<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd"
	xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
>

<channel>
	<title>You Are Truly Loved &#187; Duality</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/category/duality/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment</link>
	<description>A Guide to Spiritual Awakening, Enlightenment, and Unconditional Love</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:56:26 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0</generator>
	<!-- podcast_generator="podPress/8.8" - maintenance_release="8.8.5.2" -->
	<copyright>Copyright &#xA9; 2010 You Are Truly Loved </copyright>
	<managingEditor>arielbravy@gmail.com (Ariel D. Bravy)</managingEditor>
	<webMaster>arielbravy@gmail.com (Ariel D. Bravy)</webMaster>
	<category>posts</category>
	<ttl>1440</ttl>
	<image>
		<url>http://www.arielbravy.com/enlightenment/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg</url>
		<title>You Are Truly Loved &#187; Duality</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment</link>
		<width>144</width>
		<height>144</height>
	</image>
	<itunes:subtitle></itunes:subtitle>
	<itunes:summary>A Guide to Enlightened Living</itunes:summary>
	<itunes:keywords>enlightenment, spirituality, ego</itunes:keywords>
	<itunes:category text="Religion &#38; Spirituality" />
	<itunes:category text="Religion &#38; Spirituality">
		<itunes:category text="Spirituality" />
	</itunes:category>
	<itunes:author>Ariel D. Bravy</itunes:author>
	<itunes:owner>
		<itunes:name>Ariel D. Bravy</itunes:name>
		<itunes:email>arielbravy@gmail.com</itunes:email>
	</itunes:owner>
	<itunes:block>no</itunes:block>
	<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
	<itunes:image href="http://www.arielbravy.com/enlightenment/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress_large.jpg" />
		<item>
		<title>Heaven and Earth.. Not Two</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/heaven-and-earth-not-two/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/heaven-and-earth-not-two/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 15:11:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heaven and Hell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Non-duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Earth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frequency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Heaven]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Metaphysics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oneness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vibration]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=4057</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. A famous statement. From the perspective of duality, they are seen to be two different places, two different locations. If we begin exploring metaphysics, we may learn about vibration and learn that what we call heaven may simply be a different vibrational frequency, perhaps a different state of consciousness. Thus [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fheaven-and-earth-not-two%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fheaven-and-earth-not-two%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<p><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4058" title="Beautiful Earth" src="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/beautiful-earth-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. A famous statement.</p>
<p>From the perspective of duality, they are seen to be two different places, two different locations.</p>
<p>If we begin exploring metaphysics, we may learn about vibration and learn that what we call heaven may simply be a different vibrational frequency, perhaps a different state of consciousness. Thus the goal is to raise our vibrations or raise our level of consciousness. Perhaps we channel down higher vibrational energy, we do what we can to raise our own individual frequencies, or we raise the earth&#8217;s energy getting it higher and higher, closer to that which we envision to be heaven. Lots of different ways to play and love. <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>Yet there comes a time when, perhaps when the vibration gets high enough, I dunno.. not to sure about the metaphysical explanation here, but it is seen so clearly that there is no difference between heaven and earth, not even a vibrational difference. NONE. The two are one.</p>
<p>Heaven and earth. Not two, not two. As Jesus said, The Kingdom of God is at hand. It&#8217;s here! It&#8217;s here! (Turns out the guy was onto something&#8230;)</p>
<p><span id="more-4057"></span></p>
<p>Byron Katie once brought up an amazing point. She asked what it would be like if you actually went &#8220;from earth to heaven&#8221; and took all your suffering ego-based thoughts with you. Would you even experience heaven at all or would you continue to experience only the product of your unquestioned thoughts?</p>
<p>The veil of separation makes it seem like heaven is somewhere else, somewhere other than LITERALLY RIGHT HERE AND NOW and so we go out seeking something, somewhere, wherever it is. Clearly if I&#8217;m not experiencing it then it must mean that it&#8217;s not here&#8230;</p>
<p>Instead of seeking something else somewhere, we can question our thoughts, explore our perceptions, look within. Do the spiritual work as suggested. As the distorting glasses are recognized and taken off, we see THIS MOMENT clearly as it IS, not as we *think* it is, but as it ACTUALLY is. BIG difference&#8230;</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not a mental seeing.</p>
<h3>Clear Seeing</h3>
<p><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4059" title="Eye" src="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/eye-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />There is purity and there is distortion. The task is not to find something which is not here, but to clear ourselves of distortion, misunderstanding, false notions, and limited ideas.</p>
<p>Strip away and let go of all that leads to suffering, separation, and misunderstanding, and see what remains.</p>
<p>Pure. Natural. Radiant. Exquisite. Beyond All Words. Living as every word. Giving birth to all thought. The mother of all creation. The scent of a flower. The coo of a baby. The fart of that same baby. Everything. All of it.</p>
<p>The very light that spins all of existence into manifestation. Right here. Right here.</p>
<p>Our true home we never left, except for in our imaginations.</p>
<p>Is it a lucid dream? A dream without a dreamer. An experience without an experiencer.</p>
<p>An understanding of the great Unknown. The clear recognition that there&#8217;s nothing to know, only a pure being of that which you innately are.</p>
<p>The poetry of creation, the sounds of silence, the writings of no one, the laughter of the one.</p>
