STEP ONE:
Additional Information
Two Centers of Consciousness
An understanding integral to Step One—and the spiritual path in general—is that we, as human beings, have two selves, two dimensions of existence, two centers of consciousness, which are simultaneously present in the complete experience of our being. (And, ultimately, it is the seamless integration of these two aspects of our being which leads to wholeness and fulfillment). One self may be called our divine self, our infinite self, or “I Am.” This is our true nature; it is first experienced as pure, boundless awareness. The realization of this dimension of self is what most spiritual traditions focus upon. It is this dimension of self which is one, in essence, with Infinite Spirit; it is this dimension of self which—once we realize to be our true self—affords us power and dominion over the conditions of our lives (and the mind); it is this self which allows us to experience our true nature as love, joy, and fullness because this self is of the nature of love, joy, and fullness.
In addition to our spiritual self, is our human self, our limited and conditioned self, or “Me.” This part of ourselves feels itself to be lacking and is, therefore, ever seeking wholeness; it is seeking love, joy, abundance, beauty, etc. because this is what it feels itself to lack—and these are the very qualities of one’s higher self, or “I Am.” This human dimension of self, or “me,” is what most people exclusively identify with, and live through, believing this to be the whole of who they are. This exclusive identification with our human self (and not our human self, per se) is what obscures our true self, thwarts our creative power, and alienates us from our vast spiritual nature.
Our human self is necessary and integral to our whole being. Thus, our human self (or self-image) is not the problem nor is it something we have to “get rid of.” The problem is our total identification with our human side and the mistaken belief that this body-mind person is the whole of who we are. So, we don’t want to get rid of or deny our human self, we simply want to expand beyond it; we want to include the fullness of who we are in our own lives.
In sum, when we are identified with our true self we gain access to our true qualities—and our human self is illumined and divinized by the conscious presence of our own light (and love). When we are fully identified with our human self we obscure the light of our true self (and our fundamental nature) and we live through a limited, somewhat feeble and lifeless, version of our self. Thus, our intention is to shift the nexus of our identity from our limited sense of self to our boundless, all-embracing self.
Questions and Answers
If we are one with Infinite Spirit, how come we don’t experience the love and joy of our own nature—which is loving and joyous?
The first problem is that we are fully identified with that which we are not; we are not aware of our unity with Spirit and therefore we cannot reap the benefits of that unity. We, in fact, are always imagining that we are somehow separate from Spirit. When our awareness is exclusively focused upon our limited, human dimension we obfuscate our true nature and the qualities inherent to who we truly are—such as love, joy, abundance, etc. They are present but wholly missing from our experience of ourselves and of life. The second problem, stemming from the first, is that we are using our limitless creative power in a way that is limiting to us; we are, unawares, using it in a way that curtails our divine qualities, and denies our experience of unity with the Absolute rather than in a way that ever reveals the wonder of our true selves. Again, we have been conditioned to imagine ourselves as being limited and, so, that is the version of self we are constantly creating for ourselves.
A corollary to this first question might be this : “If I am one with Spirit, and if I am using my own spiritual power in a way that deprives me of my experience of my own nature, what steps can I take to utilize my spiritual power in a way that reveals my true nature and my integral oneness with Creation?” Providing an answer to this question—both in terms of understanding and direct experience—is the aim of The Twelve Foundations. However, all we can provide is a guidepost, a direction-pointer—only you can live your own life.
In some spiritual groups people say “I am God.” Is that true? How can I be God if I am an individual?
