What is the Holy Spirit?

Our special theme says, “The Holy Spirit understands the means you made, by which you would attain what is forever unattainable. And if you offer them to Him, He will employ the means you made for exile to restore your mind to where it truly is at home.”

Yesterday we looked at the positive use of doubt. The Holy Spirit uses doubt, which is part of the ego thought system, to doubt the ego thought system itself.

Likewise, desire is part of the ego thought system. There is no desire in consciousness. But the Holy Spirit (i.e., spiritual intuition) uses desire as a means of directing our attention toward reality. We begin to desire truth, or we desire freedom from suffering, or we experience some other desire that turns attention from the world and places attention inward. In this way, desire is employed to restore us to truth realization.

As we have seen repeatedly since the beginning of Gentle Healing, desire is an important tool of awakening. That is because desire is an integral part of the ego thought system. Until we awaken, desire is activated. We could desire a new relationship, a bag of potato chips, more money, a different place to live, a new job, new shoes or anything, but the ego always desires. So the Holy Spirit takes what is there—desire—and turns it around so that it takes us to truth instead of more fully into illusion.

Here are two quotes about the importance of desiring truth:

“The desire for enlightenment is necessary because without it you will never take the necessary steps to realize the Self. A desire to walk to a particular place is necessary before you take any steps. If that desire is not present, you will never take the first step. When you realize the Self, that desire will go.” ~ Sri Annamalai Swami

“Merely to trust is not enough. You must also desire. Without desire for freedom of what use is the confidence that you can acquire freedom? Desire and confidence must go together. The stronger your desire, the easier comes the help.” ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Some people have learned intellectually that there is no desire in consciousness, and then the spiritual self-image leads them to claim not to have any desires now. However, typically that is only a form of denial. They aren’t noticing their world-based desires, even though the world-based desires are there, talked about and pursued, and they aren’t allowing the desire for truth to become strong. Their denial of desire is an ego preservation strategy.

It is not helpful to deny desire. It is helpful to engage all of the power of desire for the purpose of awakening by realizing over and over again that your spiritual aspiration is all you truly want.

You are my goal, my Father. Only You.

Today’s lesson asks questions, which help us invoke our desire for truth. It asks:

Where would I go but Heaven? What could be a substitute for happiness? What gift could I prefer before the peace of God? What treasure would I seek and find and keep that can compare with my Identity? And would I rather live with fear than love?

Use today to inquire about desire. What are your world based desires? Notice them. Will those desires, if achieved, bring everlasting peace, happiness and clarity? What is your spiritual aspiration? Will it, if achieved, bring everlasting peace, happiness and clarity? What is your strongest heart-felt desire? What do you want above all else?

I recommend taking time to answer the preceding questions through journaling. Reading my tips is a wonderful first step, but if you merely read my tips without following the practice recommendations in the tips, you are probably not taking steps toward your spiritual aspiration. Reading, but not practicing, is another ego preservation strategy.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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What is the Holy Spirit?

The Teachings of Inner Ramana, The Purpose Of Surrender Part Two says:

“When one is not world-focused, guidance within the world occurs naturally. Non-attached activity within perception is not a hindrance to awakening. Attached activity is a means of clinging to the dream.” (page 11)

In The Teachings of Inner Ramana, world-focus and attachment are synonymous. World-focus and attachment occur when we believe our thoughts. Believing our thoughts is a hindrance to intuition, because when we believe our thoughts, we think we are right. When we think we are right, we are not open to intuition.

Our special theme says, “The Holy Spirit understands the means you made, by which you would attain what is forever unattainable. And if you offer them to Him, He will employ the means you made for exile to restore your mind to where it truly is at home.”

Doubt is part of the ego thought system. It does not exist in consciousness. However, spiritual intuition has a positive use for doubt. Doubt can be used to doubt our thoughts. We can doubt them enough to bring them to inquiry, or we can doubt them enough to disregard them altogether.

When we doubt our thoughts, we are open to guidance that comes from intuition.

The hush of Heaven holds my heart today.

Today we practice the positive use of doubt. As we doubt our thoughts, they grow quieter. They grow quieter because we are not giving them our believing-attention.

When we live in the world with a quiet detached mind, we see the miracle of unfolding. We discover that we do not need to think about everything and figure everything out. The miracle of unfolding takes care of everything. Or, as our lesson says, “In [God] is every choice already made.”

Today we doubt our thoughts, but we do not doubt the path we are on, our intuition or “the end which God Himself as promised us. We trust in Him, and in our Self, Who still is One with Him.”

Choose to doubt wisely today.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation:

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What is the Holy Spirit?

Our special theme says, “From knowledge, where He has been placed by God, the Holy Spirit calls to you, to let forgiveness rest upon your dreams, and be restored to sanity and peace of mind.”

