Point 6 – Holy Strength, Holy Faith

Most simply, Holy Faith is due to the recognition of Essence. By recognition, we mean the direct experience of Essence as one’s true existence (Holy Truth), as perfect existence (Holy Perfection), and as intrinsically good and loving existence (Holy Love). To completely recognize Essence means to recognize the three qualities of satchitananda—that it is a real presence, that it is intrinsically good, and that it is just the way things are supposed to be. We can refer to this realization of Essence as Holy Strength, meaning that the strength of the soul lies in its nature as Essence. Perceiving this truth is seeing one’s nature through this Holy Idea. The fact that Essence is the fundamental nature of the soul is its objective strength, and is what gives the soul its feeling of strength. To perceive this truth is to know one’s reality through the lens of Holy Strength. Holy Faith, then, is the effect of this realization or recognition upon the soul. Another way of stating this insight is that Holy Strength is the perception that the inner nature of the human being is Essence, and that as a result of this perception, the transformation that occurs in the soul is Holy Faith. So we are differentiating between the recognition of Essence as the inner truth of the soul and the effect of this experience on the soul. Holy Faith is a kind of knowledge, then, a conviction, a certainty. This use of the word faith is different from the conventional use of the term, which refers to a mental belief that is not based on our direct experience, but rather, on what we’ve been told by someone.......... See also p247. We have explored Holy Strength, which is the direct experiential recognition of Essence and its truth, its lovingness, and its perfection—the recognition that it is our essence, our innate nature. And we have seen how Holy Faith is the transformation that occurs in the soul consequent to the experience of Holy Strength. When the soul recognizes Essence, we see that this is what gives us strength and courage, and this transforms the soul through the action of what we call Holy Faith—not faith about a person or a particular thing, but faith in reality, in Essence. This faith is a heartfelt certainty, an unquestioned conviction that Essence is one’s innate nature. Along with this knowing comes the perception that it is constant and reliable, and you—rather than it—come and go. If you really know that Essence is your nature, to say that it comes and goes doesn’t make any more sense than saying that the atoms of your body come and go. Your perception of it might come and go, but that doesn’t mean that your inner nature comes and goes, as one often feels early on in the Work.