There are different levels of practice and discovery and each is its own analogue.
This life is full of analogues of awakening. Any process that leads from an occluded view to a leap or unveiling that offers a broader view, whereby a seeming obstacle or contradiction is resolved, might be analogous: from problem or obstruction, to answer, solution, revelation, where opposing parts are reconciled.
That’s one of the characteristics of these many analogues to the process of awakening.
There are also analogues to the nature of reality as it is revealed in awakening. That is, analogues not just to the process but also to the state of awakened existence. One of its characteristics is that all is one single existence. Therefore actions done for what was thought to be others will generate joy and well-being, because they accord with the reality beneath appearances—namely that we are not separate from others. Selfless and altruistic acts support well-being by virtue of their according with reality.
With regard to these analogues, it’s helpful to be clear that work in one area does not generally preclude the need for work in another. Work done in a more “spiritual” realm, for example, usually doesn’t mean we may not need to do some basic work in a more psychological area too.
Likewise, just because there may be analogues to awakening doesn’t mean that they actually are awakening. There are different levels of practice and discovery and each is its own analogue. A few of these will be described in the next two weeks.