THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
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To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.sufism,alt.islam.sufism,alt.religion.gnostic,talk.religion.misc,talk.religion.newage,alt.consciousness.mysticism
From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva)
Subject: Various: Sufism and the 'I'
Date: 13 Sep 1997 12:34:48 -0700

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~From: Cecil Touchon 

  If you think about it from a Sufi point of view, it could also be that
the i is the place we are trying to get to not the I. If you think about
it that a . means 'ending, silence' you could say that the I is the ego
which always sees itself as a capital letter; first in a sentence;
standing above, superior, etc. If the . represents completion, silence,
fulfillment, than it could be seen that  the realization of the . makes
the ego small and subservient to the . thus the stroke of i stand under
the continual realization of . this is zikr.
Hamid

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~From: Germaine 

My friends,

I'm not sure if I should post this to Tariqas?? 
But as a "beginner", I'm thinking mostly of other "beginners", and that
they might find it helpful -as I did. 
I found the article on the Internet this afternoon, along with other
articles (on the same Website)...on Reality...   :)

Peace and Love,
Germaine

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

[slightly reformatted - tn]

It is a peculiarity of the English language that the word for the self is
the shortest word - just the letter "I".  And the letter "I" is the simplest 
letter - just a single stroke of the pen.

The self is beyond definitions, without attributes or form - the simplest
aspect of ourselves.  It is the innermost core of our being, the centre of 
our consciousness, the foundation of all experience.

The self has two aspects.  There is the pure Self, the faculty of 
consciousness common to all minds, and there is the individual self, the 
localized manifestation of that essence as an individual.  Similarly 
there is "I" and there is "i".  The "i" is a small "I", in which the 
wholeness of creation has become a mere point, placed above, out of reach. 
The individual self believes it is separate from its own essence.
It lives under the illusion that it is no longer whole - as if the gap in
"i" could cut itself from its "I"ness.

The "I" is that which joins duality, as a line joins two points. 
It is a vertical stroke linking bottom to top, as "I" links Earth to
Heaven, ground to God. 

Look at "I" or "i" in a mirror, and it remains "I" or "i".
Turn "I" upside down and it makes no difference. 
But turn an "i" upside down and you have a "!" on your hands.

In Greek, Latin, and most of the Indo-European languages the letter "I" is
the middle vowel. Our own centre is symbolised as the central vowel. 
And the sound of "I" is the middle mouth position. 

This simple stroke of the pen is also the number "1".  The Self is the 
unity within, the one common thread to our experience.  This is also 
reflected in our speech.  When speaking of "I" in a detached way, we 
say "One thinks; One feels; One does this or does that." 

Not only is the Self an inner oneness, awareness of "I", leads also to an
awareness of "one's" oneness with creation.  The unity within is also 
the unity without. 

The Self is the consciousness that sees the whole world of our experience. 
The inner "I" is the inner eye.  The eye is both an organ perception, and 
a window into the soul.  When we meet another "eye to eye" we are meeting 
"I" to "I". 

"I" is the great unknowable. We cannot describe or define "I" in words. 
We can only describe and define the many forms "I" takes, the many roles
"I" play, the many clothes "I" wear, the many things "I" do.  But none 
of these is what "I" is.  Yet, unknowable as it is, "I" is undeniable. 
"I-ness", consciousness, the existence of experience itself, is the one
certainty behind all experience.  Everything else is open to doubt. 
"I" is the absolute truth. 

"I" is my true name.  Whatever labels others might call me, "I" is what 
I call my self - the Self that lies behind all names and labels. 
And "I" is also what you call yourself.  We all share the same inner name. 

Since my innermost essence is the essence of all beings, and the essence of
all creation, "I" is also the name of God.  My true name and the name of 
God are one, God is "I"; "I" am the eye through which God sees the world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter Russell   
http://204.189.63.11/pete/index2.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

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