Infinite Quantum Zen

~ ∞ ~ The Mystery of Consciousness 2/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

By virtue of the aforementioned with regard to the nature of consciousness, one can pose a question: Do animals have consciousness? Do plants? To which the answer can be given: as the nature of consciousness is very much subjective, it can truly be known only through the aforementioned methods, you see?

In so doing, one can arrive at the following conclusion: all living things have consciousness, and are inseparably linked to all other living things in this Great Cosmic Web of Life; even plants have consciousness – plant’s knowing of where to grow and how to turn to the light is evidence of this.

Every living thing lives within the continuous cycle of birth and death where the remains of one become the nutrients for the other – nothing is ever wasted, everything just transforms into different forms at various times; everything shifts between different levels of existence or consciousness according to its vibrational frequency or awareness, you see?

Furthermore, upon deeper examination, one ultimately finds that inanimate objects are energy – like anything else, and contain trace amounts of consciousness, as all energy comes from a source of consciousness, you see? This understanding not only unites everything that happens in the visible outer world, but it also links the inner subjective world to the outer world.

All things – both seen and unseen, are bound together by cause and effect, which goes on to say that nothing can exist in absolute independence of other things or arise of its own accord; everything in the world comes into existence in response to causes and conditions – meaning that all beings and phenomena exist or occur only because of their relationship with other things. Therefore, one can say that all things – both seen and unseen, share consciousness. You see, in a completely interconnected universe, consciousness anywhere means consciousness everywhere.

As the whole of humanity is a single being, having a collective consciousness – the sum total of all human life, each life being a link in a chain of lives, bound together by cause and effect, different, yet the same – it would mean that we are part of, and intimately connected to, absolutely everything in the universe.

Now, if one sees the interconnected universe as a medium through which consciousness and information is communicated, shared and exchanged, they can also picture the universe as one enormously big, gigantic cell of consciousness containing all the information life needs to expand, develop and unfold.

In this respect, life, therefore, in and of itself, is one gigantic process of passing down consciousness and information. From this perspective, all of life is essentially one gigantic ocean of life, one gigantic ocean of consciousness.

Underlying this consciousness, there is awareness – through which, and by which, we become aware of consciousness. In other words, there is the content of consciousness as well as the awareness of it. In this respect, consciousness does not shine by itself – it shines by a light beyond it; this light is awareness, you see?

This is why the Buddhist likens consciousness to a lamp, which lights itself at the same time it lights up the objects around it. And so you see, awareness is like a light switch that turns on the lamp. From this, we can draw the conclusion that not only does all life have consciousness, but all life has awareness in varying degrees. More precisely, all Life is Awareness, and so it goes that to understand consciousness, one has to become more aware, you see?

Now, let us circle back to the problem with the “scientific attitude,” whose materialist approach and attempts to conceptualize consciousness is precisely what gives rise to confusion and keeps the vicious cycle alive, deepening the scientific dogma, and feeding scientism (the claim that science is the only source of knowledge; that science is the absolute and only justifiable access to the truth), which blinds us from seeing beyond self-imposed limits and illusion, preventing us from understanding consciousness.

When it comes to consciousness – our innate ability to experience or to feel – it remains a mystery to science, although many so-called “experts” have attempted to study, define and explain it. In our attempt to understand consciousness, we have chosen a stance of denial: if we cannot locate, measure, or see consciousness; if we cannot quantify or break down consciousness – it must be impossible; or at the very least – it must reside in the brain.

It is, after all, our firm belief that the mind is in the brain – so therefore also consciousness must reside in the brain, as well. Yet, ironically enough, we cannot prove it to be so. We tend to think that what we see is all there is – that there is nothing we cannot see. Even though we know this is not true, we like to pretend otherwise.

The investigation of our existence, and therefore of our sentience, of our consciousness, always seem to start with the presumption of things – the basic presumption of our being is based on the material reality. From this, the question arises: How could we ever possibly break down consciousness when it is the most concrete and fundamental of all things?

All current Western approaches for consciousness (at least all mainstream ones) are based on materialism – a philosophical stance which holds that the only thing that exists – is matter; that all things are composed of material, and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions. Therefore, the basic question has always been: How does something come out of nothing, and furthermore: How does consciousness arise from matter?

Scientifically oriented people often think that consciousness is an emergent biological phenomena – making no difference to physical systems; also psychologists often speak of the mind and the body as two separate entities for convenience – while many still acknowledge that they are intimately entwined.

