The soul of a person changes with the level of consciousness. In a sense, the sleeping person isn’t the same person as the enlightened one within the same body. As the dream person fades away into nothingness, it is much like a rebirth for the soul to awaken, conscious of the truer nature of reality, a child shedding play things and becoming a man of conscience, attending to the affects he has upon the world.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad it’s getting across because it isn’t easy to simplify this stuff and skirt around the language traps.
Just remember that this isn’t my philosophy. This is an outline of non-dualism. I’m not selling anything.
In the end, non-dualism is about experience (wrong word but that’s language again). It’s not an intellectual philosophy. It’s just a pointer for those who are willing and brave enough to make the leap…
The experience of not knowing you’re Awake is exactly the same as not being Awake.
An anorexic woman doesn’t have a weight problem but believes she does so she experiences the world as though she’s a fat woman.
A hypochondriac doesn’t have health issues but he believes he has so he experiences life as though he was a sick, dying man.
Rephrasing your question, you could say that these people are healthy, except they’re sick and you’d be right. They’re physically healthy but psychologically sick.
The non-duelists say we are Awakeness Itself – not some ‘thing’ that is Awake – but we identify as some ‘thing’ we’re not and thus experience life accordingly. You could say, we’re Awake spiritually but asleep psychologically.
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Awakeness is what you are at the most fundamental level. It’s what’s behind all the images you’ve had of yourself over your lifetime. Awakeness is not something ‘you’ get or have; if so, who is the one getting it? It would mean the ‘you’ who gets Awakeness (or Enlightenment) is prior to, and greater than, Awakeness itself.
By saying ‘being Awake is just being Awake’ I was saying Awakeness is the perceiver – not that which is perceived e.g. emotions.
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Think of the Enlightened as having clear minds. The clearer the mind; the clearer the perception and understanding.
Having a clear mind doesn’t mean there are no thoughts or emotions. They do have thoughts and emotions it’s just that the Awake aren’t attached to their thoughts nor do they have fragile egos they need to defend so thoughts pass across their minds like clouds pass across a clear sky.
Those who are Awake are, by definition, more awake, more conscious, more aware than the average person so why would anyone think they might be unaware, unfeeling or zombie-like?
Once again, we have it back-to-front. We are the zombies. We’re the ones who are only partially conscious – Jesus called us the ‘dead’ – so if anyone is less aware, less understanding or doesn’t embrace their full humanity, it’s us.
I’ve seen people that read so much, but it is vanity, because they don’t have the “hands” to hold and wield knowledge.
Other people spend a whole life chasing after temporary pleasures, instead of finding the ever-lasting.
Your above comment is precisely why so few people enter the “dark night” voluntarily. To enter the night safely one must be tethered to mighty strong spirits.
Some people get chewed up pretty good in their lifetime(s).
Still largely true today … tomorrow … who knows eh!
Dan, I can even go atheist to be there with you if you need it. The nooks and crannies of the spirit world are vast. I can tell you one thing: people want the best for themselves - when eternal death knocks, nobody answers the door. Never have, never will.
That, and spend a lot of time developing one’s self where possible.
The universe is packed full of spirits. But finding a good one is up to the person in question.