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Towards an Era of Transformation 1 of 2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within

~ ∞ ~ Towards an Era of Transformation 1/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

In the following few pages, we will take a look at some of the underlying issues that are causing problems in our world today. A contrasting perspective is provided in later chapters, namely “The Emergence of a New Vision,” “Ancient Wisdom Resurfaces,” and “Metaphysical Paradigm Shift,” respectively. To someone who subscribes to a consensus view of reality, the contrast may be immense, enormous, or even monumental.

In that case, the rest of the book might have a whole lot of nothing to say – unless, of course, such people are ready to transcend their views and beliefs and consider other approaches and points of view. You see, without transcending our beliefs we will never be free from the ignorance of dogma that separates us from universal wisdom.

The goal here is to share paradigm shifting ideas that can open up the doors of perception by breaking down old patterns, which in turn can create new pathways of thinking and seeing, living and being, doing and acting – this is the whole purpose of this work, after all.

It goes without saying that one doesn’t need to be especially observant or to have a keen eye for detail to see that we live in times of profound transformation marked by a crisis of sustainability – this and many other related processes together will have a lasting impact on every aspect of our lives.

And so it goes that at this critical juncture in human history, we find ourselves at a crossroads – a point of no return, where a decision is made to either continue our old ways, repeating our past mistakes – plunging deeper into confusion, disillusion, and ignorance, and eventually – into oblivion, or to take the critical first step towards the process of adaptation, change, and transformation.

Against this backdrop, it is clear that this juncture is a time in which there is an ending of one age, and the beginning of another, which goes on to say that in all areas of society, there will be a new beginning – such is the nature of transformation, you see?

By virtue of the aforementioned with regard to ongoing transformation, it can be said that at the moment we are going through something we don’t have words for, and we point to the nameless experience by saying, “it is like this, and it is like that.” Only afterwards, when all is said and done, when a new metaphor is created, can we name similarities that make the metaphor work, and then generalize these similarities into concepts that describe our experience.

At best, this nameless experience can be a great transformation, or conscious transformation – a renaissance of humanity, if you will; at worst, it can be a messy decline of humanity into a hopeless void of disorder and chaos.

As obvious as the crisis of sustainability, so is the case with the current system we have in place. Indeed, there is no doubt about it, the current system we have in place is in full decay – it is on its last legs, simply because it depends heavily on finite resources, and hence it would be an understatement to say that infinite economic growth on a finite Earth is the epitome of unsustainability.

As a consequence, a centuries old modern industrial world is coming to an end and a new world is being born. An optimist would say that this may be a blessing in disguise, for we can see that a new world is being born from the ashes of the old. Another way to look at this is to say that the world itself will change as the people on Earth themselves change. There are changes taking place at all levels of society in the world, are there not?

Indeed, there are changes happening from education, to medical advancements, to political changes, to weather alterations, to religious and spiritual understandings, to the philosophies, to the theologies, to the social status of individuals, to the supply and demand of goods and services – all are changing. In what direction will these changes move us, forward or backward, for better or for worse – is entirely up to each and every one of us, is it not?

Considering all the aforementioned, it is against this backdrop that we can arrive at the following conclusion: it has never been more clear than now, in the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century: we as the collective human species are in dire need of conscious transformation. There has been a great transformation brewing under the surface for a quite some time, ready to burst wide open with the full force and might when the time is ripe, which goes on to say that such transformation is long overdue.

It always requires the will of the people and concerted effort to move toward something new, to initiate a shift in perspective, which in turn can lead to a conscious transformation of both the self and the world, you see? As this shift continues to gain momentum, much that we now take for granted in the world will be irrevocably transformed – for better or for worse, we shall see in due time. In what direction will this shift move us – is entirely up to each and every one of us.

Over the course of the last decade, preliminary signs of the beginning of such transformation were seen in almost every area of life, most of which were the symptoms of a crisis much bigger than we can imagine – for the simple reason that in order to conjure up reasonable solutions to the problems we face, humans as we know humans, seem to need to go through processes of struggle, contestation, conflict, and reconciliation – which in turn gives room for more mature approaches.

Granted, some of these preliminary signs were also strides toward better ways of doing things, toward sustainable living, toward a better future – but for the obvious reasons, such strides belong to the minority – at least for the time being.

Unfortunately, humans, as we know humans today, are particularly good at putting off the inevitable, and so it goes that ripples get bigger and bigger each generation, crisis gets ever more severe, struggle gets more intense, and conflict gets more widespread – until such time when either civilization destroys itself or consciously decides to evolve. This goes on to say that there is yet much more to surface, a lot more crisis to overcome, and much more processes to go through before the deeper aspects of the transformation begins to take form.

The question facing humanity at this critical juncture in human history – a time of convergence, a turning of the tides, is whether we will embrace our inherent unity, interconnectedness, and interdependence as a species and self-consciously adapt to the new conditions of our existence, or whether we will cling to inherent patterns of belief and behavior that are driven by ignorance and hubris – and learn the lessons of interdependence the hard way, through the deepening social and ecological consequences of a failure to adapt, change and transform.

This process implies not only the change and transformation of the individuals, but also the structure of society that will reflect the underlying principle, or truth, of the oneness of humanity. This principle entails the emergence of a consciousness that recognizes and acknowledges this oneness, which in turn establishes equality between all people, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, nationality, language, and culture, you see?

Considering all the aforementioned, one should be inclined to ask the following question: Why is it that we are in the midst of this crisis in almost every area of life? Could it be that we as the collective human species have been suffering from a certain level of self-pride and arrogance, or more aptly – hubris of monumental proportions? Could it also be that this type of behavior has caused us to deteriorate and fragment from within?