Both have largely ignored how consciousness manifests in our existence; this has been done by assuming that brain produces consciousness – although it has never been verified. The only verifiable thing is that consciousness in human form is something that conceives, governs, constructs, and eventually becomes the activity of the body.

Some materialist scientists even believe that consciousness is nothing more than a side effect of our brain moving towards a state of entropy; this must be one of the most preposterous ideas put forward because consciousness in and of itself is concentration of awareness – which is totally opposite of what is being suggested by those materialist scientists.

When we really “tune in” to our own consciousness by using different mindfulness practices – one comes to realize that consciousness always arise from awareness – it doesn’t exist in itself; it is always relative to awareness. This is the main reason why science – as we know it today, cannot properly understand consciousness. You see, as things stand now, the so called “hard problem of consciousness” is deeply rooted in scientific materialism, which is based on the reductionist assumptions of various kinds.

This means that modern science and medicine are essentially based on the reductionist view of the material world. Therefore, it also reduces human existence to our physical existence, in much the same way it reduces reality to what can be detected through sensory experience or can be analyzed with reason – leaving no room for intuition, insight and Inner Knowing.

Due to scientific materialism, we believe and assume that all phenomena in the universe, including time and consciousness, are governed by “eternal laws,” and that all phenomena are subject to the same physical laws, which can be discovered by the means of systematic observation and experimentation. Here we should ask ourselves: Are these so called “eternal laws” of nature really set, or could it be possible that they are still evolving? Who are we to say that the laws of nature are fixed?

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that if the universe is expanding and evolving, then also the laws of nature may be evolving as well. The problem is that we are always looking for a physical explanation. Hence, it goes without saying that the known laws of physics are not only incomplete, but they are inadequate to explain the phenomenon of consciousness.

According to science, the universe is made of nothing, and we have no idea how we experience it; on top of that, we don’t exactly know where is the experience happening. Clearly, it is not happening in our brains, because the brain itself is experience in our consciousness, and our body is no different in that regard. And the amazing part is that we cannot find consciousness anywhere – we cannot touch it, taste it, smell it, hear it, find it or localize it – but we can experience it. Intriguing, isn’t it?

The ancient wisdom traditions have a simple answer to this problem: we are asking completely the wrong question. You see, “where” implies a location in space, and existence in time, and our consciousness is not in space-time. So, clearly, we would have to consider that it could be the other way around – that consciousness is fundamental, and what we experience as the mental and perceptual experience of the world is actually a modified form of consciousness.

In other words, there is only consciousness, and therefore the physical world and our mental experiences are simply modified aspects of consciousness. To stretch this even further, the entire universe is also an experience in our consciousness. This leads us to a staggering conclusion: all experience and phenomena happens in consciousness, and hence there is nowhere to go but in.

In a broader sense, this means that in regard to space and time, matter and form – there really is no space “out there,” and no universal clock “anywhere” to keep time – rather, there is but an appearance of space and time, matter and form; and thus, it is all here – within the Innerverse, residing within each and every one of us. The mind creates the appearance of separation, you see?

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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~ ∞ ~ The Mystery of Consciousness 1/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

In this section, we dive deeper into the topic of consciousness and its relation to awareness (which has its own dedicated section following this one). A good way to start would be to say that as we begin to shed the layers of the human condition that blinds our perception of our Infinite Being, we come across the idea of consciousness. It is something that underlies everything we know and everything we do, it is present in our daily life, and yet we know so little about it.

And so it can be said that consciousness is one of the biggest mysteries there is. Indeed, if one takes a moment to investigate, one arrives at the conclusion that consciousness has been one of the most profound mysteries of our existence from the very beginning. We talk about it all the time, and we know about it through our experiences – and yet, nobody agrees on what consciousness is – be it science, philosophy, mysticism, or religion; there are as many answers as there are people, you see?

In the previous sections, through many chapters, we have already discussed a fair amount about this topic. As such, the purpose of this section is to crystallize some of the main aspects of it, and pose questions more than give answers. Among some of the deep questions we ask in this section are: What is consciousness? Is it dependent on, independent of, or interdependent with physical reality?

Why do non-Western wisdom traditions and Western scientific perspectives disagree so completely in their ideas about it? Do animals have consciousness? Do plants? What do experiences such as dreams, intuition, creativity, spiritual and near-death events tell us about the malleability and the range of consciousness, its elusiveness and transcendental nature? How does one study consciousness? How does one better understand consciousness?

