Iolaus wrote:Have you not said that awareness must have an object? If so, then it is not different from consciousness. And what about the one that is associated with the mind itself? What is that about?
Consider the case where your awareness is focused upon a particular object of consciousness, something you are watching for example, when someone speaks to you, and though they speak at a volume that you can easily hear, you do not hear them. Now, if awareness and consciousness were one and the same, then you should rightfully have heard the person speak, for they made a sound, and your ears were functioning, but consciousness of the sound did not arise; for your awareness was otherwise engaged.
The object of the mind consciousness is the concept or idea, and like the object of the sense faculties, one becomes conscious of an idea only so long as ones awareness is not otherwise engaged. One of the principle reason for the practice of meditation is so that we might observe first hand the arising and ceasing of mental activity, so that one can realize the illusory nature of all mentation.
A bit off topic I suppose, but the liturgical refrain in church Slavonic runs through my head: "Trinity, one in essence and undivided."
And yet, I don't think the Christian trinity is monotheism. Now, my own version might be. We have God the void of pure potential, and we have the emanating energies which are basically everywhere and everything (Holy Spirit) and then we have the organizing principle, which is like the mind of God (Logos/Word). It seems to me we must have this because our material universe is a mass of mathematics and engineering. Words are a code, DNA is a code language, you get the idea.
I don't have a problem uniting the first two, but the mind of God, how do we account for it in your system?
It is difficult to say, for this is a non-theistic system. However, I suppose the Principle of Interdependent Complementarity might fulfil this role, for it is the one universal and inviolable law which governs the actions of all things.
But as to my earlier question on the three bodies, I don't think they correspond.
I’m afraid I do not understand the question, correspond with what?
That is interesting because I did once jokingly say to my husband that my mind stays so busy because I am afraid if I stop thinking I will die. And, apparently that is true.
In one sense it is true, for when we don’t think, our ego-personality does no enter into play – and so I suppose we could say that it is dead. Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he said that we must be reborn in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; that the ego must die in order that we should truly live?
Now, to stop worrying seems great, to know I am invulnerable would be fantastic, but to cease existing doesn't seem so great.
Ceasing to exist (Being) is simply not possible, but ceasing to become, this we can do