Aware of Both Dimensions
Dear Carrie,Thank you for your inquiry. What I understand Gangaji to be saying in the passage below is that most people identify very strongly and only with the ’story’ of their life up to the present moment. They feel defined by what they have done or not done, and what others have done or not done to them. They feel that life began for them when they were born and wlll end when their body/mind/personality dies. Because such people seem not to be conscious of any other dimension of their life … they could be said to be ‘unconscious’ in this sense.
As consciousness arises in an unconscious person, however, they begin to ‘notice’ their thoughts, feelings and sensory perceptions etc. and as more consciousness arises, they begin to notice that they are noticing these internal phenomena.
You could say that first there is awareness of things and then there is awareness of Awareness itself which is a no-thing or what might be called ‘Spirit’.
It is then seen that while things in awareness come and go, Awareness Itself does not — it is always there and changeless, because it is not a ‘thing’ that can change. At this point, it may be recognized or understood, that one’s previous total identification with the body/mind/personality and its ’story’ was incorrect — and it is then understood, that in fact, one is much more than this — that there is an infinite and eternal dimension to us as well as a finite and temporal dimension. It is then seen that we are Life Itself and not merely our life experience.
The ego here is very subtle or tricky and there is the possibility if we are not properly guided, that we will swing from identifying totally with the body/mind/personality and its (poor me?) story, to total identification with ‘Spirit’ or the formless Self. The egoic mind then thinks it must reject the material things as being ‘unspiritual’ and if it is ‘allowed’ to do so, then one form or separation and division is simply replaced with another. Also, one story — “I am what happened to this body/mind etc.” is neatly replaced with another story, ie. “I am this spiritual ’being’ who is no longer a body/mind etc.”
The truth that Gangaji is pointing to in the passage below, as I see it, is that in reality, It is all one — and there is no separation or division, or in other words, It’s all God! We are not either finite or infinite, but both at the same time and that neither dimension should be ignored or denied. The truth is, she asserts, is that we are already and always Source and temporarily a particular expression of Source. It can be said, that while being inseparable from the Formless, we are a particular form and within that form, there arise countless other forms — thoughts, ideas, concepts, emotions, bodily sensations, sensory perceptions etc.
The person who is truly awake or conscious, Gangaji is saying, is a two-dimensional being, whereas, the person who is unawake or unconscious could be said to function only in one dimension (even though they too are inately two-dimensional). The barely awake or deluded person will have some understanding of the formless (compared with form) dimension of their life but will identify with only one or the other, and may even alternate between one or the other at various stages in their life experience … which would amount to just another episode in the old self-defining story.
Carrie, I hope this has clarified the quote a little for you. If not, please get back to me with more specific questions. Of course, if you can pick up a copy of Gangaji’s excellent book, The Diamond in Your Pocket’ and read the quote in its context, I’m sure that would bring even more clarification for you.
