Non-Duality and Pure Conscious Awareness

On the Nature of Duality / Non-Duality 

The ​​​​meaning of the words, duality and non-duality, regarding the nature of Conscious Awareness is better understood, it seems, once one realizes the difference between concepts of Mind arising in Consciousness (which in their entirety encompass the world of conceptual duality) and non-dualistic, Pure Awareness, which is that within which concepts arise.

       Pure Awareness is Present Moment Awareness wherein concepts arise. Concepts that arise in Pure Awareness are forever changing - appearing and disappearing in Consciousness - while that which is Aware of concepts, as such arise, is changeless, formless, and eternally Present – Now. Thus, Life is a constant movement of Energy, whereas Pure Awareness is the Silent, Still Source out of which the movements of Life/Energy arise. 

       That which arises in Consciousness - images, thoughts, emotions, and the like - is dualistic in nature because each appearance inevitably arises in conjunction with a polar opposite concept or effect - small vs large, happy vs sad, easy vs difficult, anxious vs calm, unenlightened vs enlightened, and so on down the line. And that which appears in Consciousness - whether images, thoughts, emotions, or the like – in its totality, comprises the content of Consciousness, which is likewise the content of Mind.

       On the other hand, that which is Aware of concepts, as such arise - from the standpoint of Pure Conscious Awareness - is non-dualistic in nature when absent egoic identification with or attachment to that which arises in Consciousness in the Present Moment - Now. Moreover, Pure Awareness is eternally present in ALL that arises in Consciousness, while that which arises in Consciousness is constantly changing - appearing and disappearing - from one moment to the next.

       Because Pure Awareness is forever changeless, while concepts are forever changing from one moment to the next, one cannot discover or approach that which is eternally Present and Pure from a conceptualized point of view. Instead, one must Awaken unto the Presence of Pure Awareness by means of the complete cessation of egoic attachment to concepts of Mind because that which is Other than Mind is forever beyond the purview of Mind. Put another way, while concepts appear and disappear in Awareness, Awareness does not appear or disappear in concepts of Mind.

       When one recognizes this Reality in the the Silence of eternal Presence, one Awakens unto the nature of enlightened Being, absent egoic identification with any "thing" that appears in Consciousness, regardless of what the appearance might seem to be.

On the Illusion of Duality

The illusion of duality occurs as the egoic sense of separateness identifies with various and sundry “objects” of Mind that arise in Consciousness in the Present Moment - Now. This uniquely human, behavioral practice of egoically identifying with images and thoughts, as such arise - a practice that begins soon after one is born - forms the content of one's conditioning over time. Egoically identifying with images and thoughts, as such arise, brings about the illusion of separateness; a consequence of egoically identifying with conceptualizations of space and time, while ignoring the living Truth of what actually is so in the Present Moment – Now – absent egoic attachment to the content of Mind.

       This ongoing practice of egoic identification with the content of Mind creates a false sense of a separate "I" entity called "me" vs a separate "I' entity called "you," living life as if "me" and/or "you" are the image or thought arising in Consciousness now. Consequently, a false sense of a separate "self" ensues, rooted in the false notion that "I" am an image or feeling that arose yesterday and "I" will again be an image or feeling that arises tomorrow because the egoic tendency of the body/mind/organism "I" think of as "me" is in the practice of identifying with the content of Mind, as such arise in Consciousness.

       Thus, a perpetual illusion of separateness ensues with each passing moment - with each egoic attachment to each passing concept or thought - as one repeats and repeats and repeats the same delusion, day after day. Like Adam in the ancient biblical story, one becomes "lost" in the "Tree of Knowledge," which is the totality of concepts and thoughts, while simultaneously failing to recognize the totality of the "Tree of Life," which is the living Truth of what actually is so in the Present Moment - Now.

