Who sees all beings in her own self and her self in all beings, looses all fear.
– Upanishads
As usual, we can see this in a couple of different ways.
THE WORLD IS MY MIRROR
As a human being, the world is my mirror.
I can take whatever story I have about anyone or anything, turn it to myself, and find genuine examples of how it’s true. I can explore this systematically, for instance through The Work of Byron Katie. In this sense, I can find all beings in myself.
Similarly, whatever I know from myself, I can see or imagine in others, at the very least as a potential. I can see myself in all beings.
HAPPENING WITHIN AND AS WHAT I AM
In one sense, I am this human being in the world. But is it what I more fundamentally am, in my own immediate experience?
When I take a closer look, I find that the world to me happens within my sense fields.
And beyond this, the world to me happens within and as what I am.
I find that my nature is capacity for the world as it appears to me, and the world happens within and as what I am.
I can explore this and get a direct taste of it through Headless experiments, the Big Mind process, and other forms of inquiry.
All beings and any content of experience happens within what I am. To me, all beings happen within this Self.
And since they happen within and as what I am, I see my Self in all beings. To me, all beings and all of the world has the same nature as this Self.
LOOSES ALL FEAR?
I am not sure why this quote focuses on loosing fear. Why single that out when this transforms us in so many other ways? Perhaps it makes sense in the context? Or is it a marketing strategy?
We may still have normal functional fear, for instance if we are about to fall from something high.
And the fear driven by emotional issues may indeed fall away, at least to the extent these emotional issues are transformed within this seeing.
We may notice what we are, keep noticing through different situations, and explore how to live from it. And many parts of us may still operate from separation consciousness, unloved fear, and unexamined fear-generating stories. These parts of us need to join in with the noticing, and transform within this noticing, and that can take intention and some time.
TRUE WITH SOME CAVEATS
The quote is accurate enough, in my experience.
Recognizing the world as my mirror reduces fear created by unexamined beliefs. Beliefs require duality to exist, so when we recognize the same out there and in here, they tend to soften and may even fall away.
Finding that the world, to me, happens within and as what I am does the same. It tends to dissolve unloved and unexamined fear.
The caveat is that this doesn’t happen all at once. We may have many fear-inducing beliefs that need examination. We may have many parts of us operating from separation consciousness and unloved fear.
Examining these beliefs, and inviting the different parts of us to join in with the noticing, is a process.
I suspect it’s a lifelong process. There will always be more coming up.
And that’s not wrong or bad. It’s a fascinating process.
Note: I changed “him” to “her” in the quote, just to balance it out a bit. We have had patriarchical civilizations for long enough.
Image: Three Pujarins by Jamini Roy
NOTES / DRAFT FRAGMENTS
- quote
- the world is my mirror
- all happening w/in and as what I am
- looses all fear?
- not sure why focus on fear? perhaps as marketing strategy?
- will still have normal fear, help us function, but not neccesarily as an issue
- parts of us may still operate from unloved/unexamined fear
- these have to join in with it
……
I can take whatever story I have about anyone or anything, turn it to myself, and find genuine examples of how it’s true. Whatever characteristic I see out there, I can find it in myself. I can find all beings in myself.
Similarly, whatever I know from myself, I can see in others, at the very least as a potential. I can see myself in all beings.
…..
I am not sure why this quote focuses on loosing fear. Is it a marketing strategy?
We may still have normal functional fear, for instance if we are about to fall from something high.
And the more issue-driven fear may fall away.
….