Reflection 13

Welcome!


Two-Way Attention

Looking out I see colours and shapes, looking in I find neither colour nor shape – here where others see my face I find boundless awake space. Looking out I see movement, looking in I find no movement – I find stillness – I am stillness. I hear sounds there in silence here, taste flavours there in their absence here, think thoughts there in this no-mind here. All things, which are there, are given in awake space here.

Seeing, hearing, tasting... are all potentially two-way. Normally we focus only on the objects in awareness and overlook the space we are looking out of. When we are unconscious of this space then we are almost certainly assuming that at centre we are a thing, a person. All our behaviour is then issuing from this sense of being a separate self – the 'public' self as opposed to the 'private' Self. Thinking I am only my public self, I imagine myself being face to face with others, separate from them and the world, limited, at risk, mortal, and so on. My behaviour, my relationships, everything I do is conditioned by this view I take of myself – which essentially is the way others see me.

On the other hand, when I am practising two-way attention I am seeing through the illusion that I am a thing at centre. As long as I am aware of this clear awake space at centre then I am operating consciously from the truth that I am not a thing up against the rest of the world but I am capacity for the world; I am not a person separate from others but, no-face to face with them, I am them; I am not contained inside anything, not restricted, not in time, not threatened by death, and so on. This is a profoundly different way of living. I am still aware of my appearance, my individual identity, my public self, but I am aware I am not that person centrally. Now all my actions are flowing consciously from my true self, from the source.

Attend to the space where you are, the clear space that is capacity for your world, including all your thoughts, feelings, sensations – everything. This is living life consciously from the endlessly creative source which is your own being - rather than from an idea or image of yourself. It is living a real life rather than an imagined one – a practical life that includes everything rather than a life that excludes practically everything.

Warm regards,
Richard


Comments

I am left speechless. Or, and, I should say, the situation is a speechless one, a thankful one. Bill.

Hi Richard, this is an amazingly wonderful reflection. I especially appreciate the reminders of the different perspectives we respond from in 3rd person vs 1st person. Thank you so much. With Love, Linda.

I just want to let you know how much I've appreciated these lessons that appear in my inbox every few days. I've been doing Vipassana and other spiritual practices for several years and have benefited a lot from them, but it was Seeing that suddenly made everything that the sages have taught seem perfectly clear. It's been about six months since I first discovered headless seeing and, while the initial novelty is wearing off, it keeps offering startling new insights. And it's something I can practice any time and any where. Candace.

Send your comments to Richard