Oneness & Individuation

At the deeksha yesterday (first of a series of seven), it was interesting to see the similarities and differences in the histories and backgrounds of the people there.

One (apparent) difference in approach was between that of one person who described realizing "no self" and of oneness, and another who spoke about developing a more efficient self and individuation.

The first is leaning more towards the absolute, the other towards the relative, and together they complement each other very well. They seem to be aspects of one process rather than two different approaches.

The process of awakening includes a deepening and clarification of the absolute (awakening, realization) and the relative (bringing it into life, in more and more situations and more and more mature ways).

So on the one hand, there is the awakening as pure awareness and the following realization that my human self is an aspect of the larger seamless fluid whole of the world of phenomena. There are no absolute boundaries to be found anywhere. And the changes in this world of phenomena seems to all happen on its own. Then, there may be a deepening of this into finding the seamless whole of experiencing and experienced, that there is only awareness/phenomena and that the separation of the two also is just from an added layer of abstractions.

On the other hand, there is the process of individuation, of becoming a mature, naturally unique, efficient human being. Of bringing this awakening into life, and maturing into and as it. In this process, there is no end. There is always new and fresh explorations, maturation and development in all the many areas of life. This brings another level of excitement and a sense of discovery and the unknown into the experience.

One is distinct from the world of phenomena, and that which allows us to see the seamless whole of the world of phenomena. The other is the realm of evolution, development and increased differentiation and complexity. One give birth to the other, and the other gives fullness and richness to the first.

Without the awakening to ourselves as the absolute and Big Mind, we cannot fully engage in our human lives - there will always be an attachment to resistance. And by fully living the awakening, there is a new richness and fullness to the experience.