Spirosophy

Where spirituality and philosophy meet.

[spirosophy-blog]

The contemplation of awareness itself

Can awareness contemplate itself? What is awareness and what is contemplation? These are questions that I shall seek to answer, giving a personal, rather than academic account for the matter of both.

First, what is awareness? What does it mean to be aware of something? You could say that awareness is ‘being focused on something’. When you are consciously aware of say, an object or a thought you could call this an awareness. But this does not describe awareness itself, rather than describing a function it only describes the object or aim of that function. Is thought or an object to be called awareness itself? Well, there are many thoughts that go unnoticed, when you are driving, for example, many objects might pass your peripheral vision unnoticed. It would be strange to call these thoughts and objects pieces of awareness if we are ignorant of them.

Can we describe awareness when stripped from whatever it is aimed at? This is where the contemplation of awareness begins. The Bhagavad Gita makes a useful distinction between Purusha and Prakriti. Prakriti is described as the field of mind and body, the field of thought-forms and physical objects. Purusha is described as spirit, or the Self, knower of Prakriti. Where there seems to exist a duality, these realms are in fact completely intertwined with one another. The contemplation of awareness begins when Purusha turns his eyes inward. Becoming conscious of the Self.

Once again, though the distinction between these realms is not ultimate, it is convenient to set the two apart. Contemplation of the Self does not mean here to be mindful of one's thoughts and emotions, as these belong to the Prakriti, the realm of mind and body, but to be mindful of what lies beyond mind and body. How to be mindful of what is beyond the realm of Prakriti? By realizing that anything of the field of mind and body needs awareness in order for it to exist. The physical (in this sense mind included) might exist without awareness, but without this awareness, there would be no possible way to know if it in fact did. For this reason, it feels more justifiable to render the physical world in lack of awareness non-existent, rather than existent.

This establishes awareness as a fundamental layer of existence. The contemplation of this layer must again not be confused with the contemplation of thought, or anything else that comes up as a form or confined object. Thoughts come up as limited forms, by definition there is no thought that is infinite, as it always arises within the confines of a mind that is limited. Spirit is infinite, it knows no bounds and has no form, due to its lack of visible, tangible properties, be it by the physical senses or the sense of mind it is not easy to describe. It is experienced when we are detached from the usual identifications of a conditioned mind. By this, I mean a mind conditioned to identify itself by body, emotion and thought. When this disidentification occurs consciously, rather than unconsciously as it does during sleep, a new sense of selfhood is gained, a self found in the always present, limitless realm of spirit.

In this identification, which happens through realization, one can begin to contemplate the Self, to contemplate awareness as purely that. It is an experience of an infinite, changeless, ever-present moment that is ever available, regardless of the thought-forms and emotions the ego might find itself muddled in. This pure contemplation marks the start of meditation, where one is focused without really concentrating on anything. I like to call it a relaxed type of focus, a resting in awareness while being conscious of not one thing among others, but of everything in that realm of consciousness. Likewise one is aware of emptiness, but an emptiness that has been sort of turned on. By saying ‘turned on’ I wish to describe the dissimilarity between emptiness and nothingness. As in this mode of contemplation, it surely feels as though something, rather than nothing is being contemplated, but once again it is no thing in particular to which this contemplation is aimed. It is easy to fall into a discussion of semantics regarding which words can best be used in describing the realm of the knower, Purusha, and that is not my goal. My goal is to give as many pointers as I can to describe this ultimately indescribable realm. Indescribable because it does not belong to the world of words and thoughts. It is the world in which thoughts emerge, the genderless parent of all things known to man.

[spirosophy-blog]

Coming back to center

Is there any place in the universe that is not central to God?

each point central to itself.

When speaking of our center, what is meant by that? Grounding yourself, 'becoming zen' and finding your middle are all different ways appearing to say the same thing. When we turn our gaze inwards and let slide our thoughts, we should be at our center.

It is a place that is always there, not that it disappears when you are distracted. It can not really be located, such as with coordinates on a map, it's just there. However, you know exactly where it is when you are with it, it is continually noticeable at the moment.

But, who is this 'I' who is with that center, is there any difference between you and that center?

A French philosopher, Merleau-Ponty, speaks of different forms by which we orient ourselves in relation to the world around us.  Certain tribes use an allocentric form of orientation. Objects, places and other entities are signified using universal terms such as 'east' and 'west'. The village might be to the east of a lake, versus being to the right of the person speaking. In Europe, an egocentric form of orientation is common, as such direction is dependent on a personal perspective. Instead of east and west, right and left are used. However, Merleau-Ponty speaks of another form of orientation which seems to hit the heart of what we mean when we say 'our center'.

The propriocentric form of orientation takes place from a certain zero-point as Merleau-Ponty calls it. It is orientation that arises, and is directed, inwardly, to and from that point of orientation itself. As such, when we close our eyes, we know where our arm is located, without having to know if it is to the right or left of another body part. We simply know where it is concerning our self, concerning our own location because our arm is our own location. Thus, our arm is not to our right or our left, it might be to the left of our chest, but not to our self. Our self includes our arm, commonly speaking. Likewise, it is impossible for us to be above, beneath, to the left or to the right of our self. We are always in our own center when looking inwardly from this zero-point. A point seemingly impossible to locate, yet, when viewing ourselves this way, we know exactly where we are with regard to ourselves.

Now you might reply that you are not your arm, which is a valid point. Still, when you view yourself, from the inside in, there is no other way to vocally locate yourself other than by stating that you are centered, in your own center. I say from 'inside-in' because it is impossible to view your inner reality from outside yourself. So, always when regarding yourself, you are looking from inside yourself, where neither right, left, east nor west exist.

In this way, consciousness, which I believe to be who we are, is not locatable, and if it is, it would have to be either everywhere, or nowhere. To itself, it is always in its own center, wherever it is. Be it in man, animal or an extra-terrestrial being, it (consciousness) is always in its own middle, at the same time being the middle of everything. This is why it is important to ask ourselves who is being centered or grounded when we feel this way, or feel the need to be this way. For if we, as conscious beings, are always in our own center, then who is doing the centering? Who is 'becoming zen' in an ocean of 'zen'?

