sorry to just take a piece and respond to it but I'm liable to get too wordy so just quoting this much:
Ian said: There's a tendency to talk of designated focus levels as the belief system territories, and of those above as somehow being different. Perhaps there's no escaping the spontaneous manifestation of whatever until we finally drop all beliefs....
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It's not that it's just a tendency to talk of the focus levels as the BST's.. we use these terms to communicate to each other concepts which originated from TMI, otherwise none of us would be on the same page, so I think we couldn't really get to an understanding. I think I hear you saying you are understanding two schools of thought simultaneously, and when we say BST, you are thinking "state of consciousness?"
both would be correct and neither incorrect. From yet another school of thought there is no definitive edges of the BST's as we might think, and we might see levels as rather groupings of the like minded, and stations of consciousness as similar vibrations mingling, like our cities and towns here, you can understand each town has a certain atmosphere.
We could see a spider web or matrix of belief systems, where there is not higher or lower but a merge from the center, the outermost thread can be felt as another reverberation of another consciousness level. For sure nonduality exists as a state of consciousness, I call that 4rth dimensional shifting personally, Monroe expresses it as there is nothing good, there is nothing bad, all just is.
the thing about having no beliefs whatsoever does not mean we should strive to abandon our current beliefs, but be open as R suggests through what we're doing now, interacting.
Also it is possible to slide from one belief to the next as in an ascension process we could call it. I was referring to it in terms of greased pig ascension and Alan was repulsed the other day
moving right along..I think the first step of gaining clarity about these issues we discuss here was summed up "what I was shown was what I could accept, and implies there is more to find out."
R's statement..my rewording..the first step of enlightenment is to realize we know nothing, and so the value must be found in our togetherness for the while then Ian says what the key is, he is saying the same thing..be open.
Essentially, we are explorers of Mind dimensions.
My helpers, guides, people I meet on the other side, Ian, they are just people who once were physical. In that sense they are not above me, but come in love to make suggestions. If I were to say put them as higher than myself, I don't think I could really hear what they are telling me, so I see them as friendly beings and that way I can make contact more easily. Lately, the idea we are all One, like disc members idea, appeals to me, although it's never been a vision I experienced, it was Bruce's major vision I believe, and we accepted it here.
If it makes anyone feel not a part of our oneness, that was not it's intention. So Ian, and all, you are all in my disc.