by
Americ Azevedo

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PREFACE

For over 30 years, I have been integrating the world as expressed in mathematical logic (especially some of the findings suggested by Kurt Gödel), Martin Hieddegers Being and Time, The Yoga Sutras of Patinjali, Christian mysticism, and Zen Buddhism. This work that follows represents my best efforts at integrating all these elements.

The body, mind, emotions, and spirit are all that "we" have. But upon investigation it appears that we know almost nothing about them. Everyday, I attempt to learn just a little more. Whatever progress I have made is slow, plotting, and subject to constant error and correction. I have no final words on any of these matter. Only this evolving summary document for those willing to suffer with my writing style.

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INTRODUCTION

Awareness seems to be composed of two different aspects: consciousness and attention. For the moment we will just assume that attention can be moved to any object or non-object.

Let C be the function of consciousness itself.

Let a, b, c, ... be objects of consciousness.

Consciousness of an object is represented by:

C: {a}

A complex of objects of consciousness is represented by:

C: {a, b, c, ... ¿ }

Where

¿
is the imagined limit of consciousness -- the ultimate object that can be considered the last thought, the ultimate pleasure, the dream of fulfillment, God, etc.

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THE PURIFICATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Normal awareness is always awareness of "something", without any attention to itself. Philosophers perform the usual function of calling attention to the fact of awareness. Here I shall prefer the word consciousness (for it means "with knowledge").

Consciousness is potentially inclusive of all that is: thoughts, ideas, ideals, sensation, things, persons, etc. The entire universe or any of its aspects is meaningless to us unless we are aware or conscious. Even the most fundamental level (existence or being) fades away with the dissolution of consciousness.

Distinct objects of consciousness I shall symbolize with letters:

a, b, c, ...

The calculus of awareness must take into account the fact that the contents are always in flux.

So:

C: (xn)

xn is a whole range of possible objects. At any moment of time, that is to say "consciousness of..."

So we have written:

C: {a, b, ...}

But human consciousness can be "consciousness of consciousness of something." This is second order recursive consciousness.

C: C: {a, b, ...}

This is the mystical "witness position."

Suppose we shift attention from objects to consciousness itself:

C: C: { }

At first it is like making consciousness an object of attention. But something is different about consciousness as an object. It is like paying attention to empty space. So I have heard it said that awareness is like the "open sky" or "clear light" or "a clean mirror". Objects are presented to it, but its fundamental nature never changes.

Now all that remains is an inner subject-object distinction.

Consciousness has a movement toward identification with its content, but consciousness is not the content, it is the vessel.

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THE PRESENT MOMENT

C: C: { } contains the present moment, the now. I assert that the now moment is the breaking through of the consciousness of itself within the everyday realm of objects, events, etc. Now is nothing, yet it is the context of all personal occurrences or understandings of occurrences for "others".

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THINKING

Consciousness is pure awareness -- it is not temporal. But thinking is an activity in time. As a sequence or matrix of "thoughts", "ideas", or "impressions" against the field of awareness.

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TIME

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BEING

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KNOWLEDGE

My original quest for the certain knowledge given to us by science. But after a while I realized that this knowledge given to us by methods of "observation" was not the most fundamental knowledge.

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ETHICS

If I understand what I really am, then I am bound to always begin to treat others in an ethical manner.

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