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.
