484 thoughts on “The Way of The Livingness – The Light Outside Plato’s Cave”

1. Thanks to The Way of the Livingness I am no longer a cave dweller.

2. ‘The reality was however, I was not playing with this light, this light was playing with me. At NO time did the light of the spirit show me that there was a light outside the cave.’ That’s the thing about the light of the spirit, it will only show us what keeps us in the shadows and no more, a sort of spiritual congestion. Your experience mirrors mine, Joel; in all my spiritual seeking not one person touched on the fact that there is life outside the cave.

3. That Plato’s allegory of the cave was written 2515 years ago is amazing. It just goes to show some ancient texts are still as relevant today as they were all those yesterdays ago.

4. Agree Elizabeth it is high time and absolutely necessary for humanity and this planet that we wake up to our responsibility to live from the harmony of the soul.

5. I had never heard of this allegory before but it is so pertinent it just shows life really for the set up it is. I think a big aspect of the being the master of the false light is not wanting to admit you have been tricked and pride plays a big part in not going beyond this to the true light.

6. I had not heard this story before and have found it to be a simple way that explains much of the illusion that traps us to the point we see it as our reality. I also appreciate that it is not just about getting out of the cave but about noticing we are in the cave and that we are being manipulated.

7. When you are in the mud and all you see, breathe and eat is the mud that is your reality, it takes someone else who does not live in the mud at all to come along and show everyone a way out of the mud. This is what is occurring in our current times. My question to humanity is, are you sick to death and had enough of seeing, breathing and eating mud, are you ready to step away from what we have all had a hand in creating?

8. Joel thanks for a readable simple explanation of what is going on and how we are tricked in story form, as this way it sometimes makes it easier to understand how controlled we are by the false light.

9. The part that really gets me in this story is the persons who stand behind the flames, casting the shadows. How cowardly to remain hidden whilst others are trapped. And I know that this still happens today, especially with our current media culture, where words and images are being used to manipulate people and as such – withhold the truth.

   1. I immediately want to defend them/us who are in this illusion by saying they don’t know they are the puppets of the shadows but that is just a lie, we know full well we are manipulating the shadows and thus to plead ignorance of the true light of the world outside the cave is a great ill that we just keep feeding.

10. The fact that this story has stood the test of time, and is still relevant more than 2500 years later.. this in itself is an indicator that we haven’t really evolved much as a species: still for the most part distracted by false lights, although with a growing number starting to question how we live and the purpose of life.

11. Oh, I really love the update – that the light of the Soul doesn’t care whether we are inside or outside of the cave, and waits for every single one of us to get out ever so patiently. The love we are being offered is just enormous. It knows and trusts in what we truly are, far more than we are allowing ourselves to do so ourselves.

    1. It is just a consistent pulse of building love forever waiting without judgement, I always feel enormously humbled when I feel the quality of God.

12. I think we can think of the way we see as being limited to only our physical eyes and with that just react to life on a surface level or we can also sense from our whole body deeper levels of what is really going on and get a clearer perception of the whole picture…

    1. And therein lies one of our greatest manipulation by relying on this sense only. I imagine those born blind or partially sighted have chosen that this life to accelerate their evolution as they will always be feeling first.

13. ‘Society is walking around thinking we have advanced, yet war, starvation, slavery, greed and abuse are still commonplace.’ Very true Joel, modern society tends to turn a blind eye to all this, but one only has to look at the current statistics on disease and illness to know that there is something wrong with the way we are living.

    1. Very true but it has become so normal that we don’t see it can be any other way. It seems like the attitude that ‘man has had conflict with me and that is just the way it is’. Yet it doesn’t need to be ‘the way it is’ because it presumes that we have no choice and we do, we are one of those ‘men’ and therefore we can be the change we want to see in our lives.

14. Knowing that the light outside and all around us is always waiting for the reconnection is very humbling.

15. What a joy to read this again, absolutely perfect to read today – thank you Joel for the clarity you write with exposing the mastership of the shadows.

16. It is indeed an illusion that we can play with the light within the cave, it plays we us and keeps us separate from the one true source, the light of our soul.

17. Understanding the difference between Spirit and Soul is a fundamental key to understanding the workings of the ‘cave’ and to then leave it.

