"Our greatest contribution to humanity is our awakening. It is to literally leave the state of consciousness that the mass of humanity is in and discover the truth of our being, which is the truth of all beings. When we do this, we come back as a gift, a newborn. We are, in a certain sense, reborn.
In the Christian tradition, there is the story of Christ's transfiguration—literally, a transformation. It was not only a realization, but a transformation— a new birth, which had incredible impact and influence. Sometimes, through trying to help on the exterior level, we can miss that the greatest help we can offer is our own awakening. This doesn't mean that we avoid doing what we can on the exterior level—lending help, feeding the hungry, caring for the poor and the sick. This doesn't mean that any of that is avoided or not useful. But ultimately what we come to realize is that our greatest contribution is to heal the illusory divisions within ourselves. That’s the ultimate gift we can give to humanity; that’s what’s going to change humanity. Humanity is not going to change because we figure out a different system of government. It won’t change because of something that is imposed from the outside, because of noble ideas or grand systems. True transformation always comes from the inside. It comes from awakening. We come to see that the outside world is nothing but an expression of the inside. What is manifest is nothing but an expression of the unmanifest.
If as a culture, as a species, we continue to dwell in a divided state of consciousness, no matter what we change on the outside, we will continue to manifest division. But each of us who comes into the natural, simple, undivided state is making a contribution to all beings— without trying, without taking any credit, without even knowing it. When you become undivided in your own consciousness, you become part of the manifestation of unity. You come to know that enlightenment is extraordinarily wonderful and profound, but also very simple."
-Adyashanti, from The End of Your World
Photo by Bart LaRue on Unsplash
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