The Observer Self

WHAT IS THE OBSERVER?

The past is as mystical, they say, as the future. And if you really want to go deep into the past, you cannot stop until you reach the creation of the universe itself, assuming it had a starting point.

Like the famous scientist Carl Sagan said, 'If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

So you are that apple pie. I am that apple pie. And to make this apple pie, you have to go right to the beginning of the universe, and if it had no beginning, well, you're looking at infinity itself, each time you look in the mirror.

WHY ARE WE COSMIC? DOES THIS CLAIM HAVE ANY RATIONALE? ANY SUBSTANCE?

The water we drink everyday was formed not on earth but in the stars, billions of years back.

We are maybe 65% water.

The elements in our body were formed not on earth but in the core of stars and supernova explosions, billions of years back and millions of light years away.

So we are deeply entrenched, deeply rooted in the cosmos itself. We are made of stellar material.

And if our physical form is made of material that is billions of years old, so is the core of our psychological construct - the OBSERVER. Scientifically speaking, the OBSERVER emerges from biology, (even animals have observing powers). Mystical traditions say the observer precedes biology.

Whatever your beliefs are - the point is - the OBSERVER exists.

This post is on how to nurture the OBSERVER.




I believe that every moment is perfect because we are part of a process that started 13 billion years back, at least according to science. If we go by buddhism, we are part of a process that never had a beginning. Eternal.

Assuming we began 13 billion years back, the same intelligence that was operating 13 billion years back, is operating even now, in every atom of the universe...

There is obviously intelligence at work in cosmic phenomena much like there is intelligence at work in earthly phenomena like the ecosystem for example.

It would be the same intelligence of course. A field of infinite intelligence and infinite capability. (If nature's play is not intelligent, how come scientists are still struggling with it? Why weren't all the answers sorted out by now?)

Assuming that this intelligence is blind would be an error. If qualities like sight and hearing did not precede humans, how did humans get it? From nothing?

So it's not wrong, I believe, to look at the concept of the "observer" seriously.

Who is the Observer? When did he (or she) begin? Why should we encourage and nurture the observer?

Such answers are not easy and exist mostly in the realm of meditation, as is the popular belief in certain circles.

Teal Swan, in her video (below) on "Mindfulness Meditation", is trying to instill in us the importance and use of meditation.

That it is about developing our ability to view the world, and ourselves as a detached observer.

Of course, we all know how to view ourselves from the point of view of an external observer. The question is, is our self observation objective? Detached?

And what is the use of observing ourselves and the world from a detached point of view?