If there is a liberating, lovely, and impartial Truth - which there is - Truth is within life itself, even is life itself, not in a heaven off somewhere now or in a future, and not inside or outside us. Truth is simply, wonderfully, and quietly in and as life itself. And Truth is, meaning not truth as opposed to falsehood. This is not good news for those who claim to have Truth all to themselves, those who preach they have the sole right idea or way of the Sacred, in contrast to all others, as though Truth could be possessed, withheld, or be a special category all to Itself among a special, religiously or spiritually elite group. We do not and cannot have the Truth, anyway; the Truth has us, even before we recognize It. The Truth awakens us from slumber, to see, and this seeing is knowing.

Presence, or Sacredness, does not sense any need for a special experience, be it called religious or spiritual, or anything. This is why deeply sacred beings do not manifest a neediness for the spectacular, the unusual. Such experiences come and go, and basically anyone can have one. So, in themselves, they have no value, though they can have practical value in inspiring one onward in embrace of Grace. Yet, they can as easily lead to an attachment to them, and deter spiritual emergence. And, likewise, experience of the Divine can easily, and usually is, mistaken for the Divine Itself. Special experiences may or may not arise from Presence. In fact, possibly the most amazing thing about the enlightened life is how wonderfully ordinary and plain it is. With Presence there is a simple, but profoundly subtle, fullness, so there is no pursuing or seeking to hold onto apparently special spiritual experiences anymore. One grows, indeed, to feel no need for such experiences: though, reception of them, even enjoyment and gratitude for them, can continue. For Presence, ecstasy is a simple sense of being, a simple contact with life, including what is generally called matter. Presence knows the touch of life in all things, and intimacy in all touches, and as much holiness as in what is generally associated with 'holy' in religion and spirituality. However, transformation includes learning to relax into this intimacy, and with the relaxation is an emerging depth of knowing directly the Beauty of life, ordinary, simple, and subtle. This is the common ecstasy, in contrast to the passing, emotional ecstasy of suspension of senses or particularly heightened emotional sensation: here the senses are fully functional, fully sober to receive Life within life. The thrill is not present, for no thrill is needed, when there is such intimate Fullness.

*Arem Nahariim-Samadhi