatisfactory,
for example, repeating the same resistances over and over, hoping for a
different outcome. Q: Is inertia characteristic of the ordinary ego? A: T a m a s is the guna (energy) of resistance that is overcome by rajas, the
energy of activity and effort. R a j a s is the response to motivation and
dedication to actually reach S a t t w a, the state of peace and tranquility. Tamas is reinforced by the resistances of fear or guilt at the prospect of
self-inquiry. Q: How can the underlying fears of guilt or shame be overcome? A: It is necessary to hold in mind during all inner investigation (as well as
in the perception of others) that the ego/mind is in the process of
evolution and is innately innocent by virtue of its evolutionary structure. It cannot discern appearance from essence. Therefore, compassion for
self and others is a requisite for major transformation and spiritual
growth. Dominance by instinctual motivations is diminished by simple
acceptance rather than guilt or condemnation, that is, ‘of course’ the ego
is selfish, greedy, vain, and resentful. That is to be expected. But now,
such attitudes can be seen as no longer serviceable or productive. Compassion for all of life includes one’s own as well. Old habitual
styles of perception and thinking diminish when no longer valued or
seen as essential to survival or success. Many strong habitual
motivations recede merely as a consequence of recontextualization. Q: How does one overcome the apprehension about ‘bad feelings’
arising consequent to looking within oneself? A: Decide that all ‘bad’ feelings are fallacious and faulty habits of the
mind. Respect for self and others then replaces guilt or fear. The ego is
unaware of the gifts of the spirit that more than compensate for the
surrender or ‘loss’ of ego positions. These gifts are often subtle, such as
an increase in self-esteem and reduction in one’s overall anxiety level.Q: Can you provide a concrete example? A: The ego thinks success is due to drive and ambition plus prideful
competition, cutting corners, taking advantage of others, etc. It is not
aware that people who are earnest, honest, integrous, and dedicated are
highly prized and adequately rewarded by society. These are rewards by
invitation and not just zealous acquisition. Excellence itself is self-
rewarding and brings gratification that is not dependent on externals. The reward that is often overlooked is the increase in inner strength,
courage, and fortitude that results in greater inner security and self-
confidence. Q: But in daily life, temptations abound. Are they not to be refused or
resisted? A: Temptation, seduction, desirability, and allure are all projections having
to do with appearance and presumptions. These are associated with
programmed fantasies of gain. Satisfaction of projected values
constitutes the world of illusion. Happiness itself is directly correlated
with the overall level of consciousness rather than with any external
factors. External factors are vulnerable and have to be fearfully guarded;
in contrast, inner values are self-reinforcing and immune to turmoil or
circumstances. This is a common realization among survivors of major
catastrophes. Q: Spiritual work sometimes appears to involve anticipation of loss. A: Loss is a presumption based on the ego’s perceptions and projected
values. In general, the ego’s loss is illusory and instead constitutes a
gain to the Self. All ego positions represent vulnerability. Their
surrender results in greater inner security and pleasure in life. Eventually, one analogously feels ‘bulletproof’ and independent of
external circumstances. Even the survival of the body itself eventually
becomes irrelevant for its transitoriness is accepted. Q: But is not survival itself due to the ego’s motives and mechanisms? A: That is also an illusion. Survival is a consequence of the Self, not the
self. It is only because of the Self that the ego is of service for a
prescribed period of earthly time. When the ego/mind is silenced, life
goes on autonomously, paradoxically even seeing effort as effortless.All comes about as a consequence of potentiality’s emerging as actuality
when conditions permit. Intention is such a condition. Eventually, even
intention subsides as the will is surrendered to God. O c e a n o f P D F . c o mCHAPTER 14
Enlightenment: The Presence of Self
Introduction
Positionalities result in the problematic dualities of the ego experienced
as presumptions. These result in the ego’s projections, which it erroneously
believes to be reality. Collectively, they constitute the illusions of
Descartes’ res interna (cogitans), which means that they are the products of
emotions and mentations. The purpose of spiritual work is the elimination
of this primary barrier in order to discover res externa/extensa (essence) as
Reality revealed as Creation, that is, the world as it is (essence) and not as it
is perceived or appears to be. The transition from illusion (res cogitans) to
Reality requires not a change of content but of context and, therefore, of
paradigm. The Realization of Reality is the consequence of a shift to
identification with experiential context instead of content and is, therefore, a
major shift of paradigm. The emergence of the Real is a spontaneous Effulgence that is
consequent to removing the limitations of perception and its barriers. The
transcendence of limitation is the result of intention and subordination of
the personal will, with its illusory gains and payoffs, to Divine Will. While the state or condition of what has been called Enlightenment is
