John’s Musings

We are so inexorably absorbed in the search for understanding of our relationship to God that we have created an impregnable barrier to realization of our goal — a Gordian knot of our own making forged by rigid adherence to the illusion of separation. Like the cat chasing its own tail, it is only through recognition that the one being pursued is the one pursuing that the knot is untied, the goal exposed as superfluous, and the search abandoned.

There is no question more important on the path to knowing the Self than “Who am I?” When one realizes the fallacy of the question, the mind is set free from the illusion of duality and, in the blink of an eye, the answer is instantly known. And, in that instant, time and space collapse.

Moses said, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them,
‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’
they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’
Then what should I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I am the Self-existent One.”
And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel:
‘I, The Self-existent One, sent me to you.'”
Gnostic Translation of Exodus 3:14

We don’t find bliss. It finds us. Often when and where we least expect.

The next time an internal “I wonder” question pops into the mind – any question – engage in the following inquiry: a) who is raising the question; b) who is aware that a question is being raised; c) who is making the inquiry; and d) who is observing the entire process? If you have identified only one who, who knows who that is? If you have identified more than one who, which who knows who and which who is you? If you are still interested in knowing the answer to the initial “I wonder” question, who is it who wants to know, who can supply the answer, and who will know the question has been answered? You may ask, “who cares?” Indeed! What is the purpose of self-inquiry – I wonders.

“The eye can see everything but that which is seeing.”

“Who” is the infinite sentience of all that is — unifying subject and object as One. Who is “I” — the Net of Indra.

Peace, love and joy (the essence of freedom) are not to be found through searching or striving for their attainment. They are ever-present, innate attributes of a consciousness unfettered by the ego’s fears, desires, and limiting beliefs which veil the boundless awareness of I.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word and “I” is One.

There is a higher, boundless consciousness beyond that to which we associate ourselves. It is a consciousness unrestricted by time or space. It is eternal. It is not subject to the the illusory limitations of what we view as “reality.” It perceives all things clearly, unclouded by thoughts of limitation, fear, guilt, anger, or judgment. To It, all is perfect as it is. It holds the wisdom of the ages and the knowledge of our higher, multidimensional being. It is our true Self. In the peace and quiet of a still mind, it speaks to us, reminding us who we really are and prompting us to awake.

We have constructed illusory selves, one nested upon the other like a Russian doll. It is possible to move out of each until none remains, at which time the One Self, both every-thing and no-thing, claims its rightful place.

In those moments when the thinking, calculating mind is silenced, there is an opportunity to be taken over by an intoxicating sublimity overwhelming our perceptual conditioning and affording us with a taste of the awe and splendor of our true Self.

As so aptly stated in the Course in Miracles, the path to reunification with Self is a journey without distance, and it can occur in any instant. The only barriers are those we ourselves construct through our own mind’s creation and our stubborn unwillingness to accept who we really are, rather than who we perceive ourselves to be.

As so eloquently said by Meister Eckhart, Sermons of Meister Eckhart: “The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.” There is only one I, one seer, one subject — and all else is but a reflection in the mirror of awareness.

There is nothing extraneous to Self. To dive deep into one’s Self is not to go “within,” as opposed to “without.” Such distinctions are meaningless illusions arising from the sense of separation.

The revelation which we seek IS the one who is seeking  —  the seeker revealed as that which is sought.  It requires no “belief” for support, and no “belief” can negate it.  The illusion is not the reality of what we experience, but rather the “belief” that “we” and “what we experience” (or mind and matter) are somehow separate or distinct  — divided by space or time.   As long as we hold onto that “belief,” there can be no reconciliation, no understanding, no peace, and no truth. And so we surrender that belief through our purest heart’s desire to be revealed as the Revelation which is the seeking of the seeker. In that eternal moment we are revealed as the “That” (reconciliation, understanding, peace, truth) and set free. Thus, a new belief arises in that now we believe (because of our experience) ourselves to always be the revelation which we seek AS the one who is seeking – “the seeker revealed as that which is sought.”

