A universal assembly for true discernment
Anne Blanchard shares her experience of purification and awakening, unfiltered and as it happens. Raw, reflective, brave, and infused with clarity, Anne’s open honesty inspires us all to dive deep into the spiritual journey instead of simply skimming the surface. She continues to share deeply from various non-dual teachings and teachers.
In this program Anne Blanchard facilitates one of the core practices of the Awakening Together community. This program provides an opportunity to be in community with others who will to find that place of no-place, that attention to our natural attentiveness, that innate humanness that can often be overlooked. Anne Blanchard facilitates this program on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 – 8:30 am ET/5:30-6:30 am MT by leading participants through gently guided Being Aware of Awareness meditation.
All are warmly welcome.
This meditation was led by Kate Brennan.
Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert shares with honesty and passion about the ups, downs, and all-around of the spiritual journey. Jacquelyn is transparent as she shares about the impersonal awakening process we all experience. She moves us with stories from her own journey, with direct insight from inner wisdom, and with guidance from spiritual masters, both contemporary and legendary.
Rev. Helen Avery is an Awakening Together Ordained Minister. She shares weekly in our Sanctuary with a half-hour of heart-felt deep-diving into truth, love, and awareness. This candid sharing is a time when Helen explores different modalities and teachings with various non-dual teachers and how the real-life application of those particular teachings is currently showing up in her life. She shares about experiences from her path of awakening including the demonstration of how to utilize these helpful processes and spiritual tools. In her most recent Awakening journey she discusses radical truth and wisdom from teachers such as Mooji and Helen Hamilton.
Day 95 AssignmentThis evening (or tomorrow morning):
Tomorrow:
Today’s reading is very short, but its message is the crux of true spirituality. It deserves the utmost contemplation.
The problem with humanity is the belief in separation and self-centeredness. That is one problem, not two. The problem is complicated by the fact that humans do not realize it is a problem. They think separation is a fact, and they typically do not notice their own self-centeredness. The ways that humans hurt each other, themselves, animals and the planet because of this way of seeing are too numerous to list. Extreme hurt is much more common than we’d like to notice or admit. In the past, I have shared two videos—Kirtana’s “Happy Birthday Jesus” and John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas”—to help us look more honestly at the pain caused by the ego. And yet, those videos only show a tiny portion of that pain.
Ashleigh Banfield’s “Primetime Justice” on CNN Headline News often highlights news stories that show just how cruel and self-centered humans can be. If you can watch that show without judging the accused, it can be helpful to tune in on occasion as a reminder of the pain that is caused by the belief in separation and self-centeredness.
In Jesus’ time, there was just as much cruelty as there is now. Nothing has really changed in 2,000 years, which is the point of Kirtana’s song, “Happy Birthday Jesus.” That’s also the point that Michael Langford makes in his book, The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss:
For thousands of years humans have been stuck in the same pool of inward unsolved problems. Thousands of years ago humans had the problems of suffering, sorrow, anger, fear violence, conning, cheating, lying, death, etc. Today humans have the problems of suffering, sorrow, anger, fear, violence, conning, cheating, lying, death, etc. All of those problems have a single cause.
Michael Langford goes on to explain that the single cause of all of those problems is the ego. He also explains that the answer to all of those problems is the final end of the ego. It would be the same to say that the single cause of all of those problems is the belief in separation and self-centeredness. Therefore, the answer to all of those problems is the final end to the belief in separation and self-centeredness.
Note: Notice that Michael Langford says, “For thousands of years humans have been stuck with the same pool of inward unsolved problems.” The belief in separation and self-centeredness are inward unsolved problems.
In today’s reading, Jesus is asked, “Of all the commandments, which is most important?” Jesus answers with two commandments. The first addresses the belief in separation. The second addresses self-centeredness.
Instead of simply reading today’s brief excerpt from NTI, and then going on with your day, take time to contemplate the following questions. Journal with inner wisdom until you feel you have reached genuine insight.
What can I do to love God (truth, Self, awareness) to a greater extent?
What change (or changes) can I make to be less self-centered and more inclusive?
Again, seek genuine insight regarding these questions. When we reach genuine insight, we are able to feel it. It is the feeling of something new dawning on the mind, like a new realization, a new way of seeing, or a new or deeper way of understanding something that has been presented before. An insight may lead to an increase in the desire for truth realization, or it may lead to a more authentic approach to spiritual practice. If there is a dull “I-already-knew-that” feeling or a feeling of guilt associated with your answers, you have not yet reached insight.
Note: It doesn’t have to take a long time to reach insight. It’s possible that genuine insight may come quickly.
Freedom is the gift of God.
Freedom is what you are.
Freedom is your home.
Every choice is yours to make.
Every option is a celebration of your freedom.
But the choice that will bring you
peace and joy
and the knowledge of love
is the choice to know that you are
and always have been
freedom.
~From our Holy Spirit
Michael Deforbes leads a weekly meditation on Sundays during the weekly program “There Is Only One.” His meditations are inspired by non-dual teachings, direct path teachings, and Buddhist philosophy. With each meditation, Michael takes us on a journey through a non-dual perspective via teachers and traditions such as Helen Hamilton, Scott Kiloby, and Pema Chodron’s Tonglen practice. Each week a new and different meditation is shared but with the Universal theme of encountering the direct experience of Truth as The One.
Enjoy this most recent meditation!
Join us Sunday, April 25th at 8 pm ET/6 pm MT for our Movie Discussion Group, this time facilitated by Ron Raitz. We will be discussing the movie Ruby Sparks, which is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and written by Zoe Kazan.
Calvin, played by Paul Dano, is a novelist who once wrote a book, but has been unable to write another one. He goes to a therapist but it’s not helping him to write. He is also reeling from a recent break-up. He dreams of a girl who captures his attention. He writes about her and names her Ruby. One day Ruby, played by Zoe Kazan, comes to life and whenever he types about her it comes true. Calvin then struggles to reconcile his idealized vision of Ruby and her increasing independence.
The movie is available on Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu, Itunes, Google Play and other streaming services.
Playsheet coming soon!
Day 94 AssignmentThis evening (or tomorrow morning):
Tomorrow:
When we derive a portion or all of our self-image from the truth teaching that we study, the teaching is hijacked by the ego, and it is no longer effective. Instead, the teaching becomes a tool that is used by the ego to continue the ego and its illusion.
That is the meaning of the story about the vineyard, which you will find in today’s reading. The perfect vineyard is the teaching. However, the one who becomes identified with the teaching turns it into a personal thought system. Once the teaching is reduced to a thought system that ‘I’ identify with, it needs to be defended whenever the thought system appears threatened. At this point, the teaching becomes completely ineffective, and it isn’t used for the purpose that it was originally given, which is truth realization.
A term commonly used for this process of identifying with a teaching, turning it into a personal thought system, and then defending the thought system is, “fundamentalism.” Like ritual, fundamentalism is the husk of truth faith.
Awakening Together’s fourth core value addresses fundamentalism.
We affirm one true Self as the only truth. We live this value by embracing what is helpful on the path of awakening without idolizing any spiritual doctrine as truth.
NTI Revelation, Chapter 1, also addresses the mistake of fundamentalism.
The world is an illusion, and so everything you experience as you let go of the world is illusion also. You are not to believe any of it. But helpful symbols will be given to guide you. Remember that they are only symbols. Follow them, realizing you know not where they lead.
Do not idolize anything within the world or any symbol or any thought that is sent to lead you from the world. Hold to them as they are useful, but let them go when their usefulness has past. You are to keep moving by letting go until you find yourself with nothing left to hold onto.
Twice, today’s reading says, “Jesus understood the confusion within the mind and the thought that gave rise to such confusion.” The confusion is fundamentalism. The thought that gives rise to the confusion is the “I” thought, a thought that constantly seeks for a self-image.
To awaken, we must let go of self-image, including spiritual self-image, and embrace “the oneness of God”—consciousness, the Second Principle of God—as what we are.
Let all things
be used for one purpose,
and that is the purpose of peace.
Let no circumstance,
or situation or thought
be separate from
your purpose.
Give it all to peace,
and peace shall be your gift.
~From our Holy Spirit
