The Mirror and its reflections from Steven Kaufman's blog

There is no world,

there is no mind,

there is no me.

 

There is no this or that,

there is only what Is.

The world is this or that,

the mind is this or that,

me is this or that.

 

What Is is the Mirror

in which this and that arise.

 

And how do this and that arise

in the Mirror of what Is?

 

When the Mirror of what Is

bends upon Itself

a reflection arises in the Mirror

that is either this or that.

 

That reflection is never what Is,

is never the formless Mirror Itself,

but it does reflect, in its form,

the way in which the Mirror

is being in relation to Itself

in order to create the reflection,

in order to create the this or that,

that arises within Itself,

and which reflection, once created,

the Mirror then knows

as reality.

 

Reality seems to be what is there

where it appears to be,

but what is actually there

where reality appears to be

is the Mirror of what Is

that is both creating and apprehending

the reflection that arises within Itself,

owing to the way It is being,

in that moment,

in relation to Itself.

 

What Is Actually There

where a rock appears to be

is not hard.

 

What Is Actually There

where a rock appears to be

is neither hard nor soft,

but is empty,

devoid of form.

 

It is only when the formless Mirror

that Is where we are,

that Is what we are,

comes in relation to that same formless Mirror

that Is actually there

where the rock appears to be,

that a reflection arises within the Mirror,

that a form arises within the Mirror,

that a reality arises within the Mirror,

that we call hard.

 

The relation creates the reality,

and the particular relation

creates the particular reality.

 

One relation of the Mirror to Itself

creates this reality,

whereas the opposite relation of the Mirror to Itself

creates that reality.

 

The reality is not there

in the absence of the relation

of Isness to Itself

that creates it.

 

Nor is the reality what is actually there

even in the presence of the relation

of Isness to Itself

that creates it.

 

For what is actually there

is the Mirror of Isness

that is both creating and apprehending

as reality,

the reflection that has arisen within Itself

owing to its being

in relation to Itself.

 

That is why I say

there is no world,

there is no mind,

there is no me,

because these things, these forms,

that make up what we call the world,

that make up what we call the mind,

that make up what we call me,

that make up what we call reality,

are not what is actually there

where they appear to be,

nor are they actually there

as they appear to be.

 

These things, these forms,

of which the world, the mind, and the me are composed,

are thought to be there

as we apprehend them to be there

whether or not we are,

in this moment,

aware of them as being there.

 

This is an illusion

made possible by the mind,

because it is an illusion

that rests upon what is only a thought,

and so rests upon what is itself

only a reflection.

 

These things, these forms,

of which the world, the mind, and the me are composed,

only appear to be

where they appear to be,

and as they appear to be,

as long as we, as the Mirror,

are aware of them being

where and as they appear to be,

as long as we, as the Mirror,

are involved in the relation with our Self

that brings into existence within our Self

the particular reflection,

the particular form,

that we, as the Mirror,

apprehend as that particular reality.

 

In the absence of a mirror

there can be no reflection

and in the absence of Awareness

there can be no reality.

 

Why then do these things, these forms,

the this' and that’s that make up reality,

seem to be what is actually there,

where they appear to be,

if they are truly not

What Is Actually There

where they appear to be?

 

Because the Mirror has lost sight of Itself,

lost sight of What Is Actually There,

and so now what are only the reflections

that arise within Itself,

that arise within What Is Actually There

appear to be

what is actually there.

 

And how has the Mirror

lost sight of Itself,

and so lost sight of

What Is Actually There?

 

Because the formless Mirror

at some point, and for some reason,

instead of letting the thought "I am"

continue to flow forth from the realization

of its own formless Being,

instead chose to think

"I am this," or "I am that,"

and so made the mistake

of linking Itself to form,

and so made the mistake

of identifying itself with form,

with something that arises within Itself,

yet which is not actually Itself. 

 

And as long as the Mirror

knows itself as some form,

as some reflection,

as some reality,

that has arisen within Itself,

and so also mistakenly knows that reflection

to be what is actually there

where it only appears to be,

then What Is Actually There,

which is the Mirror Itself,

must remain hidden

while still in plain sight,

as a mirror becomes hidden

while still in plain sight

as long as the reflection that arises within it

is mistaken for what is actually there.

 

"I am" is a thought, and so is a form,

that points one toward the Formless,

and so points one toward their true Self,

because it is a thought that arises

from the direct realization of one's Self

as formless Beingness.