There are two jokers that bedevil physics — zero and infinity. They represent powerful adversaries at either end of the realm of numbers that we use in modern science. Yet, zero and infinity are two sides of the same coin — equal and opposite, yin and yang. Multiply zero by anything and you get zero. Multiply infinity by anything and you get infinity. Dividing a number by zero yields infinity; dividing a number by infinity yields zero. Adding zero to a number leaves the number unchanged. Adding a number to infinity leaves infinity unchanged. Yet, the biggest questions in science, philosophy, and religion are about nothingness and eternity, the void and the infinite, zero and infinity.

In the space-less, time-less effulgence of the ineffable now, there is nothing to become or to over-come. In the state of absolute emptiness, the mind is devoid of all possible content, except the image of itself reflected in itself — the All that is.

In oneness, there is no thing to be witnessed. In oneness, there is no thing to be observed. In this timeless moment, there is neither witness nor observer, separate and apart from that which is witnessed and observed — the ineffable paradox of the Net of Indra. “I” is that.

“I” has no source, no center, no circumference, no dimension — “I” is source, center, circumference, and dimension.
“I” is not describable, fathomable, graspable, measurable — “I” is ineffable.
“I” has no shadow, no reflection, no image. “I” is the shadow, reflection, and image of awareness infinitely mirroring itself to itself — the net of Indra.
“I” is no-thing, yet every-thing. “I” is no-where, yet every-when.
So, how is “I” known? Be still and know — you are that which knows, seeking to know itself, in itself, as itself.

The ego insists on holding on to the false belief that you are confined within a body perceived to be the “self,” wholly separate and distinct from everything outside that “self,” and ultimately destined to die and be subsumed into nothingness. No wonder there is such widespread depression, despair, and suffering. The way out of this suffering and seeming imprisonment is not through coping methods, spiritual techniques, and medical/holistic therapies — which only feed the ego. The degree of our suffering is directly proportionate to the tenacity with which we choose to allow ourselves to be subject to and to live our lives according to this false, debilitating, and limiting belief. You are not a body. You have no boundaries. You have no inside or outside — no within or without. You are not separate from any one or any thing. You are not finite. You are neither subject nor object, yet both. You are birth-less, deathless, boundless, eternal, all-encompassing, and all-embracing consciousness. Let go of the false belief — an illusory figment of the ego’s imagination. As stated in the Course in Miracles, “the ego lives by comparisons, it seeks to divide and separate, and it cannot survive without judgment.” Acceptance of the truth and essence of who we truly are frees us from the shackles of separation, unifies, and heals. LET GO!!

The discovery of fire as a tool was a catalyst which enabled us to unleash the creative power of the individual and collective human mind, revolutionizing our relationship with the material world. The realization of love as our eternal state of being will be the catalyst for release of the boundless, unimaginable power of a unified consciousness, transforming mind itself.

Love knows no boundaries, no distinctions, no distance, no time. Love is blind to race, nationality, religion, and belief. Love is doubtless, fearless, and shameless. Love is boundless, empty fullness. Love is the fire of annihilation, the pulse of creation. Love is who you are, I is. Let it consume you!

Some say to find enlightenment and/or the true Self, you must go “within.” I have always been puzzled by this notion. Have you ever gone looking for yourself? Have you ever been “without” or “outside” your Self? Where would you look to find your “within?” How do you go “within?” Do you have a “within?” If you have a “within” does that mean you also have a “without?” Do you have a center, a circumference, an edge or a surface? If not, where does the within end and the without begin? How do you ever know when you are “within” as opposed to when you are “without?” “Within” or “without,” inside or outside, what?

This dualistic vocabulary of distinction and separation is not a pathway to unity. There is no-thing separating you from the Self. The Self has no boundary, no inside or outside, no “within” or “without.” There is nothing to “find.” You are that!

Eternal awareness resides in the verticality of the now moment. You are the presence of this ever-present moment. Don’t be distracted by the illusory past or future. They are the mirage of a limited consciousness mesmerized by the imagined horizontal seriality of time and space. Immerse yourself in NOW!

The so-called “impossible” is simply a lack of imagination arising from blind faith in limiting beliefs forged by past experience and the fear to venture into the boundless unknown. To a child, nothing is impossible. Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18. The kingdom of heaven is not a time or place. It is a state of mind, a living presence — NOW!

