We have all been through those telltale moments in our lives when, due to a crisis of some kind beyond our control, we are momentarily able to see where we had lost sight of what was really worthwhile.
Perhaps we are the kind of person who is always complaining about some small ache or pain, and then we suddenly learn that someone we love faces a life-or-death challenge. Maybe we think that we are the only one on earth who suffers emotionally in the way that we do, and then comes that moment when, in lashing out at someone for being so uncaring about our situation, we not only see that he or she is suffering as well, but also that we are the cause of it. Or maybe we're lucky enough to be with someone who has less in life than we do, but who is willing and happy to share what little he or she has in spite of what tomorrow might bring. In such moments, if we still have a human heart, we realize in humility that we have been blind to the existence of our own greater estate.
In moments like these which, truth be told, are too far apart for our own spiritual good, we make this shocking but wonderful discovery: we have been lost in some little part of ourselves, unconscious of the influence of our own self-centered desires, as well as of the cost this unsuspected selfishness exacts on everyone around us.
Even more important than this initial revelation is the following one that appears within our new awareness. We can now see, by the faintest light, that we had mistaken ourselves for someone we are not! And in this same self-awakening we are granted that first priceless glimmer of self-knowledge that is sought after by all who would uncover the truth of themselves: we are beginning to see that we have been playing host to an unconscious nature that is not only blind to the world that it binds us to, but also that would have us believe that its little selfdom is the same as the actual great estate of our true nature.
So consumed are we with mundane concerns that what is grand and majestic about life might as well be taking place on a distant planet for all our ability to see it. As long as this level of self sits in charge of our consciousness, we remain cut off from the wellspring of wisdom that awaits us within. But now we have taken the first steps in securing the powers we must regain to reclaim our rightful place in real life. First comes the new self-knowledge with which we must work; then, from this comes the strength of conviction we will need to proceed along the path and to succeed with our own awakening.
Our true nature is not some static line drawn upon a horizontal plane, where access to what we may become depends upon what is already known. The truth is far from this. We are at our core a creature of the stars: beings whose original and celestial stuff is not only born of light, but also intended to live unbound.
It is this higher, yet still hidden self of ours that beckons us to realize and enter into a greater life. And though its whispered wisdom often gets lost in the din of all the other voices that tell us what we need and where to look for it, if we listen closely enough we can hear what our true self would have us know: Whenever we start to feel small it's only because we have unconsciously identified ourselves with life's little things.
Key Lesson 
