We have been asked to surrender. Today’s reading shares tips on how to surrender effectively.

Guidance is Now

Guidance is the highest vibrational option available in the current moment. It’s important to realize this. People often want to seek guidance about some point in the future or about some imaginary problem. Guidance has nothing to do with future possibilities or imaginary problems. Guidance is the highest vibrational choice available now about now. Pay attention for current guidance, and the future will take care of itself.

Problems and Solutions

The thinking mind and the ego are synonymous—two different terms pointing to the same phenomenon. The ego maintains its sense of existence by creating problems and resolving them. It is a problem-solution mechanism.

Most humans believe that thinking is the way to solve a problem. What they usually don’t see is the same mechanism that solves problems, creates new problems as soon as old ones are resolved. There is no end to the mind’s problems, because if the mind ever ceased creating problems, the ego would cease to be.

When this ongoing problem-solution loop is seen clearly, one realizes that peace will never be found with the mind. It promises peace as it encourages you to think through the current problem, but it never delivers on that promise. Instead, it delivers a new problem. The only way to be free of the mind’s ongoing problem-solution madness is to stop listening to the mind. That’s the purpose of surrender, which is living by intuition instead of by thinking.

The Pitfall of Questioning Guidance

Whenever we seek for the current highest vibrational option, one is present. One is always present. By looking for it, we find it. However, the mistake that many people make is questioning that option once they’ve seen it. For example, “Am I sure this is the best option for me? Maybe I should …”

When we question the option that is provided through intuition, we reengage the thinking mind. Since the thinking mind wants to be engaged, it is happy to respond by giving you plenty to think about. Through questioning intuition’s answer, the thinking mind continues to thrive.

Oops, I Did it Again

Anyone who is learning to follow guidance will forget to tune within sometimes. Living by thinking is a strong habit, and so we all fall back on that habit repeatedly during the learning process. What are we to do when we discover that we’ve relied on thinking again? As soon as we notice, ask intuition, “What am I to do now?” As stated earlier, a current highest vibrational option is always present. That includes now, even after forgetting to be tuned in intuitively for a time.

See that Thinking is a Mess

Today’s reading asks you to watch the thinking process and see what it is. Typically, we just think of it as ‘me’ or ‘my thoughts’, so we don’t look to see what thinking is really doing.

Watch to see what happens in your thinking today. Some of the things you might find in thinking include:

• Desiring something that you don’t have.
• Wanting to change something that you do have.
• Thinking about problems.
• Replaying old conversations or imagining future conversations.
• Narrating what you are doing, just so thinking can reemphasize the “I” concept over and over. For example, “I think I’ll take my umbrella with me today. It might rain, and I don’t want to get wet.”
• Questioning whether you are happy with such-and-such or so-and-so (such as a job, a home or a partner.)
• Constantly self-assessing and judging yourself, either favorably or unfavorably
• Defining how you want to be seen by others, and then thinking about things you can do, or should avoid, in order to be seen that way.
• Thinking about what you think others think of you.
• Worrying about financial security or some other sense of security, such as health, beauty, power, popularity or belonging.
• And etcetera.

Yesterday, we saw that although the true Self is present and pure, it is still helpful to purify the mind. Today’s reading recommends purification too, which it calls “healing.” It reminds us that in order to heal (purify the mind), we must replace old habits with new habits, especially with the new habit of surrender.

Although we have been asked to teach, today we are asked to see ourselves as students. Our teacher is the combined wisdom of NTI and inner spiritual intuition. In NTI, these two are referred to using the Judeo-Christian symbol, “Holy Spirit.” Remember what NTI Luke 4 said about the Holy Spirit:

Jesus came out of the desert a teacher, but the one who taught through him was the Holy Spirit. This is the same one that teaches you now, so that no time has elapsed since Jesus seemed to teach until the time that I am teaching you now.

In other words, your inner teacher is the one who taught Jesus. It is also the one that Jesus became as he merged with the inner teacher. That means Jesus is your teacher too.

It is one teacher that has led everyone who has ever awakened. Everyone who has ever awakened dissolved into the one teacher, so they are the teacher too.

Today, the teacher asks you to adopt two new perspectives:

1. Be grateful for every circumstance in your life as an opportunity to learn and to practice.
2. Keep the Holy Sprit’s Word foremost in your mind throughout the day.

I would like to echo the importance of these two recommendations.

When I was going through the purification stage, I was ‘religious’ about seeing every circumstance as an opportunity for my healing and as an opportunity to listen within for the highest vibrational option (guidance). Each upsetting circumstance was an opportunity not to react from my old conditioning, including my beliefs, fears and desires. Instead, each circumstance was an opportunity to find peace by letting go of old conditioning.

I cannot emphasize how helpful it is to see one’s life as a setup for healing, as if every detail is put in place to help you awaken. That is its purpose. See every person as an actor, who plays a role perfectly so you can purify your mind and awaken to who you are.

It’s also really beneficial to develop the habit of keeping inner wisdom in the forefront of the mind. This is why we use the Thoughts of Awakening. Each day there is a new thought from inner wisdom for us to read and mull over many times throughout the day.

Have you developed that habit yet?