When we ask the question: What is consciousness, we arrive at the conclusion that there is no definitive, all-encompassing definition or description about consciousness, although the emerging field of consciousness studies seeks to arrive at one.

One such definition, favored by Western science, relies on materialist theories which argue that consciousness is constituted by the physiological structure of the brain, and hence it can be reduced to its neural activity, or that it is an emergent product of complex neural networks. Mainstream scientists like to say, argue – and even insist, that the brain creates consciousness and that consciousness cannot survive without the brain.

But if one looks deeper, utilizing the very tools provided by the science itself, namely Quantum Mechanics, it is just as plausible to argue that consciousness exists before the formation of the brain, and therefore consciousness can exist after the death of the brain. What an astonishing dichotomy, isn’t it? By contrast, non-Western traditions see consciousness as ontologically primary to physical matter, an idea that underlies most of the world’s wisdom traditions, including Zen, Taoism, Buddhism, Vedanta, and Yoga.

From the previous, we can see that the idea of consciousness has been used in many ways throughout the history of humanity. The Western approach with its materialist ideas, definitions and descriptions being the youngest, and hence the most partial and incomplete. Considering how far we have come as a species, with all the discoveries in science, engineering and technology – including astronomy, biology, chemistry, medicine, psychology, sociology, and philosophy, among many other fields, it is simply astonishing how little we have discovered about consciousness.

Although we don’t understand what consciousness is, we have some thoughts on what it might be, and hence there are a plethora of theories and hypothesis around it. Interestingly, none of these theories really answers to the primary question of what consciousness is, but rather, most, if not all, focus explaining what consciousness does.

Consciousness is generally described to be a state or quality of awareness; besides being an aspect or quality of awareness, sometimes it has been defined also as qualia, sentience, subjectivity, or the ability to experience or to feel. Other descriptions of consciousness include wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind; some go even so far as to say that consciousness is the same as life; ancient wisdom traditions all over the world has called it simply Spirit.

All the above-mentioned descriptions mean that consciousness in human form is something that conceives, governs, constructs, and eventually becomes the activity of the body. When we investigate consciousness more deeply by utilizing our innate ability of being aware of our own consciousness, we can find that consciousness is also something bigger than us – something much more than just the quality of our awareness, and the ability of being aware of our individuated self.

Isn’t it intriguing that everyone seems to have their opinions about consciousness, but so little true understanding about it; isn’t it intriguing that we sure do like to speculate, but we put very little, if any, effort in understanding consciousness better. It goes without saying that understanding both consciousness and awareness – defining characteristics of sentience, should be our primary goal above all else, or at the very least, considered as being of great importance as they are playing a key role in determining the course of human happiness and suffering.

These varying opinions about consciousness comes from the individual perspective of one’s own subjective experience of life, and yet we have no agreement on what consciousness truly and really is. As such, it can be said that understanding consciousness appears to be more difficult than anything we have ever encountered to this day.

The biggest problems in answering the many questions about consciousness, its nature and its extent arises out of the fact that humans have always started their explorations from the external world, rather than within the inner world, you see?

One of these problems is deeply rooted in the way in which we acquire information – the importance is often placed on the mind and the linear, rational, and logical thinking; this type of information gathering and processing is valued over the heart-based wisdom (science vs. intuition). For some reason, it is difficult for us to appreciate anything that goes against the norm, that is, logic and reason as we know and practice them today.

This brings us face to face with the difficulty on studying consciousness – our modern contemporary methods of studying consciousness are linear, whereas consciousness is very much a non-linear phenomenon. Also the modern science has its very own core problems (assumptions of and about the world) in their scientific methods – the biggest being the way of seeing the world: as if everything would be separate from ourselves.

As such, understanding the nature of consciousness is one of the grand outstanding scientific challenges. The fundamental methodological problem is how phenomenal first person experience can be accounted for in a third person verifiable form, while the conceptual challenge is to both define its function and physical realization.

Consciousness is something that cannot be observed in the way that material objects can – it cannot be weighed, measured, or otherwise pinned down. From this, it becomes clear that science can only go so far – or at least the science we know today, which means that the only viable way to study consciousness is through direct experience, exploring and sharing these experiences by discussing about them, and in so doing learning about them – see?

