WE

LIVE IN TWO WORLDS David Blumenthal, Gonzalo Ordonez, Ronald Barnard Summary

We view the world as separated into two different realms: the empirical world, including everything we can perceive and describe, and the transcendental world, including that which looks out of our eyes and has no physical attributes that we can presently conceptualize. All our thoughts, emotions are in fact part of the perceptual world and are not created by us. The essence of us, our Individualness belongs to the transcendental world. Realizing this, despite the psychological temptations of The Accuser, leads to a transformation of anguish into a deeper awakening to oneself.

WE LIVE IN TWO WORLDS Introduction This is a formulation regarding the nature of reality with a specific focus on the dynamics and structure of the human experience. It is presented in deepest humility. Truth is the same for each of us yet each individuals view of Truth is unique. What follows is one view presented in the hope that it is consistent, cogent and inviting of further exploration and discovery. Most importantly the over-arching consideration and spirit that hopefully breathes through it is that human life is difficult. Physical pain is inherent and anguish of the soul is inevitable. No conceptualization can bridge the gap between theoretical abstraction and the unwordable vividness and compelling quality of the lived moment. Yet words are what we have. It is the fervent wish that some of these words invite deeper awakening to a level of gentleness and hope and the healing of the real angst of being a human being. Two Worlds Our truest knowledge is that our inner selves are different from the world we perceive. While we can describe the world outside us, we cannot describe the thing that looks out of our eyes. It has no shape or even location. Yet this thing is as real as the world we perceive. There seem to be two different worlds. Represent one world, metaphorically, by a vast ephemeral globe, a globe without parameter. Floating within this mystical "space", which actually is spatially, temporally and perceptually void, is a much smaller globe whose parameter is as crisply defined and perceivable as the matrix is beyond human conceptualization. 1 Practicing Psychoanalyst, MSW, ScD, STM, Indianapolis, IN 2 Associate Professor, Ph D, Physics and Astronomy Department, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 3 Practicing Psychotherapist, MA, Indianapolis IN David Blumenthal1, Gonzalo Odonez2, Ronald Barnard3

 The "vast" matrix is the Absolute World; the smaller globe is the empirical universe, the Relative World. We live in both worlds; we are IN both yet we are OF the Absolute World. The Relative World is the arena of perception, the world within which the perceptual scenarios of our human experiences unfold. We reside in the Absolute World yet visit within the Relative World. It is as if we were both within a stage play in which we are perceptually participating and at the same time seated comfortably in our seats in the audience. The metaphorical boundary between these worlds is the Eternal Now, a continuous series of what might in physics be called "singularities. These "singularities" are situated between the past moment and the next moment. These "moments" exist in the "tween" state between worlds. A moment within which the next empirical scene is created from the space that is not within ordinary time, space or perception. Envision the Eternal Now as represented by a vertical line on a blank page. The left side of the line is the zone of Absolute. The right side of the line is the zone of the Relative. The left side is Life and the right side is the zone of creation, our human scenario occurs there. We ARE that which is in the zone of life and we HAVE that which is in the zone of creation. Image an eye situated on the boundary line, the vertical line, separating Absolute from Relative. The eye is peering out of the zone of Absolute into the zone of Relative. The field of perception of the eye is the Cone of Creation". That is to say that the individual's field of perception is also the field of creation. That which one perceives is also that which has been created through the individual from the zone of Absolute.

 Our perceptual field includes not only our sensory perceptions, but also the psychological experiences of thoughts and emotions. We are easily tempted to believe that our thoughts and emotions constitute our selves. Yet all thoughts with their "background music" of emotions are, like all perception, GIVEN and not DONE by the individual. We receive psychology as we do the sense perceptions. We have no part in their creation. It is important to appreciate that that which you perceive either through the senses or psychologically as thoughts and emotions are NOT YOU. Perceptions of any kind are a NOT YOU. While within the human experience we will not tend to identify ourselves with our sense perceptions we will reflexively identify with our psychologically experienced perceptions. All perceptual events, the entire flow of

