Anchoring Heaven on Earth—Why Processing Work Makes our Journey Easier

by Leslie Temple-Thurston

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Article first published in Odyssey Magazine, 2003

On the journey of awakening, there is always another doorway in front of us. And spirit’s invitation to us to step through it, is always assured. These are doorways of perception. They form an endless succession of opportunities to expand into other levels of consciousness. They also represent a quickening of our vibration—essentially, an ascension. If we are receptive enough to see them, and surrendered enough to pass through, we will find ourselves, amazingly, growing into more of ourselves.

Surrender is essential. What are we surrendering? We are being asked to let go of our old perceptions—of “who” we think we are, and of “what” we think reality is—in order to shift levels. Letting go allows the melting away of the limited states of our current egoic self and the returning of that energy into its original pure Essence—which is what we truly are. A few examples are letting go of fear, anger or pain, which are some of our most limiting and separating states. The change that takes place when we do that is the reforming of a new, more integrated, and larger Self on the other side of the doorway.

We are talking about change, even radical change—something that most people naturally have difficulty adjusting to. Yet to shift levels into higher vibratory states of consciousness, it is essential that we have a willingness to allow change. Without the willingness to change, there can be no waking up.

How then can we be more receptive to this process of what is essentially a process of dissolution and of rebirth? And how can we trust that we will be safe and supported as we surrender?

Let’s re-examine what exactly surrender means. It means giving our current, limited and blocked small self away—in exchange for a vastly expanded Self. We do this by surrendering it to the Divine. When we give permission for this dissolution process to happen, the possibility is there for the limited egoic personality to drop away, making way for a new, more integrated and balanced awareness to emerge.

However, it is impossible to jump from a very limited, rigid form of personality, such as we live in, in the third dimension, into the Self that is a vast Eternal Presence. It is too big a leap and simply does not happen. Rather, what can take place are many smaller shifts, spread out over time. This makes the journey much more comfortable and bearable for us, and thus we are less likely to fall prey to an ever-present danger—that of becoming discouraged and giving up the journey. Often it is a lack of feeling safe that turns us away from the path.

Processing work offers us a way of being conscious of the transitions we are making and gives us a feeling of being solidly supported as we shift. It is a systematic, step-by-step examination of the blocks in the ego and is a way to dissolve them. It allows us to shift incrementally, giving us time to accommodate to the shifts, which in turn allows us to feel comfortable. We learn, more gradually, to ground and live in a balanced way as we integrate each shift into our physical body and our lifestyle.

This may sound like a slow path, but actually it is the secret of the fast path. The approach of using techniques to dissolve ego means being able to feel grounded each step of the way, it lessens resistance and allows us to move easily toward and through the next doorway. While learning to let go may seem hard at first, it gets easier with practice until, pretty soon, one’s life becomes a flow of transformation, moving easily and freely toward full enlightenment.

What does it take to do serious processing work? Well, first it is important to realize that it is the ego that stands between us and knowing our Eternal Self. Once we have “got” that realization clearly we will be ready. The next step is to understand that “you are not the ego”. Even just hearing this information, or reading it on this page creates a measure of liberation. The ego is a false identity given to us by the conditioning process that we go through in childhood. After we are born, the world around us gives us feedback about ourselves. We get a body, a name, a personality, a whole identity—in short an ego—and by this we are defined in the world. Eventually even we are left believing that it is who we truly are—and sadly, that it is all we are. But we are not that limited. The ego is not all that we are—our true and real nature is Spirit. We are eternal, timeless, immortal, spiritual beings—more like a wave of light than anything else, in our manifest form. Awakening makes us increasingly aware of ourselves as a flow of consciousness—a river of light.

Processing the ego will strip away all those false identifications and attachments, increasingly bringing in the clear knowing of our real Self. When processing techniques are based on absolute principles of Truth, they will gradually peel away the layers of the ego’s transitory beliefs, thoughts and emotions—all those things that give rise to our limiting behaviours. Since it is ego and only ego that veils our light, peeling it away will eventually reveal our innate and very real state of pure beingness—our enlightenment—that which is real and eternal—that which we truly are.

Because processing the ego leads to an actual deconstructing of all the patterns and contracts that keep us in the separate state, our light body is able to descend to where it becomes completely anchored in the physical body. In fact, without deconstructing the egoic programs, the light body must “float” above or outside the ego, which holds sway over the physical body.

In the third dimension, the egoic mind controls the body and this keeps the old order in place. Thus, when we wish to tap into higher planes of consciousness, we have to “leave” the physical body. This makes us live and act in an ungrounded way. Not only that, it puts a ceiling on our growth because the feeling of being ungrounded would stop the ego from letting go completely. Letting go would make us feel unstable and our life intolerably ungrounded. The ego, which still has control, would never permit it. Then the seeker becomes mired and stuck, usually without any idea why progress is being held up. And in hunting around for the reason, the seeker often resorts to taking side trips into peripheral facets of spirituality that serve no purpose but to entertain and waste huge amounts of time. Ultimately there are no shortcuts around the ego processing thing. It has to be dealt with. No real acceleration of the vibration can take place without the grounding of each new stage of development into the body and into daily life.

Even though processing may seem tedious at best, and painful at worst, the willingness to learn the principles and apply them diligently does become the shortcut to the dissolution of our patterning. Once we have learned a method of processing, we become capable of applying it with such swiftness and acuity that the egoic walls come tumbling down. As with anything, once you get good at it, it becomes easy, and even fun.

The journey to awakening is a magical, mystery tour. Even in the seriousness of working with the ego, it is possible to have enormous fun and experience huge joy as you watch your consciousness expand and your life blossom. But it does take being impeccable in using processing methods to create a swift and effective dissolution of all the programming that fixates us into the “old” world. When we do this we are in the world but not of it.

It is always important to be in synch with the times in which we live. And right now the times are demanding that we respond to the call of Spirit. There is such tremendous acceleration of the vibration of consciousness happening now, that we have no choice but to walk through the doorway in front of us. This has become almost a daily call. If we ignore it, we suffer. Processing allows us to function in the world and process our blocks simultaneously. If we can rise to the occasion, we can move very fast. There is so much support and grace unraveling the old programs—it is easier than it has ever been in the past. This is the perfect time to be waking up!