we often hear in spiritual circles phrases such as I am one with everything I am one
with the trees I and it's legitimate to say such things that then it's not
completely accurate but it's legitimate as an attempt to express one's experience but
what very often happens when we hear something like that
is that we then think oh wow that person is one with everything one with all these things one
with nature one with the trees that's something I'd like to be so there's that is the tree over
there and and to be honest we don't feel one with it but but we want to somehow somehow
practice something that can make us fill one with it and that this is the wrong approach
it's an approach that doesn't work it's an approach that leads to frustration because
once we have conceptualized everything that is all things trees or people at once we have once
we think and more importantly feel that what we are experiencing are things a thing a tree
or everything we are by definition the separate subject of those separate things or objects it
is not possible for that separate subject to unite with the separate object so this is a it's a it's
a very common kind of misunderstanding on the on the new-age scene including the new-age non-dual
the feeling of being one with with all things it's not possible as long as they are things it's not
possible to be one with them because things or objects are defined by my being a separate
subject that knows them that is why krishna menon so clearly and cleanly diagnosed the the phrase
consciousness is all as being not quite not far enough it's not the end consciousness is all or
consciousness is everything as long as there's an all or an everything there is objectivity
and consciousness is the subject of that right so there is still another step to take which is
to reduce the all the everything or the things into pure consciousness but bare with me so when
you're outside as you were yesterday in nature and deal with any object or in instead of seeing the
object and somehow wanting wanting to be one with it you have to reduce the object into yourself so
that it no longer stands as an object either to be one with or to be separate from and the
way to do that is is to in relation to visual perception in because in your case you were
looking at a tree is to start first of all with the conventional conceptualization it is a tree
it is an object and the fine print the subtext of that statement it is a tree is I am a self
so in order to collapse this distinction between the self the subject and the tree the object you
can go either way you can either explore the apparent object nests of the object or the
subject nests of the subject so in this case we're talking about being one with the tree so you start
with the tree and you recognize all I actually know of this so-called object of the tree is the
sight of it the perception of it in fact I don't know the perception of it I imagine that there is
something there outside of my perception that I am perceiving but actually I've never found that
something beyond perception that I am simply happened to be perceiving at this moment so I
can't really say it's a perception of the tree all I can honestly say is it's a perception in other
words the of it or the of the tree is added by thought yeah so now we've taken one step
closer to our experience we are not perceiving it we're not having a perception of the tree
we're just having a perception we don't know what the perception is of it's just the perception so
then we take the next step and we ask ourselves what is this perception made of the perception is
obviously not made of stuff called matter yeah the perception cannot be made of stuff called matter
that the tree that thought conceptualizes the of it that thought about that thought says is made of
matter but as we've already realized we never find that we just know the current perception
and perception is not made out of matter it is made out of mind yeah it's the experience
of perceiving stop calling it perception call it perceiving it's the same thing yes you're
outside walking in nature you're seeing this tree actually you're just experiencing you're just
knowing the experience of perceiving yeah not the perceiving of anything it's just the experience of
perceiving that's the only if you were to touch the stuff that your current experience was is
made of Lytton let's do it now instead of trees let's say people if you were to touch the stuff
and we're just dealing with visual perception at the moment not with hearing and tasting and
touching now if you were to try to try to touch the stuff that the experience of perceiving in
this case seeing is made of what would you find that there was physically touch there would be
this insane Oh to physically touch there is a sensation I don't mean physically touch I mean
in your imagination you you've realized I thought it was a tree now I see it's my perception of the
tree now I realized no it's not a perception of a tree it's just a perception if I look into the
perception that perception is not made out of stuff core matter perception is an experience
of mind it is the experience of perceiving not the perceiving of anything it's just the experience of
perceiving and so we're taking steps we're taking little steps each tech step we take brings us a
little more intimately in touch with the reality of our experience so now this next step is we say
to ourself what is the stuff that perceiving when I say if you were to try to touch it I don't mean
don't go back to the physical object I mean if you were to in your imagination you you realize now
that you are just perceived you're just seeing yes okay all you know if this room is the experience
of seeing okay if I were to say to you in your imagination try to touch the reason I say touch is
because I want it to be very experiential I don't want you to think about what seeing is made of I
want you to go there with your with your feelin imagination so that's why I use this phrase and