Now, let me ask you this: Is it not obvious that we are, indeed, suffering from a disease that is eating us from within – a spiritual disease of immorality and inhumanness, inauthenticity and insincerity? Against this backdrop, one should be asking themselves: Could it also be that all of our past actions of ignorant nature has ultimately caused us to distance ourselves from the natural Living Life, which in turn has created profound difficulties in understanding the Mysteries of Life?

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

Get the Book: Awaken the Living Awareness Within – Discover the Keys to Happiness, Inner Peace & Harmony

[ Click » here « to read the next part: Towards An Era of Transformation 2/2 ]

Extra Material: Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"

Infinite Fractal of Creation 2 of 2, The Book of zen awareness mindfulness key to happiness

~ ∞ ~ Infinite Fractal of Creation 2/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

The individuated experience of life is perceived through this ever-fluid motion that creates the perception of time, and yet, on a deeper level, time isn’t separable from life itself, for you see, life creates time as it moves, and time creates space for life to happen. Beneath the surface of seemingly fixed material objects in a linear river of time, there is the reality in which energy swirls into form, dissolves and coalesces once again.

All this multiplicity and diversity of life is One Unity, One Divinity – emanating, evolving, converting and re-absorbing itself; creating and preserving, destroying and re-generating itself; the Self, by itself, knowing itself, separating from itself, and transcending itself. As the waves of energy dance and electrons pulsate in and out of existence – new expressions of Living Life is constantly being created.

Indeed, when science goes down to the very core of even the most solid-looking object – separateness dissolves, and all that remains are a set of relationships, revealing a deeper level of reality – interconnectedness of all things; meaning that everything connects to everything else and nothing is separate from the whole.

You see, more than a century ago, it was realized that atoms were largely empty space, and with the advent of quantum theory it was realized that even sub-atomic particles were far from being the solid “particles” we had imagined them to be. Physicists are now able to see and verify through scientific means that matter appears to be both waves of potential non-physical energy and small solid basic building blocks (particles) simultaneously.

In other words, Quantum Physics tells us that the particles themselves exist in many different states simultaneously. In this context, this empty space within atoms is in fact unmanifested infinite potential, holding consciousness in and of itself. Within this emptiness there is unfathomable power – a whole web of information, consciousness, and energy – connecting all things together, you see?

When we dive even deeper, we find subatomic particles – the building blocks of life in a quantum level; within these subatomic particles, there is motion in a form of radiation, i.e., energy vibration. So from the previous, it becomes evident that everything is actually moving and vibrating energy – and there goes the so-called “physicality” out of the window.

Indeed, if one would take a closer look, they would find that the reality we inhabit and believe to be solid, material, dense, and physical, surely seems to be an illusion created by our own senses; an outside reflection from the Innerverse – a reflection that is very much real and tangible.

Everyday reality, therefore, including our minds and bodies, and even the universe – is a human construct (idea) – interpretation of consciousness to itself, as a result of its experiences which are fundamental excitations of consciousness itself. This surely suggests that matter is, indeed, purely made out of different energy vibrations in different configurations, doesn’t it?

By virtue of the aforementioned with regard to the Unity of Life, it can be noted that life originates from, and eventually returns to, the so-called Omega Point, which is a distinct center radiating at the core of a system of centers, i.e., a supreme autonomous focus of union. This point is the state of complex unity toward which everything is developing.

So now, then, to further understand this, let us “flip the script” for a moment and consider a different kind of approach than what we are accustomed to. For the sake of simplicity, let us use linear terms and associate the term “future” with the Omega Point, the point at which all life is realized as One.

So now, then, if we consider life to be a living, breathing and vibrating natural holofractographic projection from the “future,” which is meant to be experienced in the “past” as subjectively perceived reality – we would eventually arrive at the conclusion that at the very core of our being – we are eternal, and that the death is the biggest illusion there is – this is much larger topic which will be explored more in the section LIFE.

To stretch this even further, it can be said that the individuated experience of life could very well be seen as a form of simulacra, in which the existence simulates the possibility of limitation, separation, and ultimately, its crescendo – that of death, where the individuated, finite expression of life is revealed to be part of a larger whole, to be part of the continuity that transcends all concepts and definitions.

In this type of simulation, everything would appear to be separate things, but in the very core, would be interconnected expressions of the one and the same consciousness – being the by-product of its own awareness of itself. Thus, everything one would perceive in their subjective reality would be an extension of the One Unity, One Divinity – in its many emanations and expressions – a mirror of sorts, you see?

The ancient wisdom traditions in all corners of the Earth have also taught that the world is like a mirror – an extension of ourselves, reflecting everything that is happening on a higher realm or on the deeper levels of reality, you see? So clearly, in this respect, one can conclude that we are, indeed, what we think, what we feel, what we imagine, and what we dream. With our thoughts, emotions, feelings, intentions, behaviors, and speech – we make the world, you see?

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

Get the Book: Awaken the Living Awareness Within – Discover the Keys to Happiness, Inner Peace & Harmony

[ Click » here « to read the next part: Towards An Era of Transformation 1/2 ]

Extra Material: Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"

Infinite Fractal of Creation 1 of 2, The Book of Zen Awareness mindfulness key to happiness peace joy

~ ∞ ~ Infinite Fractal of Creation 1/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

As a natural continuation of the previous chapter, where we talked about the Intelligence of Life and its miraculous nature, this chapter will deepen our understanding of the same. In a way, it is both a necessary preliminary exploration of what comes up in the following few chapters, and an appetizer which will give you just enough to ignite the spark of interest, but not too much to overwhelm you with the details – although the following few pages are somewhat rich in detail. In due time, and in due course, the terms, ideas, and concepts that are presented in this chapter will get more context around them as they are discussed more thoroughly in the pages to come.