the human scenario, occur prior to cognition. The realm of the creation of the moments of the human experience is absolutely beyond the parameters of perception. The capacity to discern self from non-self is an essential ability in the endeavor to gain a sense of inner peace. It would seem that without exceptionally precise observation we will find ourselves worshipping perception as if our inner equilibrium was dependent upon outer circumstance. This worship of perceptual events encourages the illusion of personal power and control. It is our good fortune that we have no influence in either of these two areas.4 Prior to crossing the point of Eternal Now Individualness has no perceptual arena of experience. This is a state of pure BE. As soon as Individualness enters into the empirical world and is given, within it, a garment of individuality, the BE becomes BEING. In other words, we transition from a noun state to a verb state, from BE to BEING, within the human sojourn. As BE we are fully one with Allness, with Source. As BEING we seem to be self-standing. Self-standing is an illusion, we are always and in literally all ways totally unified, at one with, Source. In the World of Absolute we ARE, we ARE life, we ARE consciousness, etc. In the World of Relative we seem to HAVE things, we seem to have to strive to have, to seek, to control. The unfolding scenario speaks divine wisdom continuously to us, yet so far as we are captivated by the world of perception we are for the most part deaf to this wisdom, which is present to us in every aspect of the living moment. The intimacy of our true relationship to Allness is forever with us in every aspect of every human moment. We are never abandoned no matter how dark is our perspective. In Absolute we are WHAT while in Relative we are WHO. WHO is the vehicle that WHAT infuses for the perceptual scenario in which we find ourselves. WHO is equipped as an entire persona with memories, characterological considerations as well as physical structure. Again it must be clearly appreciated that no matter how dramatic is the perceptual scenario, individualness, WHAT, is never distant or separated in any manner from Allness, from Source. Throughout the perceptual journeys of individualness into the various relative worlds of perception, no matter how clouded our deeper inner vision becomes, there is present a continuous current toward unity. This current might be seen as 4 Any attempt to describe the physics of the human experience and the deeper essence of

individualness seems to be utterly beyond the capacity of human conceptualization. We, as singleness are locked into a limited perspective. Singleness as contrasted with Allness is bound into a linear viewpoint as we ride an arrow of time. Reality is organic, global, in constant transition, created from Source with which we are both fully united, fully one with, yet at the same time fully unique in our individualness.

the continuous flow of purpose or intention. Therefore in the most profound sense it could be said that Wisdom is the Shepherd, at all times and in all ways. Consciousness The Transcendental Field is the field of consciousness, or as far into Absolute as we, within the human experience, can peer. Consciousness seems to have two aspects, the transcendent aspect, Allness, and the imminent aspect of Singleness. Everything is within consciousness, yet everything is not within the light of awareness. Allness and Singleness are fully united, are one, although Singleness is not Allness. Allness is absolutely unique in Allness and Singleness is unique in Singleness yet they are fully one. Each Singleness is unique and yet equal to every other Singleness. This is the very essence of individualness. It is this individualness that lives out the human experience. In other words, we are spiritual beings; Individualnesses of the fabric of pure consciousness, having a human experience as individuality. Consciousness for individuality appears to have two distinct types of experience, perceptual experience and direct experience. It is well for us to consider all perceptual experience to be not us. Singleness simply has no power whatsoever to create perception. The entire range of perceptual creation is within the realm of Allness alone. This distinction is of prime significance. We CANNOT CREATE A PERCEPTUAL MOMENT! Within the empirical world this fundamental truth often is lost within the vividness and seductive quality of the ongoing human scenario. The human experience of the empirical world has a dynamic structure to it that includes both the careful observation of perceptual phenomena, as in the field of physics, and the careful observation of inner "more direct" experiences of consciousness. An example: All psychological experiences are perceptions. The entire field of psychology is an arena of perception. We don't DO the inner perceptual experiences that we have; rather we perceive them. We simply do nothing whatsoever to make these inner perceptions occur any more than we make the weather to occur. Now the difficulty seems to be this: sense perceptions have, as it were, no agenda. Sense perceptions, sight, sound, touch, etc., can be taken for just as they are. However on the other hand, psychological perceptions, thoughts, emotions, feelings, have an agenda. Psychology is flavored by judgment. Thinking tends to be deceptive; power, importance and control tend to be their flavor. In our current state of spiritual evolution we start being ignorant, confused and un-awakened. Whenever our sense of inner peace is disturbed, in any way at all, we have, so to speak, been lied to and accused. Yet the lies are logically seamless and the thoughts seem to come in our own voice. It is reflexively easy to lose the distinction between a true experience and an experience of truth. These inner, psychological experiences are vivid, gripping of our faith, logical, yet untruthful to the core.

