We are a universe unto ourselves and Source perceiving its infinite self.
An awakened person knows that this world is a fabrication of Source’s awareness and that nothing actually exists apart from IT. When the bible says that we have been created in the image of God, it means that You and I are one of infinite points of reference used by Source to perceive ITS awareness.
That which is called “You and I” is a convenient fiction to describe the amalgamated conditioned responses we present as stimuli in the physical world—but we are so much more. That which is called you and me is really Source’s consciousness nested in still higher Source consciousness. When we perceive that we are a universe unto ourselves it is precisely because we are Source perceiving its infinite self. In the unrealized state, that sense of infinity is only realized in Self. Upon awakening, the Self comes to understand that it is one universe among infinity and part of an integrated whole.
Source, self, body, matter, and all things are each a part of the many forms of Source awareness. Self is the awareness interface tool created by Source to interact with physical awareness. Self bridges the gap between Source and the physical world.
Even though separateness is illusory, Source enjoys the charade. Source does not reject the Self—it embraces and enjoys it. Like a costume ball, Source wears the self for the fun and experience of it. Just as when we watch a movie we are drawn into a fictitious story, so Source allows itself to be drawn into a human narrative of its own creating. Even though the narratives of plays and movies are not real—they are actually realer than real as they reveal truth in ways that could never be understood except through narrative. So it is with our lives. These narrative fictions are truer than true and realer than real—as Source expands in it’s awareness and reality.