I have to apologize in advance for the length of my post... but trust me, you'll probably learn something if you read it.
I want to start off by quoting Jerry Garcia. Someone asked him about the band name "The Grateful Dead". He said, "Well we always thought of it more as, uh, the death of the ego than any specific legend."
Ego death is a subjective experience, i.e. it's different for everyone it happens to. Basically the ego can be thought of as one's concept of his or her self, and further, the whole of reality. So when the ego dies, one's entire views of reality are basically shattered. It commonly happens on psychedelics. You become fully aware that the reality of everything is completely beyond any grasping of the mind, because every time we create a mental concept it is never a complete representation of the one true reality.
So, when Jerry says "I see you've got your list out, say your piece and get out" he seems to be saying that it's not a good idea to go on and on about what you think you know.
Also, I believe the ABC's he talks about are these "lists" we all make. It's perfectly natural to try to figure things out, but to someone who's "awakened" to the actual reality beyond concepts, it's really truly pointless to go on and on. Plus, it's obviously egotistic to think any of our ideas are absolutely right.
After going through ego death, we still make judgements about the world, our"selves", and others... but we understand that they're abstractions and ultimately unreal. Thus we face the ABCs, and "keep a little grace".
Now that I think about it, a "paint-by-number morning sky" really would look pretty phony. :-)
I have to apologize in advance for the length of my post... but trust me, you'll probably learn something if you read it.
I want to start off by quoting Jerry Garcia. Someone asked him about the band name "The Grateful Dead". He said, "Well we always thought of it more as, uh, the death of the ego than any specific legend."
Ego death is a subjective experience, i.e. it's different for everyone it happens to. Basically the ego can be thought of as one's concept of his or her self, and further, the whole of reality. So when the ego dies, one's entire views of reality are basically shattered. It commonly happens on psychedelics. You become fully aware that the reality of everything is completely beyond any grasping of the mind, because every time we create a mental concept it is never a complete representation of the one true reality.
So, when Jerry says "I see you've got your list out, say your piece and get out" he seems to be saying that it's not a good idea to go on and on about what you think you know.
Also, I believe the ABC's he talks about are these "lists" we all make. It's perfectly natural to try to figure things out, but to someone who's "awakened" to the actual reality beyond concepts, it's really truly pointless to go on and on. Plus, it's obviously egotistic to think any of our ideas are absolutely right.
After going through ego death, we still make judgements about the world, our"selves", and others... but we understand that they're abstractions and ultimately unreal. Thus we face the ABCs, and "keep a little grace".
Now that I think about it, a "paint-by-number morning sky" really would look pretty phony. :-)