Every journey of genuine self-discovery, and the subsequent changes this process produces in us, must begin somewhere. We begin our journey with a great but unrealized truth: within each of us resides a power that can change the whole world. It’s true; we each have a secret character hidden away in us that is created for just the alchemical purpose of transforming any dark influence into a beneficial force. And yet, as appealing as the idea of such a power may sound to us, to take conscious possession of its strength is not that simple.

Becoming an instrument of this higher power takes more than merely wishing for its entrance into our life. To realize such a viable wisdom requires action in the Now. So let us be clear: we are created with everything that we need to transform and transcend the shadows of fear, regrets, and resentments that prowl the corridors of our sleeping consciousness. And when these secret seeds of conflict have been revealed and released, we are as well, for then nothing negative remains within us to goad us into acting against ourselves. Multiply this possibility by billions of beings and gone are the mindless wars and all the selfish acts of socially accepted gluttony.

Perhaps you are wondering, what is this great power entrusted to us by which we may overcome all of our interior adversaries? Here is the answer: Each of us is created to be the Light of the world. Within each of us resides a nascent Light born into this world with us. We can think of this as being the Light of higher conscience by whose compassionate intelligence we are empowered to discern what is helpful from what is harmful, to intuitively know the difference between a genuine act of kindness and a kindness done for selfish reasons. By this Light we are able to tell what is true and what is false. When we do our part to live in the awareness of this Light so that its presence becomes an active power within us, then what is there that can remain with the power to hurt us? How can any unseen darkness prevail if its character is revealed before it begins its punishing action? Just think of such a power and the freedoms it must bear.

Yet, as encouraging as these words are meant to be, here also is a word of caution: We must take care neither to let our own doubts discount such a hope, nor must we assume possession of what we hope for as a foregone conclusion. Such assumptions always lead to defeat and heartache. We must understand this positive power remains a potential, for if this Living Light were already actualized in us, no negative state could dominate us. Their evil effects would already be non-events, which would mean our world would not be the sorry place that it is.

So our first step in learning to be the light of the world must be to increase our awareness of these various negative forces at work within us, while being careful to neither judge ourselves for what we see, nor accept any of our findings as an inescapable limitation. In fact, rather than identifying with the usual sense of injury that comes with seeing something unwanted in us, and then mindlessly judging ourselves, we will do something totally new. We will use these same discomforts to remind us to direct our attention to that Living Light within us that has the power to make any darkness disappear. Even if all we possess is a faint suspicion that we are created to transcend these troubled thoughts and feelings that vex our soul, that’s a fine place to start. The important thing is to begin! We must learn to actualize this higher life now being visualized through our intuition. There is no other way to turn our own possibility into a real power. One simple example makes this point.

Years ago someone had an insight that common sunlight could be harnessed in a practical way to produce solar-generated energy. Today we have learned how to transform the sun’s energy into our helpful and healthful servant. Now we see a new possibility; we want to become conscious partners with the Light that lives within us; we sense that its power is the same as the strength we need to set ourselves free. So then, how do we illuminate our relationships at home, in our workplace, wherever we are? What must we do to enlighten this murky world of ours that staggers under the weight of its own shadows? The answer to this question is as surprising as it may be shocking: we must cease being an unconscious part of its darkness.

Please don’t think this last spiritual injunction is too simple or too esoteric to be practical. Just the contrary is true: this instruction is loaded with no-nonsense power that we can learn to put into immediate practice. We need only realize how the universe itself is set up to help us succeed with our wish to enlighten our world. The following insights help prove this vital point:

By Guy Finley
http://www.guyfinley.org/

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