Has anyone had a dynamic neuro-experience like this???

Joseph Campbell formulated what became his most quoted dictum, "Follow your bliss" in the decade before his death. Join this conversation to explore this idea and share stories.

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Hippinator13
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Has anyone had a dynamic neuro-experience like this???

Post by Hippinator13 »

Many years ago when in prison I had an experience which could only be described as a dynamic neuro-experience that was the accidental result of a system of initiation in a book I received and actually did the practices which included object concentration, meditation, ego-training/self-examination, looking at dreams & remembering my day backwards but I was also taking Buddhist and Hindu courses & doing yoga. I don't like to tell people because I think people might call me a crack pot but I wonder if there is anyone else who had a similar experience? It did not bestow any intellectual knowledge or special powers to me but it does serve as a point of reference that is direct evidence that there is either something very powerful within me or that there are a set of tumblers in the mind that can be lined up to produce a dynamic neuro-experience and maybe ancient people called this 'enlightenment' because it did make me feel like I was lit up or glowing gold and tingling sensations washed over me for many hours. I then ate and went to sleep and ever since then I have lived in a slightly different state of consciousness, like my brain is either maintaining a higher level of neurons firing or possibly releasing neuro-chemicals but it's not nearly as strong as the initial experience. I feel kind of like I am high but I am able to concentrate & go about my life normally. The book said I would go though stages and I did, my dream life changed and I would get sleepy take a short nap have a dream/vision and then I was wide awake and then I got a taste in my mouth that reminded me of the word 'ambrosia' which I later found out means food of the gods. The dream I had with the experience was that I was high up on a mountain and I had little animals in wooden cages and I was letting them out and I took this to mean I had 'ascended my own mountain' and experienced my inner-self and the little animals were my chakras. I will take a lie detector test and even undergo medical examination to see if there is any measurable activity in my brain to prove my condition and experience is true. I am probably of normal intuition and have good understanding but my IQ is an even 100 so I am of average intelligence.

Thank you,

Allen W Anderson

CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

Welcome to the Conversations, Allen.

It seems that your experience came as a distinctly spiritual one. I have never felt the sensations you describe, but there have definitely been transformative moments that changed my spiritual life and the the direction or path I was taking. The changes were positive and significant.

Discovering the work of Joseph Campbell was one of those times.

I would not know how to address your questions about what happened to you, but your account reminds me of passages from a book by Ann Jauregui, PhD, called "Epiphanies: Where Science and Miracles Meet".

~
Last edited by CarmelaBear on Sun Mar 02, 2014 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

Allan,

The eastern sages say that you should find a guide to take advantage of this. My guides were Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts, D. T. Suzuki, and Swami Vivekananda.

Campbell is excellent. He has videos, books, and audio lectures. Soak up as much as you can. In my opinion a door has opened to a treasure house. As Campbell says, spend some time there every day.

Jason Bryant Norris
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Post by Jason Bryant Norris »

Hi Allen,

You are OK! In fact, you are more than OK! On January 9, 1999, I was profoundly eclipsed by a transcendental experience, which altered my life. This came when I by chance read an introductory work on the religion of Buddhism. I was amazed at what it presented. It literally blew me away. And after sincerely wrestling with it for about a week, I suddenly awoke to Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole. Or that is what I called it because I had no other name for it at that time.

You see, I was not a Buddhist. I was just curious. I wasn’t even a Christian, although culturally I might be considered as such. The problem was that after this eclipse, when I decided to tell others about what I experienced, my sanity was questioned. I also saw that those to whom I spoke seemed uncomfortable, even threatened, by what I was suggesting. So to make a long story short, I tried to forget that it ever happened. I tried to forget the knowledge that was opened to me in this moment of transcendence, and I tried to just fit in or “get with the program.”

The sad thing was that this was merely an act, and I was a bad actor. But I carried on this way for sixteen years. And although this time has passed, that moment of transcendence is still as close to me as if it had just happened this morning. I don’t want to be in the closet about this anymore. I believe the knowledge of Radiant Oneness is beautiful and a blessing, and that it is the highlight of a lifetime. But I do understand how this may be unsettling to many people, and that is why it had become a burden to me.

However, three months ago, I decided to write down all the details leading up to this moment of transcendence, all of the details of the knowledge-feelings, knowledge-visions, and knowledge-declarations that were opened to me, and all of the details about the subsequent adjustments (or lack of adjustments) that I made in my life. I did this primarily for my children. I felt that it was the best thing that I could leave them, if I were to be suddenly ripped from their lives.

Then, about two months after writing out this account, I was dumbfounded, stunned, elated, relieved, and I walked about in a daze for about a day and a half because I discovered that the ideas I had endeavored to put down in writing and even many of the metaphors that I used to this end were already in print over a thousand years ago, in the teachings of Jesus, as found in the Thomas Gospel. I had discovered the Patterson & Mayer translation of the Gospel of Thomas, and this marked the start of a new chapter in my life: coming out about my mystical experience.

Feel free to write me. I have never connected with anyone else that has had such an experience. And I have felt very alone about this. So I have taken solace in these words of Jesus, "Congratulations to those who are alone and chosen, for you will find the kingdom. For you have come from it, and you will return there again," and these words of the Buddha, “Better is the gain of Entering the Stream than sole sovereignty over the earth, than going to heaven, than rule supreme over the entire universe.”

Thank you,
Jason

Jason Bryant Norris
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Post by Jason Bryant Norris »

...and "Hi" to CarmelaBear and RonCooper who are also on this thread. :)

CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

Welcome to the Conversations, Jason.

I hope you don't mind my curiosity about details leading up to your experience. I knew only one person who had such an encounter, and it changed everything.

I sincerely thank both you and Allen for sharing your personal stories. It is, indeed a privilege to be in your circle of acquaintance, if only on the net.

~
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene

Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

Jason,

I had this experience in March of 1968. To paraphrase Kabir, the experience lasted for only a few moments but made me a servant for life.

It is called the "Thou art That" experience.

I didn't earn my experience, but I was a compassionate youth. When I think of the question why, Jesus' words come to mind, "Blessed are the pure at heart for they will see God."

I believe that many people have this experience of unity, only not all experience it with their consciousness. They experience it with their hearts, or wills, or intellects.

Ron.

Jason Bryant Norris
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Post by Jason Bryant Norris »

Hi Ron and CarmelaBear,

It is great to find people who are open to these issues!!! I should have joined JCF blogs a long, long time ago. But it took my recent reading of Campbell’s A Hero with a Thousand Faces to alert me to my continued denial of a call to adventure. This was the first step in coming out about this experience. But as Ron just mentioned, these unitive experiences may be more common than people think, if we consider the sense of unity that may be experienced through other channels: heart, will, intellect… And to CarmelBear, I will post what I have written to my children about this transcendental moment. This writing will be part of a larger project that I am working on: Coming out about mystical experiences.

Thanks again,
Jason

Jason Bryant Norris
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Post by Jason Bryant Norris »

Hi again CarmelaBear and Ron. This is what I wrote for my children when they are a little older. It is now part of a broader project I am working on about mystical experiences.

Christ, Buddha, and a Personal Story of Transcendence

I would like to share with you, the best I can, a mystical-transcendental experience which eclipsed me in January of 2000. It was a moment that would profoundly transform my understanding of the world and my experience of it. This mystical-transcendental experience came as I contemplated certain teachings of the Buddha. But after relating this story to you, I will then turn to the teachings of Christ in the Thomas Gospel, which I discovered just after completing this written account. These teachings of Jesus have amazed me because they parallel the ideas and, at times, the metaphors I have conveyed in my personal account of transcendence. This has convinced me that the teachings of Christ and the teachings of Buddha, as well as the knowledge that was opened to me, are in fact one and the same, in that they are all pointing to a common, underlying, rich human experience that is available to everyone.

A Personal Story of Transcendence

Connie and I had arranged a trip to visit her native country of Colombia. It was Christmas break for her, and I had recently graduated from university. So we were off to spend ten days with her relatives in Bogota, the nation’s capital. As we were leaving her house to go to the airport, I remembered that I had nothing to read on the airplane. I quickly looked over her book shelf and something caught my eye. It was a small book called What the Buddha Taught. I had a growing interest in eastern religion and philosophy. In fact, for the three years prior to this trip, I had spent a great deal of time studying at a Hare Krishna temple, and I very nearly took vows to become a devotee. But by this time, I had come to feel that this was not my path, yet I was still seeking something. Since I had never heard what the Buddha taught, I thought this would be a great time to find out. I asked Connie if I could bring the book along. She agreed.

