Mind & Happiness 101

In both Waking & in Dream we appear to be a confused mixture of both Consciousness & a physical Body. This confused mixture or compound that is formed by our identification of our Consciousness with a physical Body is what we call our “Mind”.  Since this Mind is a confused & transitory form of Consciousness that appears to exist only when it identifies itself with a Body in either Waking or Dream, & ceases to exist when it relinquishes its Identification with any Body in Deep Dreamless Sleep, can it be anything more than a mere Illusion – an unreal appearance, a phantom product of our self-deceptive power of Imagination ?

Since all things other than our fundamental Consciousness “I am” are known by us only through the unreliable medium of this confused, self-deceiving & transitory form of Consciousness called “Mind”, can we confidently say that any of them are real ?  Is it not reasonable for us instead to suspect that they are all nothing more than an illusory & unreal apparition, just like all the things that we see in a Dream ?

Since the Body that we mistake to be “I” in the Waking state, & the Body that we mistake to be “I” in a Dream, are both transitory appearances, appearing as they each do in one state & not in another, is it not clear that we cannot be either of these 2 bodies ?  If we are neither of them, then what in fact are we ?

We must be something that exists in both Waking & Dream. Though the Body & World that we now know in the Waking state & the Body & World that we knew in Dream may be very similar to each other, they are clearly not the same Body & World.  Is there anything that exists & remains the same in both of these 2 states, & if so what is it ?  On superficial observation, the only thing that is common to these 2 states is our Mind, the Consciousness that knows them.  Are we then this Consciousness that knows both Waking & Dream, & that identifies one Body as “I” in Waking & another Body as “I” in Dream ?

We cannot answer this question without first asking another.  Are we this same Consciousness not only in Waking & Dream, but also in Deep Dreamless Sleep ?  No, this Consciousness that knows a Body & World in the Waking & Dream states ceases to exist in Deep Dreamless Sleep.  But do we also cease to exist in Deep Dreamless Sleep ?  No, though we cease to be conscious of any Body or World in the state of Deep Dreamless Sleep, we nevertheless do exist in that State, & we also know our own existence at that time.

The above themes & 2500 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through  www.jpstiga.com 

short-cut: http://sdrv.ms/YPOgkX or http://tinyurl.com/nnyyr58  link directly to free E-book PDF files

www.jpstiga.com/

http://jstiga.wixsite.com/nonduality/

Different blogs (but with graphics) are available on:

http://www.blogger.com     as  “Being-as-Consciousness, Non-Duality – new & final version” with link:

http://Being-as-Consciousness.blogspot.com/

“There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth.”

–  the “no creation” school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome – Ajata Vada

 for very succinct summary of the teaching & practice, see:  www.ajatavada.com/

[A brief note of explanation – this Blog is entitled “Non-Duality & Science”, & so the more Science oriented pages (from what I like to think of as a “comic book”) have been posted there, while other chapters have been posted in the other Blog noted below. Science is a mental discipline that attracts some worthy admirers & participators.  Some of these, too few, are good prospects for the ancient teaching introduced here in many ways.  Otherwise certain Science topics like the Anthropic Principle, reinforce the general Theism which is a good idea in this materialistic age. A few other topics in Science, such as the Copenhagen II – Max Born – Von Neumann – Wigner model of Quantum Mechanics, are worthy entries to the extent that they introduce Consciousness into the physical Sciences. All that aside, the real topic here is the pinnacle as Advaita Vedanta, Non-Duality – that pinnacle being Ajata Vada, No–Creation. The great Teachers of the same include Sri Shankara & Sri Ramana Maharshi.  Both would support Theism in general & adaptations of Vedanta, such as Vishishtadvaita Vedanta – Qualified Non-Duality, for those not making headway in Ajata Vada, their present course of growth might be better served with a temporary involvement in Qualified Non-Duality. The scientist who perhaps best expresses the influence of Qualified Non-Duality in Science, for instance, would be the quintessential “New–Age” Quantum Physicist, Amit Goswami. And so to that source, & the Quantum Activism he currently advocates [with a 1–course  degree program], along with more than a half-dozen good books & former participation in the controversial What the Bleep movie, to him I extend enthusiastic endorsement, for that Qualified Non-Duality described in the context of Science.  I do not stand so much “with him”, as much as nearby saluting his good work. Again, as here, a goal is inserting Consciousness into Science & “saving the World.”]

also:  Most of this material will be long searchable via “John Stiga” etc, on the “Wayback Machine” Internet Archive.

Also related to these topics, there are now 8 Kindle books on “Amazon.com”, reference-able by the author “John Stiga”, each indicated as non–copyrighted, public–domain, & priced at the minimum $0.99 each.