So now, then, let us start with the following: the universe we find ourselves in, is thought to have a beginning. Likewise, it is also thought that life as we know life to exist, must have a beginning, as well. Everything that exists must therefore have a cause for its existence, and because the universe exists – it too, must have a cause for its existence, doesn’t it?

In the context of existence, when it comes to us human beings, one can draw the conclusion that we exist because we do, and we are here, because we exist. This gets particularly interesting when we expand our discussion to cover both life and death, existence and non-existence; this happens in later sections and chapters – all in due time, as they say. What can be said about it, though, is the following: that which exists cannot ever truly become non-existent, for you see, nothing ultimately ever dies, only changes form – transforms and transcends.

When we account for the fact that life as we know life to exist – is the combination of ever-changing physical and mental energies; and that energy is eternal, just like mass–energy equivalence states – energy equals matter, and matter equals energy – this too, points to the First Cause that set the energy in motion in the first place, doesn’t it? From this, the question arises: Where did that energy come from?

If time and matter came into existence with the so-called “Big Bang,” the power that initiated the universe and set the energy in motion must not be bound by time and space within the universe. Therefore, this First Cause must transcend time and space, for neither existed until it created the universe; since it is timeless, it is eternal, without beginning or end; since it transcends space, it is non-physical, or immaterial; since it can create a universe out of nothing, there must be no limits to its power – it is all-powerful, you see?

Furthermore, if the First Cause is immaterial, timeless, and all-powerful, it cannot have created the universe out of necessity – it must have chosen to do so. This surely suggests that we are not the result of random chance, doesn’t it? All this, then, taken as a whole, can be called Creation. Creation is a symbolic narrative of the beginning of the world as understood in a particular tradition and community – in other words, Creation myths tell us how things began.

Let us explore this further. As cultures, we identify ourselves through the collective dreams we call Creation myths or Cosmogonies; they explain in metaphorical terms our sense of who we are in the context of the world. All cultures have Creation myths that are of central importance for the valuation of the world, for the orientation of humans in the universe, and for the basic patterns of life and culture.

As an example of a Creation story, in Taoist Cosmogony, the Tao (Way) gave birth to Unity; Unity gave birth to Duality; Duality gave birth to Trinity; Trinity gave birth to the myriad creatures. The myriad creatures bear Yin on their back, and embrace Yang in their bosoms. Yin and Yang neutralize each other, and hence the unification brings about dynamic balance.

Thus, the world is a dance of the two opposing, yet harmonious forces in the universe: Yin and Yang, mystery and form. Underlying this ever-fluid dynamic motion, underlying this dance of the two seemingly opposing forces, there is a cosmic order – innate harmony inherent to all life. This cosmic order has a discontinuous character, but what makes it fascinating is that it is structured in such a way that it integrates space and time, matter and form.

At the most fundamental level, this means that atoms are synchronously projected in a very rapid discontinuous succession throughout the universe – like successive frames in a film, you see? In fact, each individual atom is like an independent frame in a holographic cosmic film; it appears as a particle, then it loses its particulate identity in an alternate quantized mode, thus becoming a spatially indeterminate quantum bundle of energy; then it reappears as a particle again, and so on and so forth, you see?

The existence itself is an interplay of these patterns of energy in an ever-fluid relationship. In essence, all life is living and vibrating energy, and therefore we are immersed in an ocean of vibration, in an ocean of frequency, in an ocean of consciousness. The energy that is around and within us flows and moves in constant, ever-changing currents through time and space. We as human beings are calling this timeless play of light and its shadow, simply, “life.”

In other words, the very structure of existence revolves around holographically patterned living fractals, which are a play of light and its shadow – Infinity, reflecting from itself – appearing to itself as a multiplicity of finite worlds, refracting itself into a multiplicity of finite minds.

All this, residing in consciousness, inside which a flame of Living Awareness infinitely flickers. Infinite Living Awareness expressing itself, dancing the Cosmic Dance – a constant cycle of expansion and contraction. In this holographically patterned Infinite Fractal of Creation, everything contains the seeds of everything else – even the smallest particle contains the seeds of the entire universe.

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

Get the Book: Awaken the Living Awareness Within – Discover the Keys to Happiness, Inner Peace & Harmony

[ Click » here « to read the next part: Infinite Fractal of Creation 2/2 ]

Extra Material: Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"

Infinite Living System 2 of 2 The Miracle of Life, the book of zen awareness alan watts mindfulness key to happiness

~ ∞ ~ Infinite Living System (The Miracle of Life) 2/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

Now, let me ask you this: As it stands, is it not, indeed so, that the prevailing belief in the science-driven Western world is that humans are nothing special in the context of the Cosmos? Is it not, indeed, the prevailing custom to believe that the Earth and its inhabitants are just a big ‘cosmic accident’ of some sort?

In this context, it goes without saying that it is the epitome of ignorance to believe that life is merely incidental and accidental part of the universe, despite everything telling us otherwise – or do you beg to differ?

If one really stops to contemplate this magnificent feat – the “fine-tuned” universe and everything in it – galaxies, stars, planets, and all other forms of matter and energy; the existence of the human body, a biological marvel, one of a kind – it becomes undeniable that everything points to an Intelligently Designed Universe; every attempt to prove otherwise points directly to this truth – intriguing, isn’t it?

As it turns out, the probability of life existing at all has been calculated many times over. It has been said that the odds against the existence of life on Earth are on the order of 10^10^123. That’s so massively unlikely it’s almost impossible to fathom.

