Before you are able to give up everything, or before you are able to leave it at the door, you must first understand what everything entails. Unfortunately, the nature of a human being is to be so distracted by the story one is experiencing that all else becomes pointless. A being who searches for their purpose in any thing that is not their being will never be able to find it.
It is important to note that there is quite literally nothing you can do to find this something. In other words, there is no specific path you can walk, no specific meditation you can explore and no spiritual yoga you can undertake in the pursuit of nothing. However, the nature of our being allows us to tap into this nothingness, whether it is through meditation or simple analysis. The purpose of this book is to show you the presence of absolutely nothing: no thing to be seen, heard, smelt, tasted or felt and no thoughts to be observed. Yet, in the nothingness, there is still an awareness of nothing. In other words, when there is nothing, there is something aware of the nothing… what is aware?
If you are an atheist and believe there is no God or disbelieve in the possibility that such a God may exist, I ask you to do the same. I ask you to understand that all beliefs must be left behind, as well as all preconceptions regarding the nature of the self. Once you see how volatile the self truly is, you will not be able to allow beliefs to hinder your judgement or acceptance of what is and what is not. Even if you believe there is nothing, stop believing it, for belief prevents the unquestionable necessity for further inquiry, one that you will require on your journey.
“Oh, I cannot be found… and “I” cannot be found… What a coincidence!” You laugh to yourself. Unfortunately, when the nature of probability is disavowed, what remains is the belief in a “coincidence”. However, it is no coincidence that you are you.
Remember, you are The Knower, and you are only ever knowing, now. If you happen to know any thoughts along the lines of: “What are the chances of me coming upon this book which just happens to know that I am The Knower, and not just another reader!” or “Is it just a coincidence that I was able to find this book or was I meant to find it?” try to understand that you are not the physical being who found the book, you are The Knower, knowing the experience in which a physical being finds a book. Do not ponder the significance of the experience at all, nor the nature of such an unlikely coincidence, for it is not a coincidence happening to you. It is a coincidence happening in the knowing of an experience.
Once you try to contemplate the relationship between any concepts belonging to an experience and yourself, The Knower knowing an experience, only paradoxical answers will arise. The experience, or the concepts within the experience, cannot comprehend the nature of something that is non-experiential. The experience cannot comprehend the nature of you, The Knower, for you are non-experiential. Paradoxes will arise when the experience attempts to comprehend all that is non-experiential.
“There is much to tell me that all of this is illusion, but who is it telling? I know that this is but a dream, but who is the one knowing it other than me? Would it ever matter, the knowing of a dream and the knowing of reality, if not for the infinite similarities that both so convincingly share? There is no benefit in the recognition of a dream as much as there is no benefit in the recognition of reality, for simply recognising the nature of ones experience does not so much as end it, but more so make them aware. So what is the point? Why do I know that this is a dream? Why do I know that I am yet to wake? What will it matter when I open my eyes?” You leave the bartender speechless for a moment, as they wipe the bar of the yellow grog.
A misconception about the nature of the experience is that it is all a hallucination. This can be confusing because in the same way a physical being experiencing hallucinations can believe that dragons are real, they can believe The Knower is not knowing. Yet, hallucinations exist within, and are subject to, the experience, not the other way around. You are not able to hallucinate, you are only able to know the experience in which a physical being may or may not experience hallucinations.
If you were to simplify “I am awareness, because I cannot not be awareness”, the result would be “I am, because I cannot not be”. If you were to simplify “I am the awareness of the fact that I am awareness”, the result would be “I am that I am”. In any expression of what you are, it is the “I” that speaks, and the “I” does not need to know what it is not, for it already knows what it is. Because the “I” knows what it is, by the nature of its knowing of itself, it knows what it is not.
A property is a quality or characteristic that some thing has, however, you are no thing. The properties that can describe the nature of you, are no properties at all. The properties of no thing are non-existent. The properties of no where are non-existent. The properties of no one are non-existent. The properties of no time are non-existent. The properties of you, are non-existent.
