The world is a reflection of the mind. That statement is true in two ways:

1. The scenes of the world are created through the creative principle based on the believing-attention that consciousness gives to thought.
2. The scenes of the world are interpreted through the filter of the individual mind.

The world is seen and experienced with clarity when there isn’t mental chatter. Inspiration shines through the mind that is not blocked by mental chatter, and it looks out on a world of miraculous beauty. The things that were important to the mind blocked by chatter, aren’t important to the clear mind. Although the person may still work in the same way and face the same daily challenges, she is happy, because she lives and works amid the spontaneous magnificence of consciousness.

Here’s a story that illustrates this:

St. Francis traveled from Assisi to Rome to get the Pope’s approval, so that his order of friars would be legitimized in the eyes of the church. This could have been seen as an important journey, one that could end in success or failure. In fact, it could have gone very wrong. Francis could have been arrested as a heretic and thrown into the Vatican’s dungeon.

One who listened to mental chatter would have had quite a bit to worry about on this trip. And once the approval was given, one focused on mental chatter might have big plans to focus on and talk about with his fellow travelers. You may be able to imagine what this journey could have been like if mental chatter was active in Francis’ mind.

Here’s a poem by St. Francis, which illuminates his experience of that journey to and from Rome:

A bird took flight.
And a flower in a field whistled at me
as I passed.

I drank from a stream of clear water.
And at night, the sky untied her hair
and I fell asleep clutching a tress of God’s.

When I returned from Rome, all said,
“Tell us the great news,”
and with great excitement I did:

“A flower in a field whistled,
and at night the sky untied her hair and
I fell asleep clutching
a sacred tress …”

Francis lived in the moment—in the miracle.

The world is seen and experienced with clarity when there isn’t mental chatter. Inspiration shines through the mind that is not blocked by mental chatter, and it looks out on a world of magnificence and beauty.

Please read Revelation 18:1-3 in the Bible before reading today’s reading in NTI.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

Today’s reading is about the obstacle to truth. It refers to the obstacle as the belief in separation. The Teachings of Inner Ramana refers to it as the “I-thought.” It is also commonly called the ego.

What is the belief in separation, which is the I-thought and the ego? It is mental chatter.

What is the belief in separation?
It is mental chatter

What is the I-thought?
It is mental chatter.

What is the ego?
It is mental chatter.

You can see this for yourself if you pay close attention to the mental chatter in your mind. Mental chatter is all about “me” and “you” or “us” and “them.” It’s about what “I” think, what “I” want, and what “I” don’t want. Mental chatter is  the belief in separation. Mental chatter is  the I-thought. Mental chatter is  the ego.

In other words, the belief in separation isn’t one belief buried somewhere in mental chatter. Mental chatter itself  is the belief in separation.

The I-thought isn’t merely the words “I” or “me” in the mind. All mental chatter is the I-thought.

The ego isn’t some aspect of mental chatter, while part of mental chatter is benign or “my real thoughts.” The ego and mental chatter are synonymous. They are the same thing.

One reason the ego is able to deceive people so easily is because most spiritual aspirants define the ego as some thoughts or some qualities of thought, and they continue listening to other thoughts or other qualities of thought as if they aren’t ego.

All mental chatter is ego. There’s no such thing as truth in mental chatter. When you give believing-attention to mental chatter, you give believing-attention to ego.

Very few people have awakened to absolute truth, because very few people have disregarded mental chatter completely. The seventh step to awakening is disregarding mental chatter completely, regardless of what it says now.

One idea that keeps people listening to mental chatter, even when they want to let go of ego, is:

Something or someone will suffer if I do not listen to the ideas in my mind.

For example:

My children will suffer.

My work will suffer.

My finances will suffer.

My health will suffer.

My relationships will suffer.

My safety will suffer.

Underneath all of those ideas is the idea, “I will suffer.” That is the ego’s primary deception, which is also its primary defense.

When mental chatter chatters about how you need mental chatter to get by or survive, mental chatter gets your believing-attention. In this way, mental chatter maintains its apparent existence as you.

Whenever anyone says that you need the ego somewhat, and so you cannot let go of it completely, they have fallen for this trick. They have let go of some thoughts or some qualities of thought, but they have not let go of mental chatter entirely.

Mental chatter is not needed, not even in the world. Awareness is absolute intelligence. One who abides as awareness knows what to say and what to do in every circumstance. The intelligence of awareness is far superior to the feigned “intelligence” of mental chatter.

Let’s look at the difference between mental chatter and using the brain to think.

Compared to other animals, humans have large brains. The purpose of the human brain is survival. Awareness programs the brain so it can be used as an effective survival instrument. This programming is commonly called “learning.” For example, you learned language, math, computer skills, how to drive, how to ride a bike and much, much more. All of this is programmed into your brain.

