
Credit: Dream Dictionary
(Concluded from above.)
Awareness is like a searchlight in a black night. Only, the minute something unseen comes into the light of awareness, something inexplicable happens.
I think it was Archangel Michael who said that, if we transitioned before our assignments were done, we’d have a sudden explosion of awareness on the other side that we had not kept our agreements.
Where does that explosion come from? Nobody knows.
By the same token, when something unseen becomes seen in the light of our awareness, the truth is known and we are freed – or more like released – from whatever unwelcome circumstance we’re in.
A troubled mind. Anxiety. Fear. They all disappear when we allow the searchlight of our awareness to fall on all that’s right there in front of us, without our censoring – at least to ourselves! Where does that sense of freedom or release come from? Nobody knows.
The more aware we are, the more we experience progressive release. In fact, in our processing, we can use the presence or absence of progressive release to tell us if our inquiry is going in the right direction.
Either the truth sets us free instantaneously and explosively or bare awareness dissolves the issues and upsets gently. Either way, the truth that we become aware of has set us free.
Another aspect of awareness. My wife used to say you can’t fool the man in the mirror. So true. The awareness path banks on us not even trying to fool ourselves.
We’re one who shouldn’t “buy our own BS.” We’d benefit from practicing “calling ourselves” on our own self-serving bias. It was great fun when we used to practice it in encounter groups and I miss it.
It’s antithetical to this path to hide, unless necessary, fool people, manipulate, fake it, etc. We’re trying to deconstruct the constructed self, not build a bigger, better one.
Last point. I used to think that awareness was neutral. I no longer see things that way.
It’s wise to be neutral when we’re being aware. But awareness itself is anything but neutral. It is – and, apparently, I invented this word – “dissolutive.” It dissolves unwanted conditions
Bring a situation to mind in which you felt ashamed. Now feel ashamed. Be with it. Remain aware of it. Allow it to be in bare and open awareness, blue-sky awareness.
If we sit with an unwanted condition like shame, in simple awareness, the feelings we have about it will slowly dissolve.
If we actually get the original traumatic circumstance that bothers us, the whole issue will disappear in an instant, not just our immediate feelings.
Rather than energizing the issue with our anger or hatred, we’ve just dissolved it for the first time. With continued practice, it’ll lose its grip and we’ll become more balanced.
***
Being balanced and aware is the object of the awareness path. In that space of balance and awareness are all good things to be found, like peace, bliss, and love.
We’ll be able to hold that space if we’ve trained ourselves in focusing our awareness. Buddhists and Hindus call this state of a concentrated heart and mind, samadhi.
The good things found in a balanced and aware state aren’t often found at the extremes of life, or found there only if that’s what has been arranged to awaken the individual – a serious illness or a near-death experience, for instance.
Otherwise they’re to be found more often in the balance point, the center, the heart.
And we find that place – always – with our awareness. OK, you can say you “feel it.” That’s fine. Intuit. Imagine. Matters not. Whatever way you make contact with that place where good things are found – that treasure box – is fine.
Who do we think we are if not a point of awareness? Or a point of feeling or sensing or intuiting?
I choose to remain aware. That’s the only agreement around spiritual disciplines that I have. And I’ve never for a moment regretted my choice of awareness as a path.