Tao is the pathless path of the eternally nameless, ineffable One I is.

Pure awareness, the undifferentiated “I,” is see-ing or know-ing that is nowhere without. It can never be known except by becoming it, which can never be accomplished because we are it.

We think we will find true freedom and happiness only when we are finally able to control all of our circumstances and to satisfy all of our needs. In fact, it is the opposite. It is through releasing our need for control, and our belief there is anything or anyone to control, that we are set free. All of our illusory fears are tied to our perceived needs, which hold us in a false consciousness of lack, want, and limitation. Our only need is to let go of need and allow the incontrollable free expression of Our Boundless Self.

You can escape the illusory limitations of the temporal/spatial mind and embrace the unencumbered freedom of our Boundless Self. The fallacy is the belief that it takes years and years of study, prayer, meditation, suffering, seeking, and efforting to accomplish. As stated in A Course In Miracles, it is “a journey without distance in the space of an instant of reality.” It is simply a matter of choice, of allowance, of acceptance. That is the “miracle.” Your are that which you seek!

The every-when of everywhere resides in the nothingness of everything, eternally expressed in the nameless silent being of I.

Love is all-inclusive, subject-less, object-less, limit-less, effort-less, choice-less, cause-less acceptance!

As observed by Wei Wu Wei, “‘Living’ is a spatial illusion, ‘Dying’ is a temporal illusion. ‘We’ are a spatio-temporal illusion based on the serial interpretation of dimensional ‘stills’ or ‘quanta’ cognized as movement.” Self has no shape, no form, no identity. It is no-thing. Yet, you are that. Be present! “I’ is Presence!

“I” is indivisible awareness. Individuated, yet boundless. Timeless, space-less presence. Super-luminous, subject-less, object-less, limit-less, ineffable, eternal being. You are that!

Starting early in our lives, we are entrained by the illusions of time (and the concomitant illusion of cause and effect), space (as framed and informed by our five senses), and self-identity (identification of self with body as separate and apart from all else — the content of our “objective” reality). Once accepted and set in the concrete of the rational mind, we are chained to the wall of Plato’s cave, acting and reacting to shadows, oblivious to the effulgent boundless Self — pure awareness, radiant awakeness, eternally undifferentiated individuation. That Self cannot be “found” through the rational mind (itself insubstantial shadow), it can only be re-membered through stilling the mind, acceptance of what is, being present to presence, and simply letting go of all preconceptions, beliefs, fears, and desires.

Imagine going into the light — a state with no darkness, no contrast, no discernment, no shadows, no images, only light. Allow yourself to be absorbed into the light and rest in no time, no space, no-thing. What is you? What is not you? Other than “I” what is? What is not “I”? What thought is left but “I AM”? You are that!

All points in time and space converge. That which observes and that observed is one, yet infinitely individuated in expression — reflected and refracted in the mirror of consciousness, the Net of Indra. “I” is the one and the many, the finite and the infinite, the moment and the eternal, the every-when of no-where, the all of no-thing. In the peace and silence of a still mind, it reveals itself to itself — as itself.

Here and Now is infinite & eternal;
Past and Future are imaginary.
I Is;
I am This or That is illusory.

The mind that perceives limitation is the limitation.

As we get closer and closer to the clarity and transparent lucidity of Oneness, the final step asked of us is to let go of that which we most treasure in life, knowing that it was never separate and apart from us, but an intricate facet of the very fabric of our being. The longer we hold on to that which we treasure but perceive to be outside ourselves, the longer are we charmed by and subject to the illusion of duality consciousness.

Awareness knows not absence — only space-less, place-less, beginning-less, endless Presence. I is that, infinitely reflected and refracted as boundless, ineffable NOW — the Net of Indra.

Thoughts are like bubbles or waves on the surface of the boundless, timeless ocean of awareness. Allow them to come and go unencumbered, free from attachment or identification. That is the meaning of “take no thought.”

I is the nameless, spaceless, sourceless breath of eternity.

Love is the unqualified acceptance and embrace of the boundless, timeless, eternal Self — I is that, Now!

