The pursuit of the transcendent and formless does not mean rejecting the world of form for the sake of the transcendent. Rather, form is a part of that which is transcendent. The formlessness and unity of our being is in all things; it is not “over there and not over here.”

This is important because as beings who are currently focused in an experience of duality, we often believe that pursuing spirituality is about pursuing some “thing or things” to the exclusion of other “thing or things.” We often believe spirituality is about moving in one “direction”; we confuse that which we seek with the “things” themselves. To the duality-conditioned intellect, of course it can often be beneficial to select some form (some belief or behavior) to move towards at the expense of others. But ultimately the move towards the unity of our being cannot be a move of division. We cannot pit form against form and find unity.

All forms that exist do so within the context of the much broader fundamental reality of love, wisdom, freedom, and joy!

As we search for that joy, it is not the forms we seek, not some destination, not some “this or that.” Rather, we seek that which is already fundamental and always present! We seek that which seems to have vanished before us as we’ve bought into the dense world of form and our many interpretations about it.

What we seek is not in “one thing and not the other.” What we seek is the fabric of our native Beingness itself, the living essence of our awareness that beholds all things, which is the same living essence in all things everywhere!

And that awareness is always close! It cannot go anywhere. It “follows you” wherever you go- nay, it is you, and you are it! It is with you in all the directions that you choose, all the efforts that you make, all the experience and pain and pleasure. And your search for that is not a search of choosing the right forms, or of division or striving- but a move towards complete and total personal genuineness in meeting the present moment. Whatever directions have been chosen before, allow yourself to meet the Now deeply. In the naked truth of the real present moment, the light of Being always shines!

Because consciousness is fundamental, there is always a result when it directs itself towards something. The focus of consciousness itself has an effect. Focus tends to deepen that which is being focused on.

The more we focus on the physical, the more “deep” we go into the experience of it. The more we focus on one way of thinking, the more real it becomes. The more we repeat a belief to ourselves, the more real it becomes. The more we spend time in a culture, the more it tends to become normalized. Through our focus we wear pathways into the fresh wilderness of conscious experience, and then experience reality as just those pathways.

It is important for us at times then to pause and appraise what we are focused on, so we can make a conscious decision to shift our focus. Practicing this allows us to gain control of what we are experiencing!

Often though we must do so from a place of significant previously-established momentum. Sometimes the pathways of our identity, thoughts, and beliefs are so worn into our experience that we lose sight of them completely. So as we work to more consciously reclaim our focus and forge new paths in the grass, it is important to give permission to one’s self to release all assumptions, and all requirements. Our deepest beliefs about reality may not be true- and even if so, they will often appear as facts. We need to give ourselves permission to relinquish even those.

The truth of our being is perfect love, joy, creativity, and freedom! So as we more consciously choose where to place our focus, we benefit mightily from choosing new paths of love, joy, creativity, and freedom! Do you know that you are worthy of doing so? If not, please be reminded now: you are deeply, profoundly worthy! Do you know that you are permitted to consciously choose where to focus, and what to believe? You are completely allowed to choose where to focus and what to believe! No matter your circumstances, you are allowed to focus on that which you deem to be full of love, joy, creativity, and freedom.

This is not a process of avoidance or escape from some “reality of suffering.” Rather, even as we choose our focus, we can simultaneously fully accept all that we have rejected! We can do this because all experience is ultimately rooted in love and joy. Put another way: while perspectives of suffering are valid, ultimately they are already incomplete in that they actually fall short of the broader enduring foundation of love and joy that is native to all experience.

Whether we are consciously aware of that or not, we can benefit from utilizing the power that is available to us to choose a focus that is more in alignment with that enduring foundation of love and joy.  And as we do so, our new focus will begin to wear new paths, and our actual experience will gradually brighten to match our new focus.

We seek pleasure not just as a biological impulse, but also because spiritually we always seek Source. We yearn for the unity with Source and each other- the unity which is native to our true spiritual state. As humans in a universe of form, we tend to constantly look for that unity and joy in form- in objects, people, ideas, beliefs, sights, sounds, substances, sensations- and while we may temporarily enjoy such unique form experiences, they never fully satisfy, because they are not what we are looking for. They are not what makes us complete. Our true joy is in our true nature- not in the stimulating illusion of separate things. One of the reasons we come to be human is to discover that experientially.

Eventually when the allure of form has failed us enough times, we have little choice but to turn inward. When we finally drop our frantic search and surrender, we find- spontaneously- that the wholeness we seek never left us at all! The wholeness is what we are! We only experience separation because we are focused on, believe in, and (seem to) depend on the form. So when we finally fully let go of form, wholeness naturally rises back to us, all on its own.

This surrender can be very difficult, however, because the truth of our being seems to get “wrapped up” in the forms of our lives, and as that happens, our true nature seems to become invisible. We really believe we are human! We really believe we are our occupations, our relationships, our affiliations, our ideas, and our bodies.

