FOREWORD

Welcome to Out of the Darkness Into the Light. You will find that this book contains three distinct sections. Section I will focus more on the intellectual understanding needed to move from the darkness to the light. This understanding has nothing to do with intelligence. It is a contextual shift in the way that one perceives the universe and ones place in it. As you read this section you may become tripped up on the language. The rule of thumb when reading this kind of content is to take what you get. When you reread this material later you will find kernels of truth that you missed the first time. Although getting something intellectually is important, it is far removed from experiencing an idea as a reality in your life. For example you can tell someone what it is like to tie their shoes, or ride a bike, or make love to someone, but all of these descriptions pale in comparison to the real thing. However, without an intellectual understanding of the processes you are involved in as a human, it is difficult to frame experiences. It would be like building a wonderful skyscraper but leaving out the infrastructure. Unless you can language your experience it is very difficult to share it with others and sharing it with others is exactly what makes it real for you. Section II deals with the heart and within this section I present more concrete experiences from my own life and that of other individuals. Hopefully, this will shed some light on your own process of awakening.

The choice of the title for the book is not coincidental. Having suffered from depression and anxieties for a great part of my life I have come to know what the darkness is. The interesting thing about any form of mental illness is that it forces one into some states of being that one would never voluntarily go. In the space of darkness, separation, and emptiness that depression takes one to, one is confronted with who am I in a more profound way than any other I know of. It certainly makes moving into the light all the more challenging. Section III is a reflection of my many years as an educator. This section allows you to record and work out your own experience of moving from the darkness to the light. While I dont believe that any step by step process will lead one to enlightenment (If you do this, this, this, and this then you will get it) I do believe that writing things down to reflect upon later can be very helpful. I hope you find this book helpful as you move through your own process of transformation! ~ Dennis Soares 6/10/12

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ONE

OUT OF THE DARKNESS

Recognizing that there is nothing really new to say, I decided to write this book anyway. Perhaps, it is more for me than anyone else. I will let you be the judge of that. It seems the more one talks, reads, and writes about ideas pertaining to Self, the clearer things become. At least this has been so for me. In any event Spirit said write something and, consequently, here I go! For many the beginning of the transformative process makes little sense. Everything seems different, as a friend once remarked. Often people are confronted with much upheaval including the loss of jobs and even the end of marriages. There is a sense that somehow the Universe has been turned upside down and old ways of thinking no longer work. And yet we wonder why this should be so. I am being transformed; shouldnt life get easier or at least better? By degrees you realize that transformation isnt what you thought it was going to be. This can be rather upsetting. When at once you believe you have figured it out and at the same moment also are aware that you know nothing, you are humbled. So why should one leave the darkness in the first place? Good question. Its one that I asked myself during the first few years of my own awakening back in the early 80s. The nice thing about the darkness is that one can easily play the role of

victim. After all, the world and the people living in it are really doing it to you. You know that wonderful word THEM, that we all love to use when we feel victimized. What most people dont see is that underlying this approach to life is a total loss of authentic power. You cannot experience being powerful if you are the effect of your external circumstances on a daily basis. Surprisingly many choose this road over the road to Self discovery. This begs the question, why? Fundamentally, the answer to this question can be summed up in two simple sentences. Humans dislike change and would rather continue doing (and being) what is comfortable. We also prefer to be right rather than happy. So what do we need to change and what are we being right about? Well that could be the subject of a whole other book but I will address it briefly here. In order to move from the darkness to let your light shine, and be at Peace, several things are required of you. First, you must surrender the notion that there is a them or other out there. What you see in your Universe is a manifestation of what you think and believe. If you believe there is attack, you will experience it and react to it in like manner. Second, you must come to the conscious conclusion that being right is irrelevant. Your mind will always strive to be right at all costs. In order to make others wrong you must first assume that you are right. The challenge encountered with this way of thinking becomes clear when you examine where

you originally learned to think the way that you think. Lastly, you must dissolve the notion that separation exists in the Universe. As long as you hold on to this notion there will be other and them to deal with. How can any of these ideas realistically be accomplished? I started off this book by saying that in the beginning everything seems different. Well, as you move through the transformative process things become more the same. That is to say that as you continually put into practice the principle of Oneness (no separation) the results of this practice show up in your life. It is not unlike learning to play the guitar. In the beginning everything seems foreign and uncomfortable. You may even say to yourself, I will never be that good. As you persevere you notice that it gets easier to handle the guitar until after a while you are not even aware of the complexity of what you are doing, moment by moment. And so it is with this process called transformation. CONFUSION How is it that we got from there to here and how do we get back there? If the hypothesis be true, that we are all One, then how is it at times that it looks and seems so real that just the opposite is true? Better yet ask a neighbor or friend if he or she can see that part of themselves that is Hitler or Bin Laden. No, no, not me, I could never be that kind of person, is the customary response. We have come to believe that we mostly live in isolation. What we do here, in our country, is our 3

