What is the Holy Spirit?

Our special theme says, “The Holy Spirit understands the means you made, by which you would attain what is forever unattainable. And if you offer them to Him, He will employ the means you made for exile to restore your mind to where it truly is at home.”

The ego uses our attention to keep us absorbed in illusion and ignorance. Our attention is usually focused outward on the ego’s ideas (thought) and perceptions (the world as perceived through thought).

Spiritual intuition uses the same tool that the ego uses—attention. However, spiritual intuition guides us to keep attention focused inward instead of outward. We are focused inward as we ask intuition, “What am I to do now? How am I to see this?” We are also focused inward as we practice awareness-watching-awareness or loving consciousness meditation.

Outward focused attention is guided by ego.
Inward focused attention is guided by spiritual intuition.

There is a third type of attention. It is fully involved in the moment with no “I” or self in it. Examples include being absorbed in creativity or being absorbed in nature.

When we are fully in the moment without ego chatter about “me,” we are in presence. We might call that merged attention instead of outward focused attention, because instead of the idea of me as a person looking outward at a world through “my” thoughts, it is awareness and scenery all merged into one happening.

Therefore:

Outward focused attention is guided by ego.
Inward focused attention is guided by spiritual intuition.
Merged attention is presence.

Let me forget my brother’s past today.

Which type of attention is active when there is a grievance? Is it outward, inward or merged attention?

The answer is outward attention. Outward attention is attention that looks outward through thought, or more specifically, through the ego thought system. Outward attention looks at our brother through the ego’s chatter about the brother and what he did to me, or what I don’t like about him, etcetera.

If we focus our attention inwardly, we will find another thought system. It is the thought system that points toward truth. It may guide us to see our brother differently; it may guide us to inquire into our thoughts in order to see them differently; it may guide us to practice the Loving All Method with our brother and the situation; it may guide us to notice our self as unaffected awareness, etcetera. The specific guidance will vary, but the guidance will always be toward truth and away from untruth.

If our attention is merged, there will be no thought about our brother’s past and there will be no current judgments about him. There will only be this moment as it is in joy.

As you look at the three paragraphs written above, you might notice that inward focused attention is the bridge between outward focused attention and merged attention. Said another way, spiritual intuition is the means to one consciousness, which is awareness and happening as one (not “me” and other than me).

Today, whenever you notice that you are involved in outward attention, shift inward using surrender as it is taught in The Teachings of Inner Ramana.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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What is the Holy Spirit?

Our special theme says, “The Holy Spirit understands the means you made, by which you would attain what is forever unattainable. And if you offer them to Him, He will employ the means you made for exile to restore your mind to where it truly is at home.”

Yesterday we looked at the positive use of doubt. The Holy Spirit uses doubt, which is part of the ego thought system, to doubt the ego thought system itself.

Likewise, desire is part of the ego thought system. There is no desire in consciousness. But the Holy Spirit (i.e., spiritual intuition) uses desire as a means of directing our attention toward reality. We begin to desire truth, or we desire freedom from suffering, or we experience some other desire that turns attention from the world and places attention inward. In this way, desire is employed to restore us to truth realization.

As we have seen repeatedly since the beginning of Gentle Healing, desire is an important tool of awakening. That is because desire is an integral part of the ego thought system. Until we awaken, desire is activated. We could desire a new relationship, a bag of potato chips, more money, a different place to live, a new job, new shoes or anything, but the ego always desires. So the Holy Spirit takes what is there—desire—and turns it around so that it takes us to truth instead of more fully into illusion.

Here are two quotes about the importance of desiring truth:

“The desire for enlightenment is necessary because without it you will never take the necessary steps to realize the Self. A desire to walk to a particular place is necessary before you take any steps. If that desire is not present, you will never take the first step. When you realize the Self, that desire will go.” ~ Sri Annamalai Swami

“Merely to trust is not enough. You must also desire. Without desire for freedom of what use is the confidence that you can acquire freedom? Desire and confidence must go together. The stronger your desire, the easier comes the help.” ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Some people have learned intellectually that there is no desire in consciousness, and then the spiritual self-image leads them to claim not to have any desires now. However, typically that is only a form of denial. They aren’t noticing their world-based desires, even though the world-based desires are there, talked about and pursued, and they aren’t allowing the desire for truth to become strong. Their denial of desire is an ego preservation strategy.

