What is this essence that we are being called to? It is love, it is truth, and it is the wisdom of our soul. Our essence is the way God created us. It is not a state of feeling. It is a state of being. The light of God shines through the core of our being and gives to us those God-qualities with which we were created.

The capacity to perceive truth is one such quality (see, Tonality). The capacity to love others with God's love - to love others as souls - is another (see, Friendship). The innocence and joy of knowing that we have been created with a sacred purpose - a purpose that can fill us with deepest joy while simultaneously serving the welfare of all is a third (see, Living With Integrity. In the essential core of our being is the capacity to perceive sacredness in all that we do - the capacity to recognize ourselves and others as holy beings, learning to live life in God.

In the ordinary way of looking at things, such a life may appear difficult to achieve if not impossible. In the ordinary way of looking at things, it may appear that our individual desires and the welfare of the whole are often at odds. This is because we not infrequently find ourselves wanting to do things that are in conflict with what the world or some part of it wants or expects of us. Yet, from the perspective of sacred reality, all who most deeply live from the core of their being find values and desires within themselves that fit in harmoniously with the values of others' deepest selves. This is the basis for peace. It is the basis for harmony between people.

The key to harmony is depth of perception regarding who the 'self' is. It is our capacity for truth and for reality. Without this, surface conflict causes big or little wars over unclear issues. With this, the discrepancy lessens between what 'I' want and what 'you' or 'they' want, as we are all seen to be similar in the most important ways. It is only then that peace becomes possible. It is only then that "all can be fed" because all are of concern to us.

To perceive oneness with others requires that we perceive their highest intentions which are close to our own, not their lowest intentions which drive us apart. It also requires that we perceive our own highest intentions. When we do so, things that seemed of importance to us as sources of conflict become less important. We are not 'here' and others 'there'. We are not of one kind and others of another kind. "All can be fed" when all are seen to be souls similar to ourselves, and this takes place when the perception of the 'self' deepens, enhancing our understanding of who we are and who 'they' are.

The deepening of the perception of 'self' and the expansion of inner reality lives at the heart of the purification process. It brings to us a fuller understanding of our own possibilities, and a deeper yearning to expand these possibilities for others. In this progression, there is a journey to be taken into greater truth and honesty with respect to light and darkness within ourselves (see, Light and Darkness). Sometimes this journey is hard, but ultimately it takes us back to our own beginnings - to the state of innocence and purity we had at the time of creation. The end of this journey gives us the capacity to lead a sacred life, a joyful life, a love-filled life. It gives us the capacity to see souls everywhere and to experience God everywhere as well.

This is God's promise of redemption, the vision of life as it was meant to be lived. We fulfill it by joining our desire with God's desire for us that we return home. This is the Covenant made with God at the beginning of time, and it is the destiny of every soul.