I is a lucid dream within a dream, within a dream, within a dream — infinitely reflected and refracted through the prism of boundless, timeless awareness — the Net of Indra. Simultaneously dreamer and dreamed, yet neither, I is ineffable, overflowing emptiness. You are that!

The content of our awareness is not an illusion. The belief that it is separate from us or awareness is.

Accepting What Is
Letting go of Limiting Conceptual Beliefs
Being Here & Now
Seeing Beyond the Illusion of Separation
Embracing Your Boundless Self

“I pray God to rid me of God.” What in the world did Meister Eckhart mean by this prayer? It is the ultimate prayer: seeking the awareness of the unimaginable and ineffable dimension of oneness where there is no distinction between the “lover” and the “beloved” or between “I” and “Thou.” Perhaps, Eckhart’s prayer was answered, for he later observed: “The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me: my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing and one love.” Eckhart was condemned by the Catholic Church for the content of many of his sermons expounding upon this epiphany. The real blasphemy is the denial of our divinity as so simply and eloquently expressed by Eckhart.

Is what I observe real or an illusion; does the mind give rise to thoughts or do thoughts give rise to mind; are observations images in mind, images of mind, or inseparable from mind; is awareness a product of mind or mind an instrument of awareness? The answer to any question posturing an “either/or” dichotomy is, of course, “Yes.”

If a drop of water in an ocean were conscious (i.e., self conscious of its own existence), it would be unable to distinguish where “it” started or ended vis-à-vis the remainder of the ocean, since it is one indistinguishable substance. In order to make such a distinction, it would be necessary for water to separate and distinguish itself from water, which, of course, is impossible except as an imagined or illusory mental construct–which is precisely what we have done. Certainly, ocean can be expressed and experienced in the conceptual form as drop, ripple, wave, etc., just as God/consciousness can be expressed and experienced in the conceptual form as universe, planet, tree, individual, atom, electron, neutrino, quark, ad infinitum. The important point, however, is that the ocean is in the “drop,” not vice-versa. Just as every “part” of a hologram is an indivisible extension of the entirety of the whole, the “drop” is not “in” or “part of” the ocean–it “is” the ocean expressed as “drop.”

Let go of everything and simply allow awareness of the boundless, endless here and now.

Empty me of limitation
Fill me with emptiness
Awaken me to stillness
Blind me to separation
Surrender me to presence
Consume me in love
Annihilate me with awe
Resurrect me as I

We do not exist “within” light-consciousness any more than light-consciousness exists “within” space and time. Light-consciousness boundlessly encompasses all that is, both subjective and objective. I is that!

The paradox of nothing and I: Nothing is not inside of I. Nothing is not outside of I. There is no inside or outside to nothing or I. Nothing, in all its plenitude, is I. I is nothing.

“I” is: a) awareness/consciousness; b) association with the ego (subject) which believes it is distinctly unique and separate from all that which seemingly appears in awareness (objects); and c) the subconscious which frames the perceptual field of our awareness in conformity to the conceptual beliefs upon which the ego’s seeming existence depends — the Trinity of “I.” As in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, we are enslaved by our limiting beliefs and blinded from Our Boundless Self. We are our own prisoner. We hold the key to our own freedom — here and now. “I” is not a viewer in the movie theater of life. “I” is the theater, the screen, the movie, the producer, the director, the actors, and, yes, the popcorn.

