When perceived as Consciousness, the Self is no longer bound by the perceptual limitations imposed by body identification and the resulting Ego identity. The emphasis here is on “perceptual” because these limitations do not actually exist. They are only mind-made but, as they are perceived, so they are experienced, hence all the trouble previously mentioned. When the body identification is shed, the sense of separation dissolves, and along with it, these perceived limitations dissolve as well. Please understand, when there is talk of shedding the body identification, one must realize that the body doesn’t go anywhere. Daily life and daily activities continue as they once did but there is no longer personalization of anything nor is there any claim of doer-ship. All activity is carried out by the Life Energy through the body and, with no perceived individual, there is no one to interrupt or interfere with the natural flow of life. Actions are fluid and practically effortless because any resistance that might have arisen in the past due to Ego no longer does. Fear and the sense of lacking driven by the Ego dissolve as well. With nothing lacking, self-centeredness reverts to love and resumes its outward flow. Without the sense of separation to support it, the limited and distorted Ego identity ceases to be, allowing the Self to regain its proper identity as Consciousness.
As mentioned, the Ego is Consciousness. Both are the sense of Self. Ego, however, is limited to the individual perception whereas Consciousness is total, including all. With this sense of totality, all manifestations are seen as the Self. Multiplicity and variety are in appearance only. Differences in the manifestations are due to varying combinations of elements as well as differences in quantity but, in essence, they are all Consciousness. Since Consciousness is formless and all-pervading, it flows through all manifestations and those same manifestations are also content of Consciousness. What is felt or sensed in the body as sentience or self-awareness is Consciousness but Consciousness is not exclusive to the body nor is it limited by the body. An excellent analogy for this is that of the wave and the ocean. Waves appear on the ocean’s surface in seemingly endless succession and in various shapes and sizes. Despite their differences, they are all the ocean. They all contain the same elements; only varying in size, shape, and the particular combination of those elements. Each wave is as much the ocean as every other wave and is also the ocean’s content. It is only when a wave is perceived as a wave only does differentiation become separation. As the ocean, it is all One. The same is true for Consciousness. It is only when a particular manifestation is perceived as separate from others and from the totality of Consciousness that the Ego identity emerges. There is no actual separation as mentioned before, only a distortion in perception. Consciousness is One, Life Energy is One, and all manifestations are made of the same basic elements, save for the differences mentioned earlier. Those differences allow for Consciousness to have a rich and varied experience, taking in the full width, breadth, and depth of existence.
Awareness as Consciousness can be considered the witnessing presence or rather, the focusing lens through which the witnessing becomes possible. Consciousness enables the witnessing of its content or the total manifestation as well as the witnessing of the total functioning; all of the movement and activity carried out by the Life Energy through the various manifestations. Although Awareness is a constant, without the appearance of Consciousness, this witnessing could not happen, and the experience of life would not be known or knowable. It is for this reason that Consciousness is considered by many to be Divine or Godly, as nothing that is or has appeared could be without it. Some say that all the names of God are names given to Consciousness because without Consciousness there can be no concept of God. It is the Divine spark that is in every sentient being. This is why many Eastern religions would say that you are God. Before you go getting a big head over that statement, allowing the Ego to grab hold of it and use it as a means to separate you from others, they also say that everyone is God because they do not believe in separation. As with the wave analogy, they understand that every manifestation in Consciousness contains this Divine spark and is therefore God. Each one is as much the totality as every other, so long as the Consciousness in that manifestation does not consider itself individual as a result of body identification. If so, it has fallen into the Ego trap, perceptually diminishing itself resulting in fear, the sense of lacking, and all the trouble mentioned earlier. Also mentioned earlier is that there is a way out from that trap, even if the catalyst is the very pain that the trap creates. Consciousness will inevitably regain its proper identity one way or another. Call it destiny if you wish or call it a balancing of the scales. It may not happen for each particular manifestation in its lifetime, but again, Consciousness is in all manifestations, of which there is an infinite number. They are always coming and going, always appearing and disappearing in turn, so there are plenty of other avenues and opportunities. Evolution always finds a way.
And yet, even with its infinite and divine nature, Consciousness is not without at least one limitation. Consciousness is always conscious of something. It is a subject that needs an object. Its content, the manifestations are the object of its subjectivity. They provide the framework for its appearance. It is bound by its manifestations and, as they are transient and impermanent, Consciousness must also be considered transient and impermanent as well. Witnessing is comprised of two components: the subject or the witness, and the object or that which is being witnessed. It is an interdependent relationship. One does not exist without the other. This is the relationship between Consciousness and its content. Consciousness is also perceivable. The sentience in the body can be felt or sensed with practice. This is most easily done in meditation by gradually shifting attention away from the content of Consciousness and directing it toward Consciousness itself. If something is perceivable, it is an object, and a perceiver or subject which perceives it must exist prior to it. Thus, the subjectivity of Consciousness cannot be true subjectivity. Consciousness is indeed the subject of the total manifestation, and so long as there are manifestations, it can be considered Divine or God of the manifest realm, but anything transient and dependent upon something else cannot be the Ultimate. It cannot be the true Source. Consciousness, despite its infinite and divine nature, is but a shadow or a reflection of the True Self. This brings us to the third and final fold in The Threefold Awareness: the Absolute or the True Self
To be concluded…