Defending and Projecting
What stands in the middle of that dynamic? Why did Ramana Maharshi call this space the “last trap”? What is the “I AM” after all?
As we move through phase after phase, known stage followed by little recognition at all, and on and on, what persists in the mind? A sense of “me.” And yet, as we relinquish identity and control, that self fades into oblivion. “Wait a minute!” screams the persona, the mind, the ego, “not so fast!” and what remains as unconscious identification surfaces, or we drift out of the pristine clarity of All That Is and into a more subjective perception of reality. This happens over and over.
The passage from self to no-self is most often described as the ebb and flow of identity across the shoreline of perception. I concur. And yet, as more and more waves of unconscious identification surface, the identity of the ‘in-between’ or ‘no-self’ or enlightenment or clear perception becomes more and more entrenched… if we so agree. And it is our unconscious patterns that do so.
What is all this about? It is a process we all pass through as we awaken. The last thing we release is our sense of self. First, we awaken to the form of self-love that will best serve our evolution. Then, finally, and not at all for some, we are moved past this self-cherishing phase through the gateway of remembering. We recall true beingness and the nature of that being.
Most avatars who have passed through this gateway have surrendered the physical body shortly thereafter. In the emerging cycle, we shall see.
Some will seek to skip this final trap. I can report that, like Ramana Maharshi, I find that it catches us all. Not from error or ignorance, but because an incarnation is based on identity. The persona must be able to self-identify in some way. I am not writing this to quote a “Master” but from my own experience of the never-ending story of “being.”
Defending ~ I AM ~ Projecting is the dynamic of an incarnation. Can that be dissolved or transcended? Yes. Of course. Everything is energy. Everything is vibration, and frequency’s inherent essence is mutability.
So we are defending when we take the fixed or allegedly fluid position of insisting on an identification. The “I’m right!” position is the most common. We project when we throw our “I AM-ness” at another person, place, thing, or set of circumstances. What performs these actions is the sense of self. Is it wrong to have a self-sense? No. This is how we learn. As we become more and more aware of the transitions and pauses between identifications, we become more fluid. We live in a state of constant change and re-becoming. Understanding this, we become free.
The last main phase of “the trap” is in this I AM identity. The ego, which is not the enemy but a programmed interface with life, becomes transparent and an integrated function for motoring about the planet. Oh, I used to try to delete the ego. It fought back ferociously and resolutely, as all personas do. It was only when I fully acknowledged the architecture of the persona and how it had been crafted by me to protect this creature called “me” that transparency began to take place.
There are many tools, techniques, methods, cosmologies, and on and on, for the accomplishment of egoic dissolution and transparency. If TRUTH interests one, the necessary methods will line up to be tested.
What is the point of all this? When we say “I AM,” we are still residing within an identity… albeit a light-infused one. This is, perhaps, a necessary step in realization. Sound daunting? The recognition of “I AM” as persona is a monumental release and relief.
Why do this at all? As we exit the trap of the mind, our bodies are free to morph and change. The physical body is a priceless processing partner. May we learn to treat it as such.
