MasterPok's blog

We look into the Universe

and see that it consists

of both objects

and the space out of which

those objects arise.

 

But when we look at ourselves

we see only an object,

only a form.

 

And yet even our bodies

consist mostly of space,

just like the Universe

out of which we grow

like fruit on a tree.

 

We just don't see it,

so we pretend

that it's not there.

 

So we look at the Universe

and we see form and formlessness

but when we look at ourselves

we see only form

and not the Formlessness.

 

This is our first mistake,

if one wants to call it that,

and really our only mistake,

because all other mistakes

are just the continuation

of this one mistake.

 

And what is this one mistake,

that is not really a mistake,

but just a necessary part of the game

of cosmic hide and seek

that we came to play?

 

It is the twin ideas

that what we are

is only a form,

and that what we are not

is the Formlessness

in which all forms arise.

 

If someone said the Universe

consisted of only the objects

and not the space

that is also clearly there,

we would then say

they were either crazy or blind.

 

But when we know ourselves

as only an object,

as only a form,

and not at all as the Formlessness

that is also clearly here

where we are,

we call this normal,

we call this seeing things

as they are.

 

What is this Formlessness,

in which all forms arise?

 

What is it within yourself

that is formless?

 

I will give you a hint.

It is not your mind,

nor is it space,

for mind and space,

as formless as they may seem,

are themselves subtle forms,

from which the less subtle forms

of thought and matter arise.

 

For if neither mind nor space had some form,

if neither mind nor space had some structure,

no matter how subtle,

then the forms we call thought and matter

could themselves have no structure,

and so would themselves have no form.

 

So what is it within yourself

that is truly formless?

 

I will give you another hint.

It is That by which you know

both the subtle forms

of mind and space,

and the less subtle forms

of thought and matter

that arise within mind and space.

 

It has always been there,

you just do not recognize it

as either a valid part

of what you are,

or as the essential part

of what you are.

 

Which is more real,

form or Formlessness?

 

Which is more enduring,

the objects that arise in space

or the space in which

those objects arise?

 

The forms seem more real

than the Formlessness

when form is all

you know yourself to be.

 

But once you recognize

the part of yourself

that has been hiding from you,

and yet was always there

in plain sight,

then what once seemed most real

becomes the shadow

and what seemed to be the shadow

becomes what is most Real.

 

And then the game

becomes much more fun

becomes much more enjoyable

becomes much more filled with joy

and so less filled with the suffering

that seems to make this life

a burden, a task, a chore,

rather than the game

that it really always has been.

 

When you do not recognize

your True Nature,

you cannot recognize the Universe

as your Self,

and so then the Universe,

which is really your closest friend,

appears as your opponent.

 

And then what is really only a game

being played between friends,

being played with your Self,

appears as a battle

between sworn enemies.

 

And so we find ourselves

in almost perpetual conflict

with this or that form,

with this or that situation,

with this or that person,

with this or that nation,

because we do not see those forms

as our Self,

because we cannot see the Formlessness

within our own selves.

 

Blind to the Formlessness

of which all forms are composed

we are blind to That

which connects all forms,

and so blind to That

which makes all forms One.

 

Love thy neighbor as thy self

was not a command,

nor even a suggestion,

but simply a statement

regarding how one will feel

about the Universe of things,

about the Universe of forms,

once it is realized

that the Kingdom of Heaven

is truly within us

as the Emptiness,

the Formlessness,

the Fullness of Life,

that is already here,

has always been here,

and will always be here

Now,

in this Moment

as our true and essential Nature.

There is a subtle difference

between knowing yourself as form

and Knowing yourself as That

of which form is composed.

 

That of which form is composed

is Emptiness, Beingness, Formlessness,

whereas form itself

is just a pattern of flow

that arises

where Emptiness, Beingness, Formlessness

flows in relation to Itself.

 

Because form is composed

of That which is formless

it is easy for the Formless

to mistake Itself for form,

easy for That which flows

to mistake itself

for what is only a pattern

of its Own flow.

 

It is as if water

flows in the pattern

we call a whirlpool

and then thinks of itself

as only the form,

as only the pattern of flow,

and not as that which flows,

and in so doing

becomes blind

to its true nature.

 

When you are at home

you may be a father or a mother,

and when you go to work

you may be a boss or an employee.

 

But these are just forms,

whirlpools that arise,

where what you actually Are

flows in relation to Itself.

 

What you actually Are

is That which knows itself

as father or mother,

as boss or employee.

 

What you actually Are

is That which knows itself

as whatever form

you think of yourself as being.

 

What you actually Are

is That which knows itself

as whatever form

you think of as your being.

 

For That which knows itself

as these various forms,

which change according to circumstances,

does not Itself change

just because it flows

into this or that form,

as water does not change

just because it flows

in this or that pattern.

