Reflections of Ourselves
Abandoning all limited ideas of time and self produces a feeling which some refer to as liberation, or "transcendence". We all, presumably, have some reasonable idea of what "time" is; "self", however, is a far more complicated idea. Many people understand the self as a combination of our so-called "nature" and "nurture". These ideas, however, perpetuate the limited belief that we are inert constructs, locked away by some biological secret code in the form of a double helix and a blood-type. And as for our so-called "nurture", well, if our identities are restricted to past experience, then we will never achieve the aforementioned status of liberation or freedom, or whatever word you choose to use that refers to our universal and individual objective; some use the term "enlightenment", but, to me, that word has been utilized such that it has lost its effective traction, as it were, due to our insistence that it's reserved only for "some people" or "some cultures" or "masters" or those who meditate or whatever.
If we as individuals are merely compilations of our so-called "nature" and "nurture" (as is so commonly held in today's general scientific and social consensus), then I can hardly think of a more efficient way to restrict our infinite identity, that is, unless every one of us were to go out and gather ten (or perhaps eleven) items which "represent" us, place them in a hermetically sealed plastic tube and bury it a hundred feet deep in the ground. Of course, I only say this for the purpose of hyperbole, and certainly there is some common sense validity to our understanding of ourselves as a compilation of our biology, genetics, experiences, upbringing and the like, but when we bottle our "selves" up into these "pre-set", inert and locked-away constructs of causality, then we shackle the treasure which each and every on of us are, into, essentially, hermetically sealed plastic tubes buried a hundred feet beneath the surface of the earth.
The truth of the matter is that we are absolutely infinite and completely free to experience whatever we wish to experience. We are not restricted in any way whatsoever; this is our true "self". The self is the primary cause of experience; it is a creative, formless entity in and of itself. Of course, society is sick right now (and has been for some time) and, in general, we maintain a highly toxic concept of self (macro-cosmically speaking) which is held within many individuals and projected outward onto other people. Children arrive here by the tens of thousands each day, and, to some extent, all of them are forced to adopt whatever degree of toxicity, sickness and limitation that we maintain within our collective body of belief (or that which I refer to as our "collective belief structure"). Each of these kiddos must face this malignant shadow which we as a collective unconsciously maintain alive in our moment to moment reconstruction of our belief structure, that is, if we persist in our sleep and thus allow for it to remain alive within the one body we share.
When someone maintains a limited (or "toxic") concept of themselves, and they have not yet broken through to the idea that the so-called "external world" or "out-pictured reality" is simply a reflection of themselves, then, since they are unable to ascribe their toxicity to themselves, they will attach toxicity to others. This is how, in many sections of the world today, we are encountering all kinds of resistance patterns and down-right ugliness. It all stems from the individual, regardless of wether or not whomever it is in question wants to (or can) admit it.
In this climate of self-delusion an irony pervades, which is that, in many cases, it is the individual who believes themselves to be living in a purely objective world, wherein all "out-pictured" external reality maintains an existence separate from themselves, who is, regardless of appearances, the "toxic" or "limited" source of all that is being experienced within them. The irony here, is that this person believes themselves to be "awake" when they are the one who is the most asleep! For the awakened individual recognizes that everything "out there" is merely a reflection of themselves.
Many people have yet to come to this realization of truth, so they are caught in between the toxic state of limitation and the liberated state of unlimited belief (or what I refer to as the unlimited concept of self). In these cases, life can be chaotic because people sometimes tend to confuse the "sleeper" with the "awakened", which is understandable because the sleeper, in this case, believes themselves to be more awake than anyone! And, as such, their self-conviction manages to convince many people that they are, in fact, as awake as they believe themselves to be. As we have seen in the past, dangerous outcomes can easily follow such manipulations; especially when the self-deluded individual manages to convince a critical mass of people that their toxic agenda is the best way forward.
The truth is that there is no external reality beyond you, or anyone else, and that all of anyone's toxicity and limitation (which, to me, are basically the same thing) is instantaneously bounced back to them from whatever arbitrary symbols with which they seem to find fault. The dwindling numbers of people who still watch traditional media outlets on television, do not watch those mostly nonsensical, garbage-filled waste-portals to learn about what is happening in the world; they watch those portals to experience whatever arbitrary symbols, so that they can reflect their toxicity off of them, thereby simultaneously reinforcing the idea that their limitation is valid and that whatever toxicity that does exist, exists far away from them (which is, of course, the only source from which said limitation emerges). Fear propaganda, to me, is not some conspiracy; it's a way to attach eyeballs to the increasingly worthless portals of mass toxicity! People watching these programs or "shows" do not (at the moment) want to dwell in the boundless realms of love, freedom and lack of limitation; for if they were of such a disposition, then they would recognize how curated such visual information is towards life-taking/fear-based states of consciousness. If they were to recognize this, then they would already be awake, because to recognize such dynamics implies some amount of liberation from the toxicity of limited belief.
