Introduction to a new series of postings
For the next several weeks, I will post my reflections on the Hua Hu Ching, which is said to be a continuation of the teachings found in the Tao Te Ching. I find Lao Tzu’s wisdom invaluable. Maybe you do as well. The Tao Te Ching has been a source for my musings for several years. I look forward to following on with Hua Hu Ching.
Although I have no religious affiliation, I do consider my true nature as something other than my body and its personality. The following quote lays out this belief in a way that I like. I included the quote in my first SubStack posting on January 29, 2023. As I said then, it is a good reflection of my spiritual beliefs. It bears repeating.
"I am not my body, nor do I need it. I am the witness only. I have no shape of my own. You are so accustomed to think of yourself as bodies having consciousness that you just cannot imagine consciousness as having bodies. Once you realize that bodily existence is but a state of mind, a movement in consciousness, that the ocean of consciousness is infinite and eternal, and that, when in touch with consciousness, you are the witness only, you will be able to withdraw beyond consciousness altogether." NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ (1897-1981)
I like to think that beyond all knowing lies an emptiness that is nowhere, an eternal field of infinite possibility. Call it consciousness. Let it be intelligent and aware as an expression of its nature. This nature is reality, which is whole, complete, perfect, and eternal. There is no other.
Reality is eternal and unchanging. The world in which I live is not. Call this world existence. Existence is not eternal. It is always changing. It is transitory illusion in consciousness. It comes and goes in cycles of birth and death. I know existence as the universe and experience it in the perceived world of separation that I call my life.
Existence is the world in which I live, the universe that contains it, and the existential mysteries beyond that. It is consciousness expressing thoughts of separation. Separation cannot be real. There is only consciousness. Consciousness is inseparable and eternally the same. There is no other than this eternal field of infinite possibility that is intelligent and aware. Existence is a transitory illusion in consciousness much like a unicorn in a child’s dream.
Knowing that existence is not real, I believe that I am not my body, nor its personality. I am the movement in consciousness that expresses thoughts of separation as existence. This movement is consciousness-expressing. Much like dancing is dancer-expressing. I think of my true nature as being like the dancing that is the dance. Call this movement I AM. I AM is consciousness-expressing. I AM is the expressing that is existence. I AM is revealed in me as the witness. To be aware of I AM is to witness the world as the whole of the all, not as the false sense of separation perceived by the me of the body.
To learn more, read my Statement of Belief which was posted in eight parts on this site in February of 2023. My beliefs have become what they are after many years of study and contemplation in the arena of psychology, religion, and spirituality. They continue to shift and grow but seem to be grounded in the long-standing teachings of masters such as Lao Tzu, the Buddha, and Jesus. All of which are reflected in my regular postings here on SubStack.
I trust that you will find the upcoming reflections on Hua Hu Ching to be of interest in your own contemplations on life and its existential mysteries. I appreciate your readership. Thank you!