Up to this point I have talked about how you can find out Who You Are by picking your values and feelings and making your own personal mandala. The mandala reflects your self and from the self the ego is produced. I have talked extensively about the ego and all of its characteristics, how to recognize the five states of consciousness and what pure awareness is. Now we can focus on the practice of staying in that wonderful state of consciousness.
Practice is essential in order to disengage the mind's automatic response of returning to duality. Once you realize you are in pure awareness, you can either stay there or choose to go back to duality. Choosing to go back to duality thinking is different from automatically going back to duality. Once you realize you are in pure awareness, all it takes is practice to remain there.
As pure awareness increases, you will see impartiality increasing as well. Pure awareaness and impartiality are directly correlated. Another way of saying this is, the longer you are able to maintain pure awareness, the more you will transcend the ego, the "I" and discrimination. This will become quite apparent as practice continues because people will become friendlier, happier, more compassionate, and loving. This is not necessarily because they are that way but because you are. People will reflect what you become. If you are friendlier, happier, more compassionate and loving, other people will be friendlier, happier, more compassionate and loving too. Probably one of the most enlightened people in the world, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, had this to say about pure awaraeness:
"To be a living being is not the ultimate state; there is something beyond,
much more wonderful, which is neither being nor non-being, neither
living nor not-living. It is a state of pure awareness, beyond the limi-
tations of space and time."
When a friend of mine saw this statement she asked, "Can a person exist in pure awareaness and still go about his or her daily activities?" That is a very good question because as mortal beings with rational minds we find it hard to conceive of a state of pure awareness and still function in everyday life. In my own life, I know people who definitely reside in pure awareaness and live busy and productive lives. They live every second of every day full of joy and love, give lectures and workshops all over the world, and enjoy every moment to the fullest.
Continued tomorrow
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