In this maelstrom of growing pain, we are now, collectively speaking, caught in a state similar to that of an eight year old. Our collective immaturity, however, is now a proven threat to our species, and, unless we all take full accountability as individuals for our moment to moment, day to day experience, we are, in no uncertain terms, contributing directly to the increased gravitational pull which suppresses our collective rise to adolescence (and one day (hopefully) "adulthood"). The sooner that each one of us can see through these antics of the toxic-sleeper, who dangerously considers themselves amongst the awakened, the sooner we can take control of our moment to moment lives and begin growing (or expanding) at a rate which is exponentially higher than anything that we have heretofore experienced.
Similar to the way that technology is doubling every year (roughly speaking, of course), once we know ourselves as the primary cause of our entire experience (which is to know your "self"), then our personal evolution, in regards to those states of consciousness which we experience (such as ecstatic love, beauty, understanding, compassion, bliss, generosity, gentleness, transcendence, etc.) can begin to compound into higher and higher life-giving/love-based states. When our concept of self is limited to the reflections from the so-called outside world, then we are stuck below the lightening storms where we are always, to some degree, at risk (that is, of "suffering"). Everyone's goal should be to rise above the weather patterns and turbulence of this pre-adolescent, current-day society, so that you can prosper and thus advance our collective maturity at a higher rate. Because to do otherwise, is literally to take wind from the sails of our collective prosperity and to divert our only asset of true value into your own toxic agenda.
As an adolescent society, we have wrought enough havoc on our surroundings; now is the time for us, as individuals, to ascend into higher altitudes of consciousness, so that, despite any willingness toward self-destruction, we cease to allow toxic individuals to continue drilling holes into the floor of our decreasingly sea-worthy vehicle. Unless we take full-responsibility for ourselves, as such, then the sabotage we are witnessing today will persist to a devastating crescendo of full-on cataclysm (an outcome which not one person alive truly wants, yet, as of today, seems to be highly possible).
You must own your experience and disregard anyone's luring you into clashes and arbitrary conflict, because they are simply, albeit unconsciously, selecting you as a symbol from which they wish to see their limitation reflected. At first, to remain neutral in such cases might be perceived as being a huge challenge, but, with practice, your ability to continually rise above the so-called weather patterns of this toxic atmosphere of immaturity and limitation will increase, and you will become your own guide of experience. At this stage, you will feel only pity and, hopefully, compassion for those who are still stuck in the lower altitudes of experience.
The eight year old must grow up (not tomorrow) now; because our earth, along with countless species of life (including our own), is now at a point of full-on crisis. Regardless of whatever the chronic denialist says in their toxic, out-dated ways of comprehending this situation we are all in, you must know that you are the primary cause of your experience. Unless you take full responsibility for whatever it is that you happen to be experiencing at the time, regardless of however someone might perhaps be using you as a reflection of their own toxicity and limitation, then our collective rise to maturity will be correspondingly stalled.
You must set your sights on the exalted experience, which is to enjoy your moment to moment, day to day life from the position which is above the weather patterns, thunderstorms and turbulence of this chaotic world of collective semi-adolescence. You must make it a goal to experience the fullness of life in each and every moment of each and every day, from the moment you rise until the moment you fall off to sleep. The only way to experience this state of prosperity is to love humanity and every person alive, despite their toxic reflections. I don't care if they are the most limited, toxic, deluded, childish, non-sensical talking-head that you cannot bear to listen to, you must know that, fundamentally, they are the same as you, and that, despite their ignorance and lack of "self"-knowledge, they are worthy of your unconditional love just like anyone else. For unless you love all of humanity and every person comprising it, then you will not be able to channel those precious winds into the sails of our collective advancement. Furthermore, unless you love all of humanity, despite the rampant symptoms of our sickness (which are admittedly abundant), you will not only be unable to more quickly advance our collective growth and expansion into the ranges of truth and maturity, you will also be diverting your "self" (which is the primary cause and the only source of "wind" that we have) into the vortex of oblivion, thereby rendering yourself into a state of helplessness, not unlike those "ironic" individuals who consider themselves to be so awakened.
If you fail to love someone, not necessarily in words but, more importantly, in your thoughts and feelings, then you are unable to maintain your altitude. The goal of life is to know yourself and then to fly higher and higher so you can grow (or expand) more and more. The vast majority of people on this planet haven't even taken the first step, which is to know themselves. They think there is a world "out there" beyond themselves, when the truth is that they are fundamentally inseparable from the world; thus they are, essentially, the world in a singular state. Unless you know yourself to be the world in a singular state, the heights of this experience will be unavailable to you, and you will suffer each and every day as you continue to struggle in vain against the winds, without your wings of unconditional love. You are the world in a singular state, unless you know this to be true, then you are asleep to the truth. Now more than ever, the world needs you to wake up.
© 2015 Jeff Price
Jeff Price is an author based in Los Angeles. His new book The Active Experience is now available (as of 7/15); please visit the TheActiveExperience.com for details and to purchase a copy.
Twitter: @jeffdprice
Email: TheActiveExperience@gmail.com