What does it mean to become self-realized? It means becoming aware of the universal cosmic power that is always available within. If we want to access this power, we must first know it exists.

But we cannot know what we do not yet know.

Our obliviousness to its existence is the great human tragedy.

Why we resist new truth

We need to cross a bridge—from what we have known to what is possible.

This is the most effective way to approach anything new—whether in science or in discovering truth.

Typically, though, we are not ready to do this. We falsely believe we need clear-cut opinions. So we flip between a clear yes and clear no.

But we cannot discover anything new this way. We need an attitude more like:

“What’s possible? What could be?

“Let me take an honest look and consider the possibilities.

“I will go whatever direction I need to. And I won’t avoid the effort that is required.”

Sounds simple enough.

Yet people find it exceedingly difficult to take such an approach. What blocks our access to this life source is our inability to truly open to new lines of questioning. One that will open us to new truth—revolutionary or not. To something that seems to contradict what we have previously known.

It’s not that we’ve “just never thought of it before.” We are denying a fact right in front us. We simply won’t see it with fresh eyes.

And this is an obstacle.

Otherwise, we would remain open with curiosity whenever a new possibility appeared. Which is literally happening all the time.

Instead, we are unwilling to be flexible and consider other options. We cling to opinions that, half the time, aren’t even ours. We are often just borrowing them because they sound good.

What is this really about?

Our fear of looking at ourselves.

Accessing inner power

Here is another obstacle to self-realization: we are walking contradictions. On the outside, we hold one set of attitudes, opinions, thoughts and feelings. These, we are consciously aware of.

But there is an entirely different set on the inside that we cannot quite reach. This discrepancy blocks access to the source.

Because the mind believes that area should remain closed.

The mind, then, cannot relax or go with the flow.

We need some new tools to pry open the lid on all we have locked within: our mistaken opinions, wrong conclusions, destructive attitudes and old emotions. These are what stand between us and that rich center of pleasure supreme.

To be self-realized is nothing other than realizing all the power that lives in the center of our beings.

There is immense power there.

This is a two-pronged power source. First, it revitalizes us with a self-perpetuating aliveness that is infinite.

It’s a bottomless cup that just keeps refilling.

We can’t even dream of how this could affect us, to have it available. To no longer be blocking it.

Our lives would dramatically change.

This energy follows its own divine flow. It’s not personal to us.

When conditions are right, it flows.

Conversely, when conditions aren’t compatible, it will not flow. When we clear our inner hurdles, it flows again.

Often, it flows differently from what we might expect. It follows its own unchangeable, built-in laws that are not custom-designed for us.

It is not personal.

Part two of this power source is its freestanding intelligence. If we understand this, we can align with it.

This means clearing out the unconscious material we fear and run from.

We must become free thinkers.

Our dire need for an authority figure outside ourselves is crippling. And also misguided. Since we have everything we could ever need, right inside us.

But we block it.

Once we start to make use of this power, we see there is nothing to fear.

What intensity really does

Let’s look at yet another way we unwittingly block ourselves from making use of this power. We are speaking here of a kind of soul climate.

To be compatible with this universal power, we need a relaxed state of mind—inner and outer.

This is not about being immobilized or lacking energy. And it is not the kind of relaxation that is lifeless.

This relaxation is rhythmic and effortless; it expands and contracts as though it were breathing. It is poised and calm—peaceful, yet dynamic.

It is not indifferent, passive or lax.

This kind of relaxation is not entangled with fear, pride or self-will. Needless to say, this is not a state that many inhabit.

No, our typical state is—more or less—to be intense.

This is foreign to universal power.

It is incompatible with it.

Our intensity—pulled taut as a piano wire—ultimately makes us immobile. We must each work our way out of this state.

In our black-and-white way of seeing the world, we often misunderstand such things. We think that the more intense we are, the more serious, responsible and focused we will be.

By contrast, we think that the less intensity means becoming irresponsible, as well as frivolous and distraught.

But this simply is not true.

In fact, as these things tend to go, just the opposite is true.

Normal—but not natural

To wake up from the state of unawareness, we must turn our attention to what’s in front of us. To do this, our psyches must be fluid—and not taut. We must have undivided attention, clear motives, wholeness and integrity.

This can’t happen when we have opposing forces dividing our attention. Especially when unexplored fears remain hiding within.

 We’ll need a lightness and fluidity in our psyche. This makes more energy available for us to invest into our lives. We’ll also feel less exhausted after using our energy.

Instead, our normal state of mind has become so taut and intense, it’s now our second nature.

But this is not natural.

In fact, we come to view intensity as a desirable state, giving it desirable qualities we can only realize if we are not intense.

Our neurotic patterns both arise from—and reinforce—our artificial intensity, which we semi-consciously encourage.

The immature parts of us want to be special, better than the rest, and self-important. So we draw attention to ourselves by making everything seem overly important.

We may only do this inside ourselves and not let others see this.

Much mental illness and emotional imbalance rests on this deliberate game of intensification we are playing within.

This is something we must see to believe.

But if we focus our attention on it, we’ll find it. With some exposure, our intensity will start to feel foreign and unnatural. Awareness is always the first step to letting something go.

It will feel like taking off a tight garment.

