Nostr Timeline

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🌀🦄🌀 In Tibetan Buddhism there is a wisdom tradition that ensures both its purity and longevity over the course of time by continually revealing itself in a never-ending series of hidden spiritual treasures called terma. These treasures—be they sacred objects, liberating teachings, prayers and/or practices—are hidden within the multidimensional fabric of the universe, which includes not only the physical world, but ­individuals’ minds as well. Even if discovered by or within one person’s mind-stream, these spiritual treasures are of immense benefit to the whole ­community. These psycho-activating treasures are designed to be shared to help inspire others. The more others are turned on to the terma, the stronger its nonlocal effects, as if the terma is a living entity that gets fed by being utilized and taken advantage of. Terma appreciate in value the more they are appreciated. These treasures typically get discovered during times of great need within the community; the specific form that the spiritual treasure takes on speaks precisely to this particular need. These spiritual treasures don’t exist objectively, separate from the person and the community in which they appear—their appearance is a collective dreaming process in which the treasure precipitates out of and into the field of the shared consciousness of the community. Like alarm clocks that are set to go off when we need to wake up, terma can be conceived of as keys that open locks (unlocking our minds) and charms that break spells (“dispelling” the negative effects of wetiko, the form of soul-loss that comes from unhealed generational trauma moving undetected in our unconscious). It is as if terma open doors to new rooms in our psyche that we didn’t know were there. Entering this new space within our minds we find more possibilities of turning potentialities into actualities. Terma aren’t some sort of New Age fairy tale. They are a real phenomena (at least as real as we are), having inspired Tibetan Buddhism for centuries and have been studied by many scholars. See Hidden Teachings of Tibet: An Explanation of the Terma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, a Harvard scholar. But what may be even more startling is how this ancient concept relates to a very modern-day way of understanding the universe: quantum physics. The Spiritual Treasure of Quantum Physics Quantum physics is not just chock-full of revelations; quantum physics is itself a living revelation. The revelation that is quantum physics is psychological, which is to say it is an inner subjective event that is unveiling something deep within the soul of humanity. Just like a dream compensates a one-sidedness and false attitude in the dreamer, quantum physics can only be fully appreciated when it is seen in context, relative to the classical physics mindset (with its overly rational, mechanistic, deterministic, materialistic, and reductionist way of viewing things), for which its theory is a compensation and from which it arose. Quantum physics is truly a product of our time. Quantum physics is a dreaming phenomenon, and like a dream, it is also a cipher of information in need of being deciphered. The quantum gnosis needs to be translated into an easily communicable form that can be widely understood to help open the eyes and awaken the wider community (in this case, all of humanity). Something that is thirsting to be known is striving to be born out of the unconscious of humanity into the light of the world in the form of quantum physics. This brings to mind the allegedly divine saying, “I was a hidden Treasure, I yearned to be known. That is why I produced creatures, in order to be known in them.” The quantum can be likened to a hidden treasure existing deep within the recesses of both the universe and the human mind that produced creatures (us, for instance) in order to be known and made conscious. An example: In another instance where quantum reality and the psyche mirror each other, the unconscious itself behaves in a compensatory or complementary manner toward the conscious mind. In a letter to Jung, Pauli writes, “The epistemological situation regarding the concepts of ‘consciousness’ and the ‘unconscious’ seems to offer a close analogy to the situation of ‘complementarity’ in physics.” If one person, before the advent of quantum physics, had a night dream in which quantum physics had been discovered, this could be interpreted as an outer reflection, projection, and expression of their newly emerging inner realization of their own quantum nature, as dreams are reflections, projections, and expressions of the inner state of the dreamer. Similar to how we can glean more insight into a person’s process by contemplating their dreams, if our species is seen as one individual, we can understand more about ourselves by viewing quantum physics as the dream of humanity and interpreting it in such a light. How does quantum physics relate to the concept of terma? Quantum physics can itself be likened to a modern-day analogue of a terma that our species as a whole is dreaming up to address our need for healing from the one-sided spell of reductive, materialistic science that we have fallen under. It could not be more perfect that the channel that this modern-day spiritual treasure is revealing itself through is the wisdom tradition of our modern age—science itself. The vision of our universe and our place in it that is revealed by quantum physics is ultimately spiritual, in that our interconnectedness with each other as well as the universe as a whole is fundamental to every spiritual wisdom tradition. Quantum physics can serve as the healing remedy that can help us to correct the distorted vision of our materialist myopia. In Tibetan Buddhism, the origin of terma is considered to be the awakened mind itself (which is equivalent to our quantum nature). In the Tibetan tradition, the awakened mind is personified—in the ­literal/historic and symbolic—figure of Padmasambhava, who was considered to be