The Sacrifice of Consciousness – Life of Incoherence

This is certainly one of the shortest sacrifice chapters. Only one page long. Here E.J. Gold tells us to lead the life of a babbling idiot. There are a few ways to approach this sacrifice.

First do the exercise literally. Actually act like a babbling idiot. Stand firmly in the space of “I don’t know, and I simply cannot conceive.” You will find the path to being there is really a short walk for most of us. If you practice this method you will see how close you are to NOT knowing much of the time. You will see how easily we kick in the mechanicality of habit to recognize our surroundings and to function in the world. But, if we do not indulge we also see just behind the veil of recognition. We see that what we call certainty is truly a collection of assumptions.

Suspend what you know in this moment and move forth in the world. Frightening.

In paragraph 2 of this one page chapter, the author uses the phrase “The Great Betrayal.” This we will explore in the class. Read it and weep.

Here is a recording of the class:

Audio Recording Class_13_Sept_28_2011

Here is a copy of the log from the class: