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  • Writer's pictureMichael Main

Meditation Praxis: Of Foreground & Background Consciousness and the Falling Through

Updated: Dec 25, 2022

It is not simply where the eye falls, but how one's eyesight falls. Is one's vision "falling" open, or "falling" closed.

Observe the assumed reflection of tree limbs upon virgin snow. It is precisely this type of phenomenal impression upon the senses and mind stream that can lead to sudden enlightenment.

One can practice allowing phenomenal impressions from the presumed outer world to "locate" the proximity of limitless pure presence to "self".

First, it is necessary to learn to spontaneously become aware of the flowing intersection of foreground and background as it manifests in the natural environment, the 'outer world'. Once so apprehended, one may spontaneously integrate one's conscious awareness with the most subtle movement occurring at the very heart of this foreground / background intersection: say, the minute movement of the shadow of a twig in the wind against the sunlit surface of snow.

Sudden enlightenment manifests when one's consciousness becomes an empty shell, wherein the subtle movement is neither inner nor outer, neither still nor moving.

This experience, at first, is a rare one. Once one has encountered the manifestation, manifest confidence that one shall arrive at this awareness moment again. Then, over a long expanse of time, one can learn to find / lose one's consciousness in such a moment again. A momentum to move in this direction need be created, but the action of one's personal will must remain subtle, utterly unforced, and without the ego's common purposefulness or agenda.


All blogposts Copyright © 2023 by Michael D. Main. All rights are reserved. Michael D. Main holds the copyrights to all works authored by Michael D. Main, including and not limited to all his poems, notes, blogposts, and photography posted on this author website. No part of these publications may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, republishing, recording or otherwise, without express written permission from the copyright holder. Be aware that although these works may be freely accessible on the World Wide Web and may not include any statement about copyright, the U.S. Copyright Act nevertheless provides that such works are protected by copyright laws.

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