[Drifter]

Two "I"s, 'i'ris-es, only temporally, and exist, acccept one as illusion and one as Reality.

Originally Posted by MJA

Thanks Drifter for the Rumi quote, I really like it.
It's not about nothing, it's all about the unity of a universe of I's to one.
I see that equally as the truth, and ultimately the goal of GUT., or TOE., or simply mankind and the universe, and more simply our Quest.

=
MJA

[MJA]

Two eyes can see as one, mine do.

=
MJA

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by MJA

Two eyes can see as one, mine do.

=
MJA

=O)

as Raman Maharshi would say, "wrong 'I' " . . .

[Drifter]

That is to say, not the physical I(gross), not the emotional I(subtle), not the mental I(causal). ("Sat, Chit, Ananda or Being-Consciousness-Bliss")

Rather, The All Perceiving Eye.

Originally Posted by Drifter

=O)

as Ramana Maharshi would say, "wrong 'I' " . . .

[Drifter]

The One is the primal reality in which there is no imperfection,
no duality, and no limitation; and yet there is imperfection in
the world in which we live. How is this explained? According to
Plotinus, all things must exist forever in ordered dependence
upon one another. Those other than the One have come into being
because it is a law of necessary production that each principle
must produce the level of being immediately below it as a
necessary consequence of its own existence. Perfection would
cease to have any meaning unless there were imperfect things in
the world. Imperfection is thus created by a process of
emanation and is derived from the One by a process of logical
necessity.

Finite existence is therefore a progressive falling away from the
original perfection. The process may be compared to the shining
of a bright light which illumines the darkness without itself
losing any of its brightness or to a cup overflowing because its
contents are infinite and cannot be confined within it. The
brightness of the light decreases in intensity until it loses
itself in the surrounding darkness, and the overflow from the
perennial spring becomes a mere trickle the further it travels
from the central source.

Accordingly the primeval One manifests itself as the Nous in its
first stage of descent from the original state of perfection.
The word "Nous" has been variously translated as the Intellectual
Principle by Stephen MacKenna, as Spirit by Dean Inge, and as the
Rational Mind by others. Perhaps the best equivalent is the word
"Spirit" used by Dean Inge. Nous or the Logos is the first image
of the One, it is His image as the First Thinker. Inseparable
from the Thinker are his first thoughts, which subsist in the
spiritual world. The thoughts of God, which Plato called
"Ideas," are the eternal realities of all that is manifested or
manifestable. For example, the "Idea" of treeness is the
producing cause of an infinite number of trees and thus too with
all other things. "Here" they are in part, particularized, and
separated, but "there" they are perfect, universal, and united.
Nous is, accordingly, the kingdom of all absolute verities,
permanent values, and ultimate attributes. It is the realm of
ideas, ideals, and archetypes. It is both essence and existence.

The next stage in the manifestation of the One is the Soul -- the
Oversoul or World Soul. The Soul is essentially a unity, unlike
Matter, which is essentially a Plurality. The unity of the
Universal Soul does not, however, exclude the plurality of souls.
Individual souls are comprehended in the Universal Soul. The
entire Universe, including the stars and galaxies, is held in
place by the unifying nature of the Universal Soul in the same
manner as the activities of the human body are held in harmony by
the individual soul. In other words, the Soul is a Plural-Unity
which enters into relation with all beings and things. The Soul
pervades the universe as it also pervades the human body, but it
is difficult to explain the precise character of the Soul's
relations with its vehicles. When the soul enters into relations
with the body, it becomes individual though universal. It is as
if someone who was expert in a whole science confined himself to
a single proposition. It is as if the fire which is endowed with
the power of burning everything touched some small object and
burnt it up.

The last and final stage in the descent of the One is the
material world. The world of matter is a relative, conditioned,
and limited reflex of the spiritual world. It is subject to
change, growth, decay, and death. Therefore it is spatial and
temporal. Matter, as such, never is. It is always becoming,
without ever persisting in its condition or being able to come
out of it. But it can never pass into nothingness. It is
indestructible. It either reverts to its primal condition or it
fulfills its true purpose as the recipient of order by being
gradually redeemed in the regenerating process set up by the Soul
when consciously converted into Spirit.

> How does this process of liberation or ascent from matter to
> Soul, from Soul to Nous, and from Nous to the One take place? The
> Plotinian path to liberation is three-fold, viz., through the
> True, the Good, and the Beautiful. In the True, the intelligible
> unity of all things is revealed. In the Good, the harmony and
> order of life is manifested. But in the Beautiful is the final
> perfection and consummation of all. Hence the soul rejoices when
> it beholds the Truth and is happy when it is in harmony with the
> Good, but its highest experiences are those wherein it beholds
> the Supreme Beauty.
>
> How do we come to the vision of the inaccessible Beauty, dwelling
> as if in consecrated precincts and remote from the common ways,
> where all might see, even the profane? He that has strength, let
> him arise and withdraw into himself, foregoing all that is known
> by the eyes, turning away forever from the material beauty that
> once made his joy. When he perceives those shapes of grace that
> show in body, let him not pursue. He must know them for copies,
> vestiges, shadows, and hasten away towards what they tell of . .
> . And this inner vision, what is its operation? Newly awakened,
> it is all too feeble to learn the ultimate splendor. Therefore
> the Soul must be trained to the habit of remarking, first all
> noble pursuits, and then the works of beauty produced not by the
> labor of the arts but by the virtue of men known for their
> goodness, and lastly you must search the souls of those that have
> shaped these beautiful forms.
>
> But how are you to see into the virtuous soul and know its
> loveliness? Withdraw into yourself and look. And if you do not
> find yourself beautiful yet, act as does the creator of a statue
> that is to be made beautiful: he cuts away here, he smoothes
> there, he makes this line lighter, this other purer, until a
> lovely face has grown upon his work. So do you also. Cut away
> all that is excessive, straighten all that is crooked, bring
> light to all that is overcast, labor to make all one glow of
> beauty, and never cease chiseling your statue until there shall
> shine out on you from it the God-like splendor of virtue, and you
> shall see the perfect goodness surely established in the
> stainless shrine.

[MJA]

Originally Posted by Drifter

=O)

as Raman Maharshi would say, "wrong 'I' " . . .

Sorry, I can't divide the I's or my own.
Infact, I won't even try, I'll keep all as one.
Why stray from the single simple truth?

=
MJA

[Drifter]

Wasn't suggesting you do brother.

One is the key

and you posses it,

unlike many . . .

Namaste`

Originally Posted by MJA

Sorry, I can't divide the I's or my own.
Infact, I won't even try, I'll keep all as one.
Why stray from the single simple truth?

=
MJA

[Drifter]

merely pointing out that, sometimes the I, not unlike the Sword(Spirit of the Word), is dropped over the railing, into the ocean, then marked on the handrail of the ship, the point in which it fell in.

see Zen Master Bankei's quote .

[MJA]

Originally Posted by Drifter

Wasn't suggesting you do brother.

One is the key

and you posses it,

unlike many . . .

Namaste`

and if you are I and I am I, we are equally one.

Way to go Drifter

Thanks again for Rumi,

=
MJA

[Drifter]

The three states, physical, emotional and mental being vehicles(ships) for the "I" that I Am.

enjoy the voyage, Brother/Sister/Self.