The primary understanding of Step One is that you, as a human being, are a creative center of Infinite Consciousness. This means that your essence, who you truly are, is one in all respects with Infinite Spirit, i.e., every quality of Spirit is found in you, in its fullness, just as every quality of the ocean is found in every drop of water. However, this does not mean that you, as an individualized expression of Infinite Spirit are Infinite Spirit. You are one with Spirit in every way but you are not Spirit in its totality. Thus the saying, “I am God” does not mean that you, as an individual, are synonymous with God (since there is only one God), but that you, your “I Am,” is and individualized expression of God. Likewise, we cannot say that a drop of water is the ocean (since there are many drops and only one ocean) but that the drop shares the same essential qualities as the ocean. As Jesus said, “I and the Father are one, yet my Father is greater than I.” In other words, I and the Father are one in all respects, and share every quality, except that the Father is the One Totality, and I, as a human being, am but one expression of that Totality.
Another expression that we need to be clear about is, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you,” or what is stated in various spiritual circles as “God dwells within you, as you.” The general understanding of the later phrase is that Infinite Spirit does not merely dwell inside your human form, somewhere, but that your essential nature is an individualized expression of God. Spirit is expressing all its qualities, not only through you but as you. In other words, there is no difference between God and you in terms of qualities and creative power, only in terms of quantity.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is within you” can be understood in many ways. A simplistic understanding, again, is that heaven, or the key to heaven, is somewhere within you. A more expanded notion would be that you, in essence are everything, and so heaven (as well as everything else) is contained within your consciousness. Perhaps a more precise understanding is that within you, inherent to you own nature, are all the divine qualities you are seeking, all your heavenly and divine qualities such as love, joy, fullness, aliveness, peace, beauty, etc. Thus, everything you seek is within you, and exists as your own nature; and you, through the power of your own consciousness, are able to manifest and experience your own inherent qualities to the extent that you are able to own and affirm the infinite creative power which is inherent to your own nature.
Quotes
In this necessity of the case, then, we find the reason why the life, love, and beauty of the Spirit are not visibly reproduced in every human being. They are reproduced in the world of nature, so far as a mechanical and automatic action can represent them, but their perfect reproduction can only take place on the basis of a liberty akin to that of the Originating Spirit itself, which therefore implies the liberty of negation as well as of affirmation.
Why, then, does the individual make a negative choice? Because he does not understand the law of his own individuality; he believes it to be a law of limitation instead of a Law of Liberty. He does not expect to find the starting point of the Creative Process reproduced within himself, and so he looks to the mechanical [or physical] side of things for the basis of his reasoning about life. Consequently his reasoning lands him in the conclusion that life is limited, because he has assumed limitation in his premises and, so, logically, he cannot escape from it in his conclusion.
(Thomas Troward, Doré Lectures, Chapter 2)
The state of a human being, the world, and all within it are conditioned states of the unconditioned one, God. You are this one; you are God conditioned as a human being. All that you believe God to be, you are—but you will never know this to be true until you stop claiming it of [or assigning it to] another, and recognize this “seeming” other to be yourself. . .
The most difficult thing for a person to really grasp is this: That the “I am-ness” in himself is God. It is his true being or “father” state--and it is the only state he can be sure of. . . .
Now that you have discovered your I Am, your consciousness, to be God [individually expressed as you] do not claim anything to be true of yourself that you would not claim to be true of God—for in defining yourself, you are defining God. That which you are conscious of being [i.e., your own sense of “I Am”] is that which you have named God. (Neville, Freedom for All, p. 2-5)
The Great Affirmation is the perception that the “I AM” is ONE, always harmonious with itself, and including all things in this harmony for the simple reason that there is no second creative power; and when the individual realizes that this always-single power is the root of his own being, and therefore has centre in himself and finds expression through him, he learns to trust its singleness and the consequent harmony of its action in him with what it is doing around him. . .