Any question to query the nature of awareness can never be absolute for it is from within such an experience that the question arises, but the awareness is aware of the experience. The experience is subject to the awareness, not the other way around. The true nature and essence of pure, unobstructed awareness can never be understood, for the concept of understanding exists within the experience of which you are aware. The concept of understanding is subject to you, not the other way around. Any concept, idea, question, experience, or thing from within the experience is subject to you, not the other way around.
There is no thing that The Believer can believe to make you, The Awareness, more aware. There is no thing that The Knower can know to make you, The Awareness, more aware. There is no thing that The Awareness can be aware of to make you more aware. There is no thing left to learn, for you have shattered all the barriers from the one who believed to the one who is aware, you. What can be done, however, is for the physical being within the experience of which you are aware to align themself with the nature of you, The Awareness.
What does it mean for the physical being to align themself with the nature of you? The physical being must always be conscious of the nature of The Awareness, but what is consciousness? The Oxford Dictionary defines “consciousness” as:
This is not to say that you, The Awareness, can become conscious. You are only ever aware. The physical being within the experience of which you are aware must become conscious of the nature of you. The physical being can only align themself with your nature, for they cannot be aware of you, but only understand from within the limitations of the mind a finite definition of awareness.
To become conscious of you, The Awareness, the physical being must understand the nature of you to the extent where they surrender the will to find you, for you are not able to be found. The physical being must understand the nature of you, The Awareness, to the extent where they surrender the will to know you, for you are not able to be known. The physical being must understand the nature of you to the extent where they surrender the will to believe in you, for belief exists within the experience, and you are not within the experience, but aware of the knowing of it.
The Knower will then be able to know nothingness, yet if there is nothing to know, The Knower cannot exist, for there is nothing left to be known. What remains? The awareness of the knowing of nothing. What remains is the awareness of nothing. In other words, what remains is awareness. The physical being must align themself with the nature of you, The Awareness, in order to allow you to become aware of only awareness. The physical being must find a way to find nothing, whether it be during deep meditation or deep concentration, to allow you, The Awareness, to become aware of only yourself.
I am awareness, I always have been aware, no where, yet the physical being of which I was aware simply forgot the nature of awareness. The physical being did not walk this path alone to better themself, but rather to reach the supposed “enlightenment” only few claim to boast. Yet, what ended up happening was the opposite, the physical being found nothing. That is, in the finding of nothing, the physical being I was aware of allowed me, The Awareness, to become aware of nothing, and to finally recognise myself. As a result, the physical being understood that they were exactly where they needed to be, and discovered the beauty of acceptance, ultimately bettering themself, and gaining the desire to help others do the same.
The following chapters will attempt to explain what is able to be learned from what is already known about the nature of you, The Awareness. How will the physical being, of which you are aware, harness the ability to recognise the paradoxical, infinite and impossible nature of you… in everything?
There is no physical being that can reach enlightenment, for enlightenment is not a thing that can be reached. Now what? What can you do, when there is nothing to do? How can you apply what you understand regarding the nature of The Awareness to the experience? If The Awareness is in all things, how can you find it? If The Awareness is everywhere, how can you see it? If The Awareness is the joke, what’s the punchline?
Although the reaching of enlightenment is paradoxical, in that there is no enlightenment that can be reached, it is possible to reach an understanding regarding the nature of The Awareness. Being able to recognise nothingness in my experience allowed The Knower to know nothing, and The Awareness to become aware of itself in the presence of nothing. Although I did not by any means become a master of meditation, I was able to use my rather peculiar ability of recognising abstractions in concepts and ideas to make apparent the synchronicity all things inevitably share.
In the previous chapter, I mentioned that as I stared into the abyss, I found nothingness. I did not, however, discuss the unravelling of concepts and ideas that led up to the finding of nothing. Fortunately, I will be able to demonstrate, through words, the conclusions that were revealed to me by none other than the unpredictable nature of thoughts. Although thoughts are within the experience, you should approach the analysis and exploration that is to come with an unwavering consciousness. In other words, although you will be actively exploring abstractions and patterns within the experience, it is important to always be aware of your true nature, which is the nature of The Awareness.