sometimes I say reach out an imaginary hand made of pure experiencing or pure knowing where you
could be again this particle of knowing that we were in this morning's meditation and swim
around inside the experience of seeing to trite what is it made of what is there in that because
they this be this particle of it knowing now and swim around inside the experience of seeing and
you're trying to you're a very scientific particle of knowing you are trying to take
little samples of the stuff that it's made of what's it made of what do you find then
no probably perhaps the that is where the field and coming nothing the tangible a field of a
field of what the experience of seeing is it the experience of seeing is something yeah you can't
say there's nothing so that that there's not nothing nobody has ever experienced nothing
a thing is a concept the mechanism that's been playing with is nil no no don't go to mechanisms
and play I you are a particle of knowing all you can do is experience what is the experience of
seeing made of as you swim around inside it it's made of something okay what is that something I
don't know no of course you do you know do not know the experience of seeing yeah are you not
now knowing the experience of seeing yes well if you are knowing the experience of seeing you must
know what it's made of you are experiencing it you if I were to say to you but you're watching
a movie and and it I would say to you what is the movie made of and you say I don't know you
know the fact that you are seeing the movie means by definition you are seeing the screen
yeah mm-hmm yeah you know yeah you may not have a name for it but you are if you're experiencing
the movie you are experiencing it's reality the screen right doesn't matter that you can't name
it or see it with your eyes but by definition if you are experiencing the movie which is an
illusion yeah you must be experiencing its reality the screen because they are the same
thing now if you are experiencing the experience of seeing which you are we are all experiencing
seeing we must by definition be experiencing the stuff it is made of now what is that stuff light
but no because your only experience of light is seeing light is made out of seeing seeing
is not made out of light do you mean physical light hmm okay no you see your only knowledge
of physical lighting that you don't know physical night you just know the experience of seeing okay
yeah go go go go more closely it's seeing it's made of something well I mean I know from from
my experience with you use the word awareness no I know you know the right answer but I don't I
want you to arrive at the right on I don't know where to go next so but that's good that that's
very good keep going keep going that's that's a very good answer but it's not quite satisfactory
you it's good don't feel that because you don't know you're failing no it's good you don't know
I'm just trying to push you a little bit further than then your first answer which was nothing or
I don't know so it's fine keep going when you say I don't know I'm saying no you do know if
you tell me you don't you can't see what the screen is if it's like when you say I don't
know it's like saying I can't see what the movie is made of what you're telling me you can't see
the screen and watching the movie but I can't see the screen no if you're watching the movie
you are seeing the screen right now if you are experiencing seeing seeing you must be
experiencing you are experiencing what seeing is made of because let's say you weren't experiencing
what seeing was made of what would the experience of seeing be there wouldn't be saying perfect if
if you were watching the movie but you weren't seeing the screen you're not seeing the movie
you couldn't be watching the movie if you are experiencing seeing and you are you are by
definition experiencing it's absolute reality now you can say I don't know what that is only
in the sense that you can't give that a name you can't find it as an object right however
I'm asking you to use words acknowledging that no word that you use will be absolutely true
because all words describe objects but I want you to try to use a word we've reduced something that
was very gross I don't mean gross in a negative sense I mean gross in a physicist and substance
something that was made out of matter we've seen no I don't experience this stuff made out of
matter I actually experience perception then if I come closer even perception is a little
bit too much of an object you know you have a perception like a perception starts here and
if it finishes here it's not really a perception it's more like a process of perceiving or seeing
so we've come a little bit closer we're beginning to to to go into the experience but I want you to
go further what is what is seeing made of I want to reduce it even further the reason why we know
we have introduced it all the way back to its ultimate reality is because the experience of
seeing can come to an end close your eyes okay seeing has ended yeah that that's how
we know we haven't gone all the way back to its reality because reality cannot cease one of the
definitions of reality is that it cannot cease to be so seeing cannot be the ultimate reality
of this experience because you close your eyes and seeing has gone where did it go where did the
experience of seeing go it went into its reality what is that keep going you're on the right track
try to find a word don't worry every word you use and every word I use is not quite right
try to find a word based on your experience that the vibration okay okay okay that's good
what is the vibration made of it must be made of something energy no that's a
that's a that's now you're going to concepts okay I mean we're to everything we say as a
concept you're going now you're going into thinking so you're right there is something
in seeing something is okay let's go back your answer vibrating okay what is vibrating
if it's vibrating something there must be some substance there that is vibrating what is that
I don't know
