from false self to presence

Adya says that the "false self is the greatest barrier to the realization of our true identity of universal being... The problem is that the self that you became convinced was the real you is a phantom that exists only as an abstraction in your mind...The false self is both an obstacle and a doorway through which you must pass on your way to awakening to the dimension of being.  As you pass through the void of self, the identification with self dies, either temporarily or permanently, and you are revealed to be a presence."  (The Way of Liberation, p. 12-13).  

The false self or this identity which I have created in order to navigate through life is a phantom.  It does not exist anywhere but in my mind.  Adya gives a very convincing description of how we are not this self on pages 12 and 13.  It is very liberating at times to realize that I am not this identity that I have created and that I do not have to maintain any particular image, nor try to fit in, nor do anything to be accepted...  At other times I cannot imagine going through my life without this sense of who I think I am.  It can be frightening to imagine how I would operate in life without this set of beliefs, expectations, perceptions...    

Each and every time that I notice my attachment to a thought, feeling, perception, assumption and choose to let it go, I am that much closer to embodying presence and living in Reality.  I have been listening to a music CD by Kirtan (A Deeper Surrender) where she says things like "we think something happened but nothing ever did." and "everything is only me."  Could this whole experience be an abstraction in our minds?  Wouldn't it serve us to get on with letting go of the phantom, and awakening into the dimension of being that is our doorway to God realization?

Now is the time.  Join me in noticing whatever is hooking you at this moment.  Recognize that it may not be as real as it seems.  Breath and relax your chest and belly.  Let it go.  The false self is a mask that we wear.  Beneath this mask is a Divine expression of life in the form of you.  Nothing that is happening in your life right now defines you.  You can choose to open your heart and follow the path of Unconditional Happiness (part 5 of The Untethered Soul) regardless of what is happening on the outside or you can choose to be obsessively focused on this false image.  I suggest letting go in each moment until you connect with the presence within...only then will you be able to walk in freedom.