celebrated, its exact nature has only been alluded to by analogy, and it has
also tended to become ‘mythologized’. Thus, terms like ‘the Supreme’,‘the
Ultimate, or ‘the Absolute’ tend to attract glamorization and fantasy
elaborated by imagination. The state of Enlightenment is not a
superimposition nor does it depend on the addition of a quality. The subject
is the condition. Similarly, the condition or state is not a ‘claim’, as there is
no personal claimant. What is expressed verbally is simply a statement of
facts that report the condition, which is merely a confirmation of the Reality
of its Source once again. Thus, the condition is also not an achievement nor
does it imply accomplishment. Nothing is gained by glamorization of the
state, which is far beyond the possibility of exaggeration. Despite the
effulgent nature of the condition, description serves the purpose of
communication, which is essentially a revalidation of the Reality of
Divinity.Preceding Stages
The transition from the experiencer of the ego/self to the Presence of the
Self is very major. Because of its prior experience, the mind has the
expectation that such a state will really be an extension of itself or will be
some kind of ‘otherness’ and therefore new and unfamiliar. Neither
expectation is correct. As the levels of consciousness are transcended, the quality of
experiencing changes in ways that have already been described
(Transcending the Levels of Consciousness). Both the world and the
subjective self become progressively more benign, compassionate, and
loving. In the high 500s, the flow of the kundalini energy has begun to
transform observation and subjective experiencing to levels of inner joy,
and the world appears ever more beautiful and incredible. The perfection of
all things shines forth. This leads not only to joy but also eventually to an
indescribable ecstasy that precludes worldly function. When even that
wondrous state is surrendered to God, it is replaced by an all-pervasive
stillness, silence, and peace that are even beyond ecstasy in its wonder. Within the intrinsic beauty, the sacredness of all Creation emanates forth
from within as well as beyond form. The formless Essence of Divinity
radiates out via form itself. Progressively, the linear is replaced by a
nonlinear Oneness. The Allness of Divinity is strongly confirmed by the
immense power of Love as intrinsic to Creation and Divinity. The Presence
of Love is all pervasive and experienced as one’s intrinsic Self. It melts
linearity into Oneness, which is simultaneously exquisitely gentle and,
paradoxically, infinitely powerful. As has already been described, if the devotee has been following the
pathway of negation, what may emerge next is the high illusion of the Void
as the Ultimate Reality. The pathway presents infinite Oneness and
nonlinear perfection and is all inclusive, infinite, and beyond time or
location. (This illusion occurs at calibration level 850, as mentioned
previously.) The Void is to be recognized and refused if it is devoid of Love. From this point on, one proceeds not by negation but by affirmation, which
is reinforced by deep prayer and supplication to God for guidance. (Divine
Love is not to be confused with the emotionality/attachment of what is
ordinarily perceived as human love.) As the qualities and context of each stage are surrendered to God, a
final confrontation arises that also has to be surrendered, and it ischallengingly confrontive. The devotee needs to be adequately prepared
because failure at what could be called the ‘final door’ may result in very
severe dejection that may last for more than just one lifetime. The serious
student needs to know well in advance, therefore, that at the very last
doorway, they will be confronted with their willingness to surrender life
itself, or at least to that which has been believed since the beginning of
evolution to be the very core of life itself. This final gateway is very rarely
passed, and one reason is the lack of preparation, lack of certainty, and a
final doubt of major magnitude. Therefore, for the deeply committed, very
serious student only, the following section is provided. The Final Doorway
As this approaches, the entire context is pristine, pure, formless, and
nonlinear. There are no ‘others’ nor is there anywhere to turn. There are no
longer any personal qualities or positionalities, nor is thinkingness
available, as the mind is silent and nonconceptual. There are no images or
memories. Consciousness alone remains as awareness itself, with no object
or content of that consciousness awareness. It merely is of its own, with
neither subject nor object. It is awareness itself that is aware, and there is no
remaining ‘entity’ that is aware. At this point, awareness is identified with the quality of life itself. That
is all that is left—just ‘life’. This sense of the pure core of life has lost its
prior qualifications, adjectives, verbs, or nouns. These have been
surrendered long before. All that is left is just the pure quality of life itself
as the core of existence. Then arises a progressive fear, which compounds
to almost terror, that this, too, must be surrendered at the doorway. Thus
arises the fear of absolute death or annihilation into nothingness and
nonexistence forever. At this point, it is obvious that what is to be
surrendered to God is the life of the self and its motive to continue to exist
as the experiencer and seeming source and substrate of life (the last
illusion). This is a very strong illusion and to face it takes courage, faith,
conviction, and the very depth of devotion: “To Thee, O Lord, do I
surrender life itself.”
