Our entire life has been an outward effort to become anything ‘other than’ ourSelf; to become loving, successful, accepted, liked, etc. This ‘becoming other’ appears to be the mechanics of evolution; the play of manifestation. Regardless of what appears in front of us as life we should cherish this dance of manifestation (i.e. Maya) and marvel in its extraordinary display of imagination and detail. The manifestation, the dance of life appearing as ‘other than’ us, is so mesmerizing that we fall asleep to its bewildering beauty and mistakably identify it as real. We then take ourself to be a separate real dancer amongst all the other apparently real objects; i.e. one of the dancers and/or actors within the dance itSelf.
You cannot change the dream from the dreamed-character [ego],
You can only change the dream from the Dreamer [Self].
-Shakti Caterina Maggi
Believing we are a separate dancer within the manifestation, we unsuspectingly become fragmented from the wholeness of Self. This fragmentation, which is a companion of separation, is the restless feeling of ‘longing to fill the hole of lack’ we experience within, which ignites the ‘personal’ outward journey to become somebody. This hole, if not clearly seen for what it is, will then be attempted to be filled by more outward efforts of ‘other than’ ourSelf (relationships, substances, objects, adventures, etc.). This hole will never be permanently filled with outward efforts. The only solution is to see yourSelf clearly, which comes from a Selfward, or inward, practice that relinquishes the efforts of the outward-forces and allows them to reside back into their source of You. This source of You is the nurturing experience of completeness and wholeness you have been longing to return to your entire life.
-Love Outpouring-