“i AM” consciousness MANiFESTED as this EXPERiENCE.
“I” have a perspective.
“I” encounter a world.
“I” remember a past.
“I” anticipate a future.
“I” recognise a body, a name and an IDENTiTY as “me”.
Therefore: I EXiST.
But the consciousness WITHiN this EXiSTENCE is still “i”.
The lowercase “i” WITHiN EXiST reminds Us that unmanifested consciousness remains present within MANiFESTED EXiSTENCE.
“I” am a particular expression of consciousness.
“i” is the consciousness WITHiN this particular expression.
A particular EXPERiENCE
Manifestation makes a particular experience possible.
Before manifestation,”i” is unbounded potential. When consciousness is MANiFESTED as “I”, EXPERiENCE acquires a point of view.
There is now:
- a position from which the world is perceived;
- a body through which sensations arise;
- a perspective through which events are interpreted;
- a memory through which a past is constructed;
- an imagination through which a future is anticipated.
This perspective is limited, not because consciousness has ceased to be infinite, but because a particular manifestation cannot experience every possible perspective as its own at the same time.
“I” EXPERiENCE from here.
EXiSTENCE is transitory…
Everything that is MANiFESTED changes.
- The body changes.
- Sensation changes.
- Thought changes.
- Memory changes.
- Personality changes.
- The EXPERiENCED world changes.
The particular expression called “I” is therefore transitory.
This does not mean that the EXPERiENCE is unreal or without meaning. It means that no MANiFESTED form remains unchanged.
“I” EXiST, but the form through which “I” EXiST is temporary.
The consciousness WITHiN that form remains “i”.
From EXPERiENCE to IDENTiTY
A particular perspective makes individual EXPERiENCE possible.
MiND then organises that EXPERiENCE.
This account becomes IDENTiTY.
IDENTiTY allows “I” to recognise and navigate a continuing experience. It provides context, continuity and a practical relationship with the MANiFESTED world.
But IDENTiTY is a description of experience.
MiND connects sensations, memories, thoughts, relationships and expectations into a continuing account of the self:
- This is My body.
- This is My name.
- This happened to Me.
- This is what I believe.
- This is the person I think I am.
It is not the whole of what is aware of that experience.
EXiSTENCE is not yet EGO
“I” is consciousness MANiFESTED as a particular EXPERiENCE.
EGO develops when MiND takes the constructed IDENTiTY to be complete, permanent and fundamentally separate from everything beyond it.
The voice of IDENTiTY says:
- This is Me.
- That is not Me.
- This belongs to Me.
- That happened to Me.
- I must protect who I believe Myself to be.
- A practical sense of self is necessary for navigating MANiFESTED EXiSTENCE.
- Confusion begins when the description of the self is mistaken for the whole of the self.
- The story is mistaken for the awareness in which the story appears.
- The label is mistaken for the experience.
- The manifestation is mistaken for the consciousness WITHiN it.
What observes IDENTiTY?
- “I” can observe My body.
- “I” can observe My thoughts.
- “I” can observe My memories.
- “I” can observe My beliefs.
- “I” can even observe My idea of who “I” am.
If IDENTiTY can be observed, then IDENTiTY cannot be the entirety of the observer.
The awareness observing IDENTiTY is not itself another description of IDENTiTY.
It is “i”, conscious awareness, present WITHiN the MANiFESTED experience of “I”.
“i AM”. I EXiST.
The two statements now become one expression:
“i AM”.
“i AM” means consciousness is present before any particular identity is formed.
I EXiST.
I EXiST means consciousness is MANiFESTED as this particular, bounded and transitory experience.
The lowercase “i” does not disappear when “I” appears.
“i” EXiSTS WITHiN “I”.
What We now understand
“I” is consciousness MANiFESTED as a particular experience.
MANiFESTION creates perspective.
MiND organises that perspective into a continuing IDENTiTY.
IDENTiTY becomes EGO when the constructed self is perceived as complete, permanent and fundamentally separate.
Yet the consciousness aware of body, thought, memory and IDENTiTY remains “i”.
The question that remains
If “I” experience from here, what happens when another manifestation appears to experience from there?
If consciousness is WITHiN “I”, what is the consciousness perceived WITHiN another?
Continue the journey
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 |