Step Seven:
______________________________
From a place of wholeness and allowance, became ready to cultivate my true and noble qualities.
I act from a place of wholeness, from a true identity, from my oneness with Spirit and the glorious expression of Life. Though I may not fully experience this oneness, I will strive to base my thoughts and actions upon the knowingness and acceptance of my true self and identity. From that position of wholeness, understanding myself, in essence, to be one with the fullness and perfection of Spirit, I will accept my human qualities (both the “positive” and the “negative”). I must first accept my human qualities, and acknowledge them, in order to change them (if I desire to do so). In this total acceptance of myself I allow room for the all of who I am (both my human and divine qualities) to emerge.
A True and Noble Life
A true and noble life is one in harmony with natural law, the life-affirming nature of Spirit, and one’s true self. Such a life expresses the qualities of Spirit in human form. It is a life aligned with that which is loving, truthful, good, harmonious, uplifting, kind, generous, positive, beautiful, and alive.
Noble actions—actions which align a person’s life with the highest truth and the life-affirming nature of Spirit—are always empowering and beneficial and in alignment with the evolutionary movement of Spirit. Likewise, any action (or thought) which is empowering, expansive, and life-affirming is a noble action in line the Infinite Spirit of Life.
What does it mean to live a true and noble life? What is your imagined version of a true and noble life? Quite simply, a true life (which we might also call a life of dharma) is one where a person’s thoughts and actions are in alignment with Spirit (and the natural laws of the universe). Such a life embodies, and naturally expresses, all the qualities of Spirit, such as joy, freedom, aliveness, and beauty.
Resolving to live a full and joyous life—with your thoughts, words, and deeds true to your own heart—is action in accord with a noble life. Fully embracing who you are, honoring your place in the all of creation, seeking to know the fullness of your own self, and gaining mastery and skill (in uplifting pursuits, such as creative, artistic, intellectual, and/or athletic endeavors) is part of living a true and noble life.
Cultivating true and noble qualities involves inclining your life (and thoughts and actions) toward the further awareness and expansion of your divine qualities, those qualities which are integral to your own nature—such as joy, love, abundance, beauty, etc. It is about choosing to be aware of those true qualities and allowing them to expand and unfold in your life, and through your thoughts, words, and deeds. It is also about not allowing your mind (impelled by your subconscious programming) to incline itself toward false and ignoble conditions. These are generally the conditions of egoic consciousness and these are fostered by a poor upbringing. These include all the false, limiting, and self-defeating conditions (all of which are alien to your true self and Spirit) including fear, anger, deadness, lack (feeling that there is not enough), depression, alienation, feelings of low self-esteem and low self-worth (feeling somehow that you are not deserving or good enough), etc. These mental conditions should be seen as caustic diseases which one should never take into his/her heart or mind.
Quotes
Dreaming Well
Let’s put aside the awakening [and any grand notion of enlightenment] and stay within the domain of the relative: it’s important to dream well, to dream happily [i.e., to live a good and well-adjusted life]. If the dream itself is corrupt, [and one is miserably imprisoned in his false self] there’s not a chance in a billion that it will explode. If people corrected the way they situate themselves in relation to their reality, they’d eliminate ninety-eight percent of their “problems.” That would not be the awakening [or self-realization] but a harmonious dream. They would be close to the zenith of the dream and in a better position burst it.
(Stephen Jourdain, Radical Awakening, p. 174)