<p>Om.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/heaven-and-earth-not-two/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Validating All That Is</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/validating-all-that-is/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/validating-all-that-is/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:49:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peace]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surrender]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Acceptance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Resistance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Validation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=3884</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Alright, so here&#8217;s an interesting pattern I&#8217;ve noticed: Anything I judge or comdemn in another or give someone else a hard time about I ultimately wind up doing myself, and very quickly too. Basically I can watch myself being a total hypocrite! Interesting&#8230; They say that what you resist persists and this really is true. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fvalidating-all-that-is%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fvalidating-all-that-is%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Alright, so here&#8217;s an interesting pattern I&#8217;ve noticed: Anything I judge or comdemn in another or give someone else a hard time about I ultimately wind up doing myself, and very quickly too. Basically I can watch myself being a total hypocrite! Interesting&#8230; They say that what you resist persists and this really is true. I believe there&#8217;s even a film (I haven&#8217;t seen) about this topic called <a href="http://www.theshadoweffect.com/">The Shadow Effect</a>.</div>
<div></div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Anyways, anything that I invalidate I inevitably wind up (unconsciously) choosing and thus living out myself.</div>
<h3>Validating All That Is</h3>
<div id="_mcePaste">There&#8217;s anothing pattern that&#8217;s developing at the same time: Validate All That Is.</div>
<div></div>
<div id="_mcePaste">It&#8217;s like I begin looking at things (both whatever I deem supposedly good or bad) and say to myself, &#8220;Yes, this is a valid expression of All That Is. This is yet another way for the One to manifest itself and experience itself. This too is the One. This is ultimately just as valid a choice as any other choice and so I choose to grant life/this person/this experience/this thing the freedom to be the way it is. I choose to allow the One to express itself in this way as well.&#8221;</div>
<div><span id="more-3884"></span></div>
<div id="_mcePaste">How much of our lives are lived in opposition to someone or something? It&#8217;s like we create for ourselves an internal state of conflict, resistance, and division. This validation process I speak of is about ending this internal conflict and separation at our core and being in a state of acceptance and peace with All That Is, with every single component of All That Is.</div>
<div></div>
<div id="_mcePaste">Some people talk about loving what is, or being in a state of non-resistance, or letting go and letting God, or whatever else&#8230; Basically they all boil down to the same thing: They&#8217;re all ultimately just another way of saying yes to what is, to letting go of the internal state of division and opposition to what is.</div>
<div></div>
<div id="_mcePaste">What I&#8217;m finding is that when I validate those things which I used to set myself directly in opposition with, I find I&#8217;m now free to choose what it is that I do want without all the struggle of before. When I resist, I unconsciously force myself into experiencing that. When I let go of resisting what I say I do not want, there is the freedom to easily choose what it is that I do prefer.</div>
<div></div>
<div id="_mcePaste">and the more I choose to engage in those energies which I prefer within myself, for myself, for its own sake, because it feels good to be in a state of pace and joy, the more I see these same energies of well-being showing up all around me in this apparent world. The dream world really is simply a mirror for our internal state of being. Used as such, the world becomes very useful for clearing out internal blockages!</div>
<div></div>
<div id="_mcePaste">All of it is the One. All of it is what I am. All of it is what you are. There&#8217;s only one of us.</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/validating-all-that-is/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Experiencing Oneness and Suffering Simultaneously</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/experiencing-oneness-and-suffering-simultaneously/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/experiencing-oneness-and-suffering-simultaneously/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:49:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Enlightenment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oneness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Realization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sage Sarojini]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Suffering]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=3770</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So, enlightenment. Two of its main selling points (heh) are the end of suffering and the recognition that all is one. Yet what I&#8217;ve found in my own experience as well as in speaking with others is that it&#8217;s possible to be in a state of Oneness while simultaneously experiencing suffering. Wait&#8230; what? It was [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fexperiencing-oneness-and-suffering-simultaneously%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fexperiencing-oneness-and-suffering-simultaneously%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<div id="_mcePaste"><a href="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/sarojini.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3771" title="Sage Sarojini" src="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/sarojini.jpg" alt="" width="220" height="174" /></a>So, enlightenment. Two of its main selling points (heh) are the end of suffering and the recognition that all is one.</div>
<p>Yet what I&#8217;ve found in my own experience as well as in speaking with others is that it&#8217;s possible to be in a state of Oneness while simultaneously experiencing suffering. Wait&#8230; what?</p>
<p>It was really confusing to see this and somewhat disheartening to be honest, as if the whole enlightenment thing ain&#8217;t all it&#8217;s cracked up to be.  <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/laugh.gif' alt=':lol' class='wp-smiley' /> Clearly there&#8217;s something off with this whole Oneness thing!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.silentstillness.com/">Sage Sarojini</a> recently started up a blog and in it she addresses several of the difference between <a href="http://silentstillness.blogspot.com/2010/01/oneness-versus-realization.html">Oneness and Realization</a>. Check out her explanation for more information. In her post she differentiates between the two and points out that the fear of &#8216;Nothingness&#8217; is often the barrier between Oneness and Realization. This fear I will be addressing in the next blog post.</p>
