Every One of the others

It looks as if those others out there elicit different responses from you. You can get distracted by how this one seems to need you, how this one seems to have something you can get, how the other one is capable of hurting you in some way, how this one seems to have more of something, how that one seems to have less. Each one seems to have a certain kind of behavior, always remembered from the past, and you expect that behavior to repeat. You believe you can judge and analyze each character in a way that is self-protective. You believe that you can decide which characters offer a safe invitation to draw near, which characters send you the signal to move far, far away.

You believe you know many things about these others, and many things about the one you call yourself. All of these things are remembered from a past. You believe that relying upon this past keeps you safe. When those you call other seem to lose their separate memories, they elicit pity. It seems as though their framework for thriving is receding.

Each one you see seems to have different qualities from others. You believe you can place them into groups according to quality: nice people groups, mean people groups, intelligent people groups, unintelligent people groups, people who are acceptably slender, people who are unacceptably big.

If they seem to have a quality you like, ego may instruct you to get close to that other and to feed upon them. Those who seem to be socially awkward or who don’t get “close” to others easily have a sense of this feeding quality, and they don’t like it. Or ego could keep you busy convincing you that you are lacking in comparison.

If they seem to have a quality you don’t like, ego may instruct you to shut them out and reject them. Or ego may want you to keep them close for the purpose of comparison. Next to them, ego tells you, you have less of an undesirable quality, so they help to give you a false sense of security constructed out of fear.

Ego doesn’t know anything about anyone. Its whole purpose is to keep you mired in confusion, dependent upon fear. And before you go blaming anyone for this tyranny of ego, note that the shackles attaching you to ego are always open. Your hands are clinging to them. No blame necessary. You only have to let go.

Spirit knows everything about everyone. Spirit can hold you in clarity and guide you with love. You do have to give something up to accept Spirit’s guidance. You have to stop finding meaning and value in ego’s thoughts. That’s your part.

When you believe that the ones who seem to be out there are different from one another and different from you, you believe sincerely in the ability of each one to disturb your peace. When you cling to beliefs about the disturbance of your peace, you want to have your peace disturbed.

This is worth saying again. When you cling to beliefs about the disturbance of your peace, you want to have your peace disturbed. In your world, police officers sometimes arrest people for the crime of “disturbing the peace.” In every case in which your peace is disturbed, you wanted to have it disturbed. You wanted the never-ending intensity of the light to be interrupted by something that could be called “else.” And now you’re on the pathway back to understanding that you don’t want the light to be interrupted or blocked in any way anymore.

In fact, you want the light to call all the shots. You want the light to make all of the decisions. You’re on your way back to finding out that this is so.

Sometimes you look at another and say, “My value comes from how very different that one is from myself.” Actually, ego says this to you, and you believe it. Now you’re on the pathway back to seeing that the only value there is comes from the light. How very fortunate, because you and all are the light.

Sometimes you look at another and ego sends you this thought: “My utter lack of value comes from how very different this one is from myself.” And this is just a very old game that you have been playing with ego, the little pet who sends you illusions. You never have to accept the illusions ego sends. Ask what the light would have you know instead. Ask what the light would have you remember.

We give you a song about the hopeless, about all of the characters that ego has invented.

We give you a song to allow grief to surface, to allow despair to show itself. When grief and despair are revealed, so is the thinking that gives you this painful experience. We give you this song so you can let the thinking go, so you can drop the shackles to which you have been clinging. Where do all the lonely people come from? Always from ego’s definitions. We are always joined, always one, and with your agreement we can make this prominent in your sight.

It is our joy to assist as you allow your attachment to the unreal to surface and to be swept away. We are very happy janitors with our brooms, and we are so happy to welcome you Home.

Photo by Margriet Hassink