What is the Holy Spirit?
Our special theme says, “The Holy Spirit mediates between illusions and the truth. Since he must bridge the gap between reality and dreams, perception leads to knowledge through the grace that God has given Him, to be His gift to everyone who turns to Him for truth. Across the bridge that He provides are dreams all carried to the truth, to be dispelled before the light of knowledge. There are sights and sounds forever laid aside. And where they were perceived before, forgiveness has made possible perception’s tranquil end.”
Today, I would like to share how The Teachings of Inner Ramana shares the same teaching:
Fear comes simply from not knowing reality. Therefore, the only answer to fear is to let go of what is false and to remember reality as true.
Discarding the world is as simple as remembering that it isn’t true. This is as simple as living from within instead of from without.
One who is forgetting the world takes his cues from within. When observed, he may seem to respond to without. He may even seem to respond to his thoughts, which are still without, but this is only if you observe him from without. Without will see without. Within will see within.
One who is awakening to truth is also discarding the world, which includes discarding his thoughts about the world, so this one is learning to take all of his cues from within . . . from beyond the clouds of his thoughts.
True perception is a bridge. Guidance is a bridge. To feel that one is awakened or living outside of mind when one is experiencing perception or guidance is an error. To say that one lives outside of mind when one experiences perception is to remain deluded.
But to listen to guidance and to say that one is guided by mind outside of mind is not to be deluded. It is merely to describe the experience in words. It is merely to recognize that mind is needed to experience perception, but guidance is the echo of knowledge filtered through mind.
One who listens to guidance may be said by others to be awakened, but this one will only say he is realized, because he realizes truth even as he experiences perception. He listens to knowledge because he knows that one who sees perception cannot truly see, but one who is not attached can be guided. Non-attachment and realization are one. Seeing truth is to be awakened.
World-focused thought is always an error. It is attachment. Therefore, it is dreaming or remaining deluded.
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.
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.
Tomorrow, we will begin looking more closely at these words from The Teaching of Inner Ramana.
I will not be afraid of love today.
“Love” is a symbol for the openness of consciousness and its source. It is also a symbol for the oneness of consciousness and its source. The ego is afraid of openness and oneness. The ego is more comfortable with control and individuality, although the ego is never completely comfortable. Fear is an inherent component of the ego. As the previous excerpt from Inner Ramana teaches, “Fear comes simply from not knowing reality.” Since the ego does not know reality, fear lies at its foundation.
Regarding, “I will not be afraid of love today,” our special theme says, “This the decision not to be insane, and to accept myself as God Himself, my Father and my Source, created me.”
Basically, we have two choices: We can identify with the ego or we can identify with life-awareness-presence (consciousness). Whatever we identify with, we also act and speak from.
This is not the first time we have contemplated the question, “What will I identify with?” This question is contemplated repeatedly because one who is identified with ego is afraid to identify with awareness, even if there is a desire to do so.
The ego will not tell you that it is afraid of your truth. It will not separate itself from your truth in that way, because then you will see that the ego isn’t your truth. In that seeing, you are set free.
Instead, the ego will provide everyday objections to identifying with awareness. For example, it might say:
- People will think you are weird.
- People will think you are egotistical, pretending to be something you aren’t.
- You aren’t ready. You need to learn more first, or you need to have mystical experiences first.
- You won’t be able to take care of everyday responsibilities. You will be out of touch with everyday life.
- It’s simply not true. That’s not who you are. This is who you are. Spiritual teachings are mere fantasy.
- You don’t have time for this. There are important things that require your attention.
All of these objections, and other objections similar to them, are expressions of the ego’s fear of love.
When we decide, “I will not be afraid of love today,” we decide to be our Self. We decide to abide as life-awareness-presence instead of the body-personality-mind. We also decide to listen to and follow intuition instead of giving excessive attention to the chattering mind.
If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:
