The Single, Most Powerful Thing You Can Do

As human beings, we naturally strive to improve ourselves and our world. However our efforts can often seem fragmented and confusing, even to ourselves. We tend to look at everything as the sum of the parts. In other words, we believe that if we can assemble enough good efforts, it will eventually add up to a positive personal change or a change in our world.
This often does not work out well because there are so many unexpected things that get in the way. In addition, we have certain habits that are not inclined to disappear easily. It is all too easy to become confused and want to give up. Let’s see if we can consolidate our efforts into a one-pointed focus of energy and receive far more powerful results.
We are fundamentally infinite beings of light. We are love at our core. This truth tends to get broken up as it is filtered through our fragmented perception of ourselves as separate individuals who experience limitation and incongruence in nearly every area of life. We tend to see ourselves as the sum of our many parts. Those parts may consist of our physical, mental, and emotional selves. They consist of our past, our perceived future, and what we believe everyone else thinks of us. They consist of what we think of ourselves.
These parts also consist of our accomplishments, our failures, our possessions, and our relationships. They consist of our likes and our dislikes. They consist of what we think about others, our judgements, our personal weaknesses, and our strengths. And then there are the countless smaller issues that branch off from each of these larger parts. No wonder life can be so confusing. It seems like it would take a master organizer to figure all of this out!
Of course we are unable to organize all of this on a conscious level. Instead, we develop habits of thinking and behavior that keep it all glued together. We are able to function this way on a daily basis, but here’s when it becomes a problem. It becomes a problem when we want to experience power, creativity, positive change, and have an impact on our own lives and in the world. It often becomes a problem when we simply want to be happy.
So what’s the solution? The solution is to find the one powerful element about ourselves that is common to all of these different parts. That element is the light of our experience. It is the light of who we are. It is the consciousness and love that experiences all of these parts. It is the one unifying force that lets us know who we are. This force of light that is us has a superior, divine intelligence. It is what generates the pure love of the heart. When you remove all the perceptions of fragmentation, this force of consciousness is powerful indeed. It is a gentle, conscious power that holds unparalleled wisdom about our lives.
Some people refer to this power as the higher self. I like to call it the true self; the self that is unadulterated by fragmentation and perceives with absolute clarity from an infinite place. This true self is not “up in the sky” somewhere. It is not in some other dimension. It is right here with us, behind our every breath. The key is to shift our center of reference from our fragmented perception to the wholeness of our true self.
Have you ever noticed that you don’t really change? No matter what happens to you and no matter what you do, you remain purposefully aware of yourself at all times. This awareness is the real self. It is so utterly pure, so absolute in its constancy, that you may not even notice it. Yet you’re never confused about who the things in your life are happening to, are you? They are always happening to that constant person who is you. You don’t look in the mirror every morning and say, “Who is that again?” You don’t cut yourself and say, “I wonder who that happened to?” You don’t receive flowers from someone and act confused about who they are for. You don’t have someone hug you and then say to yourself, “Who just got hugged? Was it me or my neighbor?” Of course not. You are the constant in your own life.
You might be confused about the elements in your life, but you are never confused about who is experiencing them. See if you can pay close attention to this “who” that is you. This being that you are is pure. Unadulterated by negative thoughts, it wants only to give and receive love. In fact, it is love. This means that without the thoughts, the emotions, and even the physical body, this being that experiences all of those things exists as pure love, pure light, and the supreme intelligence of consciousness itself.
The most powerful thing you can do is to shift your point of reference to this being that you are. Shift your main point of reference to this constant of consciousness. It’s as simple as deciding to spend time with yourself in a new way. Instead of merely spending time with your thoughts, your feelings, and your emotions, get to know the being that is experiencing those things. There is nothing more powerful than experiencing that you are the infinite consciousness in your own life.
There are several ways that you can do this. Start by realizing that consciousness is light. This means that you are light. Secondly, realize that your pure consciousness does not know negativity. It knows only love. Try to get in touch with that. Pay attention to the fact that all negativity must be preceded by thought. Your pure consciousness exists prior to thought. Any negative thoughts are a product of duality. They have nothing to do with the truth about you. The real you supersedes any and all negativity.
