The Inner Smoke of Belief

Neville's Inner Vision

All that the verse calls torment is the interior effect of identifying with a belief that you are separate from the One Life. The 'beast' is the busy ego clinging to power, status, and the image it projects; the 'mark' is the stubborn commitment to a story that you are less than whole. The smoke that rises forever is the stream of thoughts and images that refuse to let you rest in the I AM. But the moment you stop worshiping that image and return your attention to awareness, the whole scene dissolves into a single, tranquil presence. You are not here to judge others for their allegiance; you are invited to shift your allegiance from fear-based thinking to the eternal I AM within. When you stand as the awareness that knows no lack, the 'torment' loses its charge, the 'never-rest' becomes a rest beyond time, and the symbol of power fades into insignificance. The 'forever' is simply the length of your current belief; you can end it by choosing a greater assumption about who you are and what your world is.