Wouldn't it be a real relief to get outside the limitations of negative reactions? But how do we get there? How can we be certain we're headed in the right direction?"

Here is a great secret known only by those who have made the journey before us: Walk away from the mental "how" into the spiritual Now. And here is one of the keys to this special instruction: The journey outside of yourself doesn't take you to a place, but to the realization that who you really are lives above the world of thoughts and feelings.

Living and working in this physical world, it is necessary to ask "how" in order to learn to do. However, when it comes to learning how to live above and outside of yourself, the same mental life that can safely deliver men to the moon cannot take you any higher or further than its loftiest thought! In other words, it is impossible to think yourself outside of yourself.

Even the finest mental life cannot deliver us beyond what are its own inherent limitations. From this unique inner vantage point, we can see that something altogether new -- some unthinkable leap -- is needed if we are to successfully bridge the gap between this limited mental world and the new life we seek beyond ourself.

As you begin to realize the true restrictions of living from a thought-dominated self, you will no longer ask "how," because part of your new realization will include the understanding that this habitual question of how to get outside of yourself is actually arising from the same life-level you are trying to leave! At this important stage of your inner development, there may be times when it will seem to you as though there is no way out. You'll be glad to learn that the truth has something better for you to do than feel trapped. Here is its instruction:

Each time you reach this inner point of self-uncertainty where you know you must take a step but you also know that you can no longer ask "how," just go ahead and step forward anyway! Step into what appears to be the darkness ahead of you. Nothing bad will happen. In fact, something miraculous will occur right before your eyes. Your decision in favor of this bold new action thrusts you into the spiritual Now, where the actual moment itself teaches you everything you need to know about how to proceed.

Moving away from the mental "how" into the spiritual Now places you under the guiding influences of an intelligence that never fears the unknown, because higher understanding is its very nature. To your grateful astonishment, this new order of intelligence does for you what you were certain you could not do for yourself: it solves the dilemma; it finds the way. All you need to do is follow.

It doesn't matter how reluctantly you take your first step into the spiritual Now; what does matter is that you take the action. If you will do your part, the truth will take care of the rest. This explains why the true spiritual life is said to be pathless. When it comes to leaving the mental world behind, there is no path outside of your next step... and your next... and your next.

The clearer you can make for yourself (as in the examples below), the differences between the mental "how" and the spiritual Now, the easier it becomes to depart from the one, which is to enter the other.

Living from the mental "how," we often fear what we can't understand. While living in the spiritual Now, we understand that fear is a mental mistake.
Living from the mental "how," we look to the past to help guide us to a secure future. While living in the spiritual Now, there is freedom from the past and no thought for tomorrow, because we are living fully in a painless present.
Living from the mental "how," we spend valuable time looking back in regret over past events. While living in the spiritual Now, the past exists only for practical purposes and never as a source of pain or problems.

By contrasting these two inner conditions, it will become increasingly clear to you which of these two worlds you really want to live in. So what are you waiting for? Don't ask "how," let Now show you!