My character, Art, apparently exists in a horizontal (linear) timeline. By this, I mean that he is perceived in space-time with other persons. He appears to have personal and professional history. According to the calendar, his body-mind was born in 1958 and will ultimately expire. If Art was attached to the body-mind perspective (as most individuals are), he would almost certainly fear death; for such implies finality. This is not the case, for I Am not Art. Joel Goldsmith, who was a noted spiritual teacher, wrote of this subject in his magnificent book entitled “A Parenthesis in Eternity.”
If you believe that you consist only of the body and mind, this means that you identify with being a limited flesh-and-bones container referred to as a human being. Conversely, if you recognize your essential nature as Consciousness, you identify with I Am, the ever-present vertical dimension of here and now. Through enlightenment, we realize that the apparent body-mind, world, and objects contained therein appear in Consciousness, are made of Consciousness, and are known by Consciousness. We are, thus, liberated from the apparent bondage of the body-mind perspective.
If you’re earnest about recognizing true Self, you may find it helpful to dismantle the materialist paradigm of reality by contemplating the matter of time. Time and space are rendered via the mind–they do not exist independently. The same holds true for the body-mind that goes by your name and form. Time is a concept that can easily be brought into doubt by attempting to experience either the past or the future. Is such possible? Life only occurs NOW. When we remember the apparent past, we do so NOW. When we imagine a conceptual future, we do so NOW. When else could we apparently “do” anything but NOW? Can you reach back to the first paragraph of this article and experience it as a discrete event in time?
Erroneous identification with the body-mind complex has had its day. It’s over. Now, it’s “time” to knowingly step into the vibrant and glorious aliveness of here and now. Everything is born fresh and new via Consciousness, the true Self, without any of the baggage related to a historical self that is ultimately illusory. The little “i”of name and form is a dream character that interacts with other dream characters in the Waking State–still referred to as reality by those who have as yet to awaken from the dream of personhood. Conceptually, this cannot be understood. However, it can be known directly when we become still and realize that we can witness our sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts. True Self is prior to mind and, therefore, not subject to birth and death. The following quote from The Ultimate Understanding by Ramesh M. Balsekar may add fuel to your spiritual fire: “An object exists only because it is observed.” All that is required to have experience is Consciousness. We are That, eternal and immortal.
Dare to dream (and care for one another).
With heartfelt regards,
Art
Copyright © – 2021 – R. Arthur Russell
P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones–released September 8, 2020), press here. May it help you in your spiritual journey. 🙏🤍
Think2wice 