I began to read the book while on the plane, and it so fascinated me that I finished it during the first few days of our stay in Bogota. I was as much surprised by what the book explained as I was by life in Bogota. Both were so different than anything I had ever experienced before, and both took me beyond my everyday assumptions about the world. I decided that I would re-read the book to better understand the Buddha’s teachings, especially that of Anatta, which essentially explains that what you take yourself to be, your very idea of self, is in fact an empty concept, which corresponds to nothing that is real. Each night, I would retire to my room for the evening, and I would read only one chapter. When I finished, I would spend the rest of the time before I fell asleep reviewing what I had read and referencing it with what I knew about the world and with what I believed about myself. I would pass over my body and mind and feelings, trying to see if I could find that which made me me, some form of enduring self or soul. I came to enjoy this careful reading and reflection time so much that I would retire for the evening quite early. Connie even told me that her aunts and grandmother expressed concern about this. But I just said that I was tired because everything was so knew and that it must be draining me. Although I was tired, the truth was that I looked forward to my time alone in reflection. I should note that I had a room to myself, since Connie and I were not yet married, and her family felt more comfortable if we did not sleep together in the same room. I didn’t mind a bit. I completed the book once again, having spent each night of my trip in reflection, one chapter at a time. When I flew home with Connie, I occasionally thought about the fascinating teachings of the Buddha. But I was soon back to my usual life and the everyday world that I knew.

Once home, I turned my attention to other things. One of these was my job. I was working at my mother and step-father’s foliage business. And on one of my first days back, perhaps the very first day, I was sent on an errand. Upon returning from this errand, I was caught in traffic. And while I slowly made my way through the stop and go of the cars, I recalled what I had so deeply considered on my trip to Colombia: the Buddha’s teaching of Anatta. I found it quite compelling. And I delighted in this fascinating possibility. But I was a young man in traffic, so I kept driving. Not a moment later, these contemplations arose in my mind again, and they did with curious effect. As I sat in the car, I looked over at a nearby driver, and it occurred to me that he had no self, no soul, and was fundamentally no different than any other material thing. What is more, I was equally void of self, as well. This filled me with a gentle wave of joyful enthusiasm, which disoriented me. And I came to see my fellow driver in a new way, as if I had penetrated the veil of everyday life. I then thought that, although I was experiencing life in a new way, the other driver may not be, and he may feel uncomfortable with my gazing at him. So, I turned away to look elsewhere. I don’t recall how, but this experience eventually dissipated, and I was back to my usual self.

When I arrived home, I walked to my parents’ foliage business at the rear of our property, and I carried on with my assignments. That day involved potting up seedlings into larger pots. So I gathered the pots and the soil and the other things I needed to get started. As I did, I began to think about that fascinating but unsettling teaching of Anatta. It troubled me this time because I felt that the teaching may indeed be true, but I did not want it to be true! I did not like the inevitable conclusion: no self, no soul, no gain, no continuation… It was a terrible thought! But it was one that so captivated me that I was compelled to overcome it. I had to extinguish this intrusion into my life. And I would do just that. I put myself to the task of finding that one doubtful premise, with which I could justly and honestly dismiss the whole argument of the Buddha and whatever else he may have taught. This I knew I could do, if I but look closely enough.

So I began again with a review of my body, mind, and feelings. I passed over these in careful examination, looking for that enduring self or soul somewhere within me, if only the tiniest grain of sand or spark of light. I passed from my toes to the top of my head and from the edges to the center of my body and from the coarsest to the subtlest sensations, feelings, and thoughts. But time and again, I failed. I could not find anything that could be essentially me. All I found was every-changing energy, with particles here, now there, and vast space between them. There was no fixed point. There was only motion. There wasn’t even an essentially fixed bodily form that I could call myself or my own.

I pushed this inquiry aside and went about my work. But in a few minutes, the pressing matter leaped back into my mind. I couldn’t shake it. So in frustration, I was determined to put an end to this argument. I would find that point at which ‘I am’ and be rid of this nonsense. I began reviewing my body and mind, over and over again. But I could not find any point that I could honestly call myself. This terrified me. I could not accept this conclusion. So I desperately searched again and again, but I was empty. There was nothing to me but motion, energy, particles, and vast amounts of space. I clearly saw that I had no self, no soul, no thing that made me me, nor did I ever have such a thing. I felt terrible. I felt cheated. What was my whole life but some bad joke? What was the purpose of life? Why did I endure so much to have nothing, to keep nothing, as there was nothing there that could have something or keep something? And I understood that there was nothing that would continue at my death which I could call me. So in anguish, I wondered why I was even existing.

Then, I understood why: a mind process called I, me, mine, self, soul (or whatever you want to call it) was a tool for the survival of the body. There it was, as simple as that. What I understood myself to be was nothing more than an expression of the body for its survival through space and time. I was the tool that devised ways to maintain the body and facilitate its reproduction. I was a tool and nothing more. I had come to the end, and the truth was ugly. I felt deflated and misled. And I lost a deep sense of momentum and drive for participation in life. I gave up and accepted the inevitable conclusion to the argument: I had no self, no soul, no thing that made me me. As I did, in my mind’s eye, I saw myself sitting on a front porch as an old man who lived only because life compelled him to live. But, he took no pleasure in life and simply awaited his dissolution. It was at this moment, that I decided that if I corresponded to no self, no soul, nor to anything that will ever gain and continue from the struggles of life, then I would only cooperate with the body to the extent necessary for survival and social functioning and nothing more. To begin with, I would not participate in extraneous thought. And I set about to no longer play with thoughts, which were fundamentally not even mine, and to just keep the mind free until it was actually needed. But to my surprise, thought leaped into my mind. But I was certain that I didn’t think of anything. That was not my intention. So where did that thought come from? I considered this. Then, I let it go, but no sooner did I do that when another thought popped into my mind. I grew frustrated. I refused to be bombarded by thoughts that were neither willed by me nor were even my own. This agitated me, and I recognized this agitation. I realized that this agitation, too, was fundamentally not mine nor were any feelings or emotions. So I let the agitating feelings, emotions, and thoughts slip away. And truly, I let it all go.

A deep, silent stillness settled within me, and I continued to pot the plants. What else was there to do? Then, as if from nowhere, I heard an inner statement: “If I don’t exist, then I don’t have to suffer.” I felt an explosion in my abdomen, adrenaline, panic, fear, joy, ecstasy, I am not sure what, but it was roughly just below the level of my navel and deep within. The blast, as if lightning, shot up the core of my body to the very top of my head. My eyes turned upward so far that they hurt. I couldn’t see, and I began to fall. But, I recognized the physical danger of collapsing on the concrete, where I stood, and I was just able to catch myself by bracing my hands upon my knees. As I crouched, my eyes would not come down form their wound up positions. I paused. I waited. Then, they came down. The first thing I saw were my hands, which I turned palm upwards. And it was then that I realized for the first time in my life that they were not ‘my’ hands, nor had they ever been ‘my’ hands, because I, as an entity separate from all matter-energy never existed. Rather, there was only One Radiant Universal Whole of ever moving, ever changing matter-energy, of which these hands were but one tiny part and this consciousness was but one tiny part. And it was as if this consciousness, this body, had become an organ of the Universal Whole, a cosmic eye witnessing itself. There were no distinctions in any absolute sense. And this was so obvious, so close, that like the nose upon my face, I had overlooked the fact my whole life, yet it had always been the case. It was only extraordinary to the extent that it was so ordinary that I had never noticed or paid attention to it. And I laughed at myself, at how I had misunderstood something so immediately verifiable. I basked in the satisfaction of loving completion in the warmth, fluidity, and boundlessness of Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole, which was of no need, no fear, no separation, no loss, no birth, no death, no limits, no destination, but joy beyond joy beyond joy.

I continued to pot the plants. What more was there to do? I was complete and unburdened and no more. As I potted the plants, I witnessed the beauty of the passing plant forms and dirt forms and plastic pot forms and the hand and arm forms in the field of my vision. But periodically, my sight was eclipsed by inner images, each with an implied meaning, which was immediately apprehended. Of what I remember, they were as follows:

I see a lifeless, dusty planet. I understand that this is the moment before all life, and that life emerged through conditions upon conditions within and upon this silent planet, which could be Earth, as well as any other life inspiring planet. I understand that there is no fundamental distinction between the animate and inanimate. These are arbitrary lines of division that are created by thought.

I see a cow. It is leashed to a post. It is dark, and I am to slaughter this cow. I approach. I see the light of the moon reflected in its glossy black eye, along with the fear of death. I feel deep compassion for the animal, which needlessly suffers from the fear of death. “The poor creature thinks it is itself,” is the thought that arose within me. I understand that there is no division between life and death, and fear arises when this is not understood.

