You may think this is easy, this “be Who You Really Are” business, but it’s the most challenging thing you’ll ever do in your life. In fact, you may never get there. Few people do. Not in one lifetime. Not in many.
So why try? Why enter the fray1? Who needs it? Why not simply play life as if it were what it apparently2 is anyway—a simple exercise in meaninglessness leading to nowhere in particular, a game you can’t lose no matter how you play; a process that leads to the same result, ultimately, for everyone? You say there is no hell, there is no punishment, there is no way to lose, so why bother trying to win? What is the incentive3, given how difficult it is to get where You say we re trying to go? Why not take our good-natured time and just relax about all this God-stuff, and “being Who You Really Are.
My, we are frustrated4 aren’t we...
Well, I get tired of trying, trying, trying, only to have You come here and tell me how hard it’s all going to be, and how only one in a million makes it anyway.
Yes, I see that you do. Let Me see if I can help. First, I would like to point out that you already have taken your “good-natured time” about it. Do you think this is your first attempt at this?
I have no idea.
It doesn’t seem as if you’ve been here before?
Sometimes.
Well, you have. Many times.
How many times?
Many times.
That’s supposed to encourage me?
It’s supposed to inspire you.
How so?
First, it takes the worry out of it. It brings in the “can’t fail” element you just talked about. It assures you that the intention is for you not to fail. That you’ll get as many chances as you want and need. You can come back again and again and again. If you do get to the next step, if you evolve to the next level, it’s because you want to, not because you have to.
You don’t have to do anything! If you enjoy life at this level, if you feel this is the ultimate for you, you can have this experience over and over and over again! In fact, you have had it over and over again—for exactly that reason! You love the drama. You love the pain. You love the “not knowing,” the mystery, the suspense5! You love it all! That’s why you’re here!
Are You kidding me?
Would I kid you about a thing like that?
I don’t know. I don’t kn6w what God kids about.
Not about this. This is too close to the Truth; too
close to Ultimate Knowing. I never kid about “how it is.” Too many people have played with your mind about that. I’m not here to get you more mixed up. I’m here to help you get things clarified.
So clarify. You’re telling me I’m here because I want to be?
Of course. Yes.
I chose to be?
Yes.
And I’ve made that choice many times?
Many.
How many?
Here we go again. You want an exact count?
Just give me a ballpark estimate. I mean are we talking about handfuls here, or dozens?
Hundreds.
Hundreds? I’ve lived hundreds of lives?
Yes.
And this is as far as I’ve gotten?
This is quite some distance, actually.
Oh, it is, is it?
Absolutely. Why, in past lives you’ve actually killed
people.
What’s wrong with that? You said yourself that sometimes war is necessary to end evil.
We’re going to have to elaborate on that, because I can see that statement being used and misused—just as you’re doing now—to try to make all sorts of points, or rationalize all sorts of insanity6.
By the highest standards I have observed humans devise, killing7 can never be justified8 as a means of expressing anger, releasing hostility9, “righting a wrong,” or punishing an offender10. The statement that war is sometimes necessary to end evil stands true—for you have made it so. You have determined11, in the creation of Self, that respect for all human life is, and must be, a high prime value. I am pleased with your decision, because I did not create life that it may be destroyed.
It is respect for life which sometimes makes war necessary, for it is through war against immediate12 im-pending evil, it is through defense13 against immediate threat to another life, that you make a statement of Who You Are in relationship to that.
You have a right under highest moral law—indeed, you have an obligation under that law—to stop aggres-sion on the person of another, or yourself.
This does not mean that killing as a punishment is appropriate, nor as retribution, nor as a means of settling petty differences.
In your past, you have killed in personal duels14 over the affection of a woman, for heaven’s sake, and called this protecting your honor, when it was all honor you were losing. It is absurd to use deadly force as an argument solver. Many humans are still using force—killing force—to solve ridiculous arguments even today.
Reaching to the height of hypocrisy15, some humans even kill in the name of God—and that is the highest blasphemy16, for it does not speak of Who You Are.
Oh, then there is something wrong with killing?
Let’s back up. There’s nothing “wrong” with any-thing. “Wrong” is a relative term, indicating the oppo-site of that which you call “right.”
Yet, what is “right”? Can you be truly objective in these matters? Or are “right” and “wrong” simply de-scriptions overlaid on events and circumstances by you, out of your decision about them?
And what, pray tell, forms the basis of your decision? Your own experience? No. in most cases, you’ve chosen to accept someone else’s decision. Someone who came before you and, presumably, knows better. Very few of your daily decisions about what is “right” and “wrong” are being made by you, based on your understanding.
This is especially true on important matters. In fact, the more important the matter, the less likely are you to listen to your own experience, and the more ready you seem to be to make someone else’s ideas your own.
