An edited conversation with a friend: About consciousness and the mind states. ~~~ Questioner: Is breathing and act of consciousness? Who breathes? Who is living? What is living? What is energy? Who is energy? If we didnt have knowledge of physical self how would we know who we were? Just as in deep sleep no one is conscious of the one sleeping until when one wakes up? Reply: Breathing, living... is a mind activity. A body mind activity. Consciousness does not breathe. One could say the body does, but in fact the body knows nothing of breathing. The body does not say I am breathing. Like a tree knows nothing of leaves growing on the branches nor does water know nothing of flowing stream. It is thought that says such things. Energy is a term in physics that explains the concept of motion and acceleration. There is no who to it. It is your assumption, your identification that you are the body mind that gives you the impression that it is through the body mind that you know who/what you are. Thus, erroneously, you rely on the senses and on the mind states to find out who/what you are, rather than recognizing consciousness. Consciousness does not know itself via a conceptual system. It is Self-knowing. In deep sleep as well as in the waking state, consciousness is ever awake. In ignorance consciousness identifies with a form and forgets its true nature (as consciousness). Questioner: Is consciousness Self-knowing without mind? Does mind exist outside of consciousness? So how can consciousness know itSelf as itSelf? Knowing of sense of identity but of what? Of you? How can space know itSelf? Can what is not space know itself as space? Reply: While the mind does not know consciousness. the mind is known by consciousness that is its substance and out of which it arises. It does not exist outside consciousness. Nothing does. Consciousness knows itself via itself, directly... and not via a mind medium. This knowingness is the realization of the Self... It is the mind that asks: How? and engages in thought. Thought cannot reach its source. Reasoning is a different matter and can be applied to investigate truth. Mind does not exist as an independent reality. Its reality is consciousness. Only consciousness is real, taking on the form of mind ... all along... remaining consciousness... remaining itself. Nothing exists outside consciousness. How could anything exist outside of its knowingness? Consciousness knows itself as consciousness. Ask yourself. Are you not consciousness? Dont you know you are conscious via consciousness? Questioner: Yes I am consciousness. I am All knowing consciously. But yet in sleeping who is conscious? You say, consciousness NEVER SLEEPS. But is it not the person, is it not the body that goes through that phenomenal state just like when you eat? So where am I while all this takes place? Consciousness when I open my eyes, I say I am consciousness. As soon as I close my eyes and go to sleep who is it that says I am consciousness? Are there two different states taking place? Reply: In deep sleep, consciousness is conscious. But there are no mind events. Nothing to record. Since the mind is not there, the mind says consciousness is absent. Consciousness is ever conscious and never turned off. It is the mind that is turned off and on as consciousness takes on the form of mind and then drops it. There is nothing else but consciousness that is conscious. It is not the body or mind that is conscious. Thus why look at the body mind for answers? Both body and mind are phenomenal events that are perceived by consciousness and out of which they arise. Consciousness is omnipresent. It is present in all states, but not necessarily Self knowing in all states. It is Self knowing in Turiya, the awakened state. In the waking state (such as this instant), consciousness conceives and perceives events, like this perception. In deep sleep, it does not conceive nor perceive events. In Turiya, there is peace and happiness in the presence or absence of events, independent of events. Questioner: Can this same event happen when you are awake? Is this Self realization.? Or Samadhi, not sure if I spelled it correctly? Reply: In Turiya, all states are permeated with causeless peace and happiness. When peace is established and does not come and go, that is the establishment as the Self. Questioner: So when one says, Ah man I am tired I just want to go sleep. Mind is saying this correct? Reply: Yes. But this does not necessarily mean ignorance. It is consciousness that takes on the form of a tired body. This does not necessarily mean identification with the body. A sages body goes to sleep after a long day. A sage is not identified with the body. Questioner: Sage? Reply: A Jnani. The Self Questioner: Okay. Is God another word for consciousness? Reply: Yes. When consciousness is Self knowing and established ... it is God smiling.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:45:56 +0000
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