Dhara Ishaya writes of the transformation that occurs when life is lived from the place that never changes and how the Ishayas’ Ascension has helped her to know that place.  Dhara is a teacher with The Society For Ascension.
 

The Unchanging One

Dhara Ishaya Do you ever catch yourself saying, "...and then I will be happy?" Or, "if only... then everything would be okay."  Do you notice that this "then" never comes! You can ask anyone, "then" never comes. This idea that we can be "happy" all the time, is an ideal that everyone wants and longs for, but nobody experiences. Even the Enlightened are not “happy" all the time. They still feel sad and have "bad days". But what they do have is an "inner contentment." An inner solidity, something that never changes, no matter what is happening in the ever-changing experience of life.   LIVING ASCENSION - continued But once the ocean is reached, the riverbanks are no longer needed.  As the water of the river merges into unity with the water of the ocean it becomes part of a current or stream.  The water that was once the river now moves in a more expanded environment in alignment with a higher order. Imagine if the river water became fearful and did not think it could go beyond its banks! In essence, I do the same thing when I refuse to allow myself or others to evolve. The vows only work if I live them.  I can study them and memorize them and write about them all I want, but until I live them I am not going to experience freedom through them. I’ve heard it said many times that MSI created the Academy as a school for maharishis. I am ready to fully live as if I fully believe becoming a maharishi is possible.  I’m dropping the “toady sense of self-worth” and supporting all of you in actually becoming maharishis too; I’m living Ascension and the vows so that I can fully merge into that Ocean. Belief (no matter what it is) becomes experience.  What do I want to experience? The choice is fully mine. If I want to believe that students of Truth need to behave by the same “code of conduct” (rules) as counselors or therapists, I can.  But living by rules does not permit svadhyaya, the study of the Self.  It only slows evolution by letting the mind decide what to do instead of allowing one to grow by experience. And if I want to believe that certain things are incompatible with other things, I can. On the other hand, I may want to remember that fear restricts and love allows and that EVERYTHING is God.  And if I want to believe that acting a certain way or looking a certain way is meeting someone where they are, I can. Or I can see that really I am meeting them where I am hanging onto judgment. Lastly, I can choose to stop compromising and live as if I know God loves me exactly as I am.  Fear gives the ego permission to perpetuate separation. As long as I am living in fear I am not practicing brahmacharya [the vow of self-restraint] in its truest sense, that of small ‘s’ self-restraint. In fact, I’m not even living.   This Unchanging experience, is the One thing that doesn't change. It is the source of pure unconditional love, and absolute stability. This is the "place" from which the Enlightened live. This is the “one-pointed focus” of the Enlightened. The amazing thing about this Unchanging One, is that by simply "sitting in That", being still within It, all of life becomes amazingly simple. Imagine only having to remember One thing. And if you forget IT, IT's always waiting, patiently, forever waiting for you to remember again. And the moment you do, you see that IT has never changed, and even if you thought you were, you have never been apart from it, for that is simply impossible. All those things that we can “do” to “have a better life, to grow or evolve”, all happen naturally when all we do is remember that One thing. Things like living in the Now, being open, being willing, letting go, feeling our feelings, quieting the mind, being still, “just being”, going with the flow, not judging, not defending... the list goes on and on! These things are not paths to the One. They are natural by-products of EXPERIENCING the One. All we have to do is "not do". The One Unchanging, doesn't “do” anything... IT'S UNCHANGING! And when you are experiencing this One Unchanging, everything that is of the “doing nature”, amazingly simply “does” all on it’s own! It's the most wonderful thing! So instead of trying to “do” all these things to “get somewhere”, all that really needs to happen is for you to be still long enough for you to see that you are already “there”! When we can come back to the One thing that we already are experiencing (though maybe not consciously yet) then that's it. End of story. Nothing left to do. But can we give up the doing that we are so accustomed to? And how can we be still? How can we get to the place where we experience all this? Reading about it is great, but doesn't account for anything unless there is a way to experience it for ourselves! There are many paths and teachings available to lead us to the experience of the One, and each of us will inevitably find the way home that is perfect for us.