“i” is not a thing.
When consciousness appears as a particular thing,
“i” becomes perceptible as “I”.
“I” is consciousness manifested: bounded, temporary and aware of an experienced world.
Manifestation is experience taking form
- A body is a manifestation.
- A sensation is a manifestation.
- A thought is a manifestation.
- A remembered self is a manifestation.
- A perceived world is a manifestation.
Each is something that appears. Each is limited by form, perspective and duration.
The central distinction
| i | I |
|---|---|
| consciousness | consciousness manifested |
| unmanifested | manifested |
| potential | consequence |
| infinite | limited |
| permanent | transitory |
| within all things | as all things |
| observer and observed | the observed |
Why distinction appears
Manifestation creates contrast: this and that, observer and observed, self and world, here and there, now and then. This apparent division makes a particular experience possible.
Why the ellipsis matters
MANiFESTED… is not treated as a finished event. It points towards the continuing appearance of experience, moment by moment…
What We now understand
“I” is consciousness manifested as bounded, perceptible and transitory experience.
The question that remains
What does it mean for manifested consciousness to recognise itself as a particular existence?
Understanding the language
| Form | Meaning | Plain-language description |
|---|---|---|
| i | unmanifested consciousness | formless, timeless potential; consciousness within all things |
| I | consciousness manifested | a particular, bounded and transitory expression of consciousness |
| you | consciousness perceived within the other | the same i, encountered through another manifestation |
| You | the person being addressed | the reader as a particular centre of experience |
| YOU | the constructed or egoic identity | the self perceived as separate, isolated and opposed to other |
| We | recognition and relationship | i, I and the apparent other held in shared understanding |