Channel: Michael Hersey | Source

Participant:  I heard you say that we are not creating anything. We are just here for this ride that life or the Divine is creating. Then you have also said that everything we see or experience is our projection. I wonder how both of those statements can be true at the same time. It seems like they contradict each other.

To begin with, don’t take anything that you think you heard me say as the truth (laughter). We speak in pointers – as the truth cannot be expressed in words. What we have here are two different pointers, both pointing in the same direction. When we talk about not being responsible for anything going on in the world, we mean that you don’t have that kind of control. The part of you that wants to control the world is the ego mind. It has the mistaken belief that it can do that, that it can set goals, that it trains itself to be certain ways, and that it can somehow make the world be in a certain way and obtain the results it wishes to have. That is simply not true; it’s not what happens.

When you set goals you do not experience the awakening or the enlightenment you desire. What you are saying is that it is not here now; it’s somewhere else. If I do this – if I reach my goal, if I control the world, if I change something in myself – then I can wake up. This leaves you in a perpetual state of wanting and trying to be somewhere else. Your awakeness is right here, right now, if you simply pay attention to it and stop trying to be something or someone else. Notice, be with, and embrace what is there. Don’t be with the past or the future but with what is actually here now.

Participant: The problem might be that I have a past and a future, I think. It’s today and then it’s tomorrow.

When is it tomorrow?

Participant: Tomorrow!! (laughs)

But then it’s today. There is no tomorrow. That’s an idea in the mind. There is no yesterday. That’s also an idea in the mind.

Participant: Do you say that the mind has the idea that I can decide what happens, but that is not right.

Yes, the mind may think it can determine what tomorrow will be, but tomorrow will be what tomorrow will be. If the mind did have that power, why aren’t you living in paradise?

Participant: Yeah, that’s a good question. I want to.

Why would you choose anything else?

Participant: So, all of this confusion about yesterday and tomorrow is an invention of my ego mind.

Yes. It’s avoiding this moment where Divinity lives, where your awakeness is, where life is.

Participant: But it still seems like those two statements are not aligned with each other. 

Let’s return again to the first of the statements. Is there some part of it that you are not in alignment with?

Participant: When I was reading A Course in Miracles it said that we create the world. My projection is also creating something. So, then there is a creation.

I see where the confusion lies. Ego has no power to create anything. Divinity, by its nature, creates everything. The physical illusion is this place where these meet. The ego mind tries to understand this but cannot because it makes no sense to the logical ego mind. It seems as if opposites exist simultaneously. In duality it is all opposites. In Divinity there is Oneness; there is no opposite. So, what you think of as opposites coexist and neither deny nor erase each other. Jokingly, we alternately say, “You are nothing” – particularly in talking to the ego mind – and at the same time, “You are everything” – now talking to the Divine mind. So, you are everything and nothing at the same time. Ego mind thinks you have an existence outside of Divinity. It would be your body, your thoughts, your feelings, your unique personality – and that’s who you are – but that existence is nothing. Sooner or later this physical body will die and it will be as if you never existed. It’s nothing. The truth of you that is observing all of this life always is. It is outside of time and space and physicality. It is everything.

Ego mind is terrified of looking at itself so it projects itself and sees itself through others. It can perceive with judgment or with admiration. Projection occurs because the truth of you is everything, has created everything. There is only you; there is only one. However, ego mind believes it is separate and limited. It believes that the other is separate and that both are real. Ego mind defensively protects itself from imagined shortcomings through projection. Its projection might be that the other is dishonest. Unconsciously you are projecting onto the other the part of you that you believe is less than honest. On the other hand, you might project the label of courageous upon another. This is where you are not willing to see the courage in you. We would go so far as to say that absolutely everything you notice is your projection, not just the words or actions of another, but the seeming existence of people, trees, birds, the sun, the universe. All is your projection, your creation, not from your ego mind but from the Divinity of Oneness that you are. Ego mind thinks all of those things are real and separate. The real timeless you is One with and the creator of all of it. This is beyond comprehension and acceptance for the ego mind with its belief of being separate and limited.

So, you have this wonderful, amazing thing called life, which is where the limited meets the unlimited. In order to have the illusion of physicality, there needs to be limits. There needs to be the appearance of difference and separations.

Participant: Duality.

Yes. Multiplicity. If it is all one, how can a bird be experienced? So, the illusion of all of these different things is experienced. In reality these are just different projections out of the Oneness. In the illusion there are these unreal projections, but there you are playing with them. We call that life. We would say that the one we might call awakened or enlightened is fully aware of all of this – not in a form of understanding where they could sit you down and explain it all to you, they simply know it to be true. They don’t judge what they see, nor would they have any thought of trying to change what is. That would be crazy. Everything is what it is and all they do is interact with what is presented. There is no right or wrong response. They follow their guidance or passion in that moment.

Participant: It’s not possible to understand this, but I can let what you say dance in me and then slowly the eyes get used to the bright light so it’s no longer black and white, maybe. 

We can frame it in this way, and we borrow this expression from our friend Jesus who said, “You cannot serve two masters at the same time.” Do you serve ego mind, or do you serve the Oneness? This requires no understanding, simply awareness. If your desire and your intention is always to serve the Oneness, you will notice when you are in projection and remember that this is all about you and take it home. You will notice when your mind thinks that something needs to be different and let that thought go. You will focus on seeing without resistance what is here now, rather than on what you think should be here. When your consciousness is absolutely with what is here now, that is the awakened state – no past, no future, no program, no rules. It is not for you to understand what is said here; there is simply choosing a master and acting on it.

