👀 HUMAN BEINGS AS
BAGS OF KARMA 👀
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WHEN I WAS AGE FOUR OR FIVE, I OFTEN SAW PEOPLE AS HAZY FORMS. IF I JUST SAT DOWN IN THE LIVING ROOM AND LOOKED AROUND AT MY FAMILY - MY MOTHER, FATHER, BROTHER, SISTERS - I WOULD SEE THEM AS HAZY BEINGS, LIKE GHOSTS, MOVING HERE AND THERE. IF I WAS MOVING AROUND OR TALKING, THEY APPEARED AS PEOPLE. BUT IF I SIMPLY SAT, I WOULD SEE THEM AS SMOKY FIGURES FLOATING AROUND. AND ONCE YOU SEE PEOPLE AS SEMI-SOLID SMOKY BEINGS, THE WHOLE DRAMA OF EVERYDAY LIFE BECOMES UTTERLY MEANINGLESS. SUDDENLY, MY DAD WOULD COME AND ASK, "WHAT ABOUT YOUR MATHEMATICS QUARTERLY EXAM? I HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS TAKING ABOUT! IT WAS LIKE WATCHING TELEVISION AFTER PRESSING THE MUTE BUTTON.
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ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DID NOT REALLY MAKE MUCH OF AN IMPRESSION ON ME WAS A PERSON'S GENDER. THIS WOULD NOT REGISTER IN MY MIND FOR A LONG TIME. EVEN LATER IN MY LIFE, I NEVER PAID VERY MUCH ATTENTION TO THE PHYSICAL FORM OF A PERSON. WHAT ALWAYS DREW MY ATTENTION WAS A LARGER, HAZIER FORM THAT I COULD CLEARLY SEE AROUND THEM. I NEVER FELT THE NEED TO DEFINE THESE FORMS TO MYSELF. BUT I REALIZED LATER THAT THESE WERE ENERGY BODIES THAT EVERY LIVING BEING CARRIES. IN YOGIC TERMINOLOGY, THIS IS TERMED THE PRANAMAYAKOSHA. IT IS POSSIBLE TO CLEARLY SEE KARMA IMPRINTED ON THIS LEVEL.
THIS MAY BE DIFFICULT TO GRASP, BUT MY MIND IS NEVER INCLINED TO UNDERSTAND ANYTHING THAT I SEE. IF I DON'T SEE CLEARLY, I LOOK AT SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE ATTENTIVELY, BUT I DON'T MAKE AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND SOMETHING INTELLECTUALLY. IF YOU WANT TO SEE KEENLY, YOU SIMPLY LEARN TO SHARPEN YOUR PERCEPTION . IF YOU LOOK AT A TREE KEENLY ENOUGH, FOR INSTANCE, YOU DON'T NEED TO READ A GARDENING MANUAL - YOU CAN ASSESS WHETHER IT HAS RECEIVED ENOUGH SUNLIGHT OR WATER.
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THAT IS WHAT THE YOGIC DISCIPLINE IS ALL ABOUT. JUST LEARNING TO LOOK. THIS IS WHY I KEEP TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT ME. DON'T LOOK FOR ANYTHING. DON'T LOOK FOR THE MEANING OF LIFE. DON'T LOOK FOR GOD. JUST LOOK - THAT'S ALL. THIS IS THE FUNDAMENTAL QUALITY OF A SPIRITUAL SEEKER, AS LIFE IS ABOUT SEEING WHAT IS THERE, NOT ABOUT SEEING WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE.
SINCE PEOPLE ARE SO IDENTIFIED WITH THEIR OWN INDIVIDUALITY, SHAPED BY THEIR KARMIC SUBSTANCE, THEY REFLECT THE SAME LIMITATIONS. THEY SEE EVERYBODY AS LIMITED INDIVIDUALS BECAUSE THEY SEE THEMSELVES THE SAME WAY. INSTEAD OF SEEING LIFE AS JUST LIFE, THEY IDENTIFY WITH FRAGMENTS OF IT.
💫 THE EIGHT DIMENSIONS💫
THE YOGIC TRADITION HAS AN ELABORATE METHOD OF DIFFERENTIATING MEMORY. IT DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN EIGHT DIMENSIONS, OR "MEMBRANCES" OF MEMORY. ELEMENTAL, ATOMIC, EVOLUTIONARY, GENETIC, KARMIC, SENSORY, ARTICULATE, AND INARTICUTE.
ALL EIGHT CAN BE SEEN ESSENTIALLY AS HUMAN KARMA. THE FIRST FOUR ARE TYPES OF MEMORY IN WHICH PERSONAL VOLITION PLAYS NO ROLE. THE NEXT FOUR ARE THOSE IN WHICH PERSONAL VOLITION DOES PLAY A ROLE. IN OTHER WORDS, THE FIRST FOUR CONSTITUDE OUR COLLECTIVE KARMA, THE NEXT FOUR CONSTITUTE OUR INDIVIDUAL KARMA.
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LET US EXAMINE THE FIRST FOUR ASPECTS OF MEMORY, THE ONES IN WHICH PERSONAL VOLITION PLAYS ON ROLE:
ELEMENTARY MEMORY REFERS TO THE WAY THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF YOUR SYSTEM - EARTH, WATER, FIRE, AIR, AND ETHER - SHAPE WHO YOU ARE. THEY CARRYT WITH THEM MEMORIES FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF CREATION.
ATOMIC MEMORY - THE FLUCTUATING PATTERNS OF ATOMS THAT MAKE UP YOUR BODY - MOLDS YOUR SYSTEM FURTHER.
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EVOLUTIONARY MEMORY HONES YOUR BIOLOGY. IT IS THIS EVOLUTIONARY SOLFTWARE THAT MAKES YOU A HUMAN BEING, FOR INSTANCE, AND NOT AN ANIMAL. EVEN IF YOU EAT DOG FOOD, YOU REMAIN A HUMAN BEING! THIS EVOLUTIONARY CODE IS IMPRINTED DEEPLY UPON YOUR DNA.
