The Unknown That You Already Are
Lo Desconocido Que Ya Eres
A student revisits a powerful inner experience in which they were told to stop pretending they don't know what they are, and the teacher explores why that knowing must remain undefined and mysterious.
The Unknown That You Already Are
A student revisits a powerful inner experience in which they were told to stop pretending they don't know what they are, and the teacher explores why that knowing must remain undefined and mysterious.
I wanted to return to something we discussed before. I told you about this experience where I asked this presence, this reality, what I could do. And the answer I received was something like: "Stop pretending. Stop living as if you're just a separate entity in control." Then you said something about being careful not to define what that knowing is, or what living like that means. Is that right?
Yes. If I understand you correctly, the intuition you had was to stop pretending you don't know. Stop living as if you don't know what reality is, or what we might call the absolute. Stop pretending you're not also that.
That's a really strong invitation and a very strong confirmation that it's the next step, because that presence is you. The dialogue is between you and another part of you. That seeing is calling out a kind of hypocrisy: pretending something that you already know not to be true.
Beware of defining the unknown
What I would say now, based on what you're bringing up, is: beware of defining that which is unknown. Do not turn it into something knowable or known.
You can acknowledge, "I am that," while also recognizing, "I don't know what that is." Leave it open. It's mysterious, and you never know for certain. If you know what that is, it's not that. Because you will likely create an image of what it is, and by definition, it is mystery. It's unknowable. It's infinite. It's real. It's palpable. It's known. But to the mind, it will always be unknowable.
It's always present. It's always what you are. It's right now.
Oscillation between two knowns
The oscillation you're describing is not between that which we're talking about, the unknowing, and the knowable. It's an oscillation between two knowns: "I have control" and "I don't have control." That's still dualistic.
I understand the point about oscillating between two knowns, but I'm not sure where to go from there.
There is an identity that could live in the reality of "I have no control." There's an identity that can live in the reality of "I have control." So you oscillate. The faster and deeper you oscillate, the more you come close to a fundamental duality where identity is still safe, still holding on to beliefs.
I think I'm a bit lost.
That's great, actually. I'm following intuition here, and your confusion may point to something important.
That other which you are does not inhabit the world of form. It embraces both control and no control. That's where the freedom is.
Yes, it feels like that when I have certain dreams. It doesn't matter what happens or whether there's control in it. It's like another dimension.
And it's still present when you experience the opposite of what you're describing. It's still present when you don't feel freedom, when you don't feel whatever it is you associate with it.
Why it must remain unknown
That's why it's important not to make it known. The moment you say, "Oh, that is when I feel X, Y, Z," it's just the mind making it into something known so that you can pursue it and look for it somewhere other than where it already is, right now.
That's a good one. Thank you.
You're welcome.