You Are Not Book.indb - Stephen H. Wolinsky Ph. D.

xiv / You Are Not
a freeway going 60 miles per hour, and the car was put in
neutral—”I” am just gliding; soon it will stop on its own.
This embarkation, however, is different from the other
books in that the premise is YOU ARE NOT, and as such, the
only real question is, what makes “one” imagine that they are?
After investigation, it becomes clear that the root problem
“you” have is that “you” imagine that YOU ARE. Why? Because
I AM is the “source” (source, not as creator, but where
the “I” first shows or posits itself) of all that “you” imagine
yourself to be. In this way, to select such a word to describe
this, veils or illusions of consciousness seemed appropriate.
For as THAT ONE SUBSTANCE contracts or condenses, it
forms the I AM and all illusions both perceivable or conceivable,
which includes not only work, relationships, and, dare “I”
say it, the concept of God, spirituality, psychological health,
growth, spiritual paths, and even knowingness itself.
However, what must be borne in “mind” is THAT SUB-
STANCE of which everything is made, never loses its true
nature, but only appears as something other than itself. It is
as if we used 100 pounds of gold to make a watch, a ring,
or a bracelet—still, the underlying SUBSTANCE remains
gold.
It is only through the “awarer’s” appearance, which makes
it seem that all of this world is made of different substances,
and like a spider (consciousness) weaving a web (the world),
we appear TO BE “as if,” WE ARE. It is the appearance of
condensed consciousness (which is THAT SUBSTANCE)
that gives the illusion of being made of something other
than consciousness itself, and gives the illusion that there are
many different substances; this is the veil or illusion made of
consciousness. It seems that each culture has its own concepts
or veils or illusions of “I” and “it” which vanish like a mirage
in the desert as we move closer to investigate it. Soon “we”
discover that even the “awarer” or awareness has a location
in space-time, and hence, as the root of experience, vanishes
upon investigation.