Many ancient wisdom traditions explore consciousness through direct experience, which is achieved through contemplative practices such as Qi-gong, Zen meditation, and Yoga; these practices teach the practitioner to achieve a state of mental quiescence or stillness in order to comprehend reality in its non-physical manifestations, and in so doing, achieve a state of unity with the ultimate ground of being.

There are three classical paths that lead towards being more aware, towards higher consciousness, towards better understanding of consciousness: meditation, concentration, and contemplation. Even though each path is different, each of them can help one to better understand consciousness; when followed and practiced consistently, they all lead to the same final goal or destination – absorption of Self into the Ultimate Reality.

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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Change is the only constant - alan watts the book of zen meditation, the key to happiness joy harmony

~ ∞ ~ Change Is the Only Constant - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~

If there’s anything certain in this world, it is the truth that everything in life is fleeting and impermanent; everything changes and nothing ever stays the same. Everything is in a constant flux of change, which goes on to say that pleasurable conditions, favorable circumstances, our relationships with those we hold dear, and even our health and well-being – any sense of comfort and security we derive from these things is continually threatened by life’s flux and uncertainty; and ultimately, by death – the most profound change of all.

If there’s something absolute, it is the truth that there’s nothing absolute in the world, which means that everything is relative, conditioned and impermanent. Thus, is it not, indeed so, what has been said long ago, in the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), and is it not, indeed so, that it holds true even today – that there is a time for everything?

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

The undeniable truth of the material world is the truth of change or impermanence; the world changes all the time, and the more we try to hold onto the good times – the more we suffer; the same is the case for the bad times as well – the more we fight against, resist and reject – the more we suffer.

People’s ignorance over the nature of change is the ultimate cause of suffering. We desire to hold on to what we value, and we suffer when life’s inevitable process of change separates us from those things.

Even though we like to hold on to things, to own and possess as many things as possible – the inevitable truth is that nothing is ours to keep, which goes on to say that when the time comes for us to leave this physical world, we take nothing with us; we leave everything behind us, including our own bodies. The more we learn to accept and embrace this truth, the more peace we will feel in our hearts, and the easier it will become for us to deal with life’s many changes and challenges.

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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[ Click » here « to read the next part: The Mystery of Consciousness ]

~ ∞ ~ The Fear of Annihilation (Non-Existence) ~ ∞ ~

So now, then, if we consider the idea of non-existence, we would find that by definition, non-existence doesn’t exist, and therefore existence cannot become non-existence. In other words, that which exists cannot become that which does not exist – simply because there is no such thing as non-existence in existence.

Of course we can talk about it and think that we are talking about non-existence, but in all actuality, we are not, for you see, the very term ‘non-existence’ exists within existence, and hence ‘non-existence’ in all of its essence is made out of existence itself. Furthermore, existence has only one quality – to exist; that is its fundamental state, you see?

Because we as individuals are an aspect, a reflection of existence – therefore it is our fundamental state as well. We exist, because we do, and we are here, because we exist. Even though this may seem profoundly simple, for most people – it isn’t.

Now, let us explore this in the context of science in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration, shall we? One doesn’t have to look very far to see that what we call life is the combination of ever-changing physical and mental energies; and that energy is eternal – meaning that we are infinite on a quantum scale, are we not?

According to Quantum Physics, everything already exists in a ‘pre-extant’ state, or simply in ‘pre-existence,’ out of which everything comes into manifestation through form (pattern, order, quality) into substance (matter, structure, quantity) when that something is being observed.

When we combine this with the mass–energy equivalence, or simply E=mc2 equation (which states that energy equals matter, thus being interchangeable; mass=energy and energy=mass), it gets pretty interesting. You see, Einstein’s law of conservation dictates that Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.

Now, what does that mean? Well, you do the math. Considering that Light is the Origin – the Source of everything that comes into being, the Source of everything we term as “real, concrete, tangible, material, physical.” Considering that Light is Energy, and matter is densified Light Energy.

Considering that just in the same way as water, steam, and ice are all the same one thing, same substance vibrating at different frequencies, so in the same way matter and energy are the same substance vibrating at different frequencies. Considering that all “things” are essentially the same one thing – vibrating at different rates or frequency. Considering that reality is not composed of discrete building blocks, but rather webs of relationships that are interrelated and interdependent.

Considering all that, and taking into account that most of us believe in the idea of a Soul or Spirit – the formless and timeless part of us that makes us who we are – the essence that is often compared to Light – it does add up, doesn’t it? That everything is made up of Light, of photons in different arrangement, of energy, of consciousness, of awareness. So now, then, what does that say about us human beings? Well, you do the math.

