Infinite consciousness observing itself creates the notion of observer, or the soul;
the process of observation, or the mind; and that which is observed, or the body and the world. The observer and the observed
create relationships between themselves; this is space. The movement of these relationships creates events; this is time.
But all these are none other than the infinite consciousness itself.
In other words, we are infinite consciousness
with a localized point of view. And yet our whole system of thought divides the observer from the observed; it divides the
infinite consciousness into a world of objects separated by space and time. The intellect imprisons us in a cage of fictitious
images, a suffocating web of space, time, and causation. As a result, we lose touch with the true nature of our reality, which
is powerful, boundless, immortal, and free.
We are all prisoners of the intellect. And the intellect’s mistake
in one simple sentence is this: It mistakes the image of reality for reality itself. It squeezes the soul into the volume
of a body, in the span of a lifetime, and now the spell of mortality is cast. The image of the self overshadows the unbounded
Self, and we feel cut off or disconnected from infinite consciousness, our source.
This is the beginning of fear,
the onset of suffering, and all the problems of humanity from our minor insecurities to our major catastrophes like war, terrorism,
and all other acts of human degradation. To one who is trapped in the prison of the intellect, all indeed is suffering. But
the cause of the suffering can and should be averted. Ignorance of our real nature causes the inner self to be obscured. But
when ignorance is destroyed, the powerful, unbounded, free nature of the self is revealed.
At first this may sound
strange and abstract, but as you bear with this notion and understand it, you realize the most dramatic discovery: The real
you is nonmaterial and therefore not subject to the limitations of space, time, matter, and causation. The soul, the spirit,
the essential you, is beyond all that. In this very moment, you are surrounded by a pure consciousness. Pure consciousness
illuminates and animates your mind and body, and it is powerful, nourishing, invincible, unbounded, and free. Pure consciousness,
the eternal spirit, animates everything in existence, which means it is omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (present in
all locations simultaneously), and omnipotent (all powerful).
Now, if you don’t fully comprehend that, don’t
worry about it. In the following articles, we will take a closer look at the different expressions of the spirit, the inner
self, the source of all that is. As you read these pages, you will get a better understanding of who you really are.
Once
you have fully grasped this understanding, your life will be established in joy. Not only will you have the power to accomplish
all that you want, but you will have true freedom and grace. This means you will never experience fear, not even the fear
of death.
Key points:
• • You are a field of awareness; your essence is pure consciousness, or spirit,
which becomes both the mind and the body.
• • The intellect mistakes the image of reality for reality itself,
and this image overshadows the real you.
• • When you identify with your real essence, you escape the prison
of the intellect, and enter the world of the infinite, unbounded and free.
