The cosmic mystery of who am I? What is all this? How did it happen? What is enlightenment? And so forth—it is right here—this is the ongoing cosmic mystery. It is not realized because cosmic reality or everyday awareness in the present has been under the illusion of physical reality. It has been caught by the limitations of the ego/mind to be identified as a personal body/mind organism called me. Any reference to something greater or holistic will always be from the “me” in this state of limited awareness.
Any mystery will become apparent when experiencing all of this is the experienced reality of pure awareness. Pure awareness or consciousness is dreaming itself. This presents reality through you, and you are the dream also. Conscious awareness of experiencing illusion is the reality; there is no one here but the dream and consciousness of it. This accepts the true nature of the Self, the true universal unbounded you, and the personal physical ego/mind you; all thoughts, sensations, inclinations, and imaginations are associated with separation. It comes from the sense of a separate me and the infinite, unbounded awareness of your true Self. Both are present and combine into a transpersonal reality.
Seeking, understanding, and knowing go on in the dream reality we call life, but no one is doing it. There is no ownership. The “me” that is looking for a better experience, and what the “I am” ultimately is longing for is not an experience. An experience is part of the dream world and cannot provide validating completeness to the natural evolutionary drive to find one.
Everything that arises is free already; it is perfect, and it is the now. There is no intrinsic need, a seeking for something in the dream experience. It is the dream of nothingness, dreaming of the field of all possibilities to know itself as an apparent reality of things through somebody called me. The “me” that falls away is not what becomes realized because there is no ownership or doer of actions. What I discovered was that it was never me in the first place.
What is inherently longed for is something akin to perfection; we all want a rosy picture of life, everything set, manageable, satisfaction, and contentment guaranteed. Even if a mass collection of material possessions has been accrued, that is untrue. Even though spiritually speaking, it could be said that “what is” is already perfect, and my separate experience says that it is impossible because the “me” wants something for itself, a need that something must be added for it to be whole. There is nothing wrong with anything, and at the same time, there is nothing right with anything.
In essence, spiritual equanimity involves maintaining a calm and steady mind amidst life’s fluctuations, not becoming overly attached to pleasant experiences or resisting or rejecting unpleasant ones, and embracing the present moment with openness and nonjudgment, regardless of its content.