Spiritual Journey Part 9 - Letting Go

Letting go is insidious.
It goes deeper than deep.
Just when you think that you have let go of everything,
something more appears.
Things that you couldn't possibly let go,
they tug at you - to save their lives.
But your life depends on letting them go. 
Not the life that you have known
but the life that awaits you.
Not the life of struggle or strife,
but the life of infinite freedom and unlimited possibility.
The only thing standing between you and it,
is everything. 
You cannot pass through the gateless gate,
with anything  - real or imagined.

You may only pass empty handed
and empty hearted.
Only then can you emerge in true life.

You must let go of everything.
If you hold onto but a single thread of silk, or the dearest relationship,
no passage is forthcoming.
You are enslaved to all that you possess. 
You must even let go of the spiritual teacher, path or teachings that led you here.
You must first be free in order to taste the nectar of freedom.
No pretending, no fooling.
You must give everything in order to attain Nothing.
This is Awakening.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

This hardly seems fair or rational.  You must give up everything and get nothing in return?  Who wants that? Who is insane enough to go down that path?  This is incredibly curious, at least until you get a glimpse of it.  In some ways, it is like a magnet pulling you; there is no choose.  You have to go.  Something irresistible tugs - relentlessly.  What is it?

The universe is in a constant state of folding and unfolding - it is constantly folding in on itself, as it simultaneously unfolds.  I mean this literally.  This is creation.  At the center of the unfolding is nothingness.  Pure and absolute nothing. This is the energy from which creation originates.  The center can best be expressed as the experience of pure love - in its absolute form; not the convoluted love that most of us know.  This is also the space of non-existance.  When you experience the center, from which the folding and unfolding originate, you no longer exist and so there is no one experiencing it. This is the pure experience of what I call God.  You experience God without personal self - and so the grand question is, "who or what is experiencing God?" If there is only God, then there is only God. Now ask the question, "Who or What am I?"  

Now, back to the question of what is pulling you toward awakening - toward giving up everything in order for Nothing.  If you stay far enough away from a magnet, nothing happens, but if you get close and you are what that magnet attracts, you become compulsively drawn to that magnet.  Think of the source, the center of the unfolding as a giant magnet.  If you stay away from it by living in chaos and duality, you are not likely close enough to get pulled in (there are exceptions) but if you are on a path of releasing chaos and duality, in search of truth, shall we say, at some point, you will find yourself close enough to the center, and the power of the folding-in will take you in, like a giant magnet.  Your desire to "reunite" with the magnitude of love and oneness will overcome any and every earthly desire.  The desire to return to nothingness becomes so powerful that you are willing to give up everything. So there is no choice.

Most of us never get close enough to get pulled in. We stay locked in the dream state, unaware that we are dreaming. That's o.k. After all, the purpose of the dream state is to dream. Most humans are caught up in the drama of life, trying to survive and trying to find answers that allow them to continue the status quo. Nothing is wrong with this. Some people, however, want to know the truth.  Finding the truth (or remembering the truth) can be following a trail of bread crumbs. One leading to the next and the next.  Those bread crumbs are really a series of questions that originate in the truth seekers mind.  As one question is answered, another arises, and another and another.  With each question and answer, the search leads inward.  Inward toward the center and inside the seeker.  It is the same - there is no out there. Then comes the point of no return. When the seeker has gone so far, there is no turning back. At this point, one is willing to give up everything. 

I don't mean that you disown your family, leave your country or become homeless.  Although that may be a part of a journey, that is not what I am speaking about.  What I mean is that you give up your beliefs about who you are.
You give up the roles you play in life.
You give up the meaning you have placed on things.
You give up status and power.
You give up purpose.
You give up personal will. 
You give up your past, future and present.
This is the kind of letting go of which I am  speaking.

This list makes giving up worldly possessions a piece of cake. 

You give up everything with which you identify, becoming pure hearted and empty minded.
This is the biblical reference of the meek inheriting the earth. 

Finally you let go of self realization, with the realization that there is no self.
This is the cosmic joke for all spiritual seekers.

Letting go is insidious.

At least until you realize that there was never anything real to hold on to............

In grace & gratitude,
Nanice

Spiritual Journey Part 10 - Releasing Resistance Click Here
Go to Part 1 of Spiritual Journey - Click Here
View all Parts of Spiriutal Journy - Click Here