Ask: Can you explain the different awakenings?
“…I have read your comments on ACIM as compared to other teachers or students of other nondual teachings and I… feel that there is a difference and wonder if the ‘result’ is different? As in, real world and/or a total enlightenment versus maybe partial? I know a lot of ACIM students are moving towards other paths.
I think you have said that ACIM points to an awakening to spirit and others something different. If you could say more to your understanding of comparisons between ACIM and other nondual focus I would greatly appreciate it. As I see differences and similarities and frankly it confuses me though I do know that only ego could possibly be confused and ask these questions...” – KL
Lately, I’ve noticed the confusion you
mention as clients and readers wanting to drop the terms enlightenment
and awakening because they are reading or listening to various teachers
who use the terms differently and they, too, have become confused. So, very
simply, here is why the confusion: There are those who use those terms to refer
to expanded consciousness (“awareness aware of awareness”) and there are
those who use them to refer to the realization of Spirit (God’s
Extension into consciousness). (As you pointed out, I use them for the latter
category.)
To highlight the difference, here are
descriptions of two occurrences of Oneness:
You are watching a bird flying and
suddenly you become aware you are the bird. In fact, you are everything, the
sky, the trees, the sun, etc. You are one with all. This is expanded consciousness. You are
no longer an individual consciousness; you are consciousness itself, the very
fabric of all that appears.
You are watching a bird flying and
suddenly you become aware of the Unity here. There is only this Oneness…and
there happens to be appearances. This is the realization of Spirit, that only God is real.
In fact, in this occurrence of Oneness,
there is no “and.” The “and” would negate the experience of Oneness! I write it
here because there are inevitable questions about what happens to the world in
these occurrences. In an Onlyness occurrence of Oneness, what appears is
enveloped by Oneness and it is understood, without needing to state it, that consciousness
is an illusion—nothing is actually there.
Confusion persists because both
occurrences of Oneness transcend one’s typical experience of consciousness, so
they are both described as “spiritual.” And both occurrences of Oneness cause the
same effects in the experiencer: expansion, liberation, joy, love, etc.
Moreover, the realization of Spirit does result in expanded consciousness. However,
in the realization of Spirit it is understood that expanded consciousness is an
expression of God’s Onlyness, its Cause is beyond consciousness, it is not an
end in itself, it is not God. (In fact, for me, a Oneness occurrence often
begins with feeling I am everything appearing, I am the fabric of all that
appears, and moves into the realization that the everything I am is not
appearances, not the fabric of what is appearing [consciousness], but the One
and Only, all that is really here, Which is called God.)
Expanded consciousness can have causes
other than Spirit. It can be the effect of drugs, strokes, brain illnesses,
virtual reality machines, or spending hours a day for years in meditation. For
some, it happens spontaneously without known cause. This shows it is a
physiological effect, whatever its cause. So, whether or not it is truly
spiritual—involves Spirit—depends on whether the Cause is Spirit as well
as what the mind it happens to does with it if the cause is not Spirit. For
example, someone may take a mind-expanding drug and be opened to pursuing Truth
(God), which turns the experience into a spiritual one.
Some find emptiness looking into
consciousness because it is inherently empty. But Spirit is in
consciousness and can be found at any time. So even someone who pursues
expanded consciousness for its own sake can stumble upon Spirit. But Spirit and
consciousness are not the same thing and should not be confused.
Both those who seek expanded
consciousness and those who seek the realization of Spirit become aware of
illusion. But for those who seek expanded consciousness, only ego is an
illusion. For those who seek the realization of Spirit, ego is only an aspect
of consciousness, all of which is an illusion. Only God is real, beyond
consciousness, but the Idea of God extends to consciousness as Christ and into
it as Spirit.
So, you are correct that there is much overlap
between these two definitions of enlightenment or awakening and in nondualistic
paths. The question to ask yourself is, do you feel moved to pursue expanded
consciousness as an end in itself or do you feel moved to realize Truth (God),
Which is beyond consciousness? Expanded consciousness may occur for you either
way.
Which brings us to another area of
overlap, and therefore confusion, which is the approaches to these two goals.
Both involve meditation and a deep awareness of your own mind’s working. Both
involve becoming aware of something within which has not been brought forward
before, consciousness (awareness) itself in one case, consciousness and Spirit
in the other. However, the chief difference is that those who seek expanded
consciousness do not necessarily seek to undo ego, but rather to put it aside,
which may repress rather than undo it. And those who want to realize Truth must
deal with ego (fear), because it is not just false but is in opposition to
Truth (God).
And this brings us to what makes people
uncomfortable with A Course in Miracles and like teachings that are for
the realization of Spirit. First, it is not comfortable looking at ego when you
have thought it is your reality. Guilt and fear and their effects ain’t pretty.
Second, it is frightening to think you are to undo what you have felt is real.
Third, ego can only be undone through an awareness of Spirit-as-reality, and
for someone who has thought ego was reality, it feels as though they are being
asked to “submit” to “something else”, even though It is within them. Of
course, this isn’t true, as Spirit is your True Self. But it takes a long time
to grow your awareness of and trust in Spirit so that the line between you and
Spirit blurs. In other words, much like in a twelve-step program, you have to
admit you have a problem (you think ego is real) and ask for help—which is hard
to do when you think ego is real. It requires humility to acknowledge
that maybe you’ve been wrong about what is real.
Of course, whichever path you take (or if you do not take a nonduality path at all) is up to the unfolding Atonement, so neither way is right or wrong. You will do as you are moved to do, and whatever that is, it will not bring about expanded consciousness or the realization of Spirit. Your efforts are not causes but expressions themselves, perhaps indicating expanded consciousness or realization of Spirit is to occur, perhaps preparing you for these. In any case, it is all the expression of the Atonement, expanded consciousness or not, realizing Spirit or not.
>>>>
If you have a
question the answer to which you feel may be helpful to others, send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and I will answer
it in this newsletter/blog
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