Insight into the full nature of reality

[Stranger]

We are lapsing back into a planar conception of "self" here, where it is 'one form among many'. It is better to conceive the individual self as a fractal image of the higher, macrocosmic Self. Our sense of individual creative thinking agency gives us the most direct intuition of this higher Self and its nature. All the forces of 'selfishness' we currently harbor are polar opposites which have 'distended' from sublime spiritual forces, i.e. hate/love, greed/charity, anxiety/peace, etc. This distention comes about precisely because the polar forces remain subconscious within us, deeply buried within the layers of our soul-strata, acting as impulses, instincts, passions, etc. without the Light of cognition to illuminate them. That is how the individual self has become so impure and therefore alienated from its true nature as an image of the Divine.

To ascend perpendicular with our thinking here, we should become very interested in the precise details of how we are images of the Divine, through the substances-processes of our anatomy, physiology, biology, psychology, etc. Every little detail of the inner-outer world should begin to speak to us of how it fits into the holistic evolutionary structure through the mediation of our thinking consciousness. Since Steiner has been quoted a lot, I think we should be more clear on what he is speaking of in terms of imaginative, inspired, and intuitive cognition. Here is a typical excerpt below. It should be noted that we are not dealing with any stages of consciousness which can be reached without much spiritual training and inner purification, although we can certainly begin brining a new life of depth to our thinking which makes clear that these higher stages are living realities in which our "I"-consciousness is always nested.

I agree, the right approach is through the nested structure of our individual soul and discovering the Self though vertical introspection rather than through outward planar conception. However, Steiner also points to our self "streamed forth over all beings; it has merged with them" and "to enter into all things, one must first step outside oneself". So, there are two developments going on at the same time - both vertical introspection and expansion ("entering into all things" and "streaming and merging with them"). This happens because, as we discover the Self at the vertical pinnacle, or, as another metaphor, at the central core of our own being, we also inevitably discover the same Self at the core of all things and beings everywhere in the universe and hence naturally "enter into all things" and "merge with them". This is the point where the dichotomy between the "deep MAL" and "flat MAL" is resolved, it becomes simultaneously deep with all vertical depth structures perfectly preserved, and at the same time "flat" in a sense that everything is equally permeated by the Self and equally contained within the same multi-dimensional space of the Self.

[Stranger]

"Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there." The Gospel of Thomas

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24

“I am crucified with Christ, but I live; yet not I anymore, but Christ lives in me" Galatians 2:20
(my ego -separate self - is crucified with Christ, ... not I anymore - as a separate self and ego -, but Christ - the Self of all - lives in me)

"Remain in me [- in the Self of all -], as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4

[Federica]

I agree, the right approach is through the nested structure of our individual soul and discovering the Self though vertical introspection rather than through outward planar conception. However, Steiner also points to our self "streamed forth over all beings; it has merged with them" and "to enter into all things, one must first step outside oneself". So, there are two developments going on at the same time - both vertical introspection and expansion ("entering into all things" and "streaming and merging with them"). This happens because, as we discover the Self at the vertical pinnacle, or, as another metaphor, at the central core of our own being, we also inevitably discover the same Self at the core of all things and beings everywhere in the universe and hence naturally "enter into all things" and "merge with them". This is the point where the dichotomy between the "deep MAL" and "flat MAL" is resolved, it becomes simultaneously deep with all vertical depth structures perfectly preserved, and at the same time "flat" in a sense that everything is equally permeated by the Self and equally contained within the same multi-dimensional space of the Self.

Eugene,
In the understanding that you have described here, how would you intend the peculiar individual perspective that each of us holds? In visual terms - the unique perspective, angle, or point on the surface of the Deep MAL sphere (one of the faces emerging at the surface of the sphere, in the image contained in Cleric's essay)? How do you allow for that singular viewpoint in a flat MAL reality without falling back in the trap of planar diversity or variety?