    1. Yes and this blog really supports us to understand the game that is at play to keep us in the illusion of not understanding the difference between them and how they play out.

18. Truly beautiful Joel. Such an exemplary, simple and clear depiction of the illusion we live in.

19. By observing what is unfolding in our world today it is so obvious to me that in most areas of our lives we have not even put a toe outside the cave and in some cases, we have even retreated further back into the shadows where we stubbornly choose to remain. A very curious choice it is to stay in the shadows but perhaps by making that choice we would need to begin to trust the innate sense that we have always had that there is more to life than staring at the wall of the cave; and the responsibility that will come from making that choice is way too scary.

    1. That’s where having the understanding of the spirit is so important as presented by Universal Medicine without that understanding nothing makes any sense.

20. When explained as you do here, it so clearly shows the difference between spirit and soul. I’ve always know the story of the cave from Plato and it’s had a deep resonance, and what you offer here expands my understanding of how we are with light, the true light and the false one, and how supported we are so each of us can live the true light we are.

21. The realization that we are mere shadows of ourselves is a great one because is true. Yet, unfortunately for many, most of what is on offer as an alternative is not ‘it’ either. This becomes particularly obvious when you realize that it is the Spirit running the shadow show and offering you its false light. The Soul does not have the spirit tactics. It just waits for you to come back to it.

22. Wow 2515 years and still we have the same issues as back then. Humanity really has taken a long long long time to evolve!

    1. Long, long, long time as far as I can see we have not evolved at all if not just dug our heels in deeper.

23. I do think we can be ‘prisoners’ of beliefs and ideals that we’ve taken on, false images that warp our perception of life. But through reconnecting with and honouring our whole body we can begin to unlock ourselves and regain our true sight…

24. The soul is something we all know absolutely yet it is the one we fear to live the most. By making the false light our ‘normal’ we’ve forgotten the soul is our true normal.

25. ‘Society is walking around thinking we have advanced, yet war, starvation, slavery, greed and abuse are still commonplace.’ We are so caught up in making life better, dancing to shadows intent on not noticing things aren’t progressing at all. And then when we notice the false light of spirit we stop and think, wow, it’s so much brighter than the shadows this is it. How wonderful to step out of the cave and feel the true light. I’ve been determined to make the shadows work but they will never work. I’ve tried so hard to believe in the false light but deep within I have always known it is false; and I’ve been afraid of being disappointed by the true light to not step outside the cave for long. There are many people I know who are stepping out and inspiring me to do likewise.

26. Do we not all question the meaning of life? The, what are we here to do? Why are we here? How did we end up here constant pondering. Yet, when presented with an answer we can very quickly dismiss it as crazy, wacky talk or disillusion…

27. There is a huge difference between the light of the spirit and the light of the soul. The soul cares about the human being, while the spirit does not. This is why it is important to know which one we are operating under.

28. Just the fact that Plato’s analogy is still incredibly relevant shows that we have not progressed much in the last few hundred years. The world may look like it’s progressing, better cars, better homes, better technology, slightly less war – it looks better but underneath nothings really changed, surely this has to be a bit of a wake up call for us – in what kind of world do we truly want to live in?

29. The consciousness that we are living in does hold us all captive, not fully aware that there is so much more to us than what we think. But we are the masters of this because we have created this false world and many of us then blame God for not rescueing us from it, because we can feel it is not a true way to live.

30. It is like in life we don’t look for something deeper but just invest in trying to make the shadow more stimulating to avoid feeling the angst that we know this isn’t it- tv, replaced with netflix, increase in music, cartoons and video games with faster and faster images and brighter screens. Nothing is able to quench the yearning for more from an outside movement- it will never be enough, as our movement needs to be within.

31. It is interesting that in this story the ‘prisoners’ are free to go and at any time, yet the story considers them prisoners.

32. I have always loved this Plato allegory … it’s truth resonated with me on a deep level. For that is what we all will come to understand one day being in the cave we’re only learning how to be in the cave but never how to live outside it, and outside is where the truth of who we are is.