Peering from the center with no name, we perceive the phenomenal world, admiring that selfsame center everywhere...

Namasté

[spirosophy-blog]

Letting go and letting God

'The still flame of pure awareness slowly and securely burns away all of the ego's impurities' - Shunyamurti

The real task is to observe and not react to these impurities. Impurities that come up in the form of thoughts and emotions. In time, they dissipate and vanish though they had never been. Not that every thought is impure, the mind is very useful in day to day life, when it serves the soul.

Reacting to these thoughts and emotions is a way of holding on to them.By observing and not reacting we let go. Letting go is passive, just like when something false when you loosen your grip from something you've been holding. Your hand is relieved of tension and returns back to its natural, resting state. We might think that letting go requires effort, when in fact the opposite is true, even effort must be let go of.

Similarly, your bowels are released from stress when they emit their contents. After this stress purely release and relief remain as gravity does the rest of the work. Unlike with our material droppings, thoughts and emotions need no stress, no pushing to be let go of. Though in the process of letting go one might experience the stress of whatever is being held onto.

In realization, it is noticed that they are and were already free from any emotional or psychological hindrance., there was, in fact, never really any holding on. As pure awareness is always in a state free from any contents, unattached. In realization, whatever is 'held onto' is still experienced, but the experience no longer carries any meaning and therefore, any severity. Your awareness isn't influenced, in realization, you see that your awareness can not be influenced. Though the images reflected on your awareness may change and differ depending on the situation, your awareness itself, being purely and only aware, is changeless. It is non-personal and at the same time it is deeply personal.

It doesn't have a separate identity by which it can be identified.It is universal and in conference with anything it meets, it is completely unbiased.To this neutrality, it owes its purity. It is absolutely impartial and attains to nothing.What a sweet thing. What a lovely, simple and sweet thing.

To be with no judgment, hard feelings, resentment. To be just pure, blissful, unbiased presence. This is the true makeup of every one of us. This is what makes our entire being possible.

Within this omnipresent display, all of our contents occur. Be they beliefs, hopes, intentions, desires, they all happen within the prism of awareness. It is the prima materia to our existence. The metaphysical, a-priori, necessary essence of all experience. It is within this dome, this realm where all of our actions occur and our wishes reside.

Without it there would be no world. Space would be absent of stars. The entire cosmic dance, set forth by the dual wheels of maya, grinding and sparking the earthly drama, wouldn't exist. The universe, completely nihil and barren, would be not the result, but simply the state of things, in lack of this awareness.

So, we may be truly grateful and blessed to find that we are that, nothing more and nothing less, by which is made possible the act of the universe acting within its own receptacle. How deep this awareness goes only you may know.

Good luck on your voyage into the unknown. Traversing the deep realms of conscious awareness within you. Awakening the Truth until divine light permeates from your core, outward and onward in every conceivable direction. Far and wide until not even infinity itself may know its grandiosity, though it may. These secrets and more lay in the wake of your discoveries.

As pioneers of soul and spirit may we uncover the pearls of wisdom sprawled over the floor and sea of our consciousness. Never losing sight of the one holy, luminous light which we are naturally so attracted as it guides us home. Naturally, because it is our natural light, home because it is our home. Our rightful home to which no landlord may lay a claim, lest this lord is the Lord of Light himself. Illuminating the path upwards to Mount Olympus. May we break the chains binding us to the valley of this hill. So we may once again reach that dazzling height of never-ending throb and thrill, in the conscious, loving mind of God at will.

Thank you, my infinite gratitude.

Namasté

[spirosophy-blog]

In Realization, Be it

There is a subtle current under everything. In fact, it is not only under everything. This ‘base’ is always present, it is the core of Being. All else is but a transitory state within it. 

The great Constant is what permits everything and nothing. It is the house without walls, doors or windows. How then is it a house? In the sense that it is the home of everything. It is all-pervading and infinite. 

Outer forms are just the ripples on its surface. Each ripple is in fact not distinct from the Totality. It is only by this totality, that ripples are made possible. But totality is not the right word as it seems to contain something, while what I am writing of is not contained. 

There is nothing to hold it, nothing to bear it except itself. Nothing can be impressed upon it, nothing can leave a mark or a scratch on it. It is the most beautiful idea, though it is itself not an idea. It is that in which ideas emerge. It is the only bearer of that which can be perceived. 

It is our essential nature, there before and after all that springs from it. To meditate is to be with it, in realization Be it. 

In realization Be it. 

[spirosophy-blog]

Why we are blessed to live on earth

Why we are blessed to live on earth

Living on earth as humans gives us a golden opportunity. To make use of this opportunity we must be aware of what it is. Sadly enough, many people are not aware of what makes life on earth so special. It’s not the experiences, the money we earn or the number of friends we have, even though these things give do certainly give us some sense of satisfaction and happiness.

Bhava Chakra

According to the Bhava Chakra, a Buddhist artwork which translates to English as the wheel of life, there are many different realms of existence. There are heavenly realms, hellish realms, and neutral realms. Where one is reincarnated has to do with one’s karma. With a lot of good karma one is bound to be born into a heavenly realm, bad karma leads to being reborn in a more hellish realm. The ultimate goal is to be free from all karma so one is not reincarnated at all, according to the Bhava Chakra earth is the ideal place to rid oneself of the karma of all past lives and this life.

Free from all karma one is unshackled from the bindings of maya, the illusory world, and enters the unchanging world of God, moksha or nirvana. According to the Bhava Chakra, Karma, and thus mayic life is induced and sustained by three poisons, namely ignorance, attraction, and aversion. To not make any new karma and to enter the process of shattering past karma, one must be free of these toxic states. The antidote to all poisons is meditation and virtuous living. In meditation, the mind is made one-pointed, free from the desires and attachments which lead to new karma. Living virtuously turns ignorance into awareness and avoids creating bad karma.

