Book of Life — Self, Story and World — Micro-Macrocosm Orientation
We continue the review of essential topics covered with a fellow explorer of the yonder truth. From the horizontal and vertical orientations into our human experience, we shift into a concentric looking-glass. Our fourth chapter features:
1. Self — You in here, instance of cognition, the creator of states in the potentials of life.
2. World — The out-there, the totality of existence that hosts you in relation to all that is.
3. Story — In between, the field of meetings and the tales and chapters of the living present.
With reflective self-awareness; recognize the nature of your tales; and realize the universe within you. Enter the Book of Life — the story behind all stories, the only story that ever was, ever is, and ever might be. Where will it take you?
- ¶ Self, Story and World — A Concentric Looking-Glass ↴
- ¶ Self and World — You and Universe Together ↴
- ¶ The Field of Meetings — As Our Stories Unfold ↴
- ¶ Reading the Map and Script of the Book of Life ↴
We have looked at our human existence on two axes — the horizontal and the vertical. The horizontal being the phases and framings of your evolution, and the vertical being the stack of your aspects of awareness. That is, from corporeal to emotional, to analytical, to identity itself.
Self, Story and World — A Concentric Looking-Glass ¶
Then let us open a third perspective — concentric. Picture a point. Picture a circle. At its very center, as far as you are concerned, the most intimate point of concentration — an instance of cognition, you. At the other extreme, stretching into infinity — the sphere of the world, existence as a whole. And at their intersection, their meeting point, there are countless waves and streams, countless cycles turning — the stories of our existence.
Each of these three merits our attention. We have the microcosm — the individual you. We have the macrocosm — the vast universe. And in between we have the mesocosm, the middle world, our meeting points — the field of our ever-changing environment and engagement.
Self and World — You and Universe Together ¶
We have looked at the self and its composition. Attention to the nature and dynamics of the self is critical in the process of orienting to all that is. The cultivation of well-rounded self-awareness — a recognition of the importance of you, in your many aspects of being. As an influence, as a director, as a creator of states in the potentials of existence.
At the other end, the great container of our being — the universe. The universe as all that is, the universe as all that ever was, and the universe as all that might ever be. Now — this universe is not a random chaotic collection of phenomena. It is a systemic whole, a great organism unto itself, operating with certain principles. The laws of nature, as we call them — but laws that influence not only the workings of matter, but also consciousness.
Raw consciousness, as a unified field enters, into the world of formations. There is cognition, as we encounter and evaluate our environment. There is awareness, as we abide in particular states and contexts. And there is an entity, you, as the summary blueprint of all that has been encountered, recognized and recorded.
We do not, as specific entities, exist independently of the workings of the universe. And as such, whatever general principles, whatever patterns and dynamics that we may encounter in the world out there, we can also expect to discover the same in the realm of our internal awareness.
The earth of your physicality; the water of your feelings; the fire of your reason; and the air of your collective self. When you gaze into the universe, look upon it as an elaborate version of what you yourself are. Find in it the potentials you are yet to discover within yourself.
The Field of Meetings — As Our Stories Unfold ¶
Then, into the field of meetings — the stories as they unfold. Each story with a beginning and an end, passing through its phases.
You — in the womb, as a baby, as a growing child, as a teenager. Reaching maturity, middle age, old age, and finally, your death. That's the greater story and framing for the countless smaller stories that unfold as you evolve. Each of these stories is a process of growth.
Then, recognize the story — recognize its phases. Reflect and live in awareness of the journey as it unfolds. Recollect the previous chapters, the history of your tale. Reflect on the nature of the present page in your story — and contemplate on the future that may unfold from present potentials and past accumulations.
Evaluate what you have — evaluate what you lack. Whatever that you missed in the past, appreciate it as a lesson learned. It will return to you in the future. But remember — you live not in the chapters past, nor in the chapters yet to be written. You live on the present page and in the current world, making the best of what you have in the present.
Always look upon your role in the story as it unfolds. Back to self-awareness. Where the story takes on dark or unpleasant turns, reflect on your contribution. Reflect on how you might adapt — reframing deficits as potentials, reframing problems as solutions.
Reading the Map and Script of the Book of Life ¶
Skillful in reading the inner map, skillful in reading the outer map, skillful in reading the scripts of the stories as they unfold. This is your journey across the pages of the Book of Life. Read it with mindful reflection and write it into a harmonic whole. With that your greater story does not terminate in death, but culminates in the fulfillment of all of your potentials.
Self, story and world. Enjoy the show. And remember: Do not glue your fingers to a particular page. Let the reel keep on turning. Liberate the unfolding of your story and unveil its essence. The essence of your story is the essence of the universe and the essence of your inner self.
— To be continued... (Previously: 1. Genesis of Elemental Fabric - 2. Eight Human Frames - 3. Our Stack of Awareness)