The Narrow Path of Truth

When we first open ourselves up to being a student of Truth (unity consciousness), the path is wide and full of wiggle room—room to wander and explore its vastness. The world feels immediately limitless and full of possibility. There’s a sweet nectar of magic and new expectations as we come out of our outworn shell. Our hearts and minds are open, and we feel ready for anything. Our intuition begins to come to life, emerging with a never-before-seen strength and power.  What we don’t know is that even though we’re now feeling very much awake compared to our formerly somnambulant existence, we are still quite blind and unable to see what lies ahead.

In this case, ignorance is definitely bliss. For if we knew the hardships and pain that lay ahead (due to the process of unlearning and inner healing), we surely wouldn’t take another step. Instead, we’re given a luxurious grace period to tally in, as we wander down this road, looking under this rock and that one as we explore our new way of being. 

After awhile, though, this grace period comes to an end, the excitement and the magic dies down and the hard work begins. This is bittersweet and often requires a period of mourning this loss of innocence, but we must realize that we’ve been preparing for this. It’s not sprung on us out of the blue. The time simply arrives when the path becomes narrow and defined, and oh so precise. To venture from it even a little bit can cause us tremendous pain and suffering. It then becomes our duty to listen to our inner wisdom, and follow it to the letter. We can no longer afford to wander or make choices that go against our alignment with the Truth. At this point, there is no turning back, and to veer off the path feels like walking into an electric fence, ever there to remind us to stay on track. It’s like an agreement or a promise that cannot easily be broken. 

Let me clarify something here. We wouldn’t have gotten to this point on the path if we didn’t want to be here. Not many of us are willing to undergo the rigorous journey that leads here in the first place. It’s not for everyone. This is why we were given free will—to get here we have to consciously agree to it.

We have to want it more than anything else life has to offer.

We have to have run through all our other options until we’ve absolutely had enough and are completely fed up with trying to do anything else.

Then, and only then, can we be absolutely sure that we’re ready to say “yes” to Truth, which is about realizing that we’ve been living in an illusion of separation believing we were isolated from others and from God/Source rather than in the reality of unity consciousness, our oneness with all that is.

This is when you realize that following your small self’s will doesn’t work and never has.

This is what is referred to as surrender.

This is when we discover that our lives are connected to something greater, and that we’re actually part of some Divine Design that will benefit tremendously from our conscious participation in it.

So by the time we recognize how narrow the path has gotten, we’re not really surprised. Compared with what it took to get here, this is rather small. We’ve already had to let go of innumerable things to get to this point. Because lining up with the Truth means traveling lightly. There is very little we can carry with us. We’re heading through the eye of the needle here. Not much will fit through such a small opening.

This sounds like a paradox. On the one hand, it’s expansive and limitless beyond belief. On the other, I’m speaking of how narrow, precise and small the path is.  It sounds very serious and adult and very sober, and in a way it is. Thankfully, that’s not the whole picture. It’s just part of the process.  

The bottom line is that we entered into this because we wanted to be happy and free and fulfilled, and since nothing else we tried worked, something deep inside of us moved us to try something different. Unfortunately, many people quit before the miracle. They hit the wall of despair and failure, and give up hope of ever finding a life of meaning. Some people die or even take their own lives because they see no other way out.  All they see is limitation and bondage wherever they look, not realizing that there’s a key inside of them that unlocks the door to what they are seeking.

As the path begins to narrow, it’s a sign that we’ve made tremendous progress and the guidance we need to keep going is very clear. By now we can discern the difference between our old way of being (small self ego consciousness) and the Truth (unity consciousness). Prior to this, it was much more nebulous and foggy, requiring us to really get quiet and listen to the guidance we were receiving. It came in more like a whisper; over time it comes through more like a shout. Not able to shut our ears to it any longer, we have no choice but to listen. 

Our life, humanity, the Earth and all its living beings are depending on that listening.