We are in the Mind of God, Dreaming of Exile

"All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the One Mind (consciousness), besides which nothing exists." -Huang Po

The part of you that thinks you are separate from God and everyone else is the ego-self. But that belief is false, and so the ego-self is an illusion. Underneath the ego-self, deep in the psyche, is our true identity. Carl Jung called it the 'archetype of the Self'.

Mysticism is about gradually moving your sense of identity from the ego-self, which you think you are, to the archetype of the Self, which we all are. That's why altered states of consciousness are a vital part of mysticism. Meditation is a common method of achieving altered states. They enable you to transcend the ego-self and identify with your deeper, transcendent Self. From there, the illusory nature of the ego-self can be seen and conquered.

We are One. Individuality is like a cosmic game of hide-and-seek that God is playing with us. It's like a cosmic theatre, and after the show we will all remove our masks and find that there was only one actor all along.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts

Originally posted by BlueMule
"All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the One Mind (consciousness), besides which nothing exists." -Huang Po

The part of you that thinks you are separate from God and everyone else is the ego-self. But that belief is false, and so the ego-self is an illusion. Underneath the ego-self, deep in the psyche, is our true identity. Carl Jung called it the 'archetype of the Self'.

Mysticism is about gradually moving your sense of identity from the ego-self, which you think you are, to the archetype of the Self, which we all are. That's why altered states of consciousness are a vital part of mysticism. Meditation is a common method of achieving altered states. They enable you to transcend the ego-self and identify with your deeper, transcendent Self. From there, the illusory nature of the ego-self can be seen and conquered.

We are One. Individuality is like a cosmic game of hide-and-seek that God is playing with us. It's like a cosmic theatre, and after the show we will all remove our masks and find that there was only one actor all along.

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts

edit on 30-6-2012 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

We are not one. The world is a world. Men and women are men and women. How are we one when we aren't?

I disagree but very poetic post nonetheless.

reply to post by BlueMule


I see you paraphrased Alan Watts there, from this in particular.

I happen to agree with just about all he says, but his view on ego is not the same as you describe it. He says the more we try to deny it the more power we give it. Something along those lines.

Thats the whole Namaste thing, the god in me bows to the god in you and all that.

There is a philosophy from India that says we are all god experiencing what its like to be us.


Alan Watts Book the taboo against knowing who you are covers this topic, found it interesting.

reply to post by BlueMule


I always appreciate your take on things Blue. Don't you wish you could just take all the research, studies and knowledge you have acquired along the way and download it into the minds of friends, and then converse from there?

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope

We are not one. The world is a world. Men and women are men and women. How are we one when we aren't?

I disagree but very poetic post nonetheless.

Thank you friend and bless you, I appreciate your perspective. It has its place in the scheme of things and I honor it. Even though I would encourage you to transcend it.

"In itself, the insight is not new. The earliest records, to my knowledge, date back some 2500 years or more... the recognition ATMAN = BRAHMAN (the personal self equals the omnipresent, all-comprehending eternal self) was in Indian thought considered, far from being blasphemous, to represent the quintessence of deepest insight into the happenings of the world. The striving of all the scholars of Vedanta was after having learnt to pronounce with their lips, really assimilate in their minds this grandest of all thoughts.

Again, the mystics of many centuries, independently, yet in perfect harmony with each other (somewhat like the particles in an ideal gas) have described, each of them, the unique experience of his or her life in terms that can be condensed in the phrase: DEUS FACTUS SUM (I have become God).

To Western ideology, the thought has remained a stranger... in spite of those true lovers who, as they look into each other's eyes, become aware that their thought and their joy are numerically one, not merely similar or identical..." -Erwin Schrödinger

"The I That Is God" as translated in Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's Great Physicists (1984) edited by Ken Wilber

Originally posted by AdamsMurmur

I happen to agree with just about all he says, but his view on ego is not the same as you describe it. He says the more we try to deny it the more power we give it. Something along those lines.

I do like Alan Watts, but Jung and Campbell have been a greater influence on me.

The ego-self is tricky and we can get caught in a rut. To someone caught in a rut I would advise seeking out a shaman and undergoing ego-death and/or soul-retrieval. An ego that has been killed and reborn is much more in accord with the Self from then on.

The reason that people fight against this is because no one wants to lose their individuality. And if God truly was alone when he/she split him/herself, why would he/she want to awaken, only to find that he/she is completely alone? A sad tale, really.

Originally posted by windword
reply to post by BlueMule

 

I always appreciate your take on things Blue. Don't you wish you could just take all the research, studies and knowledge you have acquired along the way and download it into the minds of friends, and then converse from there?

Thanks for your kind words! Yes I do indeed wish that, I don't like using words. Too clumsy and limited...

Originally posted by MrUncreated
The reason that people fight against this is because no one wants to lose their individuality. And if God truly was alone when he/she split him/herself, why would he/she want to awaken, only to find that he/she is completely alone? A sad tale, really.

I understand how it might look that way, but it's just your ego-self tricking you.

There is a season for the bliss of separation and new beginnings, and there is a season for the bliss of unity and homecoming. Then, the cycle begins again. Being in accord with the cycle, instead of fighting it, is the greatest bliss of all...

reply to post by BlueMule


Start anew, eh? I think I'd rather cease to exist, than to go through this again. It's no mystery why Satan rebelled.

reply to post by MrUncreated


Having a bad life?

Nice post BlueMule.

