…it does seem to the ego to sacrifice all of that glory and fame and justification and revenge and all, is a big sacrifice. Donât kid yourself. To the ego, it is a big sacrifice. It is a big sacrifice to let go âbeing right,â to let go . . not nurturing that wrong, to let go of that hatred. It is a big sacrificeâdonât pretend itâs a small sacrifice. Thereâs a lot of pseudo, nongenuine spiritual work that people attempt, and it doesnât work. Why? Because they are unwilling to face the nitty-gritty, the nitty-gritty facts.
Radical truth means youâve got to take the mask off everything and be willing to see it for what it is, and now handle it from the viewpoint of emotional honesty. There is a big, massive payoff in ego positions, or you wouldnât be sitting here in a body today. You would have karmically gone off into the mists of the higher realms. And therefore, the fact that one is back here in a body again means that one has sold out spiritual truth for the gratifications of the ego over and over again. But in this lifetime, itâs coming up to be questioned. In this lifetime, you say, âWas it worth it?
Is the experience of the Presence of God worth sacrificing all that I get out of my ego?â The answer can only be gotten by faith, actually. Experientially, no. Experientially, youâve got nothing upon which to say that giving it up would be a better deal. Anything in your experience telling you that giving up the pleasure, resentments, and hatreds and satisfactions of winning is worth it? Not experientially, no. Faith, yes. Based on the faith.
the experience of God, is so incredible, beyond all descriptionâso beyond the totality of all the values of all of mankind throughout all of history. All the pleasures and all the values and all the acquisitions, emotionally and materially of all of mankind throughout all of history, are like a speck compared to the Presence of God. Nothing is even in the same domain.Â
The Path to Spiritual Advancement, Ch. 8, pgs. 171-172Â (new book)