Is it “I ‘AM’ God” or “I ‘Is’ God?”
“Is” (“asti” in Sanskrit) is 3rd person singular present. “Am” (“asmi” in Sanskrit) is 1st person singular present. “Am” is personal, while “is” is intra-personal or trans-personal. To say “I AM’ God” is to personalize God “within” my “self.” To say “I’ is God” is to recognize that the same God which constitutes the awareness and life force of everything in the universe, “is” the “I” which constitutes the identity of all that is, including “me,” i.e., the true “Self.” In other words, my “I” and your “I” are not just “related” or “connected” — it is the one and only “I.” This “I” is singular, but it is not in any way restricted or limited in time or space (or otherwise). In fact, it is simultaneously singular and plural — perhaps “singural.” For reasons which will take an entire book to adequately address, use of the 3rd person verb “is” with “I” enables one to get in touch with the transcendent aspect of his/her “Self” (“I”) which is both “personal” and “impersonal” (or neither “personal” nor “impersonal”) — hence “intra-personal” or, perhaps, “transpersonal.” It allows one to “feel” that nature of his/her “Self” which exists at all levels of one’s personal being (down to the smallest conceivable, albeit ultimately non-existent, subatomic, partless particle), yet which also transcends one’s personal body, mind and emotions to encompass the entirety of the “I”maginable, infinite universe of consciousness. One cannot observe this “I” of which I speak, and it is not that which “observes.” “I” is not an it, “I” is not a “who” or a “what,” and “I” is neither subject nor object — “I” is no-thing. Yet, strangely and beautifully, “I” is all there is or ever shall be. It is egotistical to create boundaries for “I,” i.e., “I” am ______ or _______ (self-imposed constraints and limits we ourselves impose). To be truly ego-less is not to limit or belittle our true nature, but rather to fully accept the boundless nature of the “I” that is.

I does not exist. Existence is I.

Accept your ineffable, indefinable Self — here (everywhere and nowhere) and now (everywhen and nowhen). Embrace the unknowable. Be consumed by the ecstasy of boundlessness. Be, in Love, I.

The seemingly illusive spark, which will ignite an apocalyptic eruption of love, simply lies in an opening of and to the “single ‘I’.” Not the self-centered “I” who wants, needs, fears, and frets, but the transcendent all-encompassing “I” which enlivens, illuminates, embraces, and unites us all, and all that is or ever shall be, as One — the “Essence of Being.” This “I” which bridges the within and the without, the above and the below, and all other illusions of separation, is, to paraphrase Lord Tennyson “nearer than breathing, closer than hands and feet.” No seeking, searching, thinking, doing, or any physical or mental activity can possibly bring us closer, for that which is sought is that which is seeking. It is the observer of the thought of the mind which is reading this article. Be still, and know “I.” And, when least expected, in a blink of the “I”, all that which is unlike itself shall be consumed and transformed — the Grace of God fulfilled.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
1 Corinthians 13:12a

The holographic nucleus of consciousness holds the pattern of wholeness free of any limitation or boundary — our “boundless self.”

I cannot love. I is love!

The unimaginable will unveil itself when we unshackle consciousness from illusory reference points, ephemeral boundaries, imagined distinctions, and the rigidity of our collective beliefs.

If we could only accept “what is” for “what is,” without trying to change or control it, suffering would simply fall away. Besides, acceptance is a logical imperative given that “what is” cannot be changed or controlled in the present, and there is only the present. So, stop struggling and enjoy the gift of what is!

Intelligence is mastering the art of distinction. Wisdom is seeing through it.

In presence there are no moments — only the changing landscape of awareness of the eternally here & now.

The apparent fixed rules governing the operations of the world of our conscious creation, as well as the perceived limitations of the creative process, derive from and exist solely by virtue of the tenacity of our collective beliefs. Boundless freedom is not a result of struggle with rules or boundaries. It flows naturally from the courage and willingness to let go of limiting beliefs.

Oneness is not an object of awareness to be grasped or understood. It is a “knowing” without subject or object — a presence of an indescribable boundless awareness embracing subject and object as one. When we let go of the need to “understand,” and accept that there is nothing to “understand,” we are available to this “knowing” presence and set free from the shadows of our “understanding.

Awareness is never present. Awareness is presence.

Note to self: Focus on not thinking about how to think no thought.

You have heard the story of the person searching through the house for the glasses sitting on his nose (paradoxically, permitting him to “see”). So it is with the person seeking to “find” the Self.

Who are you” — I asked myself. Why, I’m you. But, who am I? — I asked. Precisely! — I responded.

We don’t find bliss. It finds us. Often when and where we least expect.

The changing focus of our awareness creates the illusion of movement — time. Once something passes beyond our focus, we perceive it to be in the “past,” just as what we dream as possible to occur is thought to be somewhere in the “future.” We are eternally in present moment awareness. While we create the illusion of time with the changing focus of our attention, I is eternally still, here & now.