It is not helpful to deny desire. It is helpful to engage all of the power of desire for the purpose of awakening by realizing over and over again that your spiritual aspiration is all you truly want.

You are my goal, my Father. Only You.

Today’s lesson asks questions, which help us invoke our desire for truth. It asks:

Where would I go but Heaven? What could be a substitute for happiness? What gift could I prefer before the peace of God? What treasure would I seek and find and keep that can compare with my Identity? And would I rather live with fear than love?

Use today to inquire about desire. What are your world based desires? Notice them. Will those desires, if achieved, bring everlasting peace, happiness and clarity? What is your spiritual aspiration? Will it, if achieved, bring everlasting peace, happiness and clarity? What is your strongest heart-felt desire? What do you want above all else?

I recommend taking time to answer the preceding questions through journaling. Reading my tips is a wonderful first step, but if you merely read my tips without following the practice recommendations in the tips, you are probably not taking steps toward your spiritual aspiration. Reading, but not practicing, is another ego preservation strategy.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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What is the Holy Spirit?

The Teachings of Inner Ramana says:

When one is not world-focused, guidance within the world occurs naturally. Non-attached activity within perception is not a hindrance to awakening. Attached activity is a means of clinging to the dream.

In The Teachings of Inner Ramana, world-focus and attachment are synonymous. World-focus and attachment occur when we believe our thoughts. Believing our thoughts is a hindrance to intuition, because when we believe our thoughts, we think we are right. When we think we are right, we are not open to intuition.

Our special theme says, “The Holy Spirit understands the means you made, by which you would attain what is forever unattainable. And if you offer them to Him, He will employ the means you made for exile to restore your mind to where it truly is at home.”

Doubt is part of the ego thought system. It does not exist in consciousness. However, spiritual intuition has a positive use for doubt. Doubt can be used to doubt our thoughts. We can doubt them enough to bring them to inquiry, or we can doubt them enough to disregard them altogether.

When we doubt our thoughts, we are open to guidance that comes from intuition.

The hush of Heaven holds my heart today.

Today we practice the positive use of doubt. As we doubt our thoughts, they grow quieter. They grow quieter because we are not giving them our believing-attention.

When we live in the world with a quiet detached mind, we see the miracle of unfolding. We discover that we do not need to think about everything and figure everything out. The miracle of unfolding takes care of everything. Or, as our lesson says, “In [God] is every choice already made.”

Today we doubt our thoughts, but we do not doubt the path we are on, our intuition or “the end which God Himself as promised us. We trust in Him, and in our Self, Who still is One with Him.”

Choose to doubt wisely today.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation:

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What is the Holy Spirit?

Our special theme says, “From knowledge, where He has been placed by God, the Holy Spirit calls to you, to let forgiveness rest upon your dreams, and be restored to sanity and peace of mind.”

Or, as The Teachings of Inner Ramana says:

World-focused thought is always an error. It is attachment. Therefore, it is dreaming or remaining deluded.

To help people with world-focused thoughts by providing world-focused solutions is assisting one to dream. Therefore, the Awakened One, who has accepted the role of continuing the awakening, will not assist in world-focused concerns by providing world-focused answers. The Awakened One will assist world-focus by observing the filter with the one who has a desire to awaken.

In an earlier tip, I wrote about the difference between everyday intuition and spiritual intuition. This difference is not something we need to analyze. For example, if we have a feeling to talk to someone, we do not need to analyze whether that is coming from everyday intuition or spiritual intuition. It is always good to follow intuition, so we can simply follow the intuitive feeling in trust.

However, it is helpful to know there are two types of intuition. Everyday intuition makes life in the world easier. Spiritual intuition is the intuition that awakens us from the world entirely.

Since spiritual intuition has a very specific purpose, it also has a very specific focus. It’s helpful if we respect its focus. For example, it is a mistake if we ask spiritual intuition, “How can I make more money?” or “Should I stay in this relationship or leave?”

These questions are world-focused questions. Spiritual intuition has the function of awakening you from the world entirely. It cannot awaken you from the world and guide you in the world too. That would be confusing its purpose.

As The Teachings of Inner Ramana says, “The Awakened One will assist world-focus by observing the filter with the one who has a desire to awaken.”

“The Awakened One” is a synonym for the Holy Spirit and spiritual intuition. The “filter” is a synonym for the mind and thought. So, Inner Ramana teaches that spiritual intuition responds to world-focus by helping you observe, or inquire into, thought.

If you ask spiritual intuition a question, and you want a world-focused answer, spiritual intuition will remain silent. If you are really interested in an answer to your question, the ego will step in and fill that void. In other words, it is the ego that answers world-focused questions.

You can receive clear answers from spiritual intuition if you ask questions that are focused on its purpose.

For example, instead of asking, “How can I make more money?” you might say, “I feel unsafe. How shall I look at this?” Other good questions are “What will you share with me about this?” and “What is it that I need to see in my mind?”

Instead of asking, “Should I stay in this relationship or leave?” try describing how you feel in the relationship, and then ask, “What guidance do you have for me?”

When you seek an answer from spiritual intuition, it is good to ask open-ended questions. Don’t attempt to lead spiritual intuition by putting a possible answer in your question. For example, don’t ask ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions.

Spiritual intuition is the inner teacher, so its answers have the focus of teaching and pointing toward truth.

Everyday intuition is different. Everyday intuition provides world-based intuitive information and guidance in the moment. If you ask, “What am I to do now?” it will answer. If you ask, “What am I to do next month?” it will not answer. It will remain silent. Again, if intuition remains silent and you really want an answer to your question, ego will step in and fill the void.

Both forms of intuition are there to guide you, and it is helpful for you to follow both forms of intuition. Just remember that spiritual intuition is the inner teacher with the purpose of helping you awaken, and everyday intuition only responds to questions about right now. If you keep these simple rules in mind, it will help you to invoke intuition instead of ego.

Note: Occasionally guidance comes in, uninvited, that sets a goal or direction for you. If this type of guidance comes, you will recognize it. It has a distinct feeling to it that is different from ego. However, it is always best not to ask for future-based guidance. Your role is to stay focused with now.

My holiness shines bright and clear today.

Our lesson says, “Today I wake with joy, expecting but the happy things of God to come to me. I ask but them to come, and realize my invitation will be answered by the thoughts to which it has been sent by me. And I will ask for only joyous things the instant I accept my holiness.”

If you look carefully at today’s lesson, you will see that it indicates we will receive based on our identity.

If I see myself as a vulnerable person in the world, and I believe the thoughts in the mind are my thoughts, my experience will be based on that identification.

If I see myself as the unaffected witness, my experience will be based on that identification.

What we identify with is the most important decision that we make in each moment.

I am able to comfortably identify with the unaffected Self now, and that identification feels genuine for me. However, it didn’t always feel genuine. There was a time when I would have felt like a fake if I had identified with unaffected awareness as myself.

It’s not helpful to identify with the idea that you are an affected person, so if you are not yet to the place where it feels genuine to identify with unaffected awareness, what are you to identify with?

The Teachings of Inner Ramana has a recommendation:

The one who chooses to listen to me and follow me is the awakening of your true Self, so do not doubt your willingness to listen and follow me. That is you. And by listening to that desire, you listen to your Self.

In other words, Inner Ramana suggests that we identify with our willingness to awaken as we transition from identification as a person to identifying with the unaffected Self.