I see that I am nude in public. People demonstrate their anxiety about my nudity. I understand that they mistake their body for themselves, and this is a misunderstanding. We are neither the body nor its mental actions, but One in the Universal Whole.

I see my step-father, who is my primary father figure. He has been beaten by another man. I understand that my step-father and his aggressor are One. There are no victims or perpetrators. There is only understanding of Radiant Oneness or misunderstanding.

I see that I have been violated, raped by another man. I understand that the victim and the perpetrator are One in the Universal Whole. To misunderstand this is to suffer, for there is only the joy of understanding or the sorrow of misunderstanding.

I see that I have been imprisoned and placed into solitary confinement within a prison complex. Someone has tried to persecute and punish me for some unknown reason, but I understand that I am unreachable because I am no more, but One in the Universal Whole. On the contrary, it is those that are entangle in the mind process called I, me, mine, self, or soul who are imprisoned, for that is inherently the experience of solitary confinement.

I see that I am a soldier. There is a battle. I must kill, and I may be killed. Killing and dying are of no importance, and there is nothing to fear. It is only the play of matter-energy. Nothing is ever gained or lost. Matter-energy is in continual rebirth, recreation, from moment to moment. I understand that we are passing expressions in an eternal flux of becoming.

I see a succession of Buddhist monks, who walk single file in their saffron robes. I see that they do not realize Radiant Oneness. I understand that no action suffices to awaken one to this truth, not even piety or good deeds, but only that of total and complete self-surrender.

I see a golden, effulgent, and luminous face of a Buddha image. It fills my vision. It floats before me, awesome and sublime. Beyond it extends that which is incomprehensible in its magnitude. I nod to this face. And we commune in mutual recognition of Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole.

I drop a plant that I was potting, and I understand that even with clear awareness and clear intention, unobstructed by the mind process called I, me, mine, self, or soul, miscalculation can still occur. It is due to the limitations of the local manifestation, which is the human form and its mental actions.

My mother, who was working in the office just to my left, calls me over. I approach her and receive instruction about the upcoming tasks for the day. I look into her face, and while doing so, I hear an inner statement: “Matter thinks it is itself.” I recognize that she is unaware of Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole, and that she has identified herself with a process of the mind called I, me, mine, self, or soul. I see suffering and fear in her eyes, which I understand to stem from the fear of dissolution, death. On the surface, her eyes reflect the tunnel vision of misunderstanding. I say nothing. What needs to be said?

I continue my work duties while experiencing existence as if it were a spring bubbling up from within, and not as a river flowing somewhere, with a beginning point and end point bound in time. And this bubbling spring is central, equipoised, and sublime, and it is ceaselessly bubbling into existence. And each moment uniquely bubbles forth to be replaced by yet another unique moment, in an unending flow of becoming, anew, anew, anew.

After what could have been no more than two hours (when looking back on it) my parents called it a day. As they left their office with Connie, they asked me to join them in watching a big game. It was January 9, 1999, the AFC playoffs. I walked with them towards the house. We took our seats on the patio near the television that was outside. I watched everyone moving about so concerned with their own affairs, while I sat equipoised and fulfilled and musing over the fact that they could not see what was so clear: that none of them had an identity that was separate from that of the Universal Whole. I watched them, and I watched the TV. I was unmoved while my family’s feelings swung from elation to disappointment and back again, as the events of the game unfolded. Then, at some critical moment, I found that I had leaped up in excitement with my family as they cheered. It was reflexive, and it surprised me. At that moment, I felt the sublime feelings lurch away. Radiant Oneness was obscured as I became separated from the experience of the Universal Whole. My world rapidly contracted. I felt both sides of my abdomen, at roughly the level of my navel and deep within, tighten and bolt down into hard knots, one on each side. It was an uncomfortable tightness. My first thoughts were literally as follows: “Wow! That’s hot (referring to the Buddha’s teachings). But, I want to live! I will return to this later.” Such were the Buddha’s teachings to me, and I put them aside, without telling anyone of these experiences.

Today

Sixteen years later, I can say that I have lived. I have seen life for myself. And I have had the opportunity to examine my experience of life in separation alongside my experience of Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole. Now, I am ready to come out about my mystical-transcendental experience. I am ready to share what I have discovered. That is why I have written this account.

