On Day 217, we saw that the ‘I am bad’ belief incites denial and repression instead of healing. The goal of NTI 2 Thessalonians is to help us transcend the ‘I am bad’ belief so we can heal (let go of the false and realize the true) more quickly and more effectively. When this stumbling block is out of the way, the road is clear to find our way to awakening more easily (assuming our desire for truth remains strong).

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

Please read and contemplate the following commentary in the same way that you read and contemplate the Thought of Awakening. The commentaries are designed to enrich your understanding of the Thoughts of Awakening.

~Commentary on Awareness~

 Awareness is not judgment. Judgment is a thought that at its basic root sends a message saying, “This must be this way or something is terribly wrong.”

Judging sets up duality. It is  the world of right and wrong, good and evil, good and bad. With duality there are right choices and wrong choices, and you can be worthy or unworthy, innocent, righteous or very guilty.

Judgment sets up a world of comparison of this and that, higher and lower, better and worse. It makes the world of joy and sorrow, happiness and pain, security and suffering. And judgment, as the king of the world, defines what is good and what is pain, so that you become a slave unable to be consistently happy in a world of this and that.

But all of this…everything that is created in a world of judgment…is illusion. The answer, which frees you from illusion’s images, is the simple truth of awareness.

Awareness is attention without judgment. It is observation with curiosity and without conclusion. It is perpetual openness. In awareness there is no pain, no suffering, no guilt, and no bad, because there is no judgment, no definition, that would make these things possible.

~From our Holy Spirit

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

The primary message in NTI 1 Thessalonians is:

Be it to know it.

Be peace to know peace.
Be happiness to know happiness.
Be gratitude to know gratitude.
Be acceptance to know acceptance.
Be love to know love.

Today’s reading says that fear is the primary obstacle to being that which you desire to know.

On Day 177, we looked at three definitions of fear:

1. A strong, distressing emotion that arises when we anticipate danger, regardless of whether the threat is real or imagined.
2. Anxious concern or anticipation that something unpleasant is going to occur.
3. The desire to escape something unpleasant.

Contemplate each of the previous definitions of fear. As you do, look at your own experience. Do you agree that fear is an obstacle to being that which you desire to know?

For example, if you have decided to be and know acceptance, when you are caught up in fearful thinking, are you in acceptance or are you resisting something?

Please contemplate this before continuing to read the tip.

~ ~ ~

You cannot fully believe fear and be that which you desire to know simultaneously, but you can feel  fear and be that which you desire to know.

How?

Be at peace with feeling fear.
Or be happy to explore the feeling of fear.
Or be grateful for the opportunity to heal fear.
Or accept of the feeling of fear exactly as it is.
Or love the feeling of fear exactly as it is.

Each of the previous suggestions will help you practice rest-accept-trust. When you practice rest-accept-trust, fear heals. When you believe fear and act from fear, you are lost and do not know the Self.

Fear can be subtle. If you look carefully, even the tiniest upset can be attributed to fear. For example, frustration in a business meeting could be attributed to the fear that you are less than others, the fear that you might lose something, the fear that something outside of you can affect you, or the fear that you are losing control.

Fear is the greatest obstacle to truth realization.

Fear is the greatest obstacle to peace.
Fear is the greatest obstacle to happiness.
Fear is the greatest obstacle to gratitude.
Fear is the greatest obstacle to acceptance.
Fear is the greatest obstacle to love.

Pay careful attention to yourself. Whenever you are upset, pause and look to discover the fear that is present. If necessary, take a break and practice root cause inquiry.

Each time you bring restful awareness to fear, you come one step closer to abiding as your true Self consistently. In the early stages of awakening, this practice is called purification. In the later stages of awakening, it is called stabilization, because you are learning to stabilize as the Self.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.

One of the definitions of “sin” in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is “a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God.” Today’s reading says:

Sin is only forgetfulness.

Sin is the belief that you are a separate, individual being, apart and different from all that is. It is the belief that spawns the “I am bad” belief, which is the source of guilt and unworthiness. Sin is the belief that causes fear and the perception of death.

Since sin is forgetfulness, the answer to all problems caused by sin is remembrance. In other words, the answer to all problems is truth realization. (Reference Day 110.)

Today’s reading says:

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, because a quiet life is a godly life in which you hold, within your mind, that the process of life is  God.

If you investigate stories of awakening, you will find that many who have awakened have spent long periods of time alone in nature. When one is alone in nature with a contemplative spirit, one may realize that life is supreme and manifestation is temporary. Seeing that life is supreme and life is one’s true nature is truth realization.

Awareness-watching-awareness is another well-known way to reach truth realization, since life and awareness are one.

A busy or distracted life, where attention is constantly focused outward, does not support truth realization. It’s helpful to find time for deep reflection and meditation. There are a number of ways to do this. You can:

• Set aside time in your schedule that is specifically dedicated to reflective contemplation and meditation.
• Take retreats away from your daily routine. Go someplace for the sole purpose of reflective contemplation and meditation.
• Use practices that keep your mind turned inward as you go about daily activity. (For example, the practices taught in The Teachings of Inner Ramana.)

Also, commit to being the Self instead acting like the false self. Live as your Self.

Make a commitment to peace, and live from peace.
Or make a commitment to happiness, and live from happiness.
Or make a commitment to gratitude, and live from gratitude.
Or make a commitment to acceptance, and live in acceptance.
Or make a commitment to love, and love everything as it is.

Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.