The world of the forms and shapes
A lot of people are unaware of that, and they try to
find the Truth outside themselves, in the world of forms and shapes, wishing to
make forms eternal. So the modest little seed in us stays dormant, waiting for
better times.
The better times come when the spiritual Seeker
realizes
that all the external shapes and forms are transitory, so they turn their
attention from the world of shapes to the internal world. Under the effect of
turning inward, the small seed begins to sprout, and it starts slowly growing.
I revitalizes the spiritual Seeker, and a deep
desire arises in them to see the flower that the small seed may become.
Then one of the spiritual Seekers may try to use the
little sprout to decorate his/her ego with it. Another one says: “Look,
there is a lily of the valley growing in me! But I want to
be a rose!”
In their effort to become a rose, their attention turns back towards the shapes
and forms, so the gentle sprout dries and the seed falls asleep again.
That is how the spiritual Seeker has been playing
games in the world of forms and shapes for a long time. It is true that the
game is so beautiful and relaxing. The spiritual Seeker will soon have
favourite games and toys, as well as favourite playing partners. The more
beautiful and better toys the spiritual Seeker invents, the more powerfully
they will insist on them.
If they do not cling to the toys, they will cling to their partners in the game
or to the game itself. By playing these games, the spiritual Seeker will
be trapped in the world of shapes and forms, and the modest little seed will
sleep forever. When the spiritual Seeker
gets
tired of playing, and during a brief rest turns inward, there is still the
danger of treading on the gentle sprout during the next game.
Some spiritual Seekers gather extra strenght during
the time they spend in the internal silence, and with renewed force they
abandon themselves into the busy world of the forms and shapes. In the internal
silence
they find a means that extends their power and efficiency in the world.
Naturally, it means that they will be lost even deeper among the forms, which
sooner or later brings them new suffering, perhaps even worse than the previous
one. Then they turn inward one more time, and the whole cycle starts all over
again.
This process may
be repeated infinitely in the life of the spiritual Seeker. Still, the process does have its benefit, as the Ego
may become tired of it after a while, give up the effort and fall into the silence. Only
the deep-rooted desire for the flower remains in the soul of the wanderer. Then
they realize that the real flower bed for the little seed is the silence, the
non-action, staying in the alert Consciousness, free of concepts. In this
internal silence the small seed develops into a beautiful flower. The world of
forms and shapes loses its significance for the spiritual Seeker.
Only the Existence remains as the only reality.
Turning inward
The spiritual Seeker’s turning inward is therefore a
precondition for the germination of the small seed. Turning inward
may be interpreted differently by different people, according to their own
conceptual knowledge. In general, turning inward means that the person’s
attention is diverted from the world of forms and shapes towards their internal
world.
In this interpretation, there is a subject who is
watching and an internal object (breathing, thought, concept, a
conceptual image of God etc.) that is being watched. Here the intensification
of the attention is equal to the increase of the duration of the attention. The
little seed begins to sprout in the internal silence.
The next level of turning inward is when the attention
is not focused on inner objects, but on the Consciousness sensing it. E. g. when
somebody is watching his/her own respiration, after a while their attention
will be shifted from the act of breathing (which is something outside the
subject) to the subject itself (the Consciousness watching the respiration).
One is only able to perform it lastingly when their concentration ability is
sufficiently strong, trained by watching internal objects.
In this
interpretation, intensifying attention means that the spiritual Seeker submerges
into this Consciousness to an increasing extent. After a while they realize
that the Consciousness they focus their attention on is not yet the Self (at
that point a lot of the spiritual
Seekers lose
their way), but the Ego (the I-concept, body awareness). The little seed is now
growing and becoming more powerful.
As the power of attention increases, the spiritual
Seeker begins to seek where the Ego is emerging from, and what nourishes that
Consciousness. That is how they finally return to the source of the Ego, which
is the Self
(the witnessing Presence, the absolute Consciousness). Now the little seed is in full bloom, presenting the spiritual Seeker with its
wonderful scent, which is the pleasure of Existence itself.
The point is being a witness
When the seed is in bloom, the roles of the
personality of the spiritual Seeker, their reactions, the work of the mind
continue to exist, but the spiritual Seeker no longer intends to change them.
The spiritual Seeker does not want to be performing better or to obtain a
better role.
They plainly watch their own reactions. They no longer
identify with the roles and allow the quality of their reactions to determine
their self-image. They learn to laugh at themselves. As Witnesses they see and
recognize that the Ego is nothing but a bundle of conditioned patterns of
behaviour and emotion, and as such, it does not have any particular reality.
Intensity is Required for Awakening.
The spiritual Seeker realizes that for awakening, that
is, for the sprouting and blooming of the little seed requires intensity in the
Now.
What is that intensity provided by? The intensity is provided by the
recognition that the spiritual Seeker
does
not identify with the body-mind complex, but with the conscious Presence of
true life. Once this recognition permeates the entire self of the spiritual Seeker, then the intensity necessary for
Awakening is ready and provided.
(C) Frank M. Wanderer, 2013-2016
You can republish our articles for free, but please include the author’s name and a link to our homepage (www.frankmwanderer.com)
About the author:
Frank M. Wanderer Ph.D is
a professor of psychology, a consciousness researcher and writer.
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Frank is also the author of the following books:
- The Revolution of Consciousness — Deconditioning the Programmed Mind
- The Chant of the Heart: Enjoy the Nectar of Being
- The Flames of Alertness: Discover the Power of Consciousness!
- The Biggest Obstacle to Enlightenment: How to Escape from the Prison of Mind Games?
- and several other books on consciousness and enlightenment.
You can follow Frank online at:
He has contributed to a few different spiritual websites including
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