the incarnation of the awakened mind taking human form. The historical founder of Tibetan Buddhism, Padmasambhava, was also the initiator of the terma tradition. Due to the idea that quantum physics can be recognized to be a modern-day analogue of a terma, there are some people who are of the opinion that Padmasambhava himself was the founder of quantum physics. This idea becomes easier to take in when we understand that Padmasambhava is the embodiment of the quantum—which by its very nature is self-cognizant—taking birth into the spacetime continuum. Realizing that there were impending negative sociopolitical circumstances in Tibet that put the teachings of the Buddhadharma at risk inspired Padmasambhava to create an ­ingenious strategy—the tradition of hidden treasures (terma)—in order to thwart the threat and insure the purity of the teachings. Terma defy the linear trajectory of time, collapsing linear time—similar to quantum physics—such that the distinction between the past (when the terma was created and hidden) and the present (when the terma is ­discovered) dissolves. Due to their higher-dimensional, atemporal nature, terma are metaphorical time travelers, preserved from suffering the ravages of time, as they undergo no entropic degradation over the course of centuries, thus ensuring that the freshness and living vitality of their blessing power stays intact. Terma and Tertons: Treasures Require Finders Terma themselves are a quantum phenomena. There are many examples of terma not taking on a definitive and materialized form until their moment of revelation. The destiny of the person who is fated to discover the terma (who are called tertons; in the Tibetan tradition they are considered to be the emanations of Padmasambhava) and the destiny of the particular terma to arise into our world come together in a uniquely auspicious co-incidence in time to give birth to the terma into our world. If another person prematurely comes to the same place that the terma is hidden, they won’t see it, as if the terma renders itself invisible and the person becomes blind to its presence. Being quantum in nature, terma don’t exist objectively, but are manifestations of the interface between the physical world and our minds. In the Tibetan tradition, elemental figures called dharma protectors (protectors of the teachings) protect the terma from being prematurely discovered by someone other than the terton meant to discover and bring forth the terma to the world. Due to their deeper purpose of awakening humanity, terma are conceived of as continually arising in our world like spores from mushrooms. To quote Padmasambhava himself, “The entire world has been filled with the treasures [terma] of Padma. All of their discoverers will be my emanations.” Our world is a treasure trove overflowing with potential treasures that can be found practically anywhere and everywhere, in the most unexpected places, at any moment in time, even, or particularly when we least expect it. Physicist Christopher A. Fuchs writes, “I think we’re all finally in a position to really take quantum mechanics by the tail. There are untold treasures out there if we’ll all just take the trouble to look for them.” The more we are open to the idea that we live in a world where “untold treasures” such as terma exist, the higher the probability that we will find ourselves living a life filled with unspeakable treasures. Instead of living in a disenchanted world, we will then be inhabiting a world filled to the brim with magic. The words of anthropologist and mythologist Sir James Frazer come to mind: “The dreams of magic may one day be the waking realities of science.” To say terma are everywhere—at least in potential—is to say that our universe is one big potential terma waiting to be recognized as such. In a similar vein, Henry Corbin writes: “There is only revelation.” The universe is a symbol that is symbolizing itself, which is to say that our universe is a living revelation without end. Corbin completes this thought by writing: “…and that ‘things’ will tell you who they are, if you listen, surrendered to them, like a lover.” If we think of Padmasambhava as being equivalent to the awakened mind within us (our true nature), and the quantum is recognized to be another name for our awakened nature, it is as if the quantum—our quantum (Buddha) nature—dreamed up physicists to discover it because our quantum nature wanted to incarnate itself into our universe and be known by us, which is to say, by itself. Our formless quantum nature wanted to consciously realize itself, so it dreamed up quantum physics as the medium to make itself known in order to actualize itself in the universe as well as within our minds. The origin of quantum physics is not outside of ourselves—it naturally arises from the interaction between the universe and our own minds, which quantum physics reveals are not separate but rather, two aspects of the same thing. Ultimately speaking, it is as if we ourselves have planted our own lucidity stimulators in the waking dream of life. If the terma takes a form of a teaching or a practice, the terton, the discoverer of the terma, typically has to do the practice (which might take a number of years) in order to realize within themselves the gift that the hidden treasure is offering. It is only when the terton has the authentic realization within themselves of the gift (or in spiritual terms, the blessing) that is encoded within the terma that they are then empowered to share it—and transmit the blessing of the terma—to others. Terma as Revelation: A Key to the Dreamlike Nature of Reality In its essence, the quantum terma is revealing to us the dreamlike nature of our experience. In stimulating our lucidity, it is helping us to realize the nature of our situation as well as our own nature. When we take in and integrate in the core of our being what the terma-like aspect of quantum physics is revealing to us, in addition to helping us to more lucidly dream our life, it unlocks our creative nature, connects us more deeply with the wholeness of our true nature, helps us realize the interconnectedness of all of life, and as an added bonus, helps us deepen our compassion, for compassion is the natural energetic expression of seeing through the illusion that we exist separately from other beings. As the quantum revelation becomes more assimilated within us, we ourselves can’t help but to embody it in our lives, which transforms us into natural transmitters of the quantum. Anyone who, to whatever degree, consciously accesses the creative source within themselves can’t help but to influence others by their very presence. When someone realizes their quantum Buddha nature, it is like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Just like an oak tree is hidden within the acorn, the image of the soon-to-be butterfly is encoded as a realizable potential within the caterpillar. Imagine if the butterfly, after flying away and testing its wings, comes back to hang out with its ­caterpillar friends with whom it had grown up. I find myself imagining that the caterpillars who spend time with the butterfly begin quickly sprouting wings of their own, as if recognizing—even unconsciously—their true nature that is reflected by and embodied in the butterfly activates and awakens their own intrinsic butterfly nature. This is why it can be so helpful and inspiring to hang out with people who have some degree of realizing their quantum buddha nature, as the realization they are embodying, as if contagious, activates our own. I imagine we have all experienced this; when we spend time with people who are connected with themselves—whether we describe them as being in touch with their unconscious, with their soul, with their creativity, with their true nature, or whatever we call it—we can’t help but to energetically feel their connectedness in a way that touches us deep within our core in a way that is truly uplifting. Typically, these hidden treasures are discovered when, in an auspicious coinciding of inner and outer factors, we encounter what Philip K. Dick calls a “dis-inhibiting signal” in the seemingly outer environment that resonates with and thereby activates something within our minds. A similar experience can happen to creative artists, whose inspiration to create something can be stimulated by a random event, as if the work of art existed in a state of potential within their unconscious, waiting for a mneumonic clue from the environment at the right moment in time in order to birth itself out of potentia into actual manifest form. These dis-inhibiting signals (what I have called lucidity stimulators) are seemingly random occurrences within the universe that can take various forms—be it a synchronistic event, something someone says, a sound, a smell, a phrase in a book we are reading, or even a mere syllable—that unlocks something deep within us and helps us to discover the treasure that was hidden within our minds. It’s as if the dis-inhibiting signal is helping us to remember something that our soul once knew, what is known as anamnesis, an “unforgetting,” which is the opposite of and antidote to amnesia. Originating from the timeless dimension, terma stirs our memory, not to help us remember past historical events in our life, but to help us remember the timeless dimension of our being, which has to do with who we are. The emergence of quantum physics in our world could be seen to be the dis-inhibiting signal that helps us to remember our quantum nature—but in typical quantum style, “potentially.” How quantum physics actually manifests and the effect it has upon us depends on if we recognize what it is revealing to us. In a sense, anything can be a dis-inhibiting signal if it stimulates our lucidity, even these very words. Quantum physics can be viewed as a potent and living symbol crystallizing out of and into our shared waking dream that is speaking to something deep within us in order to awaken us to our quantum nature. Quantum theory can be likened to a force of nature—one we ourselves have played a key participatory role in conjuring up—that has blossomed and borne mysterious fruit from within and out of the human mind. An expression of the self-regulating capacity of the psyche, when the fruit of quantum physics is ingested by a sufficient number of people, its psychological nutrients will restore the balance to a badly disoriented human psyche. Spiritual wisdom traditions typically represent the archetypal figure of the teacher who lives within us in a personalized form that is always using whatever is happening in our lives as a means to teach us. The quantum can be conceived of as our inner teacher appearing through the medium of science. When terma—which intrinsically possess a liberating ­quality—arise, be it in our world or within our mind-streams, it is not ­uncommon for negative, obstructing forces to simultaneously emerge that hinder and potentially even abort the birth of the hidden treasure into our world. These obstructing forces might have their origin in base human issues such as jealousy, or they might be a result of people who are attached to classical physics’ view of the world who feel that their Newtonian turf is being threatened by the radically new field of play that quantum physics is revealing. Many people contained in the mainstream, academic, corporatized physics world, due to how the revelations emerging from quantum physics could rock their world (not to mention their minds), might be unwittingly (though with the best of intentions) playing the role of keeping the lid on the quantum gnosis. In any case, this dynamic needs to be factored into the equation of our universe—light and darkness sometimes, oftentimes, maybe always reciprocally co-arise. When a hidden treasure is brought into our world, we should be sure to create the circumstances to protect the precious treasure from being obscured by the seemingly opposing forces. One prerequisite for this is to successfully deal with the obstructing forces within ourselves that could potentially hinder our realization of the terma’s gift. ✨🪷✨ image