Letting go of deeply held beliefs, for direct experience

[AnthonyR]

I’m in the process of reading “The Book of Not Knowing” by Peter Ralston.  Oh man it’s not an easy book to read or swallow.  But I’m slowly reading it anyways. 

So here’s my dilemma: I get what he is saying about letting go of your beliefs and being more welcoming of direct experience.  So now what does that mean for me going forward? Do I unsubscribe from Science? Do I start believing that the earth is flat because that is my direct experience? Does it matter now to even bother reading an interesting article in a science journal about quantum teleportation?

I realize that if I am fascinated by any of these subjects then I am surely believing what is being told to me without actually experiencing it directly.  Does that mean I should now go out of my way to directly experience all of this? 

Gotta start saving up for that trip to outer space.

Edited January 15, 2021 by AnthonyR

[K VIL2]

@AnthonyR relax into what you are feeling even if its pain, even if its fear. 

[Forestluv]

@AnthonyR After enjoying a great movie, do you ‘believe’ the movie?

[Batman]

Hey, I would propose for you to ask yourself if your fascination is from the result of new consciousness or from adopting an highly articulated beliefs based on someone else experience. 

Of course you should not take anything from a book as belief, but merely a pointer for your consciousness. 

Regarding your communication with Ralston via the book - it surely isn't about adopting new beliefs, it is only to "empty your cup" which is filled with mental activities (assumptions, dispositions, beliefs, memories, emotions, etc). Letting go means genuine not knowing, because knowing is a form of limitation you impose on "direct experience" or Consciousness.

Emptying your cup might be hard to comprehend because most of us believe we are the thoughts that arise in consciousness. This is false because thinking is an activity we are doing, even if it seems that thoughts occur "on their own". This goes unnoticed because we are unaware of the origin or nature of the mind, and that there are aspects of it that is not even in our cognition. Some mind activities are just operating in "the background", without us even noticing. This maybe what you mean by "deeply held beliefs", but I'm not sure if that's what you pointed to. This is also why psychedelics such as Psilocybin and LSD are so powerful in uncovering aspects of mind that are not cognized by our awareness. If you have taken Psilocybin and LSD, you probably noticed a certain, general feeling, of relief, but you can seem to know how or why. This is because some molecules operate exactly on the activity of mind which we refer to as deeply held beliefs or assumptions you have regarding your self and reality. These assumptions are, again, operating "behind the scenes". They are very nuanced and the mind is assimilating and fusing them into your experience without even you noticing. This assumptions largely revolve your sense of being - your self worth, your sense of separation from others, your basic drive to survive and so on. 

Getting beyond these assumptions (or bringing "subconscious mind" into consciousness) is no easy task due to their inherent invisible quality, and to the fact that most of us have this feelings "running" in our background for most of our life, and it seems as if it is an intrinsic part of your experience. It isn't. This is totally our own doing, even though it occurs outside your awareness and consciousness.

It is great to start emptying your cup by dropping beliefs which are easy to recognize as a story your take for granted, even though you never experienced it for yourself. This why the example you brought up regarding the shape of the earth is so classic. Most of us never had an experience of an oval-shaped earth, but we take it for granted because it is the dominating belief in the matter in most of societies. This does not mean that the story we all have regarding the shape of earth is not an accurate way to represent it's characteristics, only that we blindly adopt beliefs as facts. This is also why emptying your cup from one belief is not meant to serve the adoption of a new belief (such as that the earth is flat). It only serves you to be open for the truth, or what is.

You can still absorb knowledge in different domains of thought. But I have a feeling soon you will recognize that knowledge is a very limited form of consciousness, and because there is so much more beyond, it will be hard to be "satisfied" just by indulging in it.