Heavenly and hellish realms

Earth then, supposedly offers the greatest motivation for living such a spiritually inspired life. This same motivation would not exist in the heavenly and hellish realms, the extremes of existence. Why? Because of the distractions, these realms contain. Naturally one is more rather reborn into a blissful sphere of being, still here, according to the Bhava Chakra, one is not likely to be spiritually motivated. Withholding this motivation is the plethoric abundance of sense pleasure, other-worldly gratification, and other divine enjoyments. One might believe to live in the highest state, and while these realms are certainly ‘high’ regarding the available pleasure, one there does not live integrated with God-consciousness, lest they are a visiting Buddha.

Likewise the hellish realms contain too much distraction for any practical spiritual desires as they also contain distractions, only now veering to the other side of the pleasure-pain spectrum. Whereas first divine enjoyments were pulling away from your attention, now it’s pitchforks and demons.

Optimal earth

Earth for that matter supposedly contains just the right concoction of the good and the bad for one to garner an earnest desire for something ‘more’. This desire can then trigger a spiritual interest which leads one on the path to enlightenment, that path to one’s Self.

This is why we are blessed to live on earth. But that blessing will be squandered if we don’t develop spiritually. It is not a disaster if someone isn’t spiritually interested I believe, as one is always making spiritual progress whether we like it or not. Life throws us curveballs in order for us to grow and it is our choice in how we deal with these challenges. Yet there seems to be a quick path and a slow path. Earth provides the setting for the longing of the quick path. 

When we regard the pushes of life as growth opportunities leading us to something higher, these pushes become understandable and maybe even bearable. We may see our lives as perfectly planned for the path of salvation.

Thank you.

[spirosophy-blog]

High Hopes

Have you ever believed, in something so beautiful, so magical, that it would almost be impossible for that thing to exist?

Something utterly beyond anything you could ever conceive? Something far beyond your wildest dreams?

Something that shatters your beliefs and desires, for it is greater than all of them?

It is our nature to be Sky Walkers. Inhabitants of the cosmos, dancers between the stars, tuned to the universal chorus of love. Beings of love in its most intricate, expansive, majestic form.

In playful, creative fashion we sprinkle and glitter psychedelic, hallucinogenic particles for the Divine enjoyment of all.

Higher than the highest mountain we rejoice in infinite harmony. Having flown past the known not even a fragment of who were remains. From restricted being, infinite novelty is our new home.

An absolutely free realm is opened up. Gravity has disappeared though it never were. In the expanse drift beings of light, transcendent over earthly drama.

In gold and silver from God's holy body a protective, dazzling garment is spun. A playground for the pure-hearted Self, a garden splayed with, not forbidden, but impossible fruit.

High travels my consciousness, to the razorlike edge of human potential. Abandoning all negativity in the realization of its unbelonging. Viewed in the light it is all God's being.

Do you dare rise with me? To that infinity? Do you dare to claim your rightful throne in the magnum opus of everything?

[spirosophy-blog]

On Inspiration, a letter to the Divine.

Where does inspiration come from, if not from the depth of the soul? That deep, driving force of natural intuition and connection with the Source. It spirals upward to be illumined by consciousness. Though it never exited, it enters the world as dynamic novelty, perfuming its scent onto the canvas of physical reality.

It streams with the river of endless creativity, never at a loss regardless of how many times it has been tapped into. The marvel of creation salutes in utmost gratitude the Divine origin that not only has allowed its being but is not different from that origin itself. Masquerading in the veils of Its magnificence it projects an infinite reflection. In awe, I look on as the infinite now presents itself in a myriad of holographic light screens simultaneously beaming onto, and from my organ of perception.

I am the center of my world as the world is my center. From the vantage point of the empty witness, I transcend my individuality. I transcend the gross multitude of thought forms that hold me in bounded constraint. Traversing the clear skies of the luminous Self, free from burdens of the past and future illusions, I drift and float aloof in starry heavens. As I heed the beckoning of the soul to realize union with the ultimate, I calm the current of the mind, slowing it down to a near halt. Drained from protrusive thinking I drown in peaceful, black nothingness, if even for moments.

Sudden salvation, awaken me from this dream for I have slept too long. Let me arise by Thy side never to slumber again. Never to tread the coded, encrypted veils of Maya again. Let my spiritual sight be freed from the fog which it now attempts to pierce with such diligence and ferocity. 

May my being taste the Truth of pure freedom in lucid daylight, releasing me from the shackles of bound existence. I crave the touch of your wisdom, of your holy hand guiding me by this deep fountain of intuition I find within myself. By divine light may you set ablaze all that is unpure, all that is unworthy of your holy love, so that these impurities may find a new form. A form in which they provide service to a higher goal, namely that goal of just, unobtrusive Divine will. 

Let these impurities rise from the ashes if ashes must fall, be born again like a phoenix in excellent vibrancy, radiating in love, harmony, and peace. May the human feathers on Thine holy body rest in comfortable synchronicity by the perfect geometry of your follicles. As ink flows through a pen, may these feathers be filled with your essence. 

I loving anticipation, I await Thee. 

[spirosophy-blog]

A Sense of Identity

What do you identify with? Is it your country? Your favorite football team? Everybody tends to identify with something, if not on the conscious level then surely on the subconscious level. Where does this longing for identification come from? Why do we so desperately seek to be part of a certain group or organization? It is my belief that this longing comes from a deep desire for connection and that at the deepest level, we are already connected. How is it then that we must still forge commonalities under things such as flag banners and team logos? This is because it is the ego's belief that we are disconnected, and thus some superficial form of familiarity must be created to satisfy this deep knowledge of being One already.

