Most of us pass through life alternating from illusions to disillusionment, unaware that neither is real. We believe that our bodies are real, that time and space are real and that the pursuit of happiness can be found outside of ourselves, in the pursuit of career, materialism and the love of others. Then, at different points of time in our lives, we become disillusioned. We question the meaning and meaninglessness of our lives and seek comfort in exchanging former illusions for other illusions. Sadly, within this paradigm there is no lasting solution.
Ultimately, many of us resign ourselves to a belief that life is random and that love and peace are fleeting. Minimizing risk by not repeating previous mistakes becomes our mantra. Compromise is seen as wisdom. “I may not be in a relationship, but at least I won’t get hurt”. “My career is unrewarding but look at what the salary affords me”. We try not to sustain or inflict any ‘collateral damage’. Security grows with importance as we age and this manifests in our increased police, security guards, home security and prisons.
Some of us will remonstrate that this is not the case at all – we live life to the fullest and remain positive no matter what. Power walking, a healthy diet, giving to charities and a busy day from sun up to sun down help us sleep in peace.
Underneath it all lays a deep seated fear that all is not well…. and for good reason. We know the Truth. We know we are operating in illusion and the denial of our real self and we feel guilty. Although we have not been raised to know our true self we can sense it. We are afraid because our ego wishes us never to find ourselves as it spells the end of illusion and disillusionment.
There is a way to achieve lasting peace and love, one way to make sense of our lives and its purpose, but it requires a paradigm shift. It is the simple recognition that this illusion of life – our body, personality and life experiences to date, are but a dream. We can choose to wake up from it at a moment’s notice and when we do, we will realise that we are eternal beings who are part of a whole that is guiltless and beloved.
How different would this life be if we knew, really knew that we have nothing to be guilty of – that we did not have to earn love and forgiveness? How differently would we react to people if we knew that nothing could hurt us, that there was nothing to lose?
Returning to peace requires unlearning who we are and letting it go and you can begin right now. Here is a simply technique to practice that will return the perception of your true self immediately. Every time you are in conflict …do nothing!
That’s right, do nothing at all except ask to see the truth and have faith that the outcome will reveal the truth of who you are. In every situation, it is not winning or losing that is important. I can see your mind scrambling already to find exceptions to this rule. This is a clear indication that the ego is at work, which is of itself an indication that you are on the right path!
Every time we practice doing nothing we are allowing ourselves and others to be revealed for who they are. Attack and defense serve only the ego. It keeps us from discovering that we have nothing to protect and that there is nothing we can lose. “We can lose our life!” I hear you say. I am not asking you to remain in life threatening situations and not react, however in the extreme, the Truth holds true – there is nothing to lose.
When we cease to react in conflict, we mirror to the other party that we see beyond their ego to who they are and a healing takes place. They may not get it immediately but at a deep core level, a tiny memory of who they are is restored. The same applies to you. Every time you overlook a so called wrong doing, you are restoring your memory and the eternal peace of who you are. By doing nothing, we are practicing faith and our faith is always rewarded.
There have been many instances of conflict in my life where I have been challenged to attack or defend, especially with those closest to me. I have found, in all cases where I have ‘let go’ that I have reclaimed a part of myself. The outcome has always been better than I could have imagined. At times it has been a real struggle. The ego paints terrifying pictures of disaster and provokes me to act to either attack or defend (both the same action in truth) the situation. I have had times where all I can do is pray and recite “I need do nothing’ for hours on end. Through it all, I have learnt that I am not alone – that I have a relationship with the eternal, that I belong to the eternal and that the eternal wants me. And with that realization, peace returns.
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By: Take Me to The Truth
Nouk Sanchez and Tomas Vieira are authors of ‘Take Me to Truth, Undoing the Ego’ Released Sept. 2007. For more details visit: www.takemetotruth.com
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