Reality is made up of Snapshots

Everything you're conscious of is made up of snapshots (appearances).  Consciousness becomes aware of snapshots through the error of Maya. Snapshots are frozen "now" moments.  It is something consciousness is conscious of in this exact present moment (since all that exists IS the present moment).​ These "now" moments can make up a body, a surrounding, a thought, an emotion, etc.  In other words, imagine anything you are experiencing right now and just completely freeze it in the "now", without moving it from one moment to the next.  This snapshot is just an appearance of knowledge. It is a knowing of something you perceive to be separate from yourself.  ALL individual now moments are inert. It is similar to pictures that are witnessed or something that is felt in just a split second.  It can even be a single thought that is frozen. These individual moments have no life on its own. It is lifeless data.

 

A snapshot only includes what you are conscious of in this "now" moment.  So if you are conscious of the table in front of you, combined with the air, the background images, what you're thinking of, etc., all of these consist of a single snapshot in this exact present moment. All snapshots are unique and flows from one to the next through the power of Maya. Each snapshot is unique.  Given each of them are different with 'almost' zero distinctions between them (for those that are next to each other), it allows consciousness to become aware of something from one moment to the next, forcing the illusion of time, space and causality to appear (without ever violating the truth of its eternal present moment).​ This is the only way it can operate given its innate nature of timelessness. This means when you're conscious of a snapshot, all other infinite snapshots only exist as a potential which you're unconscious of but is simultaneously realized from other perspectives. However, from your perspective, they are as good as dead (non-existent) since each snapshot do not correlate or interact with the other.  This means what you are conscious of is only what seems to exist at that specific moment.  All other infinite snapshots don't even exist. You only believe it to be there because the seamless and extremely fast movement from one snapshot to the next convinces you that nothing has changed and still has defined properties, even if you are unconscious of it.  In other words, when you're conscious of something in front of you, the object behind you (which you are not presently conscious of) is no longer there (i.e. it doesn't exist).  It only appears to be there because if you were to turn around, the snapshots will unfold one after the next (i.e. images of your body turning with the background shifting) until you become conscious of the snapshot of the object that was originally behind you. This means there is no 'you' putting in effort to turn around. You are just witnessing the snapshots unfold which contain the images or appearances of a body turning around! Your timeline as an individual journeying through samsara consists of all of the snapshots you were ever conscious of put together (from your own formal perspective). 

 

There are infinite snapshots which consciousness is conscious of simultaneously. Many of these snapshots make up you as a body which you now perceive to be an entity journeying through time and space.  This means there are different versions of you (who you think you are), making different choices and experiencing different things. You are only conscious of what your own journey is since each snapshot doesn't affect the other. However, the real you (consciousness) is just witnessing the unfoldment of these snapshots seamlessly.  You are only under the assumption that the body is yours (even though it's not because it is just a collection of individual inert snapshots put together).  They are lifeless and inert on its own.  

 

Snapshots become exposed during deep meditation.  Because consciousness is deeply involved in something that it is in truth detached from, it erroneously perceives itself to be a body performing actions.​ However, the nature of consciousness is unbroken attention.  And when attention becomes broken (i.e. away from its own source), it becomes conscious of (or has its attention on) something that appears to be other than itself.  When this attention is pulled inward (in the direction towards its own source) and away from what appears to be objects and things, you will eventually become conscious of an inner vibration/energy that makes up the physical body/realm that you were previously immersed in (i.e. conscious of) before.  This inner vibration is the very foundation that governs the physical body/realm and has its own laws that are different from the laws seen in the classical or gross world.  If you take attention deep enough, it can now become conscious of the snapshots which are known to be vibrating. Since the snapshots unfold so fast, you can't perceive them vibrating from one to the next. But if you become more still and present, you will witness it actually unfolding with breaks in between instead of it being unfolded in one continuous stream.

 

When one is in deep self-inquiry, you will see reality flickering around you as your awareness starts to become isolated from the movement of snapshots.  When your awareness is completely immersed in them, you will not see the snapshots flicker, which is why the seamless and unnoticeable unfoldment tricks you into believing that you are inside reality experiencing things outside of you, which are seen as tangible and substantial.  But when awareness is disassociated from them, these snapshots will begin to vibrate and will be intuitively known to be appearances and nothing more. Pulsations will be felt in the forehead (third eye) as the snapshots flicker in an out.  If you use razor sharp viveka or spiritual discrimination to negate the flickering and to pierce through the illusion of the snapshots vibrating, you will separate awareness from the snapshots themselves.  When awareness becomes isolated from the snapshots which collectively made up the timeline and motion of the body/mind activity, it now remains completely still in the present moment strictly witnessing the movement without being immersed inside of it. The experience is that of non-separation and you intuitvely know you are in a timeless dimension while silently watching the appearance unfold.  The brahmarhandra in this case is completely opened as prana is no longer stuck in the head (upper lokas) which caused the pulsations before.  When the brahmarahndra is opened and energy is connected with source, you now only witness the unfoldment of snapshots as non-separate from yourself. Therefore, if attention is drifted back in reverse, you may now become conscious of these very snapshots which are known to be vibrating (something you didn't notice before since your attention was only resting at surface level).  

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