remember who you are

You are greater than you ever imagined. The source and essence of the universe abides in you. And there is only one. The world's great spiritual teachings have been saying this for thousands of years. Here is a beautiful example, taken from the Upanishads:

In the beginning was only Being,
One without a second.
Out of himself he brought forth the cosmos
And entered into everything in it.
There is nothing that does not come from him.
Of everything he is the inmost Self.

The contents of your mind may differ from mine, but the consciousness that illuminates both is one and the same. This is the fundamental realization that lies at the heart of what we call "enlightenment" or "spiritual awakening." And you cannot just grasp it cognitively. This realization has to be felt in every cell of your body. To quote one of my favorite film characters, the Oracle from The Matrix (see above), "Being The One is just like being in love. No one can tell you you're in love. You just know it, through and through, balls to bones."

Nothing is more challenging to accept than the notion that The One abides in you. That is why spiritual teachers keep converging on the same message. The core wisdom on which the spiritual evolution of our species depends has to be earned, and that does not come easily. Joseph Campbell expressed the potentially frustrating nature of this venture with a rhetorical question: "How teach again what has been taught correctly and incorrectly learned a thousand thousand times, throughout the millenniums of mankind's prudent folly?"

In the past, humanity had the luxury of forgetting who we are, where we came from, and what connects us at the deepest level. Now, time is of the essence. We can hardly afford to squander the opportunity to REALLY remember this simple yet profound truth: "I am one with The One that created me." Once enough of us get it, everything changes--families, communities, government, economics, and religion. We will have to reinvent every aspect of our lives to move closer to an age of peace, sustainability, and balance. This is doable, but we must act quickly.

So, what can you do? The answer is simple: Remember who you are. Here and now, baby! You owe it not just to yourself but to all the other denizens of this Earth. Just follow the advice offered in this verse from The Radiance Sutras: 

There is no image you can hold,
No thought you can think,
That encompasses the Great Self.

Your essence
Is immortal and unchanging,
Yet it is the foundation for all that moves.

Rest in the shimmering emptiness
That is the source of this world,
And remember who you are.

I leave you with this message because I don't know what kind of internet connectivity I will have the rest of July. In case you do not hear from me for a while, I want to share what I consider to be the most important message of this era. Given that this could be my last blog post for a while, I offer you my deep unconditional love, along with this blessing: May you remember who you are, and may you inspire others to do the same.