Before sharing a tip about today’s reading, I would like to review the following definitions:

Judgment– Comparing, and then favoring or rejecting. An example of ego judgment is comparing two possible solutions to a problem, and then choosing one solution over another.

Discernment– Comparing, and then favoring or rejecting. The difference between judgment and discernment is its purpose. The purpose of discernment is to reject ego and favor truth or ideas that point toward truth. An example of discernment is noticing that your mind is filled with worry about a particular situation, choosing to let go of (reject) worry and trust (favor) all is well even though you are facing the unknown.

Intuition– A feeling or sense that guides one to make sensible decisions without using judgment. The hallmark of intuition is the feeling to do or not do something without having mental reasons. An example of intuition is having the feeling to stop what you are doing and call a friend on the phone.

Guidance – Following the highest vibrational choice that is currently available. An example of guidance is the prompt to stop thinking and give your full attention to a friend who is speaking.

Resistance– Habitual or willful avoidance of change. Specifically, ego resistance avoids a rise in vibrational level, and it avoids awakening, which is the end of ego. An example of resistance is choosing to defend one’s way of thinking.

Willingness– Open to change. Specifically, spiritual willingness is open to change in order to achieve one’s spiritual aspiration. An example of willingness is being open to letting go of problem-solution thinking, because you realize that thinking is ego.

Today’s reading is about fear. From time-to-time, great fear can come over us as we move forward on the spiritual path. As today’s reading says:

Great fear is nothing more than great resistance.
And so the means for overcoming great fear is great willingness.
Great willingness comes from remembering what you want.

I have had several experiences of great fear that were directly related to my decision to awaken in this lifetime. In hindsight, I can see that fear was a loud cry from the ego-mind to avoid a change that would result in less ego control over me. If I had listened to fear, I would have remained an ego-controlled being. By choosing not to listen to fear, I took a step towards freedom.

Again, I can see that now, in hindsight. However, when I was in a situation of fear, that wasn’t so easy to see. The ego-mind screamed that I was heading for impending disaster. It shouted ever-so-convincingly that I needed to listen to it in order to be safe.

What did I do?

I used discernment to see ego as ego. I remembered that I wanted my spiritual aspiration above anything else, including safety, and then I focused on my willingness to follow-through with guidance and avoid falling prey to resistance. Rest-accept-trust was a key practice until the fear subsided.

Today’s reading says:

[When fear is strong,] this is a time for accepting that the world is not real.

I found that to be very important whenever great fear hit, because fear tempts us with everything that we’ve believed up until that point in our lives. In order to withstand fear, we need the willingness to trust that everything we have believed is mistaken. Without that faith, it might not be possible to resist the incredibly sly arguments thrown at us by the ego-mind.

There is one more thing that I found very helpful whenever I was faced with great fear:

Be okay with feeling fear.

Fear is one of the most unpleasant emotions that can arise in the human experience. Most humans will do almost anything to avoid feeling fear. That’s why the ego-mind uses fear to try and control us when we are on the verge of breaking free. It knows how much we dislike fear, and it knows that when all else fails, it can control us with fear. If we remain like most humans, who will do anything to avoid fear, the ego will control us with fear. If our goal is to avoid fear, as soon as fear arises, the ego-mind will provide a suggestion about how we can get out of fear, and we will listen. Again, we will listen if our goal is to avoid fear.

That’s why it’s important to be okay with fear. If I am willing to tolerate the feeling of fear when it’s with me, and if I maintain my spiritual aspiration as my goal, the ego cannot use fear to control me.

Fear is just a feeling. It’s an energy running through the body. It is entirely possible to watch the feeling of fear with awareness and notice that fear is nothing to be afraid of. When we learn to be with fear without fearing it, we take a giant step towards freedom, because one of the ego’s greatest weapons against our freedom is now ineffective.

Note: It may be useful to print this tip so it can be accessed easily when it’s needed.

Thoughts of Awakening # 89

To let go of illusion,
let go of your thoughts
that judge the experience.

Experience the experience
and do not deny it,
but also do not categorize it
or make decisions about what it is.

Observe your experience
in innocence and curiosity,
realizing that innocence is
a fresh and undecided point of view.

