Inner Light

One of my favourite newsletters (in fact, the only one I make a point of reading) is from Dan Joseph who runs spiritsite.com. His teachings are based on A Course in Miracles, which I haven't read since the 1990s, but which I am slowly re-reading now. It's nice to ingest a little bit of wisdom every day before I start my day.

Anyway, for his year end issue, instead of his traditional article, he shared three questions he has received throughout the year.

I will be sharing them here one at a time, because I believe, they need to be reflected on individually.

Q: I've read dozens of self-help and spiritual books about "the inner light" and "the spirit" and so forth. I get the concepts, but I hardly ever feel what the concepts mean. This whole thing about spirituality is just a set of ideas for me, not an experience. What am I doing wrong?

A: This is a question that I receive quite a lot – so you're certainly not alone. Let me share a few observations:

To begin, I believe that it's very common (even universal) to have some resistance to the experience of our inner light. The experience of the light is an experience of connection, of receiving and extending love, of separation-transcendence. The experience of the light shines away our old self-concepts. It essentially ends the "illusion" of who we thought we were, and ushers in something new.

It's quite normal to feel some resistance to this type of inner transformation! (The newness alone, if nothing else, might feel a bit intimidating.)

So you might find it helpful to ask yourself, "is there part of me that is afraid of the felt-sense of my inner light?" If you can first get in touch with a sense of fear or resistance – and "observe" it from a higher place – you might find it easier to slip past it for a few moments and touch into the light.

That brings me to a related point: it's enough to aim for just a single moment of awareness of your inner light. You don't need to aim for a permanent, perfect awareness.

If you find it helpful, you may want to practice "coaxing" your resistant mind gently toward this moment. For example, you can say to yourself:

"It might be nice to open up to a sense of being loved."

"It will just be a moment or two."

"Perhaps I can allow myself to feel a little of that inner warmth."

"Even just a little touch of it might feel comforting."

Doing this with another person – a partner, a friend, a therapist, a spiritual practitioner, or someone else – can also help to ease a sense of resistance. Many people attend spiritual groups or ceremonies for just this reason.

Finally, as I've written about extensively in my book Inner Healing, "willingness" is key. You can simply hold an attitude of willingness to allow the light to enter your awareness. The light wants to illuminate your experience; you clear an opening for it by your willingness to let it enter.