As you go through the day today, if you feel genuine identifying with the unaffected Self, please do. However, if that feels like too much of a stretch for you, identify with your willingness to realize truth. Let, “My holiness shines bright and clear today,” be a reminder to identify with one or the other in lieu of identifying with the ego experience.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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What is the Holy Spirit?

The Teachings of Inner Ramana says:

Fear comes simply from not knowing reality. Therefore, the only answer to fear is to let go of what is false and to remember reality as true. Discarding the world is as simple as remembering that it isn’t true. This is as simple as living from within instead of from without. One who is forgetting the world takes his cues from within.

“Discarding the world” is the same as seeing that we are unaffected by it. It is the same as being in the world, but not of it. It is also what our special theme means when it says:

If you but knew how much your Father yearns to have you recognize your sinlessness, you would not let His Voice appeal in vain, nor turn away from His replacement for the fearful images and dreams you made.

Although this language is highly symbolic, our “sinlessness” in this context is our unaffectedness. The previous paragraph from our special theme could be translated into less symbolic language in this way:

Your yearning for truth is the yearning to know your unaffected Self, which is your truth. When you realize how strong this yearning is in you, you will cease to listen to ego; you will listen instead to spiritual intuition. You will let spiritual intuition guide you to the realization of your Self. You will stay in the awareness of your Self, and see all things through the lens of truth. In this way, all you will see is truth, and you will rejoice at what you see.

As The Teachings of Inner Ramana says, “This is as simple as living from within instead of from without.”

If we look at the world as a movie or a play, we can also say that it has two directors. One director is the ego. When the actor is too caught up in the play of the world, the ego shouts its directions, and the actor blindly follows. This actor has forgotten that the play is a play and believes s/he is affected by everything that is happening.

The other director is intuition. In order to hear this quieter director, who whispers instructions quietly from within the actor, the actor must remember that s/he wants to hear the director’s instructions. To do this, the actor must be more focused within than on the play. Certainly, there is awareness of the play, but the actor is turned inward to discover what s/he is to say, do, not say or not do as the script of the play unfolds.

I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt.

Today’s lesson says, “Loss is not loss when properly perceived. Pain is impossible. … This is the truth, at first to be but said and then repeated many times; and next to be accepted as but partly true, with many reservations. Then to be considered seriously more and more, and finally accepted as the truth. I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt.”

The thoughts that hurt come from the ego. They are thoughts that rise up from the belief that we are affected by the world.

In order to change all thoughts that hurt, we must change directions and directors. Instead of being focused outward, we change direction and focus inward, always inward.

Outward results in fear and suffering.
Inward realizes wisdom, peace and trust.

Remain focused inward today by practicing surrender as it is taught in The Teachings of Inner Ramana.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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What is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is a term that points to spiritual intuition. Yesterday we read about spiritual intuition in an excerpt from The Teachings of Inner Ramana. That excerpt said:

One who listens to guidance … realizes truth even as he experiences perception. He listens to knowledge because he knows that one who sees perception cannot truly see, but one who is not attached can be guided. Non-attachment and realization are one.

While contemplating our last special theme, we learned about equanimity. Equanimity is abiding in the qualities of Christ-consciousness—acceptance of what is, openness, non-attachment, and unconditional trust.

When we accept that we are consciousness, we abide in equanimity, because we realize we are unaffected by the outside world.

When we abide in equanimity, we are able to feel spiritual intuition more easily, because “one who is not attached can be guided.”

I live in the high desert of Colorado. Tumbleweeds are common here. However, we only see tumbleweeds in the winter. During the summer, tumble weeds are rooted firmly into the ground. The wind cannot blow the tumbleweeds about when they are attached to the ground.

In the winter, the tumbleweed’s roots die. That frees the tumbleweeds from the ground, and then the wind can blow them about freely.

Spiritual intuition is like the wind. When we abide in equanimity, we are like the tumbleweeds in the winter. We allow spiritual intuition to guide us without any attachment to the ground of our thoughts.