 

"I am this," or "I am that"

are also thoughts,

but they are thoughts

that point one toward form

and so point one away from their true Self,

because these are thought that arise

from the experience of one's self

as form. 

 

The relation of the Mirror to Itself

that is the direct realization of its formless Being,

that allows the Mirror to know Itself as it Is,

as the formless Isness,

while still in relation to Itself,

and so while still creating form within Itself,

while still creating the reflection "I am,"

is the opposite of the relation of the Mirror to Itself

that creates the reflections "I am this," or "I am that,"

which cause the Mirror to know itself as it is not,

as other than the formless Isness.

 

And because these relations are opposite,

they are also mutually exclusive,

meaning that while the Mirror is involved in one relation,

and thereby creating one reflection,

It cannot be involved in the other relation,

and so cannot create the other reflection.

 

This is why a long as we, as the Mirror,

know ourself as this or that,

know ourself as some form,

what we truly Are remains hidden

while still in plain sight

as the Formlessness

within which all form arises,

which is also the Formlessness

by which all form is apprehended.

 

Because knowing ourself as this or that,

knowing ourself as some form,

requires our involvement

in the particular relation with our Self

that creates that particular form,

that particular thought,

that particular reality,

within our Self.

 

And as long as we are involved

in that particular relation with our Self

creating that particular form,

that particular thought,

that particular reality,

and so knowing ourself in that particular way,

as this or that form,

it is simply not possible

for us to become involved

in the opposite relation with our Self

necessary to create the opposite form,

the opposite thought,

that points beyond reality,

necessary to create the "I am"

that would point us back toward our Self,

and simultaneously reveal to us

both our formless Nature

and the illusory nature of our form-identity. 

 

Consciousness is non-dual

but the reality Consciousness creates

through relation to Itself

is nothing but duality,

nothing but this or that form.

 

Know yourself as form,

as this or that,

and you cannot know yourself

as the Consciousness that you are.

 

For Consciousness to know Itself as Consciousness

still requires Consciousness to be in relation to Itself.

but Consciousness cannot be in the relation with Itself

in which it knows Itself as Consciousness 

while continuing to be involved

in the opposite and so mutually exclusive relation

in which it knows Itself as some form,

in which it knows "I am this" or I an that."

 

Because while involved in the relation

in which Consciousness knows Itself as some form,

in which Consciousness knows "I am this," or I am that,"

formless Consciousness must remain hidden from Itself,

while nonetheless always there in plain sight,

as the Formlessness which must be there

for there to be the apprehension of any this or that,

for there to be the apprehension of any form.

 

This is why so many seek

but so few find,

because the very action of seeking

while still identified with form

and so while still involved in the relation

that creates the form-identity,

that creates the idea "I am this," or I am that,"

must keep hidden the Formlessness

that is ultimately

what is being sought.

 

The difficulty is in realizing this conundrum

while still identified with form

and so while reality still appears

to be what is actually there

where it appears to be,

and so still seems to be

all there is,

and so still seems to be

of absolute importance.

 

You may not, in this moment

be able to disidentify with form,

and so you may not, in this moment,

be able to extract yourself from the relation

that keeps What You Actually Are

hidden from You.

 

But you can, in this moment

realize the relative nature of form,

realize form to be but a reflection,

realize reality to be but a reflection,

and in that way prepare

for the realization that will inevitably follow,

for the Mirror cannot remain long hidden

once the reflection begins to be recognized

for what it is,

and so therefore also begins to be recognized,

for what it is not.

 

For what a reflection is not,

and what it can never be,

is what is actually there

where it appears to be.

 

There is no world,

there is no mind,

there is no me.

 

There is no this or that,

there is only what Is.

 

Everything else is just a reflection.

Everything else is just reality.

 

And all reality,

emotional, mental, and physical,

only seems

so absolutely important

as long as What Is Absolutely Important

remains unavoidably hidden

by one's involvement in the relation

that creates the reflection,

that creates the form,

that creates the idea,

that creates the reality,

that reality,

that the world,

that the mind,

that the me,

are what is actually there

where they appear to be,

where there is only ever actually

the Mirror of Isness

the Mirror of Consciousness

in which all the reflections,

all the forms,

arise and exist,

and by which all the reflections,

all the forms,

are known as reality.