Guarding the Inner Fire

Neville's Inner Vision

I tell you, the 'evil woman' is a symbol of a state of consciousness that flutters after sensation and flattery. The body’s theatre of desire does not threaten a steadfast I AM mind unless you drink its images. See denial of the image as a form of fire: can you carry it in your bosom without burning? No. So you turn away from the flame by turning your attention to your true nature—the awareness that you are, and always have been, complete. When a suggestion of lust or attachment arises, you do not fight it; you revise your scene: 'I am the I AM, untouched by passing appearances.' In this inner state, the foolish chase of outward beauty loses its power, for beauty is already contained in your own awareness. The moment you dwell in identification with your state rather than with the temptation, the heat dissipates and the path becomes safe. You remain holy ground, not because temptation disappears, but because you have changed the actor within.