The Only Thing That Matters (22 page)

Right now I'm “there” again. I understand the point the book is making that We Are All One, and that, therefore, what I do for me I do for others, and that what I do for others I do for me. And so, focusing on
What One Desires
is not “selfish” at all.

I also understand what this text is telling me when it declares that the writer and the reader are, at the level of Essence, in no way separate—and that I am at choice, always, about whether I choose to experience that.

And here is something else that I know: I know that the Illusion of Separation sometimes serves humanity. In fact, if it
didn't
serve the species, I have to believe that we would have eliminated the Illusion altogether a long time ago. Evolution itself would surely have produced that result. But we've kept this Illusion of Separation in place because we see that it in many ways serves us.

Now it seems to me that what would be most beneficial to us at this stage of our development as an evolving species would be to step aside from the Separation Illusion where it serves us to do so (if it could more rapidly end global suffering, for instance, or create a larger and more joyful experience of the Self), and to continue to
use
the Illusion when it facilitates our growth or understanding. As, for instance, when the Illusion makes it possible for the human Mind to take in, much more readily, true wisdom and deep insight.

In my own case, for example, I find that if I hold the idea that
I
am writing this book (as opposed to simply seeing myself reading the words of another), the words seem to have less weight somehow. I give them less credence or credibility.

For reasons not entirely clear to me (but probably having to do with my own spiritual immaturity and a resulting refusal to see myself as my own spiritual “authority”), I feel much more “open” to huge insights about Life when I experience that they are coming from a Source Outside Myself.

I feel certain this is not the same for everyone (I don't sense that Parahamansa Yogananda second-guessed himself very much in
Autobiography of a Yogi
, for instance), but as the person holding this book right now, I find it easier to “hear” what it has to say when I don't imagine that I am writing the book myself.

And do you know what? The thought just struck me that
perhaps this is why we have placed God outside of ourselves
.

So this little “thought experiment” was very interesting, and it did give me the direct experience that both the Wisdom brought to me here and the Wisdom residing within myself are One and The Same—but, since the ongoing experience of Oneness is not mandatory (as the writing here itself points out), I'm pretty much ready to step back into the profile of the reader, stepping aside from any idea that I am the author, if only so that by creating a greater distance between the Thinker and the Thought, I can embrace the Thought Itself more fully.

So … I shall herewith return to the profile of the Reader—even if in truth the Author and I
are
One—as my latest demonstration of Free Will in determining how I choose to experience Life.

26
It Is Time for the Struggle to Be Over

B
RAVO!
E
XCELLENT!
What a wonderful—and unusual—experience, yes? You won't find
that
happening very often in books. We (you and I) used this unconventional (if not
outlandish
) device to graphically and vividly demonstrate how a simple change in your point of view about anything can dramatically alter your experience.

When you see things differently, when you bring in the Awareness of Soul as your Mind encounters the data brought to you by your Body, your entire perspective changes. And your perspective, of course, creates your perception. And your perception creates your beliefs. And your beliefs create your behaviors. And your behaviors produce your experience.

Bringing you the Awareness of your Soul to dramatically alter your experience is what this book is all about! So now, let's see if we might alter your experience around “struggle” and “suffering” …

Dear One …

It has not been easy, this journey you are on. It has required courage and determination, patience and understanding, a willingness to keep going against all odds, a commitment to continually seek the light even as the darkness grows, and to reach for the good when everything
but
the good seems to be all around you.

It has asked so much of you, this journey—and you have given what has been asked.

God bless you,
you have given what has been asked
.

Now it is time for your struggle to be over. You deserve that. You've earned that.

Your Soul knows this, of course, and agrees. That is why you wound up being drawn to these words. You are going to be given here a most powerful tool—perhaps the most powerful ever created—for bringing an end to struggling and suffering in your life.

Let's take a look at it, opening with a glimpse at the nature and the cause of struggle and suffering itself.

When you have reached one of many moments of Completion of The Sacred Journey—which, as has now been explained, can occur in any one of the Moments in a lifetime—your immediate wish will be to experience
more
of that, in even greater form. And so your Soul will begin the whole process all over again—yet not starting from the beginning. Rather, starting from right where you are now.

In a sense, you will be born again, having Completed your Sacred Journey. Now you will undertake the Journey again, with a new Destination, with the goal pushed a little farther out.

Now you might think that this will be a source of frustration, and it may have been in your past, but it will be no longer, because now you know what's going on. (That's why you brought yourself here, in fact. To end the frustration. That's why you have just reminded yourself of The Only Thing That Matters.)

When you have become fully aware,
you will never want the process that has been described here to end
. The bliss of evolving to higher and higher levels of Divinity will become Life's ultimate attraction, and a natural reaction. It is exactly that: a “reaction”—or, if you please, a re-action—in the sense that you are
acting again
as Who You Really Are. It is a recognizing—that is, a re-
cognizing
, or a knowing again—of your True Identity. It is the fundamental attraction of Life to More Life. It is the attraction of God to God Itself. It is the Impulse of the Divine, in You.

This
is the “Law of Attraction”—not the power to magnetize cars, jewels, and bicycles.

The Sacred Journey as it is expressed in physical terms is sometimes called Evolution. In metaphysical terms it could be described as a process in which one's destination is one's embarkation. The End becomes The Beginning in the Circle of God.

When the clock strikes Midnight, what has happened? Has the day just ended, or has a new day just begun? And when, exactly, has the first happened, and when has the second?
Or is it possible that both are happening at once?

This is what is true on The Path of the Soul. The path appears to be a
circle.
Yet you do not experience yourself “going around in circles,” as in “getting nowhere.” Rather, you experience your Self spiraling upward.

Think of a
Slinky
, the children's toy that looks for all the world like a one-dimensional circle when viewed from directly above or below, but which reveals itself to be one continuous multidimensional element that stretches into a spiral, using its own momentum for energy.

Ironically, this description of a children's toy could also be a description of the path taken by the Totality of You (TOY). This is the
real
Toy Story.

Now please know that it is understood by the Universe that even as you read this you're moving through a new stage in your own personal, spiritual, and emotional development. So it is important at this vulnerable time that you not be discouraged. This point was made earlier, and it is worth repeating.

It was promised that you would be given a tool that would help you to
not
be discouraged, a tool that would eliminate struggle and suffering from your life. We're about to give you that tool here. But first, we need to place what is going to be said here into context.

Let it be acknowledged that there have been sad and difficult experiences that many people have undergone in their lives, and that many are continuing to face today, and that these events and their impact are very real. What is written here is not meant to in any way minimalize or marginalize that reality, nor the ordeals that many people are going through.

To the unaware observer the challenging events in the lives of millions may seem like a cruel way for what has here been called the “Divine Purpose” to be fulfilled.

Why should people have to suffer in order to demonstrate to themselves, to others, or to God, Who They Really Are—or to provide God with the experience of Divinity?

That is an appropriate, obvious, and important question. It commands our attention, as rightly it should. Every thinking person must receive a satisfactory answer to that question if the spiritual concepts in this text are to have a shred of credibility, a leg to stand on.

The answer to this question was also part of an earlier narrative, and also deserves to be repeated here:

People do not have to suffer in order to express and experience Who They Really Are. This is neither God's request nor God's demand.

This does not mean, however, that there will not be sadness and pain in people's lives. There will be. There is, and there will be. Yet there is a blessed reason for sadness and pain, and tears are not signs of suffering, but of
release
from suffering.

Tears wash away our Illusions, bringing us to the calm place where Divine Reality Resides.