Cosmic Window Shopping

The fact that it is Space that makes Time possible is something that must be understood by the ghost hunter and wisdom seeker; it is not mere theory. I am often asked how one goes from seeing the world as solid object oriented to the more relaxed view of Object as Space, and there are exercises I learned from Tibetan Buddhist monks that make it easier to shift from one experience to the higher. But before I get to that, there are a few last points I wish to make regarding the true nature of Self.

One of the ways in which it is possible to access Time involves developing a wider perspective on the Self. By understanding how the Self comes into being, we can see how it tends to obscure and distort an understanding of Time and Space. And if it is possible to understand that, it is also possible to override these self-imposed limitations.

At some point in our early development the Self perceives that it is on its own. The Self looks around at other objects, which appear at various distances. The Self moves about the landscape, comes into contact with objects, racks up experience, and thinks thoughts that put everything into perspective. The only way Self can deal with the infinity of Time and the expansiveness of Space is to invent ways of limiting them. These limitations are phony and false and have no meaning in and of themselves. With the invention of the clock, time became finite, which is a paltry attempt to condition the unconditional and to direct the undetectable infinity of Time.

Thus, the Self is completely bewildered by a world in which everything is objectified. All knowledge gained under these conditions is grouped into the Known and Knowable, a transitory situation at best, but which became a stable dynamic. A final consolidation then takes place which makes the Self aware, and the first thing the Self is aware of is that it is confused and bewildered by Time. Consider that Time is a line. When viewed by the Self, a polarization occurs until Self and a moment in Time face off as two isolates. The Self notices objects, and this process takes a certain amount of Time. In the process, Time itself is reduced to a manageable index in order to serve a useful function of expressing the distance between Self and Object, thus establishing their difference. Time becomes fragmented by the Self, in direct contrast and opposition to the nature of Time. The Self is trapped in Time but is unable to see it.

We’ve all heard it said that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But from the perspective of Great Time, there are no points. Where clock watchers see Time expressed in seconds, minutes and hours, we see what the clock watcher sees without accepting these points as solid points in Time. By doing so, we can also enjoy the Time that surrounds each second, minute or hour. Follow me now: for every second on the watch dial, there is a Space in between indicating that the second or minute or hour is independent of the others. And it is possible to have many experiences between what appears to be two directly linked points. So whereas the clock watcher sees every second or minute as a solid point, as “all there is,” we can also enjoy the Time that can be found between the minutes, the seconds and beyond.

We can go further. Seconds can be broken down into milliseconds, and so on and so on while the clock watcher is still stuck with the points on his dial. But there’s a catch to what we’ve done in deconstructing our friend’s watch:  what originally appeared as a standard Time line and then a series of nonstandard departures from it breaks down at a certain point and our new Time line looks just like the old one. This does not mean, however, that we’ve returned to Ordinary Time. The insight that we’ve gained is that there is no Time line; the notion of discrete lines of Time is in itself wrong.

The problem with coming to this new understanding of Time is that it’s just plain hard to break the Time-honored habit of the second, minute and hour, even though it is a possibility. We have become so accustomed to the pattern and so obsessed with the Present that all attempts at stopping involve a continued going; that we could go on an endless exploration of Time forever is precisely my point: In the light of there being an endless number of points between A and B, it’s a wonder we can ever get from point A to point B.

So how do we deal with Time? We prefer to ignore it. And when we ignore the true nature of Time, we confuse the true nature of Space. And that, in a nutshell, is why you can’t see ghost.

The secret to the process of coping with Time and Space is the process whereby we deconstruct the Self until we become a “centerless center.” The centerless center has no location and therefore is not opposed to any other object. The centerless center can be expanded to include all Times and directions in Space, without this expansion involving distance. We can therefore experience a condition where we dispense with points in Time and happenings because the centerless center is itself the sum total of all these points and happenings.

I know, I know. On the surface it seems like bullshit, but read this over again and sit with these new ideas for a while. And if it still seems like a load to you, here are a couple of exercises I picked up while in service to the Dalai Lama’s monks:

If you want a direct experience that expands your ordinary limits of Space and Time to enable you to perceive a new type of Time, try this simple walking exercise: Find an ample space, preferably outdoors, on a smooth, flat surface. Walk from point A to point B, in a straight line, be it a distance of ten yards, twenty yards, whatever. Walk back and forth between these points at a slower pace each time until the process of lifting your foot and placing it directly in front of the other becomes glacial-slow. Remember to keep a rhythm to your pace. As you slow down you will notice that your concept of passing Time will be altered as well as your balance. Many practitioners at first consider this elementary exercise to be too easy—that is until they try it. Those who have the patience often experience disorientation to the point of nausea; the simple process of slowing down our walk tampers with our inner Timing. Forget sniffing glue, smoking dope and eating mushrooms; the Tibetan Walking Exercise will fuck you up.

An even simpler breathing exercise can produce an even greater incisive knowledge: The body has seven zones where energy gathers, from the tip of the sex organ to the top of the cranium, in a straight line traveling along the spine, called chakras. The throat charka corresponds to Timing because it is at this point in the human body where the pulse is strongest. By breathing in a slower and more balanced way, breathing and awareness become the same, resulting in a deep silence and meditative quality that radiates from the throat. Practitioners soon discover how regulated breathing accommodates meditation and bestows all manners of benefits both physical and psychological. Careful: many newcomers who think this, too, is easy-peasy soon get sleepy sleepy.

Then there is an exercise involving sight designed to defeat the distance between Self and Object in which the practitioner assumes the classic lotus meditation position and looks about the environment. For each object encountered, note it and embrace it as part of you. “That too is I,” is the chant that accompanies this exercise. Tibetan Buddhist monks often employ this realization whenever they encounter a marketplace and they are tempted by desire. As renunciates, their goal is to overcome desire and they accomplish this during what they call “The Shopping Exercise.” Rather than wanting to own an object, they look at it, study it, admire it, and then set it aside while uttering the mantra, “This too is I.” Suddenly, the need to possess that which is already an intrinsic part of you disappears. The object is to proceed through a shopping mall and see just how many things you don’t buy and still find the experience enjoyable; Cosmic Window Shopping, as it were.

I will conclude these teachings with an admonition I once received from a wise man in answer to my question, “Why can’t I see ghosts?”

He said: “Lay aside everything you think you know. Suspend the reflex to impose your beliefs onto every situation you encounter, and hold the world exactly as it is. If you do it right, you’ll experience things beyond your wildest dreams and you’ll change everything you see into a more beautiful version of itself.”

Here endeth the lesson.

Happy Thanksgiving.