In other words, the fine-tuning odds are so infinitesimal that fine-tuning cannot be passed off as a mere coincidence, and thus one cannot but arrive at the conclusion that the existence of intelligent life in the universe is so incredibly rare that one should consider that it only happened once, which means that the “accidental” or “coincidental” creation of our universe is an impossibility.

And when these two rare occurrences – the creation of our fine-tuned universe and intelligent life in it, happened to happen together makes it clear that the universe we find ourselves in has a purpose – to facilitate intelligent life, which makes it a purposeful universe, doesn’t it? This tells us how precise the Creator’s aim must have been, to an accuracy of one part in 10^10^123.

That is an extraordinary figure – one could not possibly even write the number down. You see, it would be 1 followed by 10^123 successive 0’s, which means that even if we were to write a 0 on each separate proton and on each separate neutron in the entire universe, and also throw in all the other particles – we would fall short of writing down the figure needed.

The improbable odds of life existing in the cosmos surely suggests that we are not the result of random chance, does it not? And yet, in spite of this, all too many continue to deny the obvious.

Taking the previous into consideration, it stands to reason that our greatest technological achievements pale in comparison to the complexity of the biological achievements found in nature, which goes on to say that we have a long way to go before we get anywhere near achieving anything close to resembling that.

But alas, in our hubris, we often think that we have discovered some of the great truths of life, and thus we want to perfect everything through science and technology; we are blinded by our hubris and denial of things obvious, so much so that in our vanity we interfere with the intricate web of relationships upon which life on Earth depends.

When we talk about DNA, genetics and the human genome*1, we need to understand that even though most genes have been identified, the human genome is not yet fully understood; neither are the mechanisms which cause certain genes to be switched on or off. It doesn’t make matters any better when we account for the fact that even today scientists have no satisfactory or universally accepted definition of life – no one has been able to explain what causes something to be alive, and what distinguishes animate from inanimate matter.

In light of that, one could easily argue that we have absolutely no idea how Life propagates itself through time and space in physical reality. On the other hand, someone else could naively argue against by stating: “of course we do – just because, science, you know!” Having said that, we should also acknowledge one thing equally true: yes, indeed, we do know certain things about the physical expression of Life, but at the same time we should also be acknowledging that we still don’t know what Life is – emphasis on the capital letter.

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*1 The human genome is the complete set of nucleic acid sequences for humans, encoded as DNA within the 23 chromosome pairs in cell nuclei and in a small DNA molecule found within individual mitochondria. The total length of the human genome is over 3 billion base pairs. The genome is organized into 22 paired chromosomes, plus the X chromosome (one in males, two in females) and, in males only, one Y chromosome. These are all large linear DNA molecules contained within the cell nucleus. The genome also includes the mitochondrial DNA, a comparatively small circular molecule present in each mitochondrion.

Now, let us briefly come back to the idea according to which every cell in our body holds memory, information, knowledge. As information is all around us, we can tune into these frequencies, and in so doing we can gain access to this vast Living Library. The process of connecting, reading and retrieving is quite difficult to express in words as it all boils down to awareness – being aware of Life itself. The beauty of it all is the depth of understanding one’s own awareness, which has no limits but the ones we set ourselves.

That is, if we transcend beyond beliefs, ideas and concepts; if we go above cause and beyond effect, above birth and beyond death, above happiness and beyond suffering – we would once again find our way back to ourselves, into this present moment – here and now, into our body, into our mind, into our own awareness wherein memory, information, knowledge, wisdom, love, peace, and connectedness reside.

This we can call an “Awakening,” which is something that takes place within each of us whenever we are ready to remember our eternal nature, whenever we are ready to take that first step in remembering who we are at the deepest level of our being, whenever we are ready to know our core essence as Spirit.

One last thing before we move on: From personal experience, I can say that it was very fascinating indeed to intimately get to know the different parts that make up one’s genetic profile. The process helped me to further understand my own being, the human experience here on Earth. At first, all I had was the feeling – or should I say inner knowing that there existed a vast variety of different ethnicities in my genetic profile.

One way to understand this is to say that there seemed to have been a process of awakening happening in different chromosomes; generational knowledge and ethnic information cracking open from the codons*1 like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, you see?

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*1 A codon is a sequence of three DNA or RNA nucleotides that encodes a specific amino acid, that is, information encoded within genetic material.

This led me to follow numerous synchronicities that ended up revealing much of my own ancestry. In later years, I was amazed how accurate these inner feelings were – the final confirmation came in the form of DNA testing, combined with excessive paper trail in genealogical research.

This brings about the question: How is this relevant, and how does it relate to the overall message of the book? Well, it all boils down to Interconnectedness of All Life, and awareness of the same, you see? When one becomes aware of their true nature, they also become aware of the vastly Interconnected Web of Life which connects us all.

As mentioned earlier in the Prologue, the whole of humanity is a single being, having a collective consciousness – the sum total of all human life, having a collective direction and destiny. This means that we are part of, and intimately connected to, absolutely everything in the universe – the deeper we go, the more we see how truly connected we are.

In this Interconnected Web, each human life is a link in a chain of lives that extends far into the past and projects far into the future, with ancestors at the one end, and descendants at the other; each life in a chain of lives is bound together by cause and effect, different, yet the same.

This brings us to the point: in my own personal journey, it was indeed necessary to achieve a balance between different ethnicities within my DNA. The best way to express this is to say that all of those different parts had to be aligned and harmonized to bring about balance. In other words, this process can be said to be something called ancestral healing*1.

