Self-Realization and Other Awakenings

In fact, what I discovered is that there is only an
impersonal consciousness operating in the world, and
‘I,’ the real ‘I’ of the Absolute, was merely along for
the ride.
When I saw that there was no inner object related
to the word ‘I,’ I saw that there also were no external
objects related to the nouns and adjectives we use
every day. The word chair, for example, is a generic
word, and we impose this functioning and recognition
on hundreds of objects every day in our life without
ever seeing the chair for what it is. We see it in
functional terms, or aesthetic terms, but hardly ever
just look at a chair to see what is there.
Our intent, predispositions and education impose a
story to cover everything in the world. But all of this
disappeared for me. There was no longer an inner
versus an outer. There was no internal direction versus
an external direction. There was no inside the skin
versus outside the skin. There was only one
experience, and it was the mind created distinctions
and separations.
The entire intellectual system collapsed. The
network of thought disappeared. I could see without
thinking. I could see thoughts floating through space
like tiny clouds that swirled around my mind. This
began to affect all other aspects of my life because I
began to see that all concepts were up for questioning.