March 25, 2003                                                                      © 2003: JAN COX
 
 
 
 

There can be no doubt about it:
men are not intended to think about their consciousness;
it all is set up to run as mechanically as beats the heart and breathes the lungs;
men above all matters are certainly meant to think  --
just not about thinking and consciousness.

As readily evidenced all around you now and throughout history,
men are permitted to think anything they want  --
about anything that comes to mind:
think horrid things, inspiring things, totally impossible things;
consciousness is free to think anything  --   except about itself --
and to be literally correct: it is free to do so  --   but note: it does NOT do so,
in fact it automatically recoils  --   disappears momentarily --
when you try to turn its attention on to itself;
it slips away like mercury pressed by a thumb;
like a positive magnet repelling a negative one.

When you try to make consciousness look directly at itself,
for an instant it seems gone  --
until you almost immediately begin thinking about what you are trying to do,
and  --  Whomp!  --  it is back in normal operation once more --
no worse for the experience, and you no more cognizant of it than before.

Only a few unusually wired men have the neural ability to prosecute this activity
in any meaningful fashion;
it is clearly not a talent necessary for survival, or even a normal life,
but those born with this potential seem unable to easily ignore it;
most pursue activities which can appear pertinent thereto,
but which do not focus a man’s attention directly thereon (e.g.):
their consciousness becomes entangled in thinking about all manner of matters
lying outside itself:
the studying of words that others have said about consciousness,
or the trailing after dreamy thoughts others have had concerning gods, ghosties,
lost civilizations, cosmic aliens and other assorted flights of frivolous fancy:
all quite permitted to consciousness, and not unexpected or exceptional,
but of no use by the anomalous few.

It seems almost as if consciousness has an aversion to the immediate --
to the here-&-now  --   perhaps because it comes too close to what consciousness is, and where its base of physical operations is located;
consciousness by nature (when not involved in essential activity) is a dreamer,
a schemer, a what-iffer, a what-I-should'ave-doner,
but it is not generally possessed of any meaningful interest in its own nature,
or operations (except to sometimes complain thereabout,
always laying the blame on another’s actions or words);
even those in the cognitive sciences ostensibly studying the subject of consciousness study statistics, tests and interviews with others, never their own consciousness  --  chew on that for a second:
those who say they are dedicated to understanding consciousness
do not study their own.
Their consciousness never considers the possibility,
and certainly never mentions it to them (says consciousness):
“Go ask a stranger to describe what goes on in their mind when they are angry, or looking at a sad photograph, or remembering their mother, but hey!  --
don’t look at me, Charlie!”

Can it be a surprise that consciousness is now said by man to be,
“the ultimate mystery to be solved” --
common it is for scientists from sundry fields to say that it is a bigger challenge
even than unraveling the origins of the universe, or finding the T.O.E. –
rational, educated men make this statement, aver their pursuit of its goal,
then immediately look away from their self --  the source of all the consciousness
with which they can have a first hand experience  --
and the piercing-of-eye/I, as always, should be taking their own private note that
it is of course no one less than the consciousness in each scientist’s brain
who is making these statements and taking these actions  --
saying it is going to study itself  --  then looking else where to pursue the study;
this is no example of foolishness, but of nature.
Man’s consciousness is not wired nor programmed to directly engage in such
an investigation, and it not only does not care that it is not  --
it cannot even realize it is not as it goes mechanically about the business of
asking people to describe the sexual dreams they have in their consciousness rather than wondering why man’s consciousness wants to ask such questions of others,
and a limitless number of other such examples
vocally played overtly in psychology, and covertly in religion.

Due to the restraints of its nature, consciousness,
even when claiming to be studying itself never does so directly,
and never does so using the best material available --  itself  --
the consciousness of the person attempting to study consciousness.
It is this endless, unrecognized game that keeps breath in culture,
and gives consciousness something to do during the lengthy periods it is not
engaged in technology (survival related thinking about matters in the material realm),
an ongoing recreational activity in which consciousness talks about
any number of subjects from a most bountiful banquet table of possibilities:
god, truth, justice, morality, beauty,
the mysteries of human behavior and speech,
the inexplicable tides of mortal history, and  --   the purpose of life;
always consciousness talking about nothing other than itself,
and never in ordinary men, realizing what it is doing.

The certain man, born with that certain unusual nervous system wiring
seems the only human with the capability of ever realizing what his
and everyone else’s consciousness is really doing in what it appears to be doing,
and of directly turning his consciousness’ attention on itself often enough --
steady and sufficiently intense for his efforts to ever result in
a meaningful alteration of operations in his nervous system:
his consciousness’ view of man and life is transformed in a way
that cannot be in the least described to any man’s ordinary consciousness.

Though it does not upon mere hearing prove to be an instantaneous,
all enlightening statement
(that comes when you discover its reality all over again entirely on your own)
the core around which we are herein verbally circling is this:
everything, save what you can see  --  is consciousness,
an activity and reality that occurs and exists solely in your brain;
everything that man thinks, dreams and talks about that cannot be touched
is nothing but consciousness  --
all beliefs, all hopes, all fears are only consciousness and nothing more;
he who comes to realize this then recognizes that when his consciousness,
his mind, his thoughts are not on some matter that has a physical reality,
it is under disguise  --  musing on itself;
the certain type of man for whom this becomes doable is able to bypass
all the camouflage and folderol and undertake a direct study of
what goes on in the Mount Olympus of his inner universe:
the zenith of his nervous system --  his consciousness,
and in that everything not outside of you is consciousness –
the successful study thereof EXPLAINS everything not outside of you.

All the mysterious seeming efforts/methods/ideas about: Awakening, Enlightenment, and Liberation are nothing other than consciousness’ oblique display of
its interest in being able to think about itself to a conclusive, satisfying end.
 
 

A man who had been under medical care for an extended time for a string of
various illnesses one day said:
“I have detected a most disturbing pattern:
regardless of the type of treatment I am receiving,
I am told that it cannot be combined with the consumption of alcohol,
thus under color of making my life better --  they try to make it worse
by stopping my use of that consciousness constricting, hootie juice,”
and upon hearing this, his brother instantly saw its application to
his mind’s normal running vis a vis its constant condemnation thereof.
 
 

The daily writings of a certain spiritual teacher were found by his followers
to continually contain spelling errors, which they were hesitant to mention to him,
but which became a topic of much concern among themselves;
finally the leader heard of this, called them together and said:
“It has come to my attention that many of you are much disturbed over
technical faux pas in my writings, so it is time for me to tell you:
they are done intentionally  --  as a test,”
he slowly looked around at each face for a moment, then left.