Or, as The Teachings of Inner Ramana says:

“World-focused thought is always an error. It is attachment. Therefore, it is dreaming or remaining deluded.” (pg 11)

To help people with world-focused thoughts by providing world-focused solutions is assisting one to dream. Therefore, the Awakened One, who has accepted the role of continuing the awakening, will not assist in world-focused concerns by providing world-focused answers. The Awakened One will assist world-focus by observing the filter with the one who has a desire to awaken.

In an earlier tip, I wrote about the difference between everyday intuition and spiritual intuition. This difference is not something we need to analyze. For example, if we have a feeling to talk to someone, we do not need to analyze whether that is coming from everyday intuition or spiritual intuition. It is always good to follow intuition, so we can simply follow the intuitive feeling in trust.

However, it is helpful to know there are two types of intuition. Everyday intuition makes life in the world easier. Spiritual intuition is the intuition that awakens us from the world entirely.

Since spiritual intuition has a very specific purpose, it also has a very specific focus. It’s helpful if we respect its focus. For example, it is a mistake if we ask spiritual intuition, “How can I make more money?” or “Should I stay in this relationship or leave?”

These questions are world-focused questions. Spiritual intuition has the function of awakening you from the world entirely. It cannot awaken you from the world and guide you in the world too. That would be confusing its purpose.

As The Teachings of Inner Ramana says, “The Awakened One will assist world-focus by observing the filter with the one who has a desire to awaken.” (pg 11)

“The Awakened One” is a synonym for the Holy Spirit and spiritual intuition. The “filter” is a synonym for the mind and thought. So, Inner Ramana teaches that spiritual intuition responds to world-focus by helping you observe, or inquire into, thought.

If you ask spiritual intuition a question, and you want a world-focused answer, spiritual intuition will remain silent. If you are really interested in an answer to your question, the ego will step in and fill that void. In other words, it is the ego that answers world-focused questions.

You can receive clear answers from spiritual intuition if you ask questions that are focused on its purpose.

For example, instead of asking, “How can I make more money?” you might say, “I feel unsafe. How shall I look at this?” Other good questions are “What will you share with me about this?” and “What is it that I need to see in my mind?”

Instead of asking, “Should I stay in this relationship or leave?” try describing how you feel in the relationship, and then ask, “What guidance do you have for me?”

When you seek an answer from spiritual intuition, it is good to ask open-ended questions. Don’t attempt to lead spiritual intuition by putting a possible answer in your question. For example, don’t ask ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions.

Spiritual intuition is the inner teacher, so its answers have the focus of teaching and pointing toward truth.

Everyday intuition is different. Everyday intuition provides world-based intuitive information and guidance in the moment. If you ask, “What am I to do now?” it will answer. If you ask, “What am I to do next month?” it will not answer. It will remain silent. Again, if intuition remains silent and you really want an answer to your question, ego will step in and fill the void.

Both forms of intuition are there to guide you, and it is helpful for you to follow both forms of intuition. Just remember that spiritual intuition is the inner teacher with the purpose of helping you awaken, and everyday intuition only responds to questions about right now. If you keep these simple rules in mind, it will help you to invoke intuition instead of ego.

Note: Occasionally guidance comes in, uninvited, that sets a goal or direction for you. If this type of guidance comes, you will recognize it. It has a distinct feeling to it that is different from ego. However, it is always best not to ask for future-based guidance. Your role is to stay focused with now.

My holiness shines bright and clear today.

Our lesson says, “Today I wake with joy, expecting but the happy things of God to come to me. I ask but them to come, and realize my invitation will be answered by the thoughts to which it has been sent by me. And I will ask for only joyous things the instant I accept my holiness.”

If you look carefully at today’s lesson, you will see that it indicates we will receive based on our identity.

If I see myself as a vulnerable person in the world, and I believe the thoughts in the mind are my thoughts, my experience will be based on that identification.

If I see myself as the unaffected witness, my experience will be based on that identification.

What we identify with is the most important decision that we make in each moment.

I am able to comfortably identify with the unaffected Self now, and that identification feels genuine for me. However, it didn’t always feel genuine. There was a time when I would have felt like a fake if I had identified with unaffected awareness as myself.

It’s not helpful to identify with the idea that you are an affected person, so if you are not yet to the place where it feels genuine to identify with unaffected awareness, what are you to identify with?

The Teachings of Inner Ramana has a recommendation:

“The one who chooses to listen to me and follow me is the awakening of your true Self, so do not doubt your willingness to listen and follow me. That is you. And by listening to that desire, you listen to your Self.”

In other words, Inner Ramana suggests that we identify with our willingness to awaken as we transition from identification as a person to identifying with the unaffected Self.

As you go through the day today, if you feel genuine identifying with the unaffected Self, please do. However, if that feels like too much of a stretch for you, identify with your willingness to realize truth. Let, “My holiness shines bright and clear today,” be a reminder to identify with one or the other in lieu of identifying with the ego experience.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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