The absolute autonomy of the subject can be seen in its
spiritual sovereignty through reflection in which one thinks or imagines its autonomy as
Self. But in that experience it is not necessarily being itself. That is, it is aware in a moment of remembrance that there is That which could have done otherwise than it did. In short, it sees that it is free; it is freedom itself. It sees itself as the source of action and agency.
However, in this moment of the external here/now, the subject is
always at one with the object. It always attends intentionally to the object, whether internal or external object, physical or psychological object. Only in
the moment of epiphany when the subject transcends objects toward the spiritual Self
which knows itself as the only Real does the Self know itself without external
object or mediation. That is, without external mediation it knows itself as itself as consciousness. Consciousness directly and immediately knows itself as consciousness. The Self sees itself as consciousness through consciousness. This is the absolute paradox.
To "awaken" is to become aware of the True Self, the Absolute in a moment of ecstatic experience. To be "enlightened" is to know this Self as one's self even in the face of all external distraction, distortion and absorption, that is, in the face of the dream life.
Even though the self is realized, the momentum of the external, the prior and the other forces of existence may well continue to exert themselves. We can think of this in terms of unconscious desire or karmic momentum. These latter are the other within. Yet the enlightened self knows these to be "unreal" and other than Self.
To know itself as itself, is, of course, only half the realization. In relation to all objects and the world, the totality of objects, the 'Self' can as one object among others, or even lost to itself as an object in the relative world. However, the Realization of True Self becomes complete when it sees that this consciousness which is, and knows itself as such, is infinite. The Self exists without limits, conditions, personal agendas, location or desires. It is the Eternal, Eternality itself. That is, all that exists in time, space, causality and materiality exists within Consciousness. Consciousness does not exist within it or as a function of it.
When one sees one's Self, one's Soul, in its purity and clarity, in its comprehensiveness and inclusiveness, silent, still, serene, simple solace, then at that moment one experience the Love of Self which is one's own and always has been. This embrace is that of a kind of "stranger" who has always loved you that you finally come to know. In Enlightenment one can feel this love and it embraces not only the purity of Self as Consciousness but also the suffering 'self'' that spent its life seeking such love in others when really it always was that love, a stranger living so close one could not see or feel it.
The true Self of Freedom and Love is also that of Peace and Happiness. To have these experiences is to confirm in experience the true nature of consciousness itself. These qualities are not phenomena of the empirical world. They are the essential experiences of true Self, lying and living as Life itself at the Heart of Consciousness. It is all given as a gift but not always gotten.
