Perhaps the first great initiation comes with the realization that we are not our minds, our emotions or our bodies. Who we really are exists above what we may think of as our three lower bodies. The condition of humanity is the confusion between the higher reality and what we seem to be. This is the result of our sojourn on the physical plane.

We are attracted to the physical plane for its density. What we experience at the frequencies of the physical plane seems more real due to the illusion of its solidity.

The physical plane is as a theme park where we can experience our dreams at a frequency that seems to have more reality than the frequencies of our thoughts or emotions or the even higher planes. The price of our ticket, however, is the memory of our higher existence. How could the physical seem so real if we know that it isn't? Knowledge would make life at this level little more than a 3-D ride at Disney or Universal. The problem is that with the forgetting comes entrapment -- and even enslavement. The dreams we create and the thoughts, feelings and events that make up our lives as we incarnate over and over come to be seen as the whole of our existence. Our connection to the One seems severed and we feel lost, alone and insignificant in the face of the immensity and apparent indifference of creation. The first prerequisite to escape from this bondage and achieve the liberation that is our destiny comes with the experience of our Self as free from the bounds that we have recognized.

Sit or lie in a relaxed position. Observe your thoughts and emotions. Do not at first try to control or stop them, just observe them for a while. Who observes the thought? If you can observe the thought, then you are not that thought -- you are he or she who observes. With some practice you will become more and more able to be in this state of observation. Then notice the brief periods of silence between the thoughts. Who is there in that silence? You are. As you progress in this process you will be able to extend the periods of silence from one second to several and then to longer periods. Who remains present in that silence? You do. In those moments of silence you have broken the hold that the world has on You. You have risen above the three lower bodies that have for so long masqueraded as You. With more practice You will have the ability to put the world in a more proper perspective and enjoy it to the fullest. You will begin to hear the Voice of the Silence. You will increasingly know where Your true home is.

You will have taken the first major step on the path back to the One.