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AWAKENING to your Sacred Self is awakening to your true Self. In Christian terms, the Sacred Self is the Holy Spirit.
He does not live in only some people, granted only by sacrifice or pennance.
Nor does He judge who is worthy to behold Him.
He is not God.
But He is our only bridge to God wherein we can return Home.
"Awaking unto Christ is following the laws of love of your free will, and out of quiet recognition of the truth in them." A Course in Miracles, T 13. VI:12
The Holy Spirit is the Christ Spirit. Not to be confused with Jesus, the man who obtained an awareness of the Christ Spirit. His Awareness was a gift to mankind, to ensure us of possible salvation for all. Therefore, to seek the Sacred Self, requires learning first what it is, through teachers such as Jesus. There are others and many paths to Spirit. To seek it out is a choice, and is made eventually by every living soul, one lifetime, or another. I humbly offer this website as a learning tool to all my brothers and sisters, and realize, as I teach, I learn. And as you learn, you teach. The gift of Awakening is reciprocal and cannot be done without walking with our brother, hand in hand, and heart to heart.
Mind versus 'brain'
There is only one way, though there are many paths, to become aware of the Holy Spirit that is within you. Just as there are many doors, but only one key that opens each. You have opened the door to Spirit; all of us have had experiences that seem 'other worldly'....not of our own doing. The key is an internal willingness in the mind, regardless of the chosen path. You were willing when you experienced this, consciously, or not.
When I speak of Mind, it is not the physcial organ we call our brain, but an aspect of the Spiritual realm; the Mind of the Christ Spirit. The body and brain are aspects of the human ego.
Mind is like the Program in your computer. Brain/ego is the computer hardware.
Brain and body are but a puppet, and the Mind/Spirit is the Puppeteer; connected to our Maker. It is only by our willingness to believe there really IS a Holy Spirit within us, a Mind from which we came, that the Holy Spirit becomes known to us. This willingness brings us to the awareness of the Mind which chooses Spirit over ego. With practice, with a deliberate choice to seek, we learn to become aware of our moment by moment choice between awareness of Ego, and awareness of Spirit.
With the ego at the helm, we live in doubt and fear, our emotions determining our 'mood' and feeling lost, we value the material world although we still may find it rather empty at times. In this state, we find so many reasons to think we don't need to know of Him to find peace and joy but only that one more new job, or new home, or perhaps even something as simple as a good meal, or a new piece of clothing! There is even an attempt by our ego to keep us locked forever in the belief that we are only bodies, only brains, no aspect of us is divine, or part of God.
And so, the surrender of the ego is the only way to find freedom from the illusion of this hopeless situation! The surrender of the ego to the Spirit in Mind, occurs when we forgive all egos, including ourselves. There is guilt and sorrow in ego, about our choices, our past, our feelings of worthlessness, or our anger toward others. Forgiveness allows us to see the folly of such things, accept them as such, and move toward a permanent answer, a loving answer that gives us hope and abundant love to give to others.
As the Course states; "The world is an outside picture, of an inward condtion." Do not underestimate how powerful that statement is! We made the illusion of ego and we alone can undo it. We cannot give, what we do not HAVE. And when we give what we have, we receive more. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "To those who have, shall more be given."
So, we start by first forgiving the world we have made, to be able to give real unconditonal love and forgiveness to others. We must forgive every obstacle we have put in our own way, simply by first realizing, then in quiet acceptance of the fact that all we see, all we experience, we did unto ourselves....no one else!
This is easier said than done. If you want clarity on HOW we begin to accept this, please check out my resource page, where you will find out more about A Course in Miracles, and other books and sites that can support you and give you loving Guidance, once you set your 'mind' to choosing Spirit, and not Ego.
I use the word, 'Christ' in any reference to Spirit, only because Spirit was shown to me through Jesus' teachings, who was one with the Christ Spirit. But Spirit is revealed in other's teachings and doctrines as well, called by a different name. I also humbly regard my choice as one that is precious to me, however I honor and respect, and indeed love and acknowledge Spirit, in all forms and in all ways.
More on the Ego and Spirit
THE EGO is an illusive self. The True Self is born of the divine seed of God's own thought, and lives within each of us and does not die.
The ego is a thought of separate identity from God. Nothing could be actually separate from God, therefore it is illusive.
It is man made; or more precise....man-dreamed.... a personality with human traits we love to ponder ;o) that leads us further and further away from our own divinity. Ego receives what it calls 'power' from human emotions, of ourselves and others, only to sustain its identity as opposite God.
The very first step most of us need to take is to become aware that the ego thrives not on LOVE, but on FEAR. It's that simple! And that hard!
How do we know we have an ego, and a Spirit? Ask yourself; if You are observing 'you', then ‘who’ is the ‘You’ you are observing?
WHAT DOES THE EGO DO?