~From our Holy Spirit

Join us at 10:15 am ET/ 8:15 am MT for Our Weekly Sunday Gathering with Rev. Gloria Wells

 

*Weekly gathering is held every Sunday morning at 10:15 am ET/8:15 am MT in the Awakening Together Sanctuary. Join us after the Gathering for our Fellowship Time, hosted by Rev. George Maddox.

Enter Sanctuary Here

 

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Join us at 1:30 pm ET/ 11:30 am MT for Freedom Practice Sangha

This will be a time of sharing our inquiries, insights, and challenges, listening to others, or just knowing that we are in community as we find that undefended place within ourselves that longs to be free. This program will be facilitated by Anne Blanchard. She also will be acting as admin since this is the time the Sanctuary Director normally takes a break.

 

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Join us at 2:30 pm ET/ 12:30 pm MT for Qigong “The Movement of Now” with Ian McArthur

In this program, we will learn the traditional Mind, Body, and Spirit practice of Qigong (Chi Kung). Qi meaning life energy, referring to the energy circulating through the body, and Gong meaning cultivation or work. The two words are combined to describe a practice to cultivate and balance life energy. By following movements (forms) and a simple breathing technique, we encourage more Qi to flow which in turn allows us to feel more peaceful and at One with ourselves.

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Join us at 5:00 pm ET/ 3:00 pm MT for The Mighty Companions

Revs. Glen Ganaway and Yolanda Mapes, who are interfaith ministers, share a delightful, funny and inspiring hour of A Course in Miracles. Come join in on the fun, the laughs, and the music while unlearning the ego through the lessons and chapters of ACIM.

 

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Join us at 6:00 pm ET/ 4:00 pm MT for Something Genuine with Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert

Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert facilitates this program, in which Awakening Together members and friends join together to watch and discuss TED talks that reveal the Truth of ourselves and our universe based on the actual experience of ordinary people. Their insights are genuine—not based upon theory or dogma—and give us a “man on the street” perspective on what we are coming to learn through Awakening Together.

 

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Join us at 7:00 pm ET/ 5:00 pm MT for The Guiding Light with Rev. Regina Dawn Akers

Regina Dawn Akers reads selections from the book Perfect Brilliant Stillness by David Carse. The purpose of this inspired book study is to learn to stop focusing on words and concepts. Look where the pointers point! Be still and realize Perfect Brilliant Stillness just as it is. Join Regina as she dives deep into this enlightened book study which isn’t a book study at all! Here’s a link to the book here: Get the book for free

 

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Join us at 7:30 pm ET/ 5:30 pm MT for an Awakening Together Satsang with Andrew Harvey

Join us for a live Satsang with Andrew Harvey as he discusses his latest book RADICALREGENERATION: Birthing the New Human in the Age of Extinction which was co-written with Carolyn Baker.

Andrew Harvey is an internationally acclaimed writer, poet, translator, and mystical teacher. He is the author of over 40 books, including Son of Man, The Hope, Way of Passion, Turn Me to Gold, and Savage Grace co-wrote with Carolyn Baker. He has taught all over the world, given over 20 courses for The Shift Network, and is the founder of the Institute for Sacred Activism. His website is:  https://www.andrewharvey.net/meet-andrew

Lin Castaldo and Anne Blanchard will be interviewing Andrew Harvey.

Confusion

People often experience confusion during the awakening process, especially during the purification phase. One way to explain confusion is to say it is the ego’s defense against truth. However, let’s look more specifically at what’s really going on when we experience confusion.

Our old way of understanding things is mental. We think about something, and then we understand it.

With truth, it’s different. We can’t understand truth by thinking about it. Understanding comes from seeing, which is different than thinking.

When we begin to live by the new habits of the spiritual path, we begin to have moments of seeing. In those moments, clarity comes, and we feel clear. However, when we step back into the old habit of thinking, what was clear becomes muddled again, because we are no longer seeing, we are thinking.

As we learn to think about truth less and rely on seeing more, we experience less confusion and more clarity.

What is Seeing?

Seeing is the result of being in the right-mind, just like thinking is the result of being in the wrong-mind. You cannot see with the wrong-mind. The wrong-mind is blind and cannot see.

