How does awakening relate to individuality?
If we only know about awakening and oneness from thought, we may assume that oneness is somehow opposed to individuality. Perhaps awakening means our individuality goes away?
The reality is different. Awakening allows us to even more appreciate the uniqueness and individuality of everything. We recognize how precious everything is since it will never be again.
AWAKENING
Most take themselves to most fundamentally be this human being in the world. After all, that’s how others see us and what we have been told. And when we look, we may find we more fundamentally – to ourselves – are something else.
Awakening refers to finding ourselves as capacity for the world, and what our field of experience happens within and as. Here, we find that our field of experience is one. To us, the world is one, and we find ourselves as this oneness. Only an overlay of thought creates boundaries, and these boundaries are – quite literally – imagined.
As capacity for the world, we are capacity for the individuality in all there is.
The individuality and uniqueness of everything doesn’t change. But we may find a deeper appreciation for it.
APPRECIATING THE INDIVIDUALITY OF EVERYTHING
When we hold thoughts as true, we relate to labels. We may assume things are the same because they – in our mind – have the same label. Here, it’s easy to overlook the uniqueness of everything.
When we find ourselves as capacity for it all, identification with thoughts softens. This makes it easier to more directly perceive and appreciate the uniqueness and individuality of everything.
And there is an immense beauty here. It makes everything even more precious to us.
Whether my personality likes something or not, the uniqueness of it is undeniable. Every single phenomenon is individual and unique. It’s precious since it will never be again.
NOTES
The impulse for this article came from photos showing the individuality of bees. There is something immensely beautiful in discovering this individuality in beings we often think of as more or less identical. It’s also important since it’s easier to identify with living beings when we recognize their individuality, and this can motivate us to want to take protect and take care of them.
This is about appreciating the individuality of everything – beings, situations, and any experience. I did mention this a few times but didn’t give many examples.
I intentionally left out our own individuality as human beings from this article. When we operate from separation consciousness, and especially if we live in our modern western or westernized culture, we tend to struggle a bit with our individuality. We often want to be the same as others because we think it will help us be included, and we also want to be unique and different. Most of us also feel that we are both better and worse than others, and want to enhance the uniqueness that makes us better. This is a losing game since it’s out of alignment with reality. I chose to not address this here since it’s a much bigger topic, and for another article.
What I can say is that awakening helps us allow our natural individuality as a human being. To the extent we are healthy and mature as a human self, we allow our natural individuality without making much out of it.
Note: I have quite strong brain fog these days, so it was especially difficult to write this article. It didn’t have the clarity and feel that I wanted. That’s why I ended up with a few different versions, and I may also revisit it and see if I can clarify and find a tone I like better.
DRAFT ONE
Oneness and individuality
When we find what we are, we experience the world as one. We find ourselves as oneness.
And within this, there is the wonderful and amazing variety and individuality we all are familiar with.
Everything – every single phenomena – is unique and individual.
And noticing what we are allows us to appreciate this even more.
When we hold thoughts as true, we may think that something is the same as something else.
And when we perceive more directly, we recognize the individuality of everything more clearly. It’s undeniable. And there is an immense beauty here. It makes everything even more precious to us.
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When some people think about awakening and oneness, they may assume that awakening somehow erases or is in opposition to individuality. The reality is that we tend to find an even deeper appreciation for individuality.
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Whether my personality likes something or not becomes less important, since the uniqueness of it is undeniable.
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Every single phenomenon is individual and unique. The uniqueness of everything is undeniable.
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DRAFT TWO
How does awakening relate to individuality?
Awakening refers to finding ourselves as capacity for the world, and what our field of experience happens within and as. Here, we find that our field of experience is one. To us, the world is one, and we find ourselves as this oneness.
As capacity for the world, we are capacity for everything that is and all the individuality in all there is.
The individuality and uniqueness of everything doesn’t change. But we may find a deeper appreciation for it.
When we hold thoughts as true, we relate to labels and think that things are the same because they – in our mind – have the same label. Here, it’s easy to overlook the uniqueness of everything.
When we find ourselves as capacity for it all, and the identification with thoughts soften, it’s easier to notice and appreciate the uniqueness and individuality of everything.
And there is an immense beauty here. It makes everything even more precious to us.
Whether my personality likes something or not, the uniqueness of it is undeniable. Every single phenomenon is individual and unique. It’s precious since it will never be again.
Seed for this article: Photos showing the individuality of bees.
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DRAFT THREE
How does awakening relate to individuality?
If we only know about awakening and oneness from thought, we may assume that oneness is somehow opposed to individuality. Perhaps awakening means our individuality goes away?
The reality is, in some ways, the reverse. Awakening allows us to even more appreciate the uniqueness and individuality of everything. We recognize the preciousness of every phenomenon.
AWAKENING
Most take themselves to most fundamentally be this human being in the world. After all, that’s how others see us and what we have been told. And when we look, we may find we more fundamentally – to ourselves – are something else.
Awakening refers to finding ourselves as capacity for the world, and what our field of experience happens within and as. Here, we find that our field of experience is one. To us, the world is one, and we find ourselves as this oneness. Only an overlay of thought creates boundaries, and these boundaries are – quite literally – imagined.
As capacity for the world, we are capacity for all the individuality in all there is.
The individuality and uniqueness of everything doesn’t change. But we may find a deeper appreciation for it.
APPRECIATING THE INDIVIDUALITY OF EVERYTHING
When we hold thoughts as true, we relate to labels more than what they refer to. We may think that different things are the same because they – in our mind – have the same label. Here, it’s easy to overlook the uniqueness of everything.
When we find ourselves as capacity for it all, and the identification with thoughts soften, it’s easier to notice and appreciate the uniqueness and individuality of everything.
And there is an immense beauty here. It makes everything even more precious to us.
Every single phenomenon is individual and unique. The uniqueness of everything is undeniable.
It’s precious since it will never be again.