A Walk in the Physical

Our physical reality is preceded by a non-physical one in which we, both individually and collectively, help to “drive” what is physically manifested. One of the great “forces” that moves that process forward is expectation and belief. Thus what you believe- the nature of your worldview- is actually important for how our local experience will actualize.

As we “play the game,” certain thoughts, ideas, and beliefs tend to gain or lose “momentum” within the collective consciousness. That momentum is a powerful force. It’s important to recognize however that the collective momentum always starts and ends with individual momentum. The individual is important. What YOU believe-  your worldview- is important!

You may not be consciously aware of it, but you are automatically communicating with all the many millions of other “players in the game” in consciousness space. Your beliefs, your expectations, and your intentions not only affect the “temperature of the water” in the collective consciousness, they also encourage others- and in a sense “give permission” to others if necessary- to consider those same beliefs, expectations, and intentions, too. One person who shines bright with truly loving intent is like a beacon giving permission to many thousands of others to shine their light as well!

Take time then to look within and discover what beliefs and intentions you are sponsoring within the collective consciousness. What are you inspiring in our world today within your own mind and heart? Do not be discouraged by the apparent scope of change that may seem to be required on the “surface” of the physical world, but rather, recognize your power- for one person who is fully present and acting from a place of responsibility and genuine love can make a huge difference, and inspire many others to do the same.

YOU are a part of the Light! You are an unspeakably valuable and amazing fragment of That Which Is. You are spirit, brave and immortal spirit, now having the experience of a body. You cannot be harmed, you cannot be forgotten, and you cannot be replaced. You are never alone. You are adored, held up, and celebrated by countless thousands upon thousands of those who know and cherish you. You are a spark of the divine flame which shines bright in all things. You are a fire in the illusion of darkness. You are the presence of love, uniquely expressed as only you can. You are a powerful force, a mighty consciousness who has set out upon one of the greatest adventures thus far conceived, fully participating and yet fully transcendent. Your every thought and intent speaks to the galaxies, as they are your brothers and sisters. You are connected to every single thing that exists. You are so wonderful that you are beyond description! You are a universe unto yourself, and yet an ever-shimmering drop in the unspeakably brilliant ocean of the Light. You are loved, and you are love!

As you take your walk in the physical, set aside time to listen with your deepest being rather than your mind, and allow yourself to remember what you are.

Awareness (here synonymous with “consciousness”) is not a thing that has an opposite. It just is. All opposites exist within awareness.

Have you ever had an experience that wasn’t your awareness of it? Have you ever had a thought that wasn’t your own awareness of it? Even the experience of waking and sleeping (“gaining or losing consciousness”), or the experience of considering dualistic ideas like existence and non-existence, are only known as you behold their forms and assign meaning to them. All of the content of your physical life, while deeply convincing in its apparent individuation and duality, has only ever taken place in your awareness of it.

Your awareness doesn’t actually need a context to exist. It is That Which Is. It is that which has done those things, and had the experience of being these other things- but it always remains.

As such, you will always remain. All that your local personality is will not be lost when your body dies. You will not be lost. Rather, you will simply awaken to all that you truly are! And the walk in the physical that you just took will be recognized as yet another adventure that you have taken, another “form that you have been,” in the great context of Creation.

Many who seek truth in knowledge believe that there is “some universe out there” and that our job as truth seekers is to go and figure out that universe. Ironically, the one who is looking at the external forms (sense data) and internal forms (ideas and dualistic understandings) to find the answers is often missing a constantly available clue: the forms one is evaluating only exist within one’s own awareness of them.

All forms are contained within awareness; it is not that awareness only exists within form. That distinction is exactly what “the veil” allows the spirit to experience on Earth: it “clouds” the individual’s awareness of his or her deeper transcendent nature so he or she can get lost in the world of form. The individual then, having “forgotten” (lost sight of) what he or she really is, goes out and seeks the answers to beingness within the form itself, since form appears to be reality.

But looking in the world of form for the “Big Picture” answers is like the video game character looking for the answer to everything within the video game itself. There is not a single thing within the video game environment that will explain the nature of the physical computer server, or the building that server resides in, or the motivations behind the people that built the server building. In fact, as the video game character can only understand reality using video-game-world assumptions and concepts, it is not even possible for the video game character to understand the nature of the larger reality with his local video-game-knowledge-based intellectual mind alone.

You and I are similarly bound. None of the metaphors, ideas, or relationships of Earth can explain “The Answer.” If one wishes to find truth, he or she must do so beyond knowledge.

How? There are no words that can truly communicate this deep process, as it occurs beneath form and action itself, but for the action-oriented mind we can say the following. One can seek truth beyond knowledge by consistently and genuinely moving one’s focus towards that which does transcend the boundaries of realities: awareness itself! Or, if “awareness itself” is too vague and an object of attention is needed, we can say instead: “awareness of the present moment itself!”