In this way our affirmation of the “I am” ceases to be the petulant assertion of our limited personality and becomes the affirmation that the Great I AM affirms its own I AM-ness both in us and through us, and thus our use of the words becomes in very truth the Great Affirmative, or that which is the root of all being as distinguished from that which has no being in itself but is merely externalized by being as the vehicle for its expression. (Troward, Doré Lectures, Chapter 7)
<< Back to Step One
Additional Information
Two Centers of Consciousness
An understanding integral to Step One—and the spiritual path in general—is that we, as human beings, have two selves, two dimensions of existence, two centers of consciousness, which are simultaneously present in the complete experience of our being. (And, ultimately, it is the seamless integration of these two aspects of our being which leads to wholeness and fulfillment). One self may be called our divine self, our infinite self, or “I Am.” This is our true nature; it is first experienced as pure, boundless awareness. The realization of this dimension of self is what most spiritual traditions focus upon. It is this dimension of self which is one, in essence, with Infinite Spirit; it is this dimension of self which—once we realize to be our true self—affords us power and dominion over the conditions of our lives (and the mind); it is this self which allows us to experience our true nature as love, joy, and fullness because this self is of the nature of love, joy, and fullness.
In addition to our spiritual self, is our human self, our limited and conditioned self, or “Me.” This part of ourselves feels itself to be lacking and is, therefore, ever seeking wholeness; it is seeking love, joy, abundance, beauty, etc. because this is what it feels itself to lack—and these are the very qualities of one’s higher self, or “I Am.” This human dimension of self, or “me,” is what most people exclusively identify with, and live through, believing this to be the whole of who they are. This exclusive identification with our human self (and not our human self, per se) is what obscures our true self, thwarts our creative power, and alienates us from our vast spiritual nature.
Our human self is necessary and integral to our whole being. Thus, our human self (or self-image) is not the problem nor is it something we have to “get rid of.” The problem is our total identification with our human side and the mistaken belief that this body-mind person is the whole of who we are. So, we don’t want to get rid of or deny our human self, we simply want to expand beyond it; we want to include the fullness of who we are in our own lives.
In sum, when we are identified with our true self we gain access to our true qualities—and our human self is illumined and divinized by the conscious presence of our own light (and love). When we are fully identified with our human self we obscure the light of our true self (and our fundamental nature) and we live through a limited, somewhat feeble and lifeless, version of our self. Thus, our intention is to shift the nexus of our identity from our limited sense of self to our boundless, all-embracing self.
Questions and Answers
If we are one with Infinite Spirit, how come we don’t experience the love and joy of our own nature—which is loving and joyous?
The first problem is that we are fully identified with that which we are not; we are not aware of our unity with Spirit and therefore we cannot reap the benefits of that unity. We, in fact, are always imagining that we are somehow separate from Spirit. When our awareness is exclusively focused upon our limited, human dimension we obfuscate our true nature and the qualities inherent to who we truly are—such as love, joy, abundance, etc. They are present but wholly missing from our experience of ourselves and of life. The second problem, stemming from the first, is that we are using our limitless creative power in a way that is limiting to us; we are, unawares, using it in a way that curtails our divine qualities, and denies our experience of unity with the Absolute rather than in a way that ever reveals the wonder of our true selves. Again, we have been conditioned to imagine ourselves as being limited and, so, that is the version of self we are constantly creating for ourselves.
A corollary to this first question might be this : “If I am one with Spirit, and if I am using my own spiritual power in a way that deprives me of my experience of my own nature, what steps can I take to utilize my spiritual power in a way that reveals my true nature and my integral oneness with Creation?” Providing an answer to this question—both in terms of understanding and direct experience—is the aim of The Twelve Foundations. However, all we can provide is a guidepost, a direction-pointer—only you can live your own life.
In some spiritual groups people say “I am God.” Is that true? How can I be God if I am an individual?
