Is Awareness Interactive?
John Archibald Wheeler, the American theoretical physicist, famously declared, "No phenomenon is a phenomenon until it is an observed phenomenon," implying that the universe is fundamentally participatory.* This finding from quantum physics challenges the notion of a purely objective, mind-independent reality by suggesting that the act of observation is intimately linked to the appearance of reality itself. However, from a nondual perspective, the interpretation that awareness is interactive can be a subtle form of dualism.
To say that awareness interacts with phenomena presupposes two distinct entities: awareness, and the phenomena with which it interacts. The implication is that there is a subject and an object, a perceiver and a thing perceived, that are fundamentally separate. Yet, the core of nondual understanding is that in reality there is no fundamental separation. There is not an independent observer standing apart from and peering into a world that exists outside of it. There is only one unified consciousness expressing itself in a multiplicity of apparent forms.
Awareness is not a separate agent that does things to the world or interacts with its contents. Awareness is the fundamental reality, the seamless whole upon which every thought, every feeling, each perception, every body, and the entire display of the cosmos, appear. What we conventionally describe as interaction is, from the vantage point of awareness, simply awareness knowing itself, or appearing to itself as various forms within its own being. The apparently physical world, just like a dream world, is not outside awareness; it appears within awareness and is made of awareness. And, just like in a dream, things appear to interact.
The apparent collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics, where infinite possibilities become a definite reality, is not an action performed by a separate awareness upon inert matter. Rather, it is infinite awareness perceiving itself in a continuous act of self-creation. In other words, the activity of the mind is not a distinct entity influencing an external world, but awareness experiencing its potentiality from a particular point of view.
The experience of the world, from the grandest cosmic event to the most subtle sensation, is a dynamic modulation of awareness alone. The entire display of existence is a self-knowing wholeness, an unbroken process expressing and recognizing itself as all that is. The scientific discovery that observation influences reality, then, becomes a pointer towards the nondual truth that all known phenomena in the universe is unified, sharing a common source. ⬚
*Wheeler’s concept of a participatory universe suggests that the act of observation plays a crucial role in shaping reality, implying that observers are not merely passive witnesses but active participants in the universe's unfolding.
Do Thoughts Shape Reality?
We commonly perceive thoughts as distinctly ours, as products of our individual minds. This leads to the intuitive conclusion that my thoughts, driven by my choices, directly influence my reality. While this feels correct, the belief in separation is a false belief.
From a nondual perspective, all thoughts, without exception, arise spontaneously within a unified field of awareness. They are not manufactured by a separate entity called “me.” Just as waves are an activity of the ocean, thoughts emerge from an ocean of awareness. They appear in awareness, are known by awareness, and ultimately dissolve back into awareness. There is no independent entity within awareness that possesses its own private thoughts. The very experience of having a thought is itself an activity of this fundamentally indivisible awareness.
Where does choice come from, then?
From the perspective of the apparently personal self, there is a compelling illusion of free will, a feeling that “I” deliberate and then “I” choose. But the entire process of deliberation, decision-making, and the feeling of having chosen are all phenomena arising within and as awareness. Of course, after a decision is made, the activity of the mind is quick to take credit.
But thoughts arise spontaneously, and the “chooser” is a function of awareness, not a separate entity. How then do thoughts shape reality? The shaping occurs because awareness, in its infinite creativity, expresses itself through countless forms, including the form of a finite mind. So it is the activity of awareness in the form of a finite mind that chooses and shapes reality, not the temporary activity of the mind which claims authorship. ⬚
Becoming an Instrument of the Divine
It is natural to go through life attached to the idea of personal agency, aiming and striving, believing in your own efforts to help determine outcomes.
However, if the ultimate reality is a unified consciousness, and all phenomena, including thoughts and actions, arise within and as this unified awareness, then the idea of a “doer” with its own separate existence is an incompatible view. If consciousness is one, then the words we speak, the actions we perform, and the lives we live, are expressions of this fundamental beingness, playing out through each and every body-mind.
The practice, then, becomes one of relaxing the egoic grip and recognizing where true agency lies. The shrinking of the ego is a process that allows more space for the divine to express itself. Wisdom is like a whisper that cannot be heard without stillness and silence.
