What is temptation, actually?
I would like to (at least for a moment) get away from necessarily religious definitions here, and explore the notion of temptation as it actually is, personally and practically. The problem with having it be solely religious is that it takes on a distant, unrelatable, irrelevant air; a concept at best. Temptation doesn’t “come from” God, it comes from us; the mire of our own making. God, being perfect Love and Intelligence, doesn’t “test” us with temptation in the way many of us might think, however helpful it may be to conceptualize it in this way. To illustrate, it may be helpful when facing times of difficulty, say, in making new choices around habits or addictions, or when at the crossroads of impactful life-decisions to say “I am being tested,” or “God is testing me.” I think this is fundamentally incorrect even if moderately assistive to the human psyche.
So, what is happening then, when faced with challenges of our own making? Or better yet, overcoming them? Physiologically speaking it is said simply here : You create new neural pathways through neuroplasticity by consistently challenging your brain with novelty, learning new skills (language, instrument, art), engaging in physical exercise, practicing mindfulness/meditation, and getting quality sleep, all of which force your brain to build new connections through repetition and focused effort, strengthening desired circuits while weakening old ones (compiled summary from various sources).
As we will continue to explore via the writings of this blog, we find and prove that there is always a meeting place at the material and spiritual, the scientific and the ethereal, the effect and the cause, and here — physiological pathways and faithful fortitude. THEY ARE NOT SEPARATE. We can discuss these concepts in many ways, and therefore, eventual meaning for each individual can be found. Preferring spiritual language for its affect on the heart and endless capacity for emotive stirring, I appreciate the underlying acknowledgment that God is impossible to quantify, even if He can be talked about scientifically. Reformation always pertains to the heart and yet, we often need to penetrate the intellect as the first point of contact or inception. I digress.
What is temptation? It is the coming up against our own unholy residue. (My own definition). It is the part of us/our consciousness that is still impure, often regarding a specific facet of life that still needs work, still needs looking at. It is God, our Highest Will and Aspect, saying this—here, still falls short of Me, of what I AM. So regarding the first paragraph above, it is “we who are testing ourselves against the flame of Purity or Perfection.” There is no guilt here from God, being mutually exclusive (God and guilt). But the self will accumulate guilt of the human’s own making…when aware of his/her choice, failing to live up to the Light of their own Potential. God shows us this choice if we ask for It, ask for His Will be done in our lives, which is always what we want. This is the paradox, difficult to write and to convey — 2 wants, 2 wills, 2 masters. Note the capital letters, representing an attempt to convey Higher Will. We have fabricated a false will, the lower will, antithetical to God’s in every way. We have given it authority to act and think, to direct our lives to every wayward end. This creates the residue we must come up against. If we are to flourish, we must purify; we must make holy that which isn’t. Thank God we are not alone in this most Holy Task. The help available is Legion beyond measure. Except, we must will it. We must meet God in relationship, in mind and in heart, to have the Universe at our beck and call. God does not act uninvited. This is prayer. Petition. Holy Decree. Law. What good would Free-Will be, if not absolutely Free?
To become One with God then, requires the discipline to learn His Will; to have Him prove to the mind and heart that It is better, in every way, at all times…than that which is done or desired without. Divine Desire —Will, with no room for the other “master.” A faith built surely and steadily, brick by brick, on the conquest of each trial, every temptation. With each thought-habit fallen short, happily offered to God. If it takes 100 times, or 1,000, or 10,000, I will to look at it. To be brave with the light of attention, of the consciousness I AM, upon that lurking-mire, that gross thought- feeling-habit time and again, each nuance and layer of it. To spend time with it, curious. To explore innocently, adventurously.
Why is it there?
I must have let it seep in, somewhere. Sometime. Taken root…
Might it be lighter to let it go? Freer? or to have it refined?
Why yes! It simply is not ME.
More expansive? More loving? Who will I be when shed of this former identity?
What relief. What reprieve. What Liberation has been heretofore unknown?
To hold it steadily, serenely, in the stillness of my own sancteous temple—that innermost sanctuary with the Holiest of Holies, My Master God-Self, I AM.
Each particle of sediment, each layer of debris, knowing every thought can be a gift made pure. Amen. This is the great-rewiring of myself; that neuroplasticity, that holy choice in the face of every temptation.
Realizing we can’t win against an addiction “this year,” “tomorrow,” or even “today,” time itself being the ego’s friend. God being the Eternal Present Now. Presence. It is only ‘Here’ we ever need to work (or enjoy - they really are the same when the Will is One). Only ‘Now’ I don’t need that drink (if facing alcoholism), or to snap at my partner (if tempering anger). Just right now, this time, purify and redirect my thoughts (if struggling with objectification or pornography), et cetera, ad nauseum. In time did we create discord, and unfathomable accumulations. Let God use the time we made to collapse it all into the Eternal, Real, Now, where every help is available to those who ask. And asking is all that is required; but to do it with a pure heart, a sincerity for change, even with His Patience, in seeming time… and the knowing that in the face of temptation, God’s Power and Command against whatever is your trouble is likened to the morning sun rising against a shadow. The darkness does not fight back, it simply ceases to exist.
Why must we do it?
Because of how good it feels.
I can recall several encounters with religiously-minded people who argue with me on this point, conflating the ego’s “chasing of good feelings” with the ones gifted that pass all understanding through humbled and disciplined earning. I stand then, these ones do not yet know how “indelible that fount” to be vibrating, pulsing, humming with the Love of God. There is no drug (and I have sampled them nearly all), no earthly thrill, that holds a candle to the blissful nectar of purification and reunification. One taste, has been enough to direct my entire life upon that Upward Ladder. And each day we should strive to dine, moment by moment with Him and our Holy Siblings. This IS the preparation; the refiner’s fire. How much better will be the endless feast?
