Strikes me as a lot of presuppositions, Alan. Always best to go look for yourself, in my experience.

Is there someone/something in particular you seek, Alan? I've seen more alien lifeforms on Hollywood Boulevard than most anywhere else I can name. Ha ha, only serious.

Alan McDougall wrote on May 31^st, 2017 at 7:34pm:


Pardon?

rondele wrote on May 30^th, 2017 at 7:10pm:


"our own filters" and "interpreters" are not the best terms for over coming the problem.

Think of them as superimpositions that we place over reality, and which prevent us seeing reality as it is.

These superimpositions consist of our own preferences, likes and dislikes, wants and not-wants, desires for and against.

These superimpositions are like trying to look through pieces of coloured and patterned glass placed upon a clear glass window. They prevent us seeing clearly through the window. They obstruct, colour, distort and prevent our seeing things as they are.

What we need is a clear window of perception, a window of pure transparent glass with no colouring or distortion, so that we can see things as they are, not coloured and not distorted.

Sure, it is good to be aware of our superimpositions, of our own preferences of how we might prefer the truth to be; to be aware of our own likes and dislikes, wants and not-wants, desires for and against, our own irrational aversions and attractions.

But to always be looking for these superimpositions is too much work, too detailed and prone to error and distortion in itself, for it distracts our attention, makes our focus too small in comparison to the wider picture that there is to see. A more overall and blanket approach is required for dealing with such superimpositions.

We need to remove all superimpositions, so that our window of perception is clear - unobstructed, uncoloured and not distorted, so that we see things as they are.

We achieve that with honesty.

Honesty is not a behaviour, it is a condition of mind, soul and perception.

Honesty is the ability to see things as they are.

Speaking things as they are is merely the continuation of honesty, a living out or manifesting of honesty on a material or behavioural level. But honesty itself is in the soul and mind.

Honesty is clarity of mind, and transparency of soul, and hence is clarity of perception. That is why honesty can see things as they are.

And here is the key. Honesty is not acquired through honesty itself, not by valuing honesty, not by trying to cultivate honesty, for honesty, although it is a behavioural practice, its condition in the soul and mind is a result of something else.

The condition of honesty in the soul and mind results from our valuing truth above all else, no matter what truth may be, and no matter whether we know the truth of a issue or not. Before we ever know the truth we value it above all else.

When we value truth above all else, no matter what the truth may be or turn out to be, then right across the field of our perception from left to right, from top to bottom, all around and within, our superimpositions are swept aside, are dissolves, are vaporised, our soul and mind becomes transparent and we become able to see things as they are.

Valuing truth above all else leads to the quality or condition of honesty, which is clarity of vision, which is the ability to see things as they are.

Then, on whatever level we are focused, be it physical, mental or other, and in whatever direction we look, reality is visible, we see things as they are.

Remember, we must have no preferences, except for truth, whatever truth may be. This will give us clarity of vision.

We tend to have a multitude of preferences that are so subtle that they are below our even being conscious of them, and the most subtle preference distorts our view of reality, prevents us seeing things as they are, prevents us seeing truth.

We cannot deal with a multitude of subtle preferences distorting our perception when they are so subtle we do not even know they are there.

But when we value truth above all else, then all our preferences, no matter how subtle they are, through all our likes & dislikes, wants & not-wants, desires this way and that, to all our aversions and attractions no matter how strong they are, are all swept aside and made weak and subservient to our highest value, our first priority, that which we hold most important - Truth. For then our soul and mind is clear, and reality is what we see, for reality is truth, and truth is how things are.

***

Here is Bruce's method:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDjRJ5NA2jY

The downside of Bruce's imaginative method is that it does not automatically differentiate between the subconscious and reality. The two are mixed together, and then need sorting out.

Bruce's method relies on a sorting process, as rational and reasonable as that sorting process may be, it still relies on a sorting process to sort reality from subconscious with its myriad of potential images, impressions and all manner of mental and emotional clutter.

Why mix reality with fantasy then try to sort them out again?

This is a world of illusion as it is, comprised of truth and falsity blended together. Surely we want to separate truth and falsity, not blend them further.

If we have lived before birth and continue to live after death, then birth and death are illusions, and everything in between is illusionary too. Then life as we know it is an illusion, and yet life exists, we exist, and existence is reality. So life is illusion and reality strangely mixed together, is truth and falsity blended.

All of our priorities, our values, and what we think is important in this life are all mixed up, the true ones with the false. Our feelings, emotions, and sentiments, every little comfort and preference that pertains to our physical living are all tangled up the true ones with the false, and each one of us must sort it out our self and find the truth amongst the falsity, the reality in the illusion.   

It is already hard enough to separate truth from falsity, reality from fantasy, so why make the puzzle harder by deliberately concocting fantasies within our mind, then looking into those fantasies and hoping to detect some hidden truths.

Why make the puzzle of life even harder than it is by painting pictures on the window of our perception then trying to peer through our painted window to see reality?

That makes no sense to do, except for those who are averse to certain possibilities of truth, who even just in case the view of truth might be what they do not wish to see, they refuse to wipe their window clean and see things as they are. So instead of wiping their window clean they search for truth amongst their painted fantasies.

This imagination method purports to find the truth in fantasy. It is a dabbler's method. Truth is not found in fantasies. Snippets of truth are all we might find there. It might be a useful beginner's step perhaps, a blind alley to explore, to perhaps find some appetising morsels, and then back out of that alley with a wiser understanding of where to look for a greater view of truth.



Truth is reality, reality is truth. Truth stands all around our self, well camouflaged by falsities, and truth is within our self tangled with delusions. But when we value truth above all else, a change takes place within our self, our soul becomes transparent, our mind and perception clear, so we can see clearly as if through clear glass and truth can pass through us, we become a medium for truth, we become truth-full.

We in effect become our own filter, our highest value being truth causes us to automatically separate superimpositions from reality.

Value truth above all else and you will come to see it for yourself.
 
This method requires no sorting through mental-emotional filters and interpretations. It requires no looking for evidence. This method simply clears our vision, and enables us to see things as they are. It is the truest and surest method.

crossbow

"1796: Value truth above all else and you will come to see it for yourself."

Very good post. But my mind and understanding move slowly, and with a clear but yet abstract concept like this; what do you when you value truth above all else, how do you do it?

Yes, CB, a very good post!  I'll save my reply for the thread you're starting, so Alan's doesn't veer too far off topic.

Alan, I've only met an unknown being in a lucid dream where I was hindered from moving, but for me dreams are dreams, and can mean anything and maybe it was just a dream being.

Quite a while ago I talked with a person called Tayesin. He told me about some of his non-physical adventures. One was about moving through the membrane of this universe and into another one. But he was chased back by some type of watchdog being. Well, maybe this was Tayesin's wishful thinking, I don't know, but it was an interesting fellow.