Some of what is programmed into your brain is so deeply programmed that you no longer have to “think” about it. For example, you seldom have to think about words. You just use them. You don’t have to think about how to ride a bike. You simply get on a bike and ride.

However, when you are presented with a new situation, you have to “think” about it. If you pay close attention to the “thinking” that is necessary, it is awareness. Awareness pays attention to what is being learned, and it programs the learning into the brain. Awareness also sorts through previous programming to see if something is useful in the current situation. If so, it forms a relationship in the brain between the new programming and the prior programming.

What I have just described is not mental chatter. Mental chatter is different than the brainwork I just described. For example, when a new situation is present, mental chatter may say any of the following:

I’m never going to figure this out.

Why did Jane put that there? Now I have to undo everything she did!

I’m right. John’s wrong. I’ve got to convince him to do this my way.

Everything is always going wrong. How am I ever going to get ahead?

When I get this done, I will be able to do that. Then things will open up, and I can ….

Once I get this figured out, everyone will see how smart I am, and then they will listen to me more.

I didn’t expect this. I thought that since we did that, this would work out the way we planned.

I’m not going to blame Sally for this. I’m going to forgive her. I’ll be really nice next time I see her, and then she’ll see that I am spirit-guided.

I have to do everything around here. No one else is as committed as I am.

And Etcetera.

Mental chatter is the belief in separation. It is the I-thought. It is the ego.

Look at the previous examples of mental chatter and notice the belief in separation, the I-thought and the ego in those ideas.

Mental chatter is not thinking. Mental chatter serves no useful purpose at all. It can be let go completely.

If you paid attention to your thoughts on Day 277, you probably saw several comments that came from mental chatter as you read Revelation 8. (If you didn’t see any chatter, it’s likely you believed chatter without noticing it.)

Step 7 in the awakening process is seeing mental chatter without giving it believing-attention. Seeing it without believing it is disregarding it. (When it is not seen, it is believed by default.)

Please read NTI Revelation 17:1-6 in the Bible before reading today’s reading in NTI.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

Today’s reading tells us how to use meditation to awaken.

First, let’s look at how we keep the illusion alive. We keep the illusion alive with believing-attention. We keep the illusion alive by believing thoughts, emotions and perceptions and giving them our attention.

Since giving believing-attention keeps the illusion alive, not giving  believing-attention allows the illusion to fade away. And that is the purpose of meditation.

During meditation, you close your eyes and ignore thoughts, emotions and perception. You keep attention still, focused on awareness, without chasing after movement. This stillness doesn’t stop movement; it just doesn’t give movement any attention. In this way, movement is allowed to move through, out and away, until only stillness remains.

Today’s reading shares a few tips to help you keep attention still, focused on awareness, instead of being caught up in thought or emotion during meditation. It says:

When you notice a belief in illusions, ask where your faith is now. Faith comes from desire. … In questioning your faith, you remember your desire. In remembering desire, you loosen your grip on belief.

In other words, when thoughts arise and your attention goes to them, ask yourself, “What do I really want?” or “What is my purpose?” or “Why am I here?” or any other question that reminds you how much you want to remain focused on awareness and awaken. When you remember how much you want to remain focused on awareness and awaken, you naturally recall attention from thought, and place it with awareness again.

Fear sometimes occurs during meditation, especially as you progress from a familiar stage of meditation to a new stage or new level. When fear arises, notice that the mind is judging the experience. Again, remind yourself how much you want to remain focused on awareness and awaken. Let the movement of fear be—do not interfere with it; gently place attention on awareness, and remain there.

The scene from Little Buddha  that we watched on Day 280 is a good symbol of remaining still in meditation, regardless of what arises, in order to awaken.

You do not need to read from Revelation in the Bible today. Go directly to the reading in NTI.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

On Day 275, we learned about the seven steps to awakening (as those steps are described in NTI). As a review, those steps are:

Step 1– An intense desire for awakening.

Step 2– Seeing through the ‘mask’ of ferociousness (attack, grievance, harshness) to the false beliefs that support and sustain it.

Step 3– Tiring of judgment.

Step 4– Letting go of the belief that life is temporary, which is also letting go of the belief that the body-mind-personality is your reality.

Step 5– Learning to trust all that is as it is.

Step 6– Letting go of perception, which is letting go of thought as me.

Step 7– Giving no meaning to anything the ego says or any experience you have as the ego dies its final death.

 
If you examine these steps carefully, you will see that they are not necessarily sequential.

The steps can be circular in nature, like a spiral of awakening.
 