The divine is not a separate entity waiting to step in. It is consciousness, the ground of being, our true nature, which is already the source and substance of all that is.
A helpful analogy is that of a clarinet, which has no melody of its own. But when breath flows through it, music can be created. Although the clarinet makes possible certain expressions of music, the clarinet itself is not the author of the music. Similarly, as the egoic belief in separate agency diminishes, the body-mind becomes a clearer, more resonant instrument through which divine consciousness can express itself in the field of time.
The awareness that we are instruments of the divine fosters a deep trust in the unfolding of reality. By becoming “less,” we create space for so much more. ⬚
Two Paths to Joy
When Gandhi was asked, “In three words, what is your philosophy of life?” he replied, “Renounce and enjoy.” This quote speaks to the wisdom of non-attachment, to seeing through the illusion of a separate doer acting and reacting in a separate world. The renunciation is not of the world itself, but of egoic attachments.
A similar nondual invitation is to “welcome and enjoy,” which implies a level of nonresistance to all that unfolds. If reality is a singular, indivisible consciousness, and everything is an expression of one awareness, one being, then there can be nothing separate from awareness. “Welcome and enjoy” offers more than letting go of attachments; it signifies a radical acceptance as well as an engagement with experience. This kind of acceptance is not passive; it comes from a place of openness. Being open does not mean that we say “yes” to everything, but rather that our actions arise from an open heart rather than a closed heart. So even if we say “no” to a situation, the response comes from a place of wisdom.
The enjoyment here is not contingent upon specific conditions being met. It is simply the joy of being, acting while resting in a growing sense of clarity, contentment, and peace.
While both perspectives may lead to relief from psychological suffering, the distinction lies in their emphasis. “Renounce and enjoy” implies a conscious act of stepping back from identification with egoic impulses and attachments in order to become inwardly free, and this is a valid step for those entangled in the illusion of separation. “Welcome and enjoy,” however, is not about detachment from life as much as it is about engagement with life, as life. To welcome is to remain open to that which unfolds, recognizing that there is no separate entity doing the welcoming, only aware presence unfolding within itself as the welcoming. To welcome and enjoy signifies an acceptance that transcends even the concept of renunciation, because fundamentally there is no separate thing to renounce. The enjoyment, then, arises not from the desire to be free of an egoic grip, but from realizing that egoic grips and their release have a role to play in the unfolding reality. ⬚
In Dreams, Who Controls the Narrative?
A useful analogy for describing the nature of reality is that of a dream, where consciousness is the dreamer, and the body-mind perceiving an apparently external dream world is the dream character.
Questions may arise, then, about agency during the dreamed experience. If the dream character has no independent existence and therefore no free will of its own, and if consciousness seems to watch the dream unfold as an observer, is the dream narrative purely a spontaneous unfolding within consciousness? If so, what influences the narrative?
Since the dream character has no independent agency, it cannot make independent decisions, for its every action, thought, and experience is entirely a creation within the dreaming consciousness. (According to the nondual understanding, the reality of the dream mirrors the reality of the waking world. The apparently separate self, the individual body-mind, is an expression within consciousness; it is not separate from it. Therefore, the body-mind which appears in consciousness has no independent agency of its own, apart from the consciousness that knows it.)
While consciousness might seem to be a witnessing presence or an observer watching the dream unfold, it is more intimate than that. Consciousness is not a separate entity observing the dream; it is the dream—the light, the street, the house, the chair, the characters, all of it, all at once. The act of observing is consciousness witnessing its own creation. It is consciousness knowing itself, indirectly, through a particular point of view and in a particular setting.
Is the dream narrative a spontaneous unfolding? Yes, in the sense that consciousness does not consciously plan each detail like a human screenwriter devising a plot. There is an inherent spontaneity to the arising of forms within consciousness.
However, spontaneous here does not mean entirely random. The dream narrative is influenced by the accumulated impressions and tendencies residing within the localized mind of the dreamer, which is itself an activity within consciousness. These are the memories, desires, fears, experiences, and conditioning from the waking state that help direct the narrative of the dream. A mind steeped in fear may manifest nightmares. A mind filled with joy is likely to experience delight. These influences are not external impositions; they are qualities and patterns arising within the dreaming consciousness.
