The Inner State Awakened

In the fully actualized inner state, awareness, being and heart create one holistic experience of our abidance in reality. Giving birth to the complete inner state within our existence is the basis for our evolution towards wholeness. From this foundation we go beyond the mind and enter the realm of the soul.

Without the vital knowledge of the integral reality of the inner dimension, it is virtually impossible to understand the awakening process. Seekers who do not possess a holistic vision of the inner state cannot progress in a clear way, for even if they do experience a certain level of awakening, they cannot identify what they still lack inside for their completion. How can one attempt to reach completion if one does not know what it means to become whole? Before we can fully awaken to the dimension beyond the mind, we must understand how its structural components interconnect. This clarity liberates us, opening the door to our true evolution.

Not Soul, Not Self

An essential point that requires demystification is whether the inner state represents the universal self or the individual soul. In truth, it is neither the soul nor the self, but the dimension within which they meet. The inner state is the internal environment where the soul abides and awakens as well as her portal to transcendence; it is the soul's existential extension into the realm of the self. However, until the state of transcendence is realized, the inner state functions less as an entryway and more as a connective space between the soul and the beyond. Only when the dimension of absence is reached in its final depth does the inner state become a wide open gate to the supreme self.

The inner state transports us to the beyond, but it is not the beyond itself. When the soul awakens, the inner state becomes one with her individual subjectivity, but continues to serve as her portal to universal subjectivity. However, as the soul progressively merges with the realm of absence, the boundaries between the inner state and the beyond become more and more transparent until they finally dissolve into the ultimate reality.

The Union of Identity and Abidance

The experience of the inner state has both a personal and impersonal quality. The sense of I am inherent to the states of presence and the heart is of the soul, and the impersonal void of being is of the self. If the soul is unawakened, the inner state serves only as the place of her abidance in the universal reality - it is not filled with the presence of her individual essence. When she awakens, however, the soul transmutes the energy of the inner state into the light of her true identity. Through the integration and unification of her I amness and her beingness, the soul at once awakens and transcends herself in the realization of oneness with the beyond.

A Unique Vision of Completion

Everyone needs the complete inner state in order to become whole, but the extent to which each aspect is awakened depends upon the make-up of the soul and her unique potential. Not everyone is destined to achieve exactly the same state. Our spiritual potential, level of consciousness, and blueprint are the determinants of the quality of the final state we need to realize. For example, not everybody has the capacity to reach the absolute state - in fact, it is neither required nor desired by all souls. To arrive at a clear vision of our own completion, we need to receive guidance from a competent teacher, or to intuitively recognize the singular flavor of our inner evolution.

Integration of the Inner State

The energetic quality of the inner state reflects the dynamics between its three constituent aspects, awareness, being and heart. Depending on their past evolution and spiritual constitution, seekers will have a natural predisposition towards one of these aspects, but greater difficulty awakening others. Some are more open to the dimension of being, others to awareness, and there are those who are drawn to experience reality primarily through the heart. That one experiences problems awakening one aspect of the inner state over the others is certainly no excuse to remain incomplete; it is simply a positive indicator of the areas that need to be given more attention in order to awaken the inner state as a whole. Once each aspect of the inner state is completely awakened, we are ready to enter the phase of integration.

The integration of the inner state refers to the post-awakening unification of awareness, being and heart. Just as each aspect has to integrate within itself, it is also necessary that they integrate with each other. Prior to integration there can still be friction within the inner state; one may have excessively crystallized awareness and find it hard to surrender into being, or if one's energy is pulled strongly yet disproportionately into being, difficulties may arise in merging being with heart or awareness. There are many possible scenarios of discord between the three aspects. In all cases, they need to be brought into balance with each other so that they can be transformed into a single organism of I am. The more they are integrated, the less there is any division between their energies. Through the process of integration, awareness, being and heart gradually dissolve and expand into each other, giving rise to one field of pure transparency - the natural state.

Abiding in the Inner State

Through the birth of the inner state we gain tremendous stability inside; we reach a permanent ground of awareness-being-heart that cannot be touched by the ever-changing reality of the world. Besides opening us to the inner realm, the establishment of this state readies the soul for the essential processes of purification and healing that were impossible to fully engage in before she dwelled stably beyond the mind. When we are totally identified with our psychosomatic existence, there is simply no space within which real transformation can occur.

The inner state is more than just the static foundation of our inner peace and comfort; it is a dynamic reality of continuous growth towards the soul's transcendence of earthly consciousness. No longer ruled by lower intelligence, having awakened the inner state we can finally begin our true life guided by the intrinsic wisdom and purpose of the inner realm.