“Any movement of consciousness toward the phenomenal is equivalent to a movement away from what is real. The Real is attained by a movement of consciousness in the direction opposite from that by which the phenomenon is experienced.” Wu Hsin
To opposite world: attention flipping.
Take a playing card from a deck. In the game, all attention is focused upon the face card–the queen, the ace, a six–all of which represent the phenomenal. That with which the game is played. All experience–of self, other, world–all phenomena is the result of attention limited to which particular face card, or cards, appears.
“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.” ~ Alice in Wonderland
The back side of the card is consciousness, which is all the same regardless of what appears on the other side. Consciousness and phenomena (experience) are one card, one deck–metaphorically. They are inseparable, these two sides of the one card, but that which stays the same is consciousness. When attention is directed back of experience, it doesn’t matter what card is dealt, what experience it seems to represent.
“If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” Albert King
Now, what is prior to consciousness? Prior to the shift in attention, regardless of whether the face or the sameness is noticed? What is beyond, behind, prior to all distinctions, all shifts, all analysis, such as what is pointed to in these words?
“Oh!”
- You think you are the queen of spades, or the joker, or the 2 of clubs. But you are being played. This thinking is part of the game, as it is played.
- But from the back side of the identified card, the face card is irrelevant; because the rules and the attributions are what you take them to be–as the queen of hearts– therefore meaningless. Now, what you think you are, the queen of hearts (the mistaken perceiver/thinker), is unaffected.
- Beyond the deck, nothing is either affected or unaffected. There are no players or cards, as such. There is no game–perception and perceived are meaningless distinctions, when the perceiver–the queen, the joker–is removed from the playing field.
Of course the real is also symbolic to what is beyond real and unreal. Experience comes around again as that which is real yet unreal, either/nor.
All is well then, from wherever you think you are, or know you are not. What knows that you are or are not?
This is not disrespectful to what you think you are, or what you think you have suffered, as such. It is a complete, overarching, embracement of all perspectives. This is where the word, and/or experience, or symbol of Wholeness and Holiness comes in. That which holds, guides, oversees, all of this. Including even the idea of you.
The Deepest Peace 