That Which I AM, A statement of belief
Part 4, Existence is consciousness expressing
THE UNIVERSE IS SHIVA DANCING
The statue of Shiva dancing at the doors of CERN is frozen in movement but expressing dance nonetheless. Shiva is dancing the universe into existence as an ancient answer to the mystery of creation. Inside the doors, modern answers are found in shattered remains of atomic particles.
Ancient myths of creation enter modern times with varying degrees of acceptance. As science disrupts old stories, beliefs are often adapted to accommodate current knowledge. Most myths have a creator that is separate from its creation. For many believers, such constructs no longer explain the mysteries adequately. Scientific knowledge hinders their acceptance as other than fabrications from a previous time. New constructs emerge to replace the old.
Consciousness offers a classic explanation of the existential mysteries that lie beyond scientific knowledge. Think of consciousness, not Shiva, as the dancer of the universe. Think of it as an updated metaphor for explaining the meaning and purpose of existence. This ancient way of describing what cannot be said fits with modern physics and provides a construct for the reality beyond existence. Consciousness offers another path through the woods.
Consciousness is the state of potential in which all things lie. It is emptiness that is nowhere. Emptiness poised for thought to manifest. The potential of emptiness is totality. Consciousness is not an entity to grasp. It is eternal and unchanging reality. It has no distinctions and cannot be described. Consciousness does not create. It is not a source. It does not extend. It is inseparable and eternally the same. There is no other than this eternal field of infinite possibility that is intelligent and aware.
Consciousness is thought. Thought arises in consciousness but does not leave. They are the same. Thought manifests through consciousness-expressing. The force of expressing is the quiet, powerful intelligent awareness that is consciousness. Expressing happens without effort. It is consciousness doing nothing but being its true nature. It is like water being wet. Wetness is the nature of water. There is neither water without wetness, nor wetness without water. Water expressing wetness is a single essence of being. Expressing is the nature of consciousness. Consciousness not expressing is null. Consciousness expressing is like Shiva creating, preserving, and destroying the world simultaneously. It is like dancer-dancing-dance. In its states of potentiality, expression, and manifestation, consciousness is thought of separation expressing as existence. You know existence as the universe.
The universe is a manifestation of consciousness expressing thought of separation. The idea of separation is potentiality in the eternal field of infinite possibility. It is manifested as existence by consciousness-expressing. Existence is both possibility and manifestation. Existence is expressed by consciousness drawing from ideas of separation to create the movement that is consciousness-expressing. Consciousness expressing the thought of separation as existence represents oneness because no element of potentiality, expression, and manifestation can stand alone. Oneness is the whole of existence. It is a single essence of being, a singular unity, or the whole of the all.