Prayer

Prayer is typically associated with a spiritual or religious path, and prayer can be a very useful practice. However, not all prayer is useful. Prayer is useful when it is used to:

• Empty the mind of concerns and desires (e.g., Thy will, not my will)
• Assist one to look at his thoughts and emotions soberly
• Open the heart, spark gratitude, reignite faith or inflame willingness
• Quiet the mind
• Sense and get in touch with the current high vibration

Our Judgment of Others

We have already seen that ego judgment compares, and then favors or rejects. This type of judgment is the cause of the sense of separation.

Let’s look at an example:

Imagine I have two friends. On several occasions, I have made plans with these friends. One friend typically shows up promptly for our engagements. She is happy and excited to spend time together. The other friend is typically late. Occasionally, she doesn’t show up at all. There have been a few times when she was so late that we thought she wasn’t coming, so we left without her. When that happened, she got angry and held a grudge. She would be more prompt for a while, but she’d arrive making a comment like, “I’m here on time so that you two won’t go without me.”

A situation like the one described above provides the opportunity for judgment. The judgments that you or I make are based on the filter of our minds, so we might not make the exact same judgments. However, most people would make some judgments in a situation like this.

The judgments that we make create a sense of separation. One or two people in the story are favored, and one or two people in the story are rejected.

When we reject someone (or something about someone), we close our heart. We attempt to keep them outside of our being, because we believe we are protected if we can keep them outside of our self. The problem is that they are already inside of our being. If they weren’t already inside, we wouldn’t be aware of them.

When we close our heart, we imprison our judgment of them inside of our consciousness. In other words, we hold onto anything we reject. In this way, we cling to our mental images of others as separate, which strengthens our own sense of separation. Anything that strengthens our sense of separation also unconsciously strengthens our sense of guilt and unworthiness. That means judgment as a defense mechanism backfires every time it’s used. It’s the one who judges that gets hurt by judgment. That’s why Jesus said:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ~ Matthew 7:1

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ~ Luke 6:37

How can the story I’ve told above be seen without judgment?

Watch the wind blow through the leaves of trees. Notice how each leaf is unaffected by what the other is doing. … This is because they do not know any separateness. … They blow in the wind and are perfect in their natural state. Your natural state is perfection. Do not look beyond this, and you will know freedom from the ego. ~ Inner Wisdom through Lanae

In other words:

One friend typically arrives on time and happy. One friend is more often late. Sometimes she doesn’t come at all. Sometimes we are confused about whether she is late or not coming, and we go without her. Sometimes she gets mad about that. Leaves blowing in the wind.

Let’s start with a review of some previous learning:

Seeing through the mind – Everything that you see and experience, you see and experience through the filter of your mind, meaning your mind at your current vibrational level. As you rise in vibration, you still see through the filter of the mind, but how you see changes because the mind is different at a higher vibration. The mind is simply thought, so as thoughts change, perception changes too.

Judgment – When the ego-mind judges, it compares, and then favors or rejects. Although humans tend to think that their own personal judgment is sensible, it is actually low vibration distorted thinking. It causes the sense of separation and conflict.

Today’s reading invites us to notice how we feel as we look at the world, and then notice that how we feel is based on judgments in the mind. (That is, the decision to favor or reject.) For example:

• • If the mind judges that this special holiday with family is going the way it is supposed to go, I feel happy. If the mind judges that the holiday is not going the way it should go, I get upset.

• • If the mind judges that my appearance is favorable, I feel good about myself. It the mind judges that my appearance is not favorable, I feel bad or self-conscious.

• • If the mind judges that someone’s reaction to me means they think well of me, I am satisfied. If the mind judges that someone’s reaction to me means they do not think well of me, I am uncomfortable.

• If someone makes a negative comment about me that touches on a repressed judgment I have of myself, I get angry. If someone makes a negative comment about me that I see as meaningless, I am not affected by it.

In other words, the way I feel comes from my judgment. This is always true, and there is never a situation when this isn’t true.

This is good news. It means that if I inquire into thought, see ego-based judgment for what it is and let go of it, my perception and my experience will improve.

The challenge is that most people believe their judgments are right.

When we hold onto the idea that our judgments are right, we resist the opportunity to rise in vibration. In order to get beyond the defense of “I’m right,” we need to be willing to see that our judgments are merely low vibration thinking and nothing more than that.

When we see that our judgments are the cause our own unhappiness and they block our ability to see unity consciousness, we discover the willingness to let go of them, because they are obstacles to what we want most of all.

