Circumventing The Mind

Continued from yesterday…

After I experienced healing from cluster headaches in 2006, I still struggled with the emotional baggage rooted in the feeling that I’m not enough. But as I began to meditate on divine love on a more consistent basis, I noticed a significant shift in my consciousness.

The mental and emotional pain disappeared, and I felt a perpetual peace and freedom unlike any I had experienced before. I began to awaken to a reality that I had never dared to consider…

Knowing the truth is not really a mental belief system, but an awareness of the spirit within.

Our true self is not the body, nor the thoughts of the mind, but the spirit that is one with God (or the Universe, if you prefer). To know the truth is to be aware of the presence within—not as a thought, but as the observer of thoughts.

This presence is united with the larger infinite presence, and this union permeates with unconditional and selfless love. Out of this awareness, our sense of self can be transformed. The subconscious narrative of I am not enough is exchanged with an inner-awareness of I am love!

Some may ask, “Is this not a belief? What makes this inner-awareness different than any other religious belief system?” It’s a good question, and I respond like this: a belief is a worldview, idea, or some other mental conception. So yes, it is true that so long as it only fills the pages of this book, this truth is a collection of thoughts that form a belief.

Yet the experience of the awareness of divine presence is not a mental belief because it circumvents the mind. The distinction may seem immaterial at first, but when a person begins to awaken to their true self, the difference between mental-beliefs and inner-awareness is evident.

Although these mental ideas (often found in spiritual texts) are not themselves the truth, they can point us toward the truth. But the truth that sets us free is not a belief system, but a state of awareness of presence. It’s a consciousness that is not grounded in your thinking mind, but in your true self that is one with God. Love is the fabric and substance of this union.

Jesus referred to this freedom as entering the kingdom of heaven. Paul called this salvation. Buddhism and Hinduism call it enlightenment. Other traditions call it transformation. No matter what you call it, something extraordinary happens when you move from fear to freedom.

Just like the colorless tiger, when you remember that you are free, your real beauty is revealed, in all its colorful, sparkling glory. Peace, grace, and joy then infuse your being. You find the truth of who you are, and the purpose of your human experience.

Adapted from Section 1 of Awakening To I Am Love by David Youngren