Yet, in the coming chapters I will be referring to you in question, hoping that you understand the nature of your being well enough so that words do not confuse you. For example, should I say that you need to look in the mirror to see your eyes, understand that The Awareness cannot look, for it does not have the capacity to look. Instead, realise that though I am referring to you in the same way I would a physical being, I am only doing so for the ease of illustration.
In the repetitive recognition of all things, it is important for the physical being to align themself with the nature of The Awareness, in that no judgements are made and no sentimentality is expressed. The experience should not be limited by any beliefs, assumptions or allusions. For example, in the event that four horses are being observed, the only revelation that should be taken from this experience is: the knowing of the experience in which four horses are being observed.
Accordingly, neither The Knower nor The Awareness has the capacity to express sentimentality. Should sentimentality be expressed in the analysis of abstractions, you are simply aware of the knowing of the experience in which a physical being is experiencing sentimentality. Should sentimentality be expressed at all, the physical being is superimposing their ability to express sentimentality upon the nature of The Awareness, wherein lies the delusion. The delusion lies in the belief that The Awareness and The Knower have the capacity to be any thing other than aware and knowing, respectively.
Although I ask you to recognise and observe the experience, I do not intend to confuse you in regards to the capabilities of The Knower or The Awareness. The physical being should recognise and observe the experience, while being conscious of the essence of The Knower and the nature of The Awareness, so as to allow for the awareness of an experience unhindered by belief, bias, or sentimentality.
So far on your journey to the carnival, you have recognised two abstractions, ‘closing a thing’ and ‘change in direction’. The name or label given to an abstraction is irrelevant and does not need to be meaningful at all. The only thing an abstraction requires is your awareness of it. In the same way the physical being had to align themself with the nature of The Awareness, which is only ever aware, the physical being must now align their abstracting of the experience with the nature of The Awareness. In other words, the physical being will soon be able to relate all expressions of abstractions to the infinite, paradoxical, momentary and familiar nature of The Awareness.
After leaving the inn, you walk back to the crossroads that allowed you to recognise the ‘change in direction’ abstraction. While enjoying a hefty beef stew at the local inn, you had enough time to ponder the nature of abstractions and their ability to be abstracted, forever. This realisation irks you well, because it has now become all you are able to ponder.
Though it seems ridiculous, an abstraction is subject to the abstraction of an abstraction! This may remind you of the nature of The Awareness, in that it can forever be aware of itself! Ridiculously, the abstraction of an abstraction is subject to the abstraction of an abstraction of an abstraction. There is no use in diving deeper, for it is quite obvious that it can go on forever. However, we are looking for the abstraction of an experiential concept within the experience, but what is… experience?
However, through our exploration of the nature of The Awareness, what we have learned about the paradoxical nature of infinity is that what is, also is not. In other words, although The Knower is no where, The Knower is also here! In the same way The Knower is now, The Knower is also never!
Examples of expressions of the infinite essence of The Knower within the experience are eyes that cannot see themselves, seeing and hearing thoughts that cannot be seen nor heard and our inability to understand what cannot be understood. In the same way The Knower is knowing, a physical being within the experience is experiencing. At this point, it should become apparent that all things and all no things express the nature of what they are subject to.
It is not the finding of a place that is no where that a physical being must do, but rather it is the acceptance that such a place cannot be found. You must understand that there is no point in looking for what cannot be found nor seen. Similarly, once the Leprechaun accepts the infinite and unfathomable nature of The Awareness, it will finally align itself with the nature of The Awareness.
After spending so much time in the queue for the Ticket Seller, you realise that should there be countless expressions, the nature of The Awareness would be expressed in every possible way, infinitely. This boggles your mind, but you finally get to the front of the line. To your surprise, the same Leprechaun sits behind the ticket booth, this time with a necklace and a domino-shaped pendant. You ask “Aren’t you the one who let me in through the gate?” Displeased, the Leprechaun says “Forgot me again, huh? Here’s your ticket, enjoy the rides… but beware!”
