If asked for advice on practicing one’s spiritualty these are the three things I would say.
Understand the distinction between consciousness and awareness. Consciousness is best understood as the information operating in the brain/limitless mind. And may be understood in a range including material, psychic, unitive, form-formless (nondual), and formless. But awareness is best conceptualized in relationship terms of subject and object. Subject considered to be the me/I while object is not me/other. In this model oneself remains the primary vantage point from which the world experience is comprehended. This even as one’s spiritual practice reduces the individual self and expands the nondual self. Note that this consciousness is the information that gives rise to awareness. This is a crucial distinction because any one particular consciousness though ever present is not necessarily significantly influential. While awareness is always operative arising from a particular consciousness. Importantly, for this distinction to be useful one needs to apply it whenever using the terms. Using them interchangeably generates confusion and misunderstanding, e.g. people wrongly claim all are enlightened (referring to awareness) when in actuality it is nondual (consciousness) that is available to everyone but not necessarily primary in a given moment.
Second, the relationship between philosophy/theology and experience requires one remain clear which one is being referenced. You’ve heard it before, “the map is not the territory”. Philosophy/theology both codify and guide practice but too often on the grounds of argument and ideal. Concepts used without being informed by practical experience more easily lead to speculation and dogma. Experience emphasizes actions and results, and expresses them in the language of awareness. The terms used primarily address human character and the self. One monitors things like one’s ability to accomplish something through mental force (i.e. will); examines the big three of psychology (i.e. thoughts, feelings, and behaviors); observes spiritual virtue; and, recognizes the identity being embodied in any given moment. Monitoring one’s awareness allows one to know if something is working well or not in one’s practice. Better than only believing because it helps one stay on one’s path. True practitioners think scientifically. Consequently, common spiritual experiences then serve to validate and/or update philosophy/theology.
Lastly I’d say, learn more about mysticism. Mysticism, more than the other three aspects of religious practice (i.e. intellectually knowing God, loving God, or serving God) advocates union with, and absorption into God, Spirit, Mystery. That’s the very enlightened awareness we label as Being that has arisen from the unmanifested, unchanging Absolute. In this regard, mystics both embody and model the transpersonal changes that occur in awareness, demonstrating useful ways to facilitate one’s spiritual emergence.
Focusing one’s understandings through this lens shows the way philosophy/theology and experience are integral aspects of one another. But nevertheless require distinction.
No Perfect Om 