Re:re Observer and the Subconscious Mind

Replying to Lindsay Smith, who wrote:

"... the observer becomes so absorbed that without knowing when, the observer dissolves. The mind usually has become very quiet to reach that sublime state but other circumstances can bring this about sometimes."

This sounds like a description of one of the early jhana (absorption) states. This is quite difficult to achieve, yet it can happen almost without effort, depending on one's state of mind - as Lindsay suggests. That moment when the observer dissolves is both satisfying and fleeting. As soon as you notice you've disappeared, there you are again. So we start over and, if we're smart, we let go of any goal, including reaching that state of the observer dissolving.

The wonderful paradox of meditation is that we can reach nirvana in this moment, as long as we don't strive for it. As soon as we set a goal for ourselves, we block our own path.

With metta,

Dave Birren

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