WILL-O'-THE-WISP

 
Look at your own shadow. It seems so near to you. It is adjoining you, but you cannot grasp it nor overtake it in a race. You may chase your shadow till doomsday, but it will still evade you and remain a bit ahead of you.

Seeking God through the ego-mind is like trying to overtake your own shadow. It cannot be done, not because God is in any way far off, but because you can never get the real through the false. The real is gained only when the false is given up.

God is nearer to you than your own shadow. In fact, He is not only within you, but He is your very self. You cannot get at Him, for you seek Him through the ego-mind which converts Him into the will-o'-the-wisp. The ego-mind must meet actual death if God is to be seen and realized.