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.