Harnessing the intensity of Impermanence

We've touched on this briefly in other contexts on a few other posts, but this one is dedicated to exploring and experiencing the impermanence every living moment. I recently finished reading a wonderfully detailed spiritual book - 'The Science of Enlightenment ' by Shinzen Young the author articulated the simple yet obscure nature of meditation and ultimately, Enlightenment. Anyone who's meditated would know what he was talking about. The concept that I want to touch upon today is the state of Impermanence.

Our lives are subtly a wave that we don't usually pay the fullest attention to. Everything that we do always follows the rise and a fall pattern almost like a sine wave. There's crest and then there's trough. It is a wave in all the biggest and the smallest of things- The in and out breaths- even within the inhale there's both crest and troughs- as the lung expands, the diaphragm has to contract, and the opposite with the exhale. Pain- There's always a rise and fall- There's a sharp sting- that gradually or suddenly rises, and then a small gradual decline before the next cycle of pain begins, that backache as you sit in a cross legged posture for hours during a meditation, that fracture that just formed, the adrenaline rush as you've done a sprint, every single pain is a wave. There's duality, there's impermanence. The lifetime in it's fullest form is a very short cycle between taking the first inhalation and leaving the life with the last exhalation. Anything- Hunger, sickness, laughter, peristalsis in the digestive tract, the heartbeat- blood in and out of lungs. There's duality in everything in existence.

The impermanence as I interchangeably use here with duality is a state where there's nothing that's in a constant state of being. Everything changes, with every moment. With every inhale we're born, and with every exhale we pass until the next inhale happens. The impermanence of life is the only permanent thing in the Universe. It might be a straightforward concept as you read this through, but we don't actively keep it at the forefront of our lives events. We think that pain of break up is forever, we don't see a way out of a financial distress, we tend to dwell upon our successes, and failures equally or even more. So, it is necessary to have impermanence at the front of our actions, thoughts, and emotions.

It's necessary to keep in mind that the thought of impermanence (Before it becomes a realization) should not make you annihilistic- Destructive attitude as everything living and non-living are fleeting. Everything is ever more valuable because nothing lasts forever. Humans, flowers, plants, animals, soil, air, the impermanent nature of everything can be observed at any given moment. The throb in every living, natural, and material things point to the duality of existence and non-existence back and forth. So, it can be said that the entire Universe is alive coming to the existence and non-existence. Even though I haven't completely experienced it in everything, I've observed it in my own breath, plants, and animals. Does that mean impermanence is the nature of Creator? No.

Shinzen Young in his book Science of Enlightenment outlines ever so simplistic way, the nature of all things, here's how I interpret it.

1. The myriads of billion combinations of existence in the creation- both in nature and in human mind: I call this the observation. These stem from one of the or combination of the following 6 observing tools.

   - Seeing physically

   - Hearing physically

   - Feeling physically

   AND

   - Seeing mentally

   - Hearing mentally

   - Feeling mentally

2. So, the billion stream of events, and creation is observed through these 6 tools. And these 6 tools of observation can be narrowed down to the 2 extremes. The high and the low, the existence and the non-existence, the crest and the trough, the appearance and the vanish, ever so subtly. The dual nature of everything- the mental talk or a thought even though it appears to be constant, there's a sine wave like pattern, a thought arises, goes to full swing, then slows down before another related thought or an exemplified version of the previous thought arises. It is ever so subtle, but when we pay attention to the duality of things, we observe the wave. Which then makes us an Observer.

3. The observer sees the duality- that is the object of observation, going through a wave like pattern of high and low intensities, there's a point in that wave, where there's an equilibrium, where there's no high and no low. There's a point of non-doing, where the observation for a brief moment is no longer observed, the in breath is done, there's a gap before the out breath is let out. That space of no crest, and no trough but pure No-thingness is the immense presence of emptiness, that many traditions refer to as God, Creator etc.

4. The more subtle aspect of this is that at the moment of no-thingness: The observation- thought, breath, emotion etc, that takes that momentary gap before the next big wave up or down is where the observer becomes the observed. This is maybe too conceptual for many, but that moment when the observer sees no-nothing, no movement in ANY aspect of what we call an observer is when the observer becomes a no-thing too. The wording/realization comes up after that moment, where we try to put that into words. Maybe it is too remote for you now, but starting to experience more such no-thingness and realizing what you've experienced- where you have no experience of NOTHING- is the singularity where creation becomes the creator.

   

   

   

   https://blankhorizons.com/2021/03/02/shinzen-youngs-10-step-model-for-experiencing-the-eternal-now/

   The nature of the Creator is therefore not the duality or impermanence but the No-thingness between the high and low waves of our observation, where the observer becomes the observed since we'd observe the nature of who we are, that is nothing but the immense presence of space which is the Creator. So, Observer- Observed- Creator as these align, we experience the Oneness.

