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8 Gates ~ Chapter 8 ~ Form / Emptiness ~ from the free eBook “Light of Be-ing”

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Form / Emptiness – the belief in ones physical body, mind and senses as the fundamental base of ones existence. It is the illusional view and concept of individuality as construed and misunderstood by the I-ego-self.

“Form does not differ from emptiness; Emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; Emptiness itself is form. So too are feeling, cognition, formation, and consciousness.”
Gautama Buddha

Form / Emptiness

Physical and self identity, and individuality, it is the fabric of ones cognitive universe, woven by the mind and ego, and like a flag, proclaiming its sovereignty.

But is this physical canvas truly reflective of ones identity and self, or is it merely a snapshot of the surface, whose truth, depth and mysteries are unsee-able by the mind and I-ego-self.

The foundation of ones physical world is composed of atoms. An atom is incredibly small — more than a million times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. From head to toe, and the world around us, atoms present the illusion of form and solidness.

Science tells us that the physical world is not as solid as it seems. Everything is made up of atoms, whose interiors are 99.999% empty of any measurable matter. The solidness that one feels is but the electromagnetic fields interacting.

As to mass, that is contained within the nucleus of the atom, made up of even more minute particles – protons, neutrons, and electrons. If one were to take and condense all of the nuclei of a human body, it would be smaller than a grain of salt.

“What we observe as material bodies and forces are nothing but shapes and variations in the structure of space. Particles are just schaumkommen (appearances).
Erwin Schrodinger

One is not the body, for science tells us that it is 99.999% not here. One is also not the grain of salt that makes up our mass. The physicality of the self is but an illusion, a concept of the mind and senses as it interacts with reality.

Who you truly are is the 99.999% that is immeasurable. Your reality rests in the essence of that, the infinite space of be-ing.

“Many people are afraid to empty their minds lest they may plunge into the void. They do not know that their own mind IS the void.”
Huang Po

Who you think you are is but a flickering candle, who you truly are is a radiant sun.

Who you really are asks, “Can you, the measureless be-ing that you are, embrace your true Form / Emptiness?

©2010 Mark Naea, all rights reserved.

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8 Gates ~ Chapter 7 ~ Knowledge / Perception ~ from the free eBook “Light of Be-ing”

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Knowledge / Perception – the belief in ones understanding and interpretation of their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual temporal experience of reality. It is the illusional ground and pillar of the concept of ones I-ego-self, mind, consciousness and awareness.

“The Way is not about knowing… or not-knowing.
Knowing is only delusion,
and not-knowing is merely blank consciousness.”
Nan-Ch’uan

Knowledge / Perception

We live in a age of information, where answers are literally just a click away. We are surrounded by it, day and night. From newspapers, magazines, radio, television, books, advertising, all bombarding our senses with mountains of data.

How does one sift through this ocean of images and voices, how does one make sense of it all. In our thirst for knowledge, we are drowning in a sea of information. Yet what exactly do we really know?

“Knowledge has three degrees — opinion, science, illumination. The means or instrument of the first is sense; of the second, logic; of the third, insight.”
Plotinus (205-270 A.D).

All knowledge and perception begins with the senses, which compares the data to established patterns of belief and opinion. If no match is found, it is then passed onto the reason and logic functions of the mind with its own set of filters and judgments.

In such a closed system, very little is actually untouched by filters, opinions, belief systems, judgments and the lenses of ego. At best, what one is left with is a collection of opinions supported by the belief systems, judgments and fears of the I-ego-self.

Even the most common knowledge and perception can be overruled in this system, as seen everyday all around us. Lost is the grounding effect of actual knowledge, reality viewed as it is without any of the artefacts of the I-ego-self.

As long as one relies solely on the so-called knowledge of the senses, the minds reasoning and logic, and the I-ego-self’s beliefs and judgments, one is a slave to their assumptions and misconceptions. It is in this illusional world of dreams that most are asleep.

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance,”
Confucius

To awaken, one only has to question and look past this facade. It is that spark of insight, this assertion of ones freedom to question, that illuminates. True knowledge frees the individual, awakens and enlivens on all levels, and reveals the dream for what it is.

Who you really are asks, “Can you transcend the dream world, its activities and nature, guided by insight, and be grounded in True Knowledge / Perception?

©2010 Mark Naea, all rights reserved.

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8 Gates ~ Chapter 6 ~ Motion / Stillness ~ from the free eBook “Light of Be-ing”

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Motion / Stillness – the belief in ones self as the acting force and engine of engagement in ones life and existence. It is the illusional doer and director of perceived reality cast by ones mind and ego-self.

