Letter from the Field (and and answer): Do You Need the World?
Hi Fred,
Just wanted to send a short thank you note for our session this past Friday. Very good to see and talk with you. The jewel that has stayed with me most is that question you asked, something like, ”Does “awakeness” (or “consciousness,” – not sure which word you used, please remind me if you get a chance to respond) need the world?” It brings me to this place of consciousness without any attachment to an object and reminded me of what Da Free John (remember him?) called “free attention.” Thank you for that pointer!
Much love,
Paul
Thank you, Paul! You’re very, very welcome, I enjoyed it myself.
About terminology: I used “consciousness” at first, which is what I usually say, but then I caught my error and corrected myself by using “Awakeness”.
Awakeness – or Awareness, as you see fit – does not need the world, or anything else. Consciousness does, because consciousness cannot be conscious in the absence of a body, and a body cannot exist in the absence of a world.
Think about how you wake up in the morning:
I am.
I am Paul.
I am in Paul’s world.
In order for there to be a “me” there has to be an “other.” Me over here, and world over there. They are dependent arisings.
Bodies are the “food” of consciousness. It burns until the bodies are expended. It then reverts into potential consciousness. What is That? We don’t know. We can’t know. But we can know that potential consciousness, whatever It is, is the potential for all things, and it remains untouched, unchanged, and unexpendable throughout the apparent process of potential-consciousness-potent
All love,
Fred
(Paul is a psychologist and meditation teacher who’s followed this teaching since his initial awakening a couple of years ago.)
October 2, 2017 @ 3:53 pm
Funny, I’m feeling like this is a mirror image basic inquiry that “can I find my separate self” could slide back and forth with. Uncomfortble emotions that occur with it have a threatening edge for me I don’t notice in “not finding ‘my’self”. I guess it’s escaped into “the world”! I’ll have to check this out a little more. Can I find when I begin and how the world begins?
Forgiving ‘my’ world, Mike
October 2, 2017 @ 3:57 pm
♥