[Stranger]

All that appears in this realm of forms
Is alone the Atman, indivisible Self, selfless.
Immutable, auspicious, One
I am that God who is the Self of all;
Pure, indivisible, like the sky.
All is verily the absolute Self.
I indeed am immutable and infinite - of the form of pure Intelligence.
I am the nectar of Knowledge
I, the One only, am all this, beyond space and continuous.
Know the Self always to be everywhere, one and unintercepted.
Know me to be that Self who is everything and everywhere at all times,
the one who is eternal, steady, the All, the nonexistent, and the Existent.
I know that all, in every way, is the one indivisible "I" which is self-sustained and full
The Self is neither divided nor undivided. Know the Self to be immutable.
The Lord of the universe is devoid of all names.
He is subtler than the subtlest, supreme, He is spotless, beyond the senses, mind, and intellect.
That is Consciousness - blameless, omniscient, and perfect.
Space is pervaded by It, but It is not pervaded by anything.
It is existing within and without. It is undivided and continuous.

from Avadhuta Gita of Dattatreya

[Stranger]

Eugene,
In the understanding that you have described here, how would you intend the peculiar individual perspective that each of us holds? In visual terms - the unique perspective, angle, or point on the surface of the Deep MAL sphere (one of the faces emerging at the surface of the sphere, in the image contained in Cleric's essay)? How do you allow for that singular viewpoint in a flat MAL reality without falling back in the trap of planar diversity or variety?

I can give a geometrical-metaphorical analogy here to illustrate. Imagine a 2D space and a nested circular structure similar to Cleric's picture in here, but in 2D for simplicity. There is definitely a deep structure there converging to the Core. That's the metaphor of our evolutionary-metamorphic introspective process of developing into the core of our being until we discover the Self at the very center of it. But then it turns out that the whole 2D space and all the circles of the depth-structure have never been apart from the same Self and they are in the very essence, in their existential core, nothing else than the same Self. All the circles are equally the same Self, and not that there is "more" Self in the center of the structure compared to the periphery. In other words, the Self is like the very 2D space where the whole structure has always been contained, and the very "substance" of which all circles are made. So, from the perspective of the Self, all is equally contained in it in a "flat" way. At the same time, the depth-structure always remains intact, it is still there with all its circles and with the evolutionary curvature toward the center. And so, both "deep" and "flat" perspectives are simultaneously valid: the structure lies "flat" on the 2D space, yet it simultaneously has "depth" in the direction of the movement toward the center.

So, it's only when we travel along the curvature towards the center of the structure, we think that there is only a dimension of depth (because that's where the curvature is dragging us), we think that we are approaching the Self from the peripheral regions where we cannot find the presence of the Self, and so we think that there is "more" Self in the center, and "less" or "no" Self at the peripheries. And that is perfectly fine at that particular stage of the soul's evolutionary process. But once we discover the Self in the core of the structure, we also discover that the same Self has been all the time equally everywhere all along our travel through the structure, we just could not see and recognize it until we got closer to the core and discovered it there. In other words, the Self is equally everywhere but it is veiled from our soul's perception when we are at the periphery circles of the evolution, and it can only be discovered/unveiled once we sufficiently evolve introspectively closer to the center.

Now, to clarify, please don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing against the point Cleric made in the "deep MAL" topic, he was totally right about criticizing some modern nondualists who ignore the depth structures of the spiritual universe and think that they can "shortcut" the whole developmental vertical path and just "jump" into the state of the "nondual soup", where, as they often say "there is nobody there and nothing else to do". No, that's cheating, and as a result, can be detrimental for the soul's growth.

[AshvinP]

We are lapsing back into a planar conception of "self" here, where it is 'one form among many'. It is better to conceive the individual self as a fractal image of the higher, macrocosmic Self. Our sense of individual creative thinking agency gives us the most direct intuition of this higher Self and its nature. All the forces of 'selfishness' we currently harbor are polar opposites which have 'distended' from sublime spiritual forces, i.e. hate/love, greed/charity, anxiety/peace, etc. This distention comes about precisely because the polar forces remain subconscious within us, deeply buried within the layers of our soul-strata, acting as impulses, instincts, passions, etc. without the Light of cognition to illuminate them. That is how the individual self has become so impure and therefore alienated from its true nature as an image of the Divine.

To ascend perpendicular with our thinking here, we should become very interested in the precise details of how we are images of the Divine, through the substances-processes of our anatomy, physiology, biology, psychology, etc. Every little detail of the inner-outer world should begin to speak to us of how it fits into the holistic evolutionary structure through the mediation of our thinking consciousness. Since Steiner has been quoted a lot, I think we should be more clear on what he is speaking of in terms of imaginative, inspired, and intuitive cognition. Here is a typical excerpt below. It should be noted that we are not dealing with any stages of consciousness which can be reached without much spiritual training and inner purification, although we can certainly begin brining a new life of depth to our thinking which makes clear that these higher stages are living realities in which our "I"-consciousness is always nested.

