This was beautiful, Rick. I disagree with the devotional path and so many of
your beliefs, but there must be something you are doing right to have such
beautiful experiences. I feel the same about Flanegin. I learn from you guys at
the same time as I debate you. My understanding is an evolving thing, and I
still have lots to make sense of in my world view. Thanks for reflecting on
these topics with me. .
As I mentioned in another post, Ive been out of town for a week, visiting
in-laws in Seattle. Being on vacation and out of the usual routines was enough
to ramp up the unboundedness considerably. My infinite nature and my individual
nature were kind of on equal footing, see-sawing back and forth gently all
week. To use a metaphor (not a literal description) , the unboundedness was
like a constant tone. If theres a constant tone playing, you dont hear it
after a while, even though its still there, but you can hear it again any time
you choose to put your attention on it. Of course, in this case, the tone was
bliss so my attention would effortlessly be drawn back to it again and again.
It didnt matter how busy my surroundings were Pikes market was as conducive
as a ferry ride or a beach. This experience gave rise to the thought that if
unboundedness were to dawn suddenly, as it seems to have done for many
spiritual teachers, one could easily feel that an
individual me no longer existed. I think that if it dawns more gradually,
over decades of meditation practice, as in my case, this is less likely to
happen. For me, there does not appear to be any incompatibility between my
individual nature with its thoughts, desires and activities, and my unbounded
nature, which is like a soft cushion of bliss. The two are indeed paradoxical
they seem to exist in different dimensions but they coexist in perfect
harmony. It is clear that there is no me which gets enlightened, but that
does not mean that there is no me.
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