My favorite thought - along these lines - is that we don't have individual feelings, like sadness, anger, happiness etc. I like to think there exists a constant flow of human emotions - that have been constant over the ages - kind of like invisible bands spinning around the earth. And we just plug into that and grab a little happiness, or remorse, or envy. Then it's gone. Human laughter has been constant forever. When that wave reaches us, at that particular moment, we tap in and laugh. Or cry. Or get pissed off. Yet none of these emotions are inherently ours, they don't belong to us, they are not a part of us. That's what I get most from Buddhism, and the like, is an attempt to remove ourself from such feelings, all feelings.

Anyway, that's what came to mind reading this thread. Peace.

reply to post by SanAnselmo


Thanks for the interesting contribution! BTW, avocado is yummy.

Originally posted by BlueMule

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope

We are not one. The world is a world. Men and women are men and women. How are we one when we aren't?

I disagree but very poetic post nonetheless.

Thank you friend and bless you, I appreciate your perspective. It has its place in the scheme of things and I honor it. Even though I would encourage you to transcend it.

"In itself, the insight is not new. The earliest records, to my knowledge, date back some 2500 years or more... the recognition ATMAN = BRAHMAN (the personal self equals the omnipresent, all-comprehending eternal self) was in Indian thought considered, far from being blasphemous, to represent the quintessence of deepest insight into the happenings of the world. The striving of all the scholars of Vedanta was after having learnt to pronounce with their lips, really assimilate in their minds this grandest of all thoughts.

Again, the mystics of many centuries, independently, yet in perfect harmony with each other (somewhat like the particles in an ideal gas) have described, each of them, the unique experience of his or her life in terms that can be condensed in the phrase: DEUS FACTUS SUM (I have become God).

To Western ideology, the thought has remained a stranger... in spite of those true lovers who, as they look into each other's eyes, become aware that their thought and their joy are numerically one, not merely similar or identical..." -Erwin Schrödinger

"The I That Is God" as translated in Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World's Great Physicists (1984) edited by Ken Wilber

edit on 30-6-2012 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

I appreciate your kindness. Usually I get tarred and feathered for taking such a negative approach to oneness. Maybe you could explain to me and allow me to hear your reasons for striving for oneness, so that I may see it through your own eyes.

reply to post by BlueMule
Its a great reminder,how easy it is to loose the right view! In someways a touch of madness does wonders when blowing the clouds of the ego. But still the clouds return, oh well never mind!

Originally posted by BlueMule
reply to post by MrUncreated

 

Having a bad life?

Yeah. Actually, I am.

Identity is the primordial requirement of existence, and whatever it is that maintains existence cannot ever lose its identity. You kids with your hatred of your own unique selves and the unique selves of all others that exist are a real tragedy of philosophy versus reality. And this oneness notion is not even a fact that you can actually point to as being evident in any manner whatsoever within the reality that exists beyond the philosophical musings of a handful of men (and their dutiful acolytes).

It certainly isn't evident within your own lives, since here you are posting individually under your avatar identities on this Internet forum. Clearly, you are not all one, or ego-less for that matter. In fact, you kids get all worked up if someone dismisses you and your oneness notion as being inaccurate and even somewhat sophomoric in its simpleminded obliviousness of the overwhelming contradictions inherent in such a severely dated concept - given the more recent realizations concerning physical reality, be it material or informational.

Again, Identity is existential survival, and even if you insist on embracing holon theory as your narrative work-around, you still can't actually eliminate the requirement that if something exists, then it possesses inimitable identity relative to all else that exists. If there is no delineation between "it" and all else, then "it" doesn't actually exist. And if "it" doesn't actually exist, then "it" sure as hell isn't on this board posting about having eliminated "its" own identity through ego-death and enlightenment. That sort of accomplishment is nothing more than succeeding at self-delusion, or - more likely - self-aggrandizement, which suggests that no ego has been harmed in the effort in any way at all.

I generally ignore this idiocy, but it's hotter than sh*t here and I just don't feel like letting you bullies make the other kids feel bad about their "lack of transcendence". Tomorrow I won't give a damn, so whatever.

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope

I appreciate your kindness. Usually I get tarred and feathered for taking such a negative approach to oneness. Maybe you could explain to me and allow me to hear your reasons for striving for oneness, so that I may see it through your own eyes.

Not mine, but the Christ in me.

Unity expresses itself through pairs of opposites. In this case, a positive and a negative approach to oneness. So, I merely transcend the pair in order to acheive unity. In so doing, I can accept them both and honor them both and perceive the hidden harmony that unites them both. Just as the Tao unites yin and yang. It takes both to make the world go around. And God loves the world.

So, I don't hold it against you for taking a negative approach. You are playing your role and I honor you for it. I see the Christ in you, even if you don't see it in yourself, and so I consider you my brother and I accept the Atonement on your behalf, as best I can. Blessings to you.

Originally posted by MrUncreated

Originally posted by BlueMule
reply to post by MrUncreated

 

Having a bad life?

Yeah. Actually, I am.

Sorry to hear that. I believe the Jungian concept of enantiodromia will turn your bad life into its opposite soon. And if not, then your next life will be the opposite, in order to restore balance. I've seen it happen before.

I will pray for you.

'Enantiodromia (Greek: ἐνάντιος, enantios, opposite + δρόμος, dromos, running course) is a principle introduced by psychiatrist Carl Jung that the superabundance of any force inevitably produces its opposite. It is equivalent to the principle of equilibrium in the natural world, in that any extreme is opposed by the system in order to restore balance.'