Being dependent on everything external allowed me to feel happy and fulfilled. Being stripped of many material supports is teaching me to clearly see and comprehend the True Source of all that is; that everything that I had, have, and will have is but an expression of that Source; and that I am one with all that is – not better, not less than, but one with.
This concept is very hard for me to put into practice. I think I’m getting better. At least I’m aware.
We are all that we can be at this very moment. It is good to strive to be and do more in order to move towards our promise and destiny. However, being happy with the miracle of whatever is happening now can help create a happier tomorrow.
Temptations of the flesh are difficult to resist and overcome. By temptations, I don’t only mean lust, greed, envy, or other such attractions. I mean perceptions of the sense body. We look at the material world as the source and end of everything with little or no regard to our spiritual origins, our command of energy, and our dominion. We allow material existence (persons, places, and circumstances) to have power over us because we have forgotten the reality of our Higher Selves. We have forgotten who and what we are.
We can become so involved with and drawn into the dramas and traumas of our loved ones, jobs, community, society, and world that we drift into negativity, forgetting that we are Spirit – clear, free, and unlimited. In our essence, we are like air. We forget that we are transcendent, that only the perceptions of our minds can entrap us, hold us, and imprison us. That is the ultimate temptation of the flesh body. We let the material world make us blind and deaf to our true nature and, thus, become bound to the earth.
The more status we give to tangible things and people, the more we forget that the Infinite even exists. We drift further and further into anguish and hardship. The day of reckoning always comes. Judgment Day comes in different ways and times for each of us. Cumulatively, all of our unhappiness makes it difficult for the great healers of the world to survive in physical form and help us through this medium.
Great joys come from being in the body. However, the suffering of human existence becomes quicksand from which it seems impossible to emerge. Constant struggle grounds one increasingly into the material and away from the reality and source of our being.
How does one extract one’s true self from a denigrated perceived self that is accepted as normal? Many people are not even aware that their identities have been lost. Such people must first define themselves by rejecting the images imposed upon them by the dominant culture.
Identification of self is important for all human beings. Our every action, our thoughts and words, both written and spoken, are governed by and reactions to self-perceptions that have been influenced by the external.
One cannot get to the core self without first comprehending and discarding the layers of a conformed self. It is important to clarify this issue. All human beings are shaped by societal norms, by family and culture, by traumas and circumstance. Our own fabric is buried so deep that many layers of invalidation and resulting self-hatred must be exposed and peeled away before we can begin to shape our own unique identity and our own destiny.
We depend upon the ever changing external for our mental, emotional, physical and financial stability. We, thus, are always at risk of becoming unstable, in pain, and harming others. This is the cause for the violence in our thoughts and, subsequently, in our lives and the world. Negative values, thoughts, and behavior that have been passed down and accepted cause us to perceive a “them” that we must fight against. In truth, the “them” is “us.”
Many times, our perception of how we are treated is a projection of how we feel about ourselves. Our insecurities, anxieties, and fears rush forth to meet us, dressed as difficult people or circumstances. Worry, stress, and fear keep us from our greatest good. Being aware of our energy, our consciousness, or simply being aware that something else is going on other than what is physically being expressed, will enable us to view interactions differently.
Do you value and feel positive about yourself? Sometimes, as children, we were valued for being smart, athletic, attractive, or other subjective criteria. Unconditional love was not clearly communicated. This can lead to a belief that we have no value unless we are achieving, producing, or appearing beyond what we are in the present moment. If these attributes are lost or diminished, self-invalidation and suffering can result if we are not sufficiently grounded in our worthiness.
We must consistently practice seeing the truth of ourselves. Our value supersedes anything that we do, have, or can provide. We are worthy simply because we exist, regardless of how we perceive ourselves or how others perceive us.