Oneness

We are from the same source, are part of the same existence, and will revert into the same nothingness (the same nothingness from which we sourced).

On our own level there is separation, an illusion due to perception. The eyes must be somewhere not everywhere, and here they are. This illusion is just in the nature of perception, it is inevitable. The closest thing someone can get to disillusionment is being aware of this illusion, but that doesn't put an end to it.

And everything is eternal. On the highest macro level of the universe, the Oneness, God (Ichi), there is an unchanging ultimate reality that does not end until existence is renewed. On the lowest micro level of the universe, there are dabs (lack of a word for the possible smallest fraction of things/the absolute most basic part) that are constantly changing and are never destroyed until existence is renewed. As long as time exists, both Ichi and dabs will exist. (the exception being 'other' spacetimes apart from this one)

Everything in between is impermanent. Like illusion is to perception, impermanence is in the nature of physical existence. However, this impermanence is only because everything in between doesn't exist, they are an illusion (the illusion from perception).

The universe is an entity, it is alive, and you are it. Your consciousness is the universe's self awareness. So this pretty much means that you are the universe incarnate.

It also means that the cold man on the street asking for money is you. The lady holding the door open for you on their way out of a store is you. The man you despise is you. Your mate is you. Your boss is you. Your dog is you. That tree is you. God is you... The same soul. That really magnifies the golden rule, imo.


So if we are stuck in this illusion, why does any of this matter? Because outside of this illusion is the real you, the real me, the real everything. Nothing is separate, we're all one and the same being, and that being (as I annoyingly repeat) is Ichi, the universe.

No, none of this matters. You can do without it. But the reason why I'm sharing it is because this is one way to look at yourself. For people trying to find themselves, who are interested in understanding their soul better, the last place they look is at the entirety of existence. I personally think that this should be one of the first places to look. Dip your toes into the water of this philosophy, and see just how pleasant the temperature is. It doesn't suit everyone, but for those who it does it is a great lift in their spiritual path.

If you're interested in getting closer to God, I highly recommend you meditate on this thought. Set it as your paradigm for a week, see where it takes you.

Just thought I'd share this for anyone interested. For me the perception has been life changing. I used to see living organisms as walking sacks of flesh, love as worthless, life as meaningless, emotions as chemicals... Living with this perception has certainly cleared the fog on these things, and now I can't look at reality the same way I did before. I can't imagine that the way things actually turned out as being simply coincidental, and I'm convinced my prayers are heard, and I'm convinced I have a soul, and I'm convinced that even though all things come from natural processes, the beauty in the way things turned out naturally is for higher reasons. I am now more comfortable with death, for the only thing that dies is illusion as I return to the worldsoul without illusion.

What about reincarnation? Do you really merge with the Infinite when you die or is there something to be done before that can happen?

Could you also tell us how this is different from Advaita in any way?

anadi said:

What about reincarnation? Do you really merge with the Infinite when you die or is there something to be done before that can happen?

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I don't know a whole lot about reincarnation and what it implies exactly. If all that separates us is an illusion from mind, and the mind sources from the brain, then wouldn't the mind die when the brain does? And at the death of the mind is the death of individuality, so we lose our individual being and part again with the universal soul.

Under that reasoning, it is tricky to reincarnate if we are all the same. On the other hand, reincarnation could be considered because we are all simultaneously existing and animating multiple shells (bodies). That would mean that we are reincarnating even during life.

axlyz said:

Could you also tell us how this is different from Advaita in any way?

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Hinduism inspired most of these beliefs, mostly Vedanta. I might be wrong but Hinduism seems a lot more complex than this, it's a religion developed through many mystics. I'm just trying to avoid claiming much relationship to Hinduism to preserve the sanctity of Hindu teachings.

Thank you all for reading this wall of text and the responses

The Sum of Awe said:

Hinduism inspired most of these beliefs, mostly Vedanta. I might be wrong but Hinduism seems a lot more complex than this, it's a religion developed through many mystics. I'm just trying to avoid claiming much relationship to Hinduism to preserve the sanctity of Hindu teachings.

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No worries. They are very similar to Advaita, besides for a couple of things (minor). I'm very impressed by your last statement! A lot of people make their own beliefs and pass it off as a pre-existing philosophical system in order to make them feel that they are "right". Thanks for your honesty!

Have you looked into Advaita before? What did you think of it?

axlyz said:

No worries. They are very similar to Advaita, besides for a couple of things (minor). I'm very impressed by your last statement! A lot of people make their own beliefs and pass it off as a pre-existing philosophical system in order to make them feel that they are "right". Thanks for your honesty!

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True that! Can't blame them for it though, religions tend to lose clarity as they grow older. If a prophet from 2,000 years ago talked about a flash of light in the sky, a modern person could think it's about lightning, God, a UFO, and heck maybe even a cloud taking a selfie.

Have you looked into Advaita before? What did you think of it?

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I haven't much. I often get stuck on the strangely spelled terms I suppose it's just a common problem when one studies eastern spirituality after living in the western world.

It is a beautiful notion you present. However such meditations do not lead us all to God. The world you describe, with all life, all matter and all time as a cohesive whole is of course true, astonishing, revelatory and leaves one contemplating their own place in this phenomenal universe from a broader perspective.
As an atheist I can still feel that sense of wonder and touch upon the immensity and glory of the universe. It is immortality - my genes have lived since they were bacteria on a rock. Millions of years from now they may manfest in all manner of incredible forms. We are immortal, inseperable elements of an unimaginably glorious whole. But how does that relate to most God concepts? Is that really God as we know him?

