Thank you so much Open - there is so much here that rings bells and inspires a deeper exploration.

Primarily, I feel the absolute depth, beauty and comprehensive nature of the Openhand philosophy...how it so beautifully and eloquently shines light on the threads of truth within the many spiritual disciplines ... I am realizing just how precise and nuanced this is... at every point there is a sense of truth that can be realized and then continuously deepened....I am feeling so much gratitude for the beauty of Openhand's reflection.

Secondly, I feel how beautiful it is that the truth meets us where our consciousness is and invites the next step of unravelling...it's not all at once (maybe sometimes it is)...in this there is an amazing invitation to be fully in the experience one is in...and the perception one has at this moment. Even if one is in a struggle to, berating oneself to, pushing oneself to do something, get it right etc...there is the welcoming of all that is stirring inside...all these energies...and to not need to do anything about them - just welcome all that is constellating right now without any need to fix it or fix oneself...yet be conscious in it...attentive and feeling all that is arising and shaping and squeezing and tightening...and work through it ...I see it like a tailor who is threading the needle through the density of material and then back out again...over and over.

At the moment, I am perceiving that, although it is the movement of unity consciousness as the Soul that is creating the unravelling, it seems to engage the ego through the feelings of dissatisfaction/depression/anxiety/existential crisis...it seems that the ego "agrees" to go along with the Soul as the ego/sense of self perceives there will be relief for itself, that what ails the person mentally, emotionally and physically will be fixed by becoming itself enlightened. I feel love for this process, this experience, compassion for the suffering that is being experienced and joy at the potential within it. I imagine this is why when it is seen that the ego will not get what it wants out of the process, there is a sense of manipulation and upset that gets pointed at whatever seemed to be promising the ego's new riches (that may be oneself or an outside figure). And at the same time I hear these words...it was never for you (the collection of identities taken as me)...it was never a crown you could wear upon your head...though I feel that many of the practices that one might engage in to open to soul's movement will benefit the well being of the person (collection of identities) - I certainly have found a much greater degree of peace and well being simply through knowing that all of the machinations that go on are not essential to who I am. There has been a gradual settling down of the identities' machinations. And yet the shadow element eventually yields to the Soul...how beautiful it is that the shadow element itself surrenders to the majesty of the Soul.

You said..."Later on, when the ego has more or less completely gone and only fragments remain, the question then is, 'who' now is guiding the show? How does that happen if there's no identity? Well, there still is personality, which we may call the soul-ray-harmonic, that plays in a particular way in given circumstances depending on the individual harmony. Within that is the ray 3, the interpreter, which naturally picks up the flow, interprets the flow of events through synchronicity, and attunes the sense of direction that's being channeled and guided. It's the antenna so to speak."

This spikes very strongly for me...distortions of ray 3 are often spinning me in circles of self-doubt and second guessing - always presenting a million possibilities (perhaps that has something to do with the third eye as well)? And yet I feel some sort of joy at the way ray 3 operates ...I recognize elements of its aligned expression.

Thanks so much for this incredible exploration and reflection!!!

Jen