What’s fascinating about this is that if we break down matter over and over, we end up with octaves of light energy that breaks down into octaves of consciousness, which goes on to say that ultimately the light in every reality membrane is consciousness. In other words, all things are Spirit vibrating at different frequencies. Matter is therefore solidified energy; Spiritual energy vibrating at a slower frequency.

This means that our bodies are solidified Spirit, crystallized Spirit, you see? Considering the fact that physical and mental energies that constitute the so-called being have within themselves the power to take a new form, grow gradually and gather force to the full – does it not, indeed, mean that with the physical death, our energy only transforms, and we disperse back to the universe? Our cells, every fiber of us – from atoms to the tiniest particle; the very essence of us being made of the same composition of the cosmos – goes back to whence it once came.

And now, let us explore this from another perspective. If one can comprehend the aforementioned, then it should not be difficult to comprehend the following either. Just in the same way as the aforementioned physical and mental energies that constitute the so-called being disperse back to whence they once came, so in the same way does our Souls.

Even though the identity that we have constructed during our life might come to an end – it does not mean that the underlying consciousness and its purest form – Living Awareness, our Spiritual Essence would cease to exist. Like a river flowing into the sea, the Soul or Self eventually returns to its Source, becoming one with the Ultimate Truth, leading to the final goal or destination – absorption of Soul or Self into the Ultimate Reality, you see?

As you can imagine, there are many paths to take, and countless ways to tread the path, which brings us to the next aspect of the same. You see, when the physical body is no more capable of functioning – energies and consciousness don’t die with it, but instead, they propagate through various levels of existence, and eventually continue to take some other shape or form that some would call “another life.” One might call this transition from existence to post-existence, “afterlife.”

Upon deeper examination, one finds that every moment we are born and die, but still we continue. Life, therefore, is an unbroken series that continues but changes every moment – this movement is like a flame that burns through the night: it’s not the same flame nor is it another.

This brings us to conclude that both, birth and death – are gateways through which Life passes in and out of time in physical existence, which goes on to say that the difference between death and birth is only a thought-moment: the last thought-moment in this life conditions the first thought-moment in the so-called “next life,” which is the continuity of the same series, you see?

Considering everything that was discussed and brought to light in this chapter, the question remains: Why can’t we see death as a natural part of life – as a continuation and transformation rather than annihilation? After all, in death, we only become more of what we already are as spiritual beings, but on a more deeper level – see?

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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[ Click » here « to read the next part: Change Is the Only Constant – The Existential Paradox: Part III ]

~ ∞ ~ The Fear of Annihilation (Non-Existence) ~ ∞ ~

As mentioned earlier, no matter how we look at it, it does, indeed, seem that one of the biggest fears we humans have is the fear of a total annihilation, or non-existence – we will come back to this in a moment, but first, let us take a look at some of the causes behind it. As much as this is true, that we humans fear non-existence, there is another fear that is much worse – the fear to be who we truly are. Because of this, yet another one surfaces – the fear of rejection.

These fears are inseparable and go hand in hand – feeding each other, creating a vicious cycle of worthlessness. Partly this is due to our modern science which holds a view that out of nowhere, for no apparent reason, nothing spontaneously became everything – without any purpose, and without any meaning. Supposedly, according to this view – humans are nothing special in the context of the cosmos – as if the Earth and its inhabitants were just a big “cosmic accident” of some sort.

And it doesn’t stop there, for you see, this same worldview also holds that the entire universe is without any intelligent design whatsoever, and hence without any purpose or meaning. Is it any wonder, then, that the fear of death, the fear of one’s life to be finite, the fear of total annihilation (non-existence) prevails?

Is it any wonder, then, that most humans define their own existence as individuals to be an accident based on randomness; that in their ignorance and hubris they believe that there’s not one scintilla of evidence that any other factor was involved in their creation? Is it any wonder, then, that all too many have convinced themselves into thinking that there is no meaning, no significance, no purpose, and no manifest destiny to human life?

In part, this is the result of scientific materialism – a view that physical reality is the only reality there is; that all things are composed of material, and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions; that the brain creates consciousness and that consciousness cannot survive without the brain; that the death of the brain is the death of the individual and the death of consciousness.