Participant: Say more about acting on it. 

When you set a goal and try to reach it, you are acting on ego mind. That’s what you are reinforcing, so you get stuck in that endless cycle of trying and you are never satisfied. Instead, you might notice, “Ahhh! There I go setting a goal again,” and take no action toward its fulfilment, instead returning to see what is here now. You do that over and over again until it begins to become automatic.

Participant: I can hear what you say and I have what I call a dance where I let it be and move as it does in me. But many times, I have a strong emotional response to the now. Maybe the response is connected to stories I hold on to or have been unable to let go of. What do I do in those situations where I get stuck in my emotions?

Be aware of that and notice. It is not for you to understand what might be triggering the emotional response. If a story comes to mind, don’t follow it. That would be making ego mind your master. Come back to now.

Participant: But the emotions are so strong. If I try to push them down…

But, that’s not the thing to do. Then you are saying that you don’t accept what is here and you want to change it. The emotion is here, so let it be. Neither push it down nor try to change it, but also don’t defend it. It is neither right nor wrong that you have the feeling. The feeling seems to be present. Let it be present and watch it as you watch everything that is a part of the now. You don’t choose your feelings. You also don’t choose your thoughts. They just come. So, you choose neither your thoughts nor your feelings, but you do choose your action. You can choose to let the emotion express itself until it doesn’t. You can choose not to follow your thoughts. You don’t choose an action to get somewhere; you choose the action of inaction. Action, when it comes, just comes. There is no choosing. A thought appears and the choice is not to act on it. It is not a question of what you need to do, but a matter of what you need to stop doing. The thoughts that come to you are not true. Stop listening to and following them. Stop serving that master. But also, do not judge the thoughts or try to push them away, the same as you would do with the feelings. The thought is there. Let it be present and have no concern if it returns. Simply don’t be guided by it.

Remember that what is real does not change. Thoughts and feelings are in constant motion. What doesn’t change is the awareness that notices the thoughts and feelings. This is the you to keep coming back to. Who is noticing what happens in the present?

Participant: That is a little bit scary. Very scary.

That’s why most people continue to listen to and follow the ego mind. It feels easier and safer. The suffering is familiar and shared with most everyone else.

Participant: Yeah. And stop listening to the inner divine voice, too. You have given me some keys like investigating who I am serving, allowing thoughts and feelings to be present without judging or resisting, and taking a step backward to see who is noticing what is happening.

I would love to be able to give you a list similar to what you have just related and to tell you that all you have to do is to do those things and awakening will happen, but that’s not how it works. All of that will still be coming from your ego mind – the desire to not feel this pain, to not be holding these thoughts, the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, and so on. But that’s the hand that you hold right now. Even though these ideas of what to do all come from the ego mind, that is all you can do for now. However, if your day-to-day focus is on being free from your thoughts and your projections, then you are focusing your energy in a laser-like way on the truth of you.

The relationship between the Divine you and your illusion of physicality is absolutely unique. There is nobody else like you. How can there be a one-size fits all path to realization when each path is different? Others can point but they can’t tell you what to do. If the pointing is of true value to you, you will be encouraged to look within where your true guidance, your true master dwells.

Participant: When it all quiets down there is an inner voice that I call divine presence, so it seems that I have the choice to turn inside and find that voice or to turn outward and be in a fight. There is something with having to be aware of the inner divine voice. When I am there, I can take in what you are saying a little bit easier. At least I can quiet down.

Quietness is a key. That is the place where you can hear. Take time for quietness each day. This inner divine voice has no relationship to past or future. It relates to now. It doesn’t guide you to results oriented actions. It leads through the passion of the moment, through a knowingness beyond understanding. It might encourage you to take an action because you are terrified to take that action. (laughter) Your guidance will not identify any action as a step to awakening; it will simply suggest you do this now. The importance is for you to hear, trust, and act on this inner guidance. It is never a question of right or wrong, but one of what is here now. This is serving Divine Guidance rather than ego mind. Ego mind will likely express opposition to this voice. It is terrified of taking such steps. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter. There are no disasters. You simply are. No matter what is done in the illusion, you can’t undo or destroy yourself. You are. There are no consequences to your actions. There is the presence of suffering when following ego mind, but it’s not real and it’s not forever. Eventually you will choose the Divine Master. This is not to say that nothing is gained by following the ego mind. These choices and their results become part of your programming. Eventually the response will become one of not wishing to go down that road again. You can’t force that point to come, but choosing your inner voice whenever possible can only speed up the transition.

Participant: It feels like there needs to be some braveness to step out of following the voice of the mass consciousness. I need to be brave enough to listen to my inner divine voice.

Perhaps – or maybe you become so exhausted that you just don’t have the energy to do it any more. Following the Divine Voice becomes the easier choice. It may feel more like survival than courage. Maybe in the end it is the weariness from repeated failures rather than courage or ability to hear your inner voice that is the largest determinant of the choice to follow the inner Master. Much of my job is to help wear down your mind.

Participant: So now what?

Good Now

Sanhia/Spirit                      

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