Missing the Obvious
A spiritual journey driven by a yearning for truth can lead seekers to pursue extraordinary experiences. We might find ourselves drawn to subtle states of mind. A fascination with prophetic or mystical visions can arise. The interpretation of body-mind manifestations can be seen as signs of progress.
While these experiences may hold an allure and offer glimpses beyond ordinary perception, they can be easily mistaken for understanding. In fact, the very pursuit of such states may be a subtle trap, obscuring the ever-present reality that is here in plain sight.
The core of nondual understanding points to awareness itself as the fundamental truth—the unmoving, changeless background of all experience. This awareness is not something to be attained, for it is the very "is-ness" that precedes and underlies every thought, feeling, and perception. In its essence, awareness is utterly simple, effortlessly present, and devoid of any inherent qualities or characteristics to which the mind can attach.
As such, awareness does not come and go. It is the ever-present, unmovable screen upon which life unfolds. It is the “I am” that precedes all qualifiers.
To truly recognize this is to step out of the cycles of seeking and resisting. It is to simply rest in the unchanging peace of what is already the case.
The invitation, however, is not to turn our attention away from the captivating drama of our thoughts and experiences, and to only rest in awareness. Not all all. Because when we see the world as the very expression of oneness and know that the witnessing presence is infinite awareness interacting with itself through the lens of seemingly separate, finite minds, when we truly understand this, the world naturally takes on a whole new dimension. It is to recognize the “no thing” that is everything, the silent ground that holds it all.
“When we see the world as the very expression of oneness and know that the witnessing presence is infinite awareness experiencing itself through the lens of seemingly separate, finite minds, when we truly know this, the world naturally takes on a whole new dimension.”
With the recognition of the reality of awareness, there is no story, no spectacle, no dramatic transformation. It is simply awareness consciously knowing itself, and resting in itself, naturally.