SEPARATION

SEPARATION

It begins with attentiveness. No inner-work can occur without a modicum of attention. Many’s the time we hear the refrain, either from others or from ourselves “I don’t get anything from it.” What we, and others missed was, being attentive to the moment. If we want to get, we have to give. And most often, all that’s required is to give a little attention to what is before or within us.

Why so much emphasis on attention? Attention is the genesis of self-remembering. It is where the third state of consciousness is born. When we pay attention to what is occurring internally or externally, dividing attention between what we observe and our Self becomes possible.

Divided attention is the separation between our Self, that is our identity, and our observations. William Blake describe separation as “Looking through my eyes not with them.” At it’s most potent, separating from the many i's ushers in the state of self-remembering..

There are many natural and man-made processes that echos the effort of separation. The 18th century print by Adriaan Spinniker depicts workers separating wheat grains from chaff. It’s a fitting portrayal of the psychological effort of separating our identity from the many i’s. Indeed, the title or the print, Tot Zuivering translates as For Purification, which is an apt description of the act of separation. We purify the Self, by separating wholesome grains, moments of self-remembering, from the chaff of imagination, identification and the many i’s. The Ancient Egyptians described this process with the invocation of ‘Pure, pure, pure, pure’.

Can you read or re-read this post and separate from what you’re reading? Let us know in the comments your questions or experience.

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