Keeps your mind closed to anything beyond its scope of perception. Perception (a varied, changeable view) is truth to ego. In other words, senses are trusted above all else; above an internal 'knowing.'
Attempts to defend its ownership of your mind and your life. Ego will defend not only your mind but your body and your life, giving the body more meaning than the search for God or anything of a Spiritual nature.
Lives in constant denial that it lives in constant fear of it’s own death.
Blocks the Voice for God; Spirit. The ego’s voice is loud; it screams of your guilt! Of your past! Of your needs, of even of your 'happiness' here without Spirit.
Keeps you tied to the tragedies and horrors of this world in its attempt to keep you in a state of fear, however subtle.
Causes fear of death, of life, of endings; because it believes it IS only a body and can die.
The ego is incapable of truly loving another, but seeks, through 'giving' of themselves, only to find individuality for itself in each seeming love relationship. The ego believes it must 'take' to get. It only gives what it has 'gotten' from another.
Constantly seeks division between two; always trying to be the ‘good’ one or the ‘right’ one, deserving of stealing ‘love’ from another. ‘If he is bad, I am good.’ We cannot both be winners or good. And I will be the one.’ Also, often seeks to be the bad one. Ego wants individuality above all else.
Fears Love (God), because it means the end of its separate self with the understanding of the Sacred Self. And so the ego goes about, in defense or attack mode, always striving to find a place to be a unique and separate self, a strong, or independent nation, making its own hell of the earth and all upon it. Look at the world of politics and of the 'reasoning' behind war, and you will see this aspect of ego, clearly stated. Our fear of death, and love of ego, drives the world.
AWARENESS OF GOD'S WILL AND OUR WILL
Awareness of God’s will being our will, brings unity, peace and joy to our state of mind. Getting HOME to God, has but one obstacle; the Ego, which we believe is our only state. In this state of lack and littleness, we succumb to all of life's many sorrows. But we can be free of it, and find Peace and Love even as we exist still in the flesh. Afterall, we all came from one Thought and just got lost along the way, fragmenting into 'many' egos!
Christ Spirit was indeed a Shepherd who had come teach us how to be 'In this world, but not of this world", and we CAN find our Way back home, with His divine help. The earth was given us to use as school, to find our way back to the loving, unfathomably giving and gracious HOME of our Father.
Our ego, wishes always to be 'separate' and 'special' and will do many things to keep the Sacred Self from waking up to God and shedding this ego. Although we find ourselves conditioned to believe that we are unique and special and that this is where our happiness truly is.......if you stop and think of this, you will agree that it is what causes judgment, blame, sorrow and hate. When we are One, there is no one else to blame, or hate; we simply ARE LOVE. And Joy is endless in this state of being. There is no JOY when we try to be separate from all of Life, which is GOD.
What do we do first?
Identify it
We are NOT that ego.
We are Sacred and we are Spirit.
Begin to Notice
Every choice you make, you make it with either Spirit’s guidance or ego’s guidance. It is only being aware of this that you can consciously choose between them. We are aware of this, in mind. Your ego will not be able to choose Spirit. The mind (not brain, but a part of the Spiritual realm) believes it is divided between this ego and Spirit, and this is the place where the decision is made. Only in this place, which is accessible to all, and which Jesus had full awareness of, can a choice be made for Spirit and a surrender of the ego occur. For now, we must rely on faith to ask that we are capable of choosing Spirit. We do not ask ourselves, but we ask the One Who has the Answer!
SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND
As simple as it sounds, I can personally attest to its truth. As Christ told us; 'Ask and you shall receive, Seek, and you shall find.’ Truer words were never given to us! You are on the path and always have been. Now, you are waking to the Truth, slowly, gracefully, silently. Just remember to ask and you will receive help. You will 'hear' with Spirit's ears, and see with Spirit's eyes.
You know by one thing that you have understood that it exists; a state of peace. All other states, concede and dissolve into this state, and by its embrace you will know that it is real. God’s gift to us is timeless, so never worry it will not be there; it waits in patience, unaffected by man made ‘time.’ It is we who have left awareness of it. Our awareness, will for some time, vacillate between the world of ego and the world of Spirit but take heart! On this journey we may leave this awareness, only to return, more and more often.
Here are some words of comfort from 'A Course in Miracles' which speaks directly of this holy center from which we can draw for true and lasting sustenance in this world:
“What danger can assail the wholly innocent? What can attack the guiltless? What fear can enter and disturb the peace of sinlessness? What has been given you, even in its infancy, is in full communication with God and you. In its tiny hands it holds, in perfect safety, every miracle you will perform, held out to you. The miracle of life is ageless, born in time but nourished in eternity. Behold this infant, to whom you gave a resting place by your forgiveness of your brother, and see in it the Will of God. Here is the babe of Bethlehem reborn. And everyone who gives him shelter will follow him, not to the cross, but to the resurrection and the life.” ACIM T.19.IV.c.i.10
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