All Experience Arises in and Is Made of Knowing

Summary

This dialogue delves into the nature of perception and consciousness. The speaker explores the experience of sensing and knowing, investigating how perceptions arise within a boundless, open field of awareness. By reducing experiences like seeing, hearing, and thinking to their essential substance, the speaker suggests that all experiences are made of the same 'aware vibrancy.' The discussion highlights that objects and perceptions do not exist independently but are movements within a unified field of consciousness. The goal is to perceive the world in a way that reflects this 'consciousness-only' model.

Takeaways

• 😀 The subject discusses the concept that all perception arises in a field of knowing, and there is no separate subject or boundary between sensing and knowing.
• 🤔 The speaker grapples with the idea that the substance of perceiving could be 'knowing,' but expresses discomfort with labeling it, as it feels like an artificial layer added on top.
• 🌌 The idea that perception is like sensing, appearing in a boundless, empty field of knowing, with no objective or physical separation, is explored.
• 🌀 The speaker encourages reflecting on the fact that perceiving is not something distinct or separate from the field of knowing, just as a current in the ocean is the ocean's own movement.
• 🔍 The dialogue focuses on examining the relationship between perceiving and knowing, suggesting that they are made of the same 'substance' and not distinct experiences.
• 🤐 A key point is made about silence being a more accurate representation of what perceiving and knowing are made of, as there is nothing objective in experience to name.
• 🧠 The speaker encourages the participant to 'touch the stuff' of both sensing and knowing, leading to a realization that there's no boundary between the two, only silence and non-objective awareness.
• 🖥️ A metaphor is drawn comparing perceiving to a movie on a screen, where nothing truly appears or disappears, but rather modulates within a single field of experience.
• 🌍 The discussion emphasizes that we can't be sure we're perceiving a world outside ourselves; we only know perception within consciousness, reducing experience to perceiving.
• 🔄 The speaker encourages exploring all types of experience (seeing, hearing, thinking, etc.) to touch their essential nature, leading to the understanding that everything is made of the same aware vibrancy.

Q & A

What is the core concept behind the phrase 'all I can know is the knowing of it'?

The phrase 'all I can know is the knowing of it' refers to the idea that our experiences are fundamentally based on the act of knowing itself. In this context, knowing refers to the awareness or consciousness of the experience, rather than the existence of a separate external reality.

How does the speaker describe the sensation of perceiving without a separate subject?

The speaker suggests that when we investigate a sensation, there is only the sensation itself, which is immediate and directly experienced. There is no separate subject or entity experiencing the sensation; it is just the act of perceiving happening in an open, boundless field of knowing.

What is the relationship between perceiving and the field of knowing, according to the speaker?

The speaker explores the idea that perceiving and the field of knowing are inseparable. There is no boundary between them, and perceiving is seen as a movement or activity within the field of knowing, much like how a current in the ocean is simply a part of the ocean's activity.

Why does the speaker emphasize the need to touch the 'stuff' that perceiving and knowing are made of?

The speaker encourages touching the 'stuff' of perceiving and knowing to explore the nature of these experiences directly. By doing so, we recognize that both perceiving and knowing lack any objective content or substance. This leads to the understanding that both arise from the same non-material, aware substance, often referred to as 'knowing' or 'consciousness.'

What does the speaker mean by 'ontological primitive'?

The term 'ontological primitive' refers to the foundational or irreducible concept that serves as the basis for all further understanding. In the speaker's view, this ontological primitive is 'knowing' or consciousness, which is the single substance underlying all experiences.

How does the speaker suggest we approach the perception of the external world, like a room?

The speaker suggests that we cannot be sure that our perception is of an external world, like a room, because we never experience the world independent of perception. Instead, we can only be certain of the perception itself, which arises in consciousness, rather than being separate from it.

What is the significance of reducing experiences, such as seeing or hearing, to their essential components?

The speaker encourages reducing experiences to their essential components to realize that all experiences—whether seeing, hearing, thinking, or feeling—are ultimately made of the same 'aware vibrancy.' This reduction helps dissolve the illusion that different experiences are made of different substances.

What happens to the 'stuff' of perceiving when an experience, like sight or sound, disappears?

When an experience, like sight or sound, disappears, the 'stuff' that the perceiving was made of does not vanish. It remains as the underlying field of knowing, which simply assumes a different temporary name or form, much like a movie screen that remains present even when different images appear and disappear on it.

How does the metaphor of a movie screen relate to the speaker's explanation of consciousness?

The metaphor of a movie screen illustrates that, just as a screen remains constant while images change, consciousness remains as the unchanging, underlying reality while perceptions, sensations, and thoughts arise and pass away. The content of experience is always modulating within the field of consciousness.

What practical advice does the speaker offer for exploring the nature of experience?

The speaker advises practicing awareness by focusing on different sensory experiences—sight, hearing, thinking, feeling—without attaching concepts to them. The goal is to reduce these experiences to their essential nature and recognize that they are all made of the same substance: conscious awareness.