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*1 Ancestral healing involves healing one’s ancestors’ unresolved emotional issues, problems or trauma. In so doing, it releases you from any energetic patterns that link you to them – patterns that can have an inhibiting or disruptive influence on your life today. This kind of healing process is important because we are impacted by emotional and energetic patterns from prior generations in our family. Some of these can create obstacles in our lives, blocking our pathway to joy, abundance, authentic power and unlimited possibilities. Since energy is never lost, but simply changes form over time, emotional issues or problems that were not dealt with by your ancestors, or not fully resolved, can 'hover' in your energy field today, creating an imbalance or roadblock.

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

Get the Book: Awaken the Living Awareness Within – Discover the Keys to Happiness, Inner Peace & Harmony

[ Click » here « to read the next part: Infinite Fractal of Creation ]

Extra Material: Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"

Infinite Living System 1 of 2 life the book of zen awareness, alan watts mindfulness key happiness

~ ∞ ~ Infinite Living System (The Miracle of Life) 1/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

Now that we have shed some light on the author and their journey, we can delve deeper into the understanding that sprung from that very journey. There’s no better way to start this chapter than by stating the obvious: Life is way more Intelligent wholeness than what we give it credit for.

That said, let us remind ourselves of one important truth: Life is simpler than we think, and yet, at the same time it is more complex than we can imagine. Simplicity is the true form of perfection, and therefore it is only natural that simplicity is at the core of every Living System, including us human beings.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that simplicity makes sense in a Living Universe. We touched upon this topic in the previous section, and it follows, naturally, then, that in this chapter, we will continue our discussion, deepening our understanding of the same, you see?

It is this very Intelligence that is alive and well in each of us, and hence it is of great importance. Even though it should be obvious to all of us – unfortunately, it isn’t. Indeed, it seems as though we humans underestimate Life’s built-in Intelligence, or more aptly, we tend to ignore it completely, which brings about the question: Is there any reason or rationale that could explain this behavior?

Yes, certainly, there is, but the answer is not so straightforward; rather, it is multifaceted, which by its nature is such that it reveals complexities that one might not expect at first glance. This, in turn, gives rise to a whole host of other complexities, issues, and aspects regarding us human beings, you see?

By virtue of the aforementioned with regard to our ignorance over Life’s built-in Intelligence, one can easily arrive at the conclusion that we human beings are, indeed, exceedingly, if not entirely, so used to seeing Life through such a small pinhole that we have become narrow-sighted.

And so it goes that in our narrow field of vision, with the lack of self-awareness, we have become utterly unaware of the fact that it was Life’s greater Intelligence that created us in the first place, and that it is precisely Life’s greater Intelligence that sustains and nurtures us.

The narrow field of vision and lack of self-awareness, combined with ignorance and hubris is something that leads to an attitude of separation and disconnection. By our own volition, we end up in a state where we can’t see the forest for the trees. And so it goes that in this state, it is much easier to ignore such Intelligence altogether than acknowledge its existence. Much of this is due to the superiority complex we humans have – which is an unnatural urge to elevate ourselves above everything else, including Life itself.

And of course this discussion would not be complete without acknowledging those who like to argue that Life’s Intelligence is way beyond our mind’s comprehension. The irony here is that with such an argument we are shooting ourselves in the foot, so to speak. Meaning that we are contradicting ourselves and even outright downplaying our own intelligence.

There is some truth to that argument, yes, but at the same time we should acknowledge that there are many more levels to our comprehension – levels that we can currently only dream of; such levels of comprehension we as the collective human species have yet to discover and explore.

In the first approach – the one that deals with the superiority complex, we are looking ourselves as being something more than; in contrast, with the second approach, we are looking ourselves as being something less than. Neither one will get us any closer to the Truth, but if we start to see ourselves in a new light – as equals with everything else, then the key fits into the lock – see?

This brings us to the conclusion: more than anything else, the reason as to why we underestimate Life’s Intelligence lies deep in our worldview – a worldview that prevents us from recognizing, acknowledging and understanding Living Intelligence. Another important aspect concerning life and its built-in Intelligence is by far its miraculous nature. You see, life exhibits intelligent behavior in all of its manifestations, forms and structures.

It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Wonder what? Extraordinary nature of Life, and more than that, the preciousness of human life. And so it goes that while one marvels at the extraordinary nature of Life, we cannot but conclude that Life is, truly, a Living Miracle – something to be cherished and nurtured; to be alive is the greatest gift of all, is it not? Undoubtedly, you would be really amazed if you only knew what a treasure you truly are, and even more so if you knew the implications of knowing this truth.

As we have learned from the previous chapters, our awareness plays a major role in unlocking this treasure – it’s up to you, and you alone, to discover the key within, you see? Indeed, each of us is a living testament of the miracle called Life, but only a few are able to recognize it, and even fewer can acknowledge and appreciate it for what it is. And so you see, there are basically two ways to live our lives – like nothing is a miracle, or as if everything is a miracle – the choice is, obviously, yours, and yours only to make – see?

Now, let me ask you this: Is it not a miracle that you exist? Is it not a miracle that you exist as the unique you that you are? If that’s not miraculous enough, then let me ask you this: Is it not a miracle that Intelligent Life can evolve to a level of consciousness, to a point where it can trace back its history to understand its own origin and its true essence? Is it not a miracle that Life can become aware of itself through the vehicle of a living form that has the capacity for self-reflection?

As far as we know, human beings are the only form of life that has this capacity of being able to reflect on the nature of its own thinking and feeling, its own past and future, its own life and death, and on the nature of awareness itself. Therefore, is it not the greatest miracle of all that everything we have ever wanted to know about Life is found within each and every one of us?