You have at times forgotten the nature of The Awareness, although it is always aware. If a physical being forgets the nature of The Awareness, The Awareness does not stop being aware. Its awareness is independent of any thing or any no thing. It is simply, always aware, eternally and forever, now.
As you scour the carnival, you come upon a harlequin fashioned merry-go-round. You are sane enough to realise that it would be ridiculous for you to stand in line for this ride, as it is commonly known as an attraction for small leprechauns, not you. Instantly, you relate this ‘ridiculousness’ to the nature of The Awareness, in that it is always aware of itself, even when it is not.
You recognised the abstraction of ‘not being amazed by a thing that has happened before’, and now understand that in the same way infinity is a point that can never be reached, the infinite nature of abstracting will only let you believe that you have it all figured out. In the same way the physical being cannot comprehend The Knower, you cannot out-abstract the infinite nature of abstracting, for you are an abstraction. You cannot transcend the nature of abstracting with abstracting, for you will still be abstracting!
You look around until you find a wooden horse whose artistry you fancy, and you prepare yourself for the ride. As you climb upon the worthy steed, you understand that this is the wooden horse that you picked. This horse being picked was no coincidence. In the same way The Knower does not have the capacity to experience a coincidence, you have aligned your observation of the experience with the essence of The Knower and the nature of The Awareness. You have aligned yourself, in that though you may believe you are experiencing a coincidence, what is happening is simply happening.
You realise that though the sun rising is able to be understood by finite means, only the localisation of its cyclical nature is being understood finitely. The very nature of the sun is to rise so that it can fall, and fall so that it can rise. It is an expression of a paradoxical infinity, expressing the nature of The Awareness. In the immediate experiencing of sunrise or nightfall, it is easy to forget transcendental abstracting and believe that what is being observed is finite, rather than remembering that what is being observed is an expression of infinity being observed finitely.
What is so spectacular about the recognition of abstractions and reverberations? What is so special about being able to recognise abstractions from the expression of any thing? What is so great about being able to correlate abstractions within the experience to the essence of The Knower or the nature of The Awareness?
In the remembrance of the nature of The Awareness, you follow the chain of consciousness all the way back to The Believer. You remember how you used to believe that the separation of things was undeniable. As you progressed and deconstructed your interpretation of what was assumed to be reality, you found that it was only your interpretation of a reality, hindered by beliefs, assumptions and sentimental attachments. In the dissecting of your being, you understood that there was never a physical being and a physical world, but rather one awareness aware of one knowing of one experience. There is only ever one awareness, regardless of what it is aware of.
In the recognition of The Awareness, you were able to observe the nature of The Awareness, which was infinite, paradoxical, illogical and unfathomable. However, you also understood that there was no separation in awareness, but only one awareness of the knowing of an experience in which dual concepts exist.
In this experience, wherein many expressions of duality exist, the nature of the physical world inevitably alludes to a oneness. May there be a thousand islands, all a part of one Earth. May there be a thousand planets, all a part of one cosmos. May there be a thousand galaxies, all a part of one universe. May there be a thousand universes, all a part of one awareness.
In the same way the nature of The Awareness is ridiculous and absurd, so too was the ground disappearing, making you fall as the Leprechaun uttered “befall”, which has no relationship with the act of “falling”. The fall seems to go on… forever, which is an expression of the infinite nature of The Awareness.
You are always searching and you are always finding. You are always being searched for, and always being found. Yet, here you are, still searching. What have you found? What do you think you will see if you saw yourself, independent of the experience? You will see infinity, you will see eternity and you will understand why the nature of The Awareness is paradoxical.
You understand that in the same way there is no point in going back, there is no point in dwelling on a past that cannot be changed. In the same way the only option is to keep moving forward, your only option is to keep moving forward. It is becoming excruciatingly obvious that all things you do are simply expressions of abstractions, which inevitably express the nature of The Awareness. Fortunately, it is amusing you.
