The greatest warriors know that fighting is the last resort. Resistance is a form of fighting; it may look benign but can be insidious. When we are committed to our individuality, we will quietly resist anyone or anything that threatens our sense of self. This form of fighting is a disease that can destroy a person’s spiritual journey.
“I can’t surrender to another person”. “I need to think for myself”. “I can do the practice without someone directing me”. “I don’t need a teacher”. All these statements are a form of resistance in someone who wants to do spiritual practice. Their sureness reveals the problem that we are dependent already and do not know it. We are surrendered to a voice that undermines any chance of moving forward on the path, the posturing of a self-taught person who already knows everything. Listening to that voice makes for an arrogance with no grounding in the experience of the Truth.
To reach that Truth, the first step is to cease believing that “sure” voice that wants to run the show. Before we can get to non-duality, we have to surrender to something greater than who we think we are. God, the Self, has to be allowed in the room. Compared to God, that sure voice suddenly sounds shrunken and shrill. Another important step is submitting to a teacher. It is not personal. The teacher is not just a louder voice. The teacher has to have surrendered to a teacher and to God. Unless we genuinely submit to a true teacher, we will resist Grace.
But what about testing the teacher? Absolutely. This is done by actually committing to the practice and seeing if it works for you. Testing is not a power struggle. Testing is not resistance. Testing is actually listening and obeying and seeing if there is validity in what the teacher teaches.
“But I do not want to change anything in my life”. Well then, do not start down this path. There is no way to walk down the spiritual path without change. And are you then saying you do not want to give up your misery? Because if you want to get rid of it, your life is going to change. Regardless, there is always change. The change may unfold so slowly that it looks like constancy; but that sameness is not real.
This is where I am going: down the path to God. Do not try to fight me or convince me not to go. Do not say you want to come along and then resist. You do not have to come now. You can wait until later.
This is how I am getting there: by boring into the Heart and letting go of my individuality. Being with my experience moment to moment, letting whatever comes up from the Heart come up, and functioning appropriately on the physical plane. I get there by surrendering to God and Guru. By doing what they tell me because they want what is best for me. By resting in the Heart.
If you want to come along, I would love to have you join me in this journey. I am not in competition with you. I am not going to convince you. I love to share. If all you want to do is resist, then this is not the place for you, and I wish you luck.
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