You are growing in the rocks! Sounds like a strange statement . Before, you think...Brian has completely lost his mind this time, allow that thought to sink in and let me expand on that idea a bit.
Over the years I have been amazed at how trees grow out of the rock faces on the cliffs. I became aware of this again recently on a trip to Newfoundland. On one of my beach combing walks the thought came to me ...
....you are growing in the rocks, just like these trees...
How can life live on such bare and raw elements with very little fine particle soil visible? Somehow, their roots squeeze down through fine cracks and find enough moisture and substance to survive and appear healthy.
We know that life grows and thrives in the elements found on earth, but, the life energy itself, and its source, this is the greatest mystery pondered by the sages for thousands of years. What is it ? Over 4000 years ago in one of the Vedic Upanishads, this life mystery was referred to as simply 'That" and also found in this ancient text was the the famous statement 'you are that '. You are 'that', that mystery we call life.
Elements are the basic physical substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances and are the primary physical constituents of matter. The human body is made up of less then 20 of the 92 elements found on earth, and 99% of the biological body is made from just 5 elements, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.
So, what is this life presence that lives intermingled and immanent among these elements in nature? Life does not seem to come from the elements, although elements are made of atoms which are now known to be made from pure energy rather then solid particles. Life lives immersed, seemingly within the basic elemental particles and molecules. It is not made of matter, molecules or material of any kind, it is not a thing. Spirit is perhaps a more accurate description of 'life'. But, in reality, words cannot express what life actually is. Life is conscious, it is aware. It is a type of universal intelligence, a cosmic mind, a presence, it can be called the web of consciousness, and it seems to be one giant network of cooperating forces controlled by intelligence and love. Love in this universal sense can be seen as an harmonious energetic balance created when seemingly opposite forces (yin and yang) cooperate for the evolvement of the whole, one life. Consciousness is continually evolving, its very nature is a creative energy force, while maintaining oneness it chose to manifest itself into multiplicity with infinite diversity through creation. Its natural cycle is a return to oneness and nothingness out of the diversity of its creative forms. This creative life spirit is at its very essence, the primordial foundation, the all encompassing ground of diversity (GOD). This life energy which is no-thing is in a continuous play and intermingling with form. It manifests into form for a time and returns to non form or no-thingness. This cycle of being, in form and out of form is what we call life and death. In this sense death can be thought of as the unmanifested life which is not residing within form. It is spirit not attached to or within a physical body. When life leaves the form of the human body, insect or plant, it returns to non form. The life leaves the material body, which it had immersed itself into for awhile, and what remains becomes a decomposing biomass over a skeleton of heavy dense elements . What is composed as form will decompose back into the base elements once again, in time. Just as the life spirit cycles from form to non form, so also complex molecules composed of elements decompose back to the raw elements and in time will be used by the life force to compose new forms of living biological beings.
When we observe a dead body or dead tree, we know the life has gone out of it.
(below is a painting I did in 2004 )
086-2004 -For everything there is a season 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas
Life disengaged from being an apple tree, what remains is the raw bare form of a tree, decomposing back to the base elements. The life has gone out of it. We are life, manifesting as a human being, just as it does in the trees and the grasses of the field, here for a short season and then gone. There is a season for everything. - Eccl :3
You at the pure essence level can be thought of as life itself , appearing in form. A human being or any being, is a type of hybrid of Life/Spirit and form made of elements. This life/material hybrid is what you are. You are immersed in matter and appear as a living being. But, in some sense you have forgotten who you are.
This living consciousness wants to experience humanness just as lovingly as the humanness seeks to experience the mystery of consciousness. This consciousness (Life) wants to experience itself (life), it is 'awareness ' itself and it is also aware of what is, in the present, now. Remember life can only be now. It does not seem to be concerned about past, but there is the idea of the akashic records , and it does not seem to get fixated on the concept of future as the human little mind does.
When the human is centered and in flow with the inner consciousness, now, it experiences the fullness or wholeness of life. But, unfortunately the human condition has been plagued with a major dysfunction where the thinking organ, the intellect has taken over as master. This lower mind thinks that its streaming thoughts and biological body are who it actually is . We have become lost in thought, with a focused attention on doing, getting and building up our outer appearances, rather then simply just being, and allowing the enbodiment of the real self to shine through the shallow layer of facade and outer appearances. The outer self is a manufactured identity, a false sense of self, a personal story of who it thinks it is, with a history, which is unaware of the inner self life. It is often called the ego or personality, but in reality it is more like an actor wearing a persona mask who thinks the character it plays is the true self. This fictional separate self has set itself up as the dominant sense of self in a house built on sinking sand , and when the house crumbles with age, along with the facade of outer appearances, it too, dissolves with it. The thinking mind has set it self up as a master rather than its ideal role as servant. When the outer, small mind (ego) eventually learns to submit to and becomes more aware of the master, the greater universal mind, a whole new identity is revealed to the entire being. This is often referred to as your true self or inner being and it is really who you are.
To become aware of who you really are, is actually mind blowing because the thinking ego-mind cannot comprehend it. The true self could be called the heart-mind and it is more intuitive and love based. In order to become aware of this inner self or heart-mind there will need to be an inner work or realization, some like to use the word grace for this opening process into awareness. This opening into spirit awareness will evolve into a deeper sense of intuitive knowing your true identity.
To allow the greater consciousness to be aware of and experience humanness and for the human to become aware of the greater consciousness is perhaps the whole purpose of the human life.
So, you are life and you are living now, immersed with, and temporarily attached to the physical elements of earth ....You are, in a metaphorical sense... living and growing in the rocks!
Allow consciousness to experience humanness. Allow humanness to experience consciousness.
