Wednesday, August 30, 2023
On whom or what are you dependent? This is a loaded question, and something I would encourage you to reflect upon. One of the most famous passages in the Psalms comes from number 23 where it states, “I lack nothing” or “I shall not want.” Not wanting and lacking nothing are two sides of the same coin. If I truly lack nothing, that means there is nothing upon which I am dependent. I am free from conditions of any kind, both inner and outer. Going back to my first question, on whom or what are you dependent? From the perspective of condition, you might say we are self-dependent then. Wrong again.
The idea of the separate self is also conditional. The self is a concept that is superimposed on the moment through thought or feeling. But the notion of self takes form within you. It’s conditional upon your awareness of it. You cannot depend upon something that comes and goes! Self (and other) is an illusion. It’s as unreliable as any condition – inner or outer, it’s all conceptual.
We often think there is a physical and a spiritual world. Both are thoughts. All of it is generated from the source – you. I’m not referring to the separate self “you,” but consciousness itself, the oneness that sees collectively. Consciousness gives rise to all. You are the source. If you’re dependent upon anything (like a job, an individual person, or an idea of some kind of God), you’ve created a dependency on a concept. If you lack, you’ve created the conflict of not enough. If you need it, you’ve created the conflict of incompleteness. If you want it, you’ve created the conflict of not having. It’s all coming from you. If you’ve got a problem (or a solution), reflect on this truth, “I am the source of all things, seen and unseen.”