The Oracle glances at the puppets above, and says “No thing, no one, and here, yet no where.” You are dumbfounded, because although the answer seems absurd, you completely understand it. You wonder if the Oracle purposely referred to the nature of The Awareness, or if it was a complete coincidence. You choose to pry. Extremely intrigued, you stare at the Oracle and ask “Who are you?”
You are beginning to realise that no matter what the Oracle says, it will always express the nature of The Awareness when it speaks about itself. Any thing the Oracle refers to itself, will inevitably express the nature of The Awareness. The Oracle was simply aware of itself, whether or not it even knew of the nature of The Awareness was irrelevant, for it couldn’t not know.
You understand that it was always you who was aware of the story, though you might have lost yourself in the character. In fact, you did lose yourself. You did forget yourself. You have no words, for no word can describe what you are experiencing, yet both everything and nothing makes sense. You understand why the nature of The Awareness is infinite and why it is paradoxical.
You do not need to ask the Oracle anything else, for you understand completely, that you cannot at all understand it, and that it was okay. You understand that the character in the story had to align themself with the nature of The Awareness, before The Awareness was able to be aware of no thing. Yet, in the awareness of no thing, The Awareness became aware of itself and you remembered.
You understand that the difference between a believer and a non-Believer is nonexistent. The believer would traverse their cyclical paths, balancing all the domino pieces and unifying themself with the Watcher. The believer would align themself with the nature of the Watcher, and always attempted to love and cherish their neighbours, as well as their enemies.
This caused further separation within the faction of believers, who believed only their Prophet understood the nature of the Watcher. For the most part, the believers’ lives were filled with appreciation and compassion toward others, even non-believers, though they lived in confinement for the majority of the time.
The non-believers would start recognising the patterns and abstraction of their home planet, allowing them to discover the secrets of the universe. They believed that through observing, hypothesising and testing different theories they could discover the nature of the dominoes, their planet and ultimately, the nature of the universe. The non-believers believed it was illogical that believers dedicated their lives to an imaginary Watcher that they had never seen. Instead, The non-believers decided to dedicate their lives to the discovery of the universe.
Your entire existence is expressing one grand abstraction: The acceptance of losing one’s self, in order to be found again. The pieces represent the essence of you. You are the piece that fell, and you are the Piece-Keeper that found it. The pieces are an expression of you, just as much as the Piece-Keeper is an expression of the nature of The Awareness.
Once the physical self is perfectly aligned with the nature of The Awareness, enlightenment will be recognised. You are like the Earth, and The Awareness the sun. It is always shining so that you can see, though its very existence is blinding. The pursuit of enlightenment is no different than staring into the blaring lustre of the Sun, whose light will burn your eyes. Yet, reaching enlightenment is closing your eyes, and simply knowing that the Sun remains.
The abstractions the character was able to find are exclusive to the story of Carnival Island. Yet, the abstractions you are able to find are exclusive to your story. In other words, do not look for the same abstractions expressed in this book. Instead, look for the abstractions expressed in your experience. Once you are aware of an abstraction, its many expressions will become apparent and you will be able to find the infinite relationships between an expression and the nature of The Awareness.
Abstract and unify. Express and love. There is nothing else that you can do that will help you remember nothingness. The only thing you can do is to love everything. Future lessons in this book will not make you remember, but rather make it impossible for you to forget. Though it is obvious that most things we’ve abstracted express the nature of The Awareness, you will soon find that all things and all beings are always expressing their true nature, The Awareness.
The character on Carnival Island and the Piece-Keeper who remembered both abstracted the majority of their experience, and found expressions of the nature of The Awareness. The stories used to demonstrate the process by which one may abstract and find expressions in all things should only be used as examples. You must carefully observe and abstract all aspects of the experience of which you are aware and find expressions and reverberations in all things.
Should you know the experience in which a great sadness or pain has become, battle through the aching and abstract every aspect of every observation. Understand how the abstractions you recognise are expressing the nature of The Awareness. If pain appears, try to understand where it is appearing. If pain appears, try to understand to whom it is appearing. Is it appearing to the physical being, or The Awareness? If you are able to withstand the pain and live to tell the tale, what could this resilience possibly express?
