This is a good question, because it seeks to penetrate to the heart of the matter of spiritual accomplishment. Thank you, dear one, for offering this query to be put before my beloved students at this time.

As I look at my precious students and view their efforts (yes, even struggles) toward enlightenment, I do see there is one thing that holds everyone back. The complex part, however, is that it presents differently (at least to the human eye) in every case. In truth, every person has flows of creative energy coursing through them, which creates continually that which one would call his/her "reality." The problem, however, is that this "reality" isn't Real. Each has the daunting task of differentiating between what is Real, and what is only really experienced.

As you attend to the issues which cloud the human experience from fully embodying divine essence, you notice that there are different areas where different individuals get stuck, or perhaps trapped in repeating patterns. For some, poverty consciousness permeates their "reality." Now if such is not your issue, you may be able to pierce a deeper truth -- even for this other one who is steeped in poverty consciousness. However, if such is your issue, it is likely that you will believe it is Real, even though the truth is that such is only the way you are experiencing it.

The same is true no matter where one's primary issues lie. For those with control issues it does really feel like they should be in control. For those with anger issues, it does really feel like someone or something outside themselves is trying to make them mad. For the one with greed issues, the felt sense is very likely to be that he/she really should have more than others. Pride issues arise when one's "reality" seems to demonstrate that they really are better than others. Paranoid issues, which might be obviously erroneous to an objective observer, seem Real to the one who experiences them.

Of course, we could go on in this manner for the gamut of emotional and perceptual reactions people experience in their daily lives. The answer, clearly enough, is not in those reactions, since such are quite varied person to person, even experience to experience for a given person. Each must investigate deeply her/his own psyche to see if discovery can be made of what underlies those reactions.

As you might guess, this is not a new question. Spiritual seekers have been asking it of themselves for as long as people have been spiritually seeking. Several centuries ago, there was a group of Christian contemplatives (men) who withdrew to the desert to ponder this very thing. They eventually became known as "The Desert Fathers," for they spent years in prayer and contemplation trying to answer the burning question: "What stands between me and God?" The level of self scrutiny many of them accomplished is both profound and noteworthy of seekers today.

That which has always managed to "stand between" one and the Divine is the same thing that causes individuals to suffer. It is the same as that which causes divisiveness in a group of individuals or a family cluster. In fact, it is what is the root cause of all one's problems. No matter how they appear to arise, they are born, fed and supported by this one element. Wouldn't it be nice if each of you could see "it" rearing "its" ugly little face every time this type of consciousness grabs hold of your psyche? Actually, you can see it. You just have to remember to look for its presence. For many, however, it is easier to run from "it" than to seek it out in their own creative process.

It hides within the recesses of the mind, directing your perceptions. "It" is really only the function of how you hold the awarenesses you make about your creative environment. This is to say, "it" is the driver that guides your mental perceptions, forces and reinforces your projections, and causes you believe in them, perhaps even try to enforce them upon others. "It" arises from the energy in your solar plexus chakra, which is the very seat of the "I" or the "Me" awareness. "It" is very powerful, and seems to arise in all naturalness. However, while it may be natural to the experience of the "I," it is not the true (shall we say "normal"?) state of being.

It is an affected state of awareness that seeks to reinforce past experiences in a repetitive, cyclic manner. "It" even facilitates individuals becoming bored with life, generating the belief that one has "seen it all," and there is nothing new or precious about any arising moment. In truth, "it" demonstrates a rather tragic element within the human psyche, for "it" robs one of the ability to arise fresh in each and every moment, experiencing the wonder of Creation in all Her many living forms. Rather, "it" dulls the awareness capacity, and spreads not only boredom, but spiritual blindness and deafness as well. Such disables the creative psyche to perceive what really is. Rather, one sees only what appears to be reflective of past perceptions and experiences. In a perceived need to label these repeating perceptions, one may designate the perceptions as Real. Once this happens, that individual has no choice but to experience them as such (this is what we call "karma"), and continue raising the repeating perceptions until some experience short circuits the repetitive pattern, offering the possibility of breaking through.

In the general experience of cyclic existence, this breaking through may take lifetimes. There is, however, another way to approach the whole matter that actually facilitates this "breaking through." In fact, such is precisely what seekers of all spiritual traditions ultimately come to experience. The discovery is that the mind is a very tricky creator, and it colludes with the ego to generate a false "reality" by reinforcing old perceptions and patterns. The "breaking through" is the process of learning to see, feel, experience and know outside the box of the mind. In fact, this is the very thing that each of you is trying to accomplish, although you may approach it in seemingly quite varied ways. The tyrant, the oppressor, the deluder is none other than the mind burdened with the weight of previous perceptions defined by an ego that raises itself as a sort of competing element for the experience of Essence, the True Self.

It is the misnotion of holding the ego as Essence that retards the process of spiritual accomplishment. In other words, mistaking "what is really experienced" for what is "Real" thwarts the whole process of opening to one's divine potentiality. For example, believing in one's limitations to a greater extent than believing in one's own infinite potential causes one to experience those perceived limitations over and over again. Here you have to be a bit circumspect, for some have felt that the answer is to simply deny those perceived limitations (in which case, you may have noticed, they seem to become even stronger). What is more to the point is to consider whether you can experience those limitations that arise for your learning (recognizing such is your karma), and still hold the truth of your infinite potential. Such is the real work of your spiritual path. Celebrate it, and celebrate yourself for making the journey.