Additionally, two months after writing this, I discovered the teachings of Jesus in the Thomas Gospel, which were unearthed in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in December 1945. The Stephen Patterson and Marvin Meyer translation I encountered amazed me because Jesus’ teachings parallel the knowledge that was opened to me in Radiant Oneness, and at times, they even use the same metaphors I have used in writing my personal account.

But please know that all words, especially those such as self, soul, god, and spirit, or “Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole” for that matter, when used as metaphors, point to something beyond their ability to describe. But when they are used to label something within their ability to describe, they point to something much, much smaller in scope. I say this to avoid possible confusion that may arise when these ambiguous terms are used here. Ultimately, you will have to think loosely and organically when addressing these issues.

Some of the parallels between the teachings of Jesus and the knowledge that was opened to me in Radiant Oneness are as follows:

Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away.
Jesus said, "Two will recline on a couch; one will die, one will live."
Jesus said, “Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed…”

I said: “I had come to the end, and the truth was ugly. I felt deflated and misled. And I lost a deep sense of momentum and drive for participation in life. I gave up and accepted the inevitable conclusion to the argument: I had no self, no soul, no thing that made me me.”

Jesus said, “…When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"
Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you.

I said, “The first thing I saw were my hands, which I turned palm upwards. And it was then that I realized for the first time in my life that they were not ‘my’ hands, nor had they ever been ‘my’ hands, because I, as an entity separate from all matter-energy never existed. Rather, there was only One Radiant Universal Whole of ever moving, ever changing matter-energy, of which these hands were but one tiny part and this consciousness was but one tiny part.”

Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you.

I said, “And this was so obvious, so close, that like the nose upon my face, I had overlooked the fact my whole life, yet it had always been the case.”

Jesus said, "Congratulations to the one who came into being before coming into being.

Jesus said, "When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]."
Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."

I said, “And it was as if this consciousness, this body, had become an organ of the Universal Whole, a cosmic eye witnessing itself. There were no distinctions in any absolute sense.”

I said, “I see a lifeless, dusty planet. I understand that this is the moment before all life, and that life emerged through conditions upon conditions within and upon this silent planet, which could be Earth, as well as any other life inspiring planet. I understand that there is no fundamental distinction between the animate and inanimate. These are arbitrary lines of division that are created by thought.”

Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will roll up in your presence, and whoever is living from the living one will not see death."

I said, “I see a cow. It is leashed to a post. It is dark, and I am to slaughter this cow. I approach. I see the light of the moon reflected in its glossy black eye, along with the fear of death. I feel deep compassion for the animal, which needlessly suffers from the fear of death. “The poor creature thinks it is itself,” is the thought that arose within me. I understand that there is no division between life and death, and fear arises when this is not understood.”

Mary said to Jesus, "What are your disciples like?" He said, "They are like little children living in a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Give us back our field.' They take off their clothes in front of them in order to give it back to them, and they return their field to them.

His disciples said, "When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?" Jesus said, "When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children and trample then, then [you] will see the son of the living one and you will not be afraid."

I said, “I see that I am nude in public. People demonstrate their anxiety about my nudity. I understand that they mistake their body for themselves, and this is a misunderstanding. We are neither the body nor its mental actions, but One in the Universal Whole.”
Jesus said, "I took my stand in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty. My soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty. But meanwhile they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, then they will change their ways."

I said, “I see my step-father, who is my primary father figure. He has been beaten by another man. I understand that my step-father and his aggressor are One. There are no victims or perpetrators. There is only understanding of Radiant Oneness or misunderstanding.”

I said, “I see that I have been violated, raped by another man. I understand that the victim and the perpetrator are One in the Universal Whole. To misunderstand this is to suffer, for there is only the joy of understanding or the sorrow of misunderstanding.”

I said, “I see that I have been imprisoned and placed into solitary confinement within a prison complex. Someone has tried to persecute and punish me for some unknown reason, but I understand that I am unreachable because I am no more, but One in the Universal Whole. On the contrary, it is those that are entangle in the mind process called I, me, mine, self, or soul who are imprisoned, for that is inherently the experience of solitary confinement.”

Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'Where have you come from?' say to them, 'We have come from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established [itself], and appeared in their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?' say, 'We are its children, and we are the chosen of the living Father.' If they ask you, 'What is the evidence of your Father in you?' say to them, 'It is motion and rest.'"

I said, “I see that I am a soldier. There is a battle. I must kill, and I may be killed. Killing and dying are of no importance, and there is nothing to fear. It is only the play of matter-energy. Nothing is ever gained or lost. Matter-energy is in continual rebirth, recreation, from moment to moment. I understand that we are passing expressions in an eternal flux of becoming.”

His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" Jesus said, "It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, 'Look, here!' or 'Look, there!' Rather, the Father's kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people don't see it."

His disciples said to him, "When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?" He said to them, "What you are looking forward to has come, but you don't know it."

I said, “I see a succession of Buddhist monks, who walk single file in their saffron robes. I see that they do not realize Radiant Oneness. I understand that no action suffices to awaken one to this truth, not even piety or good deeds, but only that of total and complete self-surrender.”

Jesus said, "Images are visible to people, but the light within them is hidden in the image of the Father's light. He will be disclosed, but his image is hidden by his light."

I said, “I see a golden, effulgent, and luminous face of a Buddha image. It fills my vision. It floats before me, awesome and sublime, beyond it extends that which is incomprehensible in its magnitude. I nod to this face. And we commune in mutual recognition of Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole.”

Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered the body, and whoever has discovered the body, of that one the world is not worthy."

Jesus said, "Damn the flesh that depends on the soul. Damn the soul that depends on the flesh."

Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty."

When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."

I said, “My mother, who was working in the office just to my left, calls me over. I approach her and receive instruction about the upcoming tasks for the day. I look into her face, and while doing so, I hear an inner statement: “Matter thinks it is itself.” I recognize that she is unaware of Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole, and that she has identified herself with a process of the mind called I, me, mine, self, or soul. I see suffering and fear in her eyes, which I understand to stem from the fear of dissolution, death. On the surface, her eyes reflect the tunnel vision of misunderstanding. I say nothing. What needs to be said?”

Jesus said, “You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence, and you do not know how to examine the present moment.”

Jesus said, "I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended."

I said, “I continue my work duties while experiencing existence as if it were a spring bubbling up from within, and not as a river flowing somewhere, with a beginning point and end point bound in time. And this bubbling spring is central, equipoised, and sublime, and it is ceaselessly bubbling into existence. And each moment uniquely bubbles forth to be replaced by yet another unique moment, in an unending flow of becoming, anew, anew, anew.”

I said, “It was only extraordinary to the extent that it was so ordinary that I had never noticed or paid attention to it. And I laughed at myself, at how I had misunderstood something so immediately verifiable. I basked in the satisfaction of loving completion in the warmth, fluidity, and boundlessness of Radiant Oneness in the Universal Whole, which was of no need, no fear, no separation, no loss, no birth, no death, no limits, no destination, but joy beyond joy beyond joy.”

Closing

Again, you will have to think loosely and organically when addressing these issues. If you do, I am certain that something amazing will awaken within you, too. The similarities in the teachings of Christ, the teachings of Buddha, and the knowledge-feelings, knowledge-visions, and knowledge-declarations that were opened to me in a moment of transcendence have convinced me that they are all pointing to a common, underlying, rich human experience that is available to everyone, always!

CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

I read every word with fascination. There are general points of joy beyond joy and oneness and light and an experience available to all. It is mystical in a familiar sense. I live this way. It is my life.

There have been many male figures who have articulated their experience and teachings in ways that have no parallel in a world that seriously understands the female. The idea that befuddled me is that male expression, through man Jesus and man Buddha, is universal and human, while female is other and dual and outside and somehow identical and inseparable and perhaps irrelevant to the human Oneness of man. There is the One Jesus-Buddha and his experience is THE experience, because it is expressed and taught and disseminated and adapted to everything as central and first and last and Whole, with applicability to everyone without need for more or less. It is beyond judgment or question.

That part, the part with the details, feels unfamiliar and in need of transformation and translation and it cries out to be completely transcended.

Certain metaphors, like the "kingdom of the father", seem off to one side. If you had said, "plantation of the master", the effect would have been similar. Such details serve to hamper understanding.

I am drawn to the larger picture. No self. No birth. No death. Bubbling spring. Joy beyond joy. No hands. No mind. No victims or perpetrators. No suffering. Each one is part of a Whole. These are principles of which I am intimately and deeply familiar.

Campbell calls our attention to experience. It begins and ends with a powerful knowledge of Being.

~

Thank you for the exquisite account of your experience. I feel like a guest at a great banquet of thoughts and memories, both personal and atomized throughout the Whole, spread everywhere like a cloud of softly and quietly enveloping truth.

Language is a weak vehicle for human experience of the ultimate or essential, and it will have to suffice until the Gutenberg of expression enters the field of enlightenment. We live in an age that precedes the "singularity". The lack of such expression stifles our ability to comprehend and communicate Oneness.

~

What an extraordinary gift to give your children. Outstanding.

Again, my sincere gratitude for a fine post.

~
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene

Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

In my opinion Jason had a profound experience. The type that takes many years to unravel.

I do not agree that the Buddha and Jesus taught the same path. The Buddha taught the path of consciousness, which the Hindus call Raja Yoga, whereas Jesus taught the path of love which later became Bhakti Yoga.

I have a theory that Jesus was actually giving voice to the Goddess. Let me explain.

At that time Jewish society was patriarchal and on top of that they had been conquered by a male army. The feminine was doubly oppressed. Into this testosterone environment steps a young man preaching love.

The Goddess was silenced and no woman was allowed to speak and so he stepped up. He put into words his mother's message. The path of unconditional love.

It is one of the great paths, yet even today it is devalued.

CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

Roncooper wrote:In my opinion Jason had a profound experience. The type that takes many years to unravel.

I do not agree that the Buddha and Jesus taught the same path. The Buddha taught the path of consciousness, which the Hindus call Raja Yoga, whereas Jesus taught the path of love which later became Bhakti Yoga.
Did I imply that Jason's experience was anything but extremely profound? If I did, it was not my intent. I have experienced emotional events in my life that may fall into a similar category, and I appreciate that he is light years ahead of most people in his account and understanding and expression of his experience. I am nowhere near being able to recall and explain such experiences, and I'm not sure anything I might say on the topic could approach Jason's advanced level of comprehension.

Did I say that Jesus and Buddha had the same path? If so, that was not my intent. What they share is the accident and status of gender.

There are lots of reasons why women were not the celebrity Great Teachers, (a subject I leave to you and other experts). I expect that women and men will change as feminist ideals become more common and accepted.

Until the Great Teachers are women, the best articulated and publicized expositions of the qualities and values associated with the feminine god and the female god tend to emanate from the mouths of sons, embodied in the Buddha and Jesus.

That needs to change. Some day, the adult woman who does not have children will not be referred to as "childless", (a term I've never heard applied to a man). She will speak for herself and she will become recognized as a Great Teacher like Jesus or Buddha.

~

So sayeth CarmelaBear.

~
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene

CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

Oh, also, people do like love. What is there not to like, right? It is as sweet as apple pie.

We just know from hard knock, real life experience that love is not always effective. The "turn the other cheek" ideal is found in nearly all the Christian leaders' rhetoric, but these same love-likers consistently and predictably go to war and stay at war in order to "protect" big business and other people's precious cheeks.

Motherly love has another side to it. Just saying.

~
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene

Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

Carmela,

I was just throwing out ideas. I didn't mean any of it to be taken in a personal way.

I am sorry if it seemed that way. I was never good at interpersonal skills.

Jason was implying that Jesus and Buddha represented the same path and I was giving my opinion. I am happy to hear you agree with me. I rarely have someone agree with me.

I look forward to a feminine messiah. Perhaps she can throw out the money changers for good.

Jason Bryant Norris
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Post by Jason Bryant Norris »

Wow, you guys seem quite passionate about these things! That’s great. If you are open to it, I will post more on this Mysticism project as I develop it. I would love to read your feedback. It would be very helpful.

As for this mystical-transcendental experience that I have related, it surprised me and blew me away. It opened certain things, but “Radiant Oneness” is now obscured, and I feel separated from the “Universal Whole.” Yet, at times, there is this memory…

As for the paths taught by Jesus and the Buddha, I am not sure if they are the same. I do not know much more about the Buddhist path than what I read in that introductory book that I mentioned in the account. I’m not a Buddhist. As for my knowledge about Jesus’ path, it only amounts to what a child would have learned in Sunday school up until the age of 8 years. And I’m not a Christian.

Even so, I find that I do not have much choice in believing that the teachings of Jesus and Buddha do point to a common, underlying rich human experience, regardless of pathways to it. But I understand that this belief may not be reasonable, as it is a feeling that has arisen in me.

Thanks again for your comments. They are very helpful.
J





:) :)

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