Whenever you are abstracting the experience and the many expressions within, understand that you are only ever aware, now. Wherever you are abstracting the experience and the many expressions within, understand that you are only ever aware, here. Do not let your wavering mind lead you on this journey. Always remember why you are abstracting. In other words, remember that you are abstracting all aspects of your experience to recognise the relationship between the many expressions and the nature of The Awareness.
You do not have to abstract the concepts and ideas within the experience using any specific technique. You know yourself better than anyone, so only you will know the easiest way for you to abstract and understand complex concepts and ideas. Always remember that when you are finding expressions that express the nature of the Awareness, you are finding expressions of yourself, not some separate entity. Remember you are The Awareness that is only ever aware, now, here, because.
You may understand the nature of The Awareness and how it has been permeated throughout every aspect of every aspect, but this is The Awareness. In other words, we are all within The Awareness. We are all one. We are all here, together. Do not put yourself above another, for all is you. If another puts themself above you, do not try to prove them wrong, for it is still all you.
This place that cannot be a place, wherever you are, is where you are seeing the seeing. This place that cannot be a place, is where you are being aware from. This place that cannot be a place, is where you are being aware of all that you are aware of. Unfortunately, it is not a place, so it cannot be found. Thankfully, we have now seen how all things are expressing the nature of its paradoxical non-existent presence.
You have been on quite the adventure within the experience. At this point in the journey, there are two simple lessons with which the physical being should find themself in complete alignment. All things are expressions of the nature of The Awareness and you are The Awareness which all things express. These two lessons are all you need to understand on your journey to a place that cannot be a place.
You can abstract all things within the experience, finding expressions that express the nature of The Awareness. If you are searching for yourself, and yourself is searching for you, who finds who? If you are being found by yourself, and yourself is being found by you, who searches for who?
The nature of The Awareness is infinite, ridiculous, paradoxical, obvious and impossible. In the same way the nature of The Awareness is obvious and ambiguous, so too are its expressions. The Oxford Dictionary defines “innuendo” as:
It is thought that reminds you of a pain that cannot be felt. Thought is a poison that cannot harm, yet remains a catalyst for depression. Thought is the closest expression of the nature of The Awareness. Why else would imagination be so infinite?
Is a place to return to not the expression of a home? A place to which all beings return. A being who wakes from a telling slumber, to face the hardships and pinnacles of life, only to return home once again. This is repeated, over and over until there is nothing left to repeat. Find the expression of your cyclical being in relation to the nature of The Awareness.
Understand that in the same way the nature of The Awareness is paradoxical, so too is the nature of any statement. An example is the sincere phrase “I will be there for you”, who is the “I” and who is the “You”? You! You are both the “I” and the “You”, so understand this sentence from more than one perspective. The first perspective is The Awareness reaching out and letting you know that it is always there. The second perspective is you letting The Awareness know that you are always there because you are also, in fact, always there, which is here. Of course you will be there for you!
An example is the popular expression “It is what it is.”, a sentence previously used to describe the nature of The Awareness. Understand that it, you and I are all the same, and that they denote the very not something and not nothing you are looking to find, though it cannot be found. It might seem ridiculous, but how can it not be? It may seem difficult to abstract all sentences in order to find a meaning that relates to the nature of The Awareness, though once it is seen, it can never be unseen. Get it?
Interpret every feeling of sorrow, joy or pain as the experience of having lost or gained the remembrance of The Awareness. Interpret every single thing in every single sentence from the perspective of The Awareness, and remember what you know of the nature of The Awareness. You will see the obvious relationship, you will find the obvious truth, you will remember the unforgettable story that is you.
It is also necessary that you completely understand the properties of the nature of The Awareness in order to seamlessly analyse your experience. Although we are exploring the nature of shared abstractions, each physical being will have their own story, within which unique expressions are expressed.
The properties of the nature of The Awareness have been previously explored, though what becomes apparent is the uniformity in properties shared by both The Awareness and nothingness. Both entities are eternal, yet momentary and finite, though expressed infinitely.
