New clarity on vision, new determination to reach it

The article on vision that I’ve just written for A Better Way has really left a deep impression on me. It’s about six examples of experiences of vision and what they can tell us about what vision is.

The weird thing is that this article hasn’t changed my theoretical idea of vision . However, my working idea of it, what I hold in my mind as a goal each day, is dramatically different. It is not an exaggeration to say that it has changed how I look at every single thing I see. I look around, and it’s not the same world.

The overall effect of this is that I have a much clearer idea of what I’m shooting for on this path, and how exceedingly wonderful it is. In addition, I have a greater appreciation of the kind of mind training that will be needed if I am to even make significant progress toward this. The kind of perception we are talking about is so radically different than the way we normally perceive, that it’s hard to even imagine getting from here to there.

Here’s what I’ve been thinking. First, I need to be practicing, with sincerity and drive, all the time—or realistically, just as much of the time as I can possibly muster. Second, I need to constantly be questioning what I see and the way I see it, constantly draining the judgment out of it—realizing I am simply judging surfaces with a feeble, ego-based mind—and constantly reminding myself that the beautiful truth lies beyond what I am seeing. I am powerfully motivated to be in touch with the truth, and what I have been seeing is not the truth. I want to see things the way they are.

It’s like, now that I see more clearly the mountaintop, I can much more see clearly what it will take to get there. Basically: lots of climbing. Lots of climbing.