Dreaming is a natural part of the spontaneous play of consciousness, and most often there is an internal coherence, a dream logic, a loose structuring, that, while often peculiar, maintains a certain consistency within its own framework.
Extending this analogy to our waking reality, the “narrative” of the universe is similarly a spontaneous unfolding within consciousness. Our lives are not predetermined by an external deity, nor are we experiencing randomly generated chaos. The experience of life is an ever-present, unfolding reality, and proclivities and patterns within the activity of the mind at the relative level influence these expressions of consciousness. ⬚
Base Reality
Being Is a Verb explores wisdom traditions and the philosophy of mind from the perspective of contemplative Christianity and Advaita Vedanta (Sanskrit for “not two”).
Contemplative Christianity emphasizes a direct experience of God. Likewise, Advaita signifies the absence of a fundamental separation between the individual self* and the ultimate reality.
Setting aside Advaita for now, what is a contemplative Christian?
A contemplative can be described in various ways, but, here, a contemplative is someone for whom every phenomenal experience is understood to be an activity within awareness, or, in religious terms, God’s being. The contemplative understands that it is only through awareness that anything has experiential existence. Since this is the case, awareness can be described as the ground of being, or as the foundation upon which all perceptions and conceptions arise. A contemplative is simply someone who enjoys spending time resting in or as this awareness of oneness.
Contemplation is analogous to the experience of lucid dreaming in which awareness is aware of the dream while in the dream.
Another analogy is that of a stage actor in a play. The actor embodies the role with total conviction, through sorrow and joy, all the while aware of his or her true identity. This true identity is not the character; the true identity is the actor, or, more precisely, the actor’s aware presence.
For the contemplative, then, life becomes less dualistic. Phenomenal appearances are understood to be the activity of one consciousness in the same way that waves are understood to be the activity of one ocean.
This shift in understanding opens the door to peace and clarity. Emotions are still evoked, but they can be addressed without entanglement. Desires still arise, but they are no longer embedded in egoic agendas. Actions flow more spontaneously and effortlessly from a place of openness and, when we listen, wisdom.
So the contemplative life is less about retreating from the world and more about the dynamic expression of fundamental oneness experiencing a first person point of view. ⬚
*In Advaita, there is no separation between the individual self and the ultimate reality because there is no separate entity with its own existence apart from consciousness, and consciousness is the ultimate experiential reality. Similarly, in the Christian tradition, Jesus, using the language of his culture, says, “I and the Father are one.”
The Offering of Life
Nondual awareness is the recognition that the ultimate experiential reality is not the external world, nor the streams of thought, nor the feelings in the body, but awareness itself. Awareness is that in which all perceptions, conceptions, and feelings arise and dissolve. Awareness is not something we have; awareness is what we are.
Having undertaken the investigation and gained the recognition, we can be open to the possibility, since the nature of awareness is so elusive, that the presence of awareness is of a “divine*” [see footnote] nature. In a nondual context, “divine” does not imply a fundamentally separate entity existing externally that merges with a personal body-mind. Rather, the divine presence is already the indwelling, untarnishable perfection of awareness itself. It is like a miracle hiding in plain sight.
We cannot know what is beyond conceptual thinking by using conceptual thinking, but we can know with certainty that we are aware. Whatever is happening, whatever this is, is not nothing. Something is happening here, and that something is known by a knower, by awareness.
When the divine presence of “I am aware” is understood to be the perceptual lens through which the supreme creative intelligence experiences the world of subject-object relationships, reality becomes imbued with mystery and meaning.
Awareness is the only reality to which we have direct access. Awareness, our most intimate experience, is what we are on the most fundamental level. We can honor this ineffable, divine source by seeing daily life, whether folding clothes, walking in nature, or speaking with a friend, as an opportunity to rest knowingly in and as the essence of being.
To be knowingly aware of the sacred presence of awareness is to be reborn, in a sense, into our true nature. Here, we live free, from our center, as our true self. ⬚