70. Born twice

 The audio recording is available at https://youtu.be/0PTEeStKRtM.

When we strive to increasingly let go of our individual self, we awake to the realization that sometimes we must confront ourselves and release the self-image we have hold to for so long. Letting go of the self-image can often bring fear, because we step into an unfamiliar territory where we feel that our self may be destroyed in this uncertain situation. However, if we manage to get past this phase, our soul becomes increasingly confident and at home, as we gain experience and a memory of what it feels like to find our new self, our universal self, when we are born again in spirit. At this point, our rational, reasonable, individual self that is tied to matter no longer fights, but gradually gives way to the universal self, through which we can turn around and begin to move backward. Our soul increasingly seeks the centre between the vertical and horizontal planes, that is, it seeks itself in the centre of the horizontal and vertical cross. We realize that the dissolution of the individual self and its merging into the universal self is the only operation through which we can step out of the waves of life, the constant motion, and find being, stillness. 

Therefore, we must remain conscious, true, and normal people—alert and present in the moment—and not cling desperately to the past or to some result. We must dare to be reborn. Taking the risk of renouncing the individual self enables our soul to seize the opportunity, which is also a task or, more precisely, a series of tasks that must be solved. We must understand that the solution to each problem in life is an opportunity for something greater. Once we feel this, opportunities unfold, and our life becomes a series of experiences, miracles, and adventures. Awareness and our participation in the circle of love help us to execute these tasks. The concept of "luck" is nothing more than awareness and preparation, so that when a task presents itself, we can provide the solution. Luck occurs when awareness meets opportunity. 

The world around us, which we have been taught to consider as the reality, and which we can perceive with our senses, is not the reality. It is only the objective, material world, but at the same time, it is an illusion, because we all perceive the same object, smell, or taste differently. In such cases, we typically say that everyone is right, but from their perspective. The other is the world of the One, the invisible and incomprehensible world, which can only be grasped and admired through our spiritual faculties, with the intellect that transcends mind. Let us ask ourselves: On what are we founding our mortal lives ? Which world do we wish to know? If we are mature, we will choose the latter—the subjective world—because the so-called objective world will pass away with us, but the subjective world will always be with us, for it resides in us, in our universal self. 

According to the example of our Initiate Master, we must redeem ourselves, set ourselves right, which primarily means freeing ourselves from matter and our attachments. Some people reach this moment at thirty, others at fifty, and some never at all, even at eighty. These people, who remain childlike regardless of their age, never grow up; they die as children, like tadpoles, because they did not have time to mature—or, in other words, to be born twice. They only know the tree of matter, not the wisdom, and they cannot distinguish the tree of wisdom from the tree of matter. The reborn person must be able to distinguish between sensual passion, religious zeal, selfish interest, and love, between selfish activity and self-denial, between dishonesty and morality, as well as between fraud and wisdom. 

Once we begin the path of rebirth (the doubling of the triad within us), we realize that our life is unique and irreplaceable, that wasting time is a sin, that we have no other life, only this one, for which we will account. When the time comes for us to be called to account, those standing at the gate or doorstep will surely ask us one thing: how did you managed and invested your abilities, knowledge, and talents? Did you take care of the sacred things entrusted to you and borrowed to you? How did you help others to participate in making order? We have been lent the created world, the sacred things, our family, our fellow humans, the other little gods. Why should we complain if the owner takes back the loan, including the grace of life, or redirects us along another path than the one we wanted? Rather, let us be grateful to the One and ask that we may spend as much time as possible with the gifts entrusted to us—our family, children, grandchildren—so that we can live a fulfilled and more aware life through them. 

The parable is familiar: before the master left, he gave money to three of his servants, which he would ask them to account for upon his return. To one, he gave five coins, to another two, and to the third one coin. The servant who received five coins made five more (he invested his abilities and talents), while the one who received one coin buried it and, when asked to account, returned only one coin. This foolish and naive man did not invest his knowledge or talents and lived selfishly as an individual. It would be good for us too, if we could show more than what we were loaned.