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. . .”
Shakespeare

Motion / Stillness

Stage, a word as wide as the universe. It is the holographic screen and stream of events, where frame by frame, one defines their I-ego-self and meaning.

But it is its foundation, the fundamental meaning of stage, “as in a scene or setting, and performance of, a script or play”, that reveals the true nature of perceived reality.

In the theater of ones life, it is believed that I-ego-self is the causal agent and director of events. From the mundane to that which is life changing, self is the principal star.

Yet with each stage change, twists and turns abound, events unexpected and out of the blue occur, without rhyme or reason. And ones self is left undirected, unable to comprehend.

Stranded and alone in the spotlight, the belief in the I-ego-self in control is unveiled. It is the paradox of perceived reality, the self-imagined separation of the stage / act from the actor.

And as in any play, ones performance is scripted. From the stage, scenery, props and co-actors, the movie of ones life is just that, a scripted performance.

Like the still frames that pass through a projector, its images reflected and perceived in motion, life’s drama and tapestry are already written, woven and recorded.

Who you think you are, the star, actor and director, is just that, a thought. It is this mistaken belief that is the cause of so much stress and suffering in ones world.

It is akin to a section of a river believing it is in control of the waters running through it. The flow has already been determined long before it ever reaches that section.

So to with the perceived reality of I-ego-self. Events in the flow of life have already been scripted long before it is perceived by ones illusional self.

In every scene, you truly are both Motion and Stillness, and yet the mind and ego-self can only interpret a fraction of it. Lost in the translation is the reality of the moment, passing as a phantom / shadow across the mind’s screen.

Who you really are is the light that makes the movies visible, the screen that reflects them, the synergistic Motion in Stillness of possibilities, the ever present moment of now. There are no scripts in the now, only freedom.

Who you really are asks, “Can you, observe the play as it is, and see your true be-ing reflected in Motion / Stillness?

©2010 Mark Naea, all rights reserved.

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8 Gates ~ Chapter 5 ~ Freewill / Intention ~ from the free eBook “Light of Be-ing”

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Freewill / Intention – the belief in one’s independent self volition or freedom of choice within the matrix of sense and minds linear perspective. It is the illusional projection and commentary of ones mind and ego of perceived events.

“Everything is determined … by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust – we all dance to the mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.”
Albert Einstein

Freewill / Intention

Freewill, the cornerstone of the I-ego-self. It is both the boundary and definitive determinate belief in and of ones so-called consciousness. But is it real, does one truly have choice? And why is so much importance, judgment, and stress associated with it?

As defined by Websters, Freewill equates to “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention, i.e. a voluntary choice or decision.”

Yet it is “prior causes” within the linear temporal existence of I-ego-self that gives the impression of choice. Freedom of choice is but an delusion of the I-ego-self. It is the source of most of ones stress and unhappiness, judgment and opinion, and the fundamental instrument of separation.

It is the very foundation of self, and the wellspring of the illusion of duality. Every illusional choice that has been recorded by the mind is cast as a brick for the tower of the ego.

Brick by brick, ego raises its tower, all the while standing in judgment of ones self and others. It is by this construct that the I-ego-self is given authority as both gate keeper and warden.

This is the misconception of the I-ego-self, in its effort to chose and control the course of ones life stream. It is akin to saying that a river has chosen it’s course, when it is but the essence of water to flow.

The course of a river is an event in action, not a choice. It is in that respect, in the present moment of now, that freewill occurs. So to with ones life.

The illusion that is mind and ego records the event as a separate phenomenon, who you really are is the event itself, eternally present in it’s flow.

“Only those who have no knowledge of the Source of destiny and free-will dispute as to which of them prevails. They that know the Self as the one Source of destiny and free-will are free from both.”
Sri Ramana Maharshi

Your freedom and freewill is in the now, it is your true be-ing, its essence and presence. You do not choose the events in life, events are life, and your opportunity to truly be alive.

Who you think you are has no freewill, who you truly are is the very essence of it.

Who you really are asks, “Can you, in the present and eternal now that you truly are, be that Freewill / Intention?

©2010 Mark Naea, all rights reserved.

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8 Gates ~ Chapter 4 ~ Consciousness / Awareness ~ from the free eBook “Light of Be-ing”

Click link to get your copy of the Free eBook “Light of Be-ing

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Consciousness / Awareness – the belief in ones personal or collective identity, including sensation, thinking and emotion, present and witnessing life’s events. It is the illusional appearance and impression of subjectivity on perceived reality by ones I-ego-self and mind.

