Humility Exalts the Self

Neville's Inner Vision

The two men are states of consciousness, not merely individuals. The tax collector embodies the state that gladly admits 'I am not yet whole' and thus turns inward to the I AM, while the Pharisee embodies a mind clinging to outward rules and self-importance. The line 'every one that exalts himself shall be abased' points to the inner collapse of a consciousness that trusts in performance rather than Being. When you align with the I AM — the awareness that you are already the self who is justified — you feel a natural exalting, not through egoic display but through inner recognition. Practice the inner revision: declare, in the depths of your consciousness, that you are justified now, that the inner man is complete, and let the imagined feeling of wholeness displace the old posture of pride. In this shift, the external judgments lose their grip and your sense of self rises from within, made holy by awareness, not earned by effort.