A fascinating realization emerges on the path of Self-realization revealing two primary lenses through which life can be perceived. One lens invites us towards the spiritual, transcendent realm, revealing that you are the Self, pure Consciousness or Awareness, intimately entwined with all that exists and that Awareness is intelligent and moves life to do itself.

The other lens, anchored in practicality and the human experience, reveals you as a spiritual being engaged in the adventure of being human. From this lens, you are capable of making choices and discovering new potentials of experience for yourself and others. Both lenses are equally valid and equally true, yet their utility often varies according to the context in which they are applied.

From the vantage point of the spiritual lens, there is a recognition that life is intelligently unfolding by itself and yet there is nothing needed to be done, as everything is already whole and complete here and now. This transcendent lens reveals to us that we are not limited, separate or fragmented entities, but rather the totality of boundless Awareness that is not contained within any ideas.

In moments when the experience of choice is not found and life feels completely out of our control, disengaging from the story of our human experience and the limiting thoughts that can take over our mind becomes vital. The spiritual and transcendent lens invites us to see beyond the confines of our fragile human identity and embrace the truth that the unfolding of events is beyond our individual control. By turning your focus towards yourself as the expansive Self, the lens of Awareness, we shift our focus from helplessness to the freedom inherent in pure presence.

This lens of Awareness reveals an invitation to awakening into the moment that doesn’t carry the momentum of the perpetual narration of events through our thoughts and interpretations about the situation. In this way, you are invited to transcend the story of you as a separate self that is helpless and powerless at the mercy of something else. This vantage point allows you to sense yourself as the eternal Self that is not trapped in time and limited by any process of life.

Even when the body may surge with feelings due to the mind’s stories, this spiritual lens reminds us that all appearances are welcomed without restriction or judgment. The transcendent lens of Awareness does not reject any ideas or experience, including any processes within the body or any emotions, it just keeps the focus of seeing the spaciousness around them.

Conversely, from the position of practicality and the human experience we are invited to engage with life’s experiences as a conscious, sovereign individual. Here, the understanding comes to the forefront of ourselves as spiritual beings yet immersed in the richness of human life. This lens is particularly beneficial when we are in alignment with what we want, when we are choosing our own adventure, when we are experiencing the joy of perceiving possibilities, when we are feeling uplifted by and connected to others, and when we are able to perceive the miracle of being alive. This lens is also a lens of action and discovery, where we acknowledge our capacity of becoming something greater than we are and own our ability to influence and shape our experiences through our conscious choices.

Inherent in understanding the utility of each lens is the wisdom to discern when each lens holds relevance. The practical lens serves us when our life feels safe, relaxed, enjoyable, and aligned, guiding us to make choices that resonate with our inner truth towards greater potentials.

On the other hand, during moments of feeling powerlessness, feeling afraid, trapped, overwhelmed, or limited in some way, the spiritual and transcendent lens offers solace, freeing us from the clutches of our mind’s narrating story-line about our self, our life, and the world. It’s a lens that invites us to expand our self beyond our body, our mind, our past, our future, our knowledge, our life situations, and the world as we know it.

It’s paramount to grasp that both lenses are simultaneously true and accessible, shaping an integrated understanding of our multifaceted nature. The human lens resides within the realm of Everythingness, where practicality and experience unfold. In contrast, the spiritual lens finds its dwelling in the domain of Nothingness, where transcendent Awareness is all-consuming. While seemingly disparate, they are intertwined dimensions of the same one reality.

As our path of Self-realization deepens, the movement between these two lenses becomes more fluid. We learn not to reject one in favor of the other, but to embody both fully and learn the natural rhythm and flow. We begin to notice if there are any patterns of suppression, overlooking, or diminishing of one lens over another and investigate our ideas. This integration offers a profound understanding that nothing and everything, stillness and movement, presence and choice, are not contradictory but coexist as aspects of our intricate nature.