Because the mind is silent, it cannot be consulted. In its place arises a
Knowingness that appears as a result of the vibrational frequency within the
aura that has been absorbed from the Knowingness of an Enlightened
Teacher somewhere in time. The Knowingness is that ‘all fear is illusion’. This must be known with absolute certainty. Ignore the terror, for it is reallywhat could be called ‘the final test’, and surrender life itself. That one is
actually dying is confirmed because that is the inner experience. This is the
one and only death that can ever occur, and it arises because it has never
before been surrendered. Physical death is relatively nothing at all. There is
a sudden leaving of the body, and life goes on, reemerging as another
embodiment. Thus, this confrontation is the first and only time it will ever
have to be faced and surrendered. As one lets go, there are a few moments
of dread, and then the doorway opens to the Infinite Splendor and Glory
that is beyond all description. Revelation
The mind remains silent, and there is an immense awe as Creation now
appears as Revelation—iridescent, radiant as though enchanted, and vibrant
with the efflorescence of unmistakable Divinity. All is as though in intense
Technicolor—electrified and luminous. All is conscious and conscious of
being conscious, and conscious of the awareness of consciousness of all
else that exists. All is intrinsically worshipful as a consequence of the
conscious awareness of the Presence of God as Creation in its most minute
details. All is Holy and Sacred, as evidenced by its splendor as Existence
itself. Therefore, all things are seen as sacred and holy; all things ‘both large
and small’ are sacred; thus, “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!”
Even texture itself is prominent and seems to be transformed into an
aliveness with a radiant quality. All is alive and its intrinsic Essence shines
forth as a presentation that is inclusive of recognition as an innate,
worshipful quality. All is equal by virtue of its Essence, its perfection, and
its efflorescent luminosity. The Glory of God is far beyond the capacity of
comprehension, and instead, there is a contextual Self-identity that one is
what is being comprehended, and yet there is nothing to really comprehend. At this point, description has to stop because of the duality of languaging. Transcending that final doorway required the surrender of the seeming core
and source of life itself. There is the overwhelming astonishment at the
discovery that all that exists is Creation as an expression of Divinity, and
the field of consciousness pervades all that exists. Thus Divinity is intrinsic
to all that exists, as well as to the awareness of that Reality. All that exists
reflects the Divinity of its Source. Paradoxically, by surrendering life, one
discovers Life. Even the presence of the physical body is too peripheral to be noticed. However, it is later rediscovered as sort of a surprise. It continues tofunction on its own, spontaneously and autonomously. There is no ‘self’ or
primary or causal agency to determine or decide its actions. It operates
autonomously as a consequence of its interaction with the field of context. Its continuance is not a matter of interest, and it just seems to ‘know’ what
to do all by itself. The transformational quality of the Oneness of Creation is the
consequence of the disappearance of ‘the experiencer’. There is no
1/10,000th-of-a-second delay that automatically edits all of experience as a
consequence of the prior operations of the ego. Therefore, the transformed
appearance of All and its interpretations have been removed, and one is
now identical with the essence of the unfolding of Creation rather than its
edited translation. One is no longer experiencing the ‘tape monitor’ of life
but the very existential core of Life itself. The analogy is like the difference
between hearing a full philharmonic orchestra in person and listening to a
tape recording of its performance. Adjustment
The transition is far more major than can be imagined, described, or
even anticipated. However, the information provided allows for the
successful transition through this very major final period. Initially, there is
paradigm shock, sometimes referred to as ‘God shock’. There is a profound
awe of such a major dimension that the mind remains silenced forever. There no longer is a volitional personal self nor its presumed inner causal-
agent quality, and the sense of ‘I’ now includes all of Existence, beyond
time, dimension, or linear description. There is no longer any feeling of
‘mine’, nor any feeling of having qualities of possession or control. All is
Self-existent and Self-fulfilling. The performance of the body is
autonomous and a consequence of its relationship to the overall field. It is
witnessed that the body, just as before, avoids getting run over by traffic,
but it does it all by itself. Although there is no mentalization as such,
information is still available because of the unique quality of the field of