This explains why you’ve given up virtually total control over certain areas of your life, and certain questions that arise within the human experience.
These areas and questions very often include the subjects most vital to your soul: the nature of God; the nature of true morality; the question of ultimate reality; the issues of life and death surrounding war, medicine, abortion17, euthanasia, the whole sum and substance of personal values, structures, judgments18. These most of you have abrogated19, assigned to others. You don’t want to make your own decisions about them.
“Someone else decide! I’ll go along, I’ll go along!” you shout. “Someone else just tell me what’s right and wrong!”
This is why, by the way, human religions are so popular. It almost doesn’t matter what the belief system is, as long as it’s firm, consistent, clear in its expectation of the follower20, and rigid21. Given those characteristics, you can find people who believe in almost anything. The strangest behavior and belief can be—has been—attrib-uted to God. It’s God’s way, they say. God’s word.
And there are those who will accept that. Gladly.
Because, you see, it eliminates the need to think.
Now, let’s think about killing. Can there ever be a justifiable22 reason for killing anything? Think about it. You’ll find you need no outside authority to give you direction, no higher source to supply you with answers. If you think about it, if you look to see what you feel about it, the answers will be obvious to you, and you will act accord-ingly. This is called acting23 on your own authority.
It is when you act on the authority of others that you get yourself into trouble. Should states and nations use killing to achieve their political objectives? Should relig-ions use killing to enforce their theological imperatives24? Should societies use killing as a response to those who violate behavioral codes?
Is killing an appropriate political remedy, spiritual convincer, or societal problem solver?
Now, is killing something you can do if someone is trying to kill you? Would you use killing force to defend the life of a loved one? Someone you didn’t even know?
is killing a proper form of defense against those who would kill if they are not in some other way stopped?
Is there a difference between killing and murder?
The state would have you believe that killing to complete a purely25 political agenda is perfectly26 defensi-ble. In fact, the state needs you to take its word on this in order to exist as an entity27 of power.
Religions would have you believe that killing to spread and maintain knowledge of, and adherence28 to, their particular truth is perfectly defensible. In fact, religions require you to take their word on this in order to exist as an entity of power.
Society would have you believe that killing to punish those who commit certain offenses29 (these have changed through the years) is perfectly defensible. In fact, society must have you take its word for it in order to exist as an entity of power.
Do you believe these positions are correct? Have you taken another’s word for it? What does your Self have to say?
There is no “right” or “wrong” in these matters.
But by your decisions you paint a portrait of Who You Are.
Indeed, by their decisions your states and nations have already painted such pictures.
By their decisions your religions have created last-ing, indelible impressions. By their decisions your so-cieties have produced their self-portraits, too.
Are you pleased with these pictures? Are these the impressions you wish to make? Do these portraits rep-resent Who You Are?
Be careful of these questions. They may require you to think.
Thinking is hard. Making value judgments is difficult. It places you at pure creation, because there are so many times you’ll have to say, “1 don’t know. I just don’t know.” Yet still you’ll have to decide. And so you’ll have to choose. You’ll have to make an arbitrary choice.
Such a choice—a decision coming from no previous personal knowledge--is called pure creation. And the individual is aware, deeply aware, that in the making of such decisions is the Self created.
Most of you are not interested in such important work. Most of you would rather leave that to others. And so most of you are not self-created, but creatures of habit—other-created creatures.
Then, when others have told you how you should feel, and it runs directly counter to how you do feel—you experience a deep inner conflict. Some-thing deep inside you tells you that what others have told you is not Who You Are. Now where to go with that? What to do?
The first place you go is to your religionists—the people who put you there in the first place. You go to your priests and your rabbis and your ministers and your teachers, and they tell you to stop listening to your Self. The worst of them will try to scare you away from it; scare you away from what you intuitively know.
They’ll tell you about the devil, about Satan, about demons30 and evil spirits and hell and damnation and every frightening thing they can think of to get you to see how what you were intuitively knowing and feeling was wrong, and how the only place you’ll find any comfort is in their thought, their idea, their theology, their definitions of right and wrong, and their concept of Who You Are.
The seduction here is that all you have to do to get instant approval is to agree. Agree and you have instant approval. Some will even sing and shout and dance and wave their arms in hallelujah!
That’s hard to resist. Such approval, such rejoicing that you have seen the light; that you’ve been saved!
Approvals and demonstrations31 seldom accompany inner decisions. Celebrations rarely surround choices to follow personal truth. In fact, quite the contrary. Not only may others fail to celebrate, they may actually subject you to ridicule32. What? You’re thinking for your-self? You’re deciding on your own? You’re applying your own yardsticks33, your own judgments, your own values? Who do you think you are, anyway?
And, indeed, that is precisely34 the question you are answering.
