This is David Scoma. I know the thread I am contributing to is ancient, but having just learned about it, I would like to add my comments pertaining to the direct references midway through the discussion to my writings on justperception.net. First of all, however - as I am not an avid poster here - I just want to take a moment to thank Daniel for starting and continuing to maintain this forum.
Much of what was discussed concerning my writings (by Antonio, Greco, Chuck and Ian in the middle ranges of the thread) I spent a great deal of time clarifying in the original Dharma Underground wiki almost two years ago, but I will briefly make those points again here now for those who had ventured over and read some of the writings on my site to hopefully illuminate those points here as well. To begin with, what was encountered on this end was not a realization outside of a tradition. It was based firmly in the Christian/Catholic structure (albeit within often extremely esoteric means) and followed directly in line with John of the Cross and his Ladder of Love for the majority of the trek. I was in this tradition virtually my entire life, and was a serious practitioner for two decades before the end.
The justperception site was created for one reason, and with one focus only – to discuss potential aspects of the spiritual path, life, and the inherent discoveries, which are necessarily not focused on or talked about often (or hardly at all) within mainstream circles – even among serious practitioners. Those aspects which I was moved to write about tend to be a little darker. However, I tried to go out of my way (just short of placing a disclaimer before each and every post) to say that what was being conveyed was only one small portion of the whole. It is - by far and away – NOT all there is to it, and not all that was discovered, and certainly not all that is being lived in the life that remains. However, I felt that if a serious practitioner were to have stumbled upon some of those elements without having been forewarned at all, there could be a lot of unnecessary difficulty, etc. That is the only reason I created the site, and the only reason it’s focus from start to finish is narrowly aimed in that single, unswerving trajectory. It is all about this; if you have to have expectations, let them be realistic, and let them be fully informed into any number of the potentials - and then share what you find. I don’t think I am out of line by saying I am pretty sure those were also a few of Daniel’s intentions when he started his own websites up in the first place.
Virtually everyone who writes or tries to put any of this into words has some aspect of specialization, and each time I sat down to type, it became apparent that what was coming up was a move to cover the more extreme aspects or potentials from every angle possible. So that just in case a visitor to the site was encountering those potentials for the first (or only) time, if they did run into some of those territories, at least they would have been warned a little and it would not be a complete shock. The complication became this; if one does not happen to go through but a handful of the articles, or does not get to know me directly, it can be assumed through the content matter and the directness of the prose that those stark aspects represent all there is to the experience being lived on this end, or that I’m a raving nihilist, etc. That was a concession which I was more than willing to make as I had placed disclaimers throughout, and I figured anyone truly interested would perhaps contact me and therefore realize rather soon that such was not the case at all.
What has been found on this end was prepared for in an ongoing fashion for nearly two decades before the definitive falling away came about. As a result, there is an extreme comfort with this condition. It most certainly is not the only way it can come about. This wasn’t unique to me, obviously others have ventured through the same territories, and there is truly nothing special about any of it at all. Additionally, I am not some sort of an overt cheerleader for going all the way and discovering directly one’s true nature, at least not unless one possesses a great deal of maturity - i.e., having first at least tried mightily to get a realistic grasp on what such a thing means (as impossible as it is to comprehend in advance) and, therefor, what the discovery could mean for one's life that would remain following realization. However, on this end it was exactly right. There is extreme gratitude for the entire journey, and even more gratitude seems to well up now as the years continue to pass. That said, Daniel was very right to point out that life is extremely messy, even ‘after’ the fact. Please lose any and all rose-colored glasses with regards to having some sort of a carefree unfolding of life following deep attainment. You would be unbelievably wise to do so – as soon as possible.
When it comes to writing I am really just a one trick pony, it just happens to be a dark pony – but that single stark aspect certainly isn’t anywhere close to even a fraction of ALL that was discovered. I have a great respect for Vince and have enjoyed his writing for years, as well as truly had a great time speaking and emailing with him over time. However, we have never met in person, (though I have spent a good deal of time with some of his friends who do know what I am actually like). Should the day come where Vince and I are in the same room for awhile, I think it will probably become pretty obvious to him that what is discussed in my writings is not born of any pathology, but simply arose from a move and a focus to try and describe just one single aspect of one certain potentiality as clearly and in as much detail (even to overexposure) as I possibly could.
Best,
David Scoma