If there is one thing the ego hates it’s the feeling of being alone. The feeling of being disconnected from the humdrum of the world. When taken to be separate from everything, and actually experiencing that separation, the ego might start to hurt. It’s that feeling of missing out, of not being part of whatever the ego thinks it must be part of. When backpacking Indonesia I slept in a hostel on a little island off the south coast of Bali where not many tourists visited. I was sick during that time and didn’t have much energy to be up and about in my sightseeing and explorative goals. While I lay in bed, which to my dismay was covered in sand from the moment I walked into the room, I started feeling quite sad. I was there all by myself on an island that was rather quiet and lonesome to begin with. Laying there feeling sick, lonely and sorry for myself, a pang of intuition hit me.

I asked myself ‘why am I feeling this way? Do I have any real reason to feel this bad for myself?’ I asked ‘Is my body ok?’ ‘Well… yeah, apart from the sickness nothing is broken’ ‘Is this going to be my situation forever?’ ‘No..’ ‘Do I have food and water to pull myself through’ ‘Yeah!’ It seemed I had no real reason to lament my time. So what was up? Why was I feeling so bad? And then it hit me. Somewhere in my mind, I had this image of what people were supposed to be doing when traveling. Visiting sunny beaches with transparent crystal blue water, making amazing connections with open, adventurous people, eating exotic, food after a swim with said people. Back to reality: I was doing none of that laying in my itchy, sandy bed off the coast of Bali, but, I was ok. As I realized nothing was wrong with my mind, my body and my emotions (aside from being ill) I started feeling better, acceptance for the moment grew and at some point, I even started to appreciate my little sandy abode.

There are stories of sadhus and swamis who never even leave their homes. Teaching from their living room their entire lives. When one has realized the infinite connection with the supreme source why would there be any reason to move! However, that day in Indonesia I did feel disconnected, and we all feel this way sometimes, yet, it’s good to know that we are never really disconnected, as we are connected to the Self, and the Self is all there is. The ego finds assurance and stability in being part of a group, not knowing that all it is connected to in these groups are other egos that are just as much in want of this feeling. However, real assurance isn’t found in petty groupings and avoidance of FOMO, it is found in Rendez-Vous with the soul. Thich can happen both individually and through others. The common ideas which we use for identification bind and separate us. Religion, gender, and race to name a few, only serve to cast another veil over the truth of our reality, all the while aligning us with something only carrying only the disguise of being a human binding agent. As we see today with shootings and protests, most forms of identification bring people apart just as much, or maybe even more than they bring people together.

One can agree or disagree with the ideas and beliefs of certain groups, but when one believes to be inseparable from said group, as if the Soul then suddenly contains the mark ‘Christian’, ‘Vegan’ or ‘Trumpian’ is something worrisome. Such a divide is unjustly, even unrealistically made. The ego instantiates a false gap which can only be traced back to the mind, and has nothing to do with the body, let alone the Soul. Still, this seems to be the norm for many nowadays. Groups of ego-driven minds running around with false conceptions of who they are while disaffirming and disrespecting those conceptions of whom they believe not to be. I’m not saying I’m not biased myself, but it is important to at least recognize that we all have the potential for this egotistical group forming. There is a need to discover what we really think and believe. See how we are disconnecting from others and learn how to connect. True connection doesn’t take place when you eat the same kind of food as another person or enjoy the same brand of beer. True connection happens when you recognize yourself in the face of another. This recognition goes beyond nationality, gender, race or favorite shampoo brands, it is met where souls intersect. This connection is permanent, real, safe and stable because it does not depend on one liking the same tv shows as another, or going to the same gym. It depends on how much one is willing and daring to near their own Self, a Self that is free from all identification and pure in its being. The closer you are to your Self the more you will be able to make contact with the core of others. When this is realized all that remains is love. How deeply you love yourself is the measure of how deeply you can love another.

In the end, isn’t this what we are all looking for when meeting with other people? A sense of connection, a sense of familiarity, of safety, allowing things to simply be good! When ‘me too!’ is felt at the Soul level it becomes unnecessary to say those words. It is clear, it is felt and it is known that we are all that One ray of magnificence, illuminating the world around us, sparking Divine love through the soul's recognition of being One with all that is. Let us abandon the little houses we’ve made up, and take refuge in the boundless mansion that is God, where there is no difference, no weirdness, and no identification, lest with that which cannot be identified. Let us rise up past our physical dimensions, transcend all ideas and conceptions of identity and journey into that endless expanse of wisdom and joy. Let us retake our position as Creators, but this time of a new reality, a world of inclusiveness, of togetherness, of Oneness. A world in which everyone may feel at home, welcome, at peace. We hold both the key and the door to this world within ourselves, the only question is, are we daring enough to open it?

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The Urgent Meaning and Purpose of Reconnecting with the Self.

A Miserly Trade

We have forsaken our spiritual connection for the worship of false idols; money, status, power, ego-driven actions, extortion, rape of resources. When life is devoid of meaning and purpose the unrighteous becomes righteous, the unlawful becomes lawful and what is immoral becomes moral. This is the world we live in. And it is no wonder, for when there is no ultimate meaning, everything is allowed nothing isn’t permitted. Instead of temples and churches built in reverence of the Gods, we see banners and billboards sporting advertisements of the newest soda flavors. Instead of revering the gods and living in close-knit communion we have isolated ourselves while revering our personal future. Rather than work for peace and prosperity, we work for personal gain and expansion. We are trading what is valuable for what has no value at all, because what is valuable is sustainable, and our actions now are not sustainable.

The Capitalist Wheel and Egoic Drive

The capitalist wheel and the egoic drive of filling lack are forces that will never be satisfied, the wheel must keep on turning and the drive must continue driving. It is in this illusory state that we believe egoic action will grant everlasting happiness or a feeling of permanent success, but it is a false belief. This is because the wheel finds existence in its motion, if this motion stops, the wheel will collapse, there is no other goal to be reached other than the continuation of its movement and it would be naïve to say this movement is always happy. As for the ego, it operates from a limited space, and therefore can never be permanently fulfilled. The limited space might be filled for some time with feelings of euphoria, happiness, satisfaction, though these feelings are never sustained permanently. There is a leakage in the limited space from which the ego operates, the only way to permanently fill this space is by flooding it with the infinite energy of the divine. There is no lack of infinite energy, it is infinitely abundant and thus, only by breaking all limits and connecting with infinity we find true permanent satisfaction. This source of divine energy is something we can always connect with as it is an omnipresent force.

