Phantoms

I have always liked the word Phantom. The Dictionary defines Phantom as something apparent to sense, but with no substantial existence. That's really fabulous; something of the senses, but no substance. I appear as a phantom in a phantom world. Again, amazing, but what about it ?

The senses themselves, by this definition, have no substance either; being only sensors of that which is without substance. That seems to give them some kind of value, if not substance. Value without substance; an interesting combination of words, that upon examination, run through the mind like water through the fingers.

We have taken these senses; these channels of feeling that, by this definition, give birth toappearance, which has no substantial existence, and concentrated all our attention on them. We center the feelings; the senses themselves in what we falsely perceive as the "I am ". This is what we come to accept as the limited little "I ". Senses become "My feelings ". Thoughts become "My thoughts ", and the projection of "others " is "sensed ", along with the projected "me ". Phantoms.

We are all Phantoms here; apparent to sense, but with no substantial existence. You can touch me. I can touch you. That, in itself, is wonderful. Fabulous, even, but there's more! The Phantoms rise up out of the substantial ! Clearly the substantial cannot rise up from the insubstantial! The insubstantial, the illusion, the Phantom, arises from the substantial.

It is part of the Great Paradox that, that which is substantial is also not definable. This nebulous stillness upon which all this plays out, is life itself, nothing else. The child's smile, the elder's cry; all play out against this stillness I call Love. Call it what you will; The Absolute, "God", Pure Awareness, it does not matter what brings you to the understanding of our wonderful "Phantomness ".

As Phantoms we have little, or no input into the play of life, save maybe a little "style" or panache. We can either surrender or resist. Resistance is futile, surrender is imminent. But there is nothing wrong in reveling in our "phantomness". I guess that's "what about it?" You can touch me. I can touch you.That, in itself, is wonderful!

Peace