An Absolute Choice

An Absolute Choice T here are times when suddenly everything becomes clear in a way that is profound, when everything falls miraculously into place, when the burden of confusion lifts and one is able to see the way things actu­ally are. In moments like these one experiences Liberation. Many, at one time or another, have experienced mo­ments of Liberation, but few have been so deeply affected­ that their lives have become transformed as a result. Indeed, if one looks closely at the personal lives of many who seem to sincerely pursue spiritual teachings, often one will find much of the same confusion as there is in the lives of those who express no spiritual interest whatsoever. Why is this? Because it is not spiritual experiences in and of themselves that set us free. It is not the experience of overwhelming love, unbearable bliss or even penetrating insight that allows people to change in an extraordinary way. What allows the event of profound insight and revelation to become extraordinary transformation is ulti­mately only the readiness and willingness of the individual to surrender unconditionally to that which is discovered in the spiritual experience. One who is truly ready and willing to surrender, once having tasted what it means to be awake, will stay awake. If one is not ready to surrender unconditionally, if the ­con­text in which the experience of revelation occurs is one of profound attachment to the way things have been, then even the direct experiential revelation of the spiritual dimension of life in all its glory will not be enough to deeply affect that individual’s relationship to life. The context in which we seek is an absolute choice. Again, what allows the event of profound insight and revelation to become extraordinary transformation is ultimately only the readiness and willingness of the individual to surrender unconditionally to that which is discovered in the spiritual experience. Spiritual experiences in and of themselves do not set us free.