This is the goal of the Holy Spirit’s teaching. It is to free us from attachment to our thinking.

Once we are freed from our habitual thinking, we can be guided by spiritual intuition, and the Holy Spirit “becomes the means to go beyond itself, to be replaced by the eternal truth.”

As we’ve already seen, the Holy Sprit is the means to awakening. Once we awaken to truth, we are beyond the Holy Spirit. What we are is the home of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual intuition emanates from awakened consciousness.

Although what we are is the source that spiritual intuition emanates from, until we genuinely awaken to our Self, we do well to be surrendered to spiritual intuition. Through surrender, we let our true voice guide us back to the realization of what we are.

One mistake that people make when they understand intellectually that the Holy Spirit is their true voice, but they don’t have the genuine experience of themselves as consciousness, is listening to the ego thought system while saying, “But the Holy Spirit is me.” In other words, they think their thinking and their will is the same as the Holy Spirit’s thinking and its will.

Your thinking and spiritual intuition are not the same thing. Thinking is the voice of the ego, and it will keep you attached to the idea that you are a person in a body.

If you really want to awaken to your truth, it is critical that you put your own thinking aside and tune into spiritual intuition. Spiritual intuition is the means to awakening, not your thinking. You need to free yourself from the ground of your thoughts in order to genuinely follow spiritual intuition.

My true identity abides in You.

The prayer in today’s workbook lesson begins with, “Father, I made an image of myself, and it is this I call the Son of God. Yet is creation as it always was, for Your creation is unchangeable. Let me not worship idols.”

Most people do not call themselves the “Son of God.” Most people in the world today think of Jesus as the “Son of God.” Yet, they may think of themselves as the children of God.

Why is it an error to think of yourself, the person, as the Son or child of God?

When you think of yourself, the person, as the Son or child of God, you remain identified with yourself as the person. You remain identified with the mind’s thoughts as your thoughts. You are not the person, and the mind’s thoughts are not your thoughts, so the error is a mistake in identification.

It is much more helpful to think of yourself as consciousness, and to realize that consciousness is the Son or child of God. Consciousness is the direct creation or extension of the source.

Nisargdatta Maharaj said:

Keep on remembering: I am neither the mind nor its ideas.  Do it patiently and with conviction and you will surely come to the direct vision of yourself as the source of being—knowing—loving, eternal, all-embracing, all-pervading. You are the infinite focused in a body. Now you see the body only. Try earnestly and you will come to see the infinite only.

Today, we will take Nisargadatta’s advice and “keep on remembering” by noticing repeatedly throughout the day that we are awareness.

We will also practice the Loving All Method today. As we do, we will remind ourselves that the essence of everything is the essence that we are. As our lesson says, “Now are we One in shared Identity, … And so we offer blessing to all things, uniting lovingly with all the world, …”

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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What is the Holy Spirit?

Our special theme says, “The Holy Spirit mediates between illusions and the truth. Since he must bridge the gap between reality and dreams, perception leads to knowledge through the grace that God has given Him, to be His gift to everyone who turns to Him for truth. Across the bridge that He provides are dreams all carried to the truth, to be dispelled before the light of knowledge. There are sights and sounds forever laid aside. And where they were perceived before, forgiveness has made possible perception’s tranquil end.”

Today, I would like to share how The Teachings of Inner Ramana shares the same teaching:

Fear comes simply from not knowing reality. Therefore, the only answer to fear is to let go of what is false and to remember reality as true.

Discarding the world is as simple as remembering that it isn’t true. This is as simple as living from within instead of from without.

One who is forgetting the world takes his cues from within. When observed, he may seem to respond to without. He may even seem to respond to his thoughts, which are still without, but this is only if you observe him from without. Without will see without. Within will see within.

One who is awakening to truth is also discarding the world, which includes discarding his thoughts about the world, so this one is learning to take all of his cues from within . . . from beyond the clouds of his thoughts.