The primary understanding of Step One is that you, as a human being, are a creative center of Infinite Consciousness. This means that your essence, who you truly are, is one in all respects with Infinite Spirit, i.e., every quality of Spirit is found in you, in its fullness, just as every quality of the ocean is found in every drop of water. However, this does not mean that you, as an individualized expression of Infinite Spirit are Infinite Spirit. You are one with Spirit in every way but you are not Spirit in its totality. Thus the saying, “I am God” does not mean that you, as an individual, are synonymous with God (since there is only one God), but that you, your “I Am,” is and individualized expression of God. Likewise, we cannot say that a drop of water is the ocean (since there are many drops and only one ocean) but that the drop shares the same essential qualities as the ocean. As Jesus said, “I and the Father are one, yet my Father is greater than I.” In other words, I and the Father are one in all respects, and share every quality, except that the Father is the One Totality, and I, as a human being, am but one expression of that Totality.
Another expression that we need to be clear about is, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you,” or what is stated in various spiritual circles as “God dwells within you, as you.” The general understanding of the later phrase is that Infinite Spirit does not merely dwell inside your human form, somewhere, but that your essential nature is an individualized expression of God. Spirit is expressing all its qualities, not only through you but as you. In other words, there is no difference between God and you in terms of qualities and creative power, only in terms of quantity.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is within you” can be understood in many ways. A simplistic understanding, again, is that heaven, or the key to heaven, is somewhere within you. A more expanded notion would be that you, in essence are everything, and so heaven (as well as everything else) is contained within your consciousness. Perhaps a more precise understanding is that within you, inherent to you own nature, are all the divine qualities you are seeking, all your heavenly and divine qualities such as love, joy, fullness, aliveness, peace, beauty, etc. Thus, everything you seek is within you, and exists as your own nature; and you, through the power of your own consciousness, are able to manifest and experience your own inherent qualities to the extent that you are able to own and affirm the infinite creative power which is inherent to your own nature.
Quotes
In this necessity of the case, then, we find the reason why the life, love, and beauty of the Spirit are not visibly reproduced in every human being. They are reproduced in the world of nature, so far as a mechanical and automatic action can represent them, but their perfect reproduction can only take place on the basis of a liberty akin to that of the Originating Spirit itself, which therefore implies the liberty of negation as well as of affirmation.
Why, then, does the individual make a negative choice? Because he does not understand the law of his own individuality; he believes it to be a law of limitation instead of a Law of Liberty. He does not expect to find the starting point of the Creative Process reproduced within himself, and so he looks to the mechanical [or physical] side of things for the basis of his reasoning about life. Consequently his reasoning lands him in the conclusion that life is limited, because he has assumed limitation in his premises and, so, logically, he cannot escape from it in his conclusion.
(Thomas Troward, Doré Lectures, Chapter 2)
The state of a human being, the world, and all within it are conditioned states of the unconditioned one, God. You are this one; you are God conditioned as a human being. All that you believe God to be, you are—but you will never know this to be true until you stop claiming it of [or assigning it to] another, and recognize this “seeming” other to be yourself. . .
The most difficult thing for a person to really grasp is this: That the “I am-ness” in himself is God. It is his true being or “father” state--and it is the only state he can be sure of. . . .
Now that you have discovered your I Am, your consciousness, to be God [individually expressed as you] do not claim anything to be true of yourself that you would not claim to be true of God—for in defining yourself, you are defining God. That which you are conscious of being [i.e., your own sense of “I Am”] is that which you have named God. (Neville, Freedom for All, p. 2-5)
The Great Affirmation is the perception that the “I AM” is ONE, always harmonious with itself, and including all things in this harmony for the simple reason that there is no second creative power; and when the individual realizes that this always-single power is the root of his own being, and therefore has centre in himself and finds expression through him, he learns to trust its singleness and the consequent harmony of its action in him with what it is doing around him. . .
In this way our affirmation of the “I am” ceases to be the petulant assertion of our limited personality and becomes the affirmation that the Great I AM affirms its own I AM-ness both in us and through us, and thus our use of the words becomes in very truth the Great Affirmative, or that which is the root of all being as distinguished from that which has no being in itself but is merely externalized by being as the vehicle for its expression. (Troward, Doré Lectures, Chapter 7)
<< Back to Step One