Awakening sense

victories and pitfalls (surrender pt. 2)

Surrender to Real Self, to Truth, to God (in whatever form or name) takes intense longing and resolve. This surrender calls for victory, not defeat.........giving up the false but gaining the Real Treasure.

There are pitfalls; the more casual one's search, the more snares. Lukewarm focus on Impersonal Self (see Overview) can become just another toy for intellect to play with. Another trap: false or deluded teachers abound, and anyone without discrimination can become their prey.

What to do? Sincerity and discernment are the best insurance; good fortune helps too. Even more helpful is the readiness to recognize and trust our Awakening Self. (also see pt.1 and pt.3)

playing possum? (surrender pt.1)

"Surrender" is often misunderstood. Any apprenticeship includes some degree of it.........an emptying of myself to learn, to receive. Related qualities: wholeheartedness, trust, gratitude.

Why surrender? To stop constantly reinforcing who and what I think I am. To yield the right-of-way to one's Real Self............to our Awake Self. Surrender what? The excess personal baggage we keep re-claiming. Surrender to what? To the pull of awakening.

Spiritual surrender is not rolling over and playing dead; it takes unyielding vigilance and perseverance. Otherwise one gets re-enmeshed in old ways of doing and being.

That leaves little elbow room for inner change, for inner exchange. (see pt.2 and pt.3)

yearning: shifting gears

Longing is the yearning to awaken, to approach the threshold of the Divine Beloved. It's the bridge across the impossible gap between the dream and the Real.

Before longing hits "high gear," it's hard to keep inner focus on Self/God; it's hard to keep an inner exchange going.

Afterward it's hard not to.

fission or fusion?

We are inwardly drawn, consciously or not, to our Essential Self........the Awakened Oneness. But what if, just to speed up the process, our Awake Self simultaneously approached us?

A volatile mix: fission splitting the false self? fusion giving a taste of union? Maybe both........either way, an upheaval to embrace, not avoid.

Possible side effects: a hefty mass of ignorance shattered and "blown away" after the dust settled.