 
 
Yesterday’s reading said:

Do not make the mistake of seeing the harvest as an event in your future, for always the harvest is now. … Always, it is now, so always, it is time to let go of judgment and look at the darkness hiding in the recesses of the mind.

The harvest and the spiral of awakening are one and the same. That means:

Now is the time to increase your desire for awakening.

Now is the time to look beneath upsets for false beliefs.

Now is the time to notice that judgment causes you pain.

Now is the time to practice awareness-watching-awareness.

Now is the time to nurture unconditional trust.

Now is the time to let go of identifying with thought.

Now is the time to give no meaning to the ego as it squirms about seeking believing-attention.

A spiral of awakening is a helpful symbol, because it helps us see that we may not be “done” with a particular step, but that we visit it over and over again as we spiral into awakening. It’s a helpful symbol for another reason too. Humans are not necessarily comfortable with a spiral. They tend to be more comfortable with a sense of control. So, the spiral of awakening helps us understand the feeling of resistance that arises as we go through the awakening process.

Remember that the spiral of awakening awakens us to joy, clarity, love and reality. When you feel the urge to cling to something and fight against the spiral, remember that the spiral carries you into awakening. Rest, release and allow.

Here is a song that may help you remember this advice:

Read Revelation 15:5-8 in the Bible before reading today’s reading in NTI.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

Yesterday we saw that our belief in guilt (wrong) supports our habit of judgment, and our habit of judgment keeps us locked in the idea that we are a person. Through judgment, we see ourselves as a person in a world. We do not see everything as consciousness. This is why judgment is called the “building block of illusion.”

Today’s reading refers to “God’s judgment.” In this context, “God’s judgment” is seeing consciousness as consciousness. It is seeing as God (as consciousness). That’s why today’s reading says:

The hour of God’s judgment is the hour of your release.

Near the end of St. Francis’ life, he went to the La Verna hermitage in Tuscany, north of Assisi. According to one biographer, he climbed Mt. Verna:

“as though he were pulled along by an inner voice that kept calling out to him. He knew that something out of the ordinary was beginning to take shape within him among these mountain boulders. …

“Francis felt the need to be alone, not in order to avoid people, but in order to see and touch his God in an experience that he already knew from his premonition would be new and exceptional. …

“Francis once again wanted to come in contact with the ‘judgment of God.’” ~ Gianmaria Polidoro

Was the event at La Verna, which is traditionally referred to as the physical stigmata, actually the final end of the ego? One can only wonder, although the possibility of it is inspirational.

Remember what we learned on Day 273:

All of consciousness is one and the same, so if Jesus (or Siddhartha or Francis) or any other being can realize absolute truth, you can too. You are fully worthy and fully capable. All that is needed is an absolute decision and commitment-living-practice to back up that decision.

Today’s reading continues to interpret Revelation with the right-mind, and so you will read a little from Revelation in the Bible today. As you read from Revelation and from NTI today, keep in mind that you are being taught how to live your everyday life in a way that lets go of ego. By living your everyday life in the way NTI Revelation recommends, you can transcend the ego completely and come to see through the eyes of God.

Today’s reading says:

When you fear death, realize the judge has been allowed to be resurrected.

That means you are thinking like a person again; you see yourself as a body-mind-personality, and so you think body-mind-personality is primary and life is secondary. To reverse this error, shift into awareness-watching-awareness. Through awareness-watching-awareness, you see for yourself that life-awareness is primary and body-mind-personality is secondary. You see that body-mind-personality is observed. Body, mind and personality are objects. You are beyond them.

Before reading from NTI, read Revelation 14:8-12 from the Bible. Note: Today’s reading refers to the lessons that are represented by the 144,000. You can review those lessons in NTI Revelation, Chapter 7.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

Yesterday we learned that we transcend the temptations that occur during the seventh step to awakening by learning to make choices with inner intuition. This is hard for most humans, because most humans make decisions through judgment.

Today, we are going to learn more about judgment. By examining judgment carefully, we will learn to notice it more easily in ourselves. Then, when we notice we are making a decision by using judgment, we can drop our judgment, empty our mind, and ask within for intuitive guidance.

Today, you will use the tip differently. The tip will guide you through the reading and through a journaling experience. See today’s tip as a teacher who is telling you what to do when. As you complete each step, return to the tip to find out what you are to do next.

1. Read Revelation 13:1-4 in the Bible.
2. Read NTI Revelation, Chapter 13 (v1-4), and then return to the tip.

When NTI says, “The beast that comes out of the sea is your judgment against your Self,” it means it is your judgment against consciousness. Whenever you judge anything, you judge consciousness, because all things are made of consciousness.

