Although I have written about this topic before, I believe that my message is not redundant. My goal is not to entertain or provide food for thought through essays, but rather to create bridges between the impermanent and the permanent.
Words are my chosen medium, as I have no other choice. However, the essence of my message is beyond the words themselves, beyond the thoughts they provoke. My message about Presence – what remains after the sound has faded and the thoughts have vanished. When the mind becomes still, what is left is you – Presence itself.
While the mind can conceptualize Presence, it can never truly experience it. Presence can only be felt by Presence. For those of you who have some understanding of programming concepts, we could use the analogy of a recursive function calling itself from itself.
To delve further into the workings of consciousness, how does it shift from “Me, John Doe, I think of Presence” to “I am Presence”? The answer is simple: when the mind stops its activity, and when one relinquishes their identification with labels and forms, all that remains is Presence. The challenge lies in becoming aware of the dictates of the mind, of its grip on what it decides to show you and slowly regaining control of the content of your conscious space.
Presence is also known as Awareness or Consciousness, it is pure Awareness or Consciousness in its unadulterated state – before it has been shaped by mind activity and the labeling process.
This pure, transparent Presence is what some refer to as “God”, although the term has been so overused and misused throughout history that it is not always a useful term. However, it is important to mention it here to connect certain dots.
Presence is the clear conscious space in which objects, sensations, thoughts, and emotions arise. Like a dream that exists in and is made of the consciousness of the dreamer, the world exists in Presence and is made of Presence.
If there is one dreamer and the world is the dream, then one has the power to awaken within the dream. Awakening within the dream is called lucid dreaming, while in waking life, it is called spiritual awakening.
However, it is important to note that the awakening of Presence is only half of the story. This realization is just the beginning. Once one is clearly established in their permanent self, their impermanent identity and personality will slowly start to align with that newfound clarity. Every personality has its unique characteristics and flaws, and spiritual awakening does not brutally alter any of that. Rather, it provides a new perspective that can over time manifest through the personality as correct vision, and compassion, resulting in the correct action.
Finally, it is important to remember that Presence, pure consciousness, does not exclude anything – it embraces all, as it is the source of all. In some spiritual circles, the ego is seen as the enemy, or there is a belief that there is “nothing to do” because there is “no person”. However, such claims are made by spiritualized egos. In Presence, the permanent and impermanent are essentially one, united in Love.
From someone to no one, from no one to someone – I am complete.
Calwen
