When we rest in awareness, there is alertness and relaxation.
When we are identified with the processes of the personality – sensations, emotions, thoughts – there is tension and sluggishness.
Notes
When we experience the inner/outer world as unfolding within awareness, we can relate to it with a sense of spaciousness and overview.
There is clarity and alertness. And there is less to hold into – we can allow the personality to relax.
When we blindly identify with the processes of the personality – sensations, emotions, thoughts – there is less overview. We are at the mercy of the conditioned processes of the personality, triggered by unpredictable inner and outer situations.
There is a sense of exhaustion from this rollercoaster ride, and a sense of wanting to escape from it by tuning out. And there is a sense of precariousness which makes the personality tense up.