A popular televangelist preaches to his flock on the ‘power of I am.’ The jist of his sermon is that anything is possible if you have the faith to believe it. Instead of saying, ‘I am weak,’ you say, ‘I am strong.’ Instead of thinking, ‘I am stupid,’ you think, ‘I am smart.’ Instead of thinking, ‘I am a failure,’ you think, ‘I am successful.’ Instead of thinking that everyone hates you, you think that everyone loves you. In other words, if you don’t like who you are or what your circumstances are, all you have to do is change your way of thinking.

It certainly is possible that following this formula could temporarily alleviate the suffering of the illusionary separate self, or, as Richard Sylvester might say, at least make our personal prison a little more comfortable. Apparently the pastor’s message has helped millions to more fulfilling lives. But if he truly wanted to free his flock, he could take it one step further. Or one step back . . .

To cling to the idea of a personal self that has ‘the faith to believe’ is like identifying with a wave on the ocean – a wave rises from the ocean, flows for a time on its surface, and then is absorbed back into its depths. And that is the nature of all experiences of the body-mind. No matter how hard we try to hang on to our qualities, our activities, our relationships, our beliefs, they are no more lasting than a wave on the ocean.

Staying with the same metaphor, if the ocean is the source of all waves, what is the source of all qualities of the body-mind, of all appearances of the world?

We can say I am this or I am that, but what happens when we take one step back and simply say I am? What is the essence of our being when all attachments are set aside and we stand alone as I am?

The power of I am is . . . I Am. Period. Not I am this or I am that. Simply I Am – that knowing presence that exists in you, in all of us, prior to, during, and after all appearances arise, linger, and disappear. Actually, this knowing presence doesn’t exist in us. We, that is, the idea of we, exist in it, as it.

And just as the ocean continues to be itself regardless of the waves that come and go on its surface, I Am, or pure knowing, is unwavering and ever-present regardless of whatever appears to be happening in the body, mind, or world.

Relax as this unencumbered I Am-ness. Explore its boundaries and find them non-existent. Explore its origin and find it has no beginning or end. In the instant recognition of its infinite and eternal nature, experience that there can be only one, and with this understanding, dissolve into your, our, essential nature of limitless peace, beauty, and love.

This is the true power of I Am.