Now think how it came to be that this particular page is here, now, with you. Think of all the paper manufactured along with this page that did not make it here. Think, of all the seeds that did not grow into a tree, the tree which produced this particular sheet of paper made it. The seedling next to "ours" had too much shade, or an animal ate it, or lightning struck it after it was grown. Coincidences involving people, their interests at a particular time, their ambition, money, drugs, oil, invention of type (or computers), on and on. Everything that happened HAD to happen JUST SO. It could not have happened any other way, or this page would not be here with you. This involves a period of time since before the earth was formed, and before that.
Everything is tied to everything else in the tightest of knots. You and me and this book and my car and your socks are all inexorably tied into what "is". We cannot escape. We are part of All That Is, and we ARE All That Is. If we didn't exist, neither would the Infinite.
Infinity is a word- a symbol, for something that cannot be comprehended. Infinity is a word symbolizing
that which exists when everything has been counted and there are things still uncounted, and even
beyond that. Nothing exists that is not part of Infinity, and being part, becomes Infinity. Nothing can
be separated from Infinity, because if it were, infinity would be missing a part and thus no longer
Infinity. Infinity is complete within itself. It is ONE. It is NOT "many". Infinity IS, and EVERYTHING
is
Infinity.
If a tree is part of Infinity, then the woodsman who cuts down the tree must be a part of the tree, since both are part of the whole. Every part of everything must somehow be connected with every other part. Paradoxes result from trying to separate portions of Infinity from other portions. It's like trying to separate Infinity from itself.
Searching for the smallest particle of matter is fruitless since the smallest particle cannot be separated from matter itself. The smallest particle does not exist. At some point in our search for the smallest particle of matter, "matter" disappears. We only find traces of energy in its place.
If we try to separate matter into living and non-living portions, we find matter that is both living and non-living, and yet neither. If we try to separate living matter into plant and animal, we find living matter that is both plant and animal, and yet neither.
Some animals, like the sponge, are formed from cells that are themselves separate living animals. They are able to function on their own if separated from the sponge. Is the sponge an animal or a gestalt, like the UN or NATO?
I have none of the cells in my body that I had ten years ago. Is the new "me" the same as the old "me"? When a snake eats a frog, does a snake-frog then eat another frog? Does the frog become part snake or does the snake become part frog? If I cut off my head, where am I? In my head, part here and part there? Nowhere at all?
Life is a definition of a condition. Life exists only in the mind, in thoughts. What we consider to be life is nothing more than an arbitrary "say-so" by those we consider to be authorities. A tree is alive and a rock is not, only because the tree meets certain prescribed conditions and the rock does not. Calling something "alive" doesn't mean all that much.
"Law is a definition of a condition. So is "health", "student", and "planet". All exist only in the mind and cannot be separated from All That Is. What we call "things", what we say they "are", is nothing more than an agreement we have among ourselves. These "things" have no existence on their own.
All is ONE. ONE is all there is. The belief that the ONE is made up of many is an illusion created by naming. There is only one feeling, one emotion, one me- one "I". All energy and all matter is one energy. There is not energy, matter, pain, anger, fear, love. There is only ONE. This moment, NOW, is all there is. It always has been and it always will be. Everything that ever was, is. Everything that ever will be, is. This is all. There is no other. If there were, it would be this. This all, this everything, this "one" creates the illusion of infinity whenever we try to cut it up into parts.
We are in a process of give and take with our environment, and this process is dependent upon our concepts about what we believe is "out there", and what we conceive ourselves to be. We are not free to react to the moment itself, but must react according to our thoughts and beliefs about what is happening. We see each moment from the inside of our minds rather than from the reality of each moment.
We all feel separate from everything else. We really aren't, but the belief that we are necessitates that there be someone to be separate. We, as our thoughts, as ego, are that someone. With the creation of ego and our identification with it, as far as our feelings are concerned, we are separate. This feeling of being separate from nature, other people and "conditions", generates the feelings of fear, anxiety, anger, lust, greed, jealousy, humiliation, despair and pride.
Separation is an illusion, albeit a strong one. It is a circular illusion, as are all illusions. We believe our awareness to be somewhere inside our bodies, and this belief makes it true. We have effectively trapped our awareness, consciousness, inside our bodies, so when it is "outside", we see it as separate from the "other" awareness, the one "inside" us. In reality, it is all the same awareness, the same consciousness.