If not, are you willing to give it more effort now?

Over the past couple of weeks, we have looked at vibrational choices. We have seen that you can maintain your current vibrational level or raise your vibrational level by the choices you make.

Today, we see that our vibrational level affects the vibrational level of the whole. In NTI Luke 9, inner spiritual wisdom asks you to be a teacher. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you will take a teaching role in the world. It is a request that you consistently raise your vibrational level, thereby raising the vibrational level of the whole, by contemplating the thoughts of Spirit and by practicing the teachings in your daily life.

For some, this idea of raising the whole may lead to additional motivation to practice. It provides additional motivation for me. It provided additional motivation for Buddha. He was motivated into the jungle to seek enlightenment when he discovered the suffering of sickness, old age and death. He wanted to find the answer to suffering for everyone. His motivation came from compassion for the whole.

Consider these quotes:

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. ~ Jesus referring to himself, Mark 10:45

Your own Self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world. ~ Ramana Maharshi

True compassion is seeing the suffering in the world, and then choosing to sacrifice one’s own ego in order to raise the vibration of the whole. It is as Jesus said:

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ~ John 15:13

Today’s reading also says, “You are the Christ, … Christ is your true Self.”

Christ is synonymous with consciousness, the Second Principle of God. The reading’s focus on consciousness as the inner Light is a reminder that, although we’ve been focused on purification and raising our vibrational level, the true Self is present and pure now.

If the true Self is pure, why go through purification?

To purify the mind.

Is that necessary, since the true Self is already pure?

The best way to awaken to the true Self is to do two things simultaneously:

Purify the mind of conditioning, false beliefs, desires and fears, and  focus on awareness (e.g., awareness-watching-awareness).

When you focus on awareness, you can see that it is already pure. It is not the mind. However, as long as the mind causes suffering, mental purification is necessary too.

NTI Luke has taken us “into the desert” for purification. Today’s reading focuses on purifying the “I am bad” belief, which may show up as:

• guilt
• unworthiness
• self-hatred
• shame
• feeling like a fake
• seeing one’s self as less than others
• etcetera

It’s helpful to make note of NTI Luke 8, so you can return to it for guidance when any of these ideas take hold in you. NTI Luke 8 coaches the reader into a healing posture.

Some key points from today’s reading are:

1. Remember to trust that you are worthy, regardless of what you believe or feel about yourself.

 

2. Remember that this feeling/belief must rise to the surface to be healed. Be grateful for this as an opportunity to heal.

 

3. Practice rest-accept-trust during times of strong emotion.

 

4. The “rest” in rest-accept-trust means rest away from believing the stories in the mind. Relax the mind and focus on gratitude for healing instead of focusing on stories about what is happening in the world.

 

5. The “I am bad” belief is based on judgment. Look to find the judgment you made against yourself. Are you willing to see that you are the one making the judgment? Are you willing to accept that you could be wrong? Are you willing to let go of that judgment?

 

6. The “I am bad” belief is strongly believed. It has been believed repeatedly. That might make it seem true to you, but that does not mean that it is true. In fact, it isn’t true. The belief comes from the mind. It is a mental interpretation about the body-personality. As we have already seen, the mind interprets; it does not know.
    
   In addition, you are not the body-personality. You are the awareness that is aware of the body-personality and mind. As you rest-accept-trust, notice that you are aware of the storm in the mind. As you rest, be aware of yourself as awareness. Noticing yourself as awareness is looking beyond the storm to the blue sky.

Note: I recommend printing this tip for future reference.

Today’s reading interprets the story of the Centurion. Here’s that story:

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. [ At the time, Jews believed they would be made unclean if they entered the house of a Gentile.] That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Today’s reading emphasizes faith, clarity regarding the goal, and surrender.

Faith

Jesus said the Centurion had “great faith.” The Centurion knew that his request would be fulfilled. He said, “… say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Previously, I described faith as (1) trusting the healing process, (2) having confidence in a benevolent power beyond what your senses or mind can know and (3) accepting that all is well, regardless of the appearance. I’d like to add a fourth aspect to faith. Faith includes having confidence that you will awaken. Consider this quote:

Desire and confidence must go together. The stronger your desire, the easier comes the help. … If your desire and confidence are strong, they will operate and take you to your goal, for you will not cause delay by hesitation and compromise. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

Let’s look at how the creative principle works. That which we believe is fed into the creative principal and results in manifestation. With that said, if I believe I am unworthy to awaken, what is likely to be the result?

Catch thoughts of unworthiness in your mind, and let them go in faith.

Clarity Regarding the Goal

Yesterday we learned that the ego-mind does not know; it interprets. When we imagine what we think truth is, we are interpreting with a mental-mechanism that does not know. We are creating a fantasy.

If we have a mental fantasy about truth, and we desire our fantasy, we are not truth-seekers; we are illusion-seekers.

What do you imagine truth to be? Are you willing to let that go and find out what truth is?

Surrender

Today’s reading asks, “Did you really expect to find the peace of God in your  way?”

That leads to another question:

What is the ‘I’ that says “my way,” and can it lead to truth?

Contemplate how critical surrender is if your purpose is awakening.