Inside every one of us there is a deep desire to experience love, wholeness, healing, and contentment. There is an Infinite River of Bliss and Joy and Love that floods through all of creation. The deepest root of every human desire is to dive into this river and be carried away into complete and unending satisfaction. Many of us, though, go quite thirsty and this River of Bliss seems to be a pipe-dream or something out of reach or imperceptible. Underneath the fluid surface of our lives there is a field of Infinite depth and unlimited pure potential that is the source of all Love, Wisdom, and Energy. Throughout the ages this field of Being has been called by many names; the One, the Unbounded, the Now, Sat-Chit-Ananda, the Peace that passes all Understanding. We call it the Ascendant. The name we give it is not important. You can call it any name, but language falls short of describing its essence for its essence is beyond any form. What is most important is that though it lies beyond the realm of names and forms we are able to experience it.
The Ascendant is the field out of which all possibilities spring. Everything that exists is made up of the Source. All things come from there and will eventually return there. It is the Alpha and the Omega. If the Universe were to dissolve it would remain forever still, silent, and unchanged. There is nothing before it. There will be nothing after it. It underlies and permeates all things, but it is not a thing. It is formless and un-manifest, forever beyond the world of characteristics. However, it is not a void or a negative state of existence; it is a state of supreme fullness.
The experience of the Inner Source is more Real and solid than any of the experiences of the waking state of consciousness where experience is made up of the combination of transient dualistic elements. In that sense the waking state of consciousness is a dream world. When we become Enlightened we become permanently awake to the Eternal essence that underlies this world of changing opposites. This provides us with the ultimate stability as the Ascendant is unchanging. There are no ups and there are no downs. The more we develop our relationship to that place, the less the movements of the world affect us. This is True freedom.
This Ascendant is in all places at all times, it is Omnipresent. Therefore it must be within you, within me, within everyone and everything. There is no place that you can go where it is not. It is the fundamental level of our being and as such we can never be separate from it. We can believe we are separate, but this is belief. We suffer only because we believe ourselves to be small (or large for that matter!) separate individual egos. We wander and seek out experiences, people, or things that end up only temporarily satiating us. There is certainly nothing wrong with experiences, people, and things! Nothing at all, but as far as lasting fulfillment goes they alone will never truly fulfill us.
When we get our love from objects or people what happens when the objects or people are gone or changed? Generally our love is in some way diminished. This is definitely the case with relationships. We fall in love and if the person changes greatly from our projected ideal, or our projected ideals change, we fall out of love. One of the more difficult lessons to be learned is that all of the love we have experienced has its source inside of us. We are ultimately in control of how much flows from the faucet of our heart. Mainly, the flow of love is stopped by habits of judgment and inner walls built from previous negative experiences. What is required to break through these habits and fear based patterns is a greater experience of life.
A mind immersed in the Source is a still, quiet, and powerful mind. The mind is like a pond. When we are busy with thinking many thoughts it is like throwing many stones into the pond at once. There are many smaller waves going in different directions with crests cancelling each other out. When we throw one stone in the pond the waves are uniform and powerful. This is measurable by the electroencephalograph as coherence between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. As the mind becomes still and coherent the body responds by becoming still, peaceful, and deeply relaxed. This deep rest gives the body a chance to throw off stresses that sleep doesn’t touch. In this way both our mind and entire physiology are transformed for the better by experiencing the stillness of the Source within.
Fear is born from the perception of being a limited separate being. When our awareness touches the inner Light, the shadows of fear melt away and are replaced by the Love that has patiently waited to be recognized. Even a momentary dip into the Infinite can completely change a life. Consistent experience will transform life beyond our wildest dreams. How do we culture a consistent experience? Most if not all of us will require an effective tool to move the mind inward to the Source. With a tool the equation becomes simple. We use it. And if we use it consistently with dedication it will not be a long journey to the Self! There is really no distance to be traversed anyways; only the distance we have created in our minds. There are no limitations to life but those that we artificially impose. There are no problems that cannot be cured through connection to Omniscient wisdom. There is no pain that cannot be healed by the Love of the Divine Presence within us. It does not have to take long to fully awaken to our True Nature. The natural state of the mind is Enlightenment!
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