It’s Not What You Think

What is Spiritual Awakening? Well, it’s not what you think! It’s not what I think! This sobering insight turns the whole notion of spirituality upside down and inside out. And to the part of us that relies so heavily on figuring out life’s issues with our minds, this can feel like intellectual blasphemy. How can it be that the ultimate truth of life cannot be perceived and realized through concentrated thought and analysis?

Here’s the rub. We don’t actually see things as they are. We see life as we are. That is, what we take for seeing things as they are is really a filtered version of reality. Thanks to years of conditioning stemming from early childhood, we’ve acquired beliefs, perceptions, preferences, and perspectives that have become the lens through which we view life, and it colors reality big time.

So when our intention is to behold the Truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, using the mind that is fraught with misperceptions, will only lead us to the false, the illusory, and a whole lot of frustration in seeking but not finding.

Even if one could “cleanse” their mind for a moment and suspend the tendency to see through past conditioning there remains the problem of dualism. That is, our minds are built upon a binary system (like a computer). It’s quite a useful system for us humans who need to make sense of the physical world. It is our ability to see discrete, separate objects, notice differences, distinctions, and compare and evaluate choices among a multiplicity and diversity of objects. It’s been called the “egoic operating system” by author, Cynthia Bourgeault, “really a grammar of perception, a way of making sense of the world by dividing the field into subject and object, inside and outside…"

Contrast this dualism with the overarching message of oneness that pervades the great spiritual traditions (Hear O Lord, The Lord our God is One, The Father and I are One, All is Brahman, etc.). It also conflicts with the timeless, infinite nature of Truth, since our dualistic minds construct past and future, here and there. Thus, the material view of life which is quite adequate on the physical plane of existence, simply cannot comprehend, let alone, move us into the here and now of our Infinite nature. We need an operating system upgrade to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. The good news however is that it’s already installed but has simply fallen into disuse due to our nearly constant external orientation and focus.

This overlooking of our innate ability to perceive the reality of each moment and not the circumstances of the moment is what’s responsible for our dissatisfaction and yearning for happiness. As Jesus put it, we have eyes, but we do not see. It is simply too close for ordinary perception. Closer than breath, the Master said. What do you know that is prior to any objective knowledge? Simply this. It is knowing itself. Your singular capacity to know, to experience, to be aware with or without an object. The implications of this insight into our true nature are a complete reversal of what we’ve been conditioned to believe is at the root of our sense of wellbeing. While we’ve been seeking the ideal experience, the milieu of happiness is nothing more, or less, than our capacity for experience itself. To be aware of awareness itself is the Master key to realizing the unconditioned ever-present contentment of our soul.

The portal to this awareness is available to each of us if we will withdraw our attention from external objects and simply focus on awareness itself. Also termed witnessing the witness, or meditating on the meditator, we come to see that before there is perception there is this sense of being that is pure consciousness, pure subjectivity. This is our true nature and the abode of peace and wellbeing that we’ve been looking for all along.

Give it a try. Sit quietly and notice what’s present. You’ll notice the presence of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions. Now notice that each of these objects of awareness shift, change, come and go. But you don’t come and go. What remains? Is it not awareness itself? Pure consciousness. One without a second. This is meditation without an object. Formless existence reflecting upon itself. This is the end game of spiritual practice. And you can start at the end….now.

Peace and blessings,

Rev. Larry