here are several ways we can discover that there is no Other. There are lots of others, of course, in a conventional sense, but also not in a few different ways.
First, I can notice that how I relate is how I relate to anything happening within experience, including myself, others, the wider world, life and God. Said more accurately, how this human self relates, is how it relates to others, life and itself. The I-Other boundary is there in a practical sense – as this human self and the rest of the world – but not in terms of this human self being able to relate to others or life in a way different from how it relates to itself.
Then, I can notice that the wider world is a mirror for me. Whatever characteristics and dynamics I see in the wider world mirrors what is right here. I cannot find anything in others that I don’t find right here now. Here too, the I-Other boundary is there in a practical sense, but not in terms of seeing something in the wider world and not also seeing and feeling it right here.
Finally, noticing what I really am – that which states and experience happens within, to and as – I find that there is no Other. It is all awareness itself taking different forms. The conventional I-Other boundary is still there, noticed as a mental field creation and having a practical function. But there is no I-Other inherent in what is.
In each of these cases, there is a difference between just noticing this and working with it occasionally, and seeing and feeling it more thoroughly, getting more familiar with it through returning to it over and over, and take the consequences of it in daily life.
How does this human self relate to itself and the world, within this context? What does it mean for this human self? How does it look, in daily life? How does it look, in this specific situation?
Noticing all of this as awareness itself, what does that mean for how this human self relates to itself and the wider world? How does it live its life within the context of all as awareness itself?
Sometimes, it can also be helpful to come at it from a more conventional angle… Now that I am with others, how would I behave if I was on my own? How would I behave if I was relaxed, clear and unselfconscious?
Or… How would I relate to this person or situation, if I was relating to myself?
The answers will change over time and with situations, but there may also be some commonalities in the experience of it such as… a deep relaxation, a quiet joy independent of what is happening, a sense of adventure, a genuine appreciation for whatever is happening – as it is, a quiet dignity and respect, not caught up in having things be different, and a wholehearted and dynamic engagement. (No need to make it into a program or expectation.)
- how I relate, is how I relate to myself and the wider world (anything happening within experience)
- world as mirror
- all absent of I
- how does this human self relate to itself and the wider world, within this context?
- what does it mean for this human self?