True perception is a bridge. Guidance is a bridge. To feel that one is awakened or living outside of mind when one is experiencing perception or guidance is an error. To say that one lives outside of mind when one experiences perception is to remain deluded.

But to listen to guidance and to say that one is guided by mind outside of mind is not to be deluded. It is merely to describe the experience in words. It is merely to recognize that mind is needed to experience perception, but guidance is the echo of knowledge filtered through mind.

One who listens to guidance may be said by others to be awakened, but this one will only say he is realized, because he realizes truth even as he experiences perception. He listens to knowledge because he knows that one who sees perception cannot truly see, but one who is not attached can be guided. Non-attachment and realization are one. Seeing truth is to be awakened.

World-focused thought is always an error. It is attachment. Therefore, it is dreaming or remaining deluded.

To help people with world-focused thoughts by providing world-focused solutions is assisting one to dream. Therefore, the Awakened One, who has accepted the role of continuing the awakening, will not assist in world-focused concerns by providing world-focused answers. The Awakened One will assist world-focus by observing the filter with the one who has a desire to awaken.

When one is not world-focused, guidance within the world occurs naturally. Non-attached activity within perception is not a hindrance to awakening. Attached activity is a means of clinging to the dream.

Tomorrow, we will begin looking more closely at these words from The Teaching of Inner Ramana.

I will not be afraid of love today.

“Love” is a symbol for the openness of consciousness and its source. It is also a symbol for the oneness of consciousness and its source. The ego is afraid of openness and oneness. The ego is more comfortable with control and individuality, although the ego is never completely comfortable. Fear is an inherent component of the ego. As the previous excerpt from Inner Ramana teaches, “Fear comes simply from not knowing reality.” Since the ego does not know reality, fear lies at its foundation.

Regarding, “I will not be afraid of love today,” our special theme says, “This the decision not to be insane, and to accept myself as God Himself, my Father and my Source, created me.”

Basically, we have two choices: We can identify with the ego or we can identify with life-awareness-presence (consciousness). Whatever we identify with, we also act and speak from.

This is not the first time we have contemplated the question, “What will I identify with?” This question is contemplated repeatedly because one who is identified with ego is afraid to identify with awareness, even if there is a desire to do so.

The ego will not tell you that it is afraid of your truth. It will not separate itself from your truth in that way, because then you will see that the ego isn’t your truth. In that seeing, you are set free.

Instead, the ego will provide everyday objections to identifying with awareness. For example, it might say:

• People will think you are weird.
• People will think you are egotistical, pretending to be something you aren’t.
• You aren’t ready. You need to learn more first, or you need to have mystical experiences first.
• You won’t be able to take care of everyday responsibilities. You will be out of touch with everyday life.
• It’s simply not true. That’s not who you are. This is who you are. Spiritual teachings are mere fantasy.
• You don’t have time for this. There are important things that require your attention.

All of these objections, and other objections similar to them, are expressions of the ego’s fear of love.

When we decide, “I will not be afraid of love today,” we decide to be our Self. We decide to abide as life-awareness-presence instead of the body-personality-mind. We also decide to listen to and follow intuition instead of giving excessive attention to the chattering mind.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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Before beginning our new special theme, let’s review each of the special themes that we’ve already contemplated.

What is Forgiveness? Forgiveness is recognizing yourself as the unaffected Self. Therefore, “what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred.” Forgiveness “looks, and waits, and judges not.”

What is Salvation? Salvation is healing by “failing to support the world of dreams … it lets illusions go. By not supporting them, it merely lets them quietly go down to dust. And what they hid is now revealed …”

What is the World? It is a “false perception” where “mechanisms of illusion … go to find what has been given them to seek.” Yet, “all perception can be given a new purpose. … Let us not be satisfied until forgiveness has been made complete.”

What is Sin? Sin is ignorance or outward focus. “Sin is the home of all illusions, which but stand for things imagined issuing from thoughts that are untrue.”

What is the Body? “The body is a fence” that seems to separate us from everything else. It makes duality seem real and makes it seem as if we experience duality directly. Therefore, it is a device of deception. However, it is also a neutral device, which means its purpose can be changed if we choose to change its purpose.

