Saturday, February 14, 2009

Conscious Creativity

I felt some conundrums immediately after writing the piece "The Reflective Universe. Just so you know, I had been reading Neville Goddard during the previous days. http://nevillegoddard.wwwhubs.com

I can only respond by saying that duality and non duality are aspects of the same One. Perhaps I am beyond ego to a great extent. I have less suffering than when I was completely identified with my ego. Either way, as long as I am on this earth, I have a body to deal with. It requires food, shelter, and some satisfaction of desires. With less ego, my desires may be less, but none the less, some remain.

So, being that there is a body here, and desires, why not the best possible existence? Even if this is a dream, an illusion, why not the best dream, the best illusion possible?

If this is all in the mind of God, and I am part of that mind, then like the Source, I also have the ability to create. In fact I can do nothing but create! The problem is whether I do it consciously or unconsciously.

The major issue for me is that the creating is continuous, God's creation, and by extension, my creation. What I believe tends to manifest, whether it is believed consciously, or believed unconsciously! Since the creation appears, created by both my conscious intention and unconscious intention, hadn't I better create to the best of my ability, rather than passively let what still is unconscious in me create willy nilly all kinds of crap.

Most of this world is created by our unconscious. Why? Because we are mostly unconscious! The creating doesn't stop because we're unconscious! It's there and it creates. In fact, I may not even know what all I project from my lack of consciousness.

I could of course, spend all my time trying to bring up everything in my unconscious. I could spend all my time observing the effects "out there" so I could see what is "in here."

But, it seems to me, that the easier way to affect my life in the world, would be to at least spend time creating what I do know to be good, know to be true, know to be kind, know to be helpful, etc. Why not actively create all the good I can, rather than passively accept what I may be creating unconsciously.

I think anyone that has gone deep spiritually, realizes that "all there is, is Consciousness." In the case of me and you, there is also the unconscious. The curse of all of us is the "unexamined life." To know thyself is the great commandment. I suspect though, that we could pursue this commandment all our life and not get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile, I could regret what I was still creating due to what remains in my unconscious. But I feel that rather than being harsh with myself for what I still do not know about myself, my time would be better spent consciously creating what I have come to understand as good. "Whatever is kind, whatever is just, whatever is beautiful, think on these things."

I can know that all is One. Being human, I don't necessarily always behave with that knowing. I can know that duality and non duality are aspects of the One. But I can still behave as if duality was the only truth.

If God is the creative force of the universe, and I am made in God's image, then I too am a creator. I do not believe that God is an unconscious creator, and I don't want to be an unconscious creator either. Am I not more Godlike if I create? Am I not more Godlike if I consciously create?

Duality is a way of experiencing the world. Non duality is a way of experiencing the world. I experience both, mostly on the duality side. I do however know that both are experiences. Since I experience physically being here, and I can experience both good things and bad things, why not create the best I can? Why not choose all the conscious good that I can, to the best of my ability and understanding?

To passively accept whatever my unconscious creates doesn't seem like freedom. If I create my own world, consciously or unconsciously, I choose to do it consciously -- at least to the best of my ability, and with humility.

8 comments:

No One In Particular said...

Non duality and duality are oneness. Whatever arises in awareness, or seems to, is perfect. Any judging thoughts about it all are just Oneness, thought-ing. It is so simple. Nothing is happening. It's all merely appearance, and all of it miraculous, including pain and suffering. Including the pile of dog poo on the pavement. The apparent separate individual makes deals with oneness, along the lines of, if I do this and that, and finally the individual dies, then there will be just oneness and that involves being unselfconscious and love and bliss and everything's better. Oneness is already oneness. This, just as it is, whatever it seems to be, is perfect and in balance. There is no one, so there is no one who can "awaken". Whatever arises is whatever arises. Unconditional love allows everything. It is itself, no matter what the appearance. Too simple for the mind. It is all right here, and it was ever thus.

Maury Lee said...

Great Post from No One in particular. It's all smoke and mirrors, intention and inattention, joy and sorry, seeming separation and seeming union. All good. No one to judge.

Thanks for the wonderful post.

Ron Marson said...

Hi Maury,

Like you, I experience qualities to greater and lesser degrees: less identification, less desire, less duality overall; and more peace, more flow, more unity overall. These are stories in my mind that arise and disappear in time.

Like you, I want to create more consciously (less unconsciously), act more positively (less negatively), imagine a world of love, care, and social justice, and act to bring it to pass. These too are stories in my mind that arise and disappear in time.

Some people pursue money, fame, sex and power with compulsive passion. I pursue unity with compulsive passion, hang around blogs like yours, try to wrap my mind around and make sense of the Absolute, knowing full well that it's a fools errand. This too is a mind game, clearly seen. It is what I currently do.

Well.... What has all of the above got to do with me? Everything, obviously. And also nothing. It is this 'nothing' that ignites my passion. I'd like to compare notes with you on 'nothing' (absolute fullness). Here is what is noticed here:

1. Loving 'nothing' paradoxically places me in the flow of life, serving the need of each new moment. Attending to 'nothing' serves up a beautiful, conscious, creative, joyful dream.

2. 'Nothing' first appeared to come and go as peak experience. Now it appears as continuous background, always here. These are ways my mind experiences 'nothing' in translation. Perhaps it is better to say 'nothing' simply IS, neither continuous nor discontinuous.

3. My experience of self (mind) is of discontinuity, a blinking off and on within 'nothing'. 'Off' is free attention untranslated by mind. 'On' is conditioned attention mediated by mind. Off/on can be noticed cycling up to several times a second, and over much longer periods too. Free attention (off) of short duration it is more subtle than subtle. Free attention (off) of longer duration is flow ('doing' God's will).

4. Everything moves in and out of 'nothing'. Everything turns out to be the dream. 'Nothing' turns out to be reality. This is immediate and obvious anytime I STOP (turn off) and look.

5. In 'nothing' (stopping, off) there is no story of I, no past, no present, no future, no opposites, no guilt, no fear, no experience, no becoming, no drama, no life, no death, no nothing. Everything still appears, moving in and out of 'nothing' (as quantum physicists say).

6. The way I seemingly choose to suffer these days is wanting more of 'nothing.' How sweet these never-ending antics of my mind, working to keep me safe and secure and separate.

Ron

No One In Particular said...

Liked Ron's comment but I'm somewhat concerned for his welfare. Ron, staying aware that this is all of course just the story, and that's there's really no cause and effect, and everything is simply appearance, and it all seems to move in and out of nothing, blah blah blah etc etc (non-duality standard double-speak), have you ever tried telling your mind to just shut the f*** up?

Ron Marson said...

Dear No One in Particular,

Yeah, I tell my mind to shut the f*** up all the time, and it never listens.

Ron

Maury Lee said...

Ah...........we've got a dance going on here. A play withing a play. Is there a director anywhere in the house?

No One In Particular said...

What appears very often seems hilarious. The great cosmic joke. It happens, and the thought arises: by Christ did I ever take all that unbelievably seriously. What a relief. Relief for no one, but relief nonetheless! And of course there's no director, silly.

Ron Marson said...

Of course there's a director:

In "Wholeness and the Implicate Order," David Bohm called IT ‘Undivided Wholeness in Flowing Movement.'

In non-duality circles people call IT "Presence Awareness," and like to use capital letters.

Walking out of the grocery store yesterday I called IT "Absence" and it felt just as impersonally personal as "Presence."

Don't matter what you call IT, this Director don't come and don't go.