Now and then throughout the day, I notice more intentionally what’s here and I often pay attention to certain aspects.
NO INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
While watching a movie in a movie theater this afternoon, I paid especially attention to the seamless field that contains what’s typically called the “outer” and “inner” world.
I notice this awake space that everything happens within and as. The awakeness is just the ordinary awakeness inherent in consciousness. The space is what everything happens within and as, including conventional space.
It’s all a seamless field.
What’s conventionally seen as the outer world (physical world) happens within and as this field. What’s conventionally seen as the inner world (thoughts, sensations, sight, smell, and anything privately accessible to this human self) happens within and as this field.
There is a metaphorical bird’s eye view on the whole field, and it includes what’s conventionally talked about as the outer and inner world. It’s all part of the same seamless whole.
OTHER THINGS TO NOTICE
Other days and at other times, I may pay extra attention to other aspects of what’s here.
Time and conventional space happens within and as it. Any images of a timeline, past, future, present, and so on happen within and as it. Any ideas of space happen within and as it.
This awake space takes the form of any and all content of experience, including anything related to this human self – a sense of doer, observer, sensations, thoughts, and so on.
Any and all content of experience comes and goes. It’s all a visitor. And the only way it’s taken as a changing content is the mental field comparing images of what was (just recently or longer ago) to what is (which is also what was, since the mental images are always a little behind).
I notice that I am capacity for all of it – awakeness, space, the awake space taking the form of all content of experience.
This human self happens on its own, just like everything else. He talks, moves, makes decisions, feels, thinks, and it’s all happening on its own. He lives his own life.
There is no real distance to anything. The experience of distance is created by a mental overlay.
When this human self moves in the world, the world moves through me. The world moves through the awake space that’s inherently still and everything happens within and as.
Scenes of the world appear and are replaced by other scenes. The kitchen is replaced by the living room. Inside is replaced by outside. Oslo is replaced by London.
Waking life and dreams all feel like dreams, they all happen within and as the consciousness I am to myself. To me, they are all made up of consciousness.
All these words are just pointers. They point to an immediate experience, and if you have reference for it from your own experience, it may well make sense. If you are not aware of having a reference for it in your own experience, it may all seem abstract, baffling, fascinating, a fantasy, or something else.
What’s here is infinitely simpler than what’s possible (for me) to point to with these words, and also infinitely and endlessly more rich.
When I use the word “I” in this context, it doesn’t refer to this human self. It refers to my nature as this awake space and capacity.
When I use the word “I” in daily life, it usually does refer to this human self. He is who others tend to take me as, and I have insider info about his inner world (in a conventional sense).
GUIDED BY THE MENTAL FIELD + WHAT I KNOW
This is all guided by the mental field. The mental field guides the noticing, and also how the noticing is expressed in words.
I also know that even if I notice my nature as consciousness, and that the world – as it appears to me – happens within and as the consciousness I am, that doesn’t mean that the nature of all of existence is the same as mine. It will inevitably appear that way to me, but I have to be honest. The only thing I can say something about is my own nature, not the nature of all of existence.
THE MORE JUICY THINGS
This is all relatively clean and simple
Then there are the more juicy questions… How does this human self live in the world in the context of this noticing? How does he live from it in this situation?
What are the hangups, wounds, unquestioned beliefs, and so on that colors his perception, and makes him live from separation consciousness in some situations?
How is it to explore this? To notice as it happens? To be honest about it, first to myself? To invite in healing for these wounds?