And the day arrived when the security of the familiar was supplanted by an urge to change, notwithstanding a fear of the unknown — and, miraculously and without effort, the bud yielded to the blossom.

“I” is perfectly capable of (i)magining itself as separate from itself, but it is never subjugated to nor objectified by the (i)llusion — the dream of separation. Our task is not to escape the dream, but to awaken to and (i)dentify with the dreamer.

Infinity is incomprehensible  —  finity is inconceivable.

Seeing beyond sensory perception, knowing beyond the reasoning mind, letting go of the sense of separation, living in the present moment, being fully open to what is, embracing the fullness of your boundless Self, being In Love for no reason, resisting nothing, accepting all.

This is Samadhi!

We won’t find God by searching outside of our Self. That is the reason for our seeming separation from God. You are not in a relationship with God. You are that which you seek! Rest in the stilled awareness – the imminent, object-less, subject-less, individuated yet boundless Presence we know and feel as “I.” As Tennyson so aptly said “it is nearer than breath, closer than hands and feet.” It is the silent witness, the single eye (“I”), the boundless Self.

Infinity is the un-bounded, un-sided mirror of the light of consciousness. In the words of Frithjof Schuon “Diversity … is but the inverse reflection of the Infinity, … the all-possibility of Brahman.” Physicists tell us that reflection is the change in direction of a wave-front at an interface between two different media so that a wave-front returns into the medium from which it originated. Spinoza opined that the secret of joy is to love something infinite. Love your Self in its ineffable, wondrous, boundless expression!

Allow wonder to consume your beliefs.

Just be HERE, NOW.  All else will come to meet you.

Falling down the rabbit hole of duality is the result of the mind leading the mind.

Many of the seeming paradoxes and conundrums encountered in quantum physics are inexplicable through the paradigmatic lens of the observer, separate and distinct from the observed.  When liberated from the illusion of separation between the observer and the observed, the seeming paradoxes and conundrums dissolve.  “I” is the singularity of observer and observed – the elusive grand unified field.

(Path of Love’s Awakening)

I

I AM

(‘I’ncarnation)

I AM NOT THAT

(Neti Neti = Self Awareness, ‘I’dentification with Body and Dis-‘I’dentification with All Other Content of Awareness)

WHO AM I?

(Search for Subject of Awareness)

I AM THAT I AM

(Recognition of futility of Search & Acceptance of ‘I’neffable nature)

I AM NOT!

(Dis-‘I’dentification as Body, Subject of Awareness, or Content of Awareness)

I AM THAT

(‘I’dentification with all Content of Awareness as Subject)

I IS

(Elimination of distinction between Subject and Objects of Awareness & ‘I’dentification as Awareness – Net of Indra)

I is time-less space-less quiescence.

When we were little, up through the time we were still crawling, we experienced pure awareness. Prior to conditioning, there was no-one with whom we associated as the subject of that awareness.  There was no distinction between self and other.  There were no fears or insecurities.  I (pure awareness and un-individuated subjectivity) was all there was, and that I is who we eternally remain, unbounded by time or space, yet closer than breath.

Nothing is empty of preconceptions and beliefs, yet resplendent with infinite, unbounded potentiality.

Did you ever ponder the exponential advances in science and technology we are experiencing?

Where is it taking us?  When the rate of change tends toward infinity, mathematicians call it a singularity at which point equations break down and cease to have any useful meaning [called a curve which approaches an asymptote – a vertical trajectory which is never reached].  Are we approaching that vertical trajectory?  I have always thought that the scientific and technological breakthroughs we are experiencing are actually revealing to us the unlimited potentiality of the mind set free from limiting thoughts and beliefs – the verticality of our infinite being, the Boundless Self.

Just be HERE, NOW.  All else will come to meet you.

“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night?  Let me think:  was I the same when I got up this morning?  I almost think I can remember feeling a little different.  But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’  Ah, that’s the great puzzle!”

Alice in Wonderland

Each of us should celebrate the uniqueness of each of us as an expression of the infinite diversity of our oneness!

Just as each and every “part” of a hologram is an indivisible extension of the entirety of the whole, each individual being is not “in” or “part of” the One or God —  it IS the One infinitely extended individuation of “I”.