Redemption & Consciousness
In the world of material things, redemption is an exchange of a coupon or voucher for a discount on a product. It also covers a buy back of a product from a pawn shop for a thing one pawned. The basic idea is to get something for less or to get something back. The thing is then redeemed.
In the world of material things, consciousness is an awareness of the material realm which includes form, feelings, perceptions, impulses and thinking. It is what the conditioned ego uses to navigate the world of things and others.
On a spiritual level redemption begins with an honest study of one’s constructed ego. Before we are able to redeem the value of this study we need to have a glimpse of reality. Here is one such glimpse.
The boundless field of emptiness is what is there from the very beginning and you are that boundless field. But, you do not know IT as you because the ego has constrained your ability and convinces you are IT versus IT is you.
This self study is not a study of judging, measuring, splitting, attaching or any other material grasp on the self. It requires a non-judgemental acceptance of being hoodwinked by the conditioned self. Here’s an example of how we are hoodwinked.
I am someone. I am a person who must travel. I am kind someone. I am a smart someone. I am know-it-all someone.
The moment we claim the “I” as something or another we have been tricked. The trick results in a self-centered identity that is a mirage. It appears to be real meaning permanent, but it is not permanent. The “I” is a thing that changes. It is impermanent. But we are duped by it again and again and again.
What does the duping look like?
It looks like thoughts such as : How dare they speak to me like that! I know more than him. I am miserable. I am very lucky. I am sad. I feel lost. I am ugly.
In other words, the duped self identifies with the external conditons of the world. This leads to a roller coaster ride of pleasure/pain, gain/loss, praise/blame, and fame/shame. These states of existence are inseparable and they are indications of who is ruling our life. The ego. The condtioned, impermanent structure that waffles between self-importance and self-deprecation. It is the reactive self in the material realm.
Redemption and consciousness requires selflessness. The ego-self is a reactionary. It reacts to the external, material realm. Stuff, people, things of all shapes and sizes. AND…it blocks the boundless field of emptiness which represents our true nature. The reactionary ego is akin to a thief, a crook, a villain that usurps and hides our true nature. When we know this for ourselves we cash in our coupon and are aware of our eternal nature.
CAUTION: As long as we rely on and identify our self as the ego-centric conditioning, our selfish interests override and cover the clear light that is everpresent. We are the boundless field that is there from the very beginning.
When we polish ourselves to look better we are merely polishing the false, self-centered self. Redemption is not cleaning up the ego, it is a mystical experience beyond the realms of right and wrong. It is has nothing to do with good works, or paying back, or making up for…it is a leaping clear.
Do not be duped by the selfish ego-self. Drop it. Otherwise, we have merely identified ourself with the ever-changing, unreliable material world of things.
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