The intensity of the illusion of everything separate from us prevents us from seeing the reality that what seems to be "it" is really us. In order to see the reality of who or what we really are, we must learn to look past illusion and not at it. We must learn to look out through the window and not get stuck on the reflections in the window simply because that is all we can see at the moment. We miss what is going on at such a time because the images of the reflections have us hypnotized into believing that the reflection is all there is to see.
A cell in my big toe is not separate from my foot, my foot is not separate from myself, I am not separate from humanity, humanity is not separate from nature, nature is not separate from the earth, the earth is not separate from the universe, and the universe is not separate from All That Is. A cell in my big toe is not a thing separate from the planet Saturn.
Ego is strengthened whenever we think, "I am such and such" Ego is also strengthened by thinking, "I am not that". This implies to us that, not being "that", I must be "this". Any thought that tends to give credence to the idea that we are some "thing" or other tends to feed ego and keep it strong. Whatever keeps ego strong keeps the idea of separation strong. To think of something - anything - gives credence and believability to that which thought rests upon. Such is the power of the mind.
We are all separated from each other superficially by speech patterns, beliefs, abilities, type of work we perform, type of work our parents perform, wealth, personality, body type, etc. etc. etc. We become aware of these differences depending upon their value to ego. A person whose ego is strongly intellectual might not notice the wealth or social standing of an acquaintance, but he would notice and compare to his own, the intellectual capacity of his friend. Our intellectual person's wife, on the other hand, may be "into" social standing and would not notice the person's intellect, but would notice and compare to her own, his wealth or position, and anything else she considered to be important when placing someone socially.
Ego is a product of thoughts, and we have seen that thoughts have a magnetic quality about them, causing the phenomenon of seeing in others what is really in us. What we see out "there" mirrors what is in us. If we see people who are poorer, then our ego is "richer". To see others as poorer indicates that we have made an arbitrary decision that we are this "wealth" thing, and we believe that all others are also this "wealth" in varying degrees. We never place ourselves in a category except as something that exists differently. We don't think of ourselves as Zordix- not because we aren't, but because there is nothing we can point to as NOT Zordix.
The number "one" is different from the number "two" only by comparison. They are both numbers. "One" is not more of a number than "two". All numbers are a "number". Each behaves as a number. They all exist exactly the same. None of them bear children or sit in trees. Each number "lives" like every other number. They all have the same creator and the same plane of existence. The only difference between them is the simple arbitrary placement of one in relation to all the others.
We are "alive" in the same way. The only difference between us or some "thing" is our simple arbitrary position in relation to everything else. A president of a country is no more important to reality than a person who is a barker in a carnival, just like the number "one million" is no more important to the reality of numbers than "sixteen".
We are all the same consciousness having different focuses. The focus of consciousness is what we call awareness. A consciousness that has an awareness of sight is a person that can see. A consciousness without this awareness is said to be blind. An awareness of feminine traits and feelings produces a person who considers herself a female. Consciousness is capable of any awareness, but awareness is stuck with what it has. Consciousness sees one reality. Awareness sees as many different realities as there are individualized consciousnesses.
We all exist in different realities from each other, and even from ourselves as our awareness changes. The world IS different for each of us. It is foolish to expect us all to have the same beliefs, interests and worldly goals. To try to force our world upon another simply because we know truth is to try to force a person to live in a world where he doesn't fit. To expect all children, for instance, to have an interest in academic subjects is as ridiculous as to expect all children to want to learn witchcraft.
Consciousness is a non-physical entity. It is a "spirit", a "happening", a state of "be-ing". In order for consciousness to enter physicality, it must express itself into the physical world. When consciousness expresses itself physically, we see it as some "thing". The consciousness of "apple tree" expresses itself into physicality as an apple tree. The object we know as an apple tree is an expression of consciousness, and not consciousness itself.
It must be kept in mind that there is no such thing as an apple tree consciousness. Realize that an apple tree consists properly of the tree, both past, present and future, the roots, the minerals contained within the tree, the carbon dioxide, the fertilizer, the minerals and gases ebbing and flowing within the roots and leaves, the effect of the moon and sun on the tree, the stars, etc. We are going to talk about apple trees and apple tree consciousnesses, but such things are illusions. They don't really exist. They are holdings of the mind. But we can only talk of these things. Reality cannot be discussed. There are no words to describe what is real. Reality can only be. What we are doing here is to use words to transmit ideas, but keep in mind...
