Awakening vs walking the path

[Minyatur]

Hello, my name is Laura and this is my first post here so I hope the nature of my question is appropriate for the kind of things discussed here.  If so, any thoughts, insights or experiences any of you might have had that would shed light on my question would be most appreciated.

I've studied The Ra Material for many years (picked up my first book back in the 80s) and consider it one of maybe 4 spiritual works that over the years have proven to be central to my spiritual thinking, my practice and my view of "how things work".  I have, over the past several years, contemplated and meditated on awakening from duality into the Infinite beyond duality.  But an ever present splinter in my mind is that I can't seem to reconcile the two spiritual traditions of seeking growth on a path (such as discussed by Ra and in my case the path of STO), with the spiritual teaching and goal of waking up out of duality.  The splinter, so to speak, is the seeming paradox of, on the one hand working within time/space (duality) in order to evolve spiritually... a time-based, linear pursuit, with a seemingly contradictory spiritual pursuit of awakening out of the illusion of duality, into the eternal/infinite reality of Source/Supreme Reality and, presumably, brining to and end all linear, duality-based pursuits.... such as spiritual evolution/STO path.  

Has anyone else grappled with this and, if so, have you had any insights to help resolve the seeming conflict of these two paths?

Thanks, Laura
 

To see both as separate is a dualistic view, and like with any duality, you move as non-dual through it.

Even if you see everything as non-dual, you will still be a complex of dual-thoughts and will still experience yourself foremost through the mirror of duality, but will more easily realize from within dual perceptions your own constant non-dual expression. Take the duality of self and other-selves, even if as a self you realize that you are one with others you will still experience yourself as your dual side of your non-dual wholeness. Other-selves don't disappear because a self realizes its non-dual beingness with them, it simply now sees that just as it has a mind in this sense of self it also has this other-mind in this sense of other-self, and that whether self or other-self is contemplated, the same essence is perceiving the same essence from different states of itself.

I think that if, as a self, you see beyond the illusion of duality then you will find that the energies that enter you simply reconcile when they are applied this view upon and so you will naturally have a growing STO relationship with your outer beingness. So, I think a strong perception of non-duality does not disallow to build a STO polarity and instead allows to build one's polarity in a higher degree of purity; I'd add that unless you are able to see things as non-dual, then your polarity will project its imbalances, confusion and karma outwardly to distill itself through the mirror of where it was projected (because of the inherent and transcendent unity, 3D and 4D have little required focus upon this). An example of this could be a martyr that has inspired others to become martyrs, those others that it initially wished to be at peace are now stuck in its own projected restlessness and lack of self-value, and so the person may be led to contemplate that to offer peace it first needs to find it, as otherwise it may only offer its own lack of peace it contains. Edit : That was a bit a more indirect example and so I thought to add a more direct one ; anyone that builds a strong polarity will, anytime they lack acceptance for something, project a strong negative energy. So I'd say, personally, that to the conscious entity it is preferable to seek balance over a powerful activation and working opposites (non-duality) is a mean given in the material to do so.

Back to the seeking of duality and non-duality, I say just keep following the drive of your will as it is exactly what you are doing as all your other-selves.