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Key Lesson: Everyone wants to be illuminated, but few will dare to stand in the light of higher self-awareness, and what it reveals (about them).
For Further Study
As we’re about to discover, the little phrase, “I see myself,” describes a single action that has the power to change the heart of whoever is willing to embrace its practice. But, before we examine the exercise, let’s take a closer look at what it means to “see ourselves” – as we are –especially when someone else has failed to please us.
To begin with, it’s impossible to see ourselves – as we are – when all we can see before us is someone else who’s to blame for a feeling that we don’t want. The truth is, at least for now, we can’t see anything at all about ourselves when we’re in the heat of a disagreement with anyone, even if it is with someone we love.
We can’t see our own flashing eyes, because all they’re capable of looking at is who to blame for the heat rising up behind them.
We don’t hear the defiant tone in our voice because it’s being drowned out by the voices in our head, justifying our right to be angry, disappointed, resentful, or otherwise upset.
And we’ve almost no sense at all of these mounting pressures in us, because we’ve been rendered numb by the drumming of these unconscious forces as they seek, and always seem to find – in another person – a reason for being so disturbed.
To see the truth of the above is to understand how important it is for us to be as fully mindful as possible in the midst of a disagreement with someone else. We need to be completely present to whatever is coming up and out of us – not only aware of the kind of thoughts and feelings coursing through us, but equally sensitive to the kind of energy we can intuit is accountable for their appearance.
Now, let’s see why our willingness to enter into this healing space called I see myself empowers us – on the spot – to realize the possibility of a whole new and higher relationship with others, starting with this: “Seeing myself as I am”allows me to see what you're looking at, at the same time!
When was the last time, in the middle of a fight with anyone, you came to a stop and silently, deliberately asked yourself this question: “I wonder what it's like for you to be experiencing me, as I am, right now?” The conscious choice to see ourselves as we are in the midst of any struggle with another human being changes us and, in turn, everything about that moment.
We must not wait to start our practice; the truth is that every moment is the right moment to see ourselves as we are... regardless of whoever may be our “partner” of the moment.
Maybe it’s the person in that long line with us, complaining about how slowly things are moving. There’s no better time to practice seeing yourself as you are than when some part of you can’t wait to “pounce” on the impatience of someone else. How about being stuck behind a driver on the freeway who won’t speed up or get out of the way? Practice seeing yourself as you are and “arrest” that part of yourself that’s always rushing somewhere, resisting everyone and anything in its way!
The more places we’ll employ this interior practice, the sooner we will find ourselves living from a higher level of Self that cannot be made to turn against anyone, let alone the ones we love. You've heard the expression “Practice makes perfect.” Seeing ourselves as we are is love in action because it’s the same as consciously illuminating those lower, unconscious levels of self that stand in the way of all that is kind, caring, and compassionate.
Now the upward path ahead, which was closed off to us by our blindness only a moment before, opens wide its narrow gate as we open ourselves to the endless resources of a Living Truth. The darkness that once dominated our relationships is literally dismissed because we have chosen the Living Light itself to be our advocate.
About Guy Finley: Guy is the author of 45 books and video/audio programs including his international bestseller “The Secret of Letting Go” which has been translated into 30 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide.
He is the founder and director of Life of Learning Foundation, a nonprofit Center for Spiritual Discovery located in Southern Oregon, with over 40,000 online newsletter subscribers. https://www.guyfinley.org
Through Life of Learning, Guy has presented over 5,000 unique self-realization seminars to thousands of grateful students throughout North America and Europe over the past 30 years and has been a guest on over 700 television and radio shows, including national appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and NPR. Guy is a faculty member at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York and 1440 Multiversity in Scotts Valley, California. He is a regular expert contributor to Beliefnet, Insight Timer, Simple Habit, and many other popular spiritual sites.
Finley holds regular classes at Life of Learning including two free talks each week that are live-streamed https://www.guyfinley.org/light. These classes are open to all. For more information about Guy Finley and Life of Learning Foundation visit www.guyfinley.org