 

Find within yourself

That which does not change

as circumstances change,

That which does not come and go

as forms come and go,

and you will have found

your True Nature.

 

You are not

a pattern of flow

that comes and goes.

 

You are That which flows,

That which, in flowing

creates the patterns,

creates the forms,

that come and go.

 

And That which flows

is not other

than That which knows.

 

The modern day mythology

that is the philosophy of materialism

holds that Life arises

within an otherwise lifeless universe.

 

In our modern world

this mythology

is as pervasive

as the air we breath.

 

And although it is just a mythology,

just a set of experiences,

arranged in a particular way

to form what is only an idea

of the nature of reality

and how the universe is,

it has been mistaken for fact

and so has been mistaken

for how the universe actually is.

 

This is called mistaking the map

for the terrain.

 

And so we see Life

only where we see the ability

to organically reproduce.

 

And we see Consciousness

only where we see organic reproduction

produce humanity.

 

And so Life,

seen through the mythological lens

we call materialism,

becomes a by-product,

an accident,

something that only arises

through the chance interaction

of otherwise lifeless matter.

 

And so it is that Consciousness

seen through that same lens,

also becomes a by-product,

an accident,

something that only arises

through the chance interaction

of otherwise lifeless matter

that by chance happens to be

involved in the process we call life.

 

If materialism were actually true

how pointless our lives would be

and suicide would be

the only reasonable action

one could ever take.

 

If what we are is only an illusion,

then all that we actually live for,

love and joy and happiness,

must itself be only an illusion,

a shadow that appears on a wall

purely by chance.

 

And if that is true

then nothing is gained by living

and so nothing is lost by dying.

 

Why suffer day in and day out

for moments of fleeting happiness?

 

For the sake of the children?

 

But they too,

according to materialism,

don't actually exist either

any more than we do.

 

One shadow living and suffering,

and finding occasional happiness,

by keeping another shadow going,

who then lives and suffers,

and finds some happiness,

by giving birth to another shadow,

who then lives and suffers,

and finds some happiness….

 

And on and on it goes,

without any end,

and without any real point.

 

A completely pointless journey,

because according to materialism

there is really no one on the journey,

just a shadow

we call our Consciousness,

just an accident

we refer to as I.

 

But life is not pointless

because what we call our Consciousness

is not a shadow,

and what we refer to as I

is not an accident.

 

What we are is Life,

what we are is Consciousness,

but what we are

does not arise

at the very peak

of what materialism tells us

is a randomly evolving universe.

 

What we are is the Consciousness

that is Itself evolving

into the ever expanding Tree of Life,

which when viewed looking outward

from where we humans grow,

appears as the material universe,

and when viewed looking inward

from that same position,

appears as the mental universe.

 

But both appearances are deceiving,

the material and the mental,

because all that is really there  

is the Consciousness that creates both,

and apprehends both,

as it Flows in relation to Itself,

and so Grows into Itself.

 

As there is nothing in the apple

that is not first in the tree

from which it grows,

there is nothing in us

that is not first in the Universe

out of which we grow.

 

Life seems to arise

from within the Universe

because the Universe

is already Alive.

 

And Consciousness seems to arise

from within the Universe

because the Universe

is already Conscious.

 

Why would you believe otherwise?

Why would you conceive as yourself

as having attributes

that are separate and apart

from the Universe

out of which you grow,

like a fruit on a tree?

 

Because you were weaned on a mythology

that was created through the dissection

of the indivisible Universe,

the indivisible Life that you Are,

into seemingly separate parts.

 

When you dissect an organism

the Life that was there

animating the organism

seems to vanish,

and when you dissect the Universe

the Life that is there

animating the cosmic organism

we call the Universe

also seems to vanish.

 

But that Life is still there,

you just don't recognize it

because you have been told

it is something else,

something accidental,

something less real

than the objects It perceives.

 

I could say again what It is,

but I won't

because It is not that,

not a word,

not a form,

not a thought,

not an object.

 

But I will point toward It

by saying that

in the absence of It

no word,

no form,

no thought,

no object,

is ever known.

 

Realize what you are

and you will see your Self

in everything

and so everywhere,

or keep listening

to the siren song of materialism,

and continue to see yourself

in nothing

and so nowhere.

 

When the map one is using

accurately reflects the terrain,

then even while mistaking

one for the other,

one may still arrive

where one intended to go

when the journey began.

 

But when the map one is using

bears little relation to the terrain,

then in mistaking one for the other

losing one's way

becomes inevitable.

 

The map of materialism,

which humanity continues to use

in this journey that we are on,

bears very little relation

to the indivisible Universe,

to the intrinsically Alive Universe,

to the intrinsically Conscious Universe,

it pretends to describe.

 

Is it any wonder then

why the particular fruit of the Universe

that we call humanity

seems to have lost its way?