consciousness itself that impersonally records all events, no matter how
seemingly trivial. The Knower and the Known are identical Realities as a
consequence of consciousness/awareness. Dualistic thinkingness disappears
as an operating system. In its place, it is stunningly obvious that meaning is
Essence and the Reality of Essence is its meaning. Thus, as obvious or
absurd as it might sound, a chair is its meaning.The major transformation is followed by a period of reorientation to all
the former qualities of life and senses of even the whereabouts of the body
itself and its relationship to other objects. People address the body as ‘you’
and think that the ‘you’ is the body. The Self is silent, invisible and has no
actual name as such. The period of reorientation and readjustment may be quite lengthy and
actually take years. During this time, there emerges an autonomous
operational quality that one might call the persona/personality agent that is
interactive with the world. Life continues on of its own because Existence is
Life. Potentiality emerges as actuality as a consequence of evolution. From
the above, it is apparent that there is no ‘person’ to become enlightened; on
the contrary, the person disappears and is replaced by that nonlinear Reality. Therefore, it is obvious that the state is not an accomplishment, an
achievement, an acquisition, nor even a transformation. It is actually a
replacement.
_OceanofPDF.com_Discovery_of_the_Presence_of_God_Devotional_Nonduality_-_David_R_Hawkins.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Among the various religions, it is to be
noted that the highest teachings emanate from the evolved teachers
themselves, often termed ‘mystics’, who have transcended the dualistic
limitations inherent in ecclesiastical traditions. The core of truth is the
pristine, nonlinear essence, which is nondualistic and arises at
consciousness level 600. Very rarely, it may evolve still further to transcend
the dualities that are intrinsic to even very advanced levels of
consciousness. The conscientious devotee accepts as provisional the innate
authority of advanced levels of truth, especially if they are corroborated by
consciousness calibration. Notable is that pure spirituality has no requirements, obligations,
dependencies, attachments, neediness, or other evidence of specialness, nor
the imposition of control, such as signing up members for classes or
‘trainings’. Commitment is to the core of truth itself and is free of seduction
by proselytization or secrecies. All that is necessary are a curiosity and
attraction to truth, which is complete, total, and self-sufficient. The teachers, teachings, or groups that are found to be attractive or
meaningful depend on the stage of evolution of the seeker’s level of
consciousness at any given time. While the calibrated consciousness level
of the typical human advances an average of about five to ten points in a
lifetime, in the spiritual seeker, that rate advances much more rapidly and
may take very sudden and major leaps. Therefore, this potentiality and
likely eventuality should be prepared for in advance. The Evolutionary Journey
For the serious student, spiritual commitment changes the context of
life, which is then viewed from a different perspective. What was once
attractive and exciting may now seem superficial, shallow, irrelevant, or
even annoying; and what was previously considered to be boring is now
attractive and valued as a great opportunity. Preferences and values change,
and one may also be surprised at the strength of spiritual energies that,
when activated, can be experienced as though one has stepped into a current
that is more powerful than one had suspected. Efforts to control and
rationally regulate the process are progressively revealed to be illusory. On
the other hand, some trends that seem simple on the surface may turn out to
be resistant and tenacious. Those that at first glance appear almost
impossible may be resolved with surprisingly relative ease. It will be discovered that all experiences and phenomena have an
intrinsic value to spiritual evolution and discovery. Eventually, it becomes
necessary to simply subordinate the personal will to the process itself,
which tends to become progressively stronger. The unfolding of the life of
the serious spiritual devotee becomes increasingly orchestrated by the Self
rather than the ego/self. Former presumptions become meaningless, and
Divine Intelligence and awareness reinterpret meanings that were once
considered beyond comprehension. Thereby does the world continuously
become ‘newly born’ each instant, as by the radiance of the Self, the clouds
of illusion fade away and Essence replaces appearance. Operational Values and Principles
Along the spiritual pathway blocks and temptations appear, as well as
doubts and fears. Classically, they have been termed the ‘tests’ that arise
from the ego that does not relish relinquishment of dominion. These are
