Yesterday’s tip ended with this statement:

As previously mentioned, we let go of a thought by realizing we don’t want it, and the best way to realize what you don’t want is to remember what you do want—your spiritual aspiration.

Today’s reading is about the importance of remembering what you want by focusing on the heart instead of on thinking.

One advantage of Gentle Healing is that we take time each day to focus on the heart through reading, contemplation and meditation. Without this daily focus, we would most likely be slaves of the head instead of servants of the heart.

It is just as Jesus taught when he walked on the shores of Galilee:

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Dependence on the mind is like building a house on sand. Dependence on the heart is like building a house on a foundation of rock.

Here are answers to some questions that might come up as you read today’s reading.

When NTI asks us to empty the shell, what is the shell?

The shell is the person—the apparent human being that is regarded as an individual. When the person is empty, it is a vessel for truth. It is moved by truth, and truth speaks through it. An enlightened one is an empty shell, empty of self and self-will.

What is the difference between letting go and repression?

When a person lets go of a thought, there is a realization that the thought isn’t what is wanted. Since the thought isn’t wanted, it’s let go, just like you might let go of something that is taking up space in your house when you realize you no longer want it. If an idea has been believed to the point that an emotion was created, you’ll also need to rest-accept-trust as the accompanying emotion moves through and out of the body-mind.

When a person represses a thought, there is a fear that s/he is bad for having that thought in the mind. Repression is more like hiding something in a dark corner in the basement of your house, because you don’t want it to be seen. Whatever is stored in the basement is still in the house, taking up space.

By learning to feel the difference  between realization and fear, you can discern if you are letting go of thought or repressing it. If you find you are repressing it, you can realize you don’t want that, and then relax into letting go.

What are points of experience?

As we learned in NTI Romans, ignorance began because we wanted to experience something different than truth. “Points of experience” are illusory thoughts that fulfill that wish by creating emotion.

Let’s look at how points of experience create illusory experience.

Imagine that you are standing with a conveyor belt in front of you. Hundreds of needles are passing by on the conveyor belt. There are several different color needles. There are pink needles, blue ones, gray ones, yellow ones, etcetera. Each needle is standing on end, with the sharp end of the needle pointing up. As the needles pass by, you feel compelled toward some of the needles. When you reach out and touch a needle, it pricks your finger, and you experience the emotion that is associated with that color needle. Eventually, you become addicted to some of the emotions. Even though you don’t like the emotion, you continually touch needles of that same color and continually experience that emotion.

That is how points of experience create illusory experience, except instead of a conveyor belt with different colored needles, we experience illusions that are different from truth by giving attention to thoughts. Thoughts float by, just like needles on a conveyor belt, and we feel compelled to give our attention to some of them, and then we experience the emotions associated with those thoughts.

In order to empty the shell of illusory experiences, we need to see that although we feel compelled to give attention to some thoughts, we aren’t compelled to give them attention. We are free to give attention to a thought or let it go on by, as if on a conveyor belt, regardless of what the thought is. If we’ve already picked a thought up from the conveyor belt, we are free to lay it back down, and it will move on as the conveyor belt moves on.

As previously mentioned, we let go of a thought by realizing we don’t want it, and the best way to realize what you don’t want is to remember what you do want—your spiritual aspiration.

Today’s reading asks, “Do you disagree with your brother?”

Whenever you find that you disagree with anyone, it is a good time to practice inquiry. Look to see if you are attached to self-will. Look to see if you need to practice root cause inquiry to discover a hidden motive or belief.

Inner harmony is the sign of an empty shell. Disagreement doesn’t arise out of pure emptiness. That doesn’t mean that emptiness agrees with everyone. Agreement is just another position. Instead of agreeing or disagreeing, emptiness accepts everyone, allows them to be as they are, trusts all things as they unfold and acts intuitively.

Today’s reading also asks, “Do you have thoughts of temptation in your mind?”

A temptation is a desire, craving or impulse to do something wrong or unwise. For our purposes, we can say that a temptation is a desire, craving or impulse that arises from ego conditioning.

It’s helpful to notice how each of us is a slave to ego conditioning. I used to parent by yelling. That’s the first adverse conditioning I chose to transcend. Other examples of conditioning that I actively chose to transcend are the desire for control, poor eating habits and too much TV.

How does one transcend adverse ego conditioning?

1. Recognize that the habit is contrary to your spiritual aspiration.
2. Inquire to see if there are false ideas driving the habit. For example, I yelled at Jasmine because of a mind-made law that daughters are supposed to respect (always happily obey) their mothers.
3. Notice when the temptation arises, and practice rest-accept-trust instead of giving in to it.
4. Do not judge yourself when you do give in to the temptation, but continue to gently realize your desire to transcend that conditioning. If you do judge yourself, rest-accept-trust with the feelings that arise from judgment.
5. Be patient and remain lovingly motivated to transcend the ego conditioning you’ve identified.