A Life Witness
The keyword to use in “Spirituality” is “witnessing” or to be a “detached observer.”
Accordingly, to reach that state is the highest a human being could attain… 🙂
Witnessing or being an observer and participant of life is a state of full integration with “what is.”
The word “detached” adds further misunderstanding.
Misunderstanding will occur if we would allow ourselves to just follow the dictionary meaning of those words. We need to remember that those words are a “distortion” of “what is,” and so will be these words… nevertheless, the sharing shall continue on.
Who is doing the witnessing? Who is being a “detached observer”?
If the answer is “I,” that could be anything but being a detached observer.
Ananda would like to use the words “observant and participant” to describe his realization.
Let us say that Carl witnessed a car accident. The people inside the 2 cars colliding at high speed, were in a “poor” condition. There were tears of pain, rage and fear surrounding the accident.
Carl is a “spiritual” person. Therefore, he decided to send “good wishes” to people in the accident.
It is indisputable that Carl has separated from the scene and made the decision to be a “good person” by sending good vibes and then becoming “detached” from the scene by continuing on his path.
Carl could have made the attempt to “help” the people, but that wasn’t his “karma,” he thought.
Carl acted from an intellectual standpoint by following his belief system.
Was Carl witnessing or being a “detached observer”?
No. He thought he was, but he was actually playing indifferent towards what happened.
To witness or to be a “detached observer” is not to separate from “what is.” It is the complete opposite. To integrate into “what is,” but not as a person, as an “I” thinking: “I am part of everything.”
That is a belief only.
Witnessing is not possible in the consciousness of self. Any religion or philosophy, which validates its teachings on the existence of self, cannot understand “witnessing.”
Therefore, we could see that “witnessing” or being a “detached observer” is not a “practice.”
No one could practice that.
It is a state of consciousness, which is void of beliefs and emotional baggage.
Witnessing is not “attained.” It happens.
Observe the world. If you believe that “I am” something or other, that belief will not allow someone to be an observant because there is the “I” of separation from “what is.”
If we go back to the car accident episode, the minute Carl had the belief that what happened in front of his eyes was “bad” then, that belief will not allow witnessing to appear. If Carl felt sorrow, he wasn’t a witness anymore. His emotional baggage was triggered by the event.
What should be Carl’s behavior then to be a “detached observer”?
To ask that question means not to understand what is being conveyed.
Witnessing or a detached observer is not a behavior.
If Carl has worked in observing his beliefs and how emotions have appeared because of that, then it is in that inner work how the state of integration with the Totality appears, because there is no separation with “what is” when we become empty.
That is emptiness.
Less “stuff “ in our heads means greater openness to “what is.”
Greater feeling of gratefulness and appreciation of “what is” means greater inner joy. A belief will not allow for that to occur, because a belief will give us a static perception of an ever-changing world.
Some “black or white” readers may interpret the above as “it is better not to have feelings.”
NO. That is not the message. Carl may feel compassion but not sorrow.
Why?
Because his state of being, his joy; it is not dependent in what happens around.
To fill ourselves every morning with gratefulness of being, is to fill ourselves with joy and those vibes will be with us to “give” continuously and not because we have in our minds that someone needs our “pure” vibes.
One more time, observe your own beliefs. Observe the belief that we have about ourselves.
Life is an ever-changing movie, which has already a direction, a plot. The perception of the “I” is nothing but a manifestation of that plot through a being. It is through our own beliefs and emotional baggage how a personality is born and with that we deny ourselves the chance to change and to be different. We strive to be the “same”
or we strive to attain some intellectual idea.
Both are not in harmony with the changing nature of Life.
To be an Observant and Participant of life at the same time, is a paradoxical integration of the opposites to be One.
Exploring the Depth of Living 
Everything is. 🙂
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Compassion is also a state of consciousness???
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