Thank you, John, for another brilliant (to me) essay/pointing. Better than any teacher I've had, you continually point to "feeling" or "feeling into" experience/being/seeing/perceiving. That has been the key to opening a new world of experience for me.
I was struck by your use of "perspective," "point of view," and "vantage" in this post. Recently, I had two thoughts. First, the differences between ordinary and awakened experience can be reduced (basically) to differences in perspective, point of view, or vantage. I use the analogy of the phoropter the ophthalmologist uses to check vision (is this better, click or this one better?). There seems to be a filter or screen through which every Now is experienced. For every gradation in the phoropter, there is a point of view for which it is 20-20. So, it seems that all experience (everyday, spiritual, etc.) is produced by our perspective. (Just as you point out in your post, change your perspective and your experience changes). Brilliant, I thought.
But then the question arose what is perspective, point of view or vantage - terms that we use comfortably time and again? The more I thought about it, the more it seems that these are just synonyms for experience/awareness/perception/being/etc. And, since THIS, HERE, IT, NOW, BEING or whatever name/signifier one prefers to use is pure mystery (to me, at least, within my cloud of unknowing), then perspective/point of view/vantage are equally mystery. To me, they don't seem to explain experience. In fact, can they even be separated?
But pursue the line of thinking in your post - can perspective/POV/vantage influence, control or manipulate experience? Your post indicates that they can. My personal experience supports that conclusion. With your guidance over the past few years on how to shift my perspective, my experience changed along the lines you describe - there's no longer the sense that there's a seer and what's seen, there's only seeing (at least, on some occasions that can be reliably induced).
That being said, I must confess that perspective/point of view/vantage remain mysterious. Especially, who or what is shifting from one perspective to another. My working hypothesis at this point is that experience and perspective are not two, and "they" arise mutually in the flow of the Now. I hope that exploring more of your posts and You Tube videos will afford more clarity. But even if not, simply resting with and allowing them to flow though me will be enough. (Apologize for all the dualistic word salad. Reading or watching is all and only experiencing. No matter the words we use to describe, there's only Just THIS. Or, as you like to say, Always Just This.)
Beautiful, John!!! Gorgeous and clear. ❤️
Thanks, Joan. Glad it resonated! ❤️
Beautifully spoken, edgeless love
Lovely to hear from you, Kim :-)
Beautifully written ❤️
Thank you, John, for another brilliant (to me) essay/pointing. Better than any teacher I've had, you continually point to "feeling" or "feeling into" experience/being/seeing/perceiving. That has been the key to opening a new world of experience for me.
I was struck by your use of "perspective," "point of view," and "vantage" in this post. Recently, I had two thoughts. First, the differences between ordinary and awakened experience can be reduced (basically) to differences in perspective, point of view, or vantage. I use the analogy of the phoropter the ophthalmologist uses to check vision (is this better, click or this one better?). There seems to be a filter or screen through which every Now is experienced. For every gradation in the phoropter, there is a point of view for which it is 20-20. So, it seems that all experience (everyday, spiritual, etc.) is produced by our perspective. (Just as you point out in your post, change your perspective and your experience changes). Brilliant, I thought.
But then the question arose what is perspective, point of view or vantage - terms that we use comfortably time and again? The more I thought about it, the more it seems that these are just synonyms for experience/awareness/perception/being/etc. And, since THIS, HERE, IT, NOW, BEING or whatever name/signifier one prefers to use is pure mystery (to me, at least, within my cloud of unknowing), then perspective/point of view/vantage are equally mystery. To me, they don't seem to explain experience. In fact, can they even be separated?
But pursue the line of thinking in your post - can perspective/POV/vantage influence, control or manipulate experience? Your post indicates that they can. My personal experience supports that conclusion. With your guidance over the past few years on how to shift my perspective, my experience changed along the lines you describe - there's no longer the sense that there's a seer and what's seen, there's only seeing (at least, on some occasions that can be reliably induced).
That being said, I must confess that perspective/point of view/vantage remain mysterious. Especially, who or what is shifting from one perspective to another. My working hypothesis at this point is that experience and perspective are not two, and "they" arise mutually in the flow of the Now. I hope that exploring more of your posts and You Tube videos will afford more clarity. But even if not, simply resting with and allowing them to flow though me will be enough. (Apologize for all the dualistic word salad. Reading or watching is all and only experiencing. No matter the words we use to describe, there's only Just THIS. Or, as you like to say, Always Just This.)
Thank you again.