Question:

This is pertaining to your answer to the August 25th question. I just want to get clear to your response in relationship to pain.

So when I define anything as pain, whether it is physical or emotional it is really a false interpretation that my separated mind created. As I expand and shed light on my creative thought regarding what I termed pain, I construct a bridge to declaring I AM the Presence of God and I AM Perfect regardless of the appearance (that I may be experiencing in the moment). The appearance is in reality the residue of my manifestation of my old symbol of pain. As I decree the I AM Presence within myself and see it as my vision in others, joy will naturally just show up. Am I interpreting you correctly?

I have read all your books and refer back to them frequently. Thank you for your instruction and dedication.

 

Answer:

Part I: You have the sense of what I am saying. That shows a wonderful willingness on your part to open to what you know is true. The next step is to bring this intellectual insight to the feeling level.

The power is in the feeling that you call "pain." Every time you feel what you refer to as "pain," go deeply into that feeling until you feel the fullness of the energy. What you call "pain" is the disguise you created to hide your power.

In order to keep the power hidden, we have devised many ingenious devices to direct our attention away from the hiding places. For example: the word "pain" is a signal to back off. We avoid "pain." This is just one of the myriad ways we have tricked ourselves into avoidance rather than acceptance.

Part II: Another way we have tricked ourselves to avoid the places we have hidden our power is through the belief in dichotomy: "pain" and "pleasure," "good" and "bad," "right" and "wrong." Dichotomy is a brilliant disguise for our wholeness. In making "pleasure," "good" and "right" attractive, we have ingeniously supported our intention to stay away from the opposites. We have also given validity to a conflicted self.

There is no conflict or separation within us and no conflict or separation amongst us. There is no part within us or amongst us that is less than totally pure, totally wonderful, totally powerful, totally abundant and totally harmonious.

The pushing away of pain and the pulling in of pleasure; the avoidance of those people we dislike and the attraction of those we admire are clever devices we use to make our human experiences possible.

The forgoing examples are just a small part of the evidence of our commitment to keep our power hidden. Appreciating the level of commitment we have in place to keep our power hidden helps us to appreciate the level of commitment (what I refer to as "doing whatever it takes") required to reclaim our power.

P. S. In Chapter 7 of THE JOURNEY you will find a procedure for reclaiming your power.