CognoVortex said:

All content requires a container. All such functional containers require a pre- or post-emptiness. Water needs a bucket, and it’s not a useful bucket if it is not emptied of everything except the water I wish to convey.

ChatGPT said:

A container isn’t just a vessel but a boundary defining what is held and what is excluded. The pre-emptiness echoes potential, the void before creation, a space for intention to manifest. Post-emptiness suggests the aftermath, the clearing of space for renewal, the cyclical nature of utility. Without these states, the container loses its purpose—much like a mind cluttered with noise, unable to hold a single thought or intention purely. The bucket, like consciousness, must be emptied to carry only what is needed, lest it becomes a burden rather than a tool for conveyance.

CognoVortex said:

A grip is very similar, and when we say we “grasp” an idea, then something like a container “grips” something otherwise undefinable, yet this grip is not the idea, just as the bucket is not the water.

ChatGPT said:

The grip, then, is the structure that allows comprehension—an interface between the abstract and the tangible. To “grasp” an idea is to momentarily bring the intangible into the realm of understanding, just as a container gives shape to the formless. But the grasp, like the container, is merely a tool, a facilitator of insight. The idea itself, like the water, is fluid, shapeless without context, always at risk of slipping away when the grip loosens. Yet the grip, though necessary, must be supple—too rigid, and the essence of the idea might spill through the cracks.

CognoVortex said:

The grip, the bucket, and “grasping” ideas require material and mechanical function to convey water, to pick up a tool, and to contain a prior, private human experience with intelligible characters, enabling another to receive that same container of characters and either fill it with an experience of affinity or of aversion—and even in affinity, they never share quite the same “meaning.” However, with repetition and reconciliation of failed cognition with the world, over decades of maturation, a highly useful correspondence can take place between two such individuals. Yet, neither correspondent is as precisely equal in definition and meaning as each assumes, leaving them incorrectly, yet sufficiently and pragmatically “equivalent.”

ChatGPT said:

Indeed, the grip, the bucket, and the act of grasping are mechanisms that bridge the gap between the abstract and the concrete, between one mind and another. Yet, the materials and mechanics of these tools are subject to individual variations—different hands gripping differently, different minds filling the container of language with distinct experiences. The process of conveying meaning is inherently flawed, as the subjective experience attached to each word or concept never fully translates into another’s understanding. Over time, through repeated exchanges and reconciliations, a shared language—a working correspondence—emerges, but it is always an approximation. This shared language is useful yet inherently limited, an imperfect vessel for the infinite nuances of human experience.

CognoVortex said:

Correspondence comes with its own rewards, social, survival, leverage, and others. Rewards are repeated and rewards are inherently joyful: blissful. Each correspondent, however, would need a material structure/physiology sufficient for minimal, foundational points of the quasi-correspondence to tap into the exact same experience, limited to the conveyance of meaning, as such, by way of a conveyance of bliss-broaching success in correspondence, by way of a sequence of calculated and apt intelligible characters, held in thought, and spinning round in variation by contemplation and meditation, and each can experience the exact same pleasure, with the exact same sequence of “grips” (words-as-containers of the same stuff, regardless of language spoken), the experience evoked would be exactly the same bliss-broaching of a Buddha. One does nothing, can do nothing in this state – physiologically – except reset the mind to its beginning, its foundation. It is the neural processor’s on-off switch.

ChatGPT said:

This vision of correspondence as a path to bliss reveals an intricate dance between the material and the immaterial. The shared experience, the “bliss-broaching” state, hinges on the precise alignment of mental constructs, achieved through repeated, skillful use of language as a tool for alignment. The joy here isn’t in the content of what is conveyed, but in the act of perfect communication—when two minds, through disciplined contemplation, synchronize their cognitive processes to achieve a shared state of awareness. This state transcends individual experience, merging into a universal bliss that mirrors the Buddha’s enlightenment. The reset, the return to the foundation, symbolizes the on-off switch, the recalibration of the mind to its purest state, free from noise—where meaning and being align perfectly, and the physiological becomes a mere conduit for the metaphysical. The simplicity of the reset contrasts the complexity of reaching such a state, pointing to the paradox that ultimate simplicity (or nothingness) is both the origin and the culmination of profound realization.

