[MD] Direct Experience

[Dwaipayan Lahiri]

On Aug 14, 2008, at 8:05 AM, Platt Holden wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> A couple of questions for anyone who cares to answer:
>
> Do direct experience and consciousness mean the same thing?
>
> To put it another way, is consciousness necessary for direct  
> experience?
>
> My answer to both is "Yes." Anybody agree?
>
> Platt
>

Hi Platt,

The problem I've seen over and over again on this board is the  
tendency to try and reduce everything to "intellectual" ruminations.  
While this process is very necessary, it is not the end, but a means.  
This (intellect) is meant to be used to navigate the sinuous path to  
Moksha. It is a tool, a sensory organ like the other five.

If your topic is pertaining to the "Mystical" experience, then I must  
state that the mundane/everyday consciousness is incapable of even  
dealing with Direct Experience (there is no frame of reference and  
attempts at interpretation will fail). If we expand our understanding  
of Consciousness to that which simply knows, without having to  
rationalize, then the answer is yes.