The person I had been no longer existed. There was no personal self or
ego, only an Infinite Presence of such unlimited power that it was all that
was. This Presence had replaced what had been “me,” and the body and its
actions were controlled solely by the Infinite Will of the Presence. The
world was illuminated by the clarity of an Infinite Oneness that expressed
itself as all things revealed in their infinite beauty and perfection. As life went on, this stillness persisted. There was no personal will; the
physical body went about its business under the direction of the infinitely
powerful but exquisitely gentle Will of the Presence. In that state, there was
no need to think about anything. All truth was self-evident and no
conceptualization was necessary or even possible. At the same time, the
physical nervous system felt extremely overtaxed, as though it were
carrying far more energy than its circuits had been designed for.It was not possible to function effectively in the world. All ordinary
motivations had disappeared along with all fear and anxiety. There was
nothing to seek, as all was perfect. Fame, success, and money were
meaningless. Friends urged the pragmatic return to clinical practice, but
there was no ordinary motivation to do so. There was now the ability to perceive the reality that underlay
personalities: the origin of emotional sickness lay in people’s belief that
they were their personalities. And so, as though of its own, a clinical
practice resumed and eventually became huge. People came from all over the United States. The practice had two
thousand outpatients, which required more than fifty therapists and other
employees, a suite of twenty-five offices, and research and
electroencephalic laboratories. There were a thousand new patients a year. In addition, there were appearances on radio and network television shows,
as previously mentioned. In 1973 the clinical research was documented in a
traditional format in the book, Orthomolecular Psychiatry. This work was
ten years ahead of its time and created something of a stir. The overall condition of the nervous system improved slowly, and then
another phenomenon commenced. There was a sweet, delicious band of
energy continuously flowing up the spine and into the brain where it created
an intense sensation of continuous pleasure. Everything in life happened by
synchronicity, evolving in perfect harmony; the miraculous was
commonplace. The origin of what the world would call miracles was the
Presence, not the personal self. What remained of the personal “me” was
only a witness to these phenomena. The greater “I,” deeper than my former
self or thoughts, determined all that happened. The states that were present had been reported by others throughout
history and led to the investigation of spiritual teachings, including those of
the Buddha, enlightened sages, Huang Po, and more recent teachers such as
Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj. It was thus confirmed that
these experiences were not unique. The Bhagavad-Gita now made complete
sense. At times the same spiritual ecstasy reported by Sri Ramakrishna and
the Christian saints occurred. Everything and everyone in the world was luminous and exquisitely
beautiful. All living beings became Radiant and expressed this Radiance in
stillness and splendor. It was apparent that all mankind is actually motivated
by inner love but has simply become unaware; most lives are lived asthough by sleepers unawakened to the awareness of who they really are. People around me looked as though they were asleep and were incredibly
beautiful. It was like being in love with everyone. It was necessary to stop the habitual practice of meditating for an hour
in the morning and then again before dinner because it would intensify the
bliss to such an extent that it was not possible to function. An experience
similar to the one that had occurred in the snow bank as a boy would recur,
and it became increasingly difficult to leave that state and return to the
world. The incredible beauty of all things shone forth in all their perfection,
and where the world saw ugliness, there was only timeless beauty. This
spiritual love suffused all perception and all boundaries between here and
there, then and now, or separation disappeared. During the years spent in inner silence, the strength of the Presence
grew. Life was no longer personal; a personal will no longer existed. The
personal “I” had become an instrument of the Infinite Presence and went
about and did as it was willed. People felt an extraordinary peace in the aura
of that Presence. Seekers sought answers but as there was no longer any
such individual as David, they were actually finessing answers from their
own Self, which was not different from mine. From each person the same
Self shone forth from their eyes. The miraculous happened, beyond ordinary comprehension. Many
chronic maladies from which the body had suffered for years disappeared;
eyesight spontaneously normalized and there was no longer a need for the
lifetime bifocals. Occasionally, an exquisitely blissful energy, an Infinite Love, would
suddenly begin to radiate from the heart toward the scene of some calamity. Once, while driving on a highway, this exquisite energy began to beam out
of the chest. As the car rounded a bend, there was an auto accident; the
wheels of the overturned car were still spinning. The energy passed with
great intensity into the occupants of the car and then stopped of its own
accord. Another time, while I was walking on the streets of a strange city,
the energy started to flow down the block ahead and arrived at the scene of
an incipient gang fight. The combatants fell back and began to laugh, and
again, the energy stopped. Profound changes of perception came without warning in improbable
circumstances. While dining alone at Rothman’s on Long Island, the
Presence suddenly intensified until every thing and every person, which hadappeared as separate in ordinary perception, melted into a timeless
universality and oneness. In the motionless Silence, it became obvious that
there are no “events” or “things” and that nothing actually “happens”
because past, present, and future are merely artifacts of perception, as is the
illusion of a separate “I” being subject to birth and death. As the limited,
false self dissolved into the universal Self of its true origin, there was an
ineffable sense of having returned home to a state of absolute peace and
relief from all suffering. It is only the illusion of individuality that is the
origin of all suffering. When realizes that one is the universe, complete and
at one with All That Is, forever without end, then no further suffering is
possible. Patients came from every country in the world, and some were the most
hopeless of the hopeless. Grotesque, writhing, wrapped in wet sheets for
transport from far-away hospitals they came, hoping for treatment for
advanced psychoses and grave, incurable mental disorders. Some were
catatonic; many had been mute for years. But in each patient, beneath the
crippled appearance, was the shining essence of love and beauty, perhaps so
obscured to ordinary vision that he or she had become totally unloved in
this world. One day a mute catatonic was brought into the hospital in a straitjacket. She had a severe neurological disorder and was unable to stand. Squirming
on the floor, she went into spasms and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her
hair was matted; she had torn all her clothes and uttered guttural sounds. Her family was fairly wealthy; as a result, over the years she had been seen
by innumerable physicians and famous specialists from all over the world. Every treatment had been tried on her and she had been given up as
hopeless by the medical profession. A short, nonverbal question arose: “What do you want done with her,
God?” Then came the realization that she just needed to be loved, that was
all. Her inner self shone through her eyes and the Self connected with that
loving essence. In that second, she was healed by her own recognition of
who she really was; what happened to her mind or body didn’t matter to her
any longer. This, in essence, occurred with countless patients. Some recovered in
the eyes of the world and some did not, but whether a clinical recovery
ensued did not matter any longer to the patients. Their inner agony was
over. As they felt loved and at peace within, their pain stopped. Thisphenomenon can only be explained by saying that the Compassion of the
Presence recontextualized each patient’s reality so that he or she
experienced healing on a level that transcended the world and its
appearances. The inner peace of the Self encompassed us beyond time and
identity. It was clear that all pain and suffering arises solely from the ego and not
from God. This truth was silently communicated to the minds of the
patients. This was the mental block in another mute catatonic who had not
spoken in many years. The Self said to him through mind, “You’re blaming
God for what your ego has done to you.” He jumped off the floor and began
to speak, much to the shock of the nurse who witnessed the incident. The work became increasingly taxing and eventually overwhelming. Patients were backed up, waiting for beds to open although the hospital had
built an extra ward to house them. There was an enormous frustration in
that the human suffering could be countered in only one patient at a time. It
was like bailing out the sea. It seemed that there must be some other way to
address the causes of the common malaise, the endless stream of spiritual
distress and human suffering. This led to the study of kinesiology, which revealed an amazing
discovery. It was the ‘wormhole’ between two universes—the physical
world and the world of the mind and spirit, an interface between
dimensions. In a world full of sleepers lost from their source, here was a
tool to recover and demonstrate for all to see—that lost connection with the
higher reality. This led to the testing of every substance, thought, and
concept that could be brought to mind. The endeavor was aided by my
students and research assistants. Then a major discovery was made:
whereas all subjects went weak from negative stimuli, such as fluorescent
lights, pesticides, and artificial sweeteners, students of spiritual disciplines
who had advanced their levels of awareness did not go weak as did ordinary
people. Something important and decisive had shifted in their
consciousness. It apparently occurred as they realized they were not at the
mercy of the world but rather affected only by what their minds believed. Perhaps the very process of progress toward enlightenment could be shown
to increase man’s ability to resist the vicissitudes of existence, including
illness. The Self had the capacity to change things in the world by merely
envisioning them; Love changed the world each time it replaced non-love.The entire scheme of civilization could be profoundly altered by focusing
this power of love at a very specific point. Whenever this happened, history
bifurcated down new roads. It now appeared that these crucial insights could not only be
communicated with the world but visibly and irrefutably demonstrated. It
seemed that the great tragedy of human life had always been that the psyche
is so easily deceived; discord and strife have been the inevitable
consequence of mankind’s inability to distinguish the false from the true. But here was an answer to this fundamental dilemma, a way to
recontextualize the nature of consciousness itself and make explicable that
which otherwise could only be inferred. It was time to leave life in New York, with its city apartment and home
on Long Island, for something more important. It was necessary to perfect
myself as an instrument. This necessitated leaving that world and
everything in it, replacing it with a reclusive life in a small town where the
next seven years were spent in meditation and study. Overpowering states of bliss returned unsought and eventually there
was the need to learn how to be in the Divine Presence and still function in
the world. The mind had lost track of what was happening in the world at
large. In order to do research and writing, it was necessary to stop all
spiritual practice and focus on the world of form. Reading the newspaper
and watching television helped to catch up on the story of who was who,
the major events, and the nature of the current social dialogue. Exceptional subjective experiences of truth, which are the province of
the mystic who affects all mankind by sending forth spiritual energy into
the collective consciousness, are not understandable by the majority of
mankind and are therefore of limited meaning except to other spiritual
seekers. This led to an effort to be ordinary, because just being ordinary in
itself is an expression of Divinity; the truth of one’s real self can be
discovered through the pathway of everyday life. To live with care and
kindness is all that is necessary. The rest reveals itself in due time. The
commonplace and God are not distinct. And so, after a long circular journey of the spirit, there was a return to
the most important work, which was to try to bring the Presence at least a
little closer to the grasp of as many fellow beings as possible. The Presence is silent and conveys a state of peace that is the space in
which and by which all is and has its existence and experience. It is
infinitely gentle and yet like a rock. With it, all fear disappears. Spiritual joy
occurs on a quiet level of inexplicable ecstasy. Because the experience of
time stops, there is no apprehension or regret, no pain, no anticipation; the
source of joy is unending and ever present. With no beginning or ending,
there is no loss or grief or desire. Nothing needs to be done; everything is
already perfect and complete. When time stops, all problems disappear; they are merely artifacts of a
point of perception. As the Presence prevails, there is no further
identification with the body or mind. When the mind grows silent, the
thought “ I Am” also disappears and Pure Awareness shines forth to
illuminate what one is, was, and always will be, beyond all worlds and all
universes, beyond time, and therefore without beginning or end. People wonder, “How does one reach this state of awareness,” but few
follow the steps because they are so simple. First, the desire to reach that
state was intense. Then began the discipline to act with constant and
universal forgiveness and gentleness, without exception. One has to be
compassionate towards everything, including one’s own self and thoughts. Next came a willingness to hold desires in abeyance and surrender personal
will at every moment. As each thought, feeling, desire, or deed was
surrendered to God, the mind became progressively silent. At first, it
released whole stories and paragraphs, then ideas and concepts. As one lets
go of wanting to own these thoughts, they no longer reach such elaboration
and begin to fragment while only half formed. Finally, it was possible to
turn over the energy behind thought itself before it even became thought. The task of constant and unrelenting fixity of focus, allowing not even a
moment of distraction from meditation, continued while doing ordinary
activities. At first, this seemed very difficult, but as time went on, it became
habitual, automatic, requiring less and less effort, and finally it was
effortless. The process is like a rocket leaving the earth. At first, it requires
enormous power, then less and less as it leaves the earth’s gravitational
field, and finally, it moves through space under its own momentum. Suddenly, without warning, a shift in awareness occurred and the
Presence was there, unmistakable and all encompassing. There were a few
moments of apprehension as the self died, and then the absoluteness of the
Presence inspired a flash of awe. This breakthrough was spectacular, moreintense than anything before. It has no counterpart in ordinary experience. The profound shock was cushioned by the love that is with the Presence. Without the support and protection of that love, one would be annihilated. There followed a moment of terror as the ego clung to its existence,
fearing it would become nothingness. Instead, as it died, it was replaced by
the Self as Everythingness, the All in which everything is known and
obvious in its perfect expression of its own essence. With nonlocality came
the awareness that one is all that ever was or can be. One is total and
complete, beyond all identities, beyond all gender, beyond even humanness
itself. One need never again fear suffering and death. What happens to the body from this point is immaterial. At certain
levels of spiritual awareness, ailments of the body heal or spontaneously
disappear. But in the absolute state, such considerations are irrelevant. The
body will run its predicted course and then return from whence it came. It is
a matter of no importance; one is unaffected. The body appears as an “it”
rather than as a “me” as another object, like the furniture in a room. It may
seem comical that people still address the body as though it were the
individual “ you,”but there is no way to explain this state of awareness to
the unaware. It is best to just go on about one’s business and allow
Providence to handle the social adjustment. However, as one reaches bliss,
it is very difficult to conceal that state of intense ecstasy. The world may be
dazzled and people may come from far and wide to be in the accompanying
aura. Spiritual seekers and the spiritually curious may be attracted, as may
be the very ill who are seeking miracles; one may become a magnet and a
source of joy to them. Commonly, there is a desire at this point to share this
state with others and to use it for the benefit of all. The ecstasy that accompanies this condition is not absolutely stable;
there are also moments of great agony. The most intense occur when the
state fluctuates and suddenly ceases for no apparent reason. These times
bring on periods of intense despair and a fear that one has been forsaken by
the Presence. These falls make the path arduous and to surmount these
reversals requires great will. It finally becomes obvious that one must
transcend this level or constantly suffer excruciating “descents from grace.”
The glory of ecstasy, then, has to be relinquished as one enters upon the
arduous task of transcending duality until one is beyond all oppositions and
their conflicting pulls. But while it is one thing to happily give up the iron
chains of ego, it is quite another to abandon the golden chains of ecstaticjoy. It feels as though one is giving up God, and a new level of fear arises,
never before anticipated. This is the final terror of absolute aloneness. To the ego, the fear of nonexistence was formidable, and it drew back
from it repeatedly as it seemed to approach. The purpose of the agonies and
the dark nights of the soul then became apparent. They are so intolerable
that their exquisite pain spurs one on to the extreme effort required to
surmount them. When vacillation between heaven and hell becomes
unendurable, the desire for existence itself has to be surrendered. Only once
this is done may one finally move beyond the duality of Allness versus
nothingness, beyond existence or nonexistence. This culmination of the
inner work is the most difficult phase, the ultimate watershed, where one is
starkly aware that the illusion of existence one here transcends is
irrevocable. There is no returning from this step, and this specter of
irreversibility makes this last barrier appear to be the most formidable
choice of all. But, in fact, in this final apocalypse of the self, the dissolution of the
sole remaining duality of existence and nonexistence–identity itself–
dissolves in Universal Divinity, and no individual consciousness is left to
choose. The last step, then, is taken by God. –David R. Hawkins
OceanofPDF.comHay House Titles of Related Interest
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starring Dr. Wayne W. Dyer 
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set) 
Watch the trailer at: www.DyerMovie.com
BEYOND HAPPINESS:, Finding and Fulfilling Your 
Deepest Desire, by Dr. Frank J. Kinslow 
LOVE HAS FORGOTTEN NO ONE: 
The Answer to Life, by Gary R. Renard
ONE MIND: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater 
Consciousness and Why It Matters, by Larry Dossey, M.D. THE ROSARY: The Prayer That Saved My Life, 
by Immaculée Ilibagiza, with Steve Erwin
THE TURNING POINT: Creating Resilience in a 
Time of Extremes, by Gregg Braden
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_OceanofPDF.com_Discovery_of_the_Presence_of_God_Devotional_Nonduality_-_David_R_Hawkins.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        The person I had been no longer existed. There was no personal self or
ego, only an Infinite Presence of such unlimited power that it was all that
was. This Presence had replaced what had been “me,” and the body and its
actions were controlled solely by the Infinite Will of the Presence. The
world was illuminated by the clarity of an Infinite Oneness that expressed
itself as all things revealed in their infinite beauty and perfection. As life went on, this stillness persisted. There was no personal will; the
physical body went about its business under the direction of the infinitely
powerful but exquisitely gentle Will of the Presence. In that state, there was
no need to think about anything. All truth was self-evident and no
conceptualization was necessary or even possible. At the same time, the
physical nervous system felt extremely overtaxed, as though it were
carrying far more energy than its circuits had been designed for. It was not possible to function effectively in the world. All ordinary
motivations had disappeared along with all fear and anxiety. There was
nothing to seek, as all was perfect. Fame, success, and money were
meaningless. Friends urged the pragmatic return to clinical practice, but
there was no ordinary motivation to do so. There was now the ability to perceive the reality that underlay
personalities: the origin of emotional sickness lay in people’s belief that
they were their personalities. And so, as though of its own, a clinical
practice resumed and eventually became huge. People came from all over the United States. The practice had two
thousand outpatients, which required more than fifty therapists and other
employees, a suite of twenty-five offices, and research and
electroencephalic laboratories. There were a thousand new patients a year. In addition, there were appearances on radio and network television shows,
as previously mentioned. In 1973 the clinical research was documented in a
traditional format in the book, Orthomolecular Psychiatry. This work was
ten years ahead of its time and created something of a stir. The overall condition of the nervous system improved slowly, and then
another phenomenon commenced. There was a sweet, delicious band of
energy continuously flowing up the spine and into the brain where it created
an intense sensation of continuous pleasure. Everything in life happened by
synchronicity, evolving in perfect harmony; the miraculous was
commonplace. The origin of what the world would call miracles was the
Presence, not the personal self. What remained of the personal “me” was
only a witness to these phenomena. The greater “I,” deeper than my former
self or thoughts, determined all that happened. The states that were present had been reported by others throughout
history and led to the investigation of spiritual teachings, including those of
the Buddha, enlightened sages, Huang Po, and more recent teachers such as
Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj. It was thus confirmed that
these experiences were not unique. The Bhagavad-Gita now made complete
sense. At times the same spiritual ecstasy reported by Sri Ramakrishna and
the Christian saints occurred. Everything and everyone in the world was luminous and exquisitely
beautiful. All living beings became Radiant and expressed this Radiance in
stillness and splendor. It was apparent that all mankind is actually motivated
by inner love but has simply become unaware; most lives are lived asthough by sleepers unawakened to the awareness of who they really are. People around me looked as though they were asleep and were incredibly
beautiful. It was like being in love with everyone. It was necessary to stop the habitual practice of meditating for an hour
in the morning and then again before dinner because it would intensify the
bliss to such an extent that it was not possible to function. An experience
similar to the one that had occurred in the snow bank as a boy would recur,
and it became increasingly difficult to leave that state and return to the
world. The incredible beauty of all things shone forth in all their perfection,
and where the world saw ugliness, there was only timeless beauty. This
spiritual love suffused all perception and all boundaries between here and
there, then and now, or separation disappeared. During the years spent in inner silence, the strength of the Presence
grew. Life was no longer personal; a personal will no longer existed. The
personal “I” had become an instrument of the Infinite Presence and went
about and did as it was willed. People felt an extraordinary peace in the aura
of that Presence. Seekers sought answers but as there was no longer any
such individual as David, they were actually finessing answers from their
own Self, which was not different from mine. From each person the same
Self shone forth from their eyes. The miraculous happened, beyond ordinary comprehension. Many
chronic maladies from which the body had suffered for years disappeared;
eyesight spontaneously normalized and there was no longer a need for the
lifetime bifocals. Occasionally, an exquisitely blissful energy, an Infinite Love, would
suddenly begin to radiate from the heart toward the scene of some calamity. Once, while driving on a highway, this exquisite energy began to beam out
of the chest. As the car rounded a bend, there was an auto accident; the
wheels of the overturned car were still spinning. The energy passed with
great intensity into the occupants of the car and then stopped of its own
accord. Another time, while I was walking on the streets of a strange city,
the energy started to flow down the block ahead and arrived at the scene of
an incipient gang fight. The combatants fell back and began to laugh, and
again, the energy stopped. Profound changes of perception came without warning in improbable
circumstances. While dining alone at Rothman’s on Long Island, the
Presence suddenly intensified until every thing and every person, which hadappeared as separate in ordinary perception, melted into a timeless
universality and oneness. In the motionless Silence, it became obvious that
there are no “events” or “things” and that nothing actually “happens”
because past, present, and future are merely artifacts of perception, as is the
illusion of a separate “I” being subject to birth and death. As the limited,
false self dissolved into the universal Self of its true origin, there was an
ineffable sense of having returned home to a state of absolute peace and
relief from all suffering. It is only the illusion of individuality that is the
origin of all suffering. When realizes that one is the universe, complete and
at one with All That Is, forever without end, then no further suffering is
possible. Patients came from every country in the world, and some were the most
hopeless of the hopeless. Grotesque, writhing, wrapped in wet sheets for
transport from far-away hospitals they came, hoping for treatment for
advanced psychoses and grave, incurable mental disorders. Some were
catatonic; many had been mute for years. But in each patient, beneath the
crippled appearance, was the shining essence of love and beauty, perhaps so
obscured to ordinary vision that he or she had become totally unloved in
this world. One day a mute catatonic was brought into the hospital in a straitjacket. She had a severe neurological disorder and was unable to stand. Squirming
on the floor, she went into spasms and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her
hair was matted; she had torn all her clothes and uttered guttural sounds. Her family was fairly wealthy; as a result, over the years she had been seen
by innumerable physicians and famous specialists from all over the world. Every treatment had been tried on her and she had been given up as
hopeless by the medical profession. A short, nonverbal question arose: “What do you want done with her,
God. ” Then came the realization that she just needed to be loved, that was
all. Her inner self shone through her eyes and the Self connected with that
loving essence. In that second, she was healed by her own recognition of
who she really was; what happened to her mind or body didn’t matter to her
any longer. This, in essence, occurred with countless patients. Some recovered in
the eyes of the world and some did not, but whether a clinical recovery
ensued did not matter any longer to the patients. Their inner agony was
over. As they felt loved and at peace within, their pain stopped. Thisphenomenon can only be explained by saying that the Compassion of the
Presence recontextualized each patient’s reality so that he or she
experienced healing on a level that transcended the world and its
appearances. The inner peace of the Self encompassed us beyond time and
identity. It was clear that all pain and suffering arises solely from the ego and not
from God. This truth was silently communicated to the minds of the
patients. This was the mental block in another mute catatonic who had not
spoken in many years. The Self said to him through mind, “You’re blaming
God for what your ego has done to you. ” He jumped off the floor and began
to speak, much to the shock of the nurse who witnessed the incident. The work became increasingly taxing and eventually overwhelming. Patients were backed up, waiting for beds to open although the hospital had
built an extra ward to house them. There was an enormous frustration in
that the human suffering could be countered in only one patient at a time. It
was like bailing out the sea. It seemed that there must be some other way to
address the causes of the common malaise, the endless stream of spiritual
distress and human suffering. This led to the study of kinesiology, which revealed an amazing
discovery. It was the ‘wormhole’ between two universes—the physical
world and the world of the mind and spirit, an interface between
dimensions. In a world full of sleepers lost from their source, here was a
tool to recover and demonstrate for all to see—that lost connection with the
higher reality. This led to the testing of every substance, thought, and
concept that could be brought to mind. The endeavor was aided by my
students and research assistants. Then a major discovery was made:
whereas all subjects went weak from negative stimuli, such as fluorescent
lights, pesticides, and artificial sweeteners, students of spiritual disciplines
who had advanced their levels of awareness did not go weak as did ordinary
people. Something important and decisive had shifted in their
consciousness. It apparently occurred as they realized they were not at the
mercy of the world but rather affected only by what their minds believed. Perhaps the very process of progress toward enlightenment could be shown
to increase man’s ability to resist the vicissitudes of existence, including
illness. The Self had the capacity to change things in the world by merely
envisioning them; Love changed the world each time it replaced non-love. The entire scheme of civilization could be profoundly altered by focusing
this power of love at a very specific point. Whenever this happened, history
bifurcated down new roads. It now appeared that these crucial insights could not only be
communicated with the world but visibly and irrefutably demonstrated. It
seemed that the great tragedy of human life had always been that the psyche
is so easily deceived; discord and strife have been the inevitable