In order to do so, one must be willing to consistently and genuinely direct one’s attention away from the thought and the form, towards what one actually is. One must be ready to surrender, to completely let go of all the stories and understandings of the mind, and meet the present moment fully. This can take considerable patience and persistence, as we tend to build up a huge amount of “thought and idea momentum” over the course of a lifetime. In fact, one should be willing to let go even of the need to find the answer!

The benefits of such a practice may initially seem invisible to the mind. Yet despite the challenge and hidden benefit, such a pursuit is incredibly worthwhile. For indeed our greater nature never leaves us, and beneath all the illusion we have become so tied up within, the greater truth of our powerful formless being always remains available to us. The answers that are there far exceed the answers of the local human mind.

Most of us are sensitive in ways that our ego won’t admit. That sensitivity often leads toward the real us.

The ego is not a separate entity- it is the part of us that wishes to protect us. We wish to protect ourselves. And one of the most common ways to do so is to avoid feeling pain- especially the pain of negative emotions that result from the limiting perspectives we buy into and the negative beliefs we hold about ourselves and our world. We play all sorts of games with ourselves to avoid facing that which we do not want to face, and to avoid feeling that which we do not want to feel. We effectively close ourselves off from our own actual experience.

But in so doing, we temporarily segregate ourselves from our own true nature, which is unified and completely present with “what is.” The ego creates a cage of ideas and beliefs to protect us, but in so doing, we are no longer free. We accept the illusion of the cage to avoid fear and pain, rather than being present with exactly “what is” and feeling exactly “what we feel.”

At the heart of the issue is our unwillingness to face our experience for exactly what it is because doing so may be terrifying or painful. The way to healing then is to choose to fully allow our own experience, no matter what it may be, without the protective beliefs, judgments, and stories of the mind. Leaving behind the cage can be absolutely terrifying, and can even feel like personal destruction! But in fact, reality itself is there to support you, because despite its appearances, reality is ultimately built upon love, not pain. In fact, the universe itself wants you to succeed in integrating your life experience and conquering your fear!

But such a journey is not one that can be taken abruptly: it is the small movements towards the courage to genuinely feel that help bring us closer to who we really are.

So when you are ready, make the choice to actually feel what you feel, no matter what you intellectually think it may mean about you. Feel your experience in your body, rather than listening to the age-old learned stories of your mind. Beneath all the scars, you are still sensitive- and when you find that genuine sensitivity, allow it, feel it, and embrace it, you will re-discover a piece of your true and ever-powerful self.

You are not fundamentally human. You are your “higher self” – the greater portion of you that transcends the physical experience and is ever connected to the Light. That higher self knows that it is powerful, and unharmable, and connected, and loved.

And yet the human experience gives us the opportunity to actually experience something else. At times we believe- or even assume- that we are powerless, vulnerable, disconnected, or unloved. And when we do, we suffer. For some of us, much of our lives seem to be filled with these feelings.

We suffer precisely because these self-perceptions (perceiving one’s self to be powerless, vulnerable, disconnected, or unloved) are not in alignment with the more fundamental truths of our greater nature. We suffer when we buy into a perception that is not in alignment with the greater truth. The higher self can’t be (isn’t) powerless, it is a powerful part of God- so when we adopt a self-perception of powerlessness, we suffer. The higher self can’t be (isn’t) vulnerable, it is unharmable and eternal- so when we adopt a self-perception of vulnerability, we suffer. The higher self can’t be (isn’t) disconnected- so when we adopt a self-perception of loneliness or distance, we suffer. The higher self can’t be (isn’t) unloved, it is profoundly celebrated and adored- so when we adopt a self-perception of shame or worthlessness, we suffer.

Discontentedness or suffering is a signpost to point towards the inaccurate self-perception we believe our circumstances are proving to us.

Yet the circumstances themselves do not automatically convey anything! No matter how rigorous or painful they may seem, they are neutral- they only give the experiencer the opportunity to place a meaning upon them, including one that is not in alignment with the more enduring truth.

When you suffer then, follow the signpost! What negative self-perception are you buying into? What circumstance of your life is “proving” to you that negative self-perception is true? What fear are you avoiding? See if you can allow yourself to completely let go of all your stories, completely let go of all the meaning you are placing on the circumstance or sensation, and completely let go of even all the self-perception “buy-ins” you are entertaining. Beneath all of that, you are still YOU- the real you- and you are powerful, unharmable, connected, and always deeply and overwhelmingly loved!

Descartes, with his famous conclusion “I think, therefore I am,” had it backwards. Thought does not precede being, being precedes thought. Thinking a thought does not create beingness: existing beingness thinks a thought. Or perhaps more accurately, existing unlimited beingness “becomes” the experience of being a perspective that thinks a thought.

While we are here in the physical though, we often deeply “lose” ourselves in “enticing” yet shallow thought. We become almost completely wrapped up in the ideas of our minds: ideas of identity, ideas of responsibility, and beliefs. We think we are our identity, we think we are our responsibilities, and we think reality is just as we believe. None of that is fundamental.