<p>Until then, I&#8217;d just like to bring up the idea that there&#8217;s more to this journey than seeing that &#8220;we are all one.&#8221; <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/experiencing-oneness-and-suffering-simultaneously/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Two Traps that Will Send You Back into Separation</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/two-traps-that-will-send-you-back-into-separation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/two-traps-that-will-send-you-back-into-separation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:30:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Enlightenment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Presence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adyashanti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attachment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Being]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clinging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experiencing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Self-inquiry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Experiences]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=3744</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Let&#8217;s talk about some of the main differences between the awake state and the asleep state as well as address two traps that keep one falling back into (the experience of) separation. Awareness: Awake vs. Asleep Asleep, awareness seems to be no big deal. You can be aware of awareness, but it seems like just [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Ftwo-traps-that-will-send-you-back-into-separation%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Ftwo-traps-that-will-send-you-back-into-separation%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<p>Let&#8217;s talk about some of the main differences between the awake state and the asleep state as well as address two traps that keep one falling back into (the experience of) separation.</p>
<h4>Awareness: Awake vs. Asleep</h4>
<p>Asleep, awareness seems to be no big deal. You can be aware of awareness, but it seems like just another thing to look at like the floor or your thoughts. Nothing special really.</p>
<p>Awake, awareness is seen to be what you are, not as an identity like a parent or child, but as pure presence. Some say Presence prior to name and form, but this exists outside of time entirely, yet not separate from it. This aware presence is expansive, spacious, boundless, unchanging, and free. That which is seen by awareness is intuitively recognized to be not other than awareness and not separate from it.</p>
<blockquote><p>Awakening is simply a movement of Consciousness. It is a moving away from the identification of being a separate one to the recognition that all of life is a flowering in Consciousness being revealed.</p>
<p>-<a href="http://cathyrosewelljonas.com">Cathy Rosewell Jonas</a></p></blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s possible to have the experience of vacillating between awake and asleep, something which Adyashanti refers to as a non-abiding awakening. Through simple trial and error and life experience, I&#8217;ve found there to be a number of ways to send yourself back into a state of egoic delusion. Here are two such examples:</p>
<p><span id="more-3744"></span></p>
<h4>Owning and Personalizing an Awakening Experience</h4>
<p><em>&#8220;I had a spiritual awakening experience.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>While this sounds totally logical to the mind, by trying to take ownership of an awakening or claiming to be the one who experienced it, a personal self gets recreated and that very energy of dividing life into an experience and an experiencer sends one back into the world of separation. It&#8217;s like you can allow water to rest in the palm of your hand, but as soon as you try and grasp onto it, it all flows out. It seems that spiritual experiences are something that we must learn to allow to be here as they are and not hold on to or claim as &#8220;mine.&#8221; This is something that comes naturally with the maturation of awakening, not something necessarily that needs to be forced.</p>
<p>In Reality, all experiences simply arise in the moment. Without a separate experiencer, experiences are experienced with incredible intimacy, for there literally is no separation from or avoidance of the experience. Just pure experiencing within consciousness.</p>
<p>From the perspective of a separate self, things are taken personally and there is a sense of distance from the experience. When we are in love, we try and close that gap. When we go into fear, we try and widen this gap. This is why lovers come together and people may try to run away from their problems. There is a perceived sense of separation between &#8220;me&#8221; and &#8220;what I&#8217;m experiencing.&#8221;</p>
<p>WHO is experiencing is a <em>very</em> valuable question&#8230;</p>
<h4>Clinging to an Experience</h4>
<p><em>&#8220;I want to maintain this experience.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Back to good &#8216;ole attachment and clinging.</p>
<p>The experience of awakening (which can come and go) is actually not the same thing as awakeness itself (which is eternal and literally here right now no matter how awake or asleep you are.)</p>
<p>The mind has a tendency of seeking the first while overlooking the second which is putting the cart before the horse. When the ego arises to create and/or maintain something that can be lost, it&#8217;s focusing upon that which is bound in time and thus not resting in the eternal and the permanent. It&#8217;s seeking to make the impermanent permanent rather than recognizing that which is <em>already </em>permanent and thus <em>can&#8217;t </em>be lost and doesn&#8217;t <em>need </em>to be maintained.</p>
<p>While logically it would make sense that one would want to maintain a pleasurable experience, the way that experience is maintained is ironically by allowing the Self (and the experience as well) to fully be as it IS. In the same way as you let the air all around you to be as it is, the One must also be allowed to be as it is. Don&#8217;t try and grasp the air. Don&#8217;t try and grasp the Self. Don&#8217;t try and grasp the experience. No grasping. Allow it all to be as it is.</p>
<h4>Adyashanti Elaborates</h4>
<p>Adyashanti has a program titled <a href="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/adyashanti-the-end-of-your-world/">The End of Your World</a> which focuses upon non-abiding awakenings and some of the traps I&#8217;ve listed above. It&#8217;s one of my absolute favorites. Below is a pair of youtube clips, excerpts from the aforementioned program where he discusses these two traps and goes into more detail.</p>
<p><span class="youtube">
<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/l86wjEeB5zw&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=0&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0?rel=1&amp;hd=1">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/l86wjEeB5zw&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=0&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0?rel=1&amp;hd=1" />
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent" />
</object>
</span><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l86wjEeB5zw&fmt=18"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/l86wjEeB5zw/default.jpg" width="130" height="97" border=0></a></p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l86wjEeB5zw&fmt=18">www.youtube.com/watch?v=l86wjEeB5zw</a></p></p>
<p><span class="youtube">
<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/b3lp61bKwYs&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=0&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0?rel=1&amp;hd=1">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b3lp61bKwYs&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=0&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0?rel=1&amp;hd=1" />
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent" />
</object>
