I am listening to an audio book of the ACIM-inspired book "The Disappearance of the Universe" while reading Geshe Michael Roach's "The Diamond Cutter." Over the last few years I have returned to both sources again and again. I think they represent part of my trinity: science, spiritual, psychology. Disappearance takes care of the psychology while Diamond handles the spirituality. And then for science I have been interested in "The Physics of Miracles." and some other quantum mechanics texts. It seems like there is a link of pure non-duality between the material science of the West, spirituality of the East, and the point where the East and West meet in the creation of modern psychology and our understanding of the mind.
There are still discrepancies between the three branches in my mind. But the gap between the three is closing as I continue to review the material. ACIM doesn't claim to be a religion, but it's a psychological practice of forgiveness that can be performed by atheists. Christians, Buddhists, anyone. And while "Diamond Cutter" originates from Lord Buddha, the principles of the ultimate wisdom can be practiced by anyone as well.
I feel like I'm getting closer to understanding the mind-body duality of the world and the journey toward pure non-dualism. According to ACIM most religions of the world deal in duality. Buddhism is considered a step above because it is -at least- addressing non-duality. For me, the issue that I have been thinking about for years can be boiled down to a few discrepancies.
1) hypothesis that Buddhism connects us back to the oneness of the mind, but that there is still one more step after that: connection back to God. Conversely ACIM states that it is seeking a reconnect with God and would rather skip that intermediary step.
2) In Buddhism the issue of God is never fully addressed, probably because it is hard to prove the existence or non-existence of a changeless Being in a world that is changing. Instead Buddhism focuses on interdependency and the indivisibility. Interdependency is the positive or shifting image based upon karma. Indivisibility or suchness or emptiness is the foundation or screen that karma is projected on to every moment. But to be clear that screen doesn't exist from its own side. It only exists with the object and it has no levels of change according to scripture. Emptiness of a pen exists and it is changeless and then when that pen is destroyed the emptiness goes away immediately, as oppose to karma which deteriorates. Of course higher levels of Buddhism says that even karma is destroyed every single moment, even though it appears to grow.
In ACIM they claim that anything entangling with matter isn't real or the ultimate and so the world is a byproduct of my neurotic mind. So even studying the highest form of interdependency doesn't result in the ultimate, because it's still about my mind. Granted, the mind being addressed is the quantum mind that is out of time and space. And according to ACIM this is the mind that Buddha got in touch with and that it's still very powerful, but still one step removed from God. ACIM also claims that once someone has attained a mastery of self to reconnect with that ultimate quantum timeless mind then it's very easy to reconnect with the God that stands outside of time and space as well.
3. Extension vs. Creation. ACIM differentiates between masters and angels. Angels were never born, masters were born. Masters came into the world and corrected themselves. They were created through a mistake of duality, just like all bodies. Angels couldn't be created because God doesn't create. Therefore angels are an extensions of God. This seems like splitting hairs but I do wonder about that difference of extension vs. creation. And if angels are an extension and I have to rejoin with God through forgiveness, is there a part of me that is also that 'God extension' which is buried underneath my worldly mind as well as the quantum mind out of time.
4. Forgiveness = emptiness = quantum wavicles.
If forgiveness is the psychological process and emptiness is the scholastic and meditative quandary to consider, is quantum wave/particle split the physical embodiment in the world. According to science all is energy and it is just waves of energy. And then when my focus is pulled toward something that wave condenses or seems to condense into a particle or point. This becomes matter. In Buddhism there is a Master Kamalashila meditation which posits the questions: if you can't see atoms with the eye, how could you ever see an elephant since it's made out of atoms. Now, of course we can see an elephant but the question is 'how?' Elephant is a mental image or a point, but technically an elephant is just waves of energy that has no form. It's condensed into form when I focus on it and think 'elephant.' So quantum physics claims that there is a wavicle: something that is both a wave and a particle at the exact same time until it's forced into a point by mental awareness. And this creates the separation between 'me' and 'them.'
So I am wondering if there is any way to combine the Master Kamalashila meditation of mental images with the forgiveness practice of ACIM and the study of wavicles?
There are still discrepancies between the three branches in my mind. But the gap between the three is closing as I continue to review the material. ACIM doesn't claim to be a religion, but it's a psychological practice of forgiveness that can be performed by atheists. Christians, Buddhists, anyone. And while "Diamond Cutter" originates from Lord Buddha, the principles of the ultimate wisdom can be practiced by anyone as well.
I feel like I'm getting closer to understanding the mind-body duality of the world and the journey toward pure non-dualism. According to ACIM most religions of the world deal in duality. Buddhism is considered a step above because it is -at least- addressing non-duality. For me, the issue that I have been thinking about for years can be boiled down to a few discrepancies.
1) hypothesis that Buddhism connects us back to the oneness of the mind, but that there is still one more step after that: connection back to God. Conversely ACIM states that it is seeking a reconnect with God and would rather skip that intermediary step.
2) In Buddhism the issue of God is never fully addressed, probably because it is hard to prove the existence or non-existence of a changeless Being in a world that is changing. Instead Buddhism focuses on interdependency and the indivisibility. Interdependency is the positive or shifting image based upon karma. Indivisibility or suchness or emptiness is the foundation or screen that karma is projected on to every moment. But to be clear that screen doesn't exist from its own side. It only exists with the object and it has no levels of change according to scripture. Emptiness of a pen exists and it is changeless and then when that pen is destroyed the emptiness goes away immediately, as oppose to karma which deteriorates. Of course higher levels of Buddhism says that even karma is destroyed every single moment, even though it appears to grow.
In ACIM they claim that anything entangling with matter isn't real or the ultimate and so the world is a byproduct of my neurotic mind. So even studying the highest form of interdependency doesn't result in the ultimate, because it's still about my mind. Granted, the mind being addressed is the quantum mind that is out of time and space. And according to ACIM this is the mind that Buddha got in touch with and that it's still very powerful, but still one step removed from God. ACIM also claims that once someone has attained a mastery of self to reconnect with that ultimate quantum timeless mind then it's very easy to reconnect with the God that stands outside of time and space as well.
3. Extension vs. Creation. ACIM differentiates between masters and angels. Angels were never born, masters were born. Masters came into the world and corrected themselves. They were created through a mistake of duality, just like all bodies. Angels couldn't be created because God doesn't create. Therefore angels are an extensions of God. This seems like splitting hairs but I do wonder about that difference of extension vs. creation. And if angels are an extension and I have to rejoin with God through forgiveness, is there a part of me that is also that 'God extension' which is buried underneath my worldly mind as well as the quantum mind out of time.
4. Forgiveness = emptiness = quantum wavicles.
If forgiveness is the psychological process and emptiness is the scholastic and meditative quandary to consider, is quantum wave/particle split the physical embodiment in the world. According to science all is energy and it is just waves of energy. And then when my focus is pulled toward something that wave condenses or seems to condense into a particle or point. This becomes matter. In Buddhism there is a Master Kamalashila meditation which posits the questions: if you can't see atoms with the eye, how could you ever see an elephant since it's made out of atoms. Now, of course we can see an elephant but the question is 'how?' Elephant is a mental image or a point, but technically an elephant is just waves of energy that has no form. It's condensed into form when I focus on it and think 'elephant.' So quantum physics claims that there is a wavicle: something that is both a wave and a particle at the exact same time until it's forced into a point by mental awareness. And this creates the separation between 'me' and 'them.'
So I am wondering if there is any way to combine the Master Kamalashila meditation of mental images with the forgiveness practice of ACIM and the study of wavicles?
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