And now you may be wondering, what does all that really mean? Well, it simply means that every cell in our body holds memory, information, knowledge. You see, our bodies are composed of cells, each cell is a fragment of the whole, and yet each cell contains the blueprint for life. This means that the Source Code of Life and the vast array of memory banks are readily available to be read, analyzed and interpreted by everyone – all we need to do is to become aware of this hidden treasure within each of us and start reading the Book of Life.

It also means that each of us is a living system within a greater Living System, connected to each other in more ways than we can fathom, which is another way of saying that this Great Miracle of Life that we are all a part of, is in essence, an Interconnected Web of information, connection and communication. This leads us to an important point: we are an inseparable part of a Living Universe, but unfortunately, for the most part, we seem to have forgotten this fundamental truth.

Let us delve deeper, shall we? So now that we know that our body is the doorway to all knowledge, and our awareness is the key, the question becomes: Where do we go from here, and more importantly: Where do we begin? Well, the idea of DNA is a good place to start since DNA has been around for as long as there has been life on Earth.

Having said that, we should keep in mind that we would need to expand our thinking, broaden our perspective, and be ready and willing to see the world and ourselves in a new light, so that we could have a more comprehensive understanding of the big picture – and through it, of ourselves and our fellow human beings, you see? As such, the following few chapters are dedicated for that purpose, and in the section titled LIFE, we will return to this topic.

Now, let us continue with the following ancient saying: “as above, so below; as within, so without.” This simple statement tells us that humans are a reflection of the entire universe. Indeed, we are a microcosm of the universal macrocosm, which means that within us is a complete universe. By understanding this simple truth we can begin to understand our true power – we as humans have the ability to directly know and experience Truth.

As we begin to know our inner nature, we find that we are actually discovering the nature of the universe, which is another way of saying that not only are we in the universe, but the universe is in us; and not only that, but at the same time we are also discovering the true Essence of Creation – all it takes is a willingness to explore ourselves. You see, exploration leads to discovery; discovery leads to knowledge; knowledge leads to new questions and new exploration.

That said, we should keep in mind that there is so much more within us that no external technology can ever show us – the only way to access this vast array of information within us is to use our innate internal technology – Spiritual Technology, for lack of a better term. If we shift our thinking to include such notions as energy, frequency, and vibration – we can begin to understand that our DNA is alive – full of Living Intelligence that interacts with fields of information.

To give an analogy: our DNA acts like a tuning crystal in a radio that focuses various frequencies and vibrations into the form we see as our bodies, which is another way of saying that our DNA is sending and receiving information all the time, whether we are aware of it or not.

From this perspective, it becomes clear that the observable part of the DNA double helix is merely the surface level of the multilayered structure. On top of that, we can also see that while DNA can be seen as a “source code” of sorts, it is also a representation of highly advanced technology.

Against this backdrop, we can see that humans are a product of Intelligent Design – something miraculous that only Intelligent Awareness in its Infinite Wisdom can achieve. The existence of the human body should be enough evidence for anyone that we are the products of an Intelligent Designer and Creator, and not merely the by-product of an accident, like we want to believe – especially in the science-driven Western culture.

And here is where the irony lies: you see, in recent years, modern science has discovered that the underlying structural details of the entire universe have been “fine-tuned” toward the goal of producing biological life – quite a dichotomy, don’t you think? And yet, in spite of this, all too many want to deny the obvious, and pass it off as a mere coincidence – sweeping it under the rug, so to speak.

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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the essence of zen alan watts the book of awareness - samadhi, discover the key to inner joy, peace, happiness

~ ∞ ~ The Essence of Zen - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

Now that we have covered the basics, it is time to take a closer look at the Essence of Zen, so that we can better understand the upcoming chapters – in particular those dealing with the ideas of consciousness, awareness, and existence in general. In this chapter, our focus is placed on examining the very core of Zen philosophy – that of mindfulness or effortless state of being.

Mindfulness, in and of itself, facilitates direct intuitive insight (called wisdom) into the ever-changing, conditioned nature of all phenomena from moment to moment; it facilitates understanding that everything is interconnected, and that there is no separate permanent entity such as a self, separated from others, with absolute control over processes and events of life.

When one has the understanding that we are part of the whole and the whole is part of us, that all living things have consciousness, and are inseparably linked to all other living things in this Great Cosmic Web of Life – it can be the key that unlocks inner peace and harmony within, you see? Although the Essence of Zen may be impossible to capture in words, it doesn’t mean that we cannot discuss Zen. In fact, it can be immensely helpful to discuss Zen – what it is, and what it isn’t.

On that note, it is important to keep in mind that language is an external representation of what we perceive or experience – often times used to denote and describe past events. And because language cannot ever describe the true essence of our existence and our experience of it, we are forced to use signs and symbols in an effort to express something that is very much inexpressible.

Thus, no matter what we say, it will always be limited and insufficient to capture the essence that can only be experienced directly – this is especially true with everything Zen related. You see, words can only point to the direct experience which goes beyond any words and definitions. Language can only convey an idea of what direct experiencing is like and what it isn’t; experiencing reality just-as-it-is means that it has to be expressed in daily life – not in words, ideas or concepts.

As to what Zen is, the Buddhist scholar D.T. Suzuki gave the following description in his essay, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. The description below opens the door to the idea of awareness, which in turn gives us the chance to understand life as a unified, interconnected whole, in which patterns are contained within patterns – just like our consciousness is embedded in awareness, you see?