What is Christ? Christ is consciousness. It is the process of creation and the unaffected witness of creation. It is what we are. It is our Self. It is as it says in NTI Colossians:

“The Christ is your truth.
It is the law of Love.
It is the process of creation.
It is That Which is you.

What are you, then, if you are the Christ?

You are the flow that is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the creator of all things within time. You are the heavens and the earth, the bees and the sunshine. You are the process that made all things and is all things, so that they live through the process that created them. You are the flow of Life and separate from nothing that is Life, for that which flows through them is the process that you are. You are beyond concepts and differences and form, and within the Life Force that is all things.“

What is the Holy Spirit?

Our new special theme says, “The Holy Spirit mediates between illusions and the truth. … The goal the Holy Spirit’s teaching sets is just this end of dreams.”

The term “Holy Spirit” is a Judeo-Christian term for spiritual intuition. All humans have intuition. However, not all intuition is spiritual intuition. For example, I could have an intuitive feel that the person I am talking to on the phone is a con artist. That intuition is very helpful, and I serve myself well by listening to that intuition and ending the telephone conversation. However, that intuition was not focused on helping me see the difference between illusions and truth. That means that intuition wasn’t spiritual intuition.

Spiritual intuition has a very specific purpose—awakening us to truth.

All humans have basic intuition. All humans who have some readiness for awakening have spiritual intuition. If a human is not yet ready for awakening, spiritual intuition lies dormant within them. It will awaken to its call, when they are ready to awaken to theirs.

When we practice surrender as it is taught in The Teachings of Inner Ramana, we are tuning into both everyday intuition and spiritual intuition. In fact, spiritual intuition guides us to listen to everyday intuition instead of the thinking mind, because when we listen to the chatter of the thinking mind, we enliven it. If we live by intuition instead, the thinking mind is not fed with our attention.

It might not be important to know that everyday intuition is the intuition that informs you that someone is attempting to scam you and spiritual intuition is the intuition that guides you to love even that experience, but it might not hurt to be clear on this difference either. Everyday intuition makes our life in the world simpler, if we listen to it. Spiritual intuition awakens us from the ego’s dream of the world.

I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.

Today’s lesson says, “When I think I am hurt in any way, it is because I have forgotten who I am, … I will not hurt myself today. For I am far beyond all pain.”

This is a reminder that we are the unaffected Self.

What makes the unaffected Self believe that it is a body affected by duality?

Today’s lesson says that our thoughts are the culprit. However, that is not entirely true.

Thought is certainly deceptive, but just as you can hang up the telephone when a con artist calls you, and therefore not be attracted into a scam, you can turn attention away from thoughts.

Thoughts are not really the problem. The problem is choosing to give attention to thought.

If you like, you can change today’s workbook lesson in order to be a little more clear on the problem. Remind yourself throughout the day today, “I can be hurt by nothing but my choice to give attention to thought.”

When we are clear on the problem, the solution is also clear.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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What is the Christ?

Yesterday we saw that seeing Christ-consciousness in the world is “the symbol that the time for learning now is over, and the goal of the Atonement has been reached at last.”

Our special theme continues by saying, “So therefore let us seek to find Christ’s face and look on nothing else.”

This sets the goal. Just as the instructions for Loving Consciousness Meditation ask us to love our consciousness and ignore everything else, our special theme asks us to seek Christ-consciousness in everything and look on nothing else.

That doesn’t mean that we should repress anything else that we might see. It means that we should practice the Loving All Method with it.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take action in the world if we would normally take action. It means we should practice the Loving All Method with anything we perceive, anything we experience, and any action we take.

Let’s review some of the instructions from the Loving All Method:

Love every thought you have exactly the way it is.

Love all your emotions exactly the way they are.

Love your body exactly the way it is.

Love the objects you see exactly the way they are.

Love the people you see exactly the way they are.