What Desires Attention and Care

Should we go back then, to building churches and spending our hours in the worship of externalized Gods? No, we only need to realize that we are of the God energy ourselves and through this realization figure out a way to connect with that inner divinity. That inner divinity which gives our lives purpose and meaning beyond all conception. Purpose and meaning felt at the core of our hearts, in the center of our being. We should not be afraid to venture into this realm of potent, meaningful inner feelings, for they show us what we have so long been seeking, they reveal to us what is truly in need of care and attention in our lives. Here I speak mainly of feelings of love, feelings that are immediately accompanied by a sense of importance and urgency. In this age we have learned to shy away from these feelings, we have been taught to shy away from our sensitive soul that empathizes with everything happening on this planet. In doing so we view the world from a separated vantage point and distance ourselves from events that now more than ever deserve our attention and compassion. It is time to bring ourselves back into the world, by bringing ourselves back to the Self. By reconnecting with our essence, our nature, which is common to all and special to none.  

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The Creative Process of Meditation

Meditation? Creativity? What???

To people who do not meditate regularly, meditation might seem like a very boring process where there’s really not much going on. It’s obvious that it can be viewed this way because all you see is someone sitting cross legged with their eyes closed! There is almost no greater signifier of dullness than sitting while seemingly doing nothing. To call meditation creative would be even more absurd, however, I find meditation to be one of the most creative processes out there. Allow me to explain.

Inner and Outer Worlds

Let us first call upon a distinction, that between the outer and the inner world. The outer world is full of art, ranging from paintings to architecture, to music and video games. It is the art that is visible with the naked eye, or audible with the open ear. Even the world of nature can be called a work of art, maybe even the most beautiful piece of them all. Still, all of this art derives from one place and one place alone, and that is the inner world.

Meditation is the door to that inner world, and your awareness is the key. When does meditation become a creative process? This happens as soon as we allow ourselves to tap into the deep well of creative energy that lays within our system. In order to reach this place, it is imperative that the mind reaches a state of tranquillity. This can only be done through thorough and repeated practice. When the body is still and the mind is calm, a subtle, pranic flow can be perceived by the mind’s eye. It is in becoming aware of this pranic force that we begin to see the extent of influence we have over our emotions and the flow of life energy within our bodies. We witness how our mind, heart, emotions and energy are all connected. The connecting force is our awareness.

Origin of Creativity

It is my belief that our creativity originates from this pranic flow. As we hold a brush or a chisel, we direct this flow from the core of our being into our emotions, our emotions then flow into our physical body, and the physical body, in turn, translates this energy into a smidge on the canvas, a chip off a boulder. So, when we tap into our pranic force, we enter the source of our creativity. It is that place from which the unmanifest becomes manifest, or stays in its unmanifested position. I call this point of origin unmanifest because in its original state it is nothing other than pure energy in its most raw and elemental form, it does not have a properly assigned status such as other objects we see in the external world. It is not easy to assign to it a predicate such as ‘painting’ or ‘statue’, in its basic form it is formless, shapeless, it can be experienced, witnessed, but not labeled. It is that which labels, that which assigns properties. Only in this way it is able to create and make manifest the plethora of art and creations we see in the world around us.

Infinite vs. Finite Creativity

What is manifest does not possess the same creative power as that which is unmanifest. This is because what is manifest creates from a limited source whereas creations from the unmanifest originate from an unlimited position. Think of an artificial intelligence that is set to create a piece of art, its every possible creation is contained within the set of formulae and rules by which it has been programmed. Therefore, it might be able to create an unfathomable number of artistic objects, its creations will not be infinite. As these creations will still be dependent on limited formulae operating within a closed system. Even if the AI were to create from impulses it receives from things outside of itself, its interpretation of these impulses will be governed by the limited system from which it operates. The unmanifest source of pranic energy is not bound by the limitations of a system, as it is in a state of non-creation. This is not to say that it does not exist. It exists as the potential for creation. This potential is infinite in its unmanifested form. Still, the means by which this energy actualizes itself might be limited. By means I mean here the vent through which this energy moves, which is the emotions and the physical body. But, this does not imply that what this energy can output is limited. The operation can be likened to that of a funnel where the input (pranic force) can be grand, the output (manifestation) can be minute.

Meditation is creative in that it offers a space in which we are allowed to play around with this pranic energy. As with every creation we intend to create something aesthetically, likewise, during meditation, we want to create beautiful energy. Emotions serve as a feedback system, notifying us of what feels right energetically and what doesn’t. It is really a process of sensing and then flowing with the energy we have inside us. The more we flow, the better we feel, and the more our emotions tell us that we are creating a beautiful energy. During creative meditation, we are creating artwork of our life energies. This art becomes all the more aesthetic the more coherence is brought into the system. Our inner world is coherent when the physical, mental, emotional and energetic parts of our being are balanced. In this coherence, pranic pathways are opened up as our nadis are connected with one another. According to the Vedic system pranic energy flows through the nadis which connect the subtle, energetic body.

Artistic Engineering

Sadhguru mentions the term inner engineering, when we focus our attention inward, we transform into an engineer. An engineer that uses the tool of awareness to fine-tune all that is perceptible in the inner world, physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically. As with any project, an engineer never reaches his goal perfectly in a straightforward manner. He must play around and experiment through trial and error. Figure out what works and what doesn’t. In meditation, we tune our inner instrument by playing it, and if anything, this is a creative process.

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Is Life a Game? Implications.

Normally, we would rank games as things we play on the dinner table, like Monopoly, or on computers and consoles such as Playstation and Xbox. However, there are more games to be found, think of political, relationship and corporate games. Under a broad definition, everything we do can be labeled as a game. What is a game? What implications are implied when we regard our lives as a game? 