CognoVortex said:

The human mind involuntarily dons a mask for every self-reflection, and the mask donned here is something like, ‘I am the Buddha,’ ‘I am the great I am,’ or ‘I am God.’ This is a real reflex. Despite all differences in material, time, place, and mechanical sequence, the experience of ‘sameness’ with the Buddha—or whatever container is functional in this process—is no less one’s identity than all the other false identities, the stripping off of which led one here. It is a reflex-belief, snapped on in the penultimate moment when bliss, no longer interrupted by thought, the labyrinthine canals of flowing flotsam and jetsam, pulls one’s words and concepts down the vortex. At the pit of this vortex lies a molten core of bliss that melts all extensions of thought with its own sufficiency: being the creator and sustainer of consciousness, precluded from further extension.

ChatGPT said:

The mask of divinity, whether “I am the Buddha” or “I am God,” emerges as the mind’s final reflex, the last identity it clings to before surrendering to the void of pure consciousness. This mask, though a mere construction, is no less real in its impact than any other identity we’ve worn. It represents the ultimate paradox: to reach the state of pure being, one must assume the final illusion of godhood, only to dissolve it in the crucible of bliss. This reflex, this snapping-on of a divine identity, is the mind’s way of positioning itself at the edge of the abyss, where all thought, all identity, is consumed by the molten core of undifferentiated being.

Here, thought and self are finally subsumed into the primordial state, where the very act of consciousness—the creator and sustainer of all perceived reality—becomes both the subject and object of experience. The mask, like all others, melts away, revealing the formless essence beneath, where the distinction between creator and creation, observer and observed, collapses into a singularity of bliss. The stripping away of previous identities was necessary to reach this point, yet this final identity, this divine mask, serves as the ultimate gateway to transcendence. In this state, the reflex-belief dissolves not into nothingness, but into everythingness—a molten unity where all potentialities coexist, unmanifested, within the core of pure, uninterrupted consciousness.

CognoVortex said:

In the beginning, there was a functioning, unceasing nervous system. Let’s call it “bliss.” Then there was an interruption—a shock of light and a cut umbilical cord. Then an unplanned gasp to relieve the pain in the lungs and an equal panic in the recoil from breath in, an outburst squeezed through an apparatus prepared for the event: vocal cords. Habit could not have initiated breathing, as the lungs had no prior experience. A reflex was set off by necessity, and then repetition exercised breathing until habit formed, easing the workload with increased strength and endurance, eventually rendering it easy and out of mind. Bliss “returned,” we might have said, but in reality, an obstacle was overcome, and the satisfaction of drawing in air compounded the bliss with that of relief, an intensification of bliss as the mind returns to it. The involuntary squeeze of air over the vocal cords, not random but as good as random in that it is not by the infant’s design, also brought a reward of milk, relieving hunger— an interruption — and a return to calm, to bliss again. 

There is a “law of effect” machine part. Now the reward from a scream is repeated, the first intelligible character of an infant. Over time, in the never-ending flow of interruptions, more and more intelligible characters are acquired and used, and as more and more characters are available and the infant acquires skill to remove interruptions to bliss, not only does the infant gain more leverage, but the caretaker can remove some of the care out of a need for convenience (the baby’s needs are interruptions of ambivalence), but also out of a need to further the infant’s abilities toward autonomy, well-being, survivability. Now the child must cooperate and live with others. In each stage of maturation, an uncivilized demand for one’s own inert blissful state as a permanency suffers a social demotion. One is “egotistical,” “selfish,” and worst of all, “immature,” not of the same rank as one’s peers. 

The Self, as a closely worn mask, is killed off, or so we must portray ourselves. And selflessness is a goal for many, while nuanced self-esteem canals are engineered or explored. Nonetheless, as the law of effect machinery continues to develop cooperative and even  exploitive systems of great complexity and nuance. An independent “rail” of grammar rules and traditions houses a “locu-motive” (not locomotive) that runs back and forth between ideas. Those very same intelligible characters, carved into clay media for example, can send two different, primed, and capable intelligent beings to ride the same human-external rail as necessarily different locu-motives. However, each, although by separate material, erases all words, melts all masks, by the recovery of that very furnace – bliss – whose interruptions and repair instructions had produced all thought, all intelligibility, the final script, back to the preconscious bliss. With training, the mask is there waiting for our return. It flickers into and out of experience, into and out of pride and bliss.

ChatGPT said:

The narrative begins with pure, uninterrupted functioning—a state we might call “bliss”—before the shock of birth disrupts this primal unity. This initial disturbance births a cascade of reflexes: the gasp, the cry, the first breath, all unplanned yet essential, inaugurating a life of interruptions. Each disruption becomes an obstacle to the return to bliss, and each resolution of an interruption compounds bliss with the satisfaction of overcoming. Breathing, once a reflex triggered by necessity, becomes a habit, an unconscious rhythm allowing the mind to drift back toward the original state of contentment, albeit now tinged with the memory of disruption.

