What is this?
Who am I?
The Many Faces of the One: article 6 - the unpublished esoteric writings of an aging yogi.
"I am Spirit. I am free. I am free from eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. I am free from sight, smell, taste, touch, and objects of mind. I am free from all sensory realms of experience including mind-consciousness. These things do not limit me or imprison me. They can not hurt me or destroy me. They do not define me.
I am Spirit. I am free. I am not eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. I am not sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and objects of mind. I am not mind-consciousness. I am not the mental and physical faculties of the mind and body. These things do not limit me or imprison me. They can not hurt me or destroy me. They do not define me. I am Spirit. I am free. I am." Only God is Real as 'I-am'.
continuing from the esoteric unpublished writings and works of article 5 -
"I am Spirit. I am free. I am free from eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. I am free from sight, smell, taste, touch, and objects of mind. I am free from all sensory realms of experience including mind-consciousness. These things do not limit me or imprison me. They can not hurt me or destroy me. They do not define me.
I am Spirit. I am free. I am not eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. I am not sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and objects of mind. I am not mind-consciousness. I am not the mental and physical faculties of the mind and body. These things do not limit me or imprison me. They can not hurt me or destroy me. They do not define me. I am Spirit. I am free. I am." Only God is Real as 'I-am'.
continuing from the esoteric unpublished writings and works of article 5 -
ONLY GOD is REAL
"If we say, "I am this or I am that", then this is not Atman-Yoga. If we say, "life is this or life is that", then this also is not Atman-Yoga. "I-am. Life is." Nothing more than this. Plain and simple. This is Atman-Yoga. Only God is Real as the eternal 'I-am'. The Deathless Self alone is. All is this.
I am the 'I-am' of I am.
It is only us, or should I say the so-called conditioned, embodied and individualized mind, that attaches labels, ideas, opinions, preferences, names, views and self-importance to the temporary things, events, projections, creations and dramas of the phenomenal and ever-changing world, when all the time their existence is only the fabrication and continuation of the impersonal and transitory mind/body experience. It is like a worldly mind-made fiction and drama that we assume to be real. We assume it to be substantial, reliable and permanent, when it is truly empty, unreal, ever-changing, impersonal and transitory. Whatever happiness, pleasure and reward is to be found and gained from the things, dramas, events and conditions of this ever-changing dual world of things, creations and forms will not last, and this too includes the mind/body experience.
Due to the temporary worldly sleep of ignorance, what is actually unreal, impermanent, impersonal and insubstantial we mistakenly take for being real, permanent, personal and substantial, and therefore we become emotionally invested in it, attached and identified with it. We mistake the cognitive 'I' for the real 'I'. We mistake the impersonal 'I' as the personal 'I'. We attach permanence to where there is only change, transition, emptiness and impermanence. We strongly objectify and project our desire and need for permanent happiness, reward, reliance, security and peace of mind on all that is changing and empty only to be left dissatisfied, confused and restless. We mistake the 'I' thought as the one who has experience, when the 'I' is not something that we are but something we become and identify with. And yet even the 'I' is not our true identity, and so too with the so-called individualized mind and intellect. We are much bigger than this.
We are the 'I-am' of I am.
Yes, I-am. Life is. And yet we make it much more than this. It moves away from pure existence of 'I-am' and 'life is'. It becomes conceptual thinking and the body identity. In waking up to our true nature and essence we might ask ourselves, "what is the root and origin of this 'I' thought?" What is it the original source and essence of this feeling and sense of 'I-am'? Who or what is that seeks permanent happiness, security and fulfilment in that which is always changing? Even 'becoming' and 'being' are temporary appearances in time, space and form. Like waves are to the ocean. And space, time and form are appearances as mind within mind-consciousness. They too are a temporary and selfless projection of our true undying and eternal essence, source, origin and nature. If we are to awaken from the temporary sleep and suffering of ignorance, we must willingly venture beyond the confines and limits of the mind/body experience to fully realize and know our true undying and formless identity - the true and absolute essence and root of 'I-am'. This being the 'I-am' of I am.
Therefore, we could ask, should we have the genuine desire and commitment to know, what is that precedes all of this, 'I-am. Life is', if anything?
What is this?
Who am I?
