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The View From Up Here Is UNREAL!!

In picturing what happens from our limited perspective when we observe "matter" as merely being infused with energy/spirit, rather than being identical to it, I like to use the analogy of a light bulb.  When electricity is applied to a light bulb, something is created that was not there before, i.e. light.  And when the bulb is broken or the electricity is switched off, this light disappears.  It is true that it continues to travel in space, and eventually reaches a distant star many light years from now, but to us that light is nothing but a vestige of a past existence, and so has no meaningful reality to us in the present.

In the same manner, something we call our “self” is created when we see energy/spirit and matter as separate but combined within living things.  For a period of time (far too short in my opinion!!) we can experience the world around us in a way that pure consciousness cannot.  In fact, I often wonder if that is the whole purpose of our being; for energy/spirit to experience life in a more substantial way.  After all, pure potential energy (say that of a book being raised to some height above a table) is totally useless until it is converted into the motion of a physical object (kinetic energy), e.g. by dropping the book so that it hits the table, thus releasing sound waves and heat.  And if that table is not fixed it may also be put into motion and cause another object to move, thus doing “work”.   Think of a water wheel in a river used to grind wheat or generate electricity.   This is only possible when energy acts on a material object.

And so, like the light bulb, when life is formed by the combination of energy/spirit and matter, the "self" that comes into being is only in existence on this plane temporarily…disappearing when the body gives out and/or the energy/spirit within it moves on.  Perhaps it may continue to exist in some dreamlike state, floating off into the astral plane somewhere, but certainly there is nothing of any real significance left of this temporary “self”.  It is simply a manifestation of the combination of energy/spirit and matter that occurs within this illusory physical realm.  Therefore, there is nothing that would cause us to believe it would continue to exist forever in any real manner in a plane beyond this physical existence, e.g. in some kind of "heaven" where it will thereafter maintain the same conscious existence it has now.  Wishful thinking perhaps, but spoiler alert: desiring this is just another expression of attachment which we will learn later is what prevents us from seeing beyond this illusion all around us, and knowing the true nature of reality.

In fact, this false identification of our “self” as being real is the moral of the story of Dr. Timothy Leary and Dr. Richard Alpert’s first experience with LSD, as describe in the latter's book, Be Here Now.  These two Harvard psychology professors joined with others during the period before it was made illegal in believing LSD and other psychotropic substances may have some usefulness in treating schizophrenics and, also like many others, experimented with it themselves.  

Within a short time after taking it, they found that their legs suddenly disappeared.  Of course they freaked out at first, but then they realized “Hey, I’m still here, I don't really seem to need them”.  Then, just as suddenly, their arms disappeared, with the same results.  Eventually their entire bodies, their wives, their cars, their PHDs, their houses…everything that they had previously identified as themselves was gone.  But they were still there!!

Incidentally, Renee Decartes did the same thing mentally without drugs, leading to his famous quote “I think, therefore I am”.

But because of their training in psychology, these professors were familiar with the writings of Carl Jung, who had spoken of this phenomenon, known as the “process of individuation”, before.  In fact, Jung had learned of it from the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, and it is the entire logic behind the practice of yoga (real yoga, not just the poses).  This caused them to fly to India where they gave some of their magic elixir to a guru, who took far more than the usual dosage of the potent pure liquid – and yet nothing happened.  It seems he was already there!!

If this story is true, the conclusion is that our true nature exists not only beyond our bodies, but everything else we identify ourselves with as well.

For those who prefer an audio version of their story, it has been preserved as a podcast, along with many many more episodes, at The Be Here Now Network.  This link takes you to the first one, with the first three comprising the Be Here Now story.

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This page was last updated on February 12, 2023

Always remember to "Think Green" because good planets are hard to find!!  

My Favorite Links

Be Here Now by Dr. Richard Alpert (Baba Ram Dass)     (return to text)

The Tibetan Book Of The Dead (Bardo Thodol) by Padma Sambhava      (return to text)

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