Notice your breath. The power that exists behind your breath is neither positive or negative. It is absolutely pure. It is life force itself. There is so much goodness within you, for you to explore if you simply differentiate between the experiences and the experiencer. Indulge in discovering the treasure that is you. Be the light. Be love. Start by consciously deciding what you will allow into your experience and what you won’t. What do you think the being that is you really wants to experience? Set your sights on that, instead of the confusion.
And finally, notice how different your experience becomes as you do this more and more. You can completely transform yourself and your life if you center on the side of the real, pure you. If you are light, then be light all the time. If you are love, then let that love manifest in your thoughts and actions on a daily basis. Give the real you a chance to come to the fore. It’s inevitable that you will need to do this, so why not do it now?
Leave me a comment below and tell me how this might improve your experience if you try it. Share any other thoughts you may have as well!
So well said. And I know this to be true. It has become abundantly clear to me in the last little while. And yet I still find myself living with my illusions and delusions. Indeed these beliefs about myself do not have the same strength they once had, but they still have an ongoing presence in my life.
Practice makes perfect. Every time I feel myself responding to a programmed and conditioned negative belief about myself, I try to consciously remind myself that this is simply the story I have been telling myself (for far too many years) but it is not the truth.
Mary, I love what you said here about the “story”. It’s such a good point. There are all the things that we experience and then there is an additional layer of the story we tell ourselves about those things. I think the story has greater influence than the experiences themselves.
You may not feel that you always have direct control over the things that happen to you. But you can completely transform your life by focusing on how you talk to yourself about it. Here’s a simple, great example of this. One day, when my son was a little boy, I took him to the playground. He was sitting at the top of the slide when a bully, who was a bigger boy, came up and pushed him hard down the slide. Being a mom, I was horrified. But my son came off the slide with a big grin and said to me,”Wasn’t it nice of that boy to help me down the slide?” Ha ha – I never forgot that.
Thank you for sharing this, Mary.
Thank you Saratoga. Love Monica.
You are welcome, Monica. 🙂
Thank you for this Saratoga, you made it so easy to give a point of reference to my true self, which I can actually visualize that is pure love… I think I need to read this every day for a while to sink it into my brain.
When I read it, it made so much sense and I could feel the real me that was pure love and wanted pure love that before was only a “concept” that I never could grasp as far as a personal experience, well one I can remember anyway.
I have a daughter and when she was little and got sad because kids treated her badly or she was hard on herself I would say to her.., “what is the truth of you?” and she would say…. “I know I know… I am a wondrous being of light” and as she got older (the teen years), she would add a “rolling of her eyes”, because I told her that so often and she had been so indoctrinated by the harshness of life that it seemed hokey …. but I still believed that of her … funny how I can dish it out but I can’t take it into and embrace it for myself…
Well now is the time that I too will affirm for myself that I am a wondrous being of light and I will refrain from rolling my eyes! I am so grateful for your presence on the web!!! I feel more alive in myself than I have in a very long time 🙂
– Susan McDonald
Susan, I’m so glad this was helpful to you. I had to laugh at what you said about your daughter. It’s so easy for us as parents to tell our kids to do something and then later realize “Oh, wait – I need to do that, too!” Ha ha! But that is so great that your daughter would say,”I am a wondrous being of light”. I love that!
But I also think you make a significant point. You said to your daughter “What is the truth of you?” The truth is “I am a wondrous being of light.” And then you said she was so indoctrinated by the harshness of life that it seemed hokey. Wow – that in a nutshell encapsulates the entire condition on this planet. This is what every human being has to deal with. This is why we are so confused!
Think about how simple, yet profound this is. We are who we are – infinite beings of light and love. That’s the unshakable truth, period. And then we find ourselves in this weird situation, where the perpetual message is “No you’re not. You are not an infinite being of light and love.” What a strange reality where we are inundated with messages from the outside and from our own thoughts on the inside of “No you’re not. You are not who you are.”
It seems to me that it is time that we collectively stop believing this nonsense. I think one could make a good case for the idea that this is pure insanity. We are too smart for this. It really is time to validate our true intelligence and stop harming ourselves in this way.
