The single most important and far-reaching idea that changed my life is simple to state:
All are One.
Oddly enough it was Hofstadter's GEB[1] that clued me and not a religious or spiritual book. Somehow I directly intuited that the "strange loop" at the core of each being was none other than the Universal "strange loop" at the core of everything.
"Thou art That."
The thing that is both speaking and being said.
You have a body but you are not your body; you have emotions but you are not your emotions; you have thoughts but you are not your thoughts; you have will but you are not your will. You are that which is awareness: Being-Consciousness-Bliss Sat-Chit-Ananda.[2]
From this, all morality and ethics flow easily and firmly.
One can walk down the street and watch the expressions on peoples faces change as they are observed from this context or viewpoint. Toughs melt into shy little boys and old ladies smile.
On the subject of bliss: it's not an emotion. It's more like gravity or electricity, fundamental and physical. (Just something I wanted to record.)
The single most important and far-reaching idea that changed my life is simple to state:
All are One.
Oddly enough it was Hofstadter's GEB[1] that clued me and not a religious or spiritual book. Somehow I directly intuited that the "strange loop" at the core of each being was none other than the Universal "strange loop" at the core of everything.
"Thou art That."
The thing that is both speaking and being said.
You have a body but you are not your body; you have emotions but you are not your emotions; you have thoughts but you are not your thoughts; you have will but you are not your will. You are that which is awareness: Being-Consciousness-Bliss Sat-Chit-Ananda.[2]
From this, all morality and ethics flow easily and firmly.
One can walk down the street and watch the expressions on peoples faces change as they are observed from this context or viewpoint. Toughs melt into shy little boys and old ladies smile.
On the subject of bliss: it's not an emotion. It's more like gravity or electricity, fundamental and physical. (Just something I wanted to record.)
[1] "Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gödel,_Escher,_Bach
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satcitananda