business and will not impact the rest of the planet. Nothing could be further from the truth. Its no small wonder that tens of millions of Americans suffer from depression and countless others from substance abuse. While the quantity of stuff we accumulate increases, the proportion of Peace we experience decreases. Who am I becomes the question most often asked followed by an endless search for the answer. Confusion reigns as we look everywhere but within. You know, you have to be still and listen from within to even approach answering the question, who am I. Amid the clamor and confusion presented to us each and every day this can be mighty tough to do. Nonetheless being is the only way out of the darkness. One needs to travel back in time to what is commonly known as the past, in order to gain some understanding of how we got from there to here. Actually, there have been groups of people who have understood their relationship to nature, each other, and the universe as a whole. Some Native American tribes fit this description. Other aboriginal peoples on the continents also fit this description. While these groups had their own belief systems, rituals, and organizational structures there was one constant they lived in a win-win society where all were valued and appreciated. Very little sense of separation existed since the survival of the community depended on each individual doing what was required. A sense of purposefulness was built into the culture. It is not my intention to idealize these cultures over the one that we are currently living in but merely to point out that men and women have lived 4

in this kind of harmony. It is so ironic that modern conquering nations have felt compelled to rid these peoples of their primitive cultures. Today many are taking a deeper look at these cultures and what they have to offer us. Miguel Ruiz and his book based on the Toltec culture, The Four Agreements, is but one of many good examples. Upon closer inspection one finds that with the advent of mass agriculture, surplus of food, and the ability to create individual ownership and wealth came a multitude of challenges that we are still addressing today. Just think about it for a moment. If one owns stuff then it follows almost naturally that one will need to protect and defend this stuff lest it be stolen or damaged in some way. After all, this is my stuff, isnt it? This brings up an interesting dilemma namely, how do I live with stuff in my life and remain detached from that stuff. Think for a moment about your car being stolen or your home being robbed. What emotions do you think you would experience should either of these events occur? The fact is that most of us on the planet are extremely attached to our stuff, whether we realize it or not. I would go so far as to say that often we think we are our stuff. This clearly explains the number of suicides that occurred right after the stock market crash of 1929. So it looks like we have a paradox. The paradox being that many have more stuff than ever but are more fearful and attached to their stuff then ever before. Add to this a lack of peace and satisfaction with living and one begins to wonder if all the stuff is worth it. Before we go off the deep end here, be very clear that the stuff is not the problem. Stuff is there to be used and enjoyed; however, it is not 5

even remotely connected to who you are. As you practice seeing your stuff for what it is, stuff, you will become less attached to it and more willing to let it flow into and out of your life without fear or resentment. So without blaming the agricultural or industrial revolution for our current state of being we can investigate some of the key issues that keep the confusion rolling in our lives and where the exit doors are. Throughout this section I have referred to the notion of moving from there to here and then again back to there. If you have stuck with me thus far you may be wondering just what I am talking about. The descriptions that follow might be helpful to clarify any confusion. (It has been my experience that when it is too easy to get something, attention is not given). There- Our natural state of being where we experience oneness, connectedness and completeness. In this state what is, is. Individuals recognize that presence within sometimes by calling it Christ, Buddha, and many other names. When you are There all possibilities exist and the present moment is all that there is. You are cause in your universe. Here- Forgetting where There is or even that there is a There. Separation, fear, doubt, anxiety, attachment, being-right and the perception that one is the effect of the universe. This is not a bad place, only far short of what is possible. There is the recognition that language is woefully inadequate to describe some of the concepts that I wish to present. Let it be clear that 6

the world of apparent opposites does not exist; it is an illusion. In the same way there is no There or Here except as a convenient tool to convey ideas. Returning back to the darkness for a moment lets examine some of the things that keep us entangled in this space. It might be useful to go on a little adventure. Imagine for a moment that you are stranded on a deserted island. With the exception of a few plants and animals, fish in the sea, and the meager nourishment that this island provides, you are alone. Actually, there are a few case histories of this kind of scenario taking place off of the coast of California and other locations around the world. When one begins to look at identity (who am I) a revelation occurs. It seems that a large part of our personal identity is derived from our interactions with others, namely humans. Since this kind of contact is really not available in our deserted island scenario, how does one continue to sustain this identity? Perhaps an even more intriguing question would be, Can one sustain this personal identity, or is it inevitable that one would go mad over a period of time. The case histories suggest that madness is not the only outcome. However, the individuals did lose much of the separation that was formerly experienced. For those that survived, one for 18 years, they became One with nearly everything on the island including the wild animals, plants, fish, weather, sand, mountain, ocean, etc. There was almost no sense of time and virtually no separation. This moment Now was all that really mattered.