33. ‘So what is going on that philosophers and writers keep coming back to this idea that there is something more about life that we are just not getting? Could there be some germ of truth that people can feel, but are unable to fully articulate? Could it be that we carry some level of unease or tension while looking at the walls of the cave?’ For this to be a thought or even a feeling of an unarticulated thought, then it has to come from somewhere – this consciousness doesn’t exist in a vacuum and so has to therefore be credible. Nothing comes from nothing, something always comes from something. We have to know that there is something else, otherwise we wouldn’t be feeling a tension in life!

34. Joel this is brilliant – Plato’s cave is a great analogy for how we take steps from the darkness into the light, it seems to me the direction of our gaze is everything, then it becomes a question of which way do we choose to look – to the shadows or to the light?

    1. And that we persist and don’t be put off by what we see.

       1. Absolutely, no matter what we see or feel or experience the ability to continue on and not give up is vital.

35. It makes sense that there is more to life than we currently are aware of because the shadows that have dominated our world are full of lies and deceit. It is only when we reconnect with our soul that the simple truths of life really make themselves evidently known.

36. Wow Plato nailed it all those years ago . The simplicity of truth I love it thanks Joel.

37. Like a soap opera, this shadow play can keep us entertained, distracted and addicted. But if we remember that it’s simply not true, that is the first step to moving outside and into the light of life as it truly is. It might be awkward at first but the long term consequences of saying yes to this are profound. Thank you Joel.

38. I feel moved reading this. Especially grateful to Serge Benhayon and many others who showed me that the cave and it’s shadows are all an illusion and that as long as I stay in that cave I am feeding it.

    1. Yes, I too am especially grateful to Serge Benhayon and many others for stepping out from the cave and showing us all what is possible.

39. In knowing the soul, and looking back at a life that was lived without the soul, I can unequivocally say, there is no true joy in life without knowing the soul. Nothing in life can ever be the same once the soul is known.

40. “The Way of The Livingness reminds us that we all have equal access to this light” A light that casts no shadows.

41. Eventually we all have to look at the shadows and recognise them for what they are – shadows.

42. Even if we have been in a cave with shadows from birth, and possibly many lives beforehand, we all know truth. We know there is more than the cave and whilst when we step out of the cave the light may take some adjustment for our eyes, we can’t deny its truth.

43. It’s a well kept secret that we do not live who we are. The key for me was another presenting that there is 2 much different Lights. That messenger (Serge Benhayon) presented from that knowing Light so I could clearly feel the difference and now know how to connect to the true essence and being that I am.

44. Whether we are still sitting looking at the shadows on the wall or are the masters behind the flames we are puppets who cannot see the light outside. What’s also interesting to me is that many of those behind the flames will feel free and look to the light outside and think that it is not as free. How often do we confuse obedience to the impulses of our Soul, to God, as a restriction of our freedom, not acknowledging or accepting that wherever we are, inside or outside the cave, we are being obedient. The difference is when we are obedient to our Soul, we are connected to everything, and yet when we are obedient to our spirit (still in the cave behind the flames) we think we are free and yet our potential is limited to the confines of the cave.

    1. It is impossible to show another that they are entrapped when they believe they are free. If we choose true freedom for ourselves others will see the truth of this choice and choose freedom too.

45. “Captivity is not forced but is sustained by ensuring its residents do not know any other way for life to be”. Ignorance is the key to keep people trapped in an unreal world and offering them something which resembles but is a small crumb of the whole to distract and entertain them. This is our 3rd dimensional human life, which we think is all about the career, marriage, kids, house etc. It keeps us running around in circles acquiring things and struggling with the everyday, so we never look up and opt out of this merry-go-round.

46. This among other things so exposes the Spiritual New Age, just encouraging us to learn to be masters of the shadows and others in the shadows, but all the time everyone stays in the cave … and in fact outside is the grand light we are all equally from, and your additional final clarification Joel, is important, for all are given equal access to understanding where they are from and often sent messengers who know the light of who we are to remind us that the shadows are not it … we are so loved.

47. “The reality was however, I was not playing with this light, this light was playing with me.”

    We are the creators of our own reality who dare not look up for fear of catching glimpse of the strings that pull us.

48. Such a powerful article Joel, at times we may get hooked by the shadows but thankfully Universal Medicine has supported countless people worldwide to awaken to deep wisdom and truth and to embrace the light of the Soul and to feel how magical life then becomes, eventually leaving no room for the shadows at all.

