...I am pointing to a unified all-inclusive mysterious beingness that cannot be grasped by mind. During big woo woo experiences it is realized, directly, through some unknown source of perception, that THIS is vast beyond comprehension, intelligent beyond conception, alive, and radically present.
In what we might call "the standard model of seeking the non-dual" the first big psychological shift for the seeker occurs when the imagined individual encounters the vastness of THIS (Suzanne Segal called it "The Vastness" for good reason). This initial realization might be summed up as "Whoa! Reality is not what I thought it was; it is not an orderly logical stable objective universe located in space and time. What reality IS is mind-boggling, conscious, and whole." Zen calls this initial realization "passing through the gateless gate."
There are many additional realizations that can occur as various other ideas sequentially collapse, but the final "enlightenment" realization is that the seeker never existed in any sense (it was only an idea), and that there is only THIS. This realization might be summed up as "Whoa! I am not who I thought I was; I am THIS."
This realization has many psychological effects because the ramifications of ideas about selfhood extend into the deepest levels of the psyche. Ignoring a discussion of these effects for now, eventually life continues without the past habit of self-reflection. Life returns to being ordinary, but there is no imagined person at the center of it. It is like being part of a mysterious dynamic happening that is impersonally personal. The body/mind goes about everyday life without imagining the kinds of things that most people imagine. Activities are simple and direct. There are no states or experiences; there is just a seamless flow of activity. Separation can be imagined and discussed, but such things are not believed to be anything other than products of imagination.
The mind is sometimes silent and sometimes talkative or thinkative. The body/mind scratches an itch, drives a car, drinks coffee, types on a computer, eats a meal with family or friends, and does what all other body/minds do, but there is no belief that there is a separate personal entity at the center of the action. There is no special sense of peace, but there is no seeking, so some people might regard that kind of equanimity and acceptance of "what is" as a form of peace.
In what we might call "the standard model of seeking the non-dual" the first big psychological shift for the seeker occurs when the imagined individual encounters the vastness of THIS (Suzanne Segal called it "The Vastness" for good reason). This initial realization might be summed up as "Whoa! Reality is not what I thought it was; it is not an orderly logical stable objective universe located in space and time. What reality IS is mind-boggling, conscious, and whole." Zen calls this initial realization "passing through the gateless gate."
There are many additional realizations that can occur as various other ideas sequentially collapse, but the final "enlightenment" realization is that the seeker never existed in any sense (it was only an idea), and that there is only THIS. This realization might be summed up as "Whoa! I am not who I thought I was; I am THIS."
This realization has many psychological effects because the ramifications of ideas about selfhood extend into the deepest levels of the psyche. Ignoring a discussion of these effects for now, eventually life continues without the past habit of self-reflection. Life returns to being ordinary, but there is no imagined person at the center of it. It is like being part of a mysterious dynamic happening that is impersonally personal. The body/mind goes about everyday life without imagining the kinds of things that most people imagine. Activities are simple and direct. There are no states or experiences; there is just a seamless flow of activity. Separation can be imagined and discussed, but such things are not believed to be anything other than products of imagination.
The mind is sometimes silent and sometimes talkative or thinkative. The body/mind scratches an itch, drives a car, drinks coffee, types on a computer, eats a meal with family or friends, and does what all other body/minds do, but there is no belief that there is a separate personal entity at the center of the action. There is no special sense of peace, but there is no seeking, so some people might regard that kind of equanimity and acceptance of "what is" as a form of peace.