Most people can let go of judgment in some situations, but very few people are willing to let go of judgment in all situations. However, whenever we rely on judgment, we identify with the mind as “me,” because we believe its thoughts are “my thoughts.” That means whenever we judge anything, we believe we are a person and we do not see ourselves as consciousness.

Therefore, as we learned in NTI Romans 2, judgment is the “building block of illusion.” Through judgment, we believe that we are what we are not.

3. Read NTI Revelation, Chapter 13 (v5-10), and then return to the tip.

You are about to do a journaling exercise. In this exercise, you will ask for a right-minded interpretation of the verses you are about to read from the Bible. As you read, realize that the beast is Self-judgment, which is judging anything since everything is consciousness. So, when the Bible says, “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies,” it means that Self-judgment is not limited. It is not limited regarding what it judges or how it judges.

If you look at the judgments in your mind, you will see this is true. Self-judgment is very active and very creative.

Before going to the journaling exercise, let’s review how to open up to right-minded interpretation:

Step back.
Detach from what your mind thinks.
Look at the whole as it is.
Feel within for intuition.

4. Read Revelation 13:5-10 in the Bible, and then ask to see what you need to see regarding Self-judgment. After you complete your journaling, return to the tip.
5. Read Revelation 13:11,12 in the Bible.
6. Read NTI Revelation, Chapter 13 (v11,12).

NTI says that the second beast is guilt, and guilt supports judgment. In other words, as long as you believe in guilt (wrong), you believe you need judgment. You think judgment keeps you safe and provides guidance on how to be good and worthy.

In order to let go of judgment, you also have to let go of the belief in guilt. When this happens, right and wrong or good and bad are replaced with a way of seeing that is often described as, “Everything is just happening.” Manifestation is seen as unfolding based on what consciousness believes, but it is not seen as good or bad, right or wrong. It’s just a reflection of beliefs.

This is how Jesus saw when he said:

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

It is as we learned through NTI Acts 3:

Ignorance is not guilt. It is a call for knowledge.

7. Read NTI Revelation, Chapter 13 (v13-18).
8. Read Revelation 13:13-18 in the Bible, and then ask to see what you need to see regarding your belief in guilt (wrong).

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

Yesterday we learned that the seventh step to awakening can occur over a long period of time and can look like everyday life. Today’s reading provides guidance about how to transcend the temptations that occur during the seventh step. That guidance is to make choices carefully. That means we need to live reflectively, learning to always check in with inner intuition before making any choice in our daily life.

Before reading today’s reading in NTI, please read Revelation 12:1-6 in the Bible.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

In some dramatic stories, it seems as if the seventh step of awakening is transcended all at once. For example, watch this scene from the movie, Little Buddha, and then continue reading the tip below:

In this scene, it appears as if the final temptations of the ego came all at once, in one short meditation, and were transcended by Siddhartha as he watched everything without believing it. It looks as if the seventh step was transcended in only a few hours or less.

For most of us, however, the seventh step stretches over a period of time. It can last many years. It doesn’t occur in one dramatic meditation. It occurs more slowly through everyday life. During this time, the ego can be very deceptive. Most people fall for its deception easily.

In order to transcend the temptations that occur during the seventh step, one must want awakening more than anything else. It is as we learned through NTI Revelation 6:

The first of the seven seals on the scroll of Life represents that which must always come first. The rider of the white horse “bent on conquest” represents full dedication to the true desire of the heart.

Today’s reading asks us to feel within and notice our desire for awakening. How strong is it truthfully? How much resistance still remains? What other goals do we want to accomplish more than we want awakening?

We aren’t looking at ourselves today in order to condemn ourselves. We simply want to be honest. If awakening is at all important to us, self-honesty is also important. If our desire for awakening is not strong enough to see us through the seventh step, it is good to focus on increasing our desire for awakening.

It’s just as we learned from Michael Langford in Gentle Healing Year 1:

Awakening the extremely intense desire for Liberation is the most important first step that can be taken towards being liberated here and now in this lifetime. …

Of all of the factors that determine whether you will or will not be free, the intensity or lack of intensity of your desire for liberation is the most essential factor.

Therefore, whatever you can do to most effectively increase your desire for liberation should be done.

Today, take the opportunity to look honestly at your desire for awakening, and then ask for guidance about how you can increase that desire. Be willing to follow the guidance you receive. Often, people receive absolutely perfect guidance, but then they go about their daily lives and do not follow the guidance they received.

Remember what we learned through NTI James 1:

Do not merely listen to My words without practicing what I say. To listen, but not to practice, is to be like a man who looks in the mirror, but then goes away and forgets what he saw.

Before reading today’s reading in NTI, please read the Revelation 11:1-12 in the Bible.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.