Do you understand that your physical life – your physical being, experiences, health, security, relationships – are all ways of defending and supporting your separation from truth. When we get sick it proves that we are real. When we are poor or have financial difficulties it proves we are real. It proves that the ego is necessary and right.
It is important to understand the purpose of all that we have created. We continue to prove that we are right to be separate and that separation is real. Let us be clear about what we really are doing. We have projected onto the truth a judgmental, condemning, punishing being – a God to fear. We have truly manifested the need to be God-fearing. It is in our consciousness and has been for so long. That is the source of our sickness and our lack and inability to find peace and happiness. We feel determined to protect our separation out of fear of the condemnation and banishment to nothingness.
We must find within us, that fear, that guilt, for it is the source of our unwillingness to surrender the ego. As we know and have heard many times, the ego is our choice and not our dictator. It has no reality other than the reality we give it. Our greatest hope is that we can realize the truth and keep the ego. We want to spiritualize the ego. Ask yourself plainly, “Do I really want to give up being me? Am I really willing to give up being me? Right now, in this moment am I willing to surrender all that I have believed and thought about myself – all that I have worked so hard to develop in myself? In this moment am I willing to give all that up to become present to what is truly real?”
If you believe you are truly willing, then peace is yours. If peace does not come, your willingness is not complete. If you can feel or sense your unwillingness, that no inside you, ask yourself, “Why am I saying no? What is it about being completely free that I do not want? What is it about the illusion of who I am that I want to cling to so badly?” In whatever form the answer comes to you, rest assured that it is not true. It is based on a false idea of what surrender will bring. It is based on a fear of God, if you like – or a fear of love, a fear of truth, a fear of not being in control. Whatever your reason for saying no, know that it is based on a false idea. You are clinging to the idea of separation out of fear of some catastrophic consequences of surrendering. We must make this conscious; we must get this exposed to the light.
It is not enough to say that we are committed to our path. If we are not willing to take full responsibility for our sense of separation and are clinging to it, we may believe that we are powerless, that we don’t have a choice, and we are a victim of the ego. Let us be clear right here and now that the ego is a choice. We give it power. We give it life. We give it the illusion of reality. So let us revisit this choice once again. Are you willing to completely surrender being ‘me’? If so, then go in peace. If not, look deeper and ask again, “What is the source of my unwillingness, the source of my no? What is the false idea that leads me to believe that clinging to the ego is a good idea?”
Now let us remind ourselves what we are saying no to. What is the truth? What will surrender be? Surrender to truth is not a giving up of our lives, not some kind of loss or sacrifice. Surrendering to the truth is seeing things as they really are – perfect. Surrendering to the truth is dropping all the illusions, all the fear, all the guilt that we have imposed on ourselves. Surrendering to the truth is coming home to love – the true source of our being. It is the experience of unity, oneness, the true knowing and certainty. It is the experience of perfect peace and freedom, the infinite timeless peace. Do you really want to say no to that? Do you really want to deny the only safe harbor there is? Do you not crave peace, the knowing that you are perfectly alright?
What strange idea keeps you opposed to that experience? Rest assured, it is not true whatever it is. You are in no danger from truth, God, or love. No sacrifice is demanded of you. You have nothing to prove. It is already what you are; it is already the truth. It is already within you. Nothing can change that. You are perfectly capable of denying yourself the experience, but is that really what you want? Is being you so much better, so much safer? It is a twisted idea that we are better off with the ego. Search deep within yourself. Why would you say no to the power, freedom and peace of surrender? Remember, the ego cannot speak the truth. Every reason you have to cling to separation is a false idea. You have been misled. You have deceived yourself. You have been convinced to give up your rightful home, but isn’t your rightful home what you really want? If it is what you believe you want, why do you believe separation is better?