Flavors II
We have the content of our experiences, which is always unique to the present and the person, and can never be duplicated. And we have the ground of our experiences - the function of experiencing - which is always there distinct from the fluid world of phenomena. And between the two, there is an infinitely rich world of flavors.
And this seems to be true for our different awakenings and integrations as well. There seems to be a rich territory of flavors.
One is the awakening to the absolute. The nature of mind is revealed as empty of characteristics and where there is no boundaries, no beginning or end, no birth or death, to find, and yet it seems relatively local. It receives all its information through this particular small self. There is often a more transdual view here, and a sense of intimacy and no separation with all phenomena.
Another is an awakening to Big Mind, maybe more of a classic "enlightenment". This is a place of a fully transdual view, of clarity, equanimity and compassion. Everything is right here, beyond all dualities. Nothing is missing.
And a third may be more of God Realization (I am on somewhat thin ice here), where we experience God, Spirit, Buddha Mind, throughout Existence. Everything is a manifestation of God.
And a fourth (or maybe this one should be lumped with the previous one) is Cosmic Consciousness, where the universe is revealed as consciousness and I am that consciousness. This can often be a quite intense experience.
In each case, the experience embraces the absolute and the relative, in different ways.
One aspect of this is terminology and how people talk about it, which will be influenced by the terminology and framework they are familiar with and available to them. Another is the difference in flavor of the experience itself.
Even in our small integral group meeting last night, all four of these flavors came up distinctly - and it seemed that the differences were due to the flavor of the experience rather than just the wording.