</span><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3lp61bKwYs&fmt=18"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/b3lp61bKwYs/default.jpg" width="130" height="97" border=0></a></p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3lp61bKwYs&fmt=18">www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3lp61bKwYs</a></p></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/two-traps-that-will-send-you-back-into-separation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s Okay to be Wrong</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/its-okay-to-be-wrong/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/its-okay-to-be-wrong/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:38:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ego]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Being Right]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Being Wrong]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I Don't Know]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Knowledge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Not Knowing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=3738</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the hardest things for some egos to accept is that they may be wrong, that what they strongly believe or the way they perceive things to be may not actually be the way things really are. As it turns out, there is tremendous freedom in allowing yourself to be wrong, and in fact that willingness [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fits-okay-to-be-wrong%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fits-okay-to-be-wrong%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<p>One of the hardest things for some egos to accept is that they may be wrong, that what they strongly believe or the way they perceive things to be may not actually be the way things really are. As it turns out, there is tremendous freedom in allowing yourself to be wrong, and in fact that willingness allows something deeper to awaken, something that simply knows and exists outside the game of right and wrong entirely.</p>
<p>Below is a video post I recently created on the topic of being wrong.</p>
<p>Note: I&#8217;ve set it to play in HD quality by default, so for those of you who are on a low-bandwidth connection, when you hit the play button, fiddle with the HD button and make sure it&#8217;s black (off) so that you download the faster and lower quality version. (If you could let me know in the comments what you did to play the low quality version, that&#8217;d be awesome. You may need to turn it on and off. Thank you.)</p>
<p><span class="youtube">
<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/kGPX4QfU64w&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=0&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0?rel=1&amp;hd=1">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kGPX4QfU64w&amp;color1=d6d6d6&amp;color2=f0f0f0&amp;border=0&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;showsearch=0?rel=1&amp;hd=1" />
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="wmode" value="transparent" />
</object>
</span><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGPX4QfU64w&fmt=18"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/kGPX4QfU64w/default.jpg" width="130" height="97" border=0></a></p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGPX4QfU64w&fmt=18">www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGPX4QfU64w</a></p></p>
<p>For those of you who prefer reading, let&#8217;s summarize what was covered in the video here. <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p><span id="more-3738"></span></p>
<h4>Smart People Take Note</h4>
<p>For those people who&#8217;ve grown up being told &#8220;you&#8217;re so smart&#8221; and derive a sense of self-worth from how much they know and what they understand, there may be an association between being right and self-worth. Thus, it may be harder for smart people to say &#8220;I don&#8217;t know&#8221; or &#8220;I was wrong.&#8221;</p>
<p>For example, growing up I really liked getting things right. When someone would ask me something, it really boosted my self-esteem to know something. When someone would ask me something I didn&#8217;t know, instead of saying &#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; I&#8217;d make up an answer that was completely absurd, something that was obviously wrong and off the mark. For example, even something as simple as &#8220;What time is it?&#8221; If I didn&#8217;t know, I might say something like 25 o&#8217;clock. It was a fun way to basically get admitting that I didn&#8217;t know something, which to my ego was perceived to be a tremendous blow.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s a saying I really like&#8230; &#8220;I&#8217;m not young enough to know everything.&#8221;  <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/laugh.gif' alt=':lol' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<h4>Misperceiving What Is</h4>
<p>How many times have you seen someone misinterpret or misunderstand someone else? One person says one thing, but the other person actually understands something else entirely.</p>
<p>Quick and easy example: &#8220;I love you.&#8221; That statement can mean a hundred different things. A thousand. It&#8217;s so easy to think a person is saying one thing when really they&#8217;re saying another.</p>
<h4>Growing and Learning</h4>
<p>Have you noticed that as you develop over the course of your life and you learn new things, your perspective of the world changes?</p>
<p>There&#8217;s another saying I really like&#8230; &#8220;Show me a person who believes the same thing their entire life and I&#8217;ll show you a person who&#8217;s learned nothing.&#8221;</p>
<p>As we develop and evolve, very often our understanding of reality changes and what we used to perceive to be &#8220;the truth&#8221; is later seen to be maybe part of the truth or perhaps completely false entirely. Seeing that what you have said before can be very scary, particularly for teachers and educators, or for anyone who bases their life on a certain set of rigidized teachings.</p>
<p>Eventually we may see beyond the limits of our previous understandings, and this is a natural part of the process.</p>
<h4>What Then of Our &#8220;Old&#8221; Understandings?</h4>
<p>Something I&#8217;ve seen with some authors is that they&#8217;ll write a book during their own personal transformation. The book is awesome and useful and very helpful. Yet what may happen by the end of the book is that the person who started writing the book is not the same person who finished the book. They transform so much that the energies that are discussed in the book may no longer even be present within them. They&#8217;re no longer &#8220;in it&#8221; but beyond it.</p>
<p>Quick example. Let&#8217;s say a person writes a book on forgiveness, on how merciful and forgiving God is and how we can develop our abilities to forgive as well. Then the author later comes to the realization that if nothing wrong could ever happen and that God could never actually be hurt and thus feel that He has been wronged, what then is there to forgive? If forgiveness was never actually necessary in the first place, is the book on forgiveness still applicable? On one level, yep. On another level, not anymore.</p>
<h4>It Ain&#8217;t So Black and White</h4>
<p>Instead of seeing truth as a right and wrong thing, a better model may be that of rungs on a ladder. Certain things may be up above you on a higher rung on a ladder. You climb and eventually get there and stabilize on that rung, only to later keep climbing and leave that rung behind altogether. That rung and the lessons you learned there may no longer be appropriate for you now, but those lessons may be appropriate for many others.</p>