Letting go of the form is not an act of pitting yourself against the form. Rather, letting go of the form is a process of allowing “What Is” to be. All the form exists within you; it is not that you exist within form (like a spirit inhabiting a body in a material universe, for instance). Your awareness is always present for all aspects of your reality to exist. As you move towards that awareness itself, exactly as it is in the present moment, you automatically then open the door for the wholeness that you seek to rise back up to you!

When we finally re-sense that, we discover that the wholeness is always there! Indeed, our unified true nature is always present, and despite the rich and convincing experience of separation, our Being through which the experience of form occurs cannot ever truly be anything other than free, blissful, and whole.

People are good! Or more accurately, the spirit is good, but when engaged in very real constraint sets, each spirit is only “so adept” at optimally expressing its true loving nature in its local context. Each spirit is only “so good” at operating from love-based intent rather than fear-based intent- and the journey to actually grow from the latter to the former can be a painful one. Regardless of how “well” the spirit executes choice making, it is still fundamentally good. Some individuals are more adept than others at operating lovingly within a given physical and biological context- but at their core, all spirits are fundamentally spirits of love and joy. This is true from the best to the worst of us.

Our society does not currently teach this: we habitually wish to identify enemies. Just as the wind has no enemies, even as a wall set before it is not the wind’s enemy, you also do not have any enemies. Those labelled as “enemies” are other loving spirits playing other roles in our limited local system, making imperfect choices while in a rigorous state of artificial separation, just like us. It is beneficial to see them for the love and joy that they really are, even as they, like us, may be befuddled by the rigors of being human.

We live in a world that appears to be a shared objective reality. In our world, if someone goes to some place and sees something, they can report that something to you and you can gain knowledge about it second hand. We often assume that the same is true for the larger reality.

Reality is ultimately consciousness based, not objective material world based. So the nature of the experience of any one given individual can be significantly different than that of another- in fact they are two different experiences entirely. This is true even in our local world, where two people experience the same physical event in their own unique way, and often quite differently. But that truth is even more apparent in other reality systems, many of which are instantaneously responsive to the personal nature and intent of the individual. The “objects” reported from those environments then are often more of a reflection of the individual and their beliefs than they are of the “reality itself.”

In order to pursue understanding of the larger reality then, we need to be willing to let go of many of the physical assumptions that we hold so dear. One of those assumptions is the belief in an objective material world. The world of matter is a consistent shared experience, not a fundamental place. What is truly present is not the matter, but consciousness itself which is having the deep dream of matter. While the veil of the dream remains thick for many on Earth, the spirit is not fundamentally constrained by distance, or matter, or certain methods of perception, or even linear time. Thus as we seek to understand the big picture from the human perspective, it behooves us to release those assumptions. For even though we naturally associate with the context of the physical dream, our true nature is far more wonderful and unlimited than any part of the dream’s structure.

The name of the game is even the simplest actions performed from kindness, compassion, or love! We do not necessarily need to aspire to achieve some great physical accomplishment. We only need to meet any given moment or any given interaction with a right state of being.

From the perspective of the spirit, success is when kindness, compassion, or love is genuinely brought forth in even the smallest way. Even the whisper in the quiet of your own heart is important. Success is not measured in moving mountains, because the mountains of Earth are not fundamentally real anyway. What is real is you- your consciousness itself- and when that you chooses to meet any given moment with love, the heavens themselves rejoice!

The goal then is not to achieve a given physical configuration in how the contents of Earth look. The playing field is the moving of your own spirit, the wielding of your own precious intent. And the wielding of intent is done within all scale of physical activity, whether it be large or small, and whether it be thought, word, or deed. All choices then, no matter their scope, are grounds for the real opportunity- which is how we bring our being to bear within the physical context. Our simplest and most noble power is in how we choose to meet our experience.

And when genuine love is the motivation behind even the small choices, the contents of Earth work themselves out on their own!

Let us focus then not on the scope and size, not on the forms and systems- but on who we really are, and on how we may be there for each other. Let our choice be a kind gesture, a supportive smile, a gentle hand on the bark of an old tree. For though those choices may appear small, when motivated by genuine love, the smallest choice is the greatest accomplishment.

You are a powerful creative being! You are capable of creating realities. You do so individually, and you also do so collectively. Source is immeasurably creative- and you are a part of Source.

Our world is a place where we learn how to manage the contents of our own nature. We experientially learn how to wield our intent. We experientially learn to actualize our deeper creative and loving Beingness within a rigorous context. We experientially master the power of contrast! As we do that here, we are better able to do so in contexts that are beyond our human comprehension. No matter the type of experience we entertain, no matter how deep and dark it may seem, we are always beings of love and creative power. Indeed, as immortal spirits we are bold in the depths to which we are willing to go in the name of creativity and love.

Compared to other reality systems, ours is dense and firm. But even here, our creative nature always operates. Even here, we alter the contents of our personal experience, our collective experience, and our apparently shared external material world, by the nature of our own thoughts, beliefs, and intentions.

So be reminded of your power today! Reality is listening to you. What are you saying to it?