Author: Susan Hawkins

Meaning is defined by context, which determines motive. It is the motive that establishes spiritual value. To dedicate one’s actions as a service of love to life is to sanctify them and transform them from self-seeking motives to unselfish gifts. We define excellence as dedication to the highest standards. Every act can then be held as an opportunity to glorify God by sheer purity of endeavor. All physical tasks and labor can be ingredients in one’s contribution to the world. Even the smallest task can be seen as serving the common good, and if viewed in that light, work becomes ennobled.

How life is contextualized can bring either joy or resentment. Begrudging is replaced by generosity. If others benefit from one’s efforts, so much the better. Everyone has the opportunity to contribute to harmony and beauty by kindness to others and thereby support the human spirit. That which is freely given to life flows back to us because we are equally part of that life. Like ripples on the water, every gift returns to the giver. What we affirm in others, we actually affirm in ourselves.

from The Eye of the I, pg. 106-107

The universe holds its breath as we choose, instant by instant, which pathway to follow; for the universe, the very essence of life itself, is highly conscious. Every act, thought and choice adds to a permanent mosaic; our decisions ripple through the universe of consciousness to affect the lives of all.

from Power vs. Force page 122

“Somebody asked that we finish it up with a prayer today, in line with Devotional Nonduality… That which is the Voice of God is Silence. That we sink into the Voice of God, we sink into the Silence, which is indicative of Divine Presence. Behind the thought, behind the thinkingness, is an Infinite Silence, and the Infinite Silence is the source of all existence. And between the thoughts, under the thoughts, is the profound Silence and all we have to do is to become aware of that Silence, all we have to do is become aware of that Silence, by realizing it’s there.

(Pause in Silence)

 Behind all the sounds of the universe, the Silence is forever there. Behind the sounds in the woods, the woods are silent. The sound of the bird doesn’t have anything to do with the Silence. You see, the Silence is maintained even though there’s sound above it. But the only reason you can hear the sound is that it’s against a background of Silence. So the Silence is there, right in the middle of the sound. So, you focus on the Silence, which is ever-present.

In the middle of cacophony and catastrophe, as the bullets are flying around and the planes are crashing, and all hell is breaking loose, there’s nothing but the Infinite Silence. So you identify with that Silence and just maintain awareness. You can go about your daily life and do everything that you need to do and, at all times, still be aware of the presence of the Silence. So that gives you a centering. So, a centering kind of prayerfulness is you’re always aware of the Silence, which is the infinite context. The reality of the Presence of God is an Infinite Silence. And then, that which you hold in mind in that Silence tends to manifest, not as a result of causation, but potentiality manifesting.

And we thank Thee, O Lord for Thy Divine Presence, as the Infinite Silence, out of which arises our existence. Amen!”

– Paraphrased from the end of the August 2006 lecture, “Reason vs. Truth,” DVD Disc 3, ~ 014400-014740

As we consistently let go of resisting our fears and allow them to be surrendered, the energy that was tied up in the fear is relinquished and now becomes available to shine forth as the energy of love. Therefore, unconditional love has the greatest power of all, and that love is the power of the celebrated saints.

from Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender pg 95

“Beneath thinkingness, beneath feelingness, beneath all ideology, beneath all form, there’s that which is non-form, that which you call “me”, the Self. If I take off one leg you’re still me, if I take off another leg you’re still me, if I take off an ear, you’re still me. The “me” is not the physical body, because we can remove it piece by piece and you’ll still say, “I’m me”. Donovan’s brain sitting there thinks I’m still me. The sense of self then is independent of physicality. To know that, you know you’re not the physical body. The sense of self does not change with thinkingness. Certainly as one gets older one’s thinkingness can totally change about just about everything, and yet the sense of I, the Self, is not changed, the Atman, the Self, Self with a capital S.

It seems strange to Christian tradition to call the presence of God within, Self with a capital S. Sounds strange and somewhat foreign. To those who are familiar with foreign spiritual literature it is not strange, but to people with a Christian background it seems strange to call the center, the core of one’s existence, Self with a capital S. Soul is more acceptable. To experience one’s soul then, one’s eternal soul, as one’s reality would become closer to common Christian thinking. As the awareness, as the reality unfolds, there is no difference between that which you are, there is no difference between God immanent and God transcendent. Those are just styles of languaging. That which is the source of one’s own existence is not different than that which is the source and the essence of all of the universe throughout all of time. That’s the first stunning awareness, that one ever even worried about life seems like the ultimate joke. How one could have forgotten such a stunning and obvious reality is rather startling. That which shines forth, that which shines forth and gives one a sense of reality, you see, you accept a sense of reality of your experience without question. Why should you experience that which you experience as reality? Is there something out there that would give a special sense of reality? You see how you just assume that as a given. That which you’re looking for is that which you overlooked because you assume it as a given. That which you assume as a given is exactly that which you’re trying to find.

It’s like you’re so used to living in space that you fail to recognize space anymore, you just take space for granted. It’s miraculous that one can experience anything. It’s miraculous to have the capacity to experience. Does a rock experience? To be conscious, to be aware, to experience one’s own existence, is already a rather incredible event, but we take it for granted. But once one grasps the significance of that, you realize to exist and be aware that you exist is miraculous. The miracle of one’s existence, of thee O’Lord, I am. Without God you would not exist, and the source of one’s existence is not different than the core of that which you are. So the soul cannot be “not-God”, it can only be part and parcel of all that exists in a particular expression.”

from “God: Transcendent and Immanent” Nov 2002 dvd set