consequence of mankind’s inability to distinguish the false from the true. But here was an answer to this fundamental dilemma, a way to
recontextualize the nature of consciousness itself and make explicable that
which otherwise could only be inferred. It was time to leave life in New York, with its city apartment and home
on Long Island, for something more important. It was necessary to perfect
myself as an instrument. This necessitated leaving that world and
everything in it, replacing it with a reclusive life in a small town where the
next seven years were spent in meditation and study. Overpowering states of bliss returned unsought and eventually there
was the need to learn how to be in the Divine Presence and still function in
the world. The mind had lost track of what was happening in the world at
large. In order to do research and writing, it was necessary to stop all
spiritual practice and focus on the world of form. Reading the newspaper
and watching television helped to catch up on the story of who was who,
the major events, and the nature of the current social dialogue. Exceptional subjective experiences of truth, which are the province of
the mystic who affects all mankind by sending forth spiritual energy into
the collective consciousness, are not understandable by the majority of
mankind and are therefore of limited meaning except to other spiritual
seekers. This led to an effort to be ordinary, because just being ordinary in
itself is an expression of Divinity; the truth of one’s real self can be
discovered through the pathway of everyday life. To live with care and
kindness is all that is necessary. The rest reveals itself in due time. The
commonplace and God are not distinct. And so, after a long circular journey of the spirit, there was a return to
the most important work, which was to try to bring the Presence at least a
little closer to the grasp of as many fellow beings as possible. The Presence is silent and conveys a state of peace that is the space in
which and by which all is and has its existence and experience. It is
infinitely gentle and yet like a rock. With it, all fear disappears. Spiritual joy
occurs on a quiet level of inexplicable ecstasy. Because the experience of
time stops, there is no apprehension or regret, no pain, no anticipation; the
source of joy is unending and ever present. With no beginning or ending,
there is no loss or grief or desire. Nothing needs to be done; everything is
already perfect and complete. When time stops, all problems disappear; they are merely artifacts of a
point of perception. As the Presence prevails, there is no further
identification with the body or mind. When the mind grows silent, the
thought “ I Am” also disappears and Pure Awareness shines forth to
illuminate what one is, was, and always will be, beyond all worlds and all
universes, beyond time, and therefore without beginning or end. People wonder, “How does one reach this state of awareness,” but few
follow the steps because they are so simple. First, the desire to reach that
state was intense. Then began the discipline to act with constant and
universal forgiveness and gentleness, without exception. One has to be
compassionate towards everything, including one’s own self and thoughts. Next came a willingness to hold desires in abeyance and surrender personal
will at every moment. As each thought, feeling, desire, or deed was
surrendered to God, the mind became progressively silent. At first, it
released whole stories and paragraphs, then ideas and concepts. As one lets
go of wanting to own these thoughts, they no longer reach such elaboration
and begin to fragment while only half formed. Finally, it was possible to
turn over the energy behind thought itself before it even became thought. The task of constant and unrelenting fixity of focus, allowing not even a
moment of distraction from meditation, continued while doing ordinary
activities. At first, this seemed very difficult, but as time went on, it became
habitual, automatic, requiring less and less effort, and finally it was
effortless. The process is like a rocket leaving the earth. At first, it requires
enormous power, then less and less as it leaves the earth’s gravitational
field, and finally, it moves through space under its own momentum. Suddenly, without warning, a shift in awareness occurred and the
Presence was there, unmistakable and all encompassing. There were a few
moments of apprehension as the self died, and then the absoluteness of the
Presence inspired a flash of awe. This breakthrough was spectacular, moreintense than anything before. It has no counterpart in ordinary experience. The profound shock was cushioned by the love that is with the Presence. Without the support and protection of that love, one would be annihilated. There followed a moment of terror as the ego clung to its existence,
fearing it would become nothingness. Instead, as it died, it was replaced by
the Self as Everythingness, the All in which everything is known and
obvious in its perfect expression of its own essence. With nonlocality came
the awareness that one is all that ever was or can be. One is total and
complete, beyond all identities, beyond all gender, beyond even humanness
itself. One need never again fear suffering and death. What happens to the body from this point is immaterial. At certain
