There are many ways out of the still point but none of them satisfy. What do I mean by that? The still point is where the two oceans meet, where the self in the world meets The Self itself.

We can hardly bear to rest at the still point because it asks us to be still and know. The little self wants to think and do. It is ignorant of what silence has to offer.

All of our inner crimes are committed when we are away from the Self. Of course in one sense, we cannot really leave it. But the illusion that we can is often permanent. Most die in this state of sleep.

Awakening is not easy nor is it comfortable. It is a fire into which the ego is thrown, ready or not.

The deaths go from microscopic to the final crucifixion. All we can do is witness.

The dance of life is often beautiful and often terrible. Sometimes sweet and sometimes sad. The Self invites us to dance with it and if we do, grace carries us around the floor of this old world.

If ego dances alone or partners with another ego, nothing real happens, for reality is only about the Self.

I crave the dance with God and fear it at the same time, for sometimes the rhythm is more than I can bear. It has caused me to tremble before Him and flee back into my ignorance.

The payment is this. If you choose to dance with Him, you must follow His footsteps, which lead into hell and darkness. But at the end, you will be taken out of the dream and rest in Him until the last stars go out.

Vicki Woodyard