Examining the nature of Time and Phenomena?  Here is an excellent post by StepVhen over at his blog, BurningTrue.  If you're feeling stuck at all, I'd highly recommend clicking that link and reading through.

 

Time & Phenomena

by Stephen Stark

Short conversation I had with a student recently. Her questions are in bold:

Is there no such thing as an independent phenomenon? A thing that exists as exactly what it is, as itself,  regardless of any other factors?

  Is there anything safe from the ravages of time?

What about time itself in that case?

  Do you think time exists as a phenomenon? I'm talking here in terms of our personal and social conceptions of time rather than the scientific concept of time which closer resembles the view I'm about to put forward: We speak about it in metaphorical terms as though it were a medium we travel through, or that travels to us. That's a heuristic, a shortcut of thought we make, a leap of faith, that allows us to make use of the concept of time for our everyday lives. Our concept of time allows us to make use the fact that every phenomenon is in a state of flux and change so that we may structure our experience. The ever-changing and fluctuating nature of phenomena is so reliable that we literally set our watches to it . Phenomena are in a constant state of flux. We conceptualise the existence of discrete "states of change" in a linear manner (at times mistakenly projecting causality from one state to the next). We imagine phenomena to exist within time and imagine it as either traveling through time, or time as flowing around/over it. As this happens the phenomenon morphs and changes "as it passes through/with the passing of time". We imagine the phenomenon to be unchanged at a basic essential level however.

Viewing our world in this way makes it seem more concrete as phenomenon remain unchanged overtime at a basic level. Your old toys are still your old toys years later, they're just a bit "time-worn". Your old friends are still your old friends, they've just "changed over time" maybe even "grown up a little".

This isn't the case. Time "itself" does not exist. The concept of time is a useful way of structuring our reality, it allows us to make plans and co-ordinate our activities with others. It also lends a false sense of stability to phenomena. The concept of time does not exist independently from human cognition. In fact when considered the way we have considered it here, the concept of time stands as further proof of the non existence of independent and stable phenomena. This calls the validity of phenomena, the validity of our theories of stability and independence into question also.


So you think there is no such thing as "phenomena"?

Well anyone can see for themselves that there is no such thing as a stable phenomenon; if a phenomenon isn't stable then can it still be considered a phenomenon? We think of and treat phenomena as though they are stable entities when they are not. Phenomena do not exist. Processes exist. What we think of as a "phenomena" is a thin slice of a process taken at a certain point in it's fluctuation. Phenomena are cognitive constructs. Static snapshots of ongoing process. They do not exist  independently of human cognition because nothing is actually static.

Awakening's Jedi Mind Tricks

So, you've been doing inquiry for a while now, looking for the self.  Or maybe the self is an illusion already seen through, and yet it remains persistent, a seeming obstacle to 'furthering' any realizations.

Here's where you can catch a Jedi Mind Trick in the act.  

Hint:  It's a fractal.

From here on in, pardon the use of pronouns.  I know it gets confusing at points, especially when I say that you need to 'catch your own' mind in the act.  Yes, there's no you, and there's no real mind or container holding thoughts, but let's roll with the analogies.

Step 1.  Looking for a self happens.  Or maybe it's any looking at the nature of reality.  But suddenly!  there is a breakthrough.  Eureka!  It's clearly seen that what was thought to be real or true, is not.  There's no tangible self anywhere in existence.  Maybe you're working with Time or Space, or any particular aspect of 'reality'.  Anyway, it's clear.  Things are not what they seem.

You smile.  Maybe there's a sort of bliss.



Here's the Jedi part....   Another thought pops up to say, "OHMYGOD!  I can't believe it's always been this way and I didn't see it!"  And then the analysis of the realization begins.

And what's missed, is that the analysis is also just thought, happening one at a time, to no one.

The continuity of thought is APPARENT.  It isn't.  There is only one thought appearing at a time, including those which APPARENTLY reflect upon supposed 'previous thoughts'.  No.  Each thought is not a reference to the one which came before, it's actually a completely NEW THOUGHT in which the concept of "reference" appears.   So as soon as the "OHMYGOD there's no ME!" lands, start looking at all the thoughts which seem to follow, because they can easily  begin spinning back on themselves.  Before you know it, you're caught in a thought loop.

Where thought is concerned, this is a particularly intricate loop.  Not only does the self love looking at itself, but now it gets to look at itself looking at itself.

Coming up Out of the Loop

Step 1.   Looking for a self happens.  Or maybe it's any looking at the nature of reality. But suddenly!  there is a breakthrough.  Eureka! The next thought is almost self-congratulatory and you marvel at how you've figured this out.

STOP.

The next thought about how you've figured this out, is also just a single thought appearing right now, to no one. Take a look at THAT.  Then watch how it continues, endlessly, one thought at a time.

Do this until it's thoroughly seen through, especially the recursiveness.


photocredits:  Lost in FractalLand  and FashionVictim by DianePhotos on DeviantArt

Painting Reality

"In art we use value onto shapes to create the illusion of form.

This is all for the process of replicating what the eye sees.

But we mistakenly believe what the eye sees to be some sense of objective reality.

Are we not painting with the eyes colors into shapes and shapes into forms with light.

Art is reproduction of suchness as suchness. This is a metaphor for concepts as they are suchness as well.

But that also doesn't mean that there is some kind of hierarchy between the symbol and what the symbol represents. Both are equal in that they are empty of inherent existence.

Be it a painting we paint in the painting.

Or the painting we deem as reality.

Its all fabricated. And all fabrications crumble.

Just a rant!"

-

Artwork and rant by Albert Hong

The Internal Compass

Adyashanti asks a question which points True North.  It's the first you should ask yourself when undertaking a 'spiritual journey', and it's one which should continue to be asked each time you find yourself confused about whether or not you are on the so-called Right Path.

What's this really about, for You?

Without an answer to this query, you will likely find yourself pushed and pulled by the various teachings or "guides", including the one writing this post.  In other words, without that initial internal compass, you can easily drag yourself through other people's beliefs.

Rest in your own authority.  Risk making your own mistakes.

If you're going to start out with a belief, make it your own.  Can it set you off on the wrong foot?  Maybe.  But eventually it'll become clear that it's only the sense of 'you' who has to live with that.  For every teaching you come across, you'll likely find several people saying it's The Very Wrong One.  They'll hand over, or even push you into investigating a new map, and "someone else's terrain" is the very place you don't want to wander around for too long.... not unless it nicely lines up with your own.

I wouldn't recommend starting your journey without making sure you know how to reference that internal compass setting.  And if you find yourself adrift right now, it's not too late.

photo credit:  Compass01 by ~Dipiie

The Container

Lisa:  What's the goofiest thing you ever believed to be true that turned out, of course, to be bunk...?


Well...

That there are people, including this one, walking around with entire histories held in a little invisible container.

That I never really knew where this miraculous container was kept, how big or small it was, how long it would last, where it came from, or what would happen to it.

That I thought this invisible container might go to an invisible fluffy place called heaven where it could somehow sit at the right hand of a man with a white beard. Because he apparently has a thing for empty containers with no sides, bottom, or top. Or that depending upon what was carried in that container with no properties of containing, it might go to a different invisible and really very hot place called hell.

That I'd get crazy about protecting that invisible container and claim ownership of it, defend it, take photos to honor and preserve the non-existent thing, and generally do anything imaginable to protect it.

That the container ever existed at all, because other people told me so, even though they hadn't seen it either.

That's pretty goofy.



Photo credit:  *antontang at deviantart

There is Running.

A Thought-full Run...

"I'll do some walking.  Maybe I'll run today."

*beep* *beep*
"I hate this treadmill."

"I should practice good breathing technique."
"ok, BREATHE."

"I need to move faster.  I'll 'up' the incline."

"Ok that's better."

"I'm walking faster."

"I wonder what I'll have for dinner?"

"Concentrate!"

"OK. I'll match my breath to the music."

"I like this music."

"I feel good."

"I'm having a good workout."

Actually....

Thought pops, just comes, an image of walking on the treadmill.

Putting running shoes on the body

Walking to fitness center
Stepping on the treadmill.  Pushing buttons.

*beep* *beep*

Thought pops, 'faster'

*beep* beep*

breath.  breath. breath.

No within, No without.  Just breath, Everywhere breath.

Everything breathing.

Sensations happening.  The body adjusting.
Water appears.
*drip*
*wipe*

Sound appears in headphones...music.  No one's listening.
Hearing is hearing.

Sensations in the feet, legs, hips.  

Seeing sees jerky motions. 

breath.

breath.

No one breathes.

Everything breathing.
Everything running.

photo credit:  on the edge by ~jakejames - Deviantart
Second photo:  don't feel like running by ~rockingmarcia - Deviantart

When the Bubble Bursts

The point of no-self realization is not to denounce the self.  It's to see it for what it is.... thought, appearing based on conditions, empty of any inherent qualities.

How is it empty?

Compare the self to a soap bubble.  Does it exist without soap, without air, without breath? Without the hole it forms through?  Without moisture in the air?

When the conditions are no longer right for the bubble to appear or be sustained, what happens? 


The sense of self is just as fragile and transparent, its existence dependent upon the thought constructs of memory and belief. Conditions for its appearance? Reflection upon an action of or within the body.


How to burst the bubble....

As a seeker, if there's an effort to stop the self thoughts from appearing, don't bother. The desire is 'you' trying to overcome your 'self'. That's impossible. It's a circular reference, an endless loop.

Let that go.

Just notice. Notice when the thoughts of self appear. Notice when they are absent. Then ask how anything inherent or vital can disappear without a trace for minutes, hours, or days on end, without anyone even noticing it was gone.



photo credit:  ~kkokosz on deviantart