<p>Thus, even if we outgrow a certain realization or understanding, it may nevertheless be useful for others if they&#8217;re on that level now.</p>
<p>This has been interesting for me looking back over some of my old blog posts and see that I&#8217;ve grown since I started writing posts here 2 years ago. Some of what I&#8217;ve written before, I can now see beyond where I was then and see that where I was then and, well, it&#8217;s not necessarily that I was completely wrong by any means, but it was just that I was only seeing a small part of the bigger picture. If I were to talk about a subject today, I would likely approach the topic differently and explain things in a new (and hopefully better) way. In fact, I may even mention that what I am seeing today I may negate tomorrow. I may realize something tomorrow that will completely turn all my current understandings on their ear. There&#8217;s a sense of flexibility and non-attachment here now. Freedom.</p>
<p>So yeah, we grow, we develop, we expand our awareness and understandings, and as a result what we say may contradict something we&#8217;ve said in the past. Oh well!  <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/laugh.gif' alt=':lol' class='wp-smiley' />  <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/tongue.gif' alt=':p' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/its-okay-to-be-wrong/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Story of Space, of Forgetting and Remembering</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/a-story-of-space-of-forgetting-and-remembering/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/a-story-of-space-of-forgetting-and-remembering/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:02:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Consciousness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Enlightenment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Non-duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Universe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Awareness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Being]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emptiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Space]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waking Up]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=3131</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Once upon a time, long long ago, in the time before time, which is not so long ago since this time we speak of is Now, there lived a vast empty space. This space existed everywhere, all at once, simultaneously. It was omni-present. Yet it had no substance or form to point to that we [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fa-story-of-space-of-forgetting-and-remembering%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fa-story-of-space-of-forgetting-and-remembering%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<p>Once upon a time, long long ago, in the time before time, which is not so long ago since this time we speak of is Now, there lived a vast empty space.</p>
<p>This space existed everywhere, all at once, simultaneously. It was omni-present. Yet it had no substance or form to point to that we could say it is &#8220;here&#8221; as opposed to &#8220;there.&#8221; Indeed, it existed nowhere. There is nowhere we could really point to to say there it is, for it existed in no location, and yet it was undeniably here.</p>
<p>One day the nothingness of space wanted to create matter, a non-thing creating a thing, but it was puzzled with the idea of how it could put matter somewhere given that it was already everywhere. &#8220;Ah,&#8221; it realized, &#8220;I may be everywhere, but there is nothing here to prevent matter from taking up this same space where I am. I love this matter so much that I want it to be right here with me, so close that the two of us will actually be one. It may look like there is matter over here and space over there, but if you look close enough, you&#8217;ll see that matter is actually mostly empty space. I may look to be outside of matter, but I&#8217;m actually deeply embedded within matter as well&#8230; the sweetest and most intimate kiss imaginable. Form will be infused with space, inseparable from it. We can talk about space and matter, but they&#8217;re really both me. Ah, what joy. I&#8217;ll have a playmate to play with that will actually be me, taking the form of something else. What a glorious game this will be!&#8221;</p>
<p><span id="more-3131"></span></p>
<p>and space very much liked the idea of this game, so it made it so.</p>
<p>BOOM!!</p>
<p>The Universe as we know it was created.</p>
<h4>Infinity was Born</h4>
<p>And space was happy, basking in the glory of itself as the infinite manifestations of the One empty locationless non-thing that it is. It itself is the source of all form, inseparable from it, intertwined with it.</p>
<p>And space went around thinking to itself, &#8220;Oooh, a planet. I am that. Hey, a porcupine. I am that. How shiny! A spoon! I am that! Oh look, a human! I am that too!&#8221;</p>
<p>Space found all of its infinite manifestations incredibly beautiful and wondrous, so amazing in fact that it wanted to look and look and look at itself and what it could be and do. It was a most curious looker. Space couldn&#8217;t really do anything but be with something, aware of its existence.</p>
<p>And so it was that the emptiness of space was simply here, being with all of its manifestations, including the manifestation which chose to call itself &#8220;human.&#8221;</p>
<p>Now this particular manifestation of space called human chose to have a verrrry interesting experience. You see, the &#8220;human&#8221; space that was looking decided to somehow forget about the formless aspect of itself and experience just the form, a transition from pure formlessness to both form and formlessness to finally only form.</p>
<p>And so it was that these humans began to experience themselves as only form. With this imaginative creative decision, space suddenly had the grand opportunity to experience itself as if there was literally something else, <em>apart from itself</em>. Wow! What an amazing new experience!</p>
<h4>Separation was Born</h4>
<p>&#8220;Here I am,&#8221; said the space-filled human, &#8220;and there you are. You and I are not one, for I am this form and you are that form.&#8221;</p>
<p>As these humans began to forget about the formless, they began forgetting about things like energy, universal presence, and the Source from which they arose.</p>
<p>And it was discovered that this experience was quite painful. Humans were very unhappy with this choice on some level, for it no longer was possible to experience such a sense of fullness and completion. On a very deep level, these apparently separate humans longed for a reunification with the Oneness that they intuitively picked up on within.</p>
<p>Slowly the formless began to be rediscovered. People discovered electricity. People discovered x-rays and gamma rays and microwaves&#8230; all these powers that extended beyond the realm of physical form. People intuitively picked up on some sort of larger power and argued over its nature. People experienced a sense of Love from within, but argued on whether or not it was purely a product of biological reactions or if it actually had some deeper home arising from this mysterious formless nameless something/nothing.</p>