So whats the point of this scenario? Well, reflect for a moment on how often you are not in the Now, or not in the moment. If you are like most other humans I know, myself included, most of your time is spent either replaying the past or being concerned about the future. Since the past and future dont exist, except for in this moment Now, this is a big waste of time. What the deserted island scenario teaches us is that we have forgotten that there is a distinction to be made between who I am as Self, and my individual personality. Quite often when people are asked, So who are you? they will respond with what they do in life. Answers such as I am a teacher, doctor, lawyer, housewife are common, but they do not answer the question. The individual who has survived on a deserted island for a number of years, alone, is clear about who he/she is. This clarity has nothing to do with what she owns, how proud he is of his skills, how much power he/she demonstrates by manipulating others. It has little to do with the individual personality, domesticated into them from birth. On the contrary this knowingness comes from deep within and cannot accurately be described in words. Should you have the pleasure of meeting such a person you will know that they know and cant tell. Now we can return back to the confusion. It is nothing more than a misunderstanding of ones true self, ones true nature. We are blinded by personality and the minds attempt to control and be right. You can break through. It will take time and determination. You may suffer a little or a lot. The process will be complete when it is. The process begins by putting one foot in front of the other and 8

rejecting what is false, the illusion. Can you do this? Absolutely. Do you want to engage in moving out of the darkness and into the light? Only you know the answer to this question. A Course In Miracles calls itself a required course. So it is with the awakening process. Sooner or later there will be a fork in the road and you will be asked to engage yourself in the process. How will you choose?

AWAKENING In the previous section the focus of the conversation was on confusion. Assuming that one incorporates some of the principles mentioned in that section, and makes them a daily practice, one would move to a new level that I call awakening. In this space something new shows up. There is a remembrance of what it was like to be a child. There is a sense of power and a connectedness with a Source, vaguely remembered. For those who have

been in a stupor of confusion for years the experience of awakening can be profound, even overwhelming. For others the experience of awakening generates much fear because a kind of competition develops between the old self and the new Self. Anyone who has studied humans and human behavior will tell you that we are creatures of habit. We love having certainty in our lives in terms of where we live, what we do for a living, who we are in relationship and who we think we are. Awakening puts us in an uncertain place where each of these habitual ways of being are slowly called into question. It is as if we have lived our lives in a small box and now the box has expanded. What do we do with this new space? Some even have the profound realization that they are no longer even in the box! Wow, what does this do to our comfort zone? There are a number of predictable responses to the awakening process. The first is to embrace it while keeping a sharp eye out for how it is going to fail you (waiting for the other shoe to drop). The second is to reject it and move back into whatever comfort zone one is accustomed to. The third is to pretend that it never happened and hope that it never happens again. The fourth is to take responsibility for the start of ones own personal transformation. Why would one reject something that is so obviously good for us? For those who have traveled this road the answer is simple- awakening and what lies beyond, does not come without a price. This can mean that we experience what is commonly called suffering, as one lets go of misperceptions. To shake off old ways of being that 10

dont work is not easy. It must become a daily and sometimes momentary practice. For some this is too much to ask and they find it infinitely easier to continue living a life of confusion. Looking at it from a strictly whats in it for me perspective here are some observations about the awakening process: 1) You can avoid the awakening process and live in confusion.You may even be happy for long periods of time. Almost certainly you will experience your life as a victim or as a victim of your circumstances. Because you have not explored Self, you will never know Self. 2) Your natural state is that of Love, Peace, and Connectedness. To those who believe that humans are born with an innate tendency to be warlike or hold some kind of original sin that they must purge themselves of, I flatly reject these notions. If anything we are conditioned, or as Miguel Ruiz would say domesticated to think and behave in ways that are inconsistent with our true nature. Having said this, the awakening process is as natural as life/living itself. Each of us wants to remember and Be who we really are, not what we were programmed to be.. 3) The thing that stops us is the same thing that stops us in most other areas of our lives fear. Fear of what? Fear that we will fall short? Fear of failing? Fear of the uncertainty? Fear of what others might think or say about us as we awaken and try to describe what is indescribable. I can clearly remember telling everyone I knew about my transformational process in the early 80s and 11