But the work must be done very much alone. Very much without reward, without approval, perhaps with-out even any notice.
And so you ask a very good question. Why go on? Why even start off on such a path? What is to be gained from embarking35 on such a journey? Where is the incen-tive? What is the reason?
The reason is ridiculously simple.
THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO DO.
What do You mean?
I mean this is the only game in town. There is nothing else to do. In fact, there is nothing else you can do. You are going to be doing what you are doing for the rest of your life—just as you have been doing it since birth. The only question is whether you’ll be doing it consciously, or unconsciously.
You see, you cannot disembark from the journey. You embarked36 before you were born. Your birth is simply a sign that the journey has begun.
So the question is not: Why start off on such a path? You have already started off. You did so with the first beat of your heart. The question is: Do I wish to walk this path consciously, or unconsciously? With aware-ness or lack of awareness37? As the cause of my experi-ence, or at the effect of it?
For most of your life you’ve lived at the effect of your experiences. Now, you’re invited to be the cause of them. That is what is known as conscious living. That is what is called walking in awareness.
Now, many of you have walked quite some distance, as I’ve said. You have made no small progress. So you should not feel that after all these lives you’ve “only” come to this. Some of you are highly evolved creatures, with a very sure sense of Self. You know Who You Are and you know what you’d like to become. Furthermore, you even know the way to get from here to there.
That’s a great sign. That’s a sure indication.
Of what?
Of the fact that you now have very few lives left.
Is that good?
It is, now—for you. And that is so because you say it is so. Not long ago all you wanted to do was stay here. Now, all you want to do is leave. That’s a very good sign.
Not long ago you killed things—bugs, plants, trees, animals, people—now you cannot kill a thing without knowing exactly what you’re doing, and why. That’s a very good sign.
Not long ago you lived life as though it had no purpose. Now you know it has no purpose, save the one you give it. That’s a very good sign.
Not long ago you begged the universe to bring you Truth. Now you tell the universe your truth. And that’s a very good sign.
Not long ago you sought to be rich and famous. Now you seek to be simply, and wonderfully, your Self.
And not so very long ago you feared Me. Now you love Me, enough to call Me your equal.
All of these are very, very good signs.
Well, gosh.. .You make me feel good.
You should feel good. Anybody who uses “gosh” in a sentence can’t be all bad.
You really do have a sense of humor, don’t You...
I invented humor!
Yes, You’ve made that point. Okay, so the reason for going on is that there’s nothing else to do. This is what’s happening here.
Precisely.
Then may I ask You—does it at least get any easier?
Oh, my darling friend—it is so much easier for you now than it was three lifetimes ago, I can’t even tell you.
Yes, yes—it does get easier. The more you remem-ber, the more you are able to experience, the more you know, so to speak. And the more you know, the more you remember. It is a circle. So yes, it gets easier, it gets better, it becomes even more joyful38.
But remember, none of it has been exactly a drudge39. I mean, you’ve loved all of it! Every last minute! Oh, it’s
delicious, this thing called life! It’s a scrumptious expe-rience, no?
Well, yes, I suppose.
You suppose? How much more scrumptious could I have made it? Are you not being allowed to experience everything? The tears, the joy, the pain, the gladness, the exaltation, the massive depression, the win, the lose, the draw? What more is there?
A little less pain, perhaps.
Less pain without more wisdom defeats your pur-pose; does not allow you to experience infinite joy—which is What I Am.
Be patient. You are gaining wisdom. And your joys are now increasingly available without pain. That, too, is a very good sign.
You are learning (remembering how) to love without pain; to let go without pain; to create without pain; to even cry without pain. Yes, you’re even able to have your pain without pain, if you know what I mean.
I think I do. I’m enjoying even my own life dramas more. I can stand back and see them for what they are. Even laugh.
Exactly. And you don’t call this growth?
I suppose I do.
And so then, keep on growing, My son. Keep on becoming. And keep on deciding what you want to become in the next highest version of your Self. Keep on working toward that. Keep on! Keep on! This is God Work we’re up to, you and I. So keep on!
收听单词发音 |
1
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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incentive
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| n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机 | |
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frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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duels
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| n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 )；竞争，斗争 | |
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hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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abortion
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| n.流产，堕胎 | |
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judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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abrogated
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| 废除（法律等）( abrogate的过去式和过去分词 )； 取消； 去掉； 抛开 | |
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follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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imperatives
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| n.必要的事( imperative的名词复数 )；祈使语气；必须履行的责任 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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entity
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| n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物 | |
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adherence
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| n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着 | |
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offenses
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| n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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yardsticks
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| 比较或衡量的标准，尺度( yardstick的名词复数 ) | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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embarking
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| 乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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awareness
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| n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智 | |
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joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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drudge
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| n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳 | |
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