<h4>Remembering the Space</h4>
<p>Over the years, some of these seemingly separate space-filled humans remembered that indeed they were much vaster than they eye could see. They were actually this infinite empty space arising as this person. In fact there was really no one here. It was really just this one nameless presence that had no boundaries.</p>
<p>&#8220;You crazy man!&#8221; other separate people cried. &#8220;You&#8217;re a looney! What are you talking about? Can you prove what you&#8217;re saying? No? Of course not!&#8221;</p>
<p>Slowly, bit by bit, one person at a time, more people began remembering about the space within them that they were never disconnected from.</p>
<p>They began to consciously experience a sense of nothingness that was full of everything, a sense of nameless and qualityless space that is full of everything that exists. They called it the pregnant void, and other mysterious terms.</p>
<p>&#8220;Everything is the same one empty non-thing,&#8221; said these people who remembered. &#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you what I am, for all that I could say arises within what I am. I can only point the way. You must remember for yourself what you actually are. It is the only way for you to truly know.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t get it,&#8221; said the people who had not yet remembered, &#8220;but something sounds amazingly familiar about what you have to say. Something rings true about this. Let me see for myself what you are talking about.&#8221;</p>
<p>and so they began practicing a multitude of techniques in the hopes that they could discover what is already here. They began hoping for a particular experience of what they are, or to create something new&#8230; when the reality is that what they have been looking for, the vast emptiness of space, has been here all along.</p>
<p>As the restless seeking and searching began to subside, there was a resting that arose in its place, creating a space for the emptiness that simply IS to recognize itself.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ah, yes, THIS! This has been here the whole time. It never went anywhere. This sense of something that was missing from my life was actually here all along! What a deep sense of completion and fulfillment in a very non-human sense that is present. It is beyond what we call human, resting in and as something so much more.&#8221;</p>
<p>and so this space, which used to look at the different manifestations of itself and think that it literally WAS that as opposed to anything else it could look at, began to reawaken into its deeper nature, consciously remember its true infinite depth.</p>
<p>There is an infinite presence here, but it is no one. It is no thing. It is empty. and yet it is everything. It is everywhere. It lacks nothing for it is the infinite everything. All joy, love, and peace arise from it. Where else could it come from? There is nothing else but it.</p>
<p>and this space began looping back upon itself, remembering what it really is, seeing its emptiness yet again, and reveling in the bliss of nothing.</p>
<p>This space that had remembered itself through a person, people call enlightened.</p>
<p>&#8220;What are you so happy about?&#8221; people asked the enlightened one.</p>
<p>&#8220;Nothing.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Tell me about God, the ultimate Creator of All That Is.&#8221;</p>
<p>and the enlightened one was silent. His silence actually was his answer. The silence of space IS the ultimate Creator. Any verbal answer is the created, not the creator. Silent space has no shape, no form, no beard, no name, no nothing. It&#8217;s empty. It is space. Empty and pure, and yet full of All That Is, inseparable from it.</p>
<p>This space that had remembered its innate emptiness would witness its human manifestation as a grand creation of this infinite space. This space would speak words through this body about returning home, and that our true home was here and now.</p>
<p>This space would speak words about how it is everything and nothing, both the source and the manifestation, the creator and the created, and that all dualities are really the same one thing&#8230; nothing.</p>
<p>Space could be nothing, everything, and/or just one individual. Wow&#8230; What an amazing play that space is putting on!</p>
<p>It was when space saw itself that it laughed. A laugh of recognition and remembrance.</p>
<p>&#8220;Just what I always wanted,&#8221; said space to itself, &#8220;to be everything and nothing, and I already am that. What more could I have ever asked for?&#8221;</p>
<p> <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/a-story-of-space-of-forgetting-and-remembering/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Equality Between Groups</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/equality-between-groups/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/equality-between-groups/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:37:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Compassion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mission]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Non-duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Equality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Feminism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gay Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=3090</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently had a brief interlude with a woman who was really into feminism. She said that feminism was about equality between the two genders, yet when I inquired about why it was called feminism as opposed to something like gender equality, she got heated, pointing out that it was about women having the same [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fequality-between-groups%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fequality-between-groups%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3093" title="Group Peace Sign" src="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/group-peace-sign.jpg" alt="Group Peace Sign" width="250" height="165" />I recently had a brief interlude with a woman who was really into feminism. She said that feminism was about equality between the two genders, yet when I inquired about why it was called feminism as opposed to something like gender equality, she got heated, pointing out that it was about women having the same rights as men. (This being equal to That. Duality.)</p>
<p>I left the conversation, noticing how fired up and angry she was getting, and figured I&#8217;d move the discussion here. <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>It&#8217;s really common for us to move from one extreme to another when trying to find a balance. It&#8217;s similar to how a pendulum needs to swing from one end to another before gradually finding balance in the middle. A totally normal process in life. Nothing bad or wrong happening here.</p>
<p>When it comes to finding a sense of harmony between two apparently polar opposites and uncovering the essence of harmony and balance, ultimately what we&#8217;ll need to do is to throw out the labels entirely when we look at a person.</p>
<p><span id="more-3090"></span></p>
<p>Are you a man or a woman? Who cares?</p>
<p>Are you black, white, or something else? Who cares?</p>
<p>Are you rich or poor? Who cares?</p>
<p>Are you gay or straight? Who cares?</p>
<p>Are you asleep or enlightened? Who cares?</p>
<p>Are you my enemy or my friend? Who cares?</p>
