In this short talk, bestselling "letting go" author Guy Finley talks about what it means to wake up from spiritual sleep, which does not include comparing ourselves to what the world says it means to live an awakened life.
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Enlightening articles by Guy Finley on a wide range of topics address practical life issues and deepen your spiritual understanding.
Short but powerful quotes by Guy Finley will inspire you throughout your day.
Heartfelt inner-life questions from people around the world, and Guy’s enlightening answers, will shed light on your own issues.
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Watch or listen to the specific talk we will all be discussing during this week’s Online Study Group meeting.
If you have a few minutes, and want a burst of enlightenment, watch or listen to these brief talks by Guy, filled with concentrated wisdom.
Hearing Guy interact with an interviewer is a delight. Listen as he makes deep spiritual principles easy to understand.
Be encouraged by hearing fellow members share their experiences and discoveries as they bring higher ideas into their daily lives.
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Enlightening articles by Guy Finley on a wide range of topics address practical life issues and deepen your spiritual understanding.
Short but powerful quotes by Guy Finley will inspire you throughout your day.
Heartfelt inner-life questions from people around the world, and Guy’s enlightening answers, will shed light on your own issues.
Read Guy’s newest insights as he jots them down, spontaneous and uncensored.
Watch or listen to the specific talk we will all be discussing during this week’s Online Study Group meeting.
If you have a few minutes, and want a burst of enlightenment, watch or listen to these brief talks by Guy, filled with concentrated wisdom.
Hearing Guy interact with an interviewer is a delight. Listen as he makes deep spiritual principles easy to understand.
Be encouraged by hearing fellow members share their experiences and discoveries as they bring higher ideas into their daily lives.
The Life of Learning singers and instrumentalists perform beautiful music that will inspire and uplift you.
Join us for exclusive live broadcasts of select Guy Finley talks.
Start your day off right with a nugget of wisdom that can transform your experience with everything you do and everyone you meet.
Inner-life exercises and special writings deepen your understanding.
Longtime local members speak for 10 to 15 minutes on a special topic. Hear the explorations and discoveries of others on the inner journey.
Dive deep into a subject on your own! Work at your own pace with a series of talks by Guy on topics critical to your inner development.
Catch Guy Finley’s weekly message that focuses on spiritual and personal breakthroughs. This is updated weekly and is available in video, audio and text.
Join a lively online discussion with other members each week of “This Week’s Topic” – a new Guy Finley talk selected for in-depth study.
You are not alone on the inner journey. Listen to lively, weekly online discussions between members.
Every Saturday Guy leads an open discussion. Local members share their discoveries, and Guy’s comments deepen everyone’s understanding.
Guy regularly holds open Q&A sessions. Often members of our global community send in questions, or speak directly to Guy online.
Access to all our private Facebook updates, student Facebook discussions, and our LIVE Saturday lunch roundtable discussions.
This member forum is where you can write in your observations and experiences, and receive feedback from fellow members. Read-only access for Free and Basic members. Full access for Premium & All Access members.
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In this short talk, bestselling "letting go" author Guy Finley talks about what it means to wake up from spiritual sleep, which does not include comparing ourselves to what the world says it means to live an awakened life.
Guy: Laura has asked, "What does it look like to live an awakened life?" You know, there's an old story, Laura, I don't know if you've ever heard it. I don't know exactly how it goes. I think it's like a Zen story... you know, someone asks an awakened monk or a master, "So, what did you do before you came into this awakening?" And the master says, "Well, I used to chop wood and carry water." And she says, "Well, what do you do now?" And he says, "I chop wood and I carry water." The thing is - and I would be treading dangerous ground to try to explain what it looks like to not be in a dream - the thing is that you're still "in this world." You're just not "of it" in the same way. And you can't see that. Even the person who has awakened, to whatever extent it's true, doesn't look upon themselves as someone who has awakened. They're just grateful that they have that much less fear. They're just grateful that they understand that there is no end to awakening - that awakening is what the hand of God, what the light of the sun, whatever you want to call it - wakening is what happens every time life touches life. Life awakens life. We're just not in the place where we're awakening, because we're in a world where we are dreaming ourselves into a world. I think if we had eyes to see - and I was alluding to that in the story, Laura, about how in this beautiful valley, that light didn't just come from below, it came from above. Everything emanated it. That is a fact. And everything is involved in that. As opposed to in a dream world where everything is special or not, in an awakened life there is nothing special because everything is. You're not special. You meet a spiritual man or woman who tells you somehow or other they're special, grab your pocketbook and run. So I can't tell you what it looks like to have an awakened life. I can enjoin you, I can invite you, I can urge you - and I will help you as best I can to understand what little understanding I have, and how as an understanding grows, Laura, so does your wish to no longer live in a dream. Before I can wake up from a dream, I have to know I'm in one, don't I? And as long as I'm identified with the dream and what it's promising and the temptation of a time to come, much like "Satan" tempted Christ with all these promises - as long as I have a life like that, I'm in a dream. And Christ himself, even in that instance in scripture, he kept saying, "Not by this, not by that, but by the word of God" - by the light, by the intelligence, by the wisdom of being in direct relationship with what is awakening itself with real life, with real light. That's how I want to live. That's how you want to live, I'm assuming. So let's work at it - and we can work at it together.
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There is nothing that we are drawn to know by Love's invitation that won't grant us for our journey the gift of a greater relationship with Love. What this means in practical terms is that if we want to receive love, we have to give it. Here are some ideas to help you begin this journey of the Heart: First, give your love to something. Do something with your love. Find something you lov...
In this short talk, Guy Finley talks about why we must come to realize the need to shake ourselves awake as often as possible if we want to be free of the negative states that currently pull us down.
Topic: Stop Being Bullied Around by Painful Thoughts and Feelings (4/26/20 Classroom Talk)
What Does it Look Like to Live an Awakened Life?
Posted by Guy Finley in 459 Galice Road, Merlin, OR 97532 on , and updated on .
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