What Does It Mean To Say Consciousness is Impersonal

[SQAAD]

What does it mean when someone says that Consciousness is an impersonal field. I don't get it... Sounds kinda negative.

 

[Razard86]

It's impersonal because the first person perspective you have as you walk around does not belong to your human character. Your human character is housed WITHIN the perspective.

For example in a video game when you are in a first person perspective it technically is not the perspective of the character but the entire game itself. The character you play in the game is no more real than the characters it interacts with. So what is the TRUE real in that game...the player who is PLAYING the character.

So you as GOD are the entire perceptual bubble, the trees, the grass, the air, the people you like and dislike etc. So as a result it is IMPERSONAL, and loves everything being perceived. Does your game shut off when someone kills your character? NO, because your game you play doesn't have favorites, but when you play the character you selfishly pursue the agenda of the character.

So to you the character is deeply personal, but others you see who you do not know are impersonal. When you can see all others are equally valid as the character you are playing, then you have reached an impersonal awareness. Easier said than done, this game called life will send annoying people your way just to enhance your patience and capacity to love.

[Carl-Richard]

Because you are not the body, you are not the mind, you are not the person. You are Consciousness.

[Osaid]

If something is impersonal, any negative interpretation would only come from a person.

But anyways, it seems to be a pointer of some sort which might make you have some sort of insight or realization. Don't get so attached to it, just look at where it is pointing at what the intention behind it is.

From what I can see, he is pointing to the "shapeshifting" aspect of consciousness where you, and all things, are constantly changing and taking new forms, in a seemingly impersonal way. Just like when you dream, you become a dream character with no recollection of your existence as a human in the waking state, it can be seen as "impersonal" for your conscious experience to discard the waking state identity so easily.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Osaid

[Rahra]

God is Formless.

But God can take on forms.

I have seen one of them. Not in this human dimension, but in another much higher dimension. God exists in all dimensions, and He has many Mighty and Glorious forms. In those dimensions, the celestials know about God 100 times better than any human.

A vision of God is a vital thing, you must have it.

Graced are those who have it, for it surely a rare and difficult.

And God is Absolute Consciousness.

[SQAAD]

@Carl-Richard

9 hours ago, Carl-Richard said:

Because you are not the body, you are not the mind, you are not the person. You are Consciousness.

I agree. But i am also constantly aware of a body and its feelings, thoughts , etc.

[Carl-Richard]

1 hour ago, SQAAD said:

@Carl-Richard

I agree. But i am also constantly aware of a body and its feelings, thoughts , etc.

You can have a cessation where all of that disappears and all that remains is Consciousness.

[Moksha]

Personalization requires localization. It's like rolling out a ball of dough for biscuits, and cutting it into circles. It is all the same dough, shaped and baked into separate forms.

Ultimately there is no separation, but in the mind of the child, baking biscuits is a fun game.

[OldManCorcoran]

It becomes very difficult to understand certain things if you believe it is personal.

For example, maybe you visit Big Ben (the clock tower in London) one day. Right now you are in your house on the computer and can't see Big Ben. But still if someone else walks past Big Ben while you are here on your computer, it is literally identical to you seeing Big Ben.

See how confusing this is because you are sure you aren't seeing Big Ben right now, you can verify as fact you are seeing your computer screen. This is confusing because you believe you are an individual seeing things.

In truth all there is to the visual image of Big Ben is the visual image of Big Ben. Not a you seeing the visual image of Big Ben, if you look for one you aren't going to find it. There is only the visual image of Big Ben, it appears and disappears now and again. Whether you or another person sees Big Ben, the image of Big Ben exists. The only difference is the appearance of the ego which claims its ownership over that image, the ego itself being another perception, a thought. Which will sound something like "I Toby see Big Ben".

In actuality you have never seen anything but there is seeing happening all the time of course. Visual phenomena is present right now all around. This is entirely impersonal perceptions. And these perceptions will arise and fall forever, independently of the delusion that is the idea of individuals viewing them.

A human perspective is just a multiplicity/differentiation of appearances. If all people simultaneously saw white light and nothing else, there is absolute unity in that moment. Because then all that exists at all is that white light, there is no differentiation. As soon as different thoughts and sights appear again, there is again differentiation. And each ego coming out of that experience will assign the sight to itself. If you understand that there is no such thing as a viewer of visual phenomena, only the appearance of the visual phenomena, and so on with all appearances, then you will see what is meant.

All appearances change. Various appearances exist and that permanent existence (commonly known as consciousness) is absolute and ungraspable. It can exist as a distant galaxy or as the sight of your front door.

Completely impersonal. Nothing "belonging" to any viewers and no viewers of any visual phenomena. Wow...