<p>Are you my significant other or a beggar on the street? Who cares?</p>
<p>When you look at a ladybug, do you care if it has 10 spots on its back or 8? Does this change how you feel about the ladybug? Probably not&#8230; For one reason or another, we buy into an arbitrary set of rules that say that this trait makes this person more worthy than that trait on that person. Baloney!</p>
<p>Unconditional Love doesn&#8217;t look at ANY of that. In fact, these differences are utterly irrelevant!</p>
<p>The essence of that which you are is what it is regardless of any superficial appearances. The Love that flows unconditionally is just that: unconditional. It doesn&#8217;t flow <em>in spite of </em>XYZ, as if it tolerates something it doesn&#8217;t like and yet puts up with it anyways, no no. It just doesn&#8217;t even <em>consider </em>XYZ at ALL.</p>
<p>By analogy, the sun doesn&#8217;t care if you are a good person or a bad person, black or white, man or woman. It shines on everyone equally because that&#8217;s who it is.</p>
<p>Regardless of if H2O takes the form of water, ice, or steam, it&#8217;s all still H2O. It&#8217;s about looking beyond appearances, into the sameness beyond name and form.</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t to say that we should stop differentiating between this and that, man and woman, black and white, and somehow lose the ability to tell the difference. What IS being pointed to is to not let any mental judgments come between the sense of Oneness and Love that is everpresent in this moment.</p>
<p>This Unity we can feel with &#8220;others&#8221; arises prior to any mental sense of differentiation, prior to any mental judgment or ranking system.</p>
<p>You are loved. You are worthy. You are acceptable. You are forgiven. You are beautiful. Just the way you are. Whether you change anything or change nothing at all, your inherent sense of worth will remain just the same.</p>
<p>By virtue of that which you are: a nameless expression of All That Is, you are inherently worthy of all the freedom, joy, love, and appreciation.</p>
<p>In the end, it&#8217;s not about women&#8217;s rights, gay rights, animal rights, human rights, or any of that, for in focusing on &#8220;the rights of this subgroup,&#8221; you are automatically creating a sense of separateness, even if &#8220;this subgroup over here&#8221; is ideally meant to be equal in whatever way to &#8220;that subgroup over there.&#8221; In practice, this rarely happens&#8230;</p>
<p>Returning home to a place of Oneness ultimately leads us to an end of all division and separateness within, even though differentiation may <em>still be expressed</em> without. Externally, <a href="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/oneness-is-like-a-diverse-symphony/">Oneness does not imply sameness</a>.</p>
<p>We are ALL ultimately on the same team here. In fact, there is no team. There is just this, here and now. There is only this. This is it. What we call you and I are not separate. We are not two.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re going to be an activist standing up for the rights of someone or something, stand up for the rights of everyone. Stand for the rights of universal peace and acceptance. Stand for unconditional love for the one and the all.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not about this group or that group, but all groups and no groups. It&#8217;s about that which is beyond grouping.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s about the letting go of dualistic separation and really, truly, reconnecting back to the inherent sense of Oneness that never actually left and is always here.</p>
<p>Raise two fingers in peace, one finger in unity, open your hand as emptiness, and stand tall as All That Is.</p>
<p>Love. &lt;3</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/equality-between-groups/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Everything That Happens Is For You To Experience Yourself</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/everything-that-happens-is-for-you-to-experience-yourself/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/everything-that-happens-is-for-you-to-experience-yourself/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 22:14:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Best of Ariel Bravy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emotion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Choice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Experiences]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Will]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Victim]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=2821</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When we take a look at the experience of life, we can see that many many different things happen all around us. If you were the original Creator of Life, what would be the point of creating it? You already are All That Is. What more would you want? Well, if there was just you, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Feverything-that-happens-is-for-you-to-experience-yourself%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Feverything-that-happens-is-for-you-to-experience-yourself%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2822" title="Cuddle" src="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/fingers-cuddling.jpg" alt="Fingers Cuddling" width="200" height="200" />When we take a look at the experience of life, we can see that many many different things happen all around us.</p>
<p>If you were the original Creator of Life, what would be the point of creating it? You already are All That Is. What more would you want?</p>
<p>Well, if there was just you, all alone as the infinite, there would be a lack of experiencing yourself in relationship to anything else, for there is nothing else but you.</p>
<p>As so *BOOM!* You create an infinite number of expressions of yourself, many unique perspectives of yourself, and give yourself the ability to experience yourself in relationship to &#8220;something else.&#8221;</p>
<p>Now you can experience yourself as a person who is single, has a girlfriend, a boyfriend, multiple boyfriends and/or girlfriends, a wife, a husband, a daughter, a son, a pet, or any other of the many possibilities of relationship with an other or others.</p>
<p>All of the people who come into your life create the possibility for the being that you are to experience yourself in relationship to another.</p>
<p>Everything that happens in life is a doorway for you to experience yourself as anything that you wish in response to what happens.</p>
<p><span id="more-2821"></span></p>
<h4>Many Different Responses</h4>
<p>Say you&#8217;re walking down the street and someone makes a silly face at you. Thanks to this trigger, you have the ability to experience yourself as someone who laughs in response to it, who gets angry because of it, who has no response in relation to it, or anything else. Thanks to this gift of someone making a face at you, you have the opportunity to experience yourself in many different ways.</p>
<p>Everything that happens &#8220;to you&#8221; in life is simply an opportunity for you to experience another facet of yourself. On the level of form, you can be the &#8220;same you&#8221; over and over, or you can change and be a &#8220;new you&#8221; altogether. Our lives afford us this tremendous opportunity, and what a gift that is.</p>