Love your actions exactly the way they are.

Love everything you feel, think, say or do exactly the way it is.

Love everything you see, taste, touch, smell or hear exactly the way it is.

Love everything other people do, feel, think or say exactly the way it is.

Love everything that happens exactly the way it is.

Love every activity exactly the way it is.

Love every experience exactly the way it is.

Love everything exactly the way it is.

If you don’t understand how to practice the above instructions using the word “love”, you can substitute the words “emotionally allow” for the word “love” in the above instructions.

After practicing everyday for one month using the words “emotionally allow”, you can substitute the words “emotionally accept” for the word “love” in the above instructions.

After practicing everyday for one month using the words “emotionally accept”, you can go back to the original wording of the instructions, just as they are, using the word “love”, and then continue using the word love from then on.

No changes in your external behavior are required.

For example: if a vase falls and you would normally try and catch it, you will also try and catch the vase while you are practicing the Loving All Method.

You do not allow the vase to fall because you are loving the falling.

If someone were to try to punch you in the face and if you would normally duck, you will also duck while practicing the Loving All Method.

You also love the fact that you are ducking to avoid being punched.

The Loving All Method is about emotional acceptance.

The Loving All Method is not about changing your actions.

If someone says something mean to you and if you feel bad emotionally because of what they said, then love your negative emotion and love yourself for having the negative emotion.

Love as much as you can love.

What you wish to change, you will still change.

The Loving All Method is developing a new feeling habit.

The Loving All Method is developing the habit of feeling love towards everything you perceive.

What limits can I lay upon God’s Son?

“God’s Son” is a synonym for consciousness.

Our lesson says, “Today let me give honor to Your Son, for thus alone I find the way to You.”

The way to remember our source is to remember our truth. And the way to remember our truth is to continually focus on awareness (consciousness).

It is as Nisargadatta Maharaj said:

How do you go about finding anything? By keeping your mind and heart in it. Interest there must be, and steady remembrance. To remember what needs to be remembered is the secret of success. You come to it through earnestness.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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What is the Christ?

Our special theme says, “And how long will [Christ’s] holy face be seen, when it is but the symbol that the time for learning now is over, and the goal of the Atonement has been reached at last?”

In the Bible, when speaking of the last days, Jesus said, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.”

The end of the ego is near when we view all events from the perspective of Christ-consciousness. When loving all is our natural way of being, we identify with awareness-life-presence instead of the body-mind, and we see life as the truth of everything, we can know we are only a whisper away from the final end of the ego.

How do we know this is true?

The ego simply doesn’t see that way. The ego is judgment and separation. So when judgment has died in us, and we see everything as the same life-awareness that we identify with, the ego has grown very, very weak in us. It is on its last legs, assuming we continue with the spiritual practice that brought us this far. It is important to note that some sages warn that as long as even one thought remains in the ego thought system, the ego can regain strength if we do not continue to be vigilant.

Creation’s freedom promises my own.

Today’s lesson says, “The end of dreams is promised me, because God’s Son is not abandoned by His Love. … Should I wait in chains which have been severed for release, when God is offering me freedom now? I will accept your promises today, and give my faith to them.”

We give our faith to the promise of awakening by listening to spiritual intuition, by practicing the Loving All Method, and by focusing on awareness in ourselves and life in all other living things.

We also give our faith by identifying with spiritual intuition over the ego’s thinking and with life-awareness over the body-personality.

There is a thought that may appear in your mind that says it’s arrogant to identify with spiritual intuition and life-awareness over thinking and the body-personality. The hidden idea in that thought is that you are thinking and the body-personality, and you are not good enough to be spiritual intuition and life-awareness.

This thought is an ego preservation strategy. It isn’t true.

The ego may also ask something like, “What will others think if you start talking like a spiritual guru?” Or, “What will others think if you aren’t concerned about things like you were before?”

Any thought like that is also an ego preservation strategy.

What are you?

Where do you place your faith?

Abide as that. Be that.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:

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