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?