The lens through which we perceive the world and ourselves has a tremendous effect on us, both individually and collectively. As a result, we begin to formulate a belief that we are only these limited physical bodies and mind. This belief begins to ingrain in us the idea that we are nothing but a product of an amoral, evolutionary process – an accident, if you will – insignificant creatures in a vast cosmos; and because of this, we live in constant fear that the limited self we have identified with – will die, cease to exist, and return to nothing.

If we really stop to think about this, we can see that science is not only a tool we have invented to make sense of life, but also a story, a narrative, through which we try to create permanence for ourselves within an essentially transient world; through which we try to find meaning into our seemingly purposeless lives.

In light of our growing mastery over so many aspects of the physical world, it is not unsurprising, then, that many have come to place all their hopes in science, and even to believe that happiness can be achieved by means of what material science can deliver – hoping to find solace in scientific explanations, most of which are based on the unfounded assumptions, models and predictions, claims and promises that very rarely, if ever, come to pass.

One might even say that science is useful but dangerous tool that promises to give us purpose and meaning, and in this sense, science is no way different than the numerous religions of the world, which all in their own ways are promising the salvation from ourselves.

As a result, we human beings seem to hold a belief that life is some kind of an accident that just happens to us, rather than something that happens for us. This belief is extremely harmful in more ways than one. You see, as a result, we are accustomed to assume that we only have this one life, and what awaits us after we die – is nothing; thus the saying “You Only Live Once,” or just simply “YOLO.”

This kind of thinking encourages moral irresponsibility and material hedonism, which in turn results in nihilism, which denies the existence of genuine moral truths and asserts the ultimate meaninglessness of life or of the universe. So, what about this instead: “We only die once, and we live every day.”

This simple change in one’s thinking can bring about lasting change, it can be transformational to say the least. Other than that, this belief that life is some kind of an accident puts us in a victim mentality, in which we believe that we are powerless in the world, and that we have little or no power at all to change things.

If we really stop to think about the aforementioned, we can find that in all actuality, life is something that happens for us, and through us – reflecting everything we believe to be true for us, just like a mirror does, you see? Nevertheless, many people live in a world where they feel they have no control, feeling powerless and abandoned by the world; deep inside they are afraid – especially of death. They constantly search for the meaning of their lives, feeling alienated, vulnerable and all alone.

So, if we take the previous into consideration, is it any wonder, then, that we hold a belief that we are born from nothing, and when we die, we mysteriously once again become nothing; and that our entire existence is only a life-span – beginning from the moment we are born, and ending at the moment we die. From this, the question arises: How far have we fallen into ignorance if we are to believe this?

The curious thing about this is that when we really start to uncover the real truth about ourselves – we eventually come to realize that we’re not merely the end result of the so-called process of a “big bang,” but rather, we are the ongoing process itself – a living process that is happening all around and within us – here and now, you see?

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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[ Click » here « to read the next part: The Fear of Annihilation (Non-Existence) 3/3 – The Existential Paradox: Part II ]

~ ∞ ~ The Fear of Annihilation (Non-Existence) ~ ∞ ~

One of the most unspoken truths in life is that from the very moment we are born – we start dying. And now, taking that into account, one might go on to say that in this respect, what we call life is not life at all – it is death. Indeed, we have a limited lifespan and healthspan – no matter how difficult it is to bear, this is how it is. Therefore, ultimately, it boils down to perspective on how one chooses to see it. You see, from this very moment onward – from the moment of birth, we have a choice: to grow, ripe and mature, or to wither, decay and perish.

It is no wonder, then, that when we observe the world around us, the comings and goings of people, their likes and dislikes, it doesn’t take too long to realize that people have always been fascinated by the mystery of death; and yet, at the same time, people are in a deep denial about their own mortality and suffering. The fascination toward death comes from its incredible contrast to life, but alas, the interest is shallow at best, and thus artificial in nature.

At some point in everyone’s life, there comes a time of reflection and introspection – this natural process leads each of us to the exact same place, where we find ourselves at the crossroads asking ourselves: What have I accomplished, and what legacy will I leave once I’m gone? Here, in this very place, we all start to question our own mortality. It’s in these moments that we find ourselves asking not only the questions relating to why, but also how.

Among such questions are: Why are we here? Where will we go, and how will we get there? Why do we exist? What does it mean to exist? Can existence become non-existence? What lies across the threshold between life and death? Yet, we have no consensus – this is because we as the collective human species have created ourselves social structures (civilization) that are ultimately an elaborate, symbolic defense mechanism against the knowledge of our mortality.