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring woods – in all these I am practicing Zen, I am Living Zen. No wordy discussion is necessary, nor any explanation... When the sun rises, the whole world dances with joy and everybody’s heart is filled with bliss. If Zen is at all conceivable, it must be taken hold of here.

The word Zen is derived from the Japanese word Chán, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna – meaning “meditation” or “meditative state”; dhyana is the practicing of the inward life – the silent realization by which the individual is instructed in the great universal truths. Even though the word Zen is derived from Sanskrit, Zen is much more than just meditation and dhyana in its ordinary sense, and hence it can be said that meditation is not Zen.

When we talk about meditation we are talking about reaching in, looking inside. In the context of Zen, it is worth pointing out that the highest meditation is simply to be – effortlessly; being aware of being aware, you see? This is consciousness knowing its own being, which is the only activity that is absolutely effortless. To give an example: even blinking requires more effort than being established in one’s true nature – this is why true meditation is always truly effortless.

The emphasis on the present moment is perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of Zen – more than anything else, Zen is about reclaiming and expanding the present moment. A typical Zen understanding is that life exists in the present or nowhere at all, which goes on to say that we come out of the world, not into it, and thus we are each expressions of the world.

This means that we’re not some strangers in a strange land, or flukes of consciousness in a blind, unintelligent, unliving universe – like our current scientific paradigm teaches us. When life exists in the present – it means that there’s just one event with multiple aspects unfolding here and now.

Therefore, it is important to have our focus on the present moment. In other words, trying to see all of life at once is like trying to explore a vast cave with a box of matches – kind of pointless, would you agree?

The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our own being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, you see? The discipline of Zen consists in opening the mental eye in order to look into the very reason of existence itself; Zen, therefore – is a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind.

This goes on to say that Zen is a way of being – a state of mind that involves dropping the illusion and seeing the world as-it-is, without the distortion created by our own thoughts, emotions and feelings. Zen is, therefore, a way of living, a way of being in the world; it is the achieving the balance between the world and the Self, you see?

Zen is always directed towards the world, not away from it, and because of this – it opens up the shapes, forms, objects, textures, materials, colors, actions, and events, in both time and in space, you see? In other words, Zen means waking up to the world, and therefore it is also the realization of the beauty of life.

From this, it becomes obvious that the beautiful Art of Lucid Living arises from the conscious realization that life is a continuous process of evolvement and development, including different stages and cycles of learning, integrating, and expressing.

In Zen, we find all the philosophy of the East in crystallized form – nevertheless, Zen is not a philosophy in the ordinary sense of the term; Zen is not founded upon logic and intellectual analysis – instead of concepts, Zen deals with living facts of life, which goes on to say that whatever teachings there are in Zen, they come out in one’s own mind. In other words, we teach ourselves – Zen merely points the way, you see?

This means that in Zen, there is really nothing that could be taught to a student – every person must discover Zen within oneself. Zen ultimately is, and remains a path that one should follow with a joyous and loving heart, and hence each individual decides how far and how fast they want to progress. That said, it should kept in mind that you alone are your own best master, and thus you should listen to yourself and your inner voice – it alone will lead you to success.

If someone were to ask if Zen is a religion; to that, the simple answer would be: no, Zen is not a religion – Zen is neither monotheistic nor pantheistic; Zen is free from all the dogmatic and “religious” constraints, and hence does not attach any intrinsic importance to sacred texts. Zen emphasizes the inner spiritual experience, and therefore Zen is the spirit of all religions and philosophies, you see?

Infinite Quantum Zen, Living Awareness, Living Life, Awaken to the Living Life - Living Awareness means of a direct connection to Source of All Life. We all have within us the capability of becoming aware of this innate connection

~ ∞ ~ Satori ~ ∞ ~

Zen in its basic essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one’s own being; in Zen, Satori is ‘a glimpse of truth’ or a sudden moment of awakening – seeing into one’s true nature; Zen is a product of Satori – achieved by the deepening of one’s experience even further and bringing it into maturation by continuous practice.

Naturally, then, Zen emphasizes the attainment of freedom and points the way from bondage to being fully free – being free from all unnatural constraints. Being free means of giving free play to all the creative and benevolent impulses inherently lying in our hearts – Zen liberates all these energies naturally stored within each of us. In other words, Zen is the Spirit of Man – a way to his inner purity and goodness.

Every human being has within themselves the potentiality of becoming awakened, if one so wills it and endeavours. Each of us have the potentiality to wake up from the dream of life – as we ordinarily take it to be, and find out who we really and truly are – pure awareness. This kind of an awakened individual is one who knows the truth about all things, one who knows just what is what, and so is capable of behaving appropriately with respect to all things.

In other words, the knowing in body, mind, and Soul – that we are One with the Omnipresence of God; and that there is just God’s Infinite Being that we are inseparable part of. When this innermost wisdom is truly awakened, we are able to realize that each and every one of us is identical in Spirit, in essence, in nature with the universal Eternal Living Life.

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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Holographic Fractal Source Code of Life - Infinite Quantum Zen, Success Life Quotes, Alan Watts Philosophy

~ ∞ ~ Infinite World of Quantum and Zen - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

In this section, we will further our understanding of life and our experience of it; the discussion we are having here is a natural continuation of the one we started in Prologue. We begin this section by briefly exploring the core idea of Zen, which is to come in touch with the essence of life, and to do this in a way that is both simple and elegant.

In this brief exploration, we can see how the Zen approach parallels with the fascinating realm of the Quantum World. Each of them in their own unique ways help us understand life, each of them have something to teach us about life, about ourselves, about interconnectedness of all life, you see?

Therefore, it is not only logical, but imperative that we get familiar with both as they form the backbone of the conceptual framework named Infinite Quantum Zen – the cornerstone out of which this book emerged, you see?

