You Can’t Get There From Here — Defining the Spiritual State

Spirituality is a matter of the heart. The truth of which discovered and Known only in a rare and precious state of consciousness and always, as yourself. It is about the discovery of something sacred within you and your relationship to your immediately lived experience.

A discovery that the two are one. A dawning revelation that comes with the dissolution of the imaginary boundaries that divide and the unification that results.

A rare state, wherein "consciousness turns back on itself towards its source," illuminating itself. In this tricky and curious way, consciousness becomes its own object and Pure Awareness unbridled by thought can be Known. The subject/object dichotomy of the waking state melts away, and one becomes pure consciousness, absolute experience.

Put another way; one becomes consciousness-without-an-object-or-a-subject.

I once told my friend that this was what authentic "spirituality" was all about. Being-in-the-world. That it required no belief in an external "somewhat," no posthumous postulations or astral aviation (even though I will admit, the repercussions are cosmic). All that’s necessary is an analytical eye keenly concentrated on your own immediately lived experience and a partial knowledge of what to look for.

After telling him that the real meaning of spirituality was about unification and interconnection rather than beliefs and conceptual constructs, he told me of a time when he had experienced a hint of what I was trying to conceptualize. He said, and I quote: "I was my campsite." That's it.

It may sound irrational as the sentence seems to contradict itself. The subject is the object. Yet, as the sentence makes clear, the two, are in fact, One. The resolution of this seeming contradiction is the heart of true spirituality, true religion.

Of course, this may only make sense to those who’ve resolved the paradox by attaining the state. The higher state that transforms the original intuition and partial knowledge into an Absolute Understanding. This is truly a rare and precious state, known only to a few.

The fact that he was under the influence of a plant-synthesized psychoactive (psilocybe cubensis) is of minor but relative importance. We must note it for two reasons.

First, it illustrates that you can’t get there from here. Even though there is nowhere to go, the ordinary waking state will not dissolve the dividing line necessary to reach Understanding. One must overcome unknowable perceptual barriers placed there by years of standard habit. It's a paradox because it is not easy yet there could be nothing more simple. And I’m not saying you must seek out an edible aid either. But you must find the courage and resolve to analyze yourself and your experience keenly while not shying away from non-ordinary or more subtle states of consciousness. This is why meditation, concentration and yogic practices are so essential for training the mind to notice subtlety. To use Eckhart Tolle’s phrase: “Stillness speaks.” You just have to learn how to listen.

Second, although biochemically aided in this account, it proves the capability of the human nervous system to produce the experience. Of course, I could've not mentioned this aspect at all as many have reached the state without a neurotransmitter aid. However, it is the unity perceived, cognized and Understood that is of fundamental importance. The road by which you Arrive is irrelevant.

The destination Divine.

My humble friend failed to recognize the seed of revelation contained in that personal moment for he knew not what to look for nor that the state he had glimpsed was of transcendental importance.

That’s it. That’s transcendental consciousness. True spirituality. Both the door and its key are within you. You need only discover how to open it. Don’t believe in an external somewhat, turn your eye within.

♅

Discover this about yourself and it will change the world.