Awakening sense

welcome to Awakening sense

Who awakens? Not you or I but our inner true Self, that core that is covered and encrusted by who we think we are.

Themes presented in the eBook Awakening's Treasure continue to unfold in these weekly posts.

Anyone wishing to leave a general/overall comment please see bottom of About page.

 

jump-start

When is there enough readiness to pursue a spiritual path?

Whenever there's any inkling of interest, even if it is easily overwhelmed and forgotten.

Par for the course?

Right. On the one hand the more readiness or preparation the better.

And on the other hand?

Actually there's no such thing as total readiness, if by that we mean a truly integrated self.

So what to do in the meanwhile?

Meanwhile we suffer our inner wastelands, our inner conflicted parts, letting them wear out somewhat, and then regroup.

Opting for peaceful coexistence with a fractured self?

Yes, no need to reject the false, just start seeing through it, feeding it less. Then we can more easily stand on our point of contact with what is more real, what is of more value. In short we can sense the Beloved's presence, invite that active force that effaces both readiness and lack thereof.

terms of surrender

In some circles the term surrender is considered a dirty word, a relinquishing of personal power, whereas many spiritual traditions encourage it.

Yes, in those circles one is expected to take a stand, hold one's ground, be self-determined and all the rest. This epitomizes ego-mind's world where these are virtues not to be compromised or relinquished.

So very contradictory views.

Actually not. If one's goal is to let go of ego-mind's dominance, of the false self, in favor of a freer more awake sense of self, then surrender becomes the relinquishing of that limited self. Then real courage and determination are required.

Then the question becomes surrender to what?

Indeed. A misguided surrender to anything less than the highest, to Self Itself, is fraught with complications. To avoid this requires true spiritual maturity, not for the gullible or faint-hearted.

There's still the question of what is being surrendered and what expression of Self to surrender to.

Two very good points. Who or what we think we are has to eventually go. Only as that process is in play can we access the intuitive knowing to recognize the object of this surrendering.

hibernation mode

Many feel temporarily free of ego-mind's grip, experiencing a new state of being, of awareness. But, in due time, it's back to business as usual.

Call it the rubber band effect, a snapping back into one's conditioned mind. Why? Because ego-mind's operating system was somehow put into hibernation or sleep mode, allowing a shift of usual awareness, but then was reactivated.

Disconcerting to say the least.

Not only that, but potentially problematic.

How so?

Interference on the re-entry that promotes delusion? One error is feeling liberated, attaining a spiritual state that one isn't really prepared for. Unfortunately, one is no less bound in most cases.

By prepared you mean a process of  purification.

Purification in the sense of effacement, of the dismantling of who we think we are.

the one wish

How would you say our usual mode of mind creates a barrier to the heart?

Our scattered thinking can create a veil of confusion around the heart, denying us access to its one wish.

Which is?

The heart in its pure state wants only one thing, to awaken to the Beloved's presence, to actually awaken to what Self is.

And how else could this heart state be described?

As a state of awareness without doubts, hesitations, counterarguments, endless dialogs (actually monologues) and the like.

As opposed to what?

Well, you can look at the ego-mind as a system that siphons the heart's vital energies into its various wants and programs--bits of conditioned responses usually at odds among themselves.

Any solutions?

Start to repolarize the mind with reflections of truth and develop a sense of smell to recognize those reflections.