Lesson 138: Heaven is the decision I must make
We choose hell all the time. Every moment that we worry. Every moment that we assert our personal preferences over what the universe is offering us in the present moment. Every time we judge, every time we complain, every time we perceive something is wrong with the world. We choose hell because that’s all we know, and the ego wants to keep it that way.
In this world of form, we are convinced we are separate from others and it’s every man, woman and child for themselves. The ego convinces us that resources are limited and we must compete with one another for even the most basic needs for our survival. We’re good at this game, so good we do it without thinking.
This is the problem. We spend most of our lives unconscious – following the egoic game plan that we have collectively created and called “proper society” or “how things work in the world.”
There is another way, this lesson tells us. We can wake up to our delusion of how this world works and instead choose how Reality works. When we consciously choose heaven, this lesson tells us, we come into our right mind. We see clearly that we are living in an illusion filled with what we perceive to be opposites. They do not exist.
However, until we fully awaken and shed the need for a bodily form, the opposites help us to learn – to begin to discern the illusion and recognize the truth that lies beyond it. Bringing heaven into our awareness doesn’t mean we stop living our lives – but it does mean we start living our lives from this present moment – not dragging the past into it or planning for the future by allowing our thoughts and feelings to rule over us. Heaven is seeing this world clearly – acknowledging the illusion and being willing to be the love and peace that may be missing in any given moment.
We have choices in this world, but only one choice, this lesson says, has any value and that is the choice for heaven – the conscious choice to focus on allowing our daily challenges to pass through us without disturbing our peace and without dragging us back into the hell of grievances we have created.
Will we do that perfectly in every moment? Nope. If we did, we would have no need to be here anymore. Making a choice for heaven isn’t about perfection, it’s about willingness and consistency. The more we choose heaven the more time we will spend there until choosing heaven in each moment becomes not just a choice, but a way of life.
When we do that, Hafiz says we will find ourselves at “a juncture … where I never have to be serious again.
“If I act that way – sober and concerned about something … it is just a charade.
“For people who are serious, well, let’s face it …
they seem to have lots of problems.
“And who wants those?”
Photo by Jorge Salvador on Unsplash