<p>You are not the victim to your life.. unless you choose to experience yourself in that way. Yet ultimately you are not in any way a victim.</p>
<h4>You and Them</h4>
<p><span id="profile_status"><span id="status_text">What anyone says or does has <em>nothing</em> to do with you. It&#8217;s <em>entirely</em> them and &#8220;their stuff.&#8221; It&#8217;s a reflection of who they&#8217;re choosing to experience themselves as.</span></span></p>
<p><span id="profile_status"><span id="status_text">On the flipside, your response has <em>nothing</em> to do with them. It is <em>entirely</em> you and &#8220;your stuff.&#8221; Who you&#8217;re being is completely an expression of who you&#8217;re choosing to experience yourself as.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Recognizing this, we can allow others to be the way they choose, for it&#8217;s all them anyways. We can even allow all of life to be as it is.<br />
</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>You and I are independent, and yet because we require one another in order to experience ourselves in relationship to each other, we are intimately connected and completely intertwined.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Deeper than this, there is only one of us. Really.<br />
</span></span></p>
<h4>Absolute and Relative</h4>
<p>In the domain of the absolute, everything just is.</p>
<p>Not happy or sad. Not male or female. Not big or small. Not perfect or imperfect. Everything just is.</p>
<p>There is no opportunity for uniqueness or relationship, because it&#8217;s all one.</p>
<p>As the one expresses itself in the world of the relative, we are given the gift of experiencing ourselves as anything we wish.</p>
<p>Nothing happens &#8220;to you&#8221; in life, unless you want to experience yourself as someone who has stuff happen to them.</p>
<p>Nothing happens &#8220;for you&#8221; in life, unless you want to experience yourself as someone who has stuff happen for them.</p>
<p>Life is a meaningless blank slate, on top of which the mind can paste any meaningful experience it so chooses.</p>
<p>We are that free, as the empty nothingness that we are, to create ourselves as a unique expression of the infinite everything that we are.</p>
<h4>Choose</h4>
<p>And so in this lifetime, who do you wish to be? Choose.</p>
<p>Like it? Choose again.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t like it? Choose again.</p>
<p>Want to use your free will to push against life? Do it.</p>
<p>Want to use your free will to surrender to the flow of life? Do it.</p>
<p>It is all up to you. <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<h6>(Photo by <a href="http://limpidd.deviantart.com/">=LimpidD</a> on <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/">deviantART</a>)</h6>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/everything-that-happens-is-for-you-to-experience-yourself/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>There Is No Such Thing As Conditional Love</title>
		<link>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/there-is-no-such-thing-as-conditional-love/</link>
		<comments>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/there-is-no-such-thing-as-conditional-love/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 01:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ariel Bravy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Duality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surrender]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conditional Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Electricity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Openness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unconditional Love]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/?p=2812</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Love itself is unconditional by its very nature. It just loves. What else can love do? Love itself doesn&#8217;t hold back. It doesn&#8217;t fear. Holding back holds back. Fear fears. Love simply loves. &#8220;Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fthere-is-no-such-thing-as-conditional-love%2F"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youaretrulyloved.com%2Fenlightenment%2Fthere-is-no-such-thing-as-conditional-love%2F&amp;source=ArielBravy&amp;style=compact&amp;service=bit.ly&amp;service_api=R_73fb4c7666998b20aab467a4295807e3" height="61" width="50" /><br />
			</a>
		</div>
<p>Love itself is unconditional by its very nature. It just loves. What else can love do?</p>
<p>Love itself doesn&#8217;t hold back. It doesn&#8217;t fear. Holding back holds back. Fear fears. Love simply loves.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.&#8221;</p>
<p>-Rumi</p></blockquote>
<p>For those of you familiar with author <a href="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/power-vs-force/">David Hawkins</a>, he speaks of <a href="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/transcending-the-levels-of-consciousness/">progressive levels of consciousness</a> that one can evolve through. Towards the higher end of the spectrum, beyond guilt and shame, one can open up to the flowering of love itself.</p>
<p>At first this love that is experienced may seem conditional. For instance, maybe you only love the people you approve of. Maybe you only love your friends and family. Maybe you only love &#8220;your type&#8221; of people. Maybe you only love these people in certain situations and under particular contexts and not others. In this sense, we could say that this love is experienced conditionally.</p>
<p>Yet experiencing love conditionally does not mean that love <em>itself</em> is conditional. For those of you who are looking to become unconditionally loving, let&#8217;s take a closer look at this.</p>
<p><span id="more-2812"></span></p>
<h4>Love Is</h4>
<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2813" title="Light Switch" src="http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/light-switch.jpg" alt="Light Switch of Luv" width="200" height="138" />If we think of Love as electricity flowing through our presence, it wouldn&#8217;t be accurate to say that the electricity itself is conditional. Rather, we impose conditions on when we allow the electricity to flow through us or not. It&#8217;s like there&#8217;s a light switch that goes from resist to allow, with many gradations in between.</p>
<p>When electricity flows, &#8220;unconditional&#8221; electricity flows to the degree that the conditional light switch allows it.</p>
<p>Your job is not to trade conditional electricity for unconditional electricity, for electricity is just electricity.</p>
<p>It would be silly for a light switch to look for unconditional electricity. It already has it. It simply has to stay open.</p>
<p>Similarly, your job is not to jump from one thing called conditional love to another totally separate thing called unconditional love. Rather, notice whatever resistances you have and conditions you have put in place that limit the amount of love that flows through you and let them go.</p>
<p>Love is Love.</p>
<p>The Unconditional Love that we seek is already here.</p>
<p>Unconditional Love is experienced simply by opening to it and allowing it to express itself in the moment.</p>
<p>You Are Truly Loved&#8230;  <img src='http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/wp-includes/images/smilies/wub.gif' alt=':wub' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.youaretrulyloved.com/enlightenment/there-is-no-such-thing-as-conditional-love/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