Two days ago, our reading shared a list of ways our mind resists truth. Let’s review that list:

• Problems to think through and solve
• Things you must do to appear worthy
• Mental confusion
• Feeling unsure about what to do
• Questions that seek to understand metaphysics or enlightenment
• Desire for pleasure or obsession with pleasure
• Spiritual doubt

As our tip said yesterday, we do well to notice how our mind resists truth. Have you noticed any of these patterns of resistance in your mind?

Today’s reading asks us not to worry about our progress on the spiritual path, because worry is also resistance. It is safe to say that all low vibration thinking is resistance. Remember, resistance is the attraction to your current vibrational level. Resistance resists rising in vibration. It is the desire to remain the same.

Instead of worrying about our progress on the spiritual path, today’s reading recommends simplifying the way we see the spiritual path. It says that we only have two experiences on the spiritual path—resistance and willingness—and then it asks us to let go of resistance and choose willingness at every opportunity.

Here’s an example of how that might look:

Imagine you work for a company that has been purchased by another company, and you’ve just been notified that you will be laid off in six weeks, because the new management is eliminating your department. They have offered you a severance package worth six months pay or a job in another department at 80% of your current salary. Within two weeks, you need to let them know which option you will accept.

A situation like this can lead to worry, problem-solution thinking, and confusion regarding what to do. Most people would think that type of thinking is normal under these circumstances, but most people do not have a desire for truth-realization. Staying at the same vibrational level is normal for most people.

In your case, it’s important to notice the situation has triggered resistance thinking. This is an opportunity to choose new habits instead of reverting to old conditioning.

What new habits might be useful?

See this situation as an opportunity to heal the mind of low vibration thinking, and be grateful for the opportunity to heal. If there is excessive fear or worry, rest-accept-trust is a good first step. When a sense of peace, trust or well-being returns, inquire into your thoughts to become aware of the hidden messages in them. Once you’ve seen and let go of low vibration thought patterns, accept that the future is unknown. Realize its okay that you don’t know how things will work out. With faith, abide as the observer of your own life. Stay tuned in for present moment intuition. Trust that you will know what to do at the appropriate time, and until then you do not need to know.

Life triggers lots of opportunities to cling to our old habits—our old ways of thinking and being. Each opportunity to cling to old habits is also an opportunity to choose new habits. The new habits are spiritual practices, such as:

• Rest-accept-trust
• Become clear on what you want (a.k.a., spiritual aspiration)
• Inquire into your thinking
• Let go of thinking that is not in harmony with what you want
• Contemplate inspired words, like the Thoughts of Awakening
• Stay in the present with faith
• Follow present moment intuition
• Notice unchanging awareness
• And etcetera

In the last two days, we have looked at thinking. We’ve noticed that thinking is an ongoing problem-solution mechanism. We’ve also seen that thinking resists truth realization in a number of ways. One important point from yesterday’s tip is this:

We are asked to see anything that isn’t love (life-awareness) as meaningless and valueless. Since everything is life-awareness in reality, what isn’t life-awareness?

Mental interpretation isn’t life-awareness. We are to see mental interpretation as meaningless and valueless.

Our reading and tips from the last two days have prepared us for today’s reading.

Let Go of Resistance

Today’s reading says there will be great resistance. It isn’t referring only to emotions that feel like resistance. It refers to all thinking processes that resist the truth. As yesterday’s reading revealed, that includes mental confusion, thinking about problems, trying to appear worthy, metaphysical questions, pleasure seeking, spiritual doubts and more. We do well to notice how our mind resists truth.

When we find resistance in our mind, today’s reading says to “let it go immediately in gratitude as valueless.”

What are we to be grateful for?

We are grateful that we noticed resistance as resistance, and we weren’t fooled by it as meaningful thinking.

Be Aware of Thought

Thinking happens in the mind all of the time. Interestingly, although most people believe 100% of their thoughts and their entire life is based on their thoughts, they are not aware of their thoughts.

What does it mean to be aware?

When you are aware of something, you have knowledge about it.

When we believe a thought without investigating it first, we are unaware even though the thought drives our attitudes and behaviors.

When we stop to investigate a thought—to gain knowledge about it—we become aware of the thought.

Today’s reading recommends that we take time to become aware of our thoughts, and then based on the knowledge we’ve gained, decide if we want to follow that thinking or not.

Some of the questions it guides us to ask in order to learn about a thought are:

What is this thought?

What is it saying to me?