feeling like each and everyone of these people thought I was crazy or in some kind of a cult. For a while this shut me down and I stopped sharing. Then I realized what was going on. The people I was sharing with did not want to move into the space I was in. They were comfortable just where they were and did not want change. The ideas I shared were very different from the fundamental views they held. There was fear and rejection, or at least perceived rejection on my part. It has been said in many different ways that in life there is always a payoff for your words and deeds. This need not be construed as either positive or negative, but rather whats so. For example you and I go to work with the anticipation of a payoff called a paycheck on a periodic basis. If one engages in an 8 week meditation class the intention going in is usually to create more inner peace or develop ones meditation skills. I could continue with many other examples. Sometimes it is very difficult to see the payoff in our words and actions. We must really look carefully to see just what our expectations are. For those that remain in confusion there is a payoff. Please note that there is no implication here that being in confusion is a bad place. On the other hand those that choose to awaken are not necessarily better off than those that prefer the darkness. Each choice does have a payoff, however. From a personal perspective I have not met many people who have chosen to remain in the confusion and darkness who possess a sense of aliveness or joy in their lives. Now, they may be totally unaware of the impact they have on others 12

but nonetheless it exists. When the external circumstances dictate how you are going to be in the world you cannot help but be a victim. Whether you believe that your are one or not is inconsequential, because this is how you will be perceived. Remaining in the darkness and confusion does have its payoffs. You have the privilege of being right and at the same time making others wrong. This way of thinking very naturally evolves because you are caught up in a system in which you are the victim. Others are doing it to you on a regular basis. The circumstances dictate happiness. It reaches a climax when you come to the decision that you would rather be right than happy. What is most interesting about this cycle is that often you cannot see it until you have moved beyond it. Why would anyone choose to stay here? Because it is safer and more comfortable than the alternative. Once you walk through the doorway of awakening there really is no turning back. Just the smallest taste of transformation, which is like a powerful drug, and you will not be willing to settle for the darkness and confusion any longer. If you dont want to play the awakening game then it is better to remain ignorant that youre ignorant because once you know that there is another choice the old ways will no longer satisfy you. I stated before that A Course In Miracles says it is a required course. In other words your life is the Course and one way or another you are going to get to it. For those that believe in reincarnation this notion extends into other lifetimes. My thinking about this is simple, why put off until tomorrow what you can do today, to paraphrase the book 13

Think and Grow Rich. The only real work to do during your lifetime is your inner work. The awakened spirit may or may not find the process enjoyable. In my experiences with many individuals it is usually tough to grapple with this new Self-perception. Very often there is a feeling of it is impossible to live as cause in my universe. As so it is in the beginning for most. Your life goes under the microscope by you and you alone. Examination takes place of your thoughts, words, and deeds. What isnt working in your life will annoy you in such a way that you may wish that you could go back through the doorway to confusion and unconsciousness. This attempt to escape will be temporary and in vain. It is your Self that you are attempting to escape from, and wherever You go you take your Self with you. If the picture that I am painting looks to you like one of hopelessness and death you are getting the point. Even the scriptures say that you must die to the old Self in order to reveal and let shine the new Self. As a snake sheds its old skin so that the new can be revealed, so it is with us. And, this process of dying is not without suffering. Hopefully you will only suffer a short time the fruits of the promised land and the promise, Ye are sons and daughters of the most high, will manifest themselves. Once one makes the contextual shift from effect to cause all manner of forces will work together to show the individual that this has always been so, just not at the moment realized. It is very easy for me to say this now, that the universe I see is a reflection of my thinking, but there was a time when I rejected this notion. How could I be 14

attracting all these events and people into my life? How could I be the cause of three marriages, two of which ended in divorce? How could I possibly be the cause of my own unhappiness? Coming from the point of view of victim all of these notions were really difficult to swallow and yet somehow I heard a pearl of truth in what Spirit was saying to me. The deeper I looked I saw that the single common denominator I found in all of these events was that I was present when they happened. What I formerly saw as accidental (victim) I came to see as an interconnectedness of events, each ending in a perfect outcome, which have brought me to where I am now. Thus began my initial awakening and for countless of millions of people that preceded me. The primary ingredient in the awakening process is nothing more than willingness. Are you willing to give up being right? Are you willing to shift your context for your life? Are you willing to declare and seize the Good that awaits you? Are you willing to see the perfection in ALL the events in your life and on the planet? If you are then the next level opens up to you. If you are not willing then you will continue to look for an outside cause, for what is wrong, and someone to tell you how to fix it. No one can. Only you have the answers for you and you are perfectly equipped and able to find these answers, if you are willing.

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We hope that you have enjoyed what you have read so far and would like to continue on and see what other words of wisdom the author has to share. You can follow the link below to purchase Out of the Darkness Into the Light as well as learn more about the author Dennis Soares. We also hope you share this book sample and URL with your friends. http://dennissoares.com

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