In order to see more consistently:

1. Discern between the wrong-mind and the right-mind.
2. Let go of the wrong-mind simply because it is the wrong-mind.
3. Maintain a way of being that is in harmony with the right-mind.

When we maintain a way of being that is in harmony with the right-mind, we see naturally.

How to Recognize the Wrong-Mind

The wrong-mind can be recognized by specific characteristics, including:

• Ideas of less than and better than, desired and undesired
• Ideas of good and bad, should be and shouldn’t be
• Perceptions of guilt, victimhood and blame
• Spinning, struggling or habitual thinking
• Conflicted feelings or perceiving conflict
• Anger, hatred, attacking thoughts
• Feeling or perceiving rejection
• Fear, worry, uneasiness
• Defensiveness
• Confusion

Whenever you inquire into an upset and find any of these characteristics at the core of your thinking or at the root of your perception, it means you are in the wrong-mind. That alone is a good reason to drop your way of thinking. Move into rest-accept-trust and the willingness to be healed.

You can see these mistaken ideas very quickly. A long drawn out inquiry process isn’t necessary.

For example:

Imagine some friends are coming to stay with me for a couple of days. Although I am excited to see them, my mind is thrown into a frenzy thinking about the house cleaning I need to do, worrying about the meals I will prepare, and deciding and then doubting my decisions about what we will do while they are here.

Is this the wrong-mind or the right-mind?

If I look, I see  that thinking is spinning constantly. That is a characteristic of the wrong-mind.

I see  worry about the meals. Worry is a characteristic of the wrong-mind.

I see  confusion about what to do while they are here. Confusion is a characteristic of the wrong-mind.

I can journal into my thinking to get more clarity, but if I am willing to let go of the wrong-mind simply because it is the wrong-mind, I already have the clarity I need. Now, I can move into rest-accept-trust. Once I feel more settled into a sense of peace, trust or well being, I can tune into intuition and let it guide me moment-by-moment. If needed, I will maintain a more peaceful way of being by reminding myself to follow intuition one step at a time and trust that all is well.

Note: It may be helpful to print this tip for future reference.

Thoughts of Awakening # 88

You can see beyond the veil of illusion
when you see beyond ideas
to the beauty and perfection of formless life
(which ideas cover and block
with illusion).

~From our Holy Spirit

Saina guides a group of committed students through year 1 of Gentle Healing who would like to make consistent, gentle progress toward genuine peace, joy, and love. This group meets weekly on Thursdays at 6-8 pm ET and all members are committed to specific assignments and practices between group meetings.

Listen to the Audio

Please note: it may be necessary to download the audio to listen to it fully.

FunPlay for the week:

Assignment A: Workbook lessons 122-128 including Regina’s Tips. The tip should be read after reading the lesson on your own. Here’s a direct link: https://devwp.awakening-together.org/interact/gentle-healing-group/reginas-tips/

Review your visualization plan daily. Practice the “Loving All” Method.

Assignment B: Watch the Ellie Roozdar Video called Meditation with Open Eyes. It can be found in the Gentle Healing Playlist. Here’s a direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFJrQUp_RqY

Assignment C: Read NTI Hebrews, Chapters 1-7 (pgs 399-408).

Today’s reading follows up on the interpretation of the parable about The Vineyard and the Tenants, which we read on Day 85. Today’s reading uses logic to encourage us to inquire about the validity of our belief in separation, our belief in guilt, and our sense of fear.

What is validity? An idea is valid if it has a sound or well-grounded basis in logic or fact. An idea that does not meet this criterion is not valid; it is fallacious, meaning false or mistaken.

We hold onto to our belief in separation, our belief in guilt and unworthiness, and our sense of fear, because we believe they are all valid. If the Holy Spirit can lead us to inquire deeply into these ideas, we will discover they are not valid; they are fallacious. When we see for ourselves that these ideas are fallacious, we can let them go. As long as we believe they are valid, we will hold onto them. This is why inquiry is so important.

Enlightened inquiry alone leads to liberation.
~ Ramana Maharshi

Thoughts of Awakening # 87

Today is a day of rest.

Today, remember the willingness in your heart.

Remember your willingness to awaken,
to awaken to all that is as it is.

Remember your willingness to see,
to see through what seems to be
to the power that is beyond it.

~From our Holy Spirit