On the Nature of and Relation Between Form and Formlessness

On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Introduction by Steven E. Kaufman

This universe consists of both experiential forms as well as the formless Consciousness by which every experiential form is apprehended, and in the absence of which formless Consciousness no experiential form, i.e., no reality, has ever been, or can ever be, known to exist. In the usual analysis of the nature of the universe the emphasis is generally placed upon the experiential forms and their relations to each other, and in the rare instances where Consciousness is even mentioned it is usually afforded a secondary status, as it is usually assumed that the phenomenon of Consciousness is somehow produced through some relation or set of relations occurring between the physical or material realities of which the universe seems to be, and so is assumed to be, composed. In this work that emphasis is reversed, since this work takes the position that the universe is actually composed of a singular and formless Consciousness, and that it is the relations of that Consciousness to Itself that produce the forms which that singular, formless, and yet individualized Consciousness then apprehends as the universe of experiential forms—physical, mental, and emotional—that we call reality. This work consists of the following series of articles: Introduction; Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into Form while Creating Lesser Form (1, 2 & 3); Part 2: The Identification of the Formless with Lesser Form; & Part 3: The Identification of the Formless with Itself (1 & 2). See http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/486

On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into Form while Creating Lesser Form (1) by Steven E. Kaufman

In the first part of this work the evolution of the Formless into three different levels of Form is described. Also described in the first part of this work is the coming into existence of a different type of form, or lesser form, within each level of Form, as each level of Form comes into being through the progressive flow of the Formless in relation to Itself. Further, the three different types of lesser forms that come into existence within the Formless, as the Formless, through iterative and progressive relation to Itself, evolves into different levels of Form, are each shown to correspond to one of the three different types of experiences or experiential realities of which we are able to be aware or conscious. Specifically, the lesser form that comes into existence within the first level of Form, as the first level of Form comes into being, will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as emotional experience or emotional reality. Next, the lesser form that comes into existence within the second level of Form, as the second level of Form comes into being, will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as mental experience or mental reality. And finally, the lesser form that comes into existence within the third level of Form will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as physical experience or physical reality. This first article of Part 1 contains the following sections: Form and form; The paradox of dual experiential form; The first level of Form; The basis of positive and negative emotional experience; & The second level of Form and form. See http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/487

On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into Form while Creating Lesser Form (2) by Steven E. Kaufman

In the first part of this work the evolution of the Formless into three different levels of Form is described. Also described in the first part of this work is the coming into existence of a different type of form, or lesser form, within each level of Form, as each level of Form comes into being through the progressive flow of the Formless in relation to Itself. Further, the three different types of lesser forms that come into existence within the Formless, as the Formless, through iterative and progressive relation to Itself, evolves into different levels of Form, are each shown to correspond to one of the three different types of experiences or experiential realities of which we are able to be aware or conscious. Specifically, the lesser form that comes into existence within the first level of Form, as the first level of Form comes into being, will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as emotional experience or emotional reality. Next, the lesser form that comes into existence within the second level of Form, as the second level of Form comes into being, will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as mental experience or mental reality. And finally, the lesser form that comes into existence within the third level of Form will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as physical experience or physical reality. This second article of Part 1 contains the following sections: Why math and language work; The third level of form; The actual difference between animate and inanimate objects; The animation of second level Forms; The propagation of animate Form, i.e., the reproduction of life; & The apprehension of mental and physical reality as Beingness flows through Form. See http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/488

On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into Form while Creating Lesser Form (3) by Steven E. Kaufman

In the first part of this work the evolution of the Formless into three different levels of Form is described. Also described in the first part of this work is the coming into existence of a different type of form, or lesser form, within each level of Form, as each level of Form comes into being through the progressive flow of the Formless in relation to Itself. Further, the three different types of lesser forms that come into existence within the Formless, as the Formless, through iterative and progressive relation to Itself, evolves into different levels of Form, are each shown to correspond to one of the three different types of experiences or experiential realities of which we are able to be aware or conscious. Specifically, the lesser form that comes into existence within the first level of Form, as the first level of Form comes into being, will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as emotional experience or emotional reality. Next, the lesser form that comes into existence within the second level of Form, as the second level of Form comes into being, will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as mental experience or mental reality. And finally, the lesser form that comes into existence within the third level of Form will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as physical experience or physical reality. This third article of Part 1 contains the following sections: Sleep and dreams; Why reality appears dual; & The individualization of Beingness and the individual nature of reality. See http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/489

