What is the Real World?
Our special theme says, “The Holy Spirit has no need of time when it has served His purpose. Now He waits but that one instant more for God to take His final step, and time has disappeared, taking perception with it as it goes, and leaving but the truth to be itself. That instant is our goal, for it contains the memory of God.”
NTI Matthew, Chapter 11, says:
The search for truth is not truth itself, so do not stop there. Many have heard the call to search and have accepted it, but then they have stopped, thinking themselves complete. You are not complete until you are Truth, so do not stop at the call. It is your beginning, but it is not your end. To find the truth, you must walk until your end.
The “memory of God” is the realization of truth as our Self. The real world is the sign that truth realization is near. It is the end of the bridge, but it is not yet the shore on the other side of the bridge.
For me, that means that my commitment to spiritual practice must be complete. Some people may reach the experience that A Course in Miracles calls the real world and feel awakening is done. If they feel awakening is done, they might stop spiritual practice.
Certainly, some types of practice will fulfill their purpose and no longer be needed. A purified mind doesn’t need the practices that purify the mind. But a mind that hasn’t reached Self-realization should continue to open to Self-realization through practices like awareness-watching-awareness meditation.
When a devotee asked Ramana Maharshi about the end of Self-inquiry, Ramana responded that the end of that practice is “to know the truth that the ‘I’ is not different from the Lord …”
I love You, Father, and I love Your Son.
Today’s lesson is the recognition that “senseless journeys” are futile. The only meaningful journey is the journey toward Self-realization, and the end of that journey is sure.
Today’s lesson is a loving commitment to spiritual practice. We could see “I love You, Father, and I love Your Son,” in this way:
Focused awareness on awareness is the doorway to Infinite Awareness. I love watching awareness (the Son), and I love journeying toward Infinite Awareness (the Father) by remaining in awareness.
If you have 30 minutes for meditation today, I recommend this meditation:
