Consciousness just implies the ability to be aware, in an open manner, which then leads to an “understanding”. So, when I talk about a deep consciousness, it just implies a deep understanding of life. The perspectives you are privy to in the state of deep consciousness are very different from the ones you align with in a state of low consciousness. True consciousness always leads to a deeper understanding of anything that’s brought to its wake.
As you deepen in consciousness, the nature of life-energy and the nature of being becomes very apparent to you. There are two aspects to who we are – “being” and “life-energy”, they are both contradictory in nature and we can never separate ourselves from either. A lot of confusion arises when we try to hold on to one aspect while distancing ourselves from the other. In fact, on this blog, there are some writings which focus purely on the being part and some that focus on the life-energy part, and they both seem to be very contradictory in nature when seen in isolation – yet they make complete sense when taken in unison.
True wholeness, or inner freedom, is attained when you can connect with both parts of who you are – the “being” part and the “life-energy” part. The challenge resides in the fact that these two “parts” are completely contradictory, the nature of being is the opposite to the nature of life-energy. For instance, the peace that you experience when you connect with the “being” part is opposite to the constant flux in the “life-energy” part. However, when you get stuck with holding on to the peace that you feel in your being and start pushing away from the movement of life-energy, there is stagnancy that starts pervading the journey of your life.
The question of “who am I” is easily answered when you are fully conscious of your essence as a being and your presence as a construct of life-energy. For instance, the physical body, with its brain, is a construct of life-energy, the soul or your ethereal body is a construct of life-energy, but your essence as “pure awareness” comes from the being part of you. It’s not confusing, rather it’s apparent, that there are two parts to your existence. Confusion arises when you try to hold on to one over the other. The very idea of attaining “moksha”, in terms of relinquishing your involvement with the “life-energy” part, arises from an incomplete understanding of who we are. A truly conscious entity is never obsessed with moksha, it’s like being obsessed with non-existence instead of embracing life.
Depending on your level of consciousness, you can get enamored with the life-energy part or the “being” part. However, as your consciousness grows, and deepens, you are fully integrated with both these parts in you. The contradiction within you feels normal, you are open to the dance of life-energy while residing in the static space of your being – it’s not one or the other, it’s one in the other. You are open to the movement of desires in you, and the restlessness it creates, while also residing in the space of being where this movement just operates like a flow happening in an open space. You fully understand how relatively meaningless this whole journey in terms of an end-goal while also imbuing relative meaning to your actions and movements. You are not clinging to either detachment or purpose, you are as purposeful as you are unattached.
It’s normal to be madly in pursuit of the “being” part or the “life-energy” part when one is yet to deepen in consciousness. The “yogi” who pursues detachment to be one with the “being” part and the “bhogi” (hindi word – the indulgent one), who is lustfully engrossed in the experiences of life-energy, are both relatively imbalanced. True wholeness is achieved in the integration of the yogi and bhogi, the being and the life-energy, the peace and the swirl.
You reach this place, of true wholeness, through deepening your consciousness through openness, through allowing yourself to touch both dimensions (the being part and the life-energy part), through knowing your “self” in both dimensions, through letting go of the need to hold on to a refuge whether it’s through a belief or an understanding, through wanting truth above convenience, through wanting reality above delusion.
Dear Sen,
I have a question about whether the natural expression and/or makeup of an individual can be to become a philosopher or engage in pursuits associated with philosophical and abstract elements. I have doubts around this because it seems from the outlook that philosophy is not really aligned with the nature of life or existence per se, because philosophy generally works through the principle of mind and thought, whereas life-energy/God-energy or consciousness seems to primarily move through a state of “no-mind”/“no-thought” since the very nature of it is to move with silence and stillness.
I believe some spiritual teachers like the Buddha and OSHO were also markedly anti-philosophical and discouraged any philosophical speculation/activity because it either had no practical value and relevance to the immediate moment or because it could never achieve what it was intended for, which is knowing the truth, due to using the limited workings of mind and “reason”, which are valuable for matters perceivable to humans but not conducive for knowing the ultimate reality beyond the scope of human understanding and perception, since it requires higher levels of consciousness which are beyond the level of mind and reason.
