As you awaken, you will have to assume responsibility for your life within the world of time. You have to work or do whatever is necessary to earn money and provide for your needs.

How do you accomplish this without becoming lost in the mind? How do you remain present in a world where almost everyone is focused in the past and future? How do you live in a world of fear and desire when you are no longer ruled by fear and desire, and when you are no longer seduced by the promise of future fulfillment?

As long as you are not driven by ego desires or fears, the quality of Presence will not be lost.

Do not compare yourself with others. Surrender patterns of judgment, control and manipulation. Do not follow the urges, cravings and habits of your ego. It may take a little time to overcome habitual patterns but, if your commitment is sincere, it is not difficult.

Choose to be in the present moment as much as possible. Only enter into thought with conscious intention.

Surrender the will of your ego to a higher dimension of your Being and honor the present moment as the truth of life.

Be present. Be responsive. Be authentic. Feel your feelings. Know what you want, moment to moment. It will deliver you through life, constantly renewing you from one moment to the next.

Do not be afraid to live at a more superficial level of Presence in order to function in the world of time. That which is real cannot be lost.

It is all a question of balance. As long as the awakened state of Presence is the foundation of your life, you will not go astray.

Excerpt from “Journey Into Now – Clear Guidance on the Path of Spiritual Awakening” by Leonard Jacobson. pp.210-211