P. 318-324
(I shared this with our Sun. Morning group)
I came across this quote from Eckhart Tolle:
“Many people who are going through the early stages of the awakening process are no longer certain what their outer purpose is. What drives the world no longer drives them. Seeing the madness of our civilization so clearly, they may feel somewhat alienated from the culture around them. Some feel that they inhabit a no-man's-land between two worlds. They are no longer run by the ego, yet the arising awareness has not yet become fully integrated into their lives.”
After being “insulted” (how quickly the personality intrudes!) at being called a beginner, even though I am, I decided to examine this quote more deeply.
I know I can identify with his observation, but I have to clarify that this perception of being lost or confused or hanging out in the void is the perception of my limited personality self. My true nature/Christ Consciousness, knows exactly who he/she is.
I would suggest that what he is getting at is that as our consciousness/awareness shifts from simply a human/personality identity to the living Truth of who we are, we find that how we relate to the world and the personalities we are surrounded by, changes. And because we are still somewhat identified with our personality self, our old judgmental reactions are still here. Unfortunately, then we get into judging ourselves, thinking; “I’m better than this; I know I am not my body and neither is this other person. I really do know I am a child of God and so are they, but her eI am reacting in my old self-self-centered way.”
The personality/ego self is continually looking for “rule books” here.”When this happens what do I do?” But in this aspect of the growth and evolution we are involved in, there are no rule books. As the philosopher Heraclitus exclaimed, “You can’t step in the river twice.” The river is different; you re different, even your perception yourself and the situation is different, if you allow yourself to be aware of it.
The personality is always attempting to fix something that it perceives is broken, but eventually we run out of “duct tape.” The Divine Self realizes that a broken system or method is a sign that it needs to be transcended. The system, whether it e a family dynamic or a form of government has served its purpose; it’s “brokenness” is a sign that its usefulness has expired.
We have all probably had the experience when we have held onto something too long. I recall one of my cousins had a “blankie” that she dragged around everywhere. After in numerable washings and patching it just finally fell apart.
We might even have experienced relationships that were important to us that began to deteriorate in one way or another. We worked diligently attempting to “fix” it and perhaps the other person did as well. If you are able to change the dynamics of the relationship or how you define it, perhaps you are able to continue to have a relationship with that person, but its essence has changed.
More than likely after trying and trying, the relationship began to disintegrate. The personality self does not want to see that , and so it will create an illusion that everything is OK. It is not usually until some painful time has passed that we realize we have held onto this old form too long.
We are not suggesting the effort was useless, because all efforts can be part of our learning, it is just act there are times, if we are honest and aware, we will realize the need for letting go of the old, with the realization that it no longer serves us, is the most loving action to take.
“Now, the climate you stand in, in the room you sit in, the walk you take to work, is still acclimated to the prior self and her choices. But the one who has aligned to truth will now reclaim things in her purview. “I know who I am in truth. I know what I am in truth. I know how I serve in truth.”
The alignment in these claims is deeply significant. There is nothing cosmetic about them at all. They will restructure you because the agreement to be as truth will touch all things. The wave that we described earlier that washes away that which is unstable or out of alignment with truth is encompassing you now. And the joy of this is the release of the old and the claiming of the new, what lives beyond the threshold.”
In this teaching the guides first continually affirm the truth of who you are. It is only after this affirmation is taken in as deeply as you can, in this moment, that we begin to look at the beliefs and actions of the past as being an impediment to the continual recognition of the truth of who you are.
“Now, where we take you next in this teaching is to outside of the world that you know and to the Kingdom and its manifestation. The triumph of the text is that the ones who listen and heed the call are being prepared for the work of their lives, not the work that they would choose as the small self, but the work of their lives. And we would say all the lives you’ve known yourself through have been in preparation for this level of reidentification as the what that you are. And the claims you’ve made for the small self to be in agreement to where she will be taken is what supports you in reclaiming a world that may now be known to you in a higher way.”
“Now, the crucible you have is memory, and we will address this now. You have memory for a reason. You remember which way you drive to work, how this one or that one treated you. You remember the rules of how to cross the street, how to tie the shoes, perhaps how to treat the one beside you. And while we do not eradicate memory, we do realign it because much of memory is all projection as the small self claims things and gives them meaning.
“I don’t like the way she looked at me. That job was bad. That man was evil.”
Whatever these things have been that are imprinted in memory are still there as you encounter your day. So the alignment of memory in truth will in some ways be a displacement of what you have thought, or were led to believe, or agreed to that has claimed a memory that may be informing your life. Your attachment to what you think is there also rescinds the reality of truth, and the alignment to truth in what you see requires you to comprehend the reality of truth in what you have seen prior. Because you walk in illusion when you look at the past and you use that lens on your present—or your future, yes—you are in witness to a false perception when you rely on memory that is not in truth.”
In twelve step recovery literature there is a powerful promise that is expressed as “we do not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.”
The past can continue to be a teacher but without the necessity of being controlled by it.
A major theme of tonight's lesson is to grow in awareness of of how many of our reactions to people, places and things have essentially been preprogrammed from our past beliefs and perceptions. Although this might be fairly obvious to us as we grow in awareness, it is sometimes difficult to become conscious of how enslaved we have become through our attachment to our past.
Affirming again:
“I know who I am in truth, I know what I am in truth, I know how I serve in truth. And I am the one who perceives the world made new. I am Word through this intention. Word I am Word.”
I have a past, but I am not my past.
“When we bring the psst into the present, we create a future just like our past.” ACIM
In love, grace and gratitude…
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