Knowledge, regardless of how sophisticated, is a tool. It arises from and belongs to what has passed; it is the past put into a formula. As such, it embodies, defines, and relates us to life through what we, or others, have already come to know is true about reality.

But real life is not limited to what was; it is always new. It is always now. And while it may bring to light, under law, certain conditions or events that precede its appearance—what we call karma—it is more than just these forms alone, just as a flower in bloom is more than its newly opened petals.

Real life is the expression of living, intelligent forces that actively shape whatever they touch, as well as whatever reaches out to touch them. It might be said that each moment appears as it does—in whatever form or color, hard or soft, dark or light—to teach us about ourselves. How can we hope to learn what we must from such moments if we meet them already knowing how they should unfold? No form is free.

And just as we wouldn’t mistake a ladder for being the same as the rooftop upon which we hope to view the stars, neither should we confuse knowledge for those innermost revelations that can come to us only through self-understanding. This level of genuine self-knowledge is never static. It places no demands on life; therefore, it fears nothing that life may reveal. It has nothing whatsoever to do with thoughts, plans, or otherwise imagined purposes.

Real self-knowledge is the unshakable ground of enduring peace and security. It is one with the present moment and a timeless intelligence that is at once aware of all that is unfolding within it, including what flowers as a result. This is your immortal Self.

www.YourImmortalSelf.com