First, there is apparently a me – a human self – experiencing presence.
Then, open presence is revealed as experiencing a me, a human self. (And experiencing the world through this human self, through its senses, emotions, thoughts and so on.)
This shift often happens first as one or more glimpses, and perhaps as a sense of “thinning of the veils”. Then, it may become more clear and stable, and there is an exploration of how this “new” realization is lived through our human self in the word.
During the transition, it may at times seem that the realization is “lost”. And here, there is an invitation to find here and now what was realized, independent of specific states and experiences. For instance, it may seem that “I am a me experiencing presence” but is that really so? Isn’t that too open presence experiencing a me?
It sounds simple when put this way, but the transition often involves time, maturing, a deep healing of the human self (bringing love and understanding to the wounds, pain and trauma), and life circumstances that require us to live with authenticity and from love and understanding.
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Here is one way of talking about the shift from identification to a loosening or falling away of identification:
First, when there is identification, we appear to be a me – a human self – that is aware of and is experiencing presence (or not).
Then, this open presence awakens to itself, and it’s aware of and experiencing a me, a human self.
There is a shift in basic identification. The center of gravity shifts from the appearance of a human self to presence.
One way identification can soften or fall away is through transcendence. This is how it often is in the initial awakening. Identification is temporarily set aside, so the open presence can wake up to itself. This can happen spontaneously and without any conscious preparation. The other way is through systematically seeing through identifications – how they happen, their consequences, that the apparent reality identification creates is not really real, and so on.
And there is further clarification after this.
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– apparently a me experience open presence
– then open presence experiencing a me
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That’s one way of talking about the shift from (a) taking ourselves as a me (a human self, an object, content of experience), to (b) life awakening to itself as a whole and out of identification as (only) a me.