What's your first memory? Amazingly, some people can remember very early childhood. For me, it's probably something around five years old. Whatever it is for you, engage in that reminiscence for a moment. Picture where you were, what you were doing, and perhaps even what you were feeling.
Now fast-forward a bit into your teens. Call to mind a memorable moment from your high-school years. Can you see the you that you were at that time?
And now make a few more temporal stops while transitioning to your current self, contemplating various experiences along this mental journey.
With this mini-collage of you at various ages, consider how much you've changed over the years. Your body and brain have certainly developed quite a bit. Perhaps your beliefs and core principles have evolved. And ideally your wisdom has continually grown. Clearly you are a very different person now than you were at five or fifteen.
But is that really true?
Putting aside physiological and psychological progression and/or regression, reflect on your innate sense of self. Not any characteristics that describe or define you, but rather the pure essence of you. The you that knows itself as a name and body. The you that can share a grade-school photo, amusingly noting, "that is me, there on the left". The you that knows itself hasn't changed one iota since you were born.
While many things have happened to your body and brain, and many adjectives and nouns now qualify their disposition, the you who is aware of these transformations is changeless. A Course in Miracles, and many other non-dualistic frameworks, identify that you as "the light of the world" and "the bringer of perfect peace".
That is how holy, how sacred you are. And learning how to re-engage with that you constitutes the certain path to peace.
Join me in Thursday's class where we'll explore the nature of changeless awareness, and how we can practice stepping back into that heavenly realm of eternal bliss. I look forward to seeing you then.