On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 2: The Identification of the Formless with Lesser Form by Steven E. Kaufman

What is described in the second part of this work is what happens when Consciousness, for whatever reason, begins to identify with, i.e., know itself as, the experiential forms that have come into existence within Itself as a result of its being in relation to Itself. Specifically, what the second part of this work describes is the way in which the misidentification of Consciousness with the lesser forms that have come into existence within Itself causes Consciousness to become unable to be aware or conscious of Itself, i.e., unable to be aware or conscious of the Formlessness that is Itself, and so causes Consciousness to lose sight of Itself, to become hidden from Itself, thereby causing the lesser forms that continue to be created within Itself, which forms Consciousness remains aware of or conscious of as reality, to appear as what is actually there, when What Is Actually There, where the forms apprehended as reality only appear to be, is the now hidden Consciousness, the now hidden Formlessness, within which those forms have come into existence and by which those forms are being apprehended as reality. Also described in the second part of this work is both why and how Consciousness naturally tends to relate to the world of forms, once it has lost sight of Itself though identification with form, in a way that causes Itself to suffer. This Part 2 contains the following sections: The human condition; The creation of emotional reality as Beingness flows through Form; & The Self-oppositional nature of form-identification. See http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/490

On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 3: The Identification of the Formless with Itself (1) by Steven E. Kaufman

In the third part of this work what is described is how formless Consciousness, owing to the way in which it naturally relates to the world of forms once it has lost sight of Itself though identification with form, unknowingly keeps Itself caught up in, and so bound to, the relation with Itself that is creating its identification with form, and so unknowingly perpetuates both its identification with form as well as its inability to become aware or conscious of the Formlessness that is Itself, thereby also perpetuating the illusion that reality, i.e., apprehended form, is what is actually there where it appears to be. Also described in the third part of this work is what form-identified Consciousness must do, so to speak, in order to extricate Itself from the cage of form-identification in which it is, owing to the way it naturally relates to Itself through the proxy of form while still identified with form, unknowingly keeping Itself trapped. And what form-identified Formlessness must do, in order to extricate Itself from the cage of form-identification in which it has trapped Itself, is change the way it naturally and habitually relates to the universe of experiential forms, owing to its identification with form, while still identified primarily with form. This first article of Part 3 contains the following sections: The mutually exclusive nature of identification with form and identification with the Formless; The self-perpetuating nature of the Movement into identification with form; & The way out of form-identification. See http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/491

On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 3: The Identification of the Formless with Itself (2) by Steven E. Kaufman

In the third part of this work what is described is how formless Consciousness, owing to the way in which it naturally relates to the world of forms once it has lost sight of Itself though identification with form, unknowingly keeps Itself caught up in, and so bound to, the relation with Itself that is creating its identification with form, and so unknowingly perpetuates both its identification with form as well as its inability to become aware or conscious of the Formlessness that is Itself, thereby also perpetuating the illusion that reality, i.e., apprehended form, is what is actually there where it appears to be. Also described in the third part of this work is what form-identified Consciousness must do, so to speak, in order to extricate Itself from the cage of form-identification in which it is, owing to the way it naturally relates to Itself through the proxy of form while still identified with form, unknowingly keeping Itself trapped. And what form-identified Formlessness must do, in order to extricate Itself from the cage of form-identification in which it has trapped Itself, is change the way it naturally and habitually relates to the universe of experiential forms, owing to its identification with form, while still identified primarily with form. This second article of Part 3 contains the following sections: The way out of form-identification (continued); A few obstacles; & References. See http://jcer.com/index.php/jcj/article/view/492