Unitive consciousness: a fleeting perfection?
Unitive consciousness may first appear as a fleeting but perfect moment. It’s a snapshot of experience where time seems to stand still. Undoubtedly each of us has experienced several of these fleeting, unitive consciousness moments. It could have been an early childhood event with a loved pet. It might have been when you held your first child or grandchild. It could have been when you realized the goal you had been seeking had been achieved, by you. It could also have been as simple as a perfect cup of coffee, a glorious sunset, or even a good-time, or heart-felt, conversation with friends.
“Why not allow yourself to flow from one perfect but fleeting moment of unitive consciousness, to the next perfect, fleeting moment?”
In reality, everything is always moving: neurons, protons, neutrons, electrons. Our hearts are pumping and our blood and other chemicals are moving around in our bodies. Our mind and our hearts are taking in and breathing out data and emotions. It is rare in today’s technological, fast-paced world, to sit or even bask in the bliss of silence. But there are natural moments, when we humans just can’t help ourselves, and we catch a glimpse, a taste of this blissful silence called unitive consciousness.
Complexity in motion, or unitive consciousness?
Awareness and perception can be utilized to foster more tastes and more moments of this bliss. Unitive consciousness is a moving target, again a fleeting but perfect moment. You drop in, you vacate for a while, and then you’re dropping back in, back into the silent neutral, unitive consciousness state of awareness without attachment to outcome. Awareness and perception can shift an individual’s consciousness-state, which perhaps in this dimensional world might be experienced as time standing still.
Today’s Grounded Relating Monday Music selection is a video of a moving kinetic art work by Anthony Howe, that uses wind, static objects and motion to change form and produce art. Visually, Howe’s artwork also can help to visualize this idea of unitive consciousness as an altered experience of time, or as a different-than-normal consciousness state.
Please enjoy the meditative experience in moving states of consciousness as afforded by this video “Full Compilation of Kinetic masterpieces by Anthony Howe,” posted by Perpetual Useless on YouTube shown below. (Of particular interest is the section on the sculpture “About Face” at 0:57 seconds and the “Beeku” section at 1:49 minutes.)
Energy, emotions, thoughts blow like the wind, too
Viewing the sculpture “About Face” allows a moment to view the art form of “face” and then to realize the commonality found in all human faces. At the same time, the function of the sculpture is to make visible how wind might create movement, change and randomness, while the form amidst the random movement, clearly remains, and resembles the known object, human face.
When you pause to think about it, this art from happens in real life too! You might, on occasion, be able to witness in your companion’s or friend’s very real human face, the patterns of energy, emotions, thoughts, and beliefs that can blow like a wind through their face, moment-to-moment, second-by-second. But, you will likely only be able to witness this phenomenon, when your own internal spaces are still and free of debris.
“Beeku” is perhaps even more interesting, but harder to see with its geometric forms which might be less familiar than the human face. But the principle is the same. There is a split second or two where every aspect of the sculpture is in perfect harmony, or unitive consciousness, and then it visually breaks down again into separate pieces and parts.
The video “Beeku” is well-set to help people visualize non-duality spaces or unitive consciousness. At minute 1:49, the video segment begins blurred. So blurred in fact you are not sure what you are actually seeing. Because of this blurring, your brain may naturally, out of curiosity, have to slow down, drop pre-conceived notions, and witness what is actually present. This is a great spiritual principle and practice, so pay attention! Also, the video seems to be paced so that about the time you have slowed down and “dropped in,” the image of the sculpture comes into focus. This is a nice “AHA!” learning moment and consciousness-states experience.
Unitive consciousness: non-duality, visible individuality
“Beeku” has now the stage is set for your brain to truly be curious about what exactly is happening with the sculpture. You may focus on the movement, the outermost reaches of the sculpture, or the sculpture as a whole, as you try to make sense of what you are seeing. Then the video gives you a break, showing you the static and still frame or pedestal on which the moving sculpture rests. This break, allows you to see the moving parts in the next bit of the video “refreshed.” At the same time, the video offers a new angle or perspective in which to view all those moving parts. This allows new data to form more perspective in your brain, or mind’s eye.
Are the arms of the circle “Beeku” undulating inward? Or are they being pushed outwards? Most likely, the answer is both. And if you look long enough, it almost seems there is a third form of movement active in the sculpture, a sort of folding in on itself…a mysterious movement, that you sort of catch out of the corner of your eye, but not really so much do you catch the movement head on. There is an “in” and an “out” movement in the sculpture, plus the folding in on itself movement.
Perhaps this is a visualization of the in-breath and the out-breath of consciousness? It has been said for a long time, that when the feminine (in-breath) and the masculine (out-breath) energies of movement combine simultaneously, a third will arise out of the dissonance and the perfect union of unitive consciousness will form.
The seen and unseen: working with time, space and motion
Artist Anthony Howe’s work and visioning with time, space and motion has used the power of wind, a knowable yet un-viewable force, to materialize seemingly random movement in the physical form of his sculptures. This is not unlike the knowable yet unseen force of the souls or spirit of humanity, which can sometimes be viewed in moments of desperation and charity that the wind of fortune or destiny blows into our collective paths. In any given instant, that flow of perfection as seen in Howe’s artwork is also available to all of us in the human species as well. This phenomena is sometimes called unitive consciousness, or a state of non-duality, where everything is experienced as Oneness.
The video continues with various sculptures from Howe’s collection, each with its own fascination. View them all, and then contemplate: How are you at dropping in and down, leaving go your pre-conceived notions in favor of curiosity around what you are really seeing? It is a skill you have to practice in order to wield with accuracy and consistency.
As you go through your week, why not notice when you are on “automatic” and when you are in “neutral,” open to seeing things, events, and experiences without preconception. Why not allow yourself to flow from one perfect but fleeting moment of unitive consciousness, to the next perfect, fleeting moment? Enjoy the music, and use the Grounded Relating Monday Music Challenge to stay present to yourself today, and every day.