Thank you, Susan. Much love xxoo
Saratoga, this is the being I am aware of when I close my eyes and sense the infinite light, expansiveness, and pure peace. I just never considered this as my true self, I was so confused. Thank you for the wave of light into my consciousness, I feel reconnected again! The truth is so simple and this is so beautiful, thank you. Much love to you and Telstar
Barb, we are so close to our true selves. That self is such an absolute and a constant, that we don’t even realize that it’s us! We are so used to knowing everything by what it’s not and by the separation that this creates, that we don’t know how to recognize something without boundaries, even if it’s our own selves.
This would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. The loss of self is the greatest source of pain in this world. We look for ourselves everywhere that we are not, and then when we don’t find it, we make up a false identity instead. It’s time that we collectively wake up and change this whole situation.
Saratoga, that would be stunning for us to collectively wake up to this sad tragedy. I have to agree that this separation from self is the most painful experience, and the false selves we all try to deal with is crazy. I Pray for all of us to have this wonderful experience of self — wouldn’t that be amazing?
Barb, you are right – the false self is a crazy, incoherent thing. You can never feel satisfied with it because it’s not really you! How’s that for a revelation? 🙂
Hi Saratoga, I love these helpful suggestions, they are essential and necessary for daily living. They are so simple but seem elusive, just as not knowing oneself seems insidious. I remember taking workshops to discover who I am., and leaving not feeling any clearer or closer to answering that “mystery” I like what you said that it would be funny if it weren’t so tragic… , as I acknowledge that of course I know who I am. A beautiful being of love and light. I especially like the part on focusing on my breath, as my experience has shown me that all worry and and anxiety melt away when I turn inward and breathe. Actually, all negative thoughts vanish and I am filled with feelings of peace and happiness. The opportunity to express myself in this honest forum is very much appreciated!!! I look forward to what words of wisdom you will share next. Much love
Judi, something you said just struck me as really funny. Wow! It’s true – we actually go to workshops to find out who we are! Can you imagine if some E.T.’s came down here and saw us doing that? They would think we really had a problem 🙂
Absolutely perfect timing for this message in so many ways and I LOVE the title of this post. What could be more important and powerful than knowing and experiencing who we are in truth?
It seems that so much of our collective time is spent as the false self in that fragmented and limited perception that you are speaking of. Living there, it can be hard to find any traction or any way to even reach for our dearest and most heartfelt dreams. They remain elusive and, not only are we left disappointed, but we collect more and more “evidence” that we can never reach them.
But those dreams _come_ from our heart, from our true self – the one that knows all of these dreams are possible, not from whatever it is that is collecting the evidence – so knowing, experiencing and being our true self is of utmost importance! This is where it all starts.
I’ve been having more and more direct experiences of a powerful sense of oneness – my true self. This evening while playing my guitar, I felt my experience come into sharp focus and I was connected to life in a very deep way. My sensation was full and expansive and I felt incredibly alive. The moment was infinite. I believe that experiences like this is why so many people absolutely love and adore playing a musical instrument, or engaging in any art form for that matter. There is an instant opportunity and space in your life to be your true self. Nobody has to be told how to do this – you can take all the music, art or dance classes in your life that you want, but this part of it doesn’t need to be taught, it just is. (I also think meditation is very similar in terms of creating an opportunity and space to be your true self.)
I have noticed these experiences, some very strong and some a little more subtle, coming more and more often throughout my day and I have also noticed parts of my day where it is less common, such as when I go to work – a part of my experience that is more fragmented, I think. It feels that, even in these areas, it is becoming more frequent, though.
Very recently, I’ve been noticing the various thoughts that float through my mind throughout the day have different feelings or signatures. I can’t quite explain it, it’s not a feeling like an emotion, but a sense of where it is coming from. Like when the ego has one of those “fantastic” suggestions 🙂 … it’s like there’s a sense of flatness to it. (I wish I could describe it better). What’s I find really interesting is that when I feel a true sense of inspiration, I don’t really get a signature at all … it just is. Inspiring, energizing, and illuminating, but totally natural. This is what I recalled when I read what you wrote: “This awareness is the real self. It is so utterly pure, so absolute in its constancy, that you may not even notice it.”
Thank you so much for the communication on this subject. The clarity and level of detail are so helpful!
