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My theory on duality as it relates to enlightenment. There are two basic states we can be in:
#1 - Delusion
This state is a result of consciousness identifying with the body and the mind as itself. Consciousness has mistaken two (consciousness or actual self and the body/mind self) to be one.
#2 - Awakened
Awakened is a now state of enlightenment or self realization. One is cognitive of their true identity as it relates to the body/mind. (I don't think of enlightenment as a permanent state as some do. I see it as having to be maintained though concentration. Also, as earth bound souls, most will just have brief experiences of it.) In an awakened state, one is aware of two distinct things, me and the body/mind, and aware of how "I am not that."
On the subject of duality is a funny thing the way I see it anyway. A delusional person believes two to be one, and an enlightened person is aware of the two and thus escapes and is detached from the experience and perspective of the other. To be "one" one has to be aware of the two natures, body and consciousness the way I see it. Without an awareness of the body/mind and non-identification with it, one will have a dual nature, the actual self and the body/mind self acting and experiencing as one.
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