These structures of civilization include prevailing ideas, concepts, theories, narratives, assumptions, beliefs, perspectives, and values; it also includes worldviews, philosophies, theologies, ideologies, and even consensus reality – which, in and of itself, is the product of all the aforementioned. These together act as an emotional and intellectual response to our basic survival mechanism, resulting in that we humans seem to be living in a deep state of denial – most notably of our mortality and suffering.

It seems that death is a taboo that cannot be explored rationally – even though it is inevitable for all of us. In the Western culture, the acknowledgment of death is often reserved only to those who are directly facing the inevitable experience of death; for others, it is simply a form of entertainment (films, tv-series, games, novels, etc.)

Evidently, death is one of the most harshly pronounced and well-protected taboos that we have in current society – one is not supposed to talk about it, but one is supposed to show empathy and regret, and then move on to a different topic. But why exactly is that? Why does death frighten us so much that we don’t even find it appropriate to talk about it? Well, it goes without saying that the ubiquitous fear of death, the fear of one’s life to be finite, seems to push people towards avoidance with severe consequences.

As a result, in our Western culture, we have lost touch with the art of dying, not to say anything about the art of living. To be honest, in our culture, we don’t know how to die properly, but alas, yet we are doing so – dying slowly and gradually, continuously suffering on the way. Culturally, we don’t even have any constructive and beneficial ways of dealing with this wholeness.

The honest truth is that it would make everyone’s life much easier if we could only learn to deal with it properly. You see, by allowing the acknowledgement of death into awareness in a respectful, reflective and supported fashion may bear meaningful effects upon one’s life and experience. Bringing this awareness into conscious awareness influences our approach to life, the choices we make, and reminds us that it’s our individual responsibility to create the meaning we desire in our life.

By virtue of the aforementioned with regard to death being used as a form of entertainment, it should be pointed out that we are, indeed, exceedingly so, doing everything we possibly can – to avoid the confrontation with our own impending death. On the other hand, one might say that because the art of dying is almost completely missing from our culture, it is a coping mechanism of sorts.

But now the question becomes: Does it do any good for anyone, or does it do more harm than good? If violence, suffering and death, as they are portrayed in popular culture through various mediums – is a coping mechanism, then it is awfully bad one, would you agree? Now, let me ask you this: Isn’t it strange that we are taught to fear and hold off death of anything from the moment we are born?

As humans, one of the biggest, if not the greatest, fears relating to death seems not to be dying in itself, but rather the fear of the unknown: What lies across the threshold between life and death? Is there anything beyond that threshold, or nothing at all? Pure nothingness? Total annihilation? Does it all end after crossing that threshold?

Once again, this brings about the question: Why does death frighten us so much? Let us explore. Our fear of death springs from our ignorance of death, it springs from the thought that death is the end of everything, which is due to the “I-am-the-body” idea. Essentially, our fear of death springs from attachment to physical form, from attachment to physical body. Indeed, we are so attached to the kind of life we’re used to living that we cling to it as much as we can, to make sure it won’t flee from us.

In other words, our fear of death comes from the fear of ceasing to exist, losing one’s identity and foothold in the world we are familiar with. This, of course, has a huge impact in our lives, limiting our capability to enjoy life. In other words, most of the time, most of the people are so afraid of this natural part of life that eventually the fear of fear itself prevents them from living happy, joyful, and fulfilling life.

That said, it is not only important, but paramount to highlight the truth that spiritually wise individuals are not afraid of death, because their state of being is beyond body-consciousness, or just simply beyond space, time, and form. Since the spiritually wise individuals know that they are neither the body nor the mind, but rather Spirit that transcends the boundaries of material existence – the event of death has no effect on them.

When one understands that they cannot be destroyed, one becomes liberated from the fear – this is a great relief because after this realization, one can enjoy life and appreciate it in a whole new way. In other words, our true essence is established in the timeless consciousness, timeless awareness beyond mental limitations and conditioning, which means that the loss of this world of names, ideas, and forms don’t affect those who know deep down in their core that death does not mean non-being, or non-existence, nor total annihilation, you see?

In this context, one might say that the ultimate goal of man is to know God, and to know God is to know truth about Life – that it is indeed Eternal, and in turn one can become conscious of their continued existence, whether in the physical realm, the spiritual realm, or whatever stage of development one may be passing from physical life unto spiritual life, you see?

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~ ॐ ~ Sambodhi Padmasamadhi ~ ∞ ~

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