   
   

   Ideally, at least for a few moments in a day, experiencing the no-thing nature of yourself- say in a quiet morning walk, right before dozing off, a quiet journalling time, etc brings the Ultimate reality- a part of what we call as our everyday life. To start with, you can be an observer of the possible observations both internal and external- Thoughts, emotions, physiological sensations, unconscious compulsions, etc are internal things you can begin to observe. Observing the external situations including the nature, air, water as you drink or shower, fragrance of a flower, other people's smiles, sensing their emotions that they don't communicate but can be sensed, the curves of their eyes as they talk, the intentions behind the author's words, etc. Observations are of billion combinations, as we perceive through our 6 sensory tools.

   

   Here's the short list of possible changes that happen as we begin this activity. Here's the checklist. You may have similar hierarchy, or maybe you jump to the higher awareness states than where you think you should be at. Just an overview of the possible progressive states as we become aware.

   
   

   • You begin to recognize the outbursts you have either after you have it or while you have it as you being dramatic and unnecessary.

   • You slowly stop blaming and pointing fingers at others for things going wrong in your life.

   • You see that not every thing, event, activity, individual, places, etc., requires your opinion or needs that you have one.

   • You start to see the other person's point of view, as you put forth your arguments.

   • You recognize that the situations that arise in your life will not stay the same way forever- That the situations change.

   • You find that there's no point suffering the anticipated future events in the current moment.

   • You recognize that your well being takes the topmost priority- Meaning, physical wellness, mental health tying with emotional wellbeing are the fundamental aspects to go through what your life has in store for you. One of these faculties if skewed would alter the life's directions altogether.

   • You see that there's a few things from past that no longer requires to stay above you as an emotional scar/baggage- tainting and dragging you in everything you come across in the present moment.

   • You find that your past doesn't have to become a pattern in your life. SO, you consciously ensure your choices in life are aligned with keeping you at an elevated happy space.

   • You no longer determine the value of a person with their bags and shoes, or with their positions, actions, and appearances.

   • Your plans for the future will not only be determined by the outcome but also by the joy of getting there in spite of the hurdles and pains along the way.

   • You recognize what you do, you become. So you consciously align your choices with this in the foreground of your mind.

   • You start recognizing how you spend your time during the day, and take actions- big or small to make it a bit more effective.

   • You reduce associating your identity with your past events, activities, behaviors, and emotions.

   • You'd see that the things in life are deeper than what you've been seeing all the while.

   • You slowly shift your perceptions from finding the bad things in people and events.

   • You then shift from seeing the good or bad in people and things to see for what they actually are.

   • You'd refrain from painting a picture and arriving at a conclusion about somebody's personality, or something you come across from what little you've got to observe.

   • You'd acknowledge totally that you don't know much in life- about anyone or anything really to the total complete extent.

   • You see that emotions can arise and that there's no need for engaging in the emotion of anger, hatred, regret, fear, and other unsettling feelings.

   • You start smiling more to people you know and don't know.

   • Your kindness starts to show in your own house, relations, friends, family, workplace, nature, animals, and any other spaces you go to. You'd also find that many of them notice that.

   • You start eating consciously- Healthy, just the amount your body needs in a given day, no junk, and avoiding large animal meats.

   • Your physical appearance begins to change- Maybe with weight gain or loss, or shape of the face or features, or the features, or the overall feeling you have about your own body.

   • You would have less resistance in your body- As you start moving more comfortably, you find chances and stick to improving your mobility- either a fitness program, or a regular moving routine.

   • You find what you thought was a chronic episodes- physical, mental, and emotional, start to occur a less frequently.

   • You find the external situations don't have to require your reaction. Rather, you just respond as needed in the given situation.

   • You start to control what goes into you- Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

   • You start to come to a complete acceptance of the present conditions in life.

   • You'd find your passion- an inclination towards something that you enjoy doing and lose yourself as you do it- riding, painting, swimming, writing, etc.

   • Your life gets busier at the level of activities of everyday lifestyle, but deep down you feel relaxed and free.

   • You realize that the opinions of others about you don't have any real value to your life.

   • A deeper peace irrespective of outside situations- good and bad.

   • You're uncomfortable in indulging in a destructive behavior- for self and for others- Like drinking, smoking, infidelity etc.

   • The clarity in your thoughts and actions are deeply enhanced, as a result you feel more and more burden-free.

   • You'd not associate yourself with your surface level reality- That is your egoistic self. You're not defined by the flavours you carry in you- Singer, IT worker, fitness freak, tall and sleek, etc.

   • You know that life is much more than earning a living and others' approval of your actions.

   • The limited amount of sleep can keep you going for longer- Meaning less fatigue physically and even mentally.

   • You find the distance growing between you and your external reality. You find that involving yourself into something doesn't translate automatically into attaching with these things.
     

There's obviously so much more; this is not an exhaustive list but enough to get started and track your progress. As you reach this space as you experience the above mentioned states, it's time you explore a Spiritual Master to get you further. As much as I have to say about what comes next, it is too sensitive and subtle to discuss with a general audience who may not have a deeper understanding or openness to hear unimaginable things that can come into human experiences without substances and hypnosis.

Let's start at noticing the Impermanence and Asathoma Sathgamaya!

Sru🔥

References:

1. The Science of Enlightenment- Shinzen Young.

2. https://blankhorizons.com/2021/03/02/shinzen-youngs-10-step-model-for-experiencing-the-eternal-now/