I agree, the right approach is through the nested structure of our individual soul and discovering the Self though vertical introspection rather than through outward planar conception. However, Steiner also points to our self "streamed forth over all beings; it has merged with them" and "to enter into all things, one must first step outside oneself". So, there are two developments going on at the same time - both vertical introspection and expansion ("entering into all things" and "streaming and merging with them"). This happens because, as we discover the Self at the vertical pinnacle, or, as another metaphor, at the central core of our own being, we also inevitably discover the same Self at the core of all things and beings everywhere in the universe and hence naturally "enter into all things" and "merge with them". This is the point where the dichotomy between the "deep MAL" and "flat MAL" is resolved, it becomes simultaneously deep with all vertical depth structures perfectly preserved, and at the same time "flat" in a sense that everything is equally permeated by the Self and equally contained within the same multi-dimensional space of the Self.

Eugene,

I think there is some confusion over the 'vertical' approach. You seem to feel we are only talking about higher cognition developed through meditative practice. Whereas we are talking about what we can do with our current consciousness and conceptual activity right here on this forum. We can take the rigor and detail we normally apply to metaphysical modeling, philosophical theorizing, or our scientific pursuits like engineering, and also apply it to a science of the soul and spirit. This isn't done for mere curiosity, entertainment, or to have things to say on this forum, but it is necessary preparation for higher cognition. Without it, there is no higher cognition to speak of. We need to exercise and perfect our thinking muscles. This simply can't be done through abstract discussion of mystical oneness. So that is why Federica, Cleric, and I keep prompting for more detailed discussion of our phenomenal experience as human "I"-beings. I have shared the following quote a million times before, because its so spot on as a critique of the approach we find all too often in modern idealism and mysticism/spiritualism.

An intuition, which claims to project itself with one bound into the eternal, limits itself to the intellectual. For the concepts which the intelligence furnishes, the intuition simply substitutes one single concept which includes them all and which consequently is always the same, by whatever name it is called: Substance, Ego, Idea, Will.

Philosophy, thus understood, necessarily pantheistic, will have no difficulty in explaining everything deductively, since it will have been given beforehand, in a principle which is the concept of concepts, all the real and all the possible. But this explanation will be vague and hypothetical, this unity will be artificial, and this philosophy would apply equally well to a very different world from our own. How much more instructive would be a truly intuitive metaphysics, which would follow the undulations of the real! True, it would not embrace in a single sweep the totality of things; but for each thing it would give an explanation which would fit it exactly, and it alone. It would not begin by defining or describing the systematic unity of the world: who knows if the world is actually one?

Experience alone can say, and unity, if it exists, will appear at the end of the search as a result; it is impossible to posit it at the start as a principle. Furthermore, it will be a rich, full unity, the unity of a continuity, the unity of our reality, and not that abstract and empty unity, which has come from one supreme generalization, and which could just as well be that of any possible world whatsoever. It is true that philosophy then will demand a new effort for each new problem. No solution will be geometrically deduced from another. No important truth will be achieved by the prolongation of an already acquired truth. We shall have to give up crowding universal science potentially into one principle.

- Henri Bergson, The Creative Mind: An Introduction to Metaphysics (1946)

It is through the gradual perfection of our willing-thinking organism that we can begin to comprehend our own immediate soul dynamics, which we generally don't comprehend at all with undifferentiated planar conceptual activity. Then we can gradually enter into the "I"-consciousness of human collectives, kingdoms of Nature, the Earth organism. Without traversing this lawful gradient of activity, there is no hope of "entering into all things". We first need to enter into our own soul-life. Since about 1,000 years ago, the human being has been evolving the consciousness soul which allows for precise scientific thinking. So far this has been directed mostly towards outer endeavors, like engineering the perfect bridge, but building the inner bridge to the higher worlds has been neglected. We here on this forum are in a position to stop neglecting that work and reorient the scientific "I"-consciousness towards its attainment.

