What are some of the relationships between who and what we are? Between our human self and consciousness (AKA Buddha mind, Big Mind, Spirit).
It’s obviously a big topic so I’ll mention just a few things here, based on my own experience.
PARTS OF THE SAME
The first answer is that they are part of the same.
It’s thoughts that differentiate the two. I can’t find any diving line outside of my mental representations.
I can also say that to me, my human self happens within and as what I am.
Who I am happens within and as what I am. They are not two.
A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
To me, everything happens within and as my field of experience.
That includes any human self, they all happen within my field of experience. To me, they all happen within and as the oneness I am, as does anything else.
And there is also a special relationship with this particular human self.
It’s around a lot more than any other humans and most or all other content of experience.
And this consciousness perceives through and as this human self. What I am experiences the sense fields of this human self – sight, sound, smell, taste, sensations, thoughts, movement, acceleration, and so on.
OUR HUMAN SELF WHEN OUR NATURE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE ITSELF
When our nature does not recognize itself, our human psyche tends to operate from separation consciousness. It tends to assume that what we most fundamentally are is an object within the field of consciousness. It perceives, lives, and acts as if this is how it is.
That’s how it was for me too. In my childhood, my psyche was formed within separation consciousness and many parts of me learned to function from separation consciousness.
That’s also how hangups, identifications, emotional issues, traumas, and so on are formed. They are expressions of and operate from separation consciousness. If they didn’t, they would align with reality and find healing.
OUR HUMAN SELF WHEN OUR NATURE NOTICES ITSELF
When our nature notices itself, there is an invitation to keep noticing, explore how it is to live from this noticing, and for our human self to transform within this new context.
All of this is ongoing. The noticing, exploration of how to live from it, and the transformation is ongoing.
It’s all happening within and as the oneness we are, just like anything else.
COLORING OUR PERCEPTION AND LIFE
Even when the oneness we are notices itself, many parts of our human self and psyche still operate from separation consciousness. These parts of us will inevitably color our perception, choices, and life in the world. And they will get triggered more strongly in some situations.
THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
The transformation process can also be difficult and messy at times, especially as deep issues surface to be seen, felt, befriended, loved, and recognized as love and part of the oneness we are.
When this happens, our habitual responses to our deep and painful issues tend to come up as well, with an invitation for us to see, feel, and befriend these too.
In periods, what’s unprocessed in us may be mostly under the surface, although they will color our life and some issues tend to come up. This can happen during a kind of honeymoon period after an initial noticing or oneness shift.
In periods, they may come up in mostly smaller portions and now and then. This allows us to explore and befriend painful parts of us without feeling too overwhelmed.
And in periods, the metaphorical lid may be taken off and a huge amount of them come up at once. When this happens, it can feel overwhelming, confusing, scary, painful, and even unbearable. This happened for me some years ago, and I am still in this phase although it has quieted down a bit.
In general, the more trauma we have, the more this process can feel difficult, overwhelming, and messy. And the less trauma we have, the more manageable it may feel although still with its challenges.
WHY IS THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS HAPPENING?
There are a couple of answers:
When our general system recognizes itself as oneness, what’s out of alignment surfaces so it can heal, transform, and align with oneness noticing itself.
When our general system recognizes itself as oneness, anything in our human self still operating from separation consciousness distorts the expression of oneness. They are out of alignment. They need to transform and realign so the oneness we are can express itself more clearly in more situations and more areas of life.
To me, this seems a natural and perhaps even inevitable process.
And it’s certainly not always comfortable. For me, it’s been the most difficult, messy, and humbling phase in my life by far, and I have not always dealt with it gracefully.
INITIAL NOTES
- the relationship between who and what we are
- part of the same
- human self w/out noticing what we are
- human self when notice what we are