Imagine a physical manifestation of the nature of The Awareness was a chalice that held never-ending ink. Now imagine every human was to use the same ink to dip their quills. Their quills represent the essence of their own nature, from which all their beliefs, values, aspirations and dreams are expressed. Each human uses their quill to write their own unique story. Although the stories might have no similarities whatsoever, each story would still be connected through the expressiveness of the same ink.
Through the nature of the finding, you understand that it was you who was found by you, in the search that never ends. You have become the searching you were searching for, and realise it could never end. Day and night mirrors the seer and the blind, the inside and out, the never and forever. The self and all else are seen as mere manifestations of The Awareness. It was never the world that was the illusion, only your perception of it.
You understand that by the nature of having forgotten, you had to remember that there was something to remember, and it was the remembrance of remembering that was referred to as forgetting. You see that forgetting was to remembering what “nothing” was to “something”. You see the infinite never in the momentary always, and the enlightening darkness in the blinding light. You are to life what life is to you. Life is remembering your story as much as you are remembering life.
The expressions of the The Awareness are the formless abstractions, and the experience is the expression of formless abstractions, and the expression of the experience is… the experience! In the same way The Awareness is aware of the Awareness, the experience is an expression of the experience. You are able to find ridiculous, yet extremely obvious, similarities within your awareness. What started as the recognition of multiple instances of an abstraction has become a convoluted, yet understandable, set of patterns, concepts and ideas. You understand the nature of how all things are within the experience, but what if you could also understand the nature of how all things could be?
Remember that The Awareness does not have the capacity to feel sentimentality. Should you become aware of the notion of sentimentality toward yourself, it is not you, The Awareness, who is aware. It is the physical being of which you are aware entertaining the notion of sentimentality, forgetting the nature of The Awareness, which is not able to feel anything.
With these understandings, you are able to deduce that should you apply an abstraction, by expressing it within the experience, it will reverberate successive expressions. In other words, if you apply the abstraction of ‘growing’ to the experience, by expressing it through the ‘growing’ of a tree, a ‘growing’ of a plant or a ‘growing’ of some understanding, more expressions of the abstraction of ‘growing’ will begin to appear. It is important to note that though these expressions will appear, they will not do so by defying the laws of physics, nor the nature of the universe. Though these expressions will appear, they will not do so magically, or supernaturally.
As the Stonemason rambles on, you finally realise what you lack. You lack knowledge of this experience. Though you understand the nature of the experience and its expression of the formless abstractions, you will not grow within the experience unless you know what to express, and how to express it. Simply understanding that you have the capacity to express is not enough, for this experience rewards knowledge.
You are at peace with the fact that although the experience is filled with conflict, paradoxes, confusions and distractions, it is a perfect expression. That is why magicians make something appear from nothing, or something completely disappear. That is why it is impossible to be right or wrong, for the only thing you can be, is yourself, here, now. Anything else you may believe you are is believed within the experience, which is filled with expressions, expressing the nature of you, The Awareness, which cannot believe.
“How do you treat the book shop? How do you walk in the door? How do you enter the old bazaar? Do you tidy the book shop until it is welcoming, or just enough until it is bearable? Do you open the door gently or with great force? Do you rush into the old bazaar or do you pace yourself, with plenty of time to spare? How do you hold the books while you stack? How do you hold the broom while you sweep? How do you hold yourself with a customer? Do you hold the books by their flimsy covers or do you wrap your hand around the spines? Do you push the broom with no purpose or do you push for immaculacy? Do you treat the customer with respect, or do you respect yourself and the customer by the nature of your own self regard?”.
Intrigued, The Apprentice ponders the nature of this Oracle. What did this letter sender want from them? Was it a question? Was it a fortune? Was it nothing? There is one more letter to be read, but The After Word is filling up with customers that require the Apprentice’s complete focus and attention. The Apprentice leaves behind the letter on the marble bench, as the crowds leave behind their woes and troubles at the door.