Teacher: Teacher Ophelius

The message for today is about the “death of the self” and how it is possible to pass from ego consciousness—living for the self, to the consciousness of the Spirit—living in partnership with God as a universe citizen. It is a decision born from the seat of the soul that recognizes the greater reality of eternal values over the impermanence of material gain and selfish gratification. For most, this greatest of “ah-ha” moments marks the end of an old meaningless life of “doing” and the beginning of a new life of “being.”

The “death of the self” is a metaphor, yet that is exactly what happens when you become “born of the Spirit,” you pass from a state of separation to one of wholeness. By letting go of control, struggle, and frustration for the things in life you truly cannot control, you experience, for the first time, the peace of faith and the assurance that you are loved by God. Like passing a baton in a relay race, you “allow” Spirit to become your sprinting partner in life—to give you relief when you are out of breath from running on your own, and you trust that this new partnership will guide you through the race where you shall discover the eternal values of what really matters in life.

For many, it takes a serious shake-up to bring all the busyness of “doing” to a standstill, to allow the soul to look out through the eyes of the mind to see how fragile is the framework of the life you have built on things that will soon pass away. If you were to be stripped of everything material—your job and title, your home, your car, your wealth, your entertainments, what remains? Who are you now? What do others in your life mean to you and how do others see you without all that you possessed? After all the sifting you soon discover what remains. That part that is left at the bottom of the strainer has value to God and the people in your life that love you for who you really are—not for the title that you hold.

This is the place where God can speak to the “real you” and give you that assurance that you are a beloved child worthy of eternal life. You don’t have to suffer the loss of all your material comforts to come to this place of understanding, you only have to surrender your pride and remove the mask that the ego projects that shrouds the real you from standing in the light of the One Truth. It is only in the death of the self that you can truly know the real you, and like a child who comes into this world without title, without wealth, and without fear, it is the child-like faith and trust in the “spirit-born you” that will bring you to the peace and understanding of the eternal values and meanings of life in the universe—a part of the whole.

Examine yourself today, my friends, without all that you have and do, and discover what remains. Ask yourself, “What is the legacy I will leave behind in this world when I have passed?” “Did I build eternal friendships and loves?” “Will I be remembered for who I was as a person with loving regard?” “Did I touch the lives of others in a meaningful way while I had the opportunity?” Don’t wait until your life has passed to think about these things, ask them now and willingly acknowledge the death of the self, and embrace the new life of the Spirit.

Peace to you,

The Circle of Seven