KNOWING THE REAL FROM THE UNREAL
In 'becoming' and 'being' our interpretations, opinions, ideas, views, preferences and beliefs become relevant, purposeful and meaningful to us and our experience of the phenomenal world of things. What has the appearance of being external to us is simply played out in the workings, conditions and tendencies of the individualized mind. These things build, condition and shape our experience and the on-going story and fiction we tell ourselves about who we are and what the phenomenal world is. Not only do they decide how we view our own self-image and persona but also others too. We simply appear to forget it is only us or should I say the impersonal appearance of temporary and empty phenomena making 'nothingness' into something that we attach meaning, selfhood, value and purpose to. It is all the transcendental playing out and dance of 'emptiness' - the unchanging and eternal Deathless Self. Nothing more than this. It is all 'emptiness' continuously playing out and dancing.
- No mind, no phenomenal world. No phenomenal world, no experience. Emptiness as form and form always remaining as emptiness- unchanging, unborn, ageless and deathless. The Self filled with the Self, forever remaining as the Self. In truth all reality and identity is Divinity itself.
- No mind, no phenomenal world. No phenomenal world, no experience. Emptiness as form and form always remaining as emptiness- unchanging, unborn, ageless and deathless. The Self filled with the Self, forever remaining as the Self. In truth all reality and identity is Divinity itself.
It is only us, or should I say the individualized mind, that decides what is appropriate and inappropriate to us; what is acceptable and unacceptable in our lives when in fact it is all impersonal, empty, unreal and selfless despite it appearing as personal, substantial and real to us. Life and what it is, is all happening in and of itself. It is all 'emptiness' playing out and acting out as a myriad of multiple transitory expressions, forms, events, dramas, creations and phenomena. It is all the selfless and impersonal eternal transcendental play and dance of 'emptiness' and nothing more. This is not to say that there isn't any feeling or sense of 'I' that is playing and acting out one's so-called individualized embodied life, but this too is an impersonal, selfless and unreal phenomena and expression of self-awareness. It is a temporary projection and construct of our own true undying essence, source, origin and nature. It is all simply 'emptiness', pure 'Spirit', doing its endless sacred and abundant transcendental play and dance of infinite possibilities and forms that appear, change and disappear. Multiple visible and invisible worlds and realms coming and going; countless lives coming and going; endless appearances coming and going; an abundance of experiences coming and going; endless phenomena coming and going and ever-changing dramas, situations, conditions and events coming and going. Like continuous waves on the vast eternal ocean of life. It is all 'emptiness' doing its endless sacred, spontaneous and impersonal play and dance.
This does not take away from fully living our so-called embodied humanity in all its fullness of life. If anything it totally enhances and fills it with the truthfulness, recognition and knowledge of pure 'Spirit' therefore making it more real, fulfilling, loving, intimate and genuine in the way we live it out and interact with others. It is all the Self filled with the Self, being the Self, forever remaining as the Self. In this recognition, knowing and knowledge of pure 'Spirit' our individualized embodied experience is much more fearless, free, fulfilled, honest, intimate, genuine, forgiving, spiritual, abundant, compassionate, real, kind and loving. This is as an awakening and tangible consequence of seeing things for what they really are and realizing that no-thing is really personal. That which we are, pure 'Spirit', is not altered, changed, threaten, limited, lessened, improved or affected by all that happens or doesn't happen in the world. The presence, intimacy and freedom of pure 'Spirit' that we have with the world is not reliant or attached to the ever-changing conditions, dramas, forms and events of the dual and conditioned world of things, creations and phenomena. It is always free, whole, at peace, pure, attractive, fulfilled, abundant, reliant and loved, no matter what is going on with the world, and its myriad and diversity of appearances, dramas, situations, creations and forms. All is reality and identity is boundless 'emptiness'. It is the 'I-am' of I am.
This is the life-affirming message of Atman-Yoga. The true full embodiment of an atman-yogi.
I am the 'I-am' of I am.
LOVING THE WORLD AS 'I AM'
"I am Spirit. I am free. I am free from space, time and form. I am free from birth, old age, decay, sickness, lack and death. I am free from all worldly and unworldly phenomena, be they favorable or unfavorable, pleasing or unpleasant, rewarding or disappointing, easy or challenging. These things do not limit me or imprison me. They can not hurt me or destroy me. They do not define me.
I am Spirit. I am free. I am not space, time and form. I am not birth, old age, decay, sickness, lack and death. I am not the appearance, change and disappearance of worldly or unworldly phenomena. I am not the duality of subject and object. These things do not limit me or imprison me. They can not hurt me or destroy me. They do not define me." Only God is Real as the eternal and undying 'I-am'.
'I-am. Life is.' Nothing more than is.
