In the World but not of it
It’s kind of strange, but this time, the title is the thing that settled first. It’s usually the last. So let’s see where this goes.
In a recent little “vision” I received which has provided so much clarity for me, I saw that we exist in a realm among realms. Our realm is located at quite a distance from the Source, or God, as we so often call it. No name will ever do justice to this great Light that is at the center of all existence and shining in all and through all that exists. In our realm we have a lot of darkness, which is only the absence of the Light of God. The darkness is density, heaviness, etc. Our souls are in a constant search for more of the Light of God, and what we often miss and don’t understand is that we already carry it with us. Since we don’t see this, we look to things outside of us to use as a pathway or a means to find the Light of God.
In my little “vision” I saw that all these things we reach for only exist within our realm. When I realized that, I suddenly understood that these things are what is “the world”. Each person or group of people will have a different understanding of what “the world” is, so I am not here to convince you that this is the only and absolute truth. However, I will talk here about how it impressed me. All of these things - relationships, family, money, property, churches, jobs, titles, degrees, diets, belongings, our own understanding, what we believe is right, and on and on and on - all of these things are “the world”. We attach to them, we try to attain them. We reach for them to help us feel safe, taken care of, settled, secure. We can find some of those things with them, but it is always limited. If I succeed and make a fortune, I feel safe and secure, but what happens if I lose it? I think I’ve finally found the complete truth and am building my life on it, but what happens if I am presented with evidence that even one small part of that belief is not true? I believe I’ve finally found “my person”, but what happens when they say something that hurts me? There are so many good and beautiful things that are part of the world!! Not everything of the world is “sinful”. A lot of things we can go ahead and enjoy and love to experience. We can be grateful to God for giving them to us. But when we attach to them and identify with them, placing security in them, is that “of the world”? When we do this, we will hurt the people who we perceive are trying to take these things from us. We become defensive, blaming, judgmental, and we look at them as a threat because they are threatening who we believe ourselves to be. I don’t believe we are ever going to be able to be completely free of “the world”. It will be a constant thing as long as we live here, but if we can look at it as a challenge instead of a threat we will be able to experience so much more power over it. It can actually become sort of a game in which we find ourselves often coming under the illusion that “the world” is all there is.
Who are we? Who do we want to be? I got the picture in this little vision that the Light of God is shining into our realm. It is there for us to call in, connect to, be enveloped by. When we do that, we stop looking around us and searching for and trying to control our environment so that we can experience or stay close to God. We let it all go - everything. We release our identities, titles, positions, attachments, and let it all fall away, and let in the Light, the goodness, the Love of God, the beginning and the end or all things, the Source from where everything comes from.
And then another thought came - “I wonder if this is actually the narrow way Jesus talked about?” Not conforming and doing everything right, following the rules, etc. Maybe rules are actually part of “the world”? I heard once that the closer we are to God, the fewer rules we need. That would make sense when I think of it this way. The paradox here is that getting rid of rules will not automatically make us closer to God.
Maybe “the world” is everything that we won’t take with us when we leave this realm. That would be - well, basically everything.
I do believe that there are times in our lives where we are divinely led to become part of a group or go to school for a degree, etc. We aren’t meant to be walking aimlessly around not interested in anything and just waiting to die. We are here for a reason. We have a purpose. Part of the purpose is to live this human experience with the greatest joy possible. Another purpose is to learn to disentangle ourselves from “the world” and embody fully the Light of God - to live in it, express it, find stillness in it. It’s right here, available every single day and hour of our lives. When we start to live it, we recognize and feel it in others. We begin to see souls, not people. We see souls that are embodying different degrees of the Light of God, but there is no judgment because who can judge a soul that comes from God?
And the best part? The Light will still be there when we die. Ever so much more so. I want to live in it now and experience heaven on earth as much as possible. Will you do it with me?
In great love and compassion, Rachel
