[greybeard]

Dear 14.
The big problem is that as Eckhart said there are pradoxes in spiritual teaching because the mystic does not live in the duality state, but in a timeless, nonlocality that is beyond our comprehension.
The teaching is clear the Self of the sage is the same as the Self of the student.

Before Eckhart became enlightened he had never heard of the concept of Now and was certainly not living his life that way.
Hawkins had become an athiest.
Ramana was a young teenager.
They probably all were in service to God in previous lifetimes.

You take ten steps towards God and he takes a hundred towards you.

You have whatever belief system you chose thats fine if you dont want to be enlightened.

If enlightenment is your serious goal, then you need to study that which is written by those who are in that state.

Eckhart teaches surrender to what is and that it is the Totality which brought this present moment into being. Because of the audience he is mainly speaking to, he dosent speak of God too much.
He visited India and guess where he spent time, on the late Rmana's Ashram and with Ramesh Balsekar, the late Advaita teacher, his main message is that "The main stumbling block is that you think you are the doer of deeds"
The Bahgavad Gita if studied would also remove the illusion that you are the doer. You cant cause anything to happen.
Jesus said " Of myself I do nothing, it is the father within"
If you read "Discovering the Presence of God/Devotional Nonduality" then it is possible that your outlook on spirituality would alter radically.
You are getting Dr David Hawkins teaching and others very second hand from me. Why not check him out?
Getting it straight from One in that state makes more sense that debating it with me.
Time is short.
Thats coming from Love as I know you come from Love
Chris