An apple tree does not grow apples any more than an apple grows apple trees. They are both grown from the life, the substance, the be-ingness, the natural expression of "treeness". There is not an apple waiting inside the tree to come out, and there is no tree waiting inside the seed. They both come from that which is invisible - from that which manifests.
The seed of an apple lies in the same consciousness as the tree the seed came from, and the tree the seed is to become. Consciousness lies in the past and the future of the seed. It is not constrained by time or space. Time and space are limits of physicality - of the expression, and not of the reality of seeds.
This "is-ness", this consciousness that we attribute to apple trees is known as the "Self" of apple trees. Each tree is another expression of the same Self. Self does express as other than physical. For instance, the living of the tree is also an expression of Self, as is the breathing, the feeding, and the growing of the tree, as well as any thoughts, emotions, and feelings it may have.
We are also Self, expressing. We are Self expressed into physicality as humans. We are the characters in the play in which Self is actor. We, individually, are characters Self the actor, plays.
We, the characters in Self's play are also actors in another play. In the play in which we are the actors, ego is the character we play. Ego is self's character, self is Self's character. We, "I", are self, our thoughts and beliefs about "I", ourselves, are ego. We can know ego, we can know self. We cannot know Self. That, Self, is who or what we REALLY are. Who or what we really are is that which is there just before we say, "I". When we say, "I", that is ego. That which creates ego, self, is the result of Self being physical. Self is non-physical, self is physical and non-physical, ego is non-existent, the child of beliefs.
Self may be playing us as an honest person, perhaps, but we - as an honest person, have an ego that wants what is not its, so it may lie and steal. Being "honest", we rationalize or deny any dishonesty. This way ego can lie and steal and still believe itself to be honest. "They can afford it", "I wouldn't have done it if they hadn't ...", etc.
I, who write these words, am Self expressed physically. This that is written is an expression of Self, as am I. Self used me as a vehicle to express these words into physicality as Self uses a tree to express apples into physicality. As an apple tree grows and does those things expressing Self, so also do I grow and do those things that express Self. And so do you.
My parents, the area in which I live, my vocation, my interests and my hobbies are all expressions of Self that produced me. I am not that Self, and I do not HAVE a Self. "I" am Self, materialized. I am Self's thought, its idea. As Self's thought, I feel what I am. This feeling is my intuition, my hunches, my feeling of right and wrong. I feel intelligent or stupid, male or female, honest and kind or selfish and cruel. I, as expression of Self, know myself in an intimate way. I know whether my feet hurt or not, and where, and how much. If I let my thoughts discover what these feelings mean instead of letting be what I feel myself to be, I live as ego rather than self. A dog with a broken leg will try to walk on that leg. It has no conception of being a dog with a broken leg - no ego.
Ego, as our thought, our idea, our belief, is created by us in the same manner we have been created by Self. We, as the shadow of Self, MUST express as it does. We create because our creator creates. Ego, as our creation, is an expression of us, us being the expression of Self, and as we feel Self's traits, so also does ego feel our traits. It also is intelligent or stupid, male or female, honest and kind or selfish and cruel. The one big difference is that we, as self, ARE, but ego BECOMES. If we ARE intelligent, ego must BE intelligent. If we ARE male, Ego must BE male. Thus we have the so-called "intellectual" and "macho" people.
We also, for the same reason, have "artistic", "spiritual", "proud", and "humble" people - all a "putting out" into the physical world what is felt inside.
There are many other shadows of Self that we feel as self and allow ego to translate into "out there" for us. These are our feelings of selfishness, pride, self-esteem, knowledge and love. All of our personality traits, some of which we like and some we don't like, all have their roots in what we are. When we let ego translate them for us, they get twisted into worldly designs and are no longer recognizable.
Consciousness seeks knowledge and union. We all have curiosity, and we all want to be loved, wanted and respected. Consciousness never wishes for a new car or a perfect mate or a prestigious position. That we want these things is a lie told to us by ego to account for the yearning we feel in our hearts for that "something" that will make everything all right. There is no need for us to seek anything. We are complete as we are. Trying to get what we already have is what creates our personality. We become cold, or nice, a pushover, paranoid, all the things that makes what others see of us whenever ego holds court.
Next month - Section two of part 7 - Infinity.