overcome by reaffirmation of goals and commitment, as well as by
reinforcing counterbalancing principles, such as dedication, tenacity,
constancy, courage, conviction, and intention. The greater the challenge, the
greater is the development of inner strength, decision, and determination. By persistence and discipline, it can be seen that temptations are options to
merely refuse rather than call for attack or negation. This is also a
consequence of the subordination of the lesser to the greater, and thus,
priority prevails by an act of the will, assisted by surrendering the personal
will to God. All the above are subsumed under the quality of devotion, which is
empowered by love and not just reason or mental comprehension. Devotion
is of the heart for, at times, it is solely by the power of the heart and Divine
Love that an obstacle can be transcended. A useful practice is to look ahead on the spiritual road and see what will
eventually have to be surrendered, such as attachments to the world and its
values. This awareness facilitates greater ease, willingness, and readiness to
surrender the attachments voluntarily. (If not now, when. ) The ‘letting go’
of materialism and worldly gain is facilitated by the realization that
everything belongs to God, and that humans have only temporary custody
or stewardship. Thus, in reality, there is no ‘my’ anything. In fact, nobody
even ‘owns’ their own body, for it belongs to the world and returns to the
world from whence it came. As a paradox, it will be noted that the ego/self
believes that it has ownership of its possessions and properties but, upon
examination, the opposite is true, that is, one is owned by their possessions
and properties, not the reverse. The capabilities that ensue from spiritual devotion and commitment are
often of greater magnitude than originally suspected, and the seemingly
‘impossible’ turns out to be ‘possible’. What seems impossible dissolves as
such if one imagines whether they could let go of an attachment if a loaded
gun were pointed at their head. One can also witness the extremes to which
humans have gone over time and in other cultures in the service of
devotion, including major deprivation, hardship, and voluntary sacrifice. Although these options may not appear during spiritual practice, their
psychological equivalents may well appear to be ‘sacrifices’. It is helpful to remember that value and attraction are in the eye of the
beholder and are not qualities of the world itself. What is imagined to be
‘out there’ stems from ‘in here’. The same applies to cherished
positionalities and seductive presumptions. There are no temptations ‘out
there’, and their attraction diminishes by simple refusal and renunciation. Religion vs. ‘Religionism’
Devotion often starts with dedication to the religion of one’s upbringing
and is therefore experienced as complete and satisfying. Faith plus worship,
prayer, and religious observances serve the needs of the majority of truly
religious people. Their faith is often augmented by selfless service or
support of humanitarian activities. The traditional pathway of religion is self-fulfilling and leads to
advanced states of consciousness and selfless saintliness that may eventuate
as dedication to the goal of Enlightenment itself, which is frequently
associated with a change of lifestyle. The downside trap of religion could best be termed ‘religionism’, by
which overzealousness is expressed as extremism or by the alternative of
worshipping the religion instead of God. This is characterized by an almost
obsessive-compulsive preoccupation with the written word and
ecclesiastical doctrine. This aberration is typified as ‘confusing the map
with the territory’, a phrase taken from Our Language and Our World
(Hayakawa, 1971) and also expressed as ‘missing the forest for the trees’. This signifies limitation by the intellect to content and ignorance of context,
meaning, and significance, which reflect conversion of language/symbols to
subjective realization and contemplation. This error results in religionists’ using concrete quotations of religious
doctrine to justify behaviors that are the exact opposite of the true, abstract,
nonlinear meaning of the cited scriptures. (The Inquisition; burning heretics
at the stake; Islamic terrorism; religious wars; and hatreds, including
prosecution and genocide, are some examples. ) Thus, religionism in the
extreme becomes fanaticism and a pathological, destructive aberration that
often seeks secular totalitarian power and political extremism. As is well known, it is a simple matter to find a quotation that justifies
any position when it is taken out of context (e. g. , confusing the ‘sword of
Truth’ with the ‘sword of steel’). Thus, there is a very wide disparitybetween dedication and zealotry, and by their fruits, the distinction becomes
obvious. That pathological states may cloak themselves in religiosity does
not preclude the more serious fact that they are intrinsically pathological