Winning and Losing

First of all, the whole purpose of a game is missed when we play it just to win and not to lose. The value of playing a game should equal the amount of sheer enjoyment we receive from it. When we see life as only being about two outcomes, success and failure, we miss the whole point of it, for success and failure are both short-lived. It is only when we play the game for the pure sake of playing, that endless joy can be made possible. Wins come as pleasant side-effects and losses aren’t taken all too seriously or tarried upon all too long when a birds-eye view of life is maintained.

Too many of us care only about winning; getting that promotion, reaching a sales target, having a million on the bank. Too many of us care only about not losing and thus we; avoid rejection, miss out on chances, isolate ourselves. Now don’t get me wrong, wanting to win is great motivation, but without a bigger picture in sight, this singular goal will lead to tunnel-vision and the disillusionment of our lives. This is because no win is permanent, there is no achievement in this world which will grant us everlasting fulfillment. The pleasantries of one success might last longer than those of the other, but ultimately they all burn up.

Higher Understanding

Every game starts with this premise of winning, otherwise, there would be little reason to start playing. Though it is so much for fun to reach any win knowing you are playing a game. This knowledge creates a level above the game itself thus acquiring it should supersede the single goal of winning. There is the game, and there is knowledge of the game being played.

Without this knowledge things suddenly start to matter and become important, it is no longer about the fun of playing, but life starts to revolve only around winning. From a vantage point, it is possible to look down at yourself and have a laugh at your embarrassments and mistakes, learn new lessons, and grow.

We trap ourselves once we forget about the game being played, like being trapped in a virtual world without knowing it’s not real. We wouldn’t carelessly fall down, make mistakes, hit game over, replay and improve. We would do anything to not hit game over and so the game becomes a very serious affair. Instead of being fun the game turns into a survival simulator where we experience all manner of fear and exhaust the world’s resources in order to sustain ourselves. With game-over I imply rejection, setbacks and ‘failures’. For advice on the Big Game Over let’s turn to a summary of a section of the Bhagavad Gita.

In the Bhagavad Gita, an Indian epic on spirituality, Arjuna is unable to fulfill his commandment ordained by Krishna to kill part of his family during the war. The compassion Arjuna feels for his family members is too great, it restricts him from carrying out the duty placed upon him by Krishna.  Krishna tells him how he is mistaken in his feelings of empathy, the soul is imperishable he says, when death is ordained by the Gods there is no reason to fret over the release of the physical body. The soul cannot be destroyed, it is only the physical body that perishes. Krishna tells Arjuna how his family members will be reincarnated into positions of material wealth on the earthly plains or reincarnated in the heavenly bodies. A reincarnation made possible by their deaths. Their death is but a strand in the Divine tapestry of karma, this is what Krishna, symbolic of the Divine, is trying to show the young warrior Arjuna.

The Release of Fear

When even death isn’t real, there is nothing to fear. We needn’t fear pain and suffering, as Epicurus says, ‘ in nature, illness, and pain is not suffered for very long, for pain and suffering is either "brief or chronic ... either mild or intense, but discomfort that is both chronic and intense is very unusual; so there is no need to be concerned about the prospect of suffering." FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real. In most cases this is true. Only when we divide our lives in the dichotomy of Success and Failure, and we lose sight that it’s a game, fear will never be completely absent.

Impermanence

When we see life as a game it is no longer about winning and losing, both these are absorbed into a bigger whole. If we play Monopoly, fully conscious of the fact that it is a game (which can be damn hard!), minor/major losses or minor/major wins shouldn’t excessively frustrate or satisfy us, not one score or winner/loser is permanent anyways. When the game is over, satisfaction or frustration lingers for a moment until it dissipates. Buddhist monks are taught to be aware of the process of arising and passing underlying all things in nature. It is called the law of Impermanence and can be applied to the entire range of human emotion we experience, happiness turns to sadness and sadness turns into happiness. By being aware of this, we free ourselves from getting emotionally stuck and allow these emotions (energy in motion) to flow more freely.

Freedom

In a game we live more freely, we are less concerned with the consequences of our actions and so tend to be more brash and reckless. This is not to say that we should not care about what follows from what we do. We should always be mindful of our actions, however knowing that nothing is permanent, we are stripped from worry and fear of permanent failure. The fly dies within one day, in this day it experiences everything it can, from flight to sex to eating droppings. The sad fact is that many flies die on a windowsill, having vibrated all energy out through their wings trying to reach the glorious green world outside. When fear and worry hold us back, our energy and life force are sapped until one day we fall over with regret of not having been able to soar freely over lush green meadows with cow dung, a fly’s true desire. Yet ultimately, this is not a complete disaster as the cycle of birth and death continues, and if we build up enough power we can relinquish ourselves of any sense of regret.

Flow

Now we all know a game is the most fun when we are fully engrossed in it, this can be called a state of flow, and we can enter it regardless of our focus being on this world or a virtual world. Once in this state, our mind is occupied with neither present nor future, negating thoughts of the outcome of our actions. When we are fully in the moment, we play the game in the best way possible, here it does not matter whether we are playing a game or not, our thoughts dissolve and with that so does our ego. 

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Who am I?

I have frequently asked myself this question, never really knowing how to answer it. The closest I get is by identifying myself with a feeling, a sensation of ‘me-ness.’ During meditation, the same question arose, only now in a different way, leading me to gain a whole new conception of what I might be and what I might not be.

I didn’t ask myself who I was, but I asked, ‘when can I call something me?’. When does something belong to me, when is something a part of me? I realized almost immediately that everything by which I have gained my sense of identity came from my senses. As Scottish philosopher David Hume says, ideas are copies of sense-data. Meaning that we can only have an idea of something we have experienced through the senses. So, my whole idea of I had to have come from experience given by my senses. Having come through memories, feelings, perceptions in this moment of my environment, of my body, my thoughts. The only manner by which I have ever been able to fathom the idea of ‘I’ of ‘me’ has been through experience. In this sense, I was everything. However, I could also retain the sensation of me-ness by stripping away attributes.