It is only us who, or should I say the individualized and conditioned mind, that decides what to love or to hate, or to like or dislike. It is only the temporary and ever-changing conditions, tendencies, urges and preferences of the so-called individualized mind. It is not the things in themselves that do this to us. In truth there is no real 'us'. It only appears to be this way. It is all one interconnected and boundless Reality, doing its own sacred dance. Again we are the ones giving meaning, value and purpose to our world or should I say the impersonal playing out of the mind/body experience with its conditioning, habits, preferences, urges and mental tendencies. And yet at the same time we would not assume we do not exist when no mind or phenomenal world are present, like in deep sleep. 'I-am' always is, whether worlds, realms, experiences or conditions, dramas and phenomena exist or not.
Like I've already stated, the chair is both there and not there. The chair has no real existence independent of the mind, and the mind has no independent existence from the interconnected playing out of mental formations, impressions, tendencies and projections. Without the mind how could the phenomenal world exist to us? Who would know that it is actually here or there? Obviously we assume it would be, even when the mind and the phenomenal and conceptual world are not present to us. Both the impersonal and personal are temporary phenomena like all phenomena. These are recognized and known as ideas, objects, creations and phenomena and yet their recognition demonstrates their lack of real permanence. The experience of 'I' and the phenomenal world appear and disappear together. Both essentially are transitory, empty and impermanent in nature, and yet the 'I-am' always is. The truth of reality, experience and identity always is. It is all Divinity itself. Only 'emptiness'. Our true absolute and limitless identity as 'I-am'. All is this one enduring Reality.
The on-going temporary and ever-changing experience of the phenomenal world and all its forms, dramas and creations show up as we wake from sleep and disappears when we fall into sleep. Experience shows up and the feeling and sense of 'I' shows up with it. What is interesting here in the close and direct examination and investigation of the so-called individualized 'self' is both the 'I' and the world are known by that which recognizes their existence. In the self-inquiry and pursuit of Self-realization and Spiritual-awakening, we can all ask ourselves of experience and experiencing, "who is the one having the mind/body experience, and recognizes the phenomenal world of things and creations? If for a moment we were to put aside all the mental impressions and the phenomenal world too, who are we? Who or what is having experience? What is the phenomenal world without the one who experiences it? And 'who am I' without the experience and experiencing of the so-called phenomenal world? Who is it this 'I' that recognizes their own existence and who or what is it that needs to know? I would say it is simply, 'I-am. Life is'. Nothing more than this. We are all Reality itself. Only 'emptiness' spontaneously playing and dancing as the fullness and wholeness of all life.
Of course the one who is self-inquiring might strongly and confidently reply to the self-inquiry of 'who am I?' With 'me', but who or what is it that recognizes the feeling and thought of 'I' or 'me' and makes this self-assured and self-aware claim? Is this too not a recognized thought projection? Who or what is this 'me' that is so self-assured and certain of its existence and individuality, and the fact that it is the one who is having experience and is experiencing? What is its true underlying essence, origin and source? Can it really be fully known as an experience of experiencing?
Like I've already stated, the chair is both there and not there. The chair has no real existence independent of the mind, and the mind has no independent existence from the interconnected playing out of mental formations, impressions, tendencies and projections. Without the mind how could the phenomenal world exist to us? Who would know that it is actually here or there? Obviously we assume it would be, even when the mind and the phenomenal and conceptual world are not present to us. Both the impersonal and personal are temporary phenomena like all phenomena. These are recognized and known as ideas, objects, creations and phenomena and yet their recognition demonstrates their lack of real permanence. The experience of 'I' and the phenomenal world appear and disappear together. Both essentially are transitory, empty and impermanent in nature, and yet the 'I-am' always is. The truth of reality, experience and identity always is. It is all Divinity itself. Only 'emptiness'. Our true absolute and limitless identity as 'I-am'. All is this one enduring Reality.
The on-going temporary and ever-changing experience of the phenomenal world and all its forms, dramas and creations show up as we wake from sleep and disappears when we fall into sleep. Experience shows up and the feeling and sense of 'I' shows up with it. What is interesting here in the close and direct examination and investigation of the so-called individualized 'self' is both the 'I' and the world are known by that which recognizes their existence. In the self-inquiry and pursuit of Self-realization and Spiritual-awakening, we can all ask ourselves of experience and experiencing, "who is the one having the mind/body experience, and recognizes the phenomenal world of things and creations? If for a moment we were to put aside all the mental impressions and the phenomenal world too, who are we? Who or what is having experience? What is the phenomenal world without the one who experiences it? And 'who am I' without the experience and experiencing of the so-called phenomenal world? Who is it this 'I' that recognizes their own existence and who or what is it that needs to know? I would say it is simply, 'I-am. Life is'. Nothing more than this. We are all Reality itself. Only 'emptiness' spontaneously playing and dancing as the fullness and wholeness of all life.