Bunyip said:

It is a beautiful notion you present. However such meditations do not lead us all to God. The world you describe, with all life, all matter and all time as a cohesive whole is of course true, astonishing, revelatory and leaves one contemplating their own place in this phenomenal universe from a broader perspective.
As an atheist I can still feel that sense of wonder and touch upon the immensity and glory of the universe. It is immortality - my genes have lived since they were bacteria on a rock. Millions of years from now they may manfest in all manner of incredible forms. We are immortal, inseperable elements of an unimaginably glorious whole. But how does that relate to most God concepts? Is that really God as we know him?

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We could take this a step further, long before genes. The energy and matter you are made of had existed since energy and matter began existing. You could say that you are the big bang.

I suppose this does not directly relate to God, true. But I feel there is no better fitting label for this complex existence other than God. I can understand how this world doesn't need God and it could very well be just coincidence. So it is fine to view it that way, but I personally can't think of it that way. The fact that there is something and not nothing, that there is potential for matter and spacetime, that there is an existence and this existence begets conscious beings to experience it.

If there was no consciousness, not even a hint of awareness in the whole universe, would the universe still exist? Doesn't it seem miraculous that the universe begets consciousness, made from itself, so that it can be aware of itself? In a way, the universe is looking in on itself, isn't it?

The Sum of Awe said:

We could take this a step further, long before genes. The energy and matter you are made of had existed since energy and matter began existing. You could say that you are the big bang.

I suppose this does not directly relate to God, true. But I feel there is no better fitting label for this complex existence other than God. I can understand how this world doesn't need God and it could very well be just coincidence. So it is fine to view it that way, but I personally can't think of it that way. The fact that there is something and not nothing, that there is potential for matter and spacetime, that there is an existence and this existence begets conscious beings to experience it.

If there was no consciousness, not even a hint of awareness in the whole universe, would the universe still exist? Doesn't it seem miraculous that the universe begets consciousness, made from itself, so that it can be aware of itself? In a way, the universe is looking in on itself, isn't it?

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Beautifully put. And yes, it is merely a label - but a label encrusted by the barnacles of thousands of years of theism. It is a label that can not be seperated from it's genesis.
Cheers.

The Sum of Awe said:

I don't know a whole lot about reincarnation and what it implies exactly. If all that separates us is an illusion from mind, and the mind sources from the brain, then wouldn't the mind die when the brain does? And at the death of the mind is the death of individuality, so we lose our individual being and part again with the universal soul.

Under that reasoning, it is tricky to reincarnate if we are all the same. On the other hand, reincarnation could be considered because we are all simultaneously existing and animating multiple shells (bodies). That would mean that we are reincarnating even during life.

Click to expand...

If the mind sources from the brain then reincarnation really doesn't make much sense. But the idea of Dharmic religions is that the mind doesn't source from the brain, it sources from the Self, from consciousness. The brain is just a receiver of the mind and consciousness. Like a radio or a TV set just receives electromagnetic frequencies (but doesn't create them) and produces sounds and pictures.

So when this body dies, the signal finds a new receiver. This happens because of our identification with our mind and body, our attachments to sensual objects and the results of our actions (karma). So how does one break free from this repeating cycle of birth and death? One has to realizie his own true nature, that of pure consciousness, wich is beyond all phenomena and by which phenomena is seen. The unheard hearer, the unseen seer, the untasted taster, the unfelt feeler, the unthought thinker, indeed the unperceived perceiver.

If we would just vanish into the abyss of everything and nothing after death without effort, wouldn't that make life too easy?

anadi said:

If the mind sources from the brain then reincarnation really doesn't make much sense. But the idea of Dharmic religions is that the mind doesn't source from the brain, it sources from the Self, from consciousness. The brain is just a receiver of the mind and consciousness. Like a radio or a TV set just receives electromagnetic frequencies (but doesn't create them) and produces sounds and pictures.

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What if you were to consider the mind as separate from the Self. In my opinion it is the mind that separates us. A way that I like to picture it is: The physical existence connects to the spiritual existence at specific intervals that allow it to do so (brains). The brain creates the mind which is the illusory 'self'. That is an illusion caused by the world soul incarnating itself in multiple intervals at once and then looking in on itself from a bunch of different "observers". The mind becomes useless at death, there is no need for a mental existence when one can reside in a wholly spiritual existence.

So when this body dies, the signal finds a new receiver. This happens because of our identification with our mind and body, our attachments to sensual objects and the results of our actions (karma). So how does one break free from this repeating cycle of birth and death? One has to realizie his own true nature, that of pure consciousness, wich is beyond all phenomena and by which phenomena is seen. The unheard hearer, the unseen seer, the untasted taster, the unfelt feeler, the unthought thinker, indeed the unperceived perceiver.

Click to expand...

This is very interesting. It relates to a similar belief of mine regarding a "pure purity" that truly is all.

If we would just vanish into the abyss of everything and nothing after death without effort, wouldn't that make life too easy?

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It might seem that way from the illusion. From our point of view, from the flesh, from the mind, we take it one hill at a time. But in reality, all of this activity is one being climbing an entire mountain of many hills. Every single event is something you experience, every single thing is you, every corner of the universe... etc. Every word in the dictionary describes the One person that I am, that you are. That we are. And other parts of Me,You,Us are not able to be put into words.

What is God thinking right now? Well. Every single thought that will exist, that does exist, that's God. All time and all space is all at one single point, but God's consciousness is reborn an infinite number of times and experiences it in infinite number of ways. The funny thing is, God's consciousness experiences all of these experiences at once, but from our illusory perception it doesn't seem like so.

I believe there is something deeper than consciousness, deeper than mind, deeper than Self, and that is the deepest; that is God.

Your beliefs seem very similar to my own. I have also experienced an amazing shift in my thinking, and in my whole life. We are One. You are me, and I am you.

With this perception; how can I not be more compassionate that I used to be?