Last night I was meditating on what the Dalai Lama calls the "luminosity of the mind." His choice of the word "luminosity" is interesting and I wasn't sure I agreed with it so I wanted to grok it. (Aside: This is my first ever use of the word grok, for which I thank Curran who introduced it to me.) The word luminosity flowed through my mind, picking up meaning, then dissolving, then being interrupted by other thoughts which in turn dissolved. I concentrated on transience, and then imagined the mind as a fire. Fire is luminous, so I liked the analogy anyway.
"Our consciousness burns like a fire on the kindling of our corporeal bodies."
Avoiding the illusion of self:
"Consciousness burns like a fire on the kindling of corporeal bodies."
There are certainly incongruities between the nature of how and why a fire burns, and how and why consciousness comes about, but the analogy still strikes me. It's a powerful image... people walking around with their heads on fire. A Buddhist monk, sitting with the tips of his thumbs just touching, and burning like a bonfire. An Alzheimer's sufferer blackened and charred with little more than a flicker left. How does the consciousness of someone in a coma burn? Is their mind merely a clump of red hot embers waiting to ignite? At any rate, I thought a lot about it, about what it is to clear the mind, to focus the mind, to sharpen the mind.It all makes me want to paint again tonight.
"And when the world turns over, I'll keep my ears to the wall.
And when the world turns over, I'll keep my feet straight on the ground."
-NFG
2 comments:
The consciousness of someone in a coma presents itself as almost a flat line on an EEG. The more you work your mind throughout life, the longer it takes to lose it...therefore, you have nothing to worry about. hah.
I believe the luminosity of mind is an expansion of understanding. Its a kicking out of limitations created through personal filters instilled in us by life experiences. I prefer luminosity of spirit - personal spirit or energy. Through whatever your personal spiritual practice, there is an unhooking from the material world that allows for an embodiment of our true Essence. There are no rules or dogma. Its ultimately a self-empowerment and willingness to embrace who you truly are. This may sound utopic, but its not. So much of our identities are shoved upon us by the culture or society we live in. The luminosity is in the empowerment of claiming and owning what it is that really feeds our soul.
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