Why am I listening to it?

Is it a thought of love?

Let’s imagine that I’m angry at a friend, and I’m thinking about ending my relationship with her. My mind says the friend takes advantage of me, and ending the relationship is the best way to take care of myself.

Let’s take that thinking into a journaling process and see if anything is revealed.

Thought: This friend takes advantage of me. The best way to take care of myself is to end my relationship with her.

What is this thought? It is a thought of self-protection. It is a defense thought.

What is it saying to me? It says that I am vulnerable. I can be the victim of someone else. My happiness and sense of worth are dependent on how she acts toward me.

Why am I listening to it? I want things to go my way in this relationship. I accused her of taking advantage of me, but I see now that I want her to be the way I want her to be. I want to manipulate her so this relationship goes the way I want it to.

Is it a thought of love? No. It is ego. I can tell because it is defensive, it includes ideas like victimhood, and I want things to go “my way.”

Once the idea has been investigated, I have knowledge about it. Now, with awareness I can decide if I value this thinking enough to end the relationship or if I want to let go of that idea.

Since truth realization is my purpose, which also means I want to let go of ego, I would choose to let go of this thinking. I would stay in the relationship and tune-in to intuition more.

(Note: Other types of inquiry like Root Cause Inquiry and Byron Katie’s “The Work” are also effective ways to become aware of thought.)

I recommend printing this tip for future reference.

Today’s reading is full of helpful pointers.

Prayer

Prayer is typically defined as a request for something or an expression of gratitude for something. NTI says that prayer is the unceasing act of thought. In other words, through our thinking we are constantly asking for things or expressing gratitude for things. (And remember, what we are grateful for increases.)

As an example, let’s pretend that I worry about money a lot. Worry is a low vibrational option. By focusing on a low vibration (worry), I am praying for a low vibration experience.

As far as experience goes, it would be much better to trust that all is well, regardless of the current appearance.

However, today’s teaching in NTI reaches even higher than that. Today’s teaching says that with each thought I am praying for nothing or everything. NTI would define any experience that reinforces the idea that I am a person as “nothing,” because it reinforces the untrue.

Today’s reading recommends praying for everything by laying personal thinking aside and contemplating the Holy Spirit’s thoughts. The Holy Spirit’s thoughts are really ways of being. Specifically, those ways of being are:

Forgiveness – Watching one’s self to notice the current vibration of thought. Letting go of low vibration thinking.

Love – In this case, love is a childlike trust and innocence (opposite of the I-know mind), coupled with following intuitive guidance unquestionably.

Acceptance – Content with what is as it is without seeking more or different.

Gratitude – Specifically, gratitude for being. Paying attention to awareness because one wants to pay attention to awareness is an example of gratitude.

Rejoicing – Causeless happiness, happiness for being. This is the pinnacle of acceptance and gratitude.

The Extension of Love

Today’s reading says, “Your Father is the extension of Love.” In this context, love is defined as life-awareness, which is the First Principle of God. When NTI says that our Father is the extension of Love, it means that life-awareness is the only present reality.

We are asked to see anything that isn’t love (life-awareness) as meaningless and valueless. Since everything is life-awareness in reality, what isn’t life-awareness?

Mental interpretation isn’t life-awareness. We are to see mental interpretation as meaningless and valueless.

In other words, ego-judgment is meaningless and valueless. Worry is meaningless and valueless. Desire (seeking more) is meaningless and valueless. Condemning one’s self is meaningless and valueless. Regretting the past is meaningless and valueless. Jealousy and envy are meaningless and valueless. And etcetera.

Resistance

NTI defines resistance as “nothing more than your desire to keep things the same.” Resistance is the attraction to one’s current vibrational level, whatever that vibration level is. It comes from the mental idea that the known is safer than the unknown.

Today’s reading will list ways that we unknowingly listen to resistance and maintain our current vibrational level. Pay close attention to that list. It might be helpful to take notes as you read the list. Write down specific examples of how you’ve listened to resistance recently without realizing it. For example, when you read, “[Resistance] gives you things to do that must be done if you are to be seen as worthy by the outside world,” a person might write a list of things s/he does in order to avoid being judged by others.

Taking the time to make this list specific to you is helpful, because it will help you see all the ways you are maintaining your current vibrational level. After making the list, it’s helpful to ask inner intuition, “What do you want to say to me now that I’ve seen this?”

