To deepen your understanding of the three levels of awareness, the following analogy may be useful:

State of Contracted Awareness

Imagine that you’re walking in a dark room with only the small flame of a candle to light your way. You keep stumbling and bumping into furniture and other objects that you perceive as obstacles. You feel isolated and separated from the world around you (even though you are always inextricably connected to the universe). This is the state of contracted awareness.

State of Expanded Awareness

Now imagine that you’re still in the same dark room but someone has given you a flashlight. With more illumination, you can move around freely without the fear of tripping or hurting yourself. You can also see that everything that seemed like an obstacle has a clear purpose. You can beam your light around and see that there is a couch you can stretch out on, a shelf filled with wonderful books, and a stereo for listening to music. What appeared to be threats or barriers are actually opportunities. You feel connected to the web of relationships that links everyone and everything. This is the state of expanded awareness.

State of Pure Awareness

Now once again imagine that you’re in the same room but this time all of the walls, including the floor and ceiling, are made of transparent glass and the room is flooded with sunlight. When you look outside you see that the whole world is your playground. This is the state of pure awareness. There are no problems and therefore no need for solutions. You are the creative, evolutionary impulse of the universe. You feel the wholeness and oneness of life. You are in flow and so you play.

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