49. How amazing is it that Plato’s analogy is stil relevant today, it shows we really haven’t moved terribly far forward as a human race in that we still think what we see is IT, but there is so so much to life than what we see and when we start to discover this we start to discover the magic of life.

50. I thank God, and the light of the Soul, for showing us a life beyond the shadows. I too still get lured/caught by the shadows, but am loving that through the presentations of Universal Medicine, that I know there is more to life.

51. We create the cave where we will live in. We construct the shadows we later become. Yet, we can also decide to leave the cave and say bye to the shadows and accept (and become) the light we are.

52. We don’t know what we don’t know, but we actually do know that which we claim that we do not know. There is incessant yearning. We do know and miss the light outside the cave very much.

53. Great article Joel, on living in the cave with the shadows or coming out into the light outside the cave, true wisdom is ageless, always giving us an opportunity to see beyond the shadows that so enthral and hold us in the falseness of this life. I am thank full to have had the light shown to me that little by little accepting that light the shadows are slowly dissipating.

54. How many times have I heard that ‘everything is energy, and therefore because of energy’? How many presentations have I seen on the fact that we are multi-dimensional beings? And yet so often I find myself at the end of the day (like today) completely sucked into a two dimensional view of life. When I see the world this way its truly like I dwell in the cave you describe Joel, peeking at the shadows. But what a waste when it’s the energy behind it all that truly produces everything and pulls the strings. I am no longer satisfied to stare at a shady hues when I can know life by it’s true light.

55. Your timeless reference to Plato is inspiring. I am astonished and how thrilling those shadows on the wall can be but I am so glad that Universal Medicine continues to present another Way to live that has no boundaries, I am reminded of life outside the cave from each staff member of Universal Medicine, each time I visit.

56. To connect to the eternal flame within that burns bright is such a Joy when we are living in world that is completely dark. No wonder we don’t want to come out of the cave. The Way of The Livingness as presented by Serge Benhayon offers us the opportunity and support to let this light shine bright no matter what is going on outside of us.

57. Plato’s allegory of the cave is a pertinent today as it was then – humanity carries a deep and disturbing unsettlement around and everybody and every body is affected; the ones who are enamoured with the shadows are also masters, masters of denial and then there are others who show their discontent and unease more openly. But whatever the case may be, the true light, the light of the Soul, is outside the cave.

58. Great to come back to this today and to renew the knowing that ‘ I can still be lured by the promise of having control over the shadows.’ and to refresh my relationship with this, renouncing any investment I may have in this and sticking with the absolute truth in absolute love.

59. There has to be more to life than what we are currently living and everyone does know this. If we didn’t know this we would be content with what we have but the rising depression in the world shows that we all know that there is more otherwise we wouldn’t be feeling this gap. People are craving deeper connection- living the rat race does not offer us nourishment of the soul.

60. It’s a powerful allegory to which you refer Joel. Reading this today, I cannot but consider what may yet ‘entertain’ my vision – keeping me ‘entrained’ to a certain level of awareness in and of life… keeping me from having a quality of vision that is actually universal.
    We can be so content to keep ourselves busy with what is before us, entertained by its outplay and indeed the carrots that may lure us into thinking that certain things are of importance, when they are actually not so – when one considers the All of which we are an intrinsic part.

61. For so much of our life we look for something greater, something better, an improvement of our ‘quality of life’. But the whole time as you say Joel, we are simply stuck starring at shadows, not the real deal. The grandness of our Soul is way beyond and outside the typical way we see the world. We need to set aside our ‘world view’ and look anew with eyes that know Love, our light and the truth.

62. “The reality was however, I was not playing with this light, this light was playing with me. At NO time did the light of the spirit show me that there was a light outside the cave. In fact, the light of the spirit has one goal and one goal alone… to keep me in the cave. It doesn’t mind if I sit numb, watching the shadows or become someone that cast shadows for others. Either way, I stay in the cave.” Beautifully exposed Joel, this is the illusion we are caught in, thinking we are the one controlling our light and our lives, but the truth is when we truly open our eyes we can see we are being played with and we are puppets to a light whose sole purpose is to make sure we never connect to our true light, the light outside the cave, and the light we come from.

