Past and Present Perfect by Adam Volny
Society is a reflection of, not a solution to our problems.
Entering adulthood means that our collective mental structure is now undeniably perceived as “the world.” The function of society as we know it is to maintain this shared mental state. Anything that deviates is ignored and blocked out. But as Albert Einstein reputedly said, no problem can be solved by the same level of consciousness that created it. Thus we find ourselves in a repetitive loop. When something new appears with the promise to bring about change, it ultimately falls back into the same old patterns that have played out endlessly before. But still we fall for it when it is convincing enough.
We are thirsty for change. We want something fresh, we want something new. And this is where we have been for millennia. The patterns carried out by ancient Romans arose from the very same place as those we carry out today. We want something radically different that is within the boundaries of what we believe we know. Do you see the contradiction? That is why Jesus and Buddha had so many followers, but so few who truly understood their message.
We don’t want freedom, we want nicely painted cells. If we wanted freedom, we would set ourselves free. It’s that simple. And there’s the catch: Even though we sincerely believe we want freedom, in fact, we don’t. The idea of true freedom is terrifying, and we do our utmost to avoid it. Any time we’re not completely immersed in activity, we feel this fear – the unknown knocking on the door, the sense of emptiness in our endeavors. The impulse to escape this discomfort comes naturally and subconsciously at this point. We have been taught that not knowing is reprehensible, confusion is dysfunctional, and uncertainty is cause for anxiety.
But this is not to blame the system. On the contrary, I see none of this as a mistake. I would even dare to say that the whole ego-separation-suffering complex is written into our DNA as much as our two hands are. It is not an accident. It has been given to us as a tool to survive, and the mental world we create together simply builds upon this foundation.
We could say our collective mentality is a direct consequence of evolution, but where is evolution without someone projecting a pattern and creating the story? With no concept of matter and energy, what is all this made of? What would existence even mean if there were no one to think about it? How would you describe yourself without using the past and the future? Does society exist somewhere other than in our heads?
Our sense of individuality is thus tightly wound into that of others and vice versa. We suffer from the deeds of others and they from ours. We help each other to build high walls around ourselves. The irony is that there is nothing within those walls. Without continual and mutual reinforcement of our separate little worlds, the winds of time would sweep them away.
Awakening fully means waking up from our own illusions as much as it does waking up from the illusions of others. If we believe that the actions or beliefs of others can hinder our spiritual progress, we have grievously missed the point. As long as we want to keep the awakening for ourselves, we succumb to the illusions of others and quietly blame them for holding us back. If only they were more conscious! But that is the same game we have always played, the same old pattern. Ultimately, it is as unfulfilling as ever, with just a slightly more interesting twist. Is that the best we can do?
It might seem there is no way out. And that is true. There is no way out. You cannot escape what you’re not caught up in. You cannot save yourself from something that is not a threat. In truth, the energy you spend trying to escape is the very energy that holds the whole thing together. This point is critical: Don’t put the energy in and it will fall apart, all by itself. Stop trying to escape and you’ll see you’re not caught. Stop looking for freedom and you’ll find there is no bondage. But that’s not what we we’re really looking for, is it? That’s what I mean by not wanting to be free.
We can’t think ourselves into such place. We can’t act ourselves into such place. We can’t meditate ourselves into such place. We can’t clear ourselves into clarity. We can’t transcend ourselves into transcendence. But ironically, it does seem we can exhaust ourselves into exhaustion, and that seems to help.
When the time comes, the time comes. There is no rush. Any rushing is just trying to get something out of it, which is fine, and you will fail. There is no payoff. You will end up empty-handed. There is no rational reason to pursue this whatsoever. But against all odds, we still feel this desperate pull toward something true, toward something other than just a repetition of the past, toward a life that is more than just a recombination of the culture. Isn’t that absolutely incredible? What a gift we’ve been given.
Adam Volny is enrolled in The Living Method Continuing Student Program. He lives in the Czech Republic.
March 25, 2017 @ 5:00 pm
Wow, so comprehensive. It blew “me” away (the walls). Yet you reassure so nicely WE are still there!
That trickiness of “others” now being unconscious (instead of stealing, or being arrogant, or not driving fast enough) is so great to be reminded of. Even if I see another suffering, it’s because I’m not awake to separateness being believed “here” (“my” suffering projected on that poor person). “Unfulfilling” is a great summation, reminding me again, “what am I, this experiencing, feeling?”
I’m curious about “given us as a tool to survive”. (Oh, and I just got the parallel to “military-industrial complex!) Do you mean that even the dreaming had to be given its parameters in order to play itself out (and so the survival mechanisms as well for the units and for their society)? Therefore allowing the awaking experience(s) from the dreaming “when the time comes”?
Giving place to our “resisted” (exhaustion) seems really important. Just like our poor and sick in society (including spiritually unconscious!), we probably could see our personal “flaws” instead as our saviors. Of course that’s the perception flip, it’s not “mine” and THEREFORE I can look at it and learn from it. But supporting each other with these reminders makes for a lot less exhaustion. And maybe makes the character’s attempted “positive” spiritual practices lighter and so more “doable”, just ONE with the “flaws”!
THANK YOU for this gift.
Always you(rs), Mike
March 26, 2017 @ 3:32 am
Thank you, Mike. The relative and necessarily biased way it’s seen over here is that there is no agenda for the reality to wake up to itself. It just happens, we could say by pure luck but it can’t be otherwise. It seems to me that the sense of separation and self-identification is clearly observable in animals as well so from that comes the assumption that this way of seeing must be hardwired into our brains. We’re simply predisposed to see ourselves as separate entities and this predisposition has evolved over the millions of years. But I might be wrong, wouldn’t be the first time or the last time.
But the point is that even that is just a story about the past and even though it counts, it is totally inconsequential to you.
March 26, 2017 @ 12:09 pm
Hi Adam and Mike,
This is a fascinating topic. Sometimes I wonder if what I observe in other “individuals” is just a projection of my own consciousness. Perhaps water finds its own level? Perhaps I see that others seem to have a sense of individuality because that’s what I feel for myself. And if I gained more clarity, perhaps I’d see that everyone was way ahead of me, that they all knew they were Oneness. They appeared to the Kathleen mind as being as unenlightened as she is, perhaps so she wouldn’t feel so far behind or so alone. Oneness is compassionate!
Before I met Fred and all of you, I thought awakening was a very rare event, reserved for only the very few highly spiritually advanced. I figured I had a least 50 lifetimes more to go before even getting close. But now I see people, ordinary people, who are waking up all over the place. I don’t think it’s luck that I fell into the world’s non-dual community. And I don’t think people are awakening at a faster rate than before. I think I am perceiving more awakened beings because I am more awake. So if I were to gain a very high level of clarity, perhaps this perception that others are “hardwired” to see themselves as individuals would disappear. They’d all be laughing at and with me (even the animals), saying, we were all always awake, and just waiting patiently for you to join us!
❤Kathleen
March 26, 2017 @ 10:07 pm
Yes!
March 31, 2017 @ 11:48 am
Incredible article. Love these words:
It might seem there is no way out. And that is true. There is no way out. You cannot escape what you’re not caught up in. You cannot save yourself from something that is not a threat. In truth, the energy you spend trying to escape is the very energy that holds the whole thing together.
I found myself breathing out. Every reminder to come back to singularity is priceless.
March 31, 2017 @ 12:56 pm
I’m putting a gold star up by Adam’s name for the article, by Kathleen’s for the editing, and by Julee’s for the very clear response. Love to all. Carry the message forward when and where you can. 🙂