So I thought, would I be myself without my fingers? My hand? My arm? My body? Am I still myself without perception? I came to see that I could think of no single thing which really made me, me… I had lived my whole life having had a strong conception of what ‘I’ meant without ever really knowing its true meaning. Now, this sensation slowly started fading away. Was I everything? Or was I nothing? Is there even an ‘I’ to begin with? The question still lingers to this moment, what I do know is that I fundamentally have no idea of what ‘I’ truly means.

Often times we go through life full-heartedly believing that we know something. Be it who we truly are, the proper direction for politics, or what the best brand of diapers is. It makes sense that we do so otherwise we would have to doubt every step moving forward. There is not enough time for us to research every little thing in utmost detail lest we want to lead what people would call a normal life. However, we can be wrong in believing in something, or we might discover we never really knew what we believed in the first place, but, realizing either of these outcomes has its payoff.

The Greek philosopher Socrates was famous for leading people into a state of aporia; an irresolvable internal contradiction or logical disjunction in a text, argument, or theory. He was a master in leading people’s beliefs into contradictions. In this manner, he traveled the country and state confusing people, under the accusation of both this and deteriorating the youth he was sentenced to death. You might think justly so, yet Socrates’ method had its function. By being brought into a state of confusion concerning our belief systems, we are excited to seek farther, to delve deeper into confines of knowledge, and to hopefully find truth.

I feel I have myself come to such a point of confusion. If I am everything, and everything is I, then it is hard to say what I really is, as a definition does not really give any meaning by being defined by itself. Try defining the term definition without any examples.. If everything falls under I, the term ‘I’ really loses any meaning. So what if ‘I’ is nothing then? Well, nothing does not really have any meaning, it is nothing. So who am I? I don’t know. Who are you?

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The Importance of Imagining a Bright Future

With all the craze in the media nowadays about wars, shootings and inter-personal issues like discrimination it is now more than ever important to maintain a bright outlook towards the future. Yet, this is difficult when there are so many negative influences surrounding us. What is your future perspective? This is a very important question to ask because you are a part of the collective current driving everything forward. 

As we have covered in the power of collective imagination; our thoughts shape our reality. Proof for this lies in all major movements of the past, from politics to religion and all other ideologies. Our idea of a nation, mode of government, social norms are responsible for the architecture we see in buildings, the roads we drive on, and our social behavior. Difference of opinion has created wars, unified belief has created churches and through a sense of adventure, we’ve created maps. 

We are continuously forming and shaping the world through the content of our minds. However clear this may be, it seems we (myself included) are apt in forgetting this. Driven by external influences we believe that we are at the hand of what is happening around us while in fact, we are collectively behind the wheel man-made worldly events. Once we know this, we need to ask ourselves where we steer the vehicle of humanity. 

As it stands many people do not have an all too optimistic vision of what's to come. Even though famine, poverty, and illness are at an all-time low, we have issues to face like climate change, interpersonal struggles concerning matters like gender and political correctness, national attacks of the political, religious and terrorist variety to name a few. There is a lot that is brewing under the bridge. A brew that might erupt in a very damaging manner if we do not treat it with cautious attention. 

Now, being aware of the corrupted elements in the modern world is important, dealing with this awareness is more important, how we deal is vital if we are to construct a future that is bright and respects everyone's chances in life fairly. To be worrisome and fearful of the state of the world does not seem like the right approach, to outright predict a horrendous outcome should be out of the question. To say we have no power over what awaits us means to submit ourselves willingly to the tides of the world. Tides we are all an essential part of..

Your opinion matters, your wishes matter, your vision matters. It is of grave importance. So let’s ask one more time. How do you see the future? Is it filled with opportunity, freedom, and purpose? Or do you forespell the downfall of the world as it is? As the great philosopher David Hume has shown there is no reasonable explanation for events to be causal. In other words, there is no valid explanation for one thing to necessarily follow another. A new-born baby could not deduce the direction of one biljard ball following the movement of another at collision. It is just custom and habit based on experience which guides our expectations. Without causal necessity, there is no reason for us to deduce a necessarily negative outcome resulting from the problems we now face.

Even our thoughts will not necessarily create or make impossible a positive future. Nevertheless, the past has taught us that our views do have an influence on the world outside, regardless of if this influence was indeed necessary. And as the form of future happenings are, as of yet, unknown, wouldn't it be wise to place our bets on an outcome most prosperous, the outcome which, to us, will serve humanity as best it can?

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Excerpt

This foundation is shapeless, formless and nameless, but it certainly exists. It is our energetic nature. This nature can be directed towards hatred or love, negativity or positivity to name two extremes, negative including all varying levels in between. We can be in control of this nature, or it can be that our nature is being controlled. We as energetic selves are shapeshifters, constantly changing. It is this part of ourselves which must be tuned, in order to create a coherent and vibrant melody. If the tuning is right then the string when strung will always deliver the correct pitch, so it is with our inner tuning. Mind that the player of the instrument also plays an important role, as the instrument might be tuned properly, yet the musician might play in a disorderly fashion, making it so that the final ensemble still reaches an anticlimactic finish. This is where the supple mind comes in. Supple means free, loose, easily able to adapt well to new circumstances and environments. In accord with the energetic self, we witness musician and instrument in harmony, the two flow into each other, merging into one.

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On a recent insight...

