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Awakening
As described in Part III of "Human Energy Systems" (click here), there is an aspect of consciousness that sits in the heart chakra of all unAwakened beings called the "Core Veil". It is this veil that creates the basic sense of "I", which is the primary vehicle for ego, separation, and suffering.
Awakening is the death of this sense of "I"—it is the death of the one who suffers, and the one who seeks to end that suffering. It is a non-linear shift in consciousness that occurs when the Core Veil has completely broken down. Unfortunately, as much you might wish to be rid of your ego/"I"/Core Veil, "you" are the only thing that obstructs its dissolution. As long as there is a "you" wishing to Awaken, there can be no Awakening, for Awakening means that "you" no longer exist!
Ultimately, Awakening is an act of Grace. It happens when it is the right time for it to happen, and no force in the universe can change that. However, it does seem to happen more often for those who are "ripe" for it to happen, and that ripening often comes about through spiritual practice.
The purpose of all spiritual practice is to bring your awareness into the places where you are unconscious. As you become more aware, you begin to see through the tangled web of your patterns and the unhealed wounds that motivate unhealthy behaviors. You learn to see that the things you've held so precious and so dear are actually the very things that cause you to suffer. What all of these things have in common—whether it's a relationship, a career, material possessions, or even parts of your personality—is that they have become part of your sense of identity. They are part of your "I".
So spiritual practice is a matter of becoming aware of our identities and attachments, and over time letting them go. This is how we alleviate suffering. The logical conclusion to this process is the complete dissolution of the "I"—i.e. Awakening.
What most people do not realize, however, is that there is an energetic component to this process. The experience of a car requires the form of a car; in the same way, the experience of an emotion also requires some sort of form within manifestation, be it neuro-transmitters or emotional "energy". The ego is no different. The form that the ego takes is that of a veil, which creates a sense of separation within consciousness. The Core Veil is the energetic form that creates the experience of ego.
Losing the Core Veil is a matter of Grace, but it does happen more easily when a person is "ripe" for it. One thing that creates this "ripeness" is the loss of all karma knots (click here to learn more). So long as there are karma knots creating and reinforcing such a deep sense of separation within the human personality, it would be impossible for the ego to dissolve. Losing your last karma knot is its own non-linear shift in consciousness, after which one feels a tremendous amount of freedom.
After you lose your last karma knot, there are a number of further shifts in consciousness that happen on the way to losing your Core Veil. Each shift either brings Divinity deeper into your consciousness, or causes the ego itself to become more fluid. At a certain point, a "hole" develops in the center of the Core Veil, creating a permanent window into Awakening. At this point, all you can do is meditate on your sense of "I", and let go. When the time is right, Grace will break down the rest of your Core Veil, and Awakening will manifest.
So then what happens when there is no "I" anymore? Can one live without it? How do you function without any basis for your own identity? The answer is simple—you function the same way you always have! "You" have never once made a decision in your life; there is only the One, so every decision "you" have ever made was actually made by the One, and then "you" took credit for it. Now the same decisions are being made, but no one is there to claim the idea as his or her own. For example, think of a number between 1 and 100.... Now ask yourself, "Where did that number come from?" Try to find the "you" that made this decision. Would it be fair to say that a number simply arose, and you then became aware of it? If so, where did it come from, and how is it "your" decision?
As one deepens into Awakening, all of life is seen as something that arises in this moment, rather than as a story with a decision-maker ("I" or "me") at the center of it. The peace and freedom that is often talked about is the result of not being invested in the outcome of this story, because the central character ("I") has died, so what does it matter what happens after that? (For a more complete article on Awakening, please click here.)
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