spirituality and perception
(The Word of Adonis)
As you may know, as human beings we are endowed with certain senses. Of course, there are the classical ones as sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. With our senses we may discover the various colors, taste, shapes, sounds and texture. In addition to these basic senses, we are not denying that there are other physical senses such as the sense of balance, body awareness, and heat and so on. There are also the psychical senses that may not be commonly known. For those of us with an open and receptive faculty, there may be the other psychical senses of precognition, telepathy, clairvoyance and so on.
Now, through our senses our brain gains a certain impression of the world. These impressions are formed by the stimulus and assimilated through the senses of consciousness. Now these senses are bound by time and knowledge, which means they are limited. Furthermore, at the center of our perception there is the ego that we call ourselves which thinks it perceives. There is the sense that we are the percipient; the entity that perceives, the percept; the impression of object obtained through the senses and perception; which is our state of being aware. Now in the idea of being an entity, a self that exists and acts is rather misleading. The act of sensing is not the dilemma, but the entity that thinks it senses something separate of itself is a great cause of many problems in this life. As long as the illusion and division of the self and the world exists, there is separation and therefore disorder in which there is no seeing.
Within our consciousness, this entity that you think you are as the perceiver of the perceived is illusory. In this point of view of the spectator, the spectacle that you experience as objective and separate from your self is delusional. As long as there is a division within ones perception, that is not perception no matter how real it may seem. The holistic perception that I am speaking of, is completely free of all division and separation. The fullness of perception awakens within you when the self, the ego, is not the center of your being that perceives.
Please walk with me into this so that you may see this clearly for yourself. Now, when the mind as thought and thinker is completely still, there is silence. That silence that is not formulated by the absence of noise. The silence that comes into being is without a cause. In that silence, there is the wholeness of perception in which all is one. When there is no division between the perceiver and the perceived, there is the oneness of perception that is the totality of life.
Spiritual Meditation The Perception Within Us All
Now, if you are deeply watching all this, you will discover that it is to see life 'as is.' This purity of witnessing comes when the mind is absent from the play of life. In the totality of perception, all life is. It is to see life completely and not comparatively, which is the illusion of the self.
To go deeper into this, understand that as long as there is a presumed perceiver, there is no perception. The partial discernment of the senses and thought is not the perception that I am unfolding. In the wholeness of perception, when the senses and all ones’ thoughts are still, there is freedom from distortion, obscurity and delusion. Then you may go deeper and discover something beyond the limitations of mind and its shadows.
To listen closely to what I am saying, it is vital for you to understand how I use the word, perception, holistically. Now realize that the word, the definition and the idea of perception is not the actuality of perception. So let us not become drunk on words. To go into this requires sobriety and alertness. There is only perception when you are completely free, silent and tranquil within. When the mind is perfectly still, that effortless perception comes into being without provocation. It is to see beyond the totality of all the senses and their limited capacity. In this, perception is all and all is perception, when you discover that the image you have of yourself is delusional and therefore it all vanquishes in the light of perception. This self that you think you are is born of the ignorance of not seeing. The ignorance of not looking at life, 'as is' without idealizing, conceptualizing or formularizing is the very root of all our problems. As long as the mind as time enters, there is space as division, which thwarts perception.
It is for you to understand that an image of reality, carved by our conditioning and beliefs is not the real. Only in the death of ones self which blocks clear seeing, is there the clarity of perception. To relinquish the self and be completely detached is total freedom. In the renunciation of the self, there is freedom without measure. When you are not, then there is the awakening of holistic perception that comes into being. When you see the darkness and blindness the self breeds, then you are free. Then there is complete release of the false. Unbound and emancipated from the claws of ignorance of ones self, is the natural way of life for all humanity. After all, what is this psychological character you presume yourself to be? Is it fact or fiction? Once you discover the truth of this for yourself, that there is no actual entity within you, there is liberation.
Spiritual Meditation And This Seeing Within
Literally speaking, the ultimate word to really examine and explore is perception. In a single word, I have discovered the underlying ground that is the unification and relationship of all seemingly unrelated things and fields. What is paramount is that you understand that the word perception is only the symbol representing the fact. This totality of perception is not the perception of something, but perception per se, which is pure being.
This acuity is beyond the senses and the past as time. It is this holistic perception that is the secret key to everything in creation. It is the key that unlocks everything in the universe. By definition, this perception that I am alluding to, does not exclude the senses but transcends the body, mind and all the senses, when you the conscious self is absent. When you are not there, this living essence comes into the temple of your being. This essence of perception that I am speaking of is the key to all understanding.
To comprehend all this is to look into the fact that everything we know, feel and think is grounded in our perception. All the religions, philosophies and sciences have their division in the attempt to understand life through unification. What I am saying is that the problem lies in our consciousness; the very root of all seemingly separate things is in our lack of perception. This means the solution is in perceptivity, which is not a state or a non-state; it is the total freedom of perception. What I am saying is that all the division and all the multiplicity of things in life is formed by misperception, a lack of understanding what we truly are.
We are suffering from the apparition of self, believing that the appearance in the mind is real. We are deceiving ourselves thinking that the flower we see is the flower itself. What I am pronouncing is that the perception of objects existing in our experiences is affected by the restlessness of our minds. In this world, nothing is the same from one moment to the next. We live immersed in a world of time and change. In this life, in spite of appearances, nothing is still, nothing is permanent. Moreover, because of this impermanence, there is fear, which distorts our perception. To understand this is quiet simple, if you listen without any form of opposition.
Spiritual Meditation Beyond The Darkness Of Sorrow
As a fellow human being, I wanted to find a simple and practical way to express the fact that all things in this life and universe are one. I was looking for a practical and simplistic way of pointing this truth to anyone regardless of his or her particular background. I feel with great certainty that I have found the very thread that all life is sown. Now, to awaken this effortless perception, there has to be an assiduous listening and watchfulness of each thought and every emotion that arises within you. When all thoughts and emotions are no more, the mind is then still and effortlessly quiet. In that quietude, there is the totality of perception in which awakens that bliss beyond all form and measure.
Now in other words, what I am asking is, is there an actual answer to all our problems in this world, factually? I say there is. Now to awaken to that wisdom, we must delve into understanding ourselves through direct perception. After all, it is our lack of perception that is the very root of all our problems on every level of existence. Out of ignorance, we have rejected the very building block in which all life stands. And, if you are at all intelligent and alert you will discover that the fullness of perception, which is completely free of time, is the very foundation of all life. Please do not limit the veracity of what I am saying. It is for you to look within yourself and discover the truth or false of what I am trying to convey. The exploration into your life is paramount in order to see the facts of all this and experience the truth for yourself.
It is this non-sensorial perception that is direct and beyond the concept of time-space and permanency. This perception, which is free of ones self, is completely free of mind, time and causation. When you awaken to this timeless perception, there is pure awareness free of a perceiver. In this essence, beyond the mind and no-mind, there is the awakening of the real. Then you discover in the present moment of life, here and now, that reality which transcends all things is within you.
Adonis Alexander
(Author of Secret Sayings of Adonis)
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