63. Brilliant. Every time I read this I understand more deeply what is being presented in Plato’s allegory and by Universal Medicine.

64. Thank you Joel, it’s a read that takes me very deeply into myself. We seem to be in a world that has forgotten how life can be, of what our true origins are, and what our potential is. Thank goodness people like Serge Benhayon have been sent into the cave to awaken us to the true light of the soul – life in the shadows is no fun.

65. Knowing that there is either light or darkness, even though the darkness can parade as a false light, is something to keep at our forefront and make a very real part of our day. The more we do this the more responsibility we see we have to be the light for others so they too can come out of the shadows.

    1. Well said James for knowing that ‘darkness can parade as a false light’ wakes us up to the fact that the glamour and illusion we create from our reactions and emotions only serve to distract and discombobulate us all the more.

       1. They sure do however tantalising they may appear, if they do not come with the vibration of love then ultimately they are only going to foster separation and individuality.

66. Even though I have been aware of this third realm for many years I am still amazed and blown away when I connect to it and have very tangible experiences of it being very much real. I almost instantly chose to live as if that realm is not part of me. So beautiful to read this again and be reminded again that the realm of the temporal is just one realm and that we are governed and influenced by so much more, either in divinity or not.

67. “The light of the Soul continues to wait patiently, even sending people into the cave from time to time – people who know what the shadows on the wall really are, so that others might also begin to get a sense that there is something else..” I love this ending Joel. People like Serge Benhayon are sent into the cave to be a reflection for us all so that we too may know there is something else and another way to live – and reflect in our turn.

68. I love this blog. I love the understanding it brings of how the shadows in the world we have created obscures our view so much so that they are only shade or a version we see. But what I am realising is that when we don’t become aware of or get shown the door to the cave that takes us out to the natural light and clarity of the sun, we will be forever haunted by the shadows darkness and gloom.

69. There are moments when I first meet someone there can be a moment of sensing they are taken by surprise. This I’m realising is very possibly they are adjusting to the light. My choice is to hold the light I know I am with-in and this allows them to adjust very quickly. If I go into any form of reaction then the light has dimmed and we go both go on jumping to the tune of shadows.

70. LOVED reading this wonderful piece again Joel. Sometimes we need to have these metaphorical analogies for us to see the reality of this world in a different way. The world is certainly not a healthy place at the moment and no matter what we try to do nothing changes. But could it be more than we think? If the analogy here is true then we can’t just look at the physical for the answers as it lies equally in the energy (shadows, hidden lies in other words).

71. “At NO time did the light of the spirit show me that there was a light outside the cave. In fact, the light of the spirit has one goal and one goal alone… to keep me in the cave.” When we understand and accept that we do not think but simply have thoughts passing through us from either the shadow masters or the light outside the cave, depending on which stream of thoughts we align to, we will realise that we have a choice and a responsibility to go outside the cave.

72. The description of life in the cave, lived in and by the light of the spirit is so apt as even if in a crowded room or talking with someone I can feel like I am in a cave, in the dark by myself. Life lived in and with the light of the Soul I feel connected to everyone and there is a strong feeling of lightness within me and towards others.

73. The allegory of Plato’s cave is as real and pertinent today as it was then – as long as we stay inside the cave, we stay in the comfort of our habits and varying degrees of discomfort, despair, unease and downright misery for some whilst entertaining the illusion of having true choices.The only true choice we do have is between staying inside the cave or stepping outside into the light.

74. Joel, this is such a powerful piece of writing. It holds the key to our salvation. Very acuate expose of the illusion we live in.

75. I love the fact that no matter where we are we can connect to the light of our soul. It is always there for us to choose at any time to connect and shine brightly for all to see. To remind each other of our true light.

    1. Yes Chan it really is a simple choice, it is crazy how much we complicate it and choose otherwise.

76. A brilliant and timeless allegory delicately presented for our times. You and Plato make life so simple Joel – the questions become so basic every day: Are you stuck in the shadows or standing in the light? Are you entertained by the shapes the flame makes? Or have you seen the true source of it all? Do you make it about the small ‘me’ or serving God and humanity? Are you contracted today or embracing expansion in every way? These questions help us return to the truth of our life, without the need for trouble and strife.