despite the efforts of apologists to ignore the distinction. As would be expected, religious zealotry calibrates extremely low, and,
in contrast, true religious devotion calibrates very high. Religious
extremism also contributes to the social appeal of secularism and even
militant antireligionism, as was seen in the wake of communism (Tibet,
China, etc. ). True religious devotion is not coercive nor does it impair the
lives of others or imperil their survival. Thus, balance counters extremism
and is a component of spiritual wisdom and maturation that offsets the
substitution of rituals for religious observances. The value of scripture is in
its meaning and capacity to facilitate subjective transformation that is often
consequent to interpretation of meaning rather than literal translation. Renunciation As A Process
The primary renunciation is to refuse and refute the value and attraction
of that inner theater processor of the ego called the ‘experiencer’, which is
desirous of attention as a focus of energy. The ‘experiencer’ is a quality of
attention processing that greedily and endlessly searches for a subject of
focus, interest, and excitement. This aspect of consciousness is like a
compulsively exploratory probing fueled by curiosity. It is greedy for linear
data, sensation, and form, as well as the payoff of emotionality itself. It
feeds on ‘change’ and something ‘happening’ and is attracted by the allure
of excitement. (Witness the pile-up of slow cars as they pass even a minor
accident on any highway. ) Its characteristics are also displayed by nature
films of the creatures that live at the bottom of or in the sea. The ‘experiencer’ consumes energy, and as a result, the human being
requires sleep for renewal of energy and the capacity to function. It is this
focus of the experiencer that is to be transcended by meditation and
contemplation. The experiencer is hungry for novelty and ‘interesting’ data about
which the ego is eager to react in order to keep the emotional circus
activated. The experiencer’s circuit is seductive to involvement and
participation in the kaleidoscopic melodrama of life. It is important to appreciate that the reactive, eager ‘experiencer’ aspect
of the ego seeks to be on center stage and performs as the inner ‘celebrity’
of the self. It is the hero/heroine of the ongoing story that is entitled ‘me’,‘I’, and ‘myself’ and is thereby considered to be of great value and
supposed worth. It is the focus of the self’s narcissistic involvement and is
thereby highly invested with psychological energy and prioritization. The
‘experiencer’ is the central actor/actress that is credited as the doer of deeds,
the thinker of thoughts, and the secret causal agency of actions and
decisions. It is the victor and the victim. Most important of all, it is believed
to be the core, source, essence, and cause of one’s life and therefore central
and crucial to existence itself. Its demise is thus inwardly feared as death
and therefore heavily defended. It is this experiencer/personhood that is the
substitute identity for the Realty that is the true Self. Pitfalls and Distractions: Mind and the World
The limitations of the karmically inherited ego/mind result in an innate
proclivity to error and are a consequence of both innocence and naïveté. Unaided, it is not able to transcend its innate limitations nor does it even
realize the extent of its impairments. Like a computer whose hardware will
automatically accept any software input, the human mind is unprotected and
vulnerable to almost any conceivable programming to the degree of even
the most bizarre and extreme falsity of which the classic ‘Luciferic
inversion’ is a striking and currently displayed example (i. e. , to misidentify
opposites by which good becomes classified as evil, and vice versa). The unprotected mind is impressionable, and even the most basic
protection of reason can be overruled by emotionality or social
programming. The whole world’s population has commonly held
completely false beliefs for many centuries and still does to this day. Therefore, to depend on popular belief systems is to be prone to error (e.
The core of truth itself, and not the ego or personal will.
What is the primary focus of spiritual growth?
Recognize that the ego's resistance is an illusion, and let go of its perceived need for control.
What is the best way to overcome the ego's resistance to change?
No, the fear of loss is an illusion. One can surrender life itself and still find that it continues to function autonomously.
Can one overcome the fear of loss or sacrifice?
Yes, it is possible for the ego to be transcended, but it is a rare and major transformation that requires a deep understanding of its illusory nature.
Is it possible for the ego to transcend its own limitations?
Yes, attachment to material possessions can hinder one's spiritual growth, as it is an illusion and an obstacle to the realization of one's true nature.
Can one's spiritual growth be hindered by an attachment to material possessions?