Safety and Security

Everyone desires safety and security. No reasonable and loving spiritual teacher would ever encourage anyone to take an action that would put him/her at risk. (Unfortunately, “magical” spiritual thinking does put people at risk. A good spiritual teacher will discourage “magical” spiritual thinking. Examples of magical spiritual thinking include not going to the doctor when something appears wrong with the body, driving the car with one’s eyes closed, not taking wise precautions with wildlife, and etcetera.)

At the same time, the vast majority of thinking about safety and security is ego, and its only real purpose is to maintain the ego. One who listens to ego’s thinking about safety and security may manage a temporary sense of security through listening to that thinking, but since the ego is a problem-solution mechanism, that sense of security will not last. Even if one attains great financial wealth, which was the ego’s plan for safety and security, one will worry about maintaining that wealth or will start to worry about other types of security such as health, beauty, power, popularity or belonging.

There is no lasting security with the ego. The only way to reach a permanent sense of security is awakening to reality.

What is it for?

Today’s reading encourages us to ask, “What is it for?” whenever we use time for anything. The question is a tool for discernment, not self-condemnation. We may ask, “What is it for?” and find an egoic reason driving what we are doing. Then, we might change what we are doing or we might simply adjust our reasoning.

For example, I just got back from 5 days alone in La Veta. Let’s imagine I got there in my little cabin and then asked, “What is this for?” Let’s imagine that I noticed I wanted to escape my busy lifestyle. I sensed a judgment and a need for things to be different in my desire to escape. I realized ego brought me to the cabin.

After seeing this, I could then ask, “What do I really want?” That question will realign my intention with my heart. I would realize that I want to embrace my life as it is and let go of thinking that judges my life as unsatisfactory. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean I need to leave the cabin. With clarity, I then ask for current moment guidance, and I follow that, whatever it is.

Sometimes we may be guided to change what we are doing if ego drove us to do it. Other times, we may be guided to change the reason for doing what we are doing. If one asks for clarity and guidance with self-honesty and with awakening as his/her purpose, one can trust the outcome of asking, “What is this for?” and “What do I want?”

We have been asked to surrender. Today’s reading shares tips on how to surrender effectively.

Guidance is Now

Guidance is the highest vibrational option available in the current moment. It’s important to realize this. People often want to seek guidance about some point in the future or about some imaginary problem. Guidance has nothing to do with future possibilities or imaginary problems. Guidance is the highest vibrational choice available now about now. Pay attention for current guidance, and the future will take care of itself.

Problems and Solutions

The thinking mind and the ego are synonymous—two different terms pointing to the same phenomenon. The ego maintains its sense of existence by creating problems and resolving them. It is a problem-solution mechanism.

Most humans believe that thinking is the way to solve a problem. What they usually don’t see is the same mechanism that solves problems, creates new problems as soon as old ones are resolved. There is no end to the mind’s problems, because if the mind ever ceased creating problems, the ego would cease to be.

When this ongoing problem-solution loop is seen clearly, one realizes that peace will never be found with the mind. It promises peace as it encourages you to think through the current problem, but it never delivers on that promise. Instead, it delivers a new problem. The only way to be free of the mind’s ongoing problem-solution madness is to stop listening to the mind. That’s the purpose of surrender, which is living by intuition instead of by thinking.

The Pitfall of Questioning Guidance

Whenever we seek for the current highest vibrational option, one is present. One is always present. By looking for it, we find it. However, the mistake that many people make is questioning that option once they’ve seen it. For example, “Am I sure this is the best option for me? Maybe I should …”

When we question the option that is provided through intuition, we reengage the thinking mind. Since the thinking mind wants to be engaged, it is happy to respond by giving you plenty to think about. Through questioning intuition’s answer, the thinking mind continues to thrive.

Oops, I Did it Again

Anyone who is learning to follow guidance will forget to tune within sometimes. Living by thinking is a strong habit, and so we all fall back on that habit repeatedly during the learning process. What are we to do when we discover that we’ve relied on thinking again? As soon as we notice, ask intuition, “What am I to do now?” As stated earlier, a current highest vibrational option is always present. That includes now, even after forgetting to be tuned in intuitively for a time.

See that Thinking is a Mess

Today’s reading asks you to watch the thinking process and see what it is. Typically, we just think of it as ‘me’ or ‘my thoughts’, so we don’t look to see what thinking is really doing.