levels of spiritual awareness, ailments of the body heal or spontaneously
disappear. But in the absolute state, such considerations are irrelevant. The
body will run its predicted course and then return from whence it came. It is
a matter of no importance; one is unaffected. The body appears as an “it”
rather than as a “me” as another object, like the furniture in a room. It may
seem comical that people still address the body as though it were the
individual “ you,”but there is no way to explain this state of awareness to
the unaware. It is best to just go on about one’s business and allow
Providence to handle the social adjustment. However, as one reaches bliss,
it is very difficult to conceal that state of intense ecstasy. The world may be
dazzled and people may come from far and wide to be in the accompanying
aura. Spiritual seekers and the spiritually curious may be attracted, as may
be the very ill who are seeking miracles; one may become a magnet and a
source of joy to them. Commonly, there is a desire at this point to share this
state with others and to use it for the benefit of all. The ecstasy that accompanies this condition is not absolutely stable;
there are also moments of great agony. The most intense occur when the
state fluctuates and suddenly ceases for no apparent reason. These times
bring on periods of intense despair and a fear that one has been forsaken by
the Presence. These falls make the path arduous and to surmount these
reversals requires great will. It finally becomes obvious that one must
transcend this level or constantly suffer excruciating “descents from grace. ”
The glory of ecstasy, then, has to be relinquished as one enters upon the
arduous task of transcending duality until one is beyond all oppositions and
their conflicting pulls. But while it is one thing to happily give up the iron
chains of ego, it is quite another to abandon the golden chains of ecstaticjoy. It feels as though one is giving up God, and a new level of fear arises,
never before anticipated. This is the final terror of absolute aloneness. To the ego, the fear of nonexistence was formidable, and it drew back
from it repeatedly as it seemed to approach. The purpose of the agonies and
the dark nights of the soul then became apparent. They are so intolerable
that their exquisite pain spurs one on to the extreme effort required to
surmount them. When vacillation between heaven and hell becomes
unendurable, the desire for existence itself has to be surrendered. Only once
this is done may one finally move beyond the duality of Allness versus
nothingness, beyond existence or nonexistence. This culmination of the
inner work is the most difficult phase, the ultimate watershed, where one is
starkly aware that the illusion of existence one here transcends is
irrevocable. There is no returning from this step, and this specter of
irreversibility makes this last barrier appear to be the most formidable
choice of all. But, in fact, in this final apocalypse of the self, the dissolution of the
sole remaining duality of existence and nonexistence–identity itself–
dissolves in Universal Divinity, and no individual consciousness is left to
choose. The last step, then, is taken by God. –David R. Hawkins
OceanofPDF. comHay House Titles of Related Interest
YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, the movie, 
starring Louise L. Hay & Friends 
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set) 
Watch the trailer at: www. LouiseHayMovie. com
THE SHIFT, the movie, 
starring Dr. Wayne W. Dyer 
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set) 
Watch the trailer at: www. DyerMovie. com
BEYOND HAPPINESS:, Finding and Fulfilling Your 
Deepest Desire, by Dr. Frank J. Kinslow 
LOVE HAS FORGOTTEN NO ONE: 
The Answer to Life, by Gary R. Renard
ONE MIND: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater 
Consciousness and Why It Matters, by Larry Dossey, M. D. THE ROSARY: The Prayer That Saved My Life, 
by Immaculée Ilibagiza, with Steve Erwin
THE TURNING POINT: Creating Resilience in a 
Time of Extremes, by Gregg Braden
All of the above are available at your local bookstore, 
or may be ordered by contacting Hay House (see next page). OceanofPDF. comWe hope you enjoyed this Hay House book. If you’d like to receive our online catalog featuring
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The author's sense of self or ego disappeared, replaced by an Infinite Presence.
What happened to the author's sense of self?
The author's body and actions were controlled solely by the Infinite Will of the Presence, and they experienced a loss of personal will.
What was the author's experience with the Infinite Presence?
The author's patients experienced profound healing, including the disappearance of chronic maladies, and the recovery of speech and mobility in cases where they were previously unable.
What was the author's experience with their patients?
The author realized that the origin of human suffering is the illusion of individuality and the ego, and that it is not a result of God or the universe.
What was the author's understanding of the origin of human suffering?
The author's ultimate goal was to transcend the ego and reach a state of absolute oneness with the universe, where they could be a magnet for others and share their experience with the world.
What was the author's ultimate goal?