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THE SPHERIC
EVERSION OF THE SOUL
Meister Eckhart once stated:
The body is much rather in the
soul than the soul is in the body.
The Meister's profound statement,
invites contemplation on the expansive nature of consciousness.
Now let me in the spirit of the last paragraph deconstruct our
usual notion of an expanding consciousness. Normally we describe
altered states of consciousness as an expansive process. As
described in the eight classical siddhis this experience takes
the form of
"Mahimā,"
the ability to expand one's body to an infinitely large size.
To describe intensified states of self-consciousness as an
expanding process is, however, a projection that leans too
heavily on Newtonian vocabulary—a framework designed to capture
the mechanics of the external world. Our language, shaped by the
need to describe objects, movement, and measurable phenomena,
often falters when tasked with articulating the ineffable
dimensions of inner experience. What I mean to say is that this
'expansion' is not linear like a drop of oil on the surface of
water.
Consider the phrase "he was beside himself with happiness."
This expression vividly illustrates a condition in which an
individual's joy is so intense that it transcends their usual
self-constraints. In the context of 'sphere eversion,' this
analogy becomes even more poignant. The individual's elation
metaphorically everts, turning inward delight outward in an
unbroken continuum. In this sense, we could describe the
expansion as an 'innerspansion'.
At first, we may perceive this vast sanctuary as something
contained within the body. But as consciousness continues its
recursive, self-reflective loop—approaching what could be called
a self-referential singularity—the relationship inverts.
Suddenly, the body is no longer the container; it is revealed as
a minuscule droplet suspended within an ocean of boundless
awareness.
This leads us to a pivotal realization: as consciousness spirals
inward toward its own source, the 'space' it inhabits
'innerspands'
beyond measure. At a certain threshold—a point of no
return—there is a profound reversal, an eversion of perspective.
It is here that Meister Eckhart’s words ring true: 'The body
is much more in the soul than the soul is in the body.'
The Eversion of the Sphere
In states of deep intense meditation, the boundaries that
typically delineate the self from the external milieu begin to
dissolve. Our innermost consciousness, which is generally
perceived as residing within, suddenly flips
outward, surpassing the physical limitations, thereby inverting
our very bodily essence. In this expanded state, the 'self' is not
confined to the body but extends into the surroundings,
dissolving the separation between 'me' and 'not me.'
This transcendental insight is akin to a metaphysical 'sphere
eversion,' a term borrowed from mathematics to describe
the turning of a sphere inside out
without creasing or tearing it. When such an eversion takes
place the world is not longer outside you, but inside. What is
inside is now also outside and vice versa.
Imagine a
tennis ball suddenly turning inside out. I remember the first
time I felt like I was that tennis ball. In a heartbeat, my entire perception
shifted, and my body became this tiny little speck in an endless
expanse of space.
This was not just 'mood making' with poetic metaphors but an
experiential truth. The body, once perceived as the vessel of
consciousness, was now seen
as something cradled within an infinite field of conscious awareness. The
container has become the contained as the sphere's inner surface
emerged as its exterior.
It's mindbogling to think about, but it's
true as a subjective experience: the way in leads out. This journey takes you from the
meditation lounge to a limitless eversive expanse beyond anything you could have ever imagined.
Hegel posits in his dialectical theories that a quantitative
alteration, given enough time and intensity, inevitably leads to
a qualitative transformation. This idea can be applied to the
concept of conscious inversion. Specifically, it suggests
that a significant increase in the intensity of self-reflection
and introspection can catalyze this qualitative shift in
consciousness. This transformation marks a pivotal change in how
an individual perceives and interacts with their internal and
external realities.
The spatial shift
happens as a consequence of the ouroboric feedback in consciousness.
In the self-referential loop the internal becomes external and
the external becomes internal. As with the sphere's eversion,
the meditator's internal consciousness now unfurls, first intermingling
with the environment and then the cosmos.
This unity transcends our ususal notions of duality and
non-duality. It obliterates the
binary of 'self' and 'other,' broadening one's identity to
embrace the entire universe, not in an expansive movement but in
an eversive inside out transformation.
As there is an eternal beginning in no beginning and an eternal
end in no end, as there is existence in no existence, there is
inside in outside and outside in inside. I have become the
outside, and the outside has become my inside.
And in that revelation, space itself is no longer just a
backdrop for experience—it is the experience as well as the
experiencer in an inside that has become outside. I read the
following quote from the Meister in this light:
God's exit is his entrance.
He broke in to let us out.
Meister Eckhart
Eversive Love - When
Self Interest
becomes Altruism
An experience of a true
spheric eversive consciousness can be identified by one
thing only: It is a state of self centered love, a reality where everything is
glued together from the inside by love.
A genuine spheric eversion leads to a unified state where your
self centered 'egoism' transcends itself and becomes 'altruism'
from within. In this state you are everybody's egoic inside with
the very same egoic drive for survival. In this eversive sense
we are all sitting inside each others as small self-protective
egoic entitites.
In summary, a state of deep meditative conscious attention, the
sensations and feelings you experience are all contained within inner space: various phenomena arise and dissolve, seemingly
unfolding within a familiar three-dimensional framework.
However, as your focus spirals inward, the very fabric of this
cathedral of awe begins to morph, transcending the
confines of conventional logic and spatial understanding.
In the medieval period, scholastic philosophers—much to the
ridicule of scientists during the later Enlightenment—wrote
lengthy treatises speculating on how many
angels could fit on the tip of a needle. Perhaps, however,
they were onto something with their lofty deliberations. In
their own way, they were gazing inward, eversive projecting outward,
attempting to describe consciousness as a spaceless space—a
locationless location—that could indeed fit on the tip of a
needle or be a multi location, simultaneously conscious of
a
thousand drops of Pepsi in a split second. What I mean to suggest is this: both entanglement and
superposition occur within a space without distance. In such a
dimension there is truly no separation.
The Ourobororos
The miracle of this spatial transformation mirrors the ancient
symbol of the Ouroboros—the self-devouring snake, eternally
feeding on its own tail. As we discussed in the chapter
Ouroboros Consciousness,
this is not just a metaphor but an
experiential reality: as senses within the realm of raw
awareness merge with the expansive field of self-referential
consciousness, a profound shift occurs. The boundaries between
subject and object, observer and observed, begin to dissolve and
with this our cosy Newtonian world.
At the heart of this spiraling inward motion lies what could be
called a singularity—a point where all distinctions collapse.
Here, even light and sound, the fundamental signals of
perception, vanish into the void of pure, unfathomable
nothingness. And yet, paradoxically, this nothingness is not
empty. It is full—radiantly, silently full. It is the groundless
ground of being, the eternal presence that was always there,
unnoticed beneath the layers of experience.
The ultimate paradox reveals itself: It unfolds only in the
moment consciousness folds back into itself, realizing that it
has never been separate from what it observes. And yet, in the
same breath, it has always been here—unchanging, untouched.
With warm regards,
Gunnar Mühlmann
gunnars@mail.com
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