       Freedom from egoic attachment to images and thoughts arising now occurs when the ongoing practice of egoic identification with such images ceases to be in play and thus, passes away. In the absence of egoic attachment to images and thoughts comes a sudden loss of egoic identity, a loss of a self that is no longer cloaked with concepts of Mind that in Truth only appear in Consciousness in the Present Moment - Now. Absent egoic attachments to images and thoughts, as such arise, one Realizes in an instant that "I" am not an image or thought. Nor is anyone else an image or thought, but I AM THAT which is AWARE of images and thoughts, as such arise in Consciousness, regardless of what said images or thoughts might be. In such Moments of Clarity the false sense of a separate self is done away.

       Concepts represent the "known." Lack of egoic attachment to concepts, as such arise, is freedom from the "known." Realization of this Truth, which is the living Truth of what actually is so in the eternal Present, is nothing less than enlightenment. 

How Does One Get "There" from "Here?"

No practice or belief or mind-set or comparative thinking process leads to a Realization of the Presence of Pure Awareness, as all such practices and beliefs are rooted in concepts of Mind and as such, are tied to the conceptualized sense of egoic separateness, which is likewise the conceptualized sense of space and time.

       Realizations in Pure Awareness only occur in the Clarity of the eternal Present Moment - never in the past or future, but only Now. Put another way, in the eternal Present Moment - Clarity IS. Not Clarity was or Clarity will be, but Clarity IS or is not - full stop, end of story. Realizations in Pure Awareness only occur in the Present Moment, absent any volition by an imagined separate entity, for all such entities are rooted in concepts of Mind and as such, cannot Be Aware of Being Aware in the eternal Present Moment, for such Clarity only occurs in the absence of egoic identification with the content of Mind, as such arises in Consciousness – Now. 

       Enlightened Being is simply the fact of Being Aware of Being Aware in the eternal Present Moment, absent egoic attachment to concepts of Mind, as such arise in Consciousness. In the eternal Present Moment – Truth IS.

Awakening unto Living Truth

​​Because concepts arise out of the magnetic field of duality, each concept expressed is aligned with a polar opposite concept arising in Consciousness. The concept of “duality,” for instance, is aligned with the polar opposite concept of “non-duality.” Likewise for “conceptual” and “non-conceptual” awareness. But simply recognizing that the concepts of duality/non-duality or conceptual/non-conceptual are nothing more than concepts of Mind is not the same as Awakening unto the Silence of Pure Awareness in the eternal Present Moment because the words duality/non-duality and conceptual/non-conceptual represent concepts of Mind only, and as such, are not that which is Silently Aware of concepts, as such arise.  

       The living Truth of Pure Awareness is not a concept of Mind. Nor is Pure Awareness a thought, feeling, emotion, or experience that arises of Mind. Rather, Pure Awareness is that which is Aware of concepts, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and experiences, as such arise in Consciousness. That which is Purely Aware is sometimes said to be Other than concepts of Mind because Pure Awareness is Other than all that appears in Consciousness. And that which is Aware of all that appears in Consciousness is not experienced, but is Silently Present in all that arises in Consciousness, including "experiences."

       The Ineffable cannot be experienced, which means Pure Awareness cannot be experienced. One doesn’t experience Pure Awareness; one is simply, Silently Aware. The fact that Pure Awareness is Ineffable, which literally means “unable to be expressed in words,” points to this fact – that Pure Awareness cannot be experienced. The experience appears in Pure Awareness. Pure Awareness does not appear in the experience because Awareness is not an object of Mind.

       When one Awakens unto the Reality of Pure Awareness, one Awakens unto the Silent Presence of same. Such Presence is of Pure Awareness, not of Mind, and Pure Awareness is that which is Aware. Plants, animals, and humans are not Aware – Pure Awareness is Aware. Pure Awareness is not a "thing," a "God particle," an “entity,” or an “object” of Mind, just as the Silent Source of All that arises in Consciousness is not a "thing," a "particle," an “entity,” or an "object" of any kind. Objects appear in Awareness, but Awareness does not appear in objects of Mind.

       Realization of this fact is the end of the illusion of separateness, the end of egoic identification with duality, the death of egoic attachments to conceptualized points of view, the loss of self, the end of suffering, and the end of searching for that which is not found in concepts of Mind, but is none other than the living Truth of what actually is so in the eternal Present Moment – Now.