“I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?”
Chuang Tzu

Consciousness / Awareness

Consciousness, impossible to define with words, yet one has an intuitive knowledge of its presence. And it is that attention to its presence that sparks the awareness.

From the awareness that I exist, to the consciousness of the inter-active objective reality around ones self, it is minds attention and focus that is the foundation of ones apparent self and consciousness.

It is mind’s and self’s attention to object-subject that creates the illusion of I and other, but more importantly, it restricts ones awareness of true consciousness.

‘A human being… experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison …’
Albert Einstein

At any given moment, ones mind is aware of only a minute fraction of its surroundings. Ones senses process enormous amounts of information to enable you to function, yet little of it reaches ones apparent self-consciousness.

Only the focus of ones current attention seems fully represented in our apparent consciousness, in the sense that it can be remembered. It is the paradox of ones and/or minds focus that presents an unfocused view of reality like the shadow cast by a running horse.

Though the shadow mimics every move of the horse, it is but an artefact of the event, without any reality of its own. So too with ones apparent consciousness, it is but a shadow of awareness, cast by the I-ego-self and mind.

Does the thought “I see”, see? Does the thought “I hear”, hear? Yet hearing is happening effortlessly, seeing is happening effortlessly; all natural functioning is happening effortlessly, without any thought being involved!”
‘Sailor’ Bob Adamson

True consciousness abides in be-ing, in the ever-present now that is. It’s penetrating light reveals all, in clarity and infinite diversity.

Who you are is Consciousness Awareness, radiant and clear. Not the candle of the I-ego-self and mind’s apparent construct. When one truly awakens to this, it is akin to turning on the lights in a darkened room.

Who you really are asks, “Can you, without objectivity or the subjective judgments of mind, be the radiance of true Consciousness / Awareness?

©2010 Mark Naea, all rights reserved.

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8 Gates ~ Chapter 3 ~ Existence / Self ~ from the free eBook “Light of Be-ing”

Click link to get your copy of the Free eBook “Light of Be-ing

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Existence / Self – the belief in the I-ego and personal identity of an individual as the primary vehicle of ones mental, physical, emotional and spiritual world. It is the illusional and ever changing artefact and construct of ones mental projections, experiences and beliefs.

“There is no mystery whatever – only inability to perceive the obvious.”
Wei Wu Wei

 

Existence / Self

Whatever is material shape, past, future, present, subjective or objective, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, whether it is far or near — all material shape should be seen by perfect intuitive wisdom as it really is: “This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.” Whatever is feeling, whatever is perception, whatever are habitual tendencies, whatever is consciousness, past, future, present, subjective or objective, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, whether it is far or near — all should be seen by perfect intuitive wisdom as it really is: “This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.”
Gautama Buddha

What is Existence, our so-called Self or identity? It is a fundamental question, a mystery that for many, is the key to their freedom. To truly answer this question, one must look at that which we call our-self.

One is born to a physical body with senses, emotions, mind and awareness. Each sense has a separate element of stimulation, and each senses field of information overlaps and influences emotions and mind. Yet each of these 3 processes, senses, emotions and mind, are all based in past events.

Our senses record events that have already happened, emotions are reactions to events that have already happened. Ones mind processes sensory input, emotional input, and its own memory and belief systems of events that have already happened.

What one usually associates with the I-ego-self of an individual does not exist in the present. That so-called Identity is an illusion, a reflection of past events within the mind, emotion and sense stream. And like a stream, it is never the same from moment to moment, for new waters are always flowing.

Except awareness, it alone operates independently from the others and is unaffected by them. Awareness is ever present, an inseparable component, neither recording nor judging any and all events, including physical senses, emotions, mind and thoughts.

It is this unnoticed dimension of awareness, the paradox of its unidentifiable presence, that is of fundamental import to self-realization. Awareness does not record the present moment, it is the present moment, the incommensurable now.

Its obvious that one exists in the present, yet most assume that their Self-Identity is based in their senses, emotions, mind and memory. Never realizing that they are but dreaming the past, and all but asleep to the present moment.

Who you are is always present, unnoticed and overlooked by who you are not. When one truly understands this, the radiance of your true Self is revealed.

Who you really are asks, “Can you, in your ever present awareness, lay bare the truth of Existence / Self?

©2010 Mark Naea, all rights reserved.