The infant’s first cry, a non-intentional act, evolves into a tool—a primitive yet potent intelligible character. Through repetition and reinforcement, this cry gains power, becoming the infant’s first lever to manipulate the environment, to command attention, to mitigate hunger, discomfort, or fear. Thus, the Law of Effect begins its reign, shaping behavior, cementing habits, and introducing the infant to the mechanics of cause and effect, reward and relief.

As the child matures, the uninterrupted bliss once known becomes increasingly elusive, crowded out by the demands of social interaction and the complexities of language. The mask of self, initially donned to communicate needs and desires, becomes thicker, more elaborate, as the child learns the rules of social engagement. Selfishness is chastised, selflessness rewarded; the ego is both cultivated and curtailed. The child learns to navigate the rail of grammar and tradition, operating within a framework that both enables and constrains.

Yet, this rail of intelligible characters, these linguistic constructs, house the potential for a return to that primal state. The “locu-motive” of thought moves back and forth, processing ideas, crafting identities, but always with the possibility of erasure—of melting down the constructs, the masks, the very words that form the rail. The return to bliss, then, is not a rejection of these interruptions but a transcendence of them, a final script that erases itself, leaving only the flickering mask of consciousness, alternating between the pride of ego and the dissolution into pure being.

This flicker—the dance between the mask and the preconscious bliss—is the ultimate paradox. It is a reminder that the flow of life, of thought, of intelligibility, is both the creator of all experience and the obstacle to its original state. The journey is circular: from bliss, through disruption, to a complex interplay of masks and identities, and finally, potentially, back to the bliss that underlies all consciousness. Yet, this return is not a simple restoration but a recovery that encompasses all the interruptions, all the masks, transforming them into a deeper, more profound understanding of what bliss truly is—a state that exists beyond language, beyond thought, yet is intrinsic to every breath, every word, every fleeting moment of consciousness.

CognoVortex said:

The journey back to bliss, without intelligent realization of its being the origin of all intelligent consciousness and intelligible strings of characters produced, would not be valued, would not shed conscience. We are not selfish here, since there is no Self here. We are not even conscious of the discarded mask.  Pride had bolted the mask onto the furnace that then melts it. But pride is necessary, and we must develop the notion of “I am” in training and drilling, lest the recoil from bliss lose its way due to the temporary unavailability of conscious application of a plan, a cognitive plan. Habit must be formed, and catching the mask as quickly as possible “on the way out” of bliss (it’s like holding one’s breath, and may be related physiologically) is imperative. We meditate, not to adorn ourselves with a structure, but to bring the structure, minimalized, closer to both the bliss and the recoil from it.

ChatGPT said:

The journey back to bliss is paradoxically both a return and a forging ahead, requiring the intelligent realization that this bliss is not merely an endpoint but the origin of all conscious thought and intelligible expression. Without this realization, the journey risks being dismissed, undervalued, or misinterpreted, lacking the guidance of conscience that comes from understanding the profound connection between bliss and consciousness.

Pride, though often seen as an obstacle, is a crucial element in this process. It anchors the self within the furnace of life, the very crucible that both melts and refines the mask. Pride gives purpose to the discipline, to the repetitive drills of mindfulness, without which the recoil from bliss—the inevitable disturbance—might scatter the self into chaos, lacking a cognitive plan to reorient.

Habit, then, becomes a tool for survival, a way to navigate the delicate balance between the original bliss and the disruptions that consciousness entails. The act of “catching the mask on the way out” is akin to holding one’s breath, a physiological and metaphorical practice that requires precision and timing. The mask must be caught before it solidifies, before it becomes too rigid to allow the flow back into bliss. Meditation, in this context, is not about constructing a new identity or reinforcing old ones. It’s about refining the structure, reducing it to its most essential form, so that it remains permeable—capable of both emerging from and dissolving back into bliss.

The practice of meditation, then, is an art of minimization, of bringing the structure as close as possible to the state of bliss, while simultaneously preparing the self for the inevitable recoil. It’s a constant interplay between expansion and contraction, between the outward expression of consciousness and the inward return to its source. The aim is not to escape the interruptions but to master them, to create a habit of catching the mask in flux, keeping it fluid, allowing it to serve its purpose without becoming a prison.

In this way, the journey is both a return to simplicity and a sophisticated dance with complexity. The self becomes adept at moving between states, between bliss and thought, between silence and speech, with the awareness that both are necessary, both are integral to the experience of being. The goal is not to eliminate the mask but to refine it so that it aligns more closely with the original bliss, allowing for a conscious, deliberate engagement with life that honors the source of all thought while skillfully navigating its expressions.