    1. Awesome comment Joseph, you express so beautifully. Reading your comment feels like I am singing along your lines with words of absolute truth and wisdom.

77. It looks like we have an investment in keeping life like it is. We only look for solutions and never question ourselves what is at the root of all of this. In fact, when we look back in history nothing really is changing. We still have wars, greed, bullying, slavery etc. and at the same time we have the impression that we have advanced, so do these solutions actually bring what we expect them to bring? That is a question we rarely ask ourselves. And this is what this false light does with us; the light does not allow us to see the simple reality we are in and to ask the questions that are so needed. You can say that in a way we are fostering this light and we never tend to go outside the rules that it has laid out for us, rules we think we are not allowed to trespass.

78. Such a beautiful sharing by Plato and then you Joel, and what a simple allegory for the way we are in life. Even after reading this I can see that I have had a tendency to find ‘new’ parts of the false light to be entertained by, instead of clearly and precisely choosing to walk out of the cave. In this way we’re like beggars on the side of the road who settle for a few coins from passers by, while all the time, we have in our pocket a case of jewels.

79. It is such a powerful image of the majority being trapped by watching the shadows in the cave and gives such a sense of the dis-ease that most live with in their bodies because we can all feel that there is more. Those who give power to the mind can exert that we have advanced as a society but the prevalence of war and dis-harmony around the globe is stark evidence that we are still trapped and just finding more extreme ways of harming each other. This is why it is imperative that those who find their way out of the cave support those who have yet to do so by reflecting that there is an alternative way of life.

80. Thank you Joel we are blessed to be living in a time when we now have constant reflections of the Light of the Soul both through other people but also though writings such as this blog which exposes the lie we have been sold for so long and how we always have the option to turn away from the shadows and embrace the light outside the cave.

81. Reading your blog again Joel reminds me to continuously discern which is the true light and which the false light, as they can be very similar when I use my eyes and my head to discern, but when I connect to the intelligence of my body, it naturally knows which is the light of our soul.

82. This article is a very easy read and makes a lot of sense. At times I feel I walk in and out of the cave in the one moment if that’s possible. I remember feeling there was so much more to life and wondering how it all came together, in other words seeing that the shadows in the cave weren’t true. Universal Medicine, Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness support the exposure of the shadows. As I said because we have lived in the cave for so long at different points I will still walk back in depending on what is in front of me. It’s a relearn, a return to a way of being that I left when we went into the cave. I don’t need help to walk out of the cave as I already know how to, the support that’s needed is to bring more and more awareness to what I already feel. Expose the fact that I have been sold shadows on the wall.

83. We are surrounded by the light outside the cave and it is there all the time. There is no criteria to meet, no secret password or handshake needed to enter, all we have to do is step in to it. The light outside the door doesn’t come knocking to tell us it is there, but it is constantly there for us to feel. When trapped inside the cave I always had a feeling there was more. It was my choice what I did with that feeling. Thank God for Serge Benhayon, all the Benhayons and more who give us a helping hand out of the cave. But at the end of the day it is only us who can take that step out and then we realise the entrapment was nothing but self imposed.

84. “Society is walking around thinking we have advanced, yet war, starvation, slavery, greed and abuse are still commonplace. So it seems that for the most part, we are still looking at shadows.” So true – and society clings to defending how far we have evolved materially – as if that was the be-all and end-all. Those who ‘have’ are no happier than the ‘have-nots’. I am so grateful to Universal Medicine for opening my eyes to the fact there is more to life than existing and doing ‘better’. One day The Way of The Livingness will be chosen as the Way – by all.

85. I love reading this blog Joel for the deep wisdom and truth you have shared. After spending many years in the cave I ended up feeling very lost and empty, I feel very blessed that I was introduced to The Way of The Livingness where I re-connected to my essence and felt the truth of life outside the cave and the many shadows that had tricked me in the past. Life has never been so joyful and truly loving since I walked away from the cave and embraced the light on offer.

86. Absolute gold – and yes, so very very true Joel. We can update Plato’s parable with the fact that a growing number now will willingly go back into the cave once they have reconnected with the light of their essence outside of the cave, and yet they will venture back in – because once we rekindle the light of our soul, we know this light belongs to absolutely everyone and we