Of course the one who is self-inquiring might strongly and confidently reply to the self-inquiry of 'who am I?' With 'me', but who or what is it that recognizes the feeling and thought of 'I' or 'me' and makes this self-assured and self-aware claim? Is this too not a recognized thought projection? Who or what is this 'me' that is so self-assured and certain of its existence and individuality, and the fact that it is the one who is having experience and is experiencing? What is its true underlying essence, origin and source? Can it really be fully known as an experience of experiencing?
What is this?
Who am I?
WAKEFULNESS
Remember I do not present these esoteric contemplative and meditative writings and works as a way to get down on life. In fact it is quite the opposite. It is so we can fully, intimately and freely embrace the fullness and brutal beauty of life with the recognition, knowing and knowledge of pure 'Spirit' and not be fooled and entrapped by its ever-changing appearances, phenomena, conditions, creations and forms. We can fully, intimately and freely be in the world and yet not of the world. We can fully, intimately and freely love and be at peace with all that the world is or is not, and all that it delivers and takes away with the recognition, truth and knowledge of pure 'Spirit'; that 'Only God is Real' as 'I-am'. We are all truly Reality itself, and will always remain so despite the appearance, presence and disappearance of phenomena, worlds, realms, conditions, creations and forms. The appearance and disappearance of phenomena, worlds, realms, conditions, creations and forms does not affect, limit, threaten, hinder, lessen, improve, change or alter that which we truly are. The 'I-am' remains as it is - untouched, unmoved, unlimited, boundless and unaltered.
We can all as aspiring and committed atman-yogis ask directly and honestly of ourselves now in the profound silence and stillness of 'I-am', "who is the one having the experience of 'I' and the phenomenal world? Who is the so-called 'I' that makes this self-assured and self-aware claim of its own individualized, embodied and limited identity and existence? We can all examine and investigate in the silence and stillness of spiritual contemplation, self-inquiry and meditation that which recognizes the thought and feeling of 'I' or 'me'. What is it that recognizes and knows the 'I' thought? What is it's true essence, nature and source? What is it that is knowing and self-aware, and yet is not an object observed and known? Who am I that is beyond the very thought and idea of 'I'?
We can all as aspiring and committed atman-yogis ask directly and honestly of ourselves now in the profound silence and stillness of 'I-am', "who is the one having the experience of 'I' and the phenomenal world? Who is the so-called 'I' that makes this self-assured and self-aware claim of its own individualized, embodied and limited identity and existence? We can all examine and investigate in the silence and stillness of spiritual contemplation, self-inquiry and meditation that which recognizes the thought and feeling of 'I' or 'me'. What is it that recognizes and knows the 'I' thought? What is it's true essence, nature and source? What is it that is knowing and self-aware, and yet is not an object observed and known? Who am I that is beyond the very thought and idea of 'I'?
Who am I?
What is this?
Can this intimate knowing of reality, experience and identity be truly known?
As I stated, we do not do this to get down on the world and all its ever-changing dramas, forms and events but we do this in order to discern and know the real from the unreal. We do this in order to directly, honestly and intimately know for ourselves that which is real, permanent and eternal, and to be free of the painful and limiting illusory grip of all that is unreal, uncertain, painful and unreliable. We do this in order to no longer be the self-made victims and prisoners of our own ignorance and limiting illusions. We do this in order to see things for what they really are, and then we will know how to be effortlessly, freely, courageously and genuinely in love, forgiving, free and at peace with the ever-changing world of things, forms, phenomena, creations and dramas despite its on-going challenges and changes. As a fully realized and awakened atman-yogi we will genuinely know that 'Only God is Real' as the ever-present 'I-am' and therefore there is nothing really to fear or loose in life or death. We will be a fully awakened and embodied knowing presence of reality, experience and identity. We will know that we and all phenomena are truly Reality itself. The one absolute and ever-present identity. The 'I-am' of I am. This is the knowing and knowledge of the Deathless Yogi.
This is the essential message of Atman-Yoga. The Deathless Self alone is.
Atman-Yoga Daily Mantra: "I am. Life is. I am one with all life and all life is one with 'I-am'. Oneness in body. Oneness in mind. Oneness in all things."
Song of the Deathless Yogi:
I am 'emptiness'. All is 'emptiness'. 'Emptiness' is all.
Form is 'emptiness'. 'Emptiness' is form'. Only 'emptiness'.
This esoteric blog is dedicated to my earthly mother 'Rita' who transitioned on the 12th December 2021. A truly selfless, kind, beautiful and loving embodied soul, friend and mother.
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