PRACTICES FOR PERCEPTION
“Within Consciousness, Nothing Matters”
A practice for testing what a consciousness-first reality could mean for cause and effect in the world—shame, status, guilt, pride.
Above the Battleground
This exercise isn’t about denying life’s feelings.
It’s about running the experiment:
What happens when you stop believing the scoreboard is real?
In this test, you’re observing what the world calls “cause and effect” through a consciousness-first lens.
Here’s the hypothesis:
If all events arise within consciousness, then labels—good or bad—exist only inside the dream.
Not just lowly pain, but exalted identity.
Not just failure, but fame.
Not just rejection, but reputation.
If you’re still measuring worth, you’re still counting from inside the dream.
The Dreamer—the One that sees—doesn’t keep score.
And so, as an experiment, we say:
“Within consciousness, nothing matters.”
Then, we watch what shifts.
HOW TO RUN THE TEST
The Field Method
While running the test, we use the Dreamer’s Ladder as our guide. It’s a simple way to track the shift from being in the dream’s grip to seeing from above it. Each rung—Captivity, Curiosity, Chemistry, Clarity—marks a distinct change in perception.
Spot the trigger
(“Captivity”) Catch the moment the dream pulls you in: shame, pride, insecurity, exclusion, guilt, feeling “special,” or being judged. This is the mind locked in scorekeeping mode.
Pause the narrative
(“Curiosity) Interrupt the reflex (visualization, breathing exercise). Feel your body’s reaction without adding the mental story. Shift from “I know what this means” to “What if I don’t?”
Apply the Line
(“Chemistry”) Rise a level, and remember: you can now access a different understanding of the situation. With an open mind, speak silently: “Within consciousness, nothing matters.” Let the words act like a solvent. Watch how they interact with the emotional charge—whether they dissolve it, soften it, or reveal it in a new light.
Invite the Shift
(“Clarity”) See yourself rising above the battleground—where no label, role, or score touches your essence. In this view, shame and pride, win and loss, crown and bruise, all dissolve.
Record the Data:
Did the label lose its weight?
Did the emotion loosen?
Or did it cling harder?
Either way, you’ve tested the hypothesis: When consciousness is fundamental, the scoreboard is part of the dream.
MARTIN LENCLOS
“In Clarity, the field was level.
The experience—a quiet recognition we are unified in one dreamer.
What value could the old measures hold?
When the dream insists: matter matters,
the Dreamer sees: matter is mind’s reflection.
Reality looked convincing,
but tested, matter was nothing.
Each success, each guilt—
every crown, every bruise—
dissolve in the same light.
The past… gone;
The future… meaningless.
There is nothing to win; all is here and now.
Nothing left to lose; all that ever was is still here.
What once mattered has no weight in oneness.
I was never in the contest, the hustle, the struggle—
only consciousness itself, at peace in knowing its nature.”
WHY IT WORKS
Shutting Down the Scoreboard
Neutralizes shame and pride in the same breath.
Interrupts the dream’s arithmetic: better/worse, ahead/behind, good/bad.
Reconnects you to the lucid part of mind—untouched by labels or ranks.
Opens a glimpse of the “real world” where no status exists, and nothing is damaged.
When Praise and Insult Cancel Out.
Imagine this: you’re praised in public, and your mood rises.
Minutes later, someone slips in a cutting remark, and the same mood drops hard. Normally, that swing might steer the rest of your day.
Here’s the test—pause right there.
Silently say: “Within consciousness, nothing matters.”
Watch what happens.
In this example, both the praise and the insult dissolved into the same neutral sky.
The feeling wasn’t cold detachment—it was a warm balance.
Like remembering the rules of the game while still playing it.