When individualness enters the empirical world, when the vehicle of individuality is infused into individualness, we enter into the world of BEING. We perceive ourselves to be enclosed within individuality and tend to lose the reality of our more profound self, Individualness. We then tend to experience ourselves as self- standing and fragmented from our origins. The Accuser Conceptualize a spiritual dynamic belonging to the Transcendental Field. As it were, this spiritual dynamic has a job commissioned by Allness to do specific tasks: being the messenger of the perceptions of psychology and bringing the experience of judgment into the human world. Judgment lurks beneath every moment of the ongoing life experience. The human experience is a difficult one. The experience of difficulty is not to be, in truth, taken personally. Yet the Accuser would have us see moments of unease to be personally caused by our deep psychological experience of flawedness. The Accuser must be faithful to its assignment. There are numerous flavors of judgment: fragmentation, self-standingness, materiality, power, control, etc. The Accuser reflexively virtually impels us to identify with perception as absolute reality. Our focus of faith is reflexively directed toward the appearance of cause and effect as existing within the literalness of the empirical scenario. Since the Accuser is a spiritual entity, we are known from the inside, so to speak. In other words the Accuser knows us better than we know ourselves so that we are all absolutely vulnerable to attacks from that direction. It is of utmost importance for the finding of a comfortable accord with our nature that we awaken to the fact of the Accuser. Otherwise we charge ourselves with the creation of our own inner pain. We are not the cause of our distress! We participate in the distress that we experience in the manner of our ignorance being exploited. There will always be pockets of sensitivity within our individuality. The very contours of our given nature makes these fault lines" inevitable. It is at these lines" the Accuser directs the propaganda efforts. Why questions are invited, as if the anguish is personally created. The experienced logic is so compelling that we tend to remain caught in a psychological position that is both a vividly true experience yet not an experience of truth. The Accuser is helping to teach us about ourselves. It is not an individual character, really; it is part of our process of awakening. At a higher level of development the Accuser becomes a good friend. Yet within the human arena this vision is hard to achieve.

The Human Experience As individuals being human we live out the empirical scenario between two contrasting poles. This contrast both gives the scenario substance and pulls us deeply into it. One pole could be called Unity and the other called Fragmentation. Words like truth and confusion, material and spirit, etc. might also be used as contrasting considerations. As individuals we have a "focus of faith". This focus is called worship. We will worship; this is an imperative. The question is what will be the focus of this worship, this focus of faith. This is a dynamic that for the most part is reflexive; that is, the person is usually totally unawakened to this powerful dynamic. The tension of the poles, current of intention toward unity within the frame of the absolute uniqueness and absolute equality of each individual, is the ground within which the drama of the human experience is played out. The ground of consciousness of each is equal for each of us whether we are an Einstein or an idiot, in the acme of physical condition or critically ill. Consciousness is not measurable by quantity or quality; its source is the same for all. We live out a given mission whether or not we are somewhat awakened to that fact. The human experience can be viewed from at least two directions. We can consider the features that are universal in all of our lives or we can consider the features that are particular to each of us as unique individuals. However, fundamentally life is not a problem to be solved but it is a mystery to be appreciated. The human experience has a binary and rhythmic organizational base. All creation, life itself, is to be seen as an integrated whole. Each part is perfectly suited to every other part. There is no out of placeness, no essential pathology, no matter how little this consideration does not often accord with our human experience. The scenario of creation occurs between the two poles of Absolute and Relative. We who are sojourning within the human experience are subjected to this tension. We are pulled reflexively by the Spirit of the World, the Accuser, to compete with the Creator. The phantasy promise of power and control warped by a false sense of perceived personal judgment invites us to believe that we can repair the unbroken. The basic sense of brokenness seems to be a universal psychological perception sent to us by the Accuser. The perceptual realm of psychology is inescapable, contrary to the realm of the sense perceptions where we can just close our eyes to unattractive visions or plug our ears to shut out unwanted sound. Psychology has an intimate grip on us on an almost a cellular level. We cannot seem to help the reflex to take these thoughts and emotions as both literary truthful and as our own doing. There is constant tension between the actual experience of anguish and any insight into the untruthfulness of the experience. Yet that insight can sometimes lead to a transformation of anguish into a deeper awakening to oneself. An awakening that has the anguish become a doorway to closer intimacy with Truth.

