Review of Literature
Metaphysics teaches we are of the body, but we are not, the body. Thich Nhat Hanh states: “This body is not me, I am not limited by this body, I am life without boundaries, I have never been born and I have never died” (188). For this to be understood, one needs to know the domains of human life and how the human life is directly connected to cosmic life.(Ref) The life of each individual self can be seen to encompass several levels. These can be described as: (i) environmental, social and physiological which includes all actions, senses and the thinking mind, (ii) psychological which is composed of: intellect, feeling and ego, the “I” and (iii) the universal Self or the Transcendental Self. The mind can then be understood …show more content…
Allen indicates that joy is not guaranteed and ills are likely. Even if joy is to be found using Allen’s approach, this assumes that the mind, indeed, is the master power and that all can be achieved by way of thinking. However, from every-day experience we know that thinking involves effort and that maintaining a stream of coherent positive thoughts is impractical. In fact too much thinking is an impediment to self-development because within incessant thinking we are trapped within the realm of the intellect where no freedom can be found. Where, then, can the source of permanent happiness be …show more content…
Patrick Olivelle and Valerie J Roebuck in Upanishads and The Upanishads outline what most likely represents the earliest map of consciousness as described in these ancient Indian texts from the sixth or seventh century B.C.E. In these texts consciousness is said to be comprised of three principal states of the self: the waking state, the dream state and the state of deep and dreamless sleep. Later texts added a fourth state of consciousness: pure consciousness. Waking consciousness relates to the outer world which regards the physical body as the self. Dream consciousness refers to mental images constructed from memories and regards the dream body as the self. Deep and dreamless sleep consciousness rests in a state of dormancy not split between the subject and the object. Pure consciousness is able to observe the changing states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep without being bound by these states or with the self that appears within
Metaphysics teaches we are of the body, but we are not, the body. Thich Nhat Hanh states: “This body is not me, I am not limited by this body, I am life without boundaries, I have never been born and I have never died” (188). For this to be understood, one needs to know the domains of human life and how the human life is directly connected to cosmic life.(Ref) The life of each individual self can be seen to encompass several levels. These can be described as: (i) environmental, social and physiological which includes all actions, senses and the thinking mind, (ii) psychological which is composed of: intellect, feeling and ego, the “I” and (iii) the universal Self or the Transcendental Self. The mind can then be understood …show more content…
Allen indicates that joy is not guaranteed and ills are likely. Even if joy is to be found using Allen’s approach, this assumes that the mind, indeed, is the master power and that all can be achieved by way of thinking. However, from every-day experience we know that thinking involves effort and that maintaining a stream of coherent positive thoughts is impractical. In fact too much thinking is an impediment to self-development because within incessant thinking we are trapped within the realm of the intellect where no freedom can be found. Where, then, can the source of permanent happiness be …show more content…
Patrick Olivelle and Valerie J Roebuck in Upanishads and The Upanishads outline what most likely represents the earliest map of consciousness as described in these ancient Indian texts from the sixth or seventh century B.C.E. In these texts consciousness is said to be comprised of three principal states of the self: the waking state, the dream state and the state of deep and dreamless sleep. Later texts added a fourth state of consciousness: pure consciousness. Waking consciousness relates to the outer world which regards the physical body as the self. Dream consciousness refers to mental images constructed from memories and regards the dream body as the self. Deep and dreamless sleep consciousness rests in a state of dormancy not split between the subject and the object. Pure consciousness is able to observe the changing states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep without being bound by these states or with the self that appears within