You can run but you cannot hide.
Living in truth requires continuous, deep honesty with self. This means acknowledging and being fully conscious of what you are experiencing in every moment. Truth demands you accept of ALL of who you are, even when ‘bad’ judgments about aspects of you arise. For example, if you feel depressed or angry, then living in truth requires you to be conscious of that state of being and not ignore, deny or hide from it. By becoming still enough to observe the truth that this moment is revealing to you about your inner nature, you can begin to perceive all of what you are. You have nothing to hide, nothing from which to run, and nothing to deny. Your mantra becomes “I am … I am generous, I am selfish, I am kind, I am hurtful, I am strong, I am weak, I am competent, I am ignorant. I am all of these. There is nothing I am not.” Once you identify these qualities, remain constantly aware of them and acknowledge that they are a part of each and every person. This level of awareness illustrates how very similar we all are. Operating from within this space of truth you can begin to be genuinely free.
For many of us, however, freedom rarely exists in daily life. Most people are driven by unconscious motives and desires: physiological needs, emotional needs, and even limiting beliefs of how people ‘should’ or ‘should not’ behave. These unconscious motives can form habits that keep you trapped in a rigid definition of self. Ultimately, these habits and rigid views of self can serve as a signal to point out the areas where you are not free. They shine a light on the potential aspects of you that have not been integrated. When you can honestly and objectively examine your motives, this leads to an understanding of the reasons and motivations that cause your reactions, and this can help you quickly identify the areas where you might be stuck. When you are quiet enough to observe your motives for habitually acting in certain ways, you begin to identify the implicit judgments that keep you stuck in that way of being.
What aspect of God are you cutting off from yourself?
Once the root judgment is discovered, you can integrate this aspect back into yourself. Freedom becomes possible when you are able to challenge your habits, let go of compulsions, and release attachments. From this new space, you are open to be your true self. You do not need to approve of the things you are feeling, or even believe that what you are feeling is in alignment with your image of self – what is necessary is to recognize, acknowledge and witness the depression or the anger. As you can accomplish this, truth becomes a pathway to your deepest state of being, and a way to experience yourself in the present moment, without judgment. A common factor in many cultures is the tendency to cultivate the traits believed to be ‘Godly’ and eliminate those traits perceived as ‘un-Godly’. Which of the following do you prefer to identify with?
Generous, Kind, Strong, Competent or Selfish, Hurtful, Weak, Ignorant or … or … or … certainly the ‘positive’ traits are valuable and high-vibrational aspirations, but the truth is that everything manifest, whether positive or negative, is God. Everything human is God. Everything expressed in the Universe is also contained within our human selves. This means that the Godly, divine nature within you contains all these aspects – generosity, selfishness, kindness, hurtfulness, strength, weakness, competence, and ignorance. If you seek to identify with only positive aspects and separate yourself from negative aspects, you are, in truth, separating yourself from God. Ultimately, it is separation from God that causes separation from our divine nature: Love.
Love, Love, Love
Derek