I find that I might have some inkling of a passion for philosophy as an undergraduate degree and possibly engage in some vocation associated with such a background (or possibly in other related branches like sociology, psychology and other humanities) but due to the lack of recognition and significance attributed to such a degree as it is not valued in the market, so I am apprehensive about whether I should really pursue it as per my heart’s calling, or maybe it’s not really my true calling and I have to wait for it to reveal itself at a later stage after reducing the mind momentum?
Are philosophers even people aligned with their natural expression/makeup and balanced?
I hope you clarify these doubts of mine.
Regards,
Raven
In my experience, the thinking mind, that mechanical part that is always trying to figure things out, without my permission I might add since it’s nature is fear, quite simply can not grasp this.
This is where the relaxing part is of the utmost importance. The rage and the confusion and the absolute torment it throws up at the inability to figure out life, or even these posts, is something that can’t be fought. Not with logic, understanding, or wisdom. These things means nothing to the mind in the throws of its questioning.
It is true what you have written prior. One must simply wait out the aggravation. Let the energy burn itself out.
I’ve seen it many times in myself as well as the comment history, of people experiencing this wait time and coming out of it even after a really angry prior comment, and saying things like “It’s gone and that’s not me but for the time it was.”
Letting go simply to me is living my best life. Be angry when there is anger. Be confused when there is confusion. Be calm when there is calm. Be happy when there is happiness. They all eventually fade away and replaced with more of the same.
I just stopped in, to see what condition my condition was in.
Ya. Ya. Oh ya. what condition my condition was in.
Hey Sen,
Thank you once again for sharing your thoughts.
I often think about yogis and monks/nuns who “detach” from society. You say they are imbalanced, in that they aren’t engaging with “life energy”. I don’t disagree with you. I personally don’t want to renounce society. However, can we merely just right off renunciates as imbalanced people who don’t actually want to engage in the ups and downs of life?
Do you think the concept of “moksha/nirvana” is just not real? Are yogis/monks chasing a goal that doesn’t actually exist? If so, are Hinduism and Buddhism both selling a lie of “liberation”?
Another great article.Thankyou So much and love you👍👍
sometimes when i try to focus on resting in my being while interacting with others i feel aware but also have a fear of being a little to detached and get a feeling of not knowing/having anything to say next. other times when i let go and rest in my being certain creative things come out that i wouldn’t have said if i wasn’t resting in my being. would you recommend practicing resting deeper in being while being engaged with others? or should i be more mind oriented while talking with others?
Sen,
I would just like to say your blog has been involved in my life for years now. I wouldn’t be able to say that I am where I am without the pointers in your blog. I have spent many years now releasing negative buildup and I believe I have “returned to focus” as you say it, at this point. Although, I oscillate between a state of being, I.e being distanced from my thoughts and feelings and being involved in my thinking and feelings and maybe lost to them. I also have flown into aligned realities because of my clarity of desire and am now in a relationship with my partner. Even though my clarity to desire a relationship was sound and I have never doubted that, I doubt if the person I am with is right for me. I have gone back and forth between knowing that I want to be with them and then back into doubt about it. Do you happen to have any pointers for me in understanding these doubts I have? Should I work on allowing them to dissolve by relaxing my focus? I also think I may still have an accumulation of lack based focus where I think that the choices I’ve made might be wrong. I do think often that the choices I’ve made might be wrong.
Anyway, if you have time to respond I would be very happy, but all of your words are already enough and I appreciate you greatly.
Ross
Ross, I can totally relate to you. I’m in the exact same place
Hi, great article Im a little confused on what our life energy part is. I understand our being part is pure awareness but hard to understand our life energy part of us.
“True wholeness is achieved in the integration of the yogi and bhogi, the being and the life-energy, the peace and the swirl.”
Great stuff. It seems like this is a teaching from tantrik yoga. Siva (stillness) combined with shakti (dynamic action). This is what is so great about your combination of Eckhart Tolle and Abraham Hicks.