NikolaiI
02-09-2009, 02:45 AM
First I will say this: every individual has some truth which exists for them, and which is valid for them. I request that posters to this thread be respectful of others' truths, because if we communicate honestly then we are sharing of ourselves.
Humans have problems which are not existant in other species in nature. Problems in health, or with afflictive emotions, which are unique to our lot - not found in birds, say. How can we break these obstacles? Walt Whitman said the ideal conditions for perfect health in life were to live outside, in nature.
One question is, what are we? What is our nature? John Donne said, "No man is an island." This is something we may have not heard or thought about, we may not agree with, we may agree with but not understand, or we may agree with intellectually, but it is almost undoubtedly not something we feel.
Instead, we feel incomplete, we always feel separate, or isolated, we feel individual. But actually individuality is both true and not true. It is our starting point because it's what we've been taught. But it's quite clear we are not separate from nature.
Kabbalists say that we eclipse the entire scope of nature below us: animals, plants, insects, bacteria, and inanimate matter. We are not simply satisfied with mental learning. We have to go beyond the mental sphere, when we realize that we are not merely mental, but part of nature, which is beyond conceptual understanding.
There are transcendent feelings in mysticism, but what do these mean? Mysticism is coming in contact with the universal, in the words of Kerouac, with "That which pervades everything." This "that which pervades everything" cannot be nothing, it is something.
Mysticism is realizing that we are not dependent on others acknowledging us for our existence to be verified. It is moving beyond our insecurities and doubts, in a way it is letting go of them.
In short, mysticism is unifying with our true self; with the universal true self, the soul. Mysticism is never the finalizing of anything, it is only one part of our growth and change. None of us are perfect and all of us have been angry, depressed, addicted, destructive, as well as happy, joyful, serene, blissful. None of these are mysticism, for mysticism is finding balance. The true self is the perfect mystic - God is the supreme and perfect mystic.
We are given perception, feeling, thought, consciousness, and body; and intelligence enough to know that we are part of nature. Knowing that we are part of nature gives us something to strive for - harmony, a state of enlightenment, union with the true self. It makes us strive to seek reality in a constructive way, turning away from all that is destructive.
Beyond mysticism is the divine consciousness of the self, or the soul. The way to this, the path, is the path to understanding or knowing reality. We must know the self before we can know the divine self. We must rely on the self if we are to ever have peace.
To sum up: the first thing to learn is that we are consciousness, and second, that we are part of a universal consciousness. The next step is to pursue this until we can learn what exists besides the physical and mental world. This is the self, in harmony with universal laws of change, in a state of enlightenment and wisdom. There are as many paths to the self as there are individuals in this world.
Humans have problems which are not existant in other species in nature. Problems in health, or with afflictive emotions, which are unique to our lot - not found in birds, say. How can we break these obstacles? Walt Whitman said the ideal conditions for perfect health in life were to live outside, in nature.
One question is, what are we? What is our nature? John Donne said, "No man is an island." This is something we may have not heard or thought about, we may not agree with, we may agree with but not understand, or we may agree with intellectually, but it is almost undoubtedly not something we feel.
Instead, we feel incomplete, we always feel separate, or isolated, we feel individual. But actually individuality is both true and not true. It is our starting point because it's what we've been taught. But it's quite clear we are not separate from nature.
Kabbalists say that we eclipse the entire scope of nature below us: animals, plants, insects, bacteria, and inanimate matter. We are not simply satisfied with mental learning. We have to go beyond the mental sphere, when we realize that we are not merely mental, but part of nature, which is beyond conceptual understanding.
There are transcendent feelings in mysticism, but what do these mean? Mysticism is coming in contact with the universal, in the words of Kerouac, with "That which pervades everything." This "that which pervades everything" cannot be nothing, it is something.
Mysticism is realizing that we are not dependent on others acknowledging us for our existence to be verified. It is moving beyond our insecurities and doubts, in a way it is letting go of them.
In short, mysticism is unifying with our true self; with the universal true self, the soul. Mysticism is never the finalizing of anything, it is only one part of our growth and change. None of us are perfect and all of us have been angry, depressed, addicted, destructive, as well as happy, joyful, serene, blissful. None of these are mysticism, for mysticism is finding balance. The true self is the perfect mystic - God is the supreme and perfect mystic.
We are given perception, feeling, thought, consciousness, and body; and intelligence enough to know that we are part of nature. Knowing that we are part of nature gives us something to strive for - harmony, a state of enlightenment, union with the true self. It makes us strive to seek reality in a constructive way, turning away from all that is destructive.
Beyond mysticism is the divine consciousness of the self, or the soul. The way to this, the path, is the path to understanding or knowing reality. We must know the self before we can know the divine self. We must rely on the self if we are to ever have peace.
To sum up: the first thing to learn is that we are consciousness, and second, that we are part of a universal consciousness. The next step is to pursue this until we can learn what exists besides the physical and mental world. This is the self, in harmony with universal laws of change, in a state of enlightenment and wisdom. There are as many paths to the self as there are individuals in this world.