More on the "I"
Jul. 24th, 2002 01:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sophiaserpentiaMore notes from about a year ago:
"When one 'surrenders to God' or 'dies to the self' or becomes a 'vessel filled with God' what becomes of the 'I', what is left of that which we normally think of as 'me'?
"The analogy I frequently use is that of a leaf becoming aware it is connected to a tree. Equating the leaf-self-consciousness with the tree-self-consciousness is a natural result; the leaf 'transcends' itself and becomes directly aware of a much greater reality. When fall comes, and the leaf browns and gets ready to fall, it has a more transcendent awareness of the fact that it will live on, perhaps forever. The leaf is the tree, they have identical DNA and are both the product of the same biological process; but the leaf never ceases to be as an identifiable individual.
"The 'Self' of God outshines the little-s self for a moment, but the sun does not drown out the moon's light, even during the day."
I'm fond of the quote by Anthony DeMello: "Why would a person care about a candle being extinguished when day has dawned?"
"When one 'surrenders to God' or 'dies to the self' or becomes a 'vessel filled with God' what becomes of the 'I', what is left of that which we normally think of as 'me'?
"The analogy I frequently use is that of a leaf becoming aware it is connected to a tree. Equating the leaf-self-consciousness with the tree-self-consciousness is a natural result; the leaf 'transcends' itself and becomes directly aware of a much greater reality. When fall comes, and the leaf browns and gets ready to fall, it has a more transcendent awareness of the fact that it will live on, perhaps forever. The leaf is the tree, they have identical DNA and are both the product of the same biological process; but the leaf never ceases to be as an identifiable individual.
"The 'Self' of God outshines the little-s self for a moment, but the sun does not drown out the moon's light, even during the day."
I'm fond of the quote by Anthony DeMello: "Why would a person care about a candle being extinguished when day has dawned?"