so it has to do with the seeing of big eyes open hold on hold on a minute let me ask you
the same question from a different from from a slightly different angle go back to the
experience of seeing ask yourself the question is there any substance present in seeing other
than the knowing of it the experiencing of it no because we've tracked that the substance is the
concept we've tracked we've tracked that the substance is a concept yes go to the
experience of seeing ask yourself the question is there anything there other than the knowing
of that experience the experiencing of seeing not that I can find exactly because I get one right
okay but we haven't we've got further to go still in just the same way that you understood first of
all that there's a tree then we think there's the perception of the tree and then we realized
no it's not a perception of the tree the of the tree is added it's just a perception yeah now
we do the the same the same understanding it's not the knowing of seeing or let me let me just
back up a little bit you see that it's or you understand that all there is to the experience
of seeing is the knowing of it I take these two experiences one seeing just just be for a moment
with the experience of seeing yeah and now be with the experience of knowing seeing can you
find any difference between these two experiences the experience of seeing and the knowing of seeing
a list of the knowing is kind of a step back it's a step back that that's true it's one step back
but is there any is there any substance present in the knowing of seeing other than the knowing
itself it does the seeing add something to the knowing is there a new substance that comes in
to the knowing or is it just made of knowing I think it's just the knowing exactly exactly
so seeing is like a you said it very well it's a it's a vibration of no it's a coloring of knowing
but there's no new there's no it's not like water and then you bring another you bring a little bit
of water color pattern you add it to the water to color it the color doesn't come from outside the
only substance present in seeing is this clear knowing when when knowing vibrates and assumes
the form of seeing the no extraneous object is added to it from the outside yes nothing comes
in nothing is mixed with it it is just that's clear water of pure knowing that that vibrates
and forms are kind of eddy within itself which in a human mind it appears in the form of seeing
are you with me anything so now go back to your original question about being one with the tree
there's no question of being one with a tree because once we have defined the tree we are
already way out there in ignorance again talking about objects made out of matter
that's the dark ages we left that years ago there's no question of trying to be one and
this is why this is where so much New Age spirituality goes off on a complete tangent
because it there is this deep presumption of the reality of the physical universe
and then we try to unite ourselves with the physical universe through various practices
and we say I feel one with the trees it that that's that's New Age spirituality it's not
in order although as I said to begin with it's reasonable to say I am one with everything but
we have to be very careful that that's just a clumsy expression it's not that I am one with
everything it's not that consciousness is everything it's not that consciousness is
all there is no all that because all Meads multiplicity multiplicity means diversity
of what diversity means form form means objects objects imply a separate subject consciousness
is not all is not everything there are no things for consciousness to be the all of there is just
consciousness just this clear water of unmixed consciousness that never gets mixed with anything
other than itself it never gets contaminated it's only contaminated from the position of
thought which is itself one of the temporary modulations of this vibrating consciousness
there are no things for consciousness to be the all of and because there are no things we cannot
legitimately say when we trace our way back to consciousness the consciousness is nothing that
nothing is there this is another big misconception that you often come across in spiritual teachings
but the reality is nothing or empty it's only empty or nothing or void in relation to our
belief that things are full of stuff called matter in relate in relation to the belief that there are
things out there that is in the relation to the belief that there is something then it is
inevitable that we will conceptualize reality as nothing or empty but reality is only nothing void
or empty in relation to our previous belief in the reality of things but why try to define reality in
terms of something that is not there why try to say realities no thing or empty we are defining
reality using terms that but that don't belong to it if we try to define reality on its own
terms only referring to terms that come from the experience of reality itself not with reference to
something that is not real such as matter then what can we say about reality we cannot say it
is nothing we cannot say it is void we cannot say it is empty we truly cannot say anything about it
is it is beyond something or nothing it's not beyond it is prior to it and there we arrive
at a profound understanding that reality is truly unnameable but we don't make that statement until
we have really discovered that we don't make that statement superficially our reality is nothing
it's not a thing it's empty i-it's undefinable the mind can't go there we reserved making that
statement until we have really reduced experience back and back and back and back into its
origin and then from that experience without reference to anything that is not itself we
try to say something that is true about it and then we fall silence that is the true
silence the true emptiness beyond emptiness the emptiness of all emptinesses but even that you
see even that brings us back into comparing with something else it I should just shut up