At first, we’ll feel exposed without it.

Then we discover that what we are exposing ourselves to is the revitalizing life stream of the cosmos. And that the weight of that constricting jacket has been creating a dent in our soul substance.

Now it can spring back.

This dent is made up of convictions we hold onto too tightly. We will also experience exaggerated emotions, overreactions and tight muscles.

How can the life force flow in such conditions?

Tightness on any level—mental, emotional or physical—gradually leads to illness, decay and death. Our goal is to restore resiliency, starting from any direction, any level.

We may also believe that intensity is needed for experiencing pleasure.

Do not be deceived.

Intensity is an attitude of the ego—and it prevents the ego from letting go. Pleasure requires that our involuntary processes let go. And this can’t happen to the extent the ego is holding on.

We need to take ourselves less seriously.

But this does not mean we are inconsequential.

Lightness is desirable and relates to a greater influx of universal power. This brings heightened pleasure, humor and laughter. The divine then lives in us and we live in it.

That’s what being self-realized is all about.

Why this power can be trusted

Long before we can let go of unhealthy intensity, we can make progress by witnessing it—paying attention to it. This alone begins to loosen its hold.

And it allows new life energy to enter.

This constriction causes us to withdraw. At the same time, there may be a franticness that comes with the artificial intensity. This may show up in our somewhat spastic movements, or rigidity. Both prevent our inner powers from moving through us—and moving us.

The more whole and unified we become, the more this cosmic stream will want to flow out from us. We will want to move towards life and towards others.

This is precisely what we are afraid of.

We believe that holding back and shrinking into ourselves keeps us safe. On the surface, we may have developed mannerisms that mask this. But this doesn’t make for honest contact with people.

This subtle separation is what causes misery. It reflects the gap inside us, which then lives between us and others—and between the self and truth.

The truth is, the universal power is 100 percent trustworthy. What we shouldn’t be trusting is our fear of our own selves. This fear only exists because—in certain places—we still deceive ourselves.

But if we decide to stop doing this, we can save ourselves. Then we will know the true warmth of our own cosmic powers.

False goodness: The trap of sentimentality

At times, we block our path to happiness through false goodness. This is called sentimentality. In this situation, our innate and genuine desire to be loving and outgoing, becomes tangled with our withholding—that tight leash we keep on our ego.

It’s our natural urge to let go and love, trusting the flow of inner processes. But then fear, pride and self-will—the three main Lower Self faults—create an obstacle.

Real feelings are blocked, and we feel guilty for having numbed ourselves.

If we had natural, vibrant, real feelings, over-intensity would never be necessary. As it is, we feel an obligation to manufacture something that looks how we ought to feel—since we can’t genuinely do so.

This is where sentimentality enters.

This kind of false goodness stands more in our way than simply admitting that, in the moment, we feel nothing. That, despite our wishes, we’re not feeling love.

If we could admit this, we could free ourselves. But because we feel sentimental about things, we think we’re already out.

Our work is to make the honest admission that we desire to love but don’t. The next step is to find the part that wants no part of this: “I don’t want to feel, and I don’t want to love.”

It is there—and it is real.

To be in reality, we have to find it.

Because what’s real right now is our resistance to feeling and to loving. If we deny this, it’s not possible to experience the greater reality.

If we can locate our false goodness, we can ask ourselves why we refuse to feel and love.

What am I afraid of?

Why the reluctance?

How to recognize intensity

By observing the tautness, we will find an intensity that doesn’t feel pleasant at all.

It’s a problem that leads to bigger problems. And it short circuits the pathway to deep, full feelings.

There’s a big difference between these two.

To uncover it, we can ask ourselves questions like these:

Are my feelings really that intense? Do I really feel that strongly about this?

Do I have a reason to be so convinced? Can I see the opposite side?

Am I willing to release my grip on my convictions to do this?

Where is my body tense? My whole being?

What stops me from letting go?

Can I trust myself?

Our reluctance to let go is directly related to our reluctance to seeing inside ourselves. This is what creates our self-distrust. This, in turn, causes our lack of trust in the creative powers.

Observing these areas is the portal to self-realization. As we step through—which is a gradual process and not done in one giant leap—we will flow in harmony with the universe.

We will contact the deep inner intelligence in ourselves. Without this, nothing can ever be truly successful.

What comes from the ego alone will fall flat.

We want to get a taste of the utter wisdom and rightness of this source—where no darkness opposes any light.

It will feel as though we have contacted a new inner power source.

More and more, we will overcome our misgivings to commit ourselves to something we can’t quite trust. This is how we integrate that power source—to get it firmly rooted in us.

Each new overcoming shows us we’re right to trust in this.

We make it a little more ours each time.

How can we possibly keep living in fear when we find such a treasure within? Then there will be no more problems that can’t be solved.

We’ll realize that we’re not the only ones—everyone has this resource inside them. And at that level, we really are all connected.

Brotherhood and sisterhood—it’s inevitable.

Dislike for each other is only a surface event. We can give up these conflicts.

We’ll come to see that we are each special, powerful and unique.

This is the way home.

We can choose to go this way.

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Read Original Pathwork^® Lecture: #151 Intensity: An Obstacle to Self-Realization