(Thank you for your post also, Susan. I found your post particularly touching and meaningful to me today. 🙂 What each and everyone writes and contributes is all so helpful, and I thank you all as well.)
Avalon – Wow! There is so much here, I think this qualifies for a separate blog. 🙂 Have you thought about starting one? I wonder if you should start a blog for musicians and composers. Hmmm… something to think about!
It’s so funny that you say that … part way through writing my response, I had the thought that my response was getting so long it was becoming a blog post all it’s own. 😛
Starting a blog is definitely something to think about. Lately, I’ve been realizing that there is a lot that I have to say about music in this world. 🙂
I think it might be a good idea, Avalon. I get the feeling you are filled with more and more inspiration. There’s not room in the comment section here for you to express all that you have to say. Maybe this is a sign! What do you think? 🙂
I also think it’s great that you have a lot to say about music. That sounds really interesting!
Even if you start a blog, I hope you’ll keep commenting here, Avalon. I love reading your thoughts! (Just keep ’em a little shorter – ha ha!) xoxo
Maybe not enough room is a sign – it definitely feels like there’s some inspiration within around writing or posting. I want to find out more about that inspiration – so I will!
Hi Saratoga, I’ll definitely keep reading and commenting. 🙂 These posts are so valuable!
When I reply, I often feel that there is a whole message sitting within that I am trying to fit into words. To me, it feels like something short – I realize what I want to say in an instant. Sometimes when I look back at what I wrote, though … not so short. 🙂 Next time, I’ll focus on making it more concise. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Avalon, if you do decide to write for others, it’s actually good practice to try to express your ideas in a concise way. It’s actually more difficult than making things longer. I’m glad you’ll be sticking around here! Thank you 🙂
Hi Saratoga; Your title of this Blog: “The single most powerful thing you can do” combined with the final sentence: “It’s inevitable that you will need to do this, so why not do it now?” leaves no room for ego confusion. To be aware of what is the authentic you and what is the false you allows for the freedom to make the obvious choice – otherwise you will identify with the ego and think you ‘are’ the problem. For me meditation is the way that I connect most powerfully with the truth of my being, which is love. Lately in meditation I have been experiencing a powerful radiance of love in my heart as I centre my attention there and somehow the key for me is gratitude which sets my heart aflame. I have discovered the tremendous healing effects of directing this love to whatever part of my body is most in need with astonishingly quick results. I find that when I centre in this way, first thing in the morning, the beautiful feelings of love and peace pervade my day causing me to smile at a passerby when otherwise I would be too preoccupied in my thoughts to even notice, the rough edges are made smooth, parking spots appear when needed, and everything just flows. The saying, “Be in the world but not of it,” comes to mind as I certainly feel that I am floating through my day on wings of love and though chaos is all about, it touches me not.
I see that this is the only place from which to live my life and the only place from which I can truly help others.
This is a great description of the powerful effect that meditation can have on one’s day and on one’s life. I am always harping on this because I don’t see how you can be connected to your true self unless you set aside the time to do so with no distractions.
The whole world calls upon us to look outside of ourselves and react to what is going on around us all day long. The outside world never says “Go within”. It’s up to us to decide to do that for ourselves. Thanks so much for sharing this, Doug.
Hi Saratoga – thank you for this message. There are so many gems here … I felt as if I was going through a treasure chest full of wonderful jewels. The one that I was most enamored with was the one where I realized that I am Love, and that everything in my Life has been an attempt to express that Love from my heart through my thoughts, words, and actions. As I continue to evolve, I am discovering creative ways to express that Love in my daily life. For example, last night before I went to bed, I sent unconditional love and support for the full manifestation of everyone’s heartfelt desires. I saw in my mind’s eye this planet flourishing with life, light, peace and harmony. I saw everyone and everything on this planet as an important element in our transformation and transmutation back to the infinite. Each time I practice this, my heart is full, and I have the best sleep! Thank you!
Grace, this is such a beautiful comment! I love what you described as your heart being full and having the best sleep. It really shows that expressing love, radiating love, and seeing Earth in an infinite state of love, is the most nurturing and natural thing there is. Thank you for this beautiful expression!