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| Photo: Jaie Hart |
Many a philosopher or those with a pioneering spirit from many
other disciplines might argue about the concept of what precisely consciousness is. From each of their individual perspectives
and disciplines they may all be right, they might be partially right or they may be all wrong. To define a bit:
The dictionary meaning
of the word consciousness extends through several centuries and
associated cognate meanings which have ranged from formal definitions to
somewhat more skeptical definitions. One formal definition indicating the range
of these cognate meanings is given in Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary stating that consciousness is: “(1) a.
awareness or perception of an inward psychological or spiritual fact:
intuitively perceived knowledge of something in one’s inner self. B. inward
awareness of an external object, state, or fact. C: concerned awareness:
INTEREST, CONCERN – often used with an attributive noun. (2): the state or
activity that is characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, or thought:
mind in the broadest possible sense: something in nature that is distinguished
from the physical. (3): the totality in psychology of sensations, perceptions,
ideas, attitudes and feelings of which an individual or a group is aware at any
given time or within a particular time span – compare STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS.”
Spend any time researching the topic of
consciousness and pretty soon you’ll find yourself half mad with theories,
hypotheses and words like qualia and awareness and many philosophical ideas of
what consciousness truly means from so many different angles. Hundreds of papers have been written on
consciousness and still we are no closer to pure understanding but maybe pure
is part of something we might need to branch off into and along with "pure" add
consciousness and create a new term to explore.
What is pure
consciousness? Well, I believe that it is that state
where you experience not one single thing else but consciousness. There are no thoughts, no sensations, no input no matter what the mind throws up, you let it slip away as rain down the
side of a mountain. Pure consciousness
is like a mountain and something far beyond it as it has no limits or
boundaries or definition at all. From a
state of pure consciousness, none of this matters, has bearing on or impacts
pure consciousness in the slightest.
Unless you have experienced this state
it is a little hard to explain other than as I have. The only way I know of to get to a state of pure consciousness is
through the practice of meditation and it takes much discipline and practice to
get to that state of pure consciousness.
To be honest, I first experienced it during an NDE (Near Death Experience - story for another time). Knowing what it feels like, I took up
meditation again out of curiosity and a desire to explore an experience and it took so many years to see it again, I
don’t even want to tell you. But you can
learn to get to it. The question I ask is, even if you get there and even if you find it and become "enlightened" at the finding of it...“And,
so?”
Why would we expend so much effort to
project ourselves into a physical existence if all we want to do when we get
here is spend all of our time in meditation to make this world disappear? Didn’t we want to be here in the physical for
a reason? So why not then see it through
and learn why it has the parameters it does.
Aren’t you at least a little curious why or how you come to be here? There
must be a reason and I think that it must be your reason alone. I don’t wish to
know the meaning of life right now. I’m
focused instead on the concept simply stated as "I am." I can’t tell you what it’s for but it relates
to a focus on consciousness. I can point
you to a teacher if you are curious (just let me know). What I teach is part of consciousness but
focused more on the day to day stuff but this topic is never ending and all
consuming if you let it be that.
I believe that we are consciousness. We are part of the great unknown…The All of Everything...The Great Mind...the
Source…God….Goddess – choose your term but focus as you do on the feeling when
you contemplate consciousness and say I Am.
I Am is complete all by itself.
It needs nothing else but I resist it.
I resist it and yet I experience it every night in meditation…a vast
nothingness of pure void, black, dark, beautiful, peaceful and wonderful. It’s funny having experienced a concept and
then rejecting it on another hand but only in a way and maybe it is just
semantics and there is no resistance at all but instead an alternative angle of
understanding present that will morph into some other understanding that might
entertain my psyche for a bit. It
doesn’t matter, none of this matters. Being everywhere and nowhere and understanding
what that means in terms of consciousness – now that is priceless.
This may make no sense from the outside
looking in. But if you cut off the
outside entirely, breathe slowly and deeply, let your thoughts slide away like
rain down the side of a mountain, you might understand what I mean. In the stillness and quiet we taste a bit of
who and what we are. What does that
matter? I don’t know that it does other
than to help you understand that you are more than flesh, bones, brain and
a bundle of nerves. You are that too but
so much more. Add emotion and you have
the perfect storm of wonder that humanity is.
It’s truly beautiful. You are truly
beautiful. Our consciousness from
whatever angle for whatever purpose we design is amazing regardless of who is
right, wrong or somewhere in between.
Source:
http://dreamintime.blogspot.com/2015/12/pure-consciousness.html
