It can be a shock to the conscious mind to see how every one of our actions, though perceived as being in isolation, profoundly affect the whole. And, despite our obliviousness, the whole continues to support us. We truly see how every moment is comprised of a chain of support that upholds us and how the tumescent mind's attempt to escape the law of give-and-receive has caused great damage.
The tumescent mind does not like to be indebted, so it denies the source of the sustenance it draws from below, believing its denial should exclude it from repayment. Our efforts to maintain "self " have been held in the cradle of a system of interconnection. This stands in stark relief to the damage we inflict on that system through our willful blindness to it and denial of it. Because it's painful to see the truth of our impact, most look away, directing the overflow meant to be repaid toward building even further fortifications against the truth.
We begin in Eros by stepping into the chain of reactions that result from our efforts to uphold a separate self. We have hidden from the truth, we have claimed to know what we did not. We have created separation and dropped out. We have refused to ask questions, stubbornly continuing on a course of action not aligned with reality, refusing to admit we did not know. We have exerted dominance, disconnected from reality. We have abandoned our part and demonized those who upheld theirs.
By simply looking at the other side, we come to know how our actions deeply impact everything and everyone around us. Once we realize this, we begin to feel the significance we were always searching for. The difference now is that this is all real. Here, we feel how we matter.
The only way to amend the damage we have done in not-knowing is to shift from the disconnection of the tumescent mind to the interconnected flow of the Erotic mind and our place in the chain of things. We will not know what to do. This will be disconcerting. We will be dependent on others who can see clearly that we do not know. Our old ideas will prove useless. As our unique self arises, we will be inescapably aware and terrified at the absence of our separate self. The remnants of the tumescent mind will attempt to assert our disparate identity more than ever. We might do this, but it will not prove rewarding.
We navigate the Erotic self by admitting what we truly know and have always known, allowing our motivations to be exposed. We abide by the laws of nature and admit that these laws do in fact provide us access to wisdom. We admit that the separate self has been a life's work spent avoiding what we know and pretending to know what we do not or could not know.
The only truth that matters in the Erotic self is the truth of experience, the truth of the body. Does the body light up or does it not? The social proof, the credentials, the status it brings, the working theory, the data, whether it makes sense on paper, the outcomes it promises it will eventually reward us with, none of that matters. There is only one question: "Does it light up when employed?"
In lighting up and bringing transcendence, the how is as important as the what. Every single step of the process must be linked according to the line-by-line instructions the body offers. Otherwise, we have a lot of lightbulbs and no light. We have a sense it should work, but it doesn't.
We might plow on ahead according to the plan we'd made, refusing to recognize the increasingly obvious fact that what we're creating is incapable of ever turning on. The mechanics of separation, no matter how exquisitely employed, will never create an illumined life. The power we were trying to conserve by removing ourselves is cut off when we remove ourselves.
We are profoundly reliant on our connection with others. This has always been true, but in the Erotic life, that truth now glows bright. We recognize that quite likely we have not been doing our part. Without the clarity of the Erotic perspective, even our best intentions have likely made unnecessary contributions or, at worst, caused more harm.
In the Erotic life, most of what we do is ask questions and lay ourselves bare to receive knowing from those around us and the unfolding process. It is a much smaller portion of life spent providing answers, and then only to ensure others are doing all that's necessary to have us light up.
The mind shifts profoundly from a stance of needing to know to eternal inquiry. Curiosity is the currency of the Erotic mind, not for means of accumulation, not so we can anticipate the future, but simply to situate ourselves in the experience of this moment. Knowledge beyond this is useless, a burden, out of date. There is no need to collect this data; it only serves to dull the instrument capable of sensing this moment.
The highest position we can be seated in via Eros is the seat of here and now. This seat brings the Erotic version of status, which is presence. To be here now allows us to know all things necessary to accomplish what we are here to do with excellence—or with excellent failure. Failure in Eros is better than the best success in the tumescent mind. Whether a success or failure, experiences in Eros have actual content to them. Pretend success in a pretend world dissolves upon impact with the Erotic world.
The bulk of time in Eros is spent in inquiry asking what this means and how do we know. It is spent clarifying and asking questions of others to ensure the seamlessness of our offering and our reception. The Erotic life pulses with constant interconnection, the intellect replaced by knowing.