The fundamental core of this dynamic framework is found in awareness – more specifically, in Living Awareness. And because this framework essentially resides within everyone who comes into contact with this book, it is an essential prerequisite to have an understanding which allows one to see beyond the surface.

For you see, it is like a seed – when planted in fertile soil, it can bear the fruits of wisdom, peace, happiness, harmony, and virtues; it dynamically creates and holds the space for exploration and discovery. So therefore, any bit of prerequisite information and prior knowledge can enhance the experience of reading this book, and in so doing can make the journey a little bit smoother.

Soon after we have covered the basics, we will take a closer look at the Essence of Zen, which will lay the foundation for further learning as it opens the door to the idea of present moment awareness – mindfulness, if you will. This will help us tremendously as we progress on our journey of discovery through several other sections; there are plenty more to discover, a plethora of questions to be asked, and lots of answers to be found.

The key here is not to rush; as is the case with all novelties that need time to grow, ripe and mature – so is the case with wisdom. You see, an essential part of mastery (of mystery) is patience, persistence, and consistency, as is the case here – see?

After we have explored the Essence of Zen, we will take a short detour and see how the above-mentioned conceptual framework got started, and how something that was initially conceptual became a living experience – it will be an eye-opening reading experience that will shed some light on the personal side of things. Later in our journey, we will have the great opportunity to delve deeper into the miraculous nature of Life and its built-in Living Intelligence.

In this journey, we will learn a new way of seeing life, which gives us the chance to understand Life as a unified, interconnected whole. In the midst of this, we also get to discuss what is needed of us in the future if we as the collective human species are to pursue the path of conscious transformation, which entails a conscious effort on our part to grow, mature, and progress – and eventually prosper, you see?

This discussion also serves the purpose of laying the ground for what lies ahead in the next section. So without a further due, let us delve right into it, shall we? There’s no better way to capture the Essence of Zen than by saying that Zen is a way of living and being. We can continue by saying that Zen in its basic essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one’s own being – seeing into one’s true nature.

In other words, Zen is coming back to this moment, to the natural, obvious simplicity of our true nature, which is another way of saying that Zen is a way of being in the world with mindful awareness of the present moment. As such, Zen is the achieving the balance between the world and the self. If there is anything to take away from this, it is this: Zen approach can teach us how to become empty and receptive.

When we are talking about the similarities between the ideologies of Zen and the Quantum World, we can find one common denominator above all else – Infinity (∞). Not only is the universe of Zen Infinite, but so is the realm of the Quantum.

Infinity is a concept describing something without any limit; Infinity is infinitely infinite, in which even seemingly finite structures are inherently infinite at all points. In other words, Infinity is the unreachable point at the end of a never-ending line that repeats itself ad infinitum.

In the worldview of Zen, the entire universe is found in a single hair, and countless worlds in a speck of dust; likewise, in the scientific world, the Quantum Mechanics is used to explain the natural world’s operations as the understanding of macro is found in micro.

Quantum Mechanics shows that one cannot decompose the world into isolated tiny entities capable of an independent existence. You see, the deeper we look, the more we realize that matter is not a collection of tiny independent particles but rather an interconnected web of relations between parts of a whole.

Another similarity can be found in the idea of sunyata as it is called in Sanskrit. Sunyata signifies that the universe is an open space of unlimited creative potential; similarly, Quantum Mechanics describe potential for existence. To give an example: matter and energy are not in themselves phenomena, and do not become phenomena until they interact with the mind.

These experimental aspects of sunyata are described in quantum phenomena. Although sunyata is often translated to mean ‘emptiness’ or ‘voidness,’ it is not a vacuum or a state of nothingness as generally understood – rather, it is both ‘emptiness’ and ‘fullness’ at the same time; or more aptly, pure potentiality – see?

One of the most glaring examples of the intersection of the worlds of the Quantum and Zen is to be found in the principle of wave-particle duality, which holds that elementary particles can exhibit the characteristics of both particles and waves, yet can be wholly reduced to neither.

Quantum Mechanics recognizes the duality of matter by showing that nature on the smallest subatomic level behaves as both a particle and a wave. A photon, for example, can be a particle, or it can be a wave – or it can be both at the same time.

Thus, one can say that Quantum Mechanics reveals the basic unity of the universe. You see, in Quantum Mechanics, subatomic particles exist in probability waves, and are only defined when something conscious observes them – otherwise they are everywhere and nowhere. And here we can find an amazing parallel: in the Zen way of thinking, opposites can exist simultaneously; contradictory things can exist at the same time.

Like the quantum wave function, a probability matrix used by physicists to describe the state of a system at a given time, wave-particle duality points us to one of the central problems at the heart of the Quantum World: Is there an objective, independent reality that is capable of being quantified, or are all such measurements subjective? Subjective by virtue of the fact that the measurements are always dependent on the observer, thus merely reflecting the observer’s mind, observer’s consciousness.

Let us explore this from the viewpoint of Zen, which contains many parallels to quantum physics in the way it introduces the basic ideas of spiritual duality – heaven and earth, transcendent and immanent. For example, in Zen, there are two domains of reality – emptiness and form – thus the Zen axiom: “Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form.”

The wave-particle duality of quantum physics recognizes two similar domains – potentiality and actuality. Likewise, consciousness plays a role in both realms in quantum physics as it does in Zen, as shown in this parable:

Two monks are arguing. One says, “The flag is moving.” The other says, “No, the wind is moving.” A master, passing by, admonishes them both: “The flag is not moving; the wind is not moving. Your mind is moving.”

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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