' Your True Being '...

A: Thank you for your question and for sharing your wonderful insight. That within us which so desperately seeks to be acknowledged is our relative being, our ego. Although it is nice to have our relative being be seen and acknowledged, it is never quite enough, because our ego, our image of ourself, is found primarily through the reflections that others give us.

It is not our true being and so it cannot be truly satisfied with anything less than awakening from its own self-created dream. The ego leaves us feeling terribly vulnerable because those who have a good image of us can always change their minds about us, and frequently do.

Your true being, however, is in no way defined by your ego’s image of itself, nor is it found in the image others have of you. Who knows, maybe not having your parents acknowledge you as much as you wanted them to when you were a child gave you the inclination to look inside, beyond all self-images, whether they be yours or others.

In the end, it is actual life, whether easy or difficult, that provides the opportunities to awaken from the dream of self to our true being. Good for you—no more crying over spilled milk. Let a new life, a new vision, bloom.

Your true being has no history, no past or future. It is the timeless awareness of now. And it has no past grievance, no resentful relationship to what was. It is, and that is enough. How few people know the absolute joy of having no image, no dream of self, no idea or thing to hold onto. To be imageless, formless, conscious, and free, is to regain our true being. Then we meet ourself in every face we see.


-Adyashanti