Dissolving the Illusion of Separation | Non Duality

Wherever the attention lies, wherever the attention goes, if there is an attributed value to what the attention lands on, then there is a consequence to how identity is shaped, how identity will present itself to itself.

The Lens of Identification

So, for an example, if I have a particular object like a water bottle in my hand or a cup, if I attribute a particular value to this particular cup, if I hold this cup in high regard, if I believe in this cup, eventually what happens is I can formulate some type of identification with that cup. Therefore, reality is viewed through the lens of identification. Therefore, reality and other words are viewed through that cup.

Now, the cup itself has a defined border, has its own edges, has its own standalone, standing out existing, it has its own standalone sense of existence. And so because of this defined border, we can perceive a distance of the cup to any other neighboring objects that also have a defined border. And so through this distinguishment, we can say that the cup is separate to a water bottle or a remote control or any other object.

Now, this is something that we fundamentally do on a deep, innate existential level. So when there is the over identification with the body itself, the body has a defined border, has a defined, standalone sense of existence within space. This is also the case where when another body arrives within the vicinity, we can create a distinguishment that this body is separate from that body because of the borders that we have identified with.

So if we see ourselves as the body, then no question will we see everything that isn't the body separate from the body? And so when it comes to the whole sense of separate self, that illusion of separation, looking into this and all these talks, you've probably seen so many talks on this on YouTube and probably had conversations and read books.

It's illusory to say that there is this sense of separateness and that the truth is that there is no separation, it's illusory. And it's not real. Simply on the basis that when we observe the body itself that has been accumulated over time, when we observe the contents of the mind, the belief systems, the opinions of thoughts that are also being accumulated over time, constantly changing.

We can see that this isn't us. But somewhere down the line there has been conditioning, there has been a development of identification that, yes, we are our thoughts. Yes, we are the contents of the mind. Yes, we are the body. And then even extend this further to material objects such as the car. There is this connection or an attachment that can also be intertwined with identification where when the car gets scratched, you feel a certain pain when the car is scratched because this is now an extension of who you are or who you see yourself to be. So this is now an image being developed and accumulated as a part of your identification.

And the same is with a belief system. And so if I believe in a particular political ideology or religion or something, if someone comes along and they have something bad to say or they attack this idea or they just simply present an opinion it could hit a nerve. It would feel like we're being attacked. Would feel like it's a personal attack on us. And so we take this defensive stance and we say, no, this and this is the case. And this is what's happening.

This is taking place because of the very sense of identification that takes place and is imposed on, the body, the ideas, the belief systems, the contents of the mind and even external materialistic obJects, which, by the way, it doesn't make sense for me to say external because it's all objects. The car is no different to the body. The body is also a dynamic object. The car is an object, the bottle or the cup is an object simply because they have defined borders.

The Illusion of Separation

And so the illusion of separation is apparent because existence is being filtered through the lens of identification. So if I am a hammer and identify myself as a hammer, I see everything as a nail. This is a quote or saying you might have heard of. It's because we are seeing life through the lens of identification where we identify ourselves as.

So you can immediately see that if we have certain belief patterns or thoughts or there's the immediate entanglement or the immediate belief that we are our thoughts, when we are just simply walking down the street and a particular judgment or a thought or an opinion arises, if we are swayed by this opinion because we see this opinion as ourselves, and we agree and we value this opinion.

If this opinion is of a destructive nature, is of a conflicting nature, then it's not a very strange remark to say that the next actions can follow in that same sense. The actions that follow after that thought could be destructive in nature, could be conflicting in nature.

Whereas if there's space within us to see that when this thought arises, and we see that this thought is actually no different to any other object or any other thought.

If we see that this thought is no different to the cup that i was speaking about earlier or the bottle. Then perhaps we're not adding this emphasis, we're not giving this thought, this high level of value or regard. And it may not seem in the way I describe it exactly, it may be some internal subconscious process that has cemented itself over time. But if we realize that the thought is no different to any other object, then the thought loses its value that we have attributed to it and as it loses its value, we now have the option to not identify with default.

That's a tremendous opportunity. It's a beautiful opportunity to be free from the thoughts that are right. We're not trying to attack the thoughts. We're not trying to agree or disagree. We're not trying to bring another thoughts to neutralize the other thoughts and be stuck and create a whole mess of thoughts, anxiety and pain and fear, which is simply allowing the thought to be just as we allow the tree to be when we walk past it, when we allow the cloud in the sky to be.

But believe me, there are people that don't even allow the sky to be as it is or the clouds to be as it is. The emotions are somehow identified or that identification with the state of how the clouds are arranged and the colors of the sky and the feeling of the temperature, the emotions are attached to that arrangement and situation. So if there's a great sky the whole day needs to be bad, you need to have a bad day now.

So in a sense, if we allow ourselves to recognize that. Firstly, whatever object we identify ourselves with is fundamentally no different to any other object, because they simply have a border and they can be defined.

The Takeaway

A thought is no different to a water bottle or a cup. And so if we truly recognize that we are able to loosen up the sense of identification with the things that we are deeply identified with, such as the body, the contents of the mind, the emotions and the material objects as well.

If we loosen the sense of identification with all of these things and things that I may not even have mentioned. Eventually, what also loosens up is the illusion of separation that I mentioned earlier essentially stems from the overidentification to the objects. And so when that loosens up. Then where is the separation anymore? You're not seeing yourself or you're not viewing life through the lens of objects. You are recognizing that you are not an object viewing another object where you now manifest a world or recognize a world of objects that are all innately separate.

In fact, you are recognizing yourself as that which is recognizing all objects, which itself is not an object, which itself is that which encompasses all objects, which itself knows all objects. So if you are not your thoughts, then who is the one listening?

Me? Ok. Well, what is me? An object? Does me have a defined border? Where is me located? And so we enter this self inquiry. We question the narrative of me or I in this way. And then once we recognize that there is no particular location where me is, there is no defined border. In fact, there is no me, there just is.

The illusion of separation dissolves. And so now you see why you should love your neighbor. There is no difference between you and your neighbor. Of course there's a difference. You can identify many different things, but we are not relying on the tool that we use to differentiate and distinguish between things to define reality. We recognize it simply as a tool.

And so this can end racism. When a thought or a remark comes up in the mind about another individual or whatever it may be when this is observed and not identified with eventually a thought will die and will not cement itself into a deep rooted belief, that is then perhaps deep rooted in society and then perhaps deep rooted in hierarchical structures and corporations and whatever. It just all dissolves. If separation dissolves, conflict dissolves because conflict can only arise when there is space between A and B.

But if there is no A and B, there will be no more conflict. This is an introspective endeavor. Take the time out to sit and observe distance and the series of self inquiry. Recognize the ones of life.