 Every living moment is like a naked singularity. It appears to be in the nature of the human experience to trivialize the living moment, the naked singularity, rather than to appreciate the profound depth of each moment. This dynamic is a manifestation of the power of the Accuser. Within the human experience we seek permanence, control and stability. Yet in the world of Absolute, the arena of pure consciousness, expression is continuous, global, and total in its fullness. Tension occurs between the theoretical, the legalistic, and the vibrancy of life with the immediacy and directness of the human experience. Vibrancy and stability seem to pull against each other. A Binary Experience Life is a binary experience. Not life itself, in the essence, but rather the experience of being alive as a human being. Like two sides of the same coin the polarity of the experience are forever separate yet always joined. There is no way to coherently conceptualize the two aspects of the living experience, that of spirit and form. Mystery and problem exist together eternally. One of the most significant "pairings" is judgment and taste. The perceptual experience of personal judgment hides, virtually obscures entirely, our awareness of taste. The Accuser will immediately call that which is unpleasant to our taste, inconvenient, intrusive to our plans, unfamiliar, etc., BAD, that is unrighteous, essentially wrong, promoting loss, etc. The Accuser will also add that we are flawed and to blame for negative events. Consequently unpleasantness is reflexively transformed into badness, and a badness that only further demonstrates how basically flawed and unlovable we are. Perceptions And Thought The field of Perception can be contemplated as a field resembling a movie or computer screen except in three dimensions. Perceptions are played out within this field. The perceptions of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell, the so-called sensory perception, are readily and reflexively taken as perceptual phenomena without question. However the inner perceptions consisting of psychological experiences, thoughts and emotions are usually seen as an aspect of ourselves, as our own doing rather than as aspects of our perceptual experience. Thoughts are "given projections into our field of consciousness, as are sensory perceptions. Contrasted with sensory perceptions, thoughts (often accompanied by the sound effects of emotions) have an agenda. The fundamental agenda of psychological perception is judgment. Whenever we are distressed we have been captivated by a psychological perception carrying the spirit of judgment. Now these perceptions can be highly nuanced and infinitely subtle. The disturbing psychological perceptions are intensely vivid, seamlessly logical and come to us in our own voice. It must be appreciated that these perceptions are true, powerful

experiences. Thoughts and emotions seem to reach us in our bones. They cannot be avoided. The discernment of the distinction between a true experience and an experience of deeper truth is usually lost. At times of personal anguish the fact of perception versus fundamental self is lost, lost in the pain of the moment. The Kindergarten of Life The perceptual frame, our world view is alive. The perceptions within this frame are creations. They are not alive. The frame of consciousness within which these perceptions are experienced, however is alive. The background field of consciousness is an extension of that which looks out of our eyes. A parallel phenomenon is experienced in a night dream. The entire scenario of the dream is occurring within our individual field of consciousness In like manner the entire scenario of our worldly experience is occurring within our individual field of consciousness. This is another reminder that we, individualness, are not contained within the persona of individuality. Rather persona, individuality, is infused and contained within individualness. Without parameters individualness cannot be conceptualized. The perceptual frame referred to is the same as the cone of creation. We, as singleness, have no creative power, yet creation, the empirical world, so far as we can know it, is created through each of us. Created through, not from, the ground of our unique individualness. The creation, the living moment, is our continuing and evolving gift given by Allness, by Creator, to guide us, goad us, awaken us to the unimaginable depth of our true nature and the possibility of intimacy and fellowship with Source. The experience in this empirical world may be only a brief journey through the kindergarten of a life, a life essential unbounded by time and space.