James
I recently have had near conscious events that I was fully awake for several seconds. (Apparently this is common during awakening) But the world was truly a marvel to witness as an unformed, non dual environment. I have had this happen three times now I feel I’m on the cusp of staying there but….I must be patient. It was as if I was looking from behind my eyes, as if “I” was seeing things from the “person who isn’t my egos” perspective. Yes it was blissful and calm.
James: Good for you. However, here is something to think about. Yes, the world is an unformed non-dual environment. I like this formulation. That in itself is true knowledge. It is not an “illusion,” although it seems to be. But I think you will have a lot of frustration if you try to “stay” there. Non-duality means that there are not two of anything in reality, although it seems as if there are. So there is not actually here or there, nor is there anyone other that you, existence shining as unborn whole and complete ever-present awareness, to “stay” anywhere. As you contemplate on these words hopefully you will understand that the one who would like to “stay” is the awareness that is yourself. How can you “stay” in yourself? Is it your experience that there are two of you? If there is, then how will you determine which is real and which isn’t? Non-duality means there is only one reality. You can only “be” yourself. In this case “being” is not a verb. If you came to the world in a body, then perhaps there is a “there” somewhere. But is that your experience? I don’t think so, although you may have subsequently incorrectly inferred that you arrived “here” on earth. But if you think about it you will probably realize that at some point in time a body appeared and you were fascinated by it, which goes to show that you, awareness/consciousness precedes the body. To be born, you have to have died, which means that birth and death are real. But two things that depend on each other for their existence are not real. At best they are “apparently real,” which is as good as saying that are non-existent, even though they do exist. What is real stands on its own. It does not require any support. This is why you are free and unborn. Dare I say immortal?