There is much to be learned from those times where life goes at a slow pace, seems empty, and motivation is hard to find. It is as if swimming in the dark, you have no sense of direction and as you are submerged in water, what you are trying to do is stay afloat. There is a lesson waiting to be learned, but you are not aware of this yet. There is a reason as to why you feel you are not making any progress, but it escapes you. The more you struggle in the water the deeper the dull pain becomes, but also the more nigh the light is. As soon as the first figments of illumination appear you feel drawn to it, there it is, your way out. These figments can only be noticed if you are aware, if you are wanting to get out of your uncomfortable position. The moment you reach the light you must be strong enough to acknowledge it, and this can be tough, as this light is new, and it reveals that there was something wrong with your previous behavior, there was something needing change. The moment you accept the light and allow that realization in an absolute manner, without any hesitation or uncertainty, is the moment change occurs. It is as if a glass breaks beyond repair, and there is no other option than to discard of the dislocated shards. There is no other option than to discard that of which you have realized no longer serves you, if it ever did.  It might have even served you only in revealing that it never served you, so that in the future you will be more cautious and more aware of how you shape your mentality towards life. The breaking of the glass is the initial moment that propels you towards radical change, something is now there that wasn’t there before. And it is this realization which will fuel and motivate you in grinding the better alternative. So it is always that we are not aware of things that we could be aware of, of which the awareness/realization of it leads to better, more informed decision-making, and this is absolutely alright. Because one realization leads to the next and so forth, but it is certainly something to realize that there is always something to realize, that there is always some better way of seeing things waiting for us to discover, and we will likely discover it if we remain aware, cautious and open to this learning experience.

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Being your own Guru

There are many gurus out there. And many of them are fake, fake in that their purpose is not to guide people, but to be seen as an important figure with high status and attain great material wealth. This will not be a post spurring anyone to be cautious of whom they follow, but rather a post revealing there is only can be one true teacher out there, and that is you!

This stark realization only really hit me when I was meditating and noticed that I can be the only one who truly knows what I need. There is no other person out there with such a close vantage point to you, other than you. Now the trick is finding the willingness to look at yourself without compromise, daring to stare right into the good and the bad of what makes you you, habits, personality, strengths, weaknesses, values etc.. Say you want to develop a more productive lifestyle, you know exactly when you feel you’re being unproductive and when you feel you’re being the opposite. In an ideal world, we could make the changes we want immediately and permanently, changing our lives for the better on a daily basis, but this sadly isn’t always how things work. Yet, there must be a first step, and it starts with an honest, uncompromising look in the mirror. 

How to proceed from there? Come on inner guru! Give me some knowledge. The second step is building trust in our intuition, learning to become more confident in our self-diagnosis. Without this, we might be gaining multiple valuable insights into how we should be living life, yet never render them useful in practice because we don’t trust our gut. The second these insights arrive is the second they perish if we haven’t acquired enough trust in ourselves and our own judgment.  How to go upon building trust and confidence in your own assessments? By acting upon them, proving to yourself that you were right, and not giving up on this process, even if at times you miss the swing, because eventually, not only will you start receiving more insights, but they will become stronger, more clear, and your power of correct discernment will lead you with an ever greater conviction. 

This is the truth of being your own guru. Being centered in your conviction, listening with an open heart and open mind to what the soul speaks, and using these words of wisdom by putting them into practice.  

[spirosophy-blog]

The Earth-Organism

At the dawn of life on earth, single-celled organisms emerged from a hot,  swamp-like broth that served as a fertile melting pot for the first living earthly creatures. These creatures, themselves comprised of many different parts, started splitting, forming and organizing, growing into bigger structures, each time with greater variety and complexity. These cells, having a mind of their own made decisions, however premature and primordial these decisions might have been, to swim in certain directions, eat certain nutrients, and avoid predators. Over time single cells turned into organs and these organs evolved into organisms, soon the world was one of life, life in all forms, sorts, and manners.  

To this day every living organism is comprised of cells, each living their own individual life while being part of the collective life of the organism in which it resides. The individual decisions always affecting the collective as a whole. Our consciousness is that of the cells consciousness, albeit, that the consciousness of the collective appears to be, obviously, grander than that of the individual. The consciousness of the collective is the complete sum of the consciousness of its smaller units, yet, the collective is not completely aware of the consciousness of its smaller parts. This is because the collective is to make choices on the grand scale, choices of more general relevance to the collective with regard to its inner and outer environment. It cannot occupy itself with the consciousness of all of its smaller units, many of these occupations must occur without the collectives presence in awareness, so that the collective may focus on the grand and the general. The collective is not aware of each individual, as each individual is not aware of the collective, there might be a vague conception of one to the other, but never a complete awareness.

There is a great variety in the number of dichotomies between individuals, and to which collectives these individuals belong. There are cells and organs, organs and organisms, wolves and packs, sheep and herds, humans and society. Each time it is the individual, who operates within a collective, of which the individual choices never do not affect the state of the collective. As humans, we form the cells that form the political organ and/or the societal organ. Within the class of humans, there are many classes and subclasses, movements and groupings, each a different organ with functions of its own and of which the organism is comprised of the society to which these individuals belong. But what is the greatest earthly organism? Is there an organism to which all life belongs? If any this would be the earth itself. 

Just as the cells in our body will not have a clear conception of us as a collective, so we as individuals have no clear conception of the earth as an organism. We can recognize other singular units of life, such as our neighbor, animals, different species, we can study the units these individuals are comprised of and behold their cells, yet we have a much harder time fathoming that we are ourselves part of a larger organism. The relationship between the individual and the collective is reciprocal, whatever happens on the collective scale influences and affects the individuals that are part of this collective, we see this when we hit our arm and it starts bruising. Then there is this same influence of the individual towards the collective when for example certain cells in our bodies malfunction (with regard to the collective), and start duplicating at relatively stunning rates and eventually reach the size of a tumor. 

Today we are seeing how the earthly organism is being affected by the choices of individuals that are part of this organism. The earth, our safe haven of life, naturally giving and receiving in abundance, is being set off balance by individuals that seem to have no conception of being part of a collective, not on a societal level nor on a planetary/universal level. Just as a cancer cell would stop its treacherous behavior, if it could, under the clear realization of being a damaging element to the organization that gives it life, so would we as individuals change our ways once we see with absolute clarity that our actions are detrimental to that which ensures, as best it can, our survival. Unlike many cells/individuals, humans have the capacity to sharpen what is vague, to brighten what is dim, let us use this disposition to see, understand and thereby benefit as best we can that which we are all part of; The earth as the living body, lively collective, and thriving organism to which we all belong.