[Stranger]

It is through the gradual perfection of our willing-thinking organism that we can begin to comprehend our own immediate soul dynamics, which we generally don't comprehend at all with undifferentiated planar conceptual activity. Then we can gradually enter into the "I"-consciousness of human collectives, kingdoms of Nature, the Earth organism. Without traversing this lawful gradient of activity, there is no hope of "entering into all things". We first need to enter into our own soul-life. Since about 1,000 years ago, the human being has been evolving the consciousness soul which allows for precise scientific thinking. So far this has been directed mostly towards outer endeavors, like engineering the perfect bridge, but building the inner bridge to the higher worlds has been neglected. We here on this forum are in a position to stop neglecting that work and reorient the scientific "I"-consciousness towards its attainment.

Exactly, that is what I was also saying in the above posts. There is no shortcuts, no cheating, we have to go meticulously through the gradual process of the soul's evolution, through the introspective and gradual growth towards the "I"-consciousness. And this evolution never stops, even after passing the gate of the nondual realization of the Self, but after such passing it continues in a different way, in a holistic way, with the "holistic view of things" (Steiner)

[Stranger]

Experience alone can say, and unity, if it exists, will appear at the end of the search as a result; it is impossible to posit it at the start as a principle. Furthermore, it will be a rich, full unity, the unity of a continuity, the unity of our reality, and not that abstract and empty unity, which has come from one supreme generalization, and which could just as well be that of any possible world whatsoever.

- Henri Bergson, The Creative Mind: An Introduction to Metaphysics (1946)

I fully agree with what Bergson said. On the other hand, if we say that this unity is so far away distant from us that we should not even think of it at our current stage, or even worse, deny even a possibility of it altogether, that would be equally bad. We should still keep it on the map, on the plan of our evolutionary travel, without taking it as an abstract philosophical principle, but as an evolutionary and experiential gate along the way, just as a compass to keep a sense of direction and not to deviate from the path. That is why all spiritual traditions of the past had this Unity with the Divine encoded in their scriptures.

Another thing is, this "passing of the unity gate" is usually not a distant one time-event (although sometimes it is) and usually happens very gradually even while we are still at far away from passing gate, it's like St. Paul described it as "may He increase and I diminish".

[Lou Gold]

Aloha Everyone,

I have a general question about what I perceive as an "accent bias" >>> Why do we assume in our models that every soul is on an achievement trip seeking greater awareness? Is it not possible that some more evolved souls are descending or grounding (in Bodhisattva-like fashion) in order to help reduce the suffering or to reveal in an embodied state the way to go? As some may know, I've been critical of the individual achievement orientation. For example, I do not believe that Jesus arrived to work His way toward the Father but, rather, that He arrived as a gift from the Father to perform, through a very powerful story, a Love and Forgiveness that birthed into human consciousness the embodied example of a shared Divinity between the Whole and its parts.

[Stranger]

Aloha Everyone,

I have a general question about what I perceive as an "accent bias" >>> Why do we assume in our models that every soul is on an achievement trip seeking greater awareness? Is it not possible that some more evolved souls are descending or grounding (in Bodhisattva-like fashion) in order to help reduce the suffering or to reveal in an embodied state the way to go? As some may know, I've been critical of the individual achievement orientation. For example, I do not believe that Jesus arrived to work His way toward the Father but, rather, that He arrived as a gift from the Father to perform, through a very powerful story, a Love and Forgiveness that birthed into human consciousness the embodied example of a shared Divinity between the Whole and its parts.

Right, I don't assume that, and many traditions, Western and Eastern, believed that their major figures were incarnations of the Divine or of highly evolved spiritual beings in order to facilitate the human evolution. Such were Christ in Christianity, Krishna and other avatars in Vedic tradition, Padmasambhava and many other tulkus-bodhisattvas in Tibetan Buddhism and so on. So, there are souls on the ascending path, that's us, unless some of us believe that they are bodhisattvas or avatars , and there are higher-order beings descending to our realm to help us. They do it out of love and compassion and understanding that there is no such thing as a separate individual achievement, because there is no such thing as a separate individual consciousness on the grand scale of things, and yet there are still individual minds as semi-autonomous spiritual activities, and there are still our individual achievements as small contributions of each individual to the overall evolution of the global consciousness. So, I don't see any contradiction between the individual achievements and the collective evolution, they work together in coalescence.