Very much looking forward to listening to this conversation. Thank you, Dougald, for posting some really thought provoking and stimulating posts this year. It has been a rich feast!
The Nature of Consciousness Itself must be found out, because That is your Position. Likewise, the nature of all objects must be found out too, because you are associated with objects.
If you examine any thing that you would describe as object to you, following it down to its depth-level, or through a chain of causation, or however you may like to think about it, eventually it is found to be Light or Energy - whatever that is. Light or Energy Is a Single "Something"- a Force, a kind of Luminous Radiation. You cannot reduce any object further than That.
Similarly, if you go within yourself, examining all the layers of your own self identity/description, entering into the in-depth mind, and so on, when you get to the Root of "you", there is Consciousness, and you cannot go any further than that. The subjective "you" is not reducible to anything further. You cannot break Consciousness up into parts. It Is just What It IS. And the same is true of Energy or Light. No matter how you examine Energy , there is no basis for dividing it (which is exactly what the "forceful mind" does!)
But Consciousness is the basis for your examination of both interior and exterior, both "self" and "not-self". In other words, even that which is identified as "not-self" is something you know in the Domain of Consciousness. Is there any difference as seemingly created by the "forceful mind"!
Very much looking forward to listening to this conversation. Thank you, Dougald, for posting some really thought provoking and stimulating posts this year. It has been a rich feast!
Oh thank you so much for posting this, Dougald. And a joyous year's turning to you.
A different perspective on first principles.
The Nature of Consciousness Itself must be found out, because That is your Position. Likewise, the nature of all objects must be found out too, because you are associated with objects.
If you examine any thing that you would describe as object to you, following it down to its depth-level, or through a chain of causation, or however you may like to think about it, eventually it is found to be Light or Energy - whatever that is. Light or Energy Is a Single "Something"- a Force, a kind of Luminous Radiation. You cannot reduce any object further than That.
Similarly, if you go within yourself, examining all the layers of your own self identity/description, entering into the in-depth mind, and so on, when you get to the Root of "you", there is Consciousness, and you cannot go any further than that. The subjective "you" is not reducible to anything further. You cannot break Consciousness up into parts. It Is just What It IS. And the same is true of Energy or Light. No matter how you examine Energy , there is no basis for dividing it (which is exactly what the "forceful mind" does!)
But Consciousness is the basis for your examination of both interior and exterior, both "self" and "not-self". In other words, even that which is identified as "not-self" is something you know in the Domain of Consciousness. Is there any difference as seemingly created by the "forceful mind"!
Thank You. Their conversation was a rich treat.
Thank you for such a timely two turtle doves!