The Ego, the Universe, and the Mouse:
Interactive Multimedia CD-ROM provides a Resource for Clarity
By Greg Brashear
Just as a falling stone follows the least path of resistance then
stops, our life has the tendency to progress until we lapse into a confining pattern of
thoughts and things, a cozy internal dialog that is directed by our ego and hinders the
realization of our true Self. As we plunge deeper into the rut of limiting thoughts and
things and become increasingly attached to our egoioc concerns, without warning, these
attachments slowly take over, seizing our mind and usurping our conscious life. This is
the great danger and incisive travesty clouding our very being.
At the turn of the fifth century Zen master Seng-Chao recognized this travesty; so he
employed every means possible to help further the development of his students, including
the power of multimedia. While requiring his students to meditate on a mandala, which is a
visual simile for consciousness, he simultaneously whispered sutras and koans to provoke
further growth and development. The combination of visual stimulation and audible words of
wisdom proved effective, facilitating the liberation of consciousness for optimal health
and wellness.
Today’s computer generation addresses all aspects of their lives on the PC and now
they are able to address their ‘higher’ personal growth and development needs
with interactive multimedia CD-ROM. Holon: Inquiry Into Being version 1.0,
is a point and click pathway to self-realization. The basis of this unique Windows-based
program is to help the user create and sustain a clear mind and let go of self-limits that
prevent further growth and development. The intent is to fully awaken our true Self and
realize undiscovered potential and the brilliance of transpersonal consciousness.
Post-egoic development creates the absolute opportunity to realize a fascinating, original
self- structure that is more whole than its predecessor. Holon, which means simultaneously
a part and whole, attempts to help the user realize this opportunity by looking deep into
the unveiled steam of consciousness, uprooting all forms of subject/object dualism until
there is pure experience and release from all the limiting thoughts and things that the
ego presents.
The methodology of the program is similar to that of the Tibetan concept “rime,”
meaning “unbiased.” It arose from the need to overcome sectarian bias in the
evaluation of doctrinal traditions of the various schools of thought and to accept each
tradition on its own merits.
It is in this spirit that the provocations in the program are extrapolated from a variety
of fastidious venues such as the Bhagavad-gita, Upanisads, Vedanta, Zen-Buddhism, Yoga,
Tao Te Ching, and various Sutras. Each provocation corresponds to a particular level of
consciousness which makes the program beneficial for the beginner as well as the advanced
student of consciousness. For instance, as you begin to identify with something
deeper than the ego, you might hear the gentle words of “Abide in some
place endless, spacious.” In the deeper stages of the program you might hear,
“There is in it, no diversity.”
Interactive multimedia is not just tutorial. It is experiential, making such concepts as
the movement of consciousness, the dynamic system of self and ‘no self.’ and
quieting the mind easier to realize. Holon: Inquiry Into Being applies
contemplative modalities, including twenty-seven minutes of meditation encouraging the
uncovering of self-limiting attachments. This modality demonstrates the process of
the creation of an attachment emanating from the ego beginning at the material level and
going back until the meditator discovers in this emptiness her formless origin, that which
“consists wholly of bliss,” and becomes one with that origin. The Uncovering
begins with bulky, restricting thoughts such as panic or jealousy then becomes
increasingly subtle such as inference and causal arising of the separate self-sense. The
program promotes the realm of not grasping or consciously defining the universe, allowing
experience to have a meaning of its own without the direction of our ego.
At the heart of Holon: Inquiry Into Being as well as many other
injunctive tools for letting go and realizing our potential is one simple technique;
interrupting the pattern of confusion with unobstructed clarity. However it is easy to
neglect the gift of peace and become attached to the most available thought. Keeping the
mechanism of letting go in the forefront of consciousness is essential to continue growth.
Most contemplative pursuits aspire to enlighten the student to naturally extend the
training and techniques of the practice into his everyday existence. Even five minutes a
day of self-pause is vital to your wellbeing. If you supply the necessary energy to
sustain clarity, you will experience an immediate impact on your life. A spark of clarity
can grow into a bonfire of harmony.
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