Ground of Being

Holger@RiverOfInternet.com:
What does Salvadore Poe say about the “ground of being” a.k.a. presence, reality?

    

NotebookLM:
In Salvadore Poe’s teachings, the ground of being—often synonymous with presence, reality, or “source”—is the fundamental, unchanging essence of who you are, described as pure knowing and pure being. It is the stable foundation that remains constant regardless of the transient movements of the mind, body, or world.

Sal characterizes the ground of being through the following key insights:

The Metaphor of Fertile Soil

Sal uses the metaphor of “fertile soil” to describe this ground. Just as plants sprout from the earth and eventually return to it, every appearance of life—thoughts, sensations, and events—arises from the soil of being and resolves back into it. While the “plants” of experience are momentary and changing, the “soil” is present before, during, and after their display.

Reality as the “Now”

To Sal, reality is only what is actual and alive, which can only be found in the immediate moment.

• The Myth of Time: He asserts that the past is a myth and the future is a fantasy; neither is actual reality.
• Always This: Reality is “always this”—a state that is already reconciled and true without needing acceptance or effort from an individual.
• Ubiquity: This presence is everywhere and all-pervading, not ending at the skin line or located inside a head.

The “Unborn” and Pure Subjectivity

The ground of being is often referred to as “unborn being” because it exists prior to the “birth” of a separate self or ego.

• Prior to “I Am”: It is the root that exists even before the first touch of manifestation, which is the sense of “I am”.
• Pure Subject: Sal describes this ground as pure subjective consciousness—the “I” knowing itself without an object. It is a self-luminous light that requires no external proof or philosophy to be known.

The Real Personal

Sal offers a “paradigm shift” by redefining what is personal. He suggests that the habitual story of “me”—the ego—is actually a weightful “add-on”. In contrast, the impersonal ground (timeless, spaceless, and objectless) is the “real personal” because it is your essential being prior to the arising of the division created by the “me story”.

Stability and Peace (Sat-chit-ananda)

This ground is inherently secure and stable because it does not change. Sal uses the Sanskrit term Sat-chit-ananda to describe it:

• Sat: Being or existence.
• Chit: Knowing or consciousness.
• Ananda: Peace (rather than an emotional state of bliss).

Ultimately, Sal teaches that the way to be free is to recognize this ground as your default condition. This is done by taking a “holiday” from the mental carousels of self-obsession and coming out into the “sun of pure being,” which is already and eternally free.