That idea can sound frightening, because we are so wrapped up in the illusory identity, that when it is threatened we feel (incorrectly) that our very being is threatened. Ironically, it is only through being wrapped up in what is not ultimately real that we can even feel threatened! What we really are- that which we call spirit, or consciousness, or beingness- that can never be threatened. Beingness is that which gives rise to all the ideas of the mind, and to the entire physical experience. This allows it to engage in precious creation-expanding perspectives.

So next time you think that your thoughts or your beliefs make you you, or you feel fear or hopelessness as a result of them, remind yourself: your thoughts exist within you, you do not exist within your thoughts!

The real “playing field” is in the small, individual choices that we make. Your spiritual growth does not occur all at once. Healing the world does not occur all at once. Both are accomplished by making the choice in common moments to genuinely wield an intent that is operating from compassion and love rather than self-protection and fear.

Do not be distracted by the scope of healing that is required! Rather, bring your attention only to what you can do in any given moment and in any given choice, no matter how simple or mundane that moment or choice may be.

Every action we take is a choice. Every thought we buy into, even in the quiet of our minds, is a choice. Choices are constantly presented to us. Yet so very many choices are not optimally utilized because we frequently make “routine” choices that are based in self-service, the avoidance of pain, or fear.

When the spiritually minded individual begins to get a real look at the self, it can be overwhelming to discover how much of what one does is actually motivated by ego or fear. It is too easy to then take yet another fearful step and say, “how can I possibly make a difference in such vast imperfection?” We often make a similar statement when we feel bewildered by trying to make a difference in our vastly imperfect external world.

Take heart! Contrary to how it may appear on the surface, you actually do have great power! At this very moment you have at your disposal the full power of the mightiest and most fundamental tool in existence: your intent. Do not underestimate it! Do not make the physical mind’s mistake of believing that your non-physical intent itself is inconsequential. Indeed, by making a conscious effort to shift your intent in any given common moment towards compassion, openness, courage, humility, and love- even when you genuinely do so in the quiet of your own heart- you are already making a move toward external and internal healing! The power of such choices may not be visually immediately apparent, but do not let that deter you: all change first occurs in consciousness space, and then only subsequently does it appear in the manifested world of form.

So recognize today the power of even the very small and common choices that you make. And have the courage to face your own imperfections and the imperfections of our world with hope, for the common moment is always available to you to actualize real, lasting change!

There is always reason to hope. In fact, it is the things that “cause” us to “lose hope” that are the dream. The more real and enduring reality is one of pure power, freedom, joy, and love! And thus encouraging one to hope does not so much need to be an exercise in convincing them there is reason to hope, but rather a reminder of their true nature.

In truth, hope does not contend with hopelessness- because hopelessness is the illusion. Hopelessness can only exist as that which is irrevocably powerful and formless takes a sojourn into form, and forgets itself there. What is far more fundamental than that dream is ever-present genuine knowing of total freedom and perfect love. The truth of invincible hope is the presiding rock bed that is always just beneath our feet- it does not need to strive against that which is the illusion.

Being in the illusion, however, the physical personality portion of us often needs to be reminded. And so please be lovingly reminded: remember! Remember what you are! Remember not just with your mind and with the learned ideas of this lifetime, but feel it with your ever present being! Feel it with the life that flows through you itself! You are the light, you are hope and joy. You are freedom, and power, and love! You are so free and so powerful that you have allowed yourself to “get your hands dirty” by becoming “lost” in the human experience. Even with that being the case, no matter how dire the circumstances of the Earthly play may seem, you cannot ever escape the pure hope of the immortal light that remains with you. The wonder, love, power, and hopefulness of that light is completely beyond Earthly description- and even in the darkest times, it never, ever leaves you!

Allow yourself then to let go of all that troubles you, and feel the precious presence of life that never abates. Surrender, and be reminded of that ever-present and completely unblemishable hope that always remains with you! For there is nothing you can possibly do that will ever remove you or those you love from its eternal care.

There is actually no such thing as separation. The distance you experience is occurring within you- like a thick “sensory and thought” cloak passed over you that has deeply captivated your attention. Yet it is just an illusion. You are, in fact, everywhere.

If you’re not actually experiencing that, such a claim may seem fanciful, if not absurd. Indeed, there are no words that can truly communicate many aspects of our greater nature, for words are meant to speak to the dualistic forms of our local reality only. This is especially true when consciousness- your consciousness?- has “lost itself” within the dualistic forms and temporarily forgotten what it truly is. In that case, the separation seems very real.

Yet, in fact, everything you are experiencing is occurring within your awareness, and that awareness is irrevocably connected to the very same awareness that beholds all things. You do not need to GO anywhere- you are already a part of everything!

While you are having this deep human experience of separation, allow yourself to fully embrace it for all that it is meant to be. There is profound value in fully living the human experience.

Yet it is also important to remember that separation is an illusion, because you are actually connected to all those that seem “external” to you. Thus what you do unto others, in a real sense, you do unto yourself. “Love” then is not merely an objective, it is a move back towards the reality of the unity that exists beneath the illusion of form.