The observer and the detached witness

 

A Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity discussion topic

Copyright 2005 by K. Ferlic,   All Rights Reserved

 
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To look objectively at our lives, at Creation, and/or the true hazards within a creative endeavor and not project the fears of the past one must learn to become a detached witness. There are two terms used in the Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity technology that are closely related but carry important differences. One is observer. The other is a detached witness. They are both related to the awareness of mind and its ability to detach from what one experiences and occurs. Both relate to observing much like you would observe a movie. Becoming the observer, to detach and observe what is happening, is one of the first steps one can take to step out of mind or to step beyond mind. However the detached witness has a significant deference from the observer.

The difference between the observer and the detached witness is the perceived separation between the observer/detached witness and what is observed. An observer is usually seen as standing apart and they believe they are independent of what they observe. The observer is not seen to cause or influence what they observe because of how they observe. A witness is seen as not being separate but often integral to what is being observed. That is, a witness is part of the process and the witness carries an intimate knowledge of what is being observed. A witness, as defined, is one who can attest to the truth of what occurred. As such, a witness is often called upon to verify legal actions such a signatures, exchange of marriage vows and the like. They can attest to the fact that events really did happen as reported. The witness is about seeing the truth. The observe just observes and does not necessarily have the perspective of observing truth. The detached witness stands apart from any filter we may have about what is occurring.

The concept of the detached witness recognizes the fact that in the creative process the observer and the observed are intimately connected. Because the observer and the observed are connected the detached witness knows it is influencing what is observed. It is much like the phenomenon in physics where the observer affects what is observed. It is to recognize the minimum the influence is caused by simply the observer being present in observation and to realize the more profound influence is caused by how they choose to observe. The detached witness realizes this interconnection. But once they chose their method of observation, that is, how they are influencing the situation, they detach themselves from what is happening and hold themselves seemingly apart to observe the flow and outcome yet know they have created the outcome by how they chose to observe. The detached witness recognizes their role and what their observation is causing to happen. That is, they are aware of the truth of what is in that their own observation is giving rise to what they see and experience.

Both the detached witness and the observer is about becoming detached and seeing the events that you are experiences more as a movie and rather than the events happening to you. Where as the observer just observes, the detached witness realizes they are intimately involved in the movie they are watching. First they realize they are watching life events like a movie much like becoming an unnamed camera person observing from behind the camera recording the movie rather than being the performer. But they know what they record is not fixed. It can be changed.

As a detached witness you realize only you have the intimate details as to why and how things have happened the way they have. The detached witness realizes how the observer chooses to observe determines what is observed such that they are the writer, director and star performer because of how they are choosing to observe. As a witness they are intimately knowledgeable with the details of what is occurring but they realize that they in fact wrote the script, directed it and are performing the part critiquing their own performance, directing and writing. The detached witness knows they can change the script to whatever they wish if they so choose to do so. But they are also aware that if they change the script, they then change the whole movie and they will have to go back and rework earlier scenes and change how the story life of the movie is told. That is, they go back and deal with the past issues in their life that they believed created the movie, their life, as they now witness and experience it. The detached witness realizes there is a script for their life that they wrote and they are free to rewrite it at any time if they are willing to do all the work to change it.

In becoming the detached witness, you will begin to see the events themselves from a different perspective and you will begin to see “stories” behind “stories,” or layers upon layers that each have a story that can be told on that layer of reality. It is standing back and witnessing and observing what is being experienced. The detached witness is the initial step one needs to take to step out of mind see the true nature of reality. The detached witness is to step out of the thinking and judging mind and become witness. It is not something that can really be just mentally understood - it ultimately must be experienced. Most will have to practice at becoming a detached witness.

The realization that needs to occur here is that this “who” who is observing is the creator that has become the detached witness of their own creation. An observer stands apart from what they observe and does not affect or impact what they observe. A detached witness realizes they are causing and/or creating what they experience but they are capable of standing back and observing what they themselves have created and are experiencing - they witness what they have created. To become a detached witness as opposed to simply and observer, we must become very aware of the story we tell about our life and why we tell the story the way we do as opposed to another.

Related topics  
Detachment with compassion and without compassion
Need to become a detached witness

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