Our True Nature

When we Sleep

Our True Nature has been described in many ways using many words - some of which are

• Awareness

• Consciousness

• Aliveness

• Intelligence Energy

• Eternal, Universal and Non Personal

• and that Our True Nature is beyond words, is ineffable, beyond concepts.

The actuality is that is IS beyond words and concepts as it is prior to words and concepts.

Words and concepts are Objects that appear in Consciousness, in our True Nature.

Questions, indeed apparent paradoxes, can arise when one of the above - or one of those not listed above - is taken to be the Truth - this is how it REALLY is.

With respect to sleeping - the question can arise -"What happens to Awareness when we are asleep?" It is apparently assumed that Awareness goes away, or is switched off when we are asleep as we are "not aware".

But our true Nature is not encapsulated in the term and its attendant concept "Awareness".

If it is taken that the word "Aliveness" (and its attendant concepts) encapsulates our True Nature then the question about our going to sleep does not arise. After all - we do not die when sleeping occurs and it would not occur to anyone to ask the question. When the body wakes up we find that it is not dead! (joke).

Our True Nature is beyond words and it is the latching onto a particular set of words that gives the opportunity for the mind to generate this question.

The question itself is based on a false premise, which when cleared up dissolves the question.

Our True Nature is Universal - it is the One Life and there is no separate "you" and there is no separate "me". There is no separate soul or entity there at all.

So there is no "we" or "me" that apparently goes to sleep. It just does not exist.

The question - "What happens to Awareness when we are asleep?" assumes that there is a separate individual that "sleeps" when other individuals do not.

So the question evaporates as does the apparent paradox that it implies.

The terms " Awareness", "Consciousness", "Aliveness", "Intelligence Energy" and " Eternal, Universal and Non Personal" are just what is "seems like". They are just words and are not proscriptive or elucidate our essential nature.

Perhaps " Eternal, Universal and Non Personal" is most useful and it in fact says what it is NOT.

Our True Nature is Not bounded by time, Not bounded by Space or Position and there is No entity there at all (No Self).

Not much there to latch onto. What do you do with three "not's" ?

At a meeting at "Sailor" Bob Adamson's place in 2007 Bob was asked about Consciousness and Awareness. His only comment was "Why separate them?"

Ramana Maharshi was asked about the three states of Consciousness and he replied that they was only one - which was always present, and it was not a state. He added that the so called "3 states" were only for the purposes of analytical discussion.

As the great Ch'an Master Fung Yu-lan observed (wonderful sense of humour)

"Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated"

Our True Nature is beyond the mind, beyond thoughts, beyond concepts.

Ramana Maharshi once remarked

"The state of pure being, which is common to all and which is always experienced directly by everybody, is one's true nature."

It is closer than your next breath, closer than your jugular vein.

No need for concepts about it.

No need for any concepts about it at all.

Written by Mike Graham, 11 September 2009, last edited 10 Nov 2009