“As you move into the heart chakra, you move into what could be termed an outer courtyard. You stand before the open heart. And yet there is a gate that you must cross. It is guarded by the lions of discrimination. Those lions guard that gate until such time as you have accepted yourself. This seems a simple thing, and yet for those who habitually are self-critical, it is not so simple at all. How can one forgive oneself for self-perceived faults and errors? …The way to forgive the self is to realize that you gaze at the illusion of self, thrown out by your personality shell. You may take it on faith that within that personality shell lies a beautiful, worthy, wonderful, exquisite spirit, unique in all the creation… When you see bits of your personality that you would wish to be other than they are, you have allowed yourself to judge yourself. We would ask you then to find it within yourself to refrain from judgment and instead hold out your arms and embrace yourself with your own open heart.”
“As we speak we ask each to use his own discrimination, for each of you has the power and the wisdom to recognize the truth that is yours. It is as though your truths lie waiting for you to rediscover them and to remember that which is already known. If some of our thoughts have that ring of remembered truth then by all means we offer them to you with a full and happy heart. If we do not hit that mark, then we ask you to simply drop those thoughts and go on.”
“We cannot teach you how to realize compassion. You cannot teach yourself how to realize the compassion that is locked within you. And even with the dint of the hardest and most intransigent work upon the self, you cannot add one whit of compassion to your personality. You can teach yourself to perform compassionate acts, but the key to that infinite compassion that is truly yours is not to be found within teaching and learning. It is locked within the present moment, and it is when you go into the present moment that you are vulnerable to a deeper realization of yourself. And so what we encourage this day is a heightened awareness of the value of losing yourself in the present moment.”