Watch to see what happens in your thinking today. Some of the things you might find in thinking include:

• Desiring something that you don’t have.
• Wanting to change something that you do have.
• Thinking about problems.
• Replaying old conversations or imagining future conversations.
• Narrating what you are doing, just so thinking can reemphasize the “I” concept over and over. For example, “I think I’ll take my umbrella with me today. It might rain, and I don’t want to get wet.”
• Questioning whether you are happy with such-and-such or so-and-so (such as a job, a home or a partner.)
• Constantly self-assessing and judging yourself, either favorably or unfavorably
• Defining how you want to be seen by others, and then thinking about things you can do, or should avoid, in order to be seen that way.
• Thinking about what you think others think of you.
• Worrying about financial security or some other sense of security, such as health, beauty, power, popularity or belonging.
• And etcetera.

Yesterday, we saw that although the true Self is present and pure, it is still helpful to purify the mind. Today’s reading recommends purification too, which it calls “healing.” It reminds us that in order to heal (purify the mind), we must replace old habits with new habits, especially with the new habit of surrender.

Although we have been asked to teach, today we are asked to see ourselves as students. Our teacher is the combined wisdom of NTI and inner spiritual intuition. In NTI, these two are referred to using the Judeo-Christian symbol, “Holy Spirit.” Remember what NTI Luke 4 said about the Holy Spirit:

Jesus came out of the desert a teacher, but the one who taught through him was the Holy Spirit. This is the same one that teaches you now, so that no time has elapsed since Jesus seemed to teach until the time that I am teaching you now.

In other words, your inner teacher is the one who taught Jesus. It is also the one that Jesus became as he merged with the inner teacher. That means Jesus is your teacher too.

It is one teacher that has led everyone who has ever awakened. Everyone who has ever awakened dissolved into the one teacher, so they are the teacher too.

Today, the teacher asks you to adopt two new perspectives:

1. Be grateful for every circumstance in your life as an opportunity to learn and to practice.
2. Keep the Holy Sprit’s Word foremost in your mind throughout the day.

I would like to echo the importance of these two recommendations.

When I was going through the purification stage, I was ‘religious’ about seeing every circumstance as an opportunity for my healing and as an opportunity to listen within for the highest vibrational option (guidance). Each upsetting circumstance was an opportunity not to react from my old conditioning, including my beliefs, fears and desires. Instead, each circumstance was an opportunity to find peace by letting go of old conditioning.

I cannot emphasize how helpful it is to see one’s life as a setup for healing, as if every detail is put in place to help you awaken. That is its purpose. See every person as an actor, who plays a role perfectly so you can purify your mind and awaken to who you are.

It’s also really beneficial to develop the habit of keeping inner wisdom in the forefront of the mind. This is why we use the Thoughts of Awakening. Each day there is a new thought from inner wisdom for us to read and mull over many times throughout the day.

Have you developed that habit yet?

If not, are you willing to give it more effort now?

Over the past couple of weeks, we have looked at vibrational choices. We have seen that you can maintain your current vibrational level or raise your vibrational level by the choices you make.

Today, we see that our vibrational level affects the vibrational level of the whole. In NTI Luke 9, inner spiritual wisdom asks you to be a teacher. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you will take a teaching role in the world. It is a request that you consistently raise your vibrational level, thereby raising the vibrational level of the whole, by contemplating the thoughts of Spirit and by practicing the teachings in your daily life.

For some, this idea of raising the whole may lead to additional motivation to practice. It provides additional motivation for me. It provided additional motivation for Buddha. He was motivated into the jungle to seek enlightenment when he discovered the suffering of sickness, old age and death. He wanted to find the answer to suffering for everyone. His motivation came from compassion for the whole.

Consider these quotes:

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. ~ Jesus referring to himself, Mark 10:45

Your own Self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world. ~ Ramana Maharshi

True compassion is seeing the suffering in the world, and then choosing to sacrifice one’s own ego in order to raise the vibration of the whole. It is as Jesus said:

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ~ John 15:13

Today’s reading also says, “You are the Christ, … Christ is your true Self.”

Christ is synonymous with consciousness, the Second Principle of God. The reading’s focus on consciousness as the inner Light is a reminder that, although we’ve been focused on purification and raising our vibrational level, the true Self is present and pure now.

If the true Self is pure, why go through purification?

To purify the mind.

Is that necessary, since the true Self is already pure?

The best way to awaken to the true Self is to do two things simultaneously:

Purify the mind of conditioning, false beliefs, desires and fears, and  focus on awareness (e.g., awareness-watching-awareness).

When you focus on awareness, you can see that it is already pure. It is not the mind. However, as long as the mind causes suffering, mental purification is necessary too.