What is Phenomenology?

‘What is phenomenology’ is a question I wanted an answer to as soon as I’d heard of it.  How you experience certain phenomenon through ‘your’ conscious had me by the spiritual balls, I was intrigued!  It had something to do with consciousness and how we perceive the world around us, that’s all I knew.  It was time to start reading and try to apply it to my spiritual journey, here is what I learnt…

Imagine you are in a hot air balloon, some enormous height above the ground, you can see for miles and there is a beautiful view.  What an experience it is!  This is an experience within consciousness that you’re having, the balloon, the view, the sense of freedom or whatever you’re feeling.  Without a consciousness experiencing it what would it be?  Your consciousness gives that experience, that phenomenon, meaning. 

Similarly that feeling you have everyday, the feeling of being conscious, that is also just another experience within consciousness.  Hang on I’ll explain.  So, wherever you feel yourself to be in your body, maybe behind your face, inside your head, behind your eyes, that is what most people think of as their consciousness.  This is where they believe ‘themselves’ to be.  Of course this feeling itself is just another sensation the same as the balloon ride.  Nothing more than a phenomenon, given meaning, by consciousness.

“Your are not a person experiencing consciousness, you are consciousness experiencing a person”

This blog isn’t the scientific approach is it my spiritual one, one of how being aware of phenomenology guides me.  That being said think of consciousness as being bigger than your body, bigger than the things you see and touch and interact with.  Phenomenology concentrates on the first person view of life and experience, I however trust that we are bigger than this first person view.  Bigger than the view from behind our eyes. 

Always remember, the passage of time, the sun in the sky, the people you meet, the feelings you have of sadness or of joy, are all inside the experience of consciousness and when you realise this you can rise above them.  You can be the observer of these feelings and treat them as visitors – let them come and let them go.  They do not define you, they are not you, just experiences to be observed. 

Use phenomenology, the recognition of events and sensory experiences, as a reminder you are not those things.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy says ‘Basically, phenomenology studies the structure of various types of experience ranging from perception, thought, memory, imagination, emotion, desire, and volition to bodily awareness, embodied action, and social activity, including linguistic activity. The structure of these forms of experience typically involves what Husserl called “intentionality”, that is, the directedness of experience toward things in the world, the property of consciousness that it is a consciousness of or about something.’ 

When I read this I was initially bamboozled and it took me a few hours to digest it, I came the conclusion it was too complicated for my spiritual journey.  Rightly or wrongly I boiled it down to this – “You are the experiencer of all things, beautiful in their complexity and simplicity.  You are separate from your sadness and your joy, watch them and love them both equally”. 

I keep this in mind, always.  It is one of many reasons I am kind to strangers.

Science, philosophy, those who believe they know and those who only have questions, all those people, ideas and experiences, all those interactions and feelings – all inside you, all are you,  all are a reflection of the best and worst in you.  Observe and realise.

“Plant medicines helped me grow and be free from my ego, I’m not completely there but am on my way”

Realiser was born from a dream to be in a realised state, a state of awaken.  To be able to see the most obvious things having missed them for so many years.  Subsequently I wanted to create something to serve as an example of how it could be.  If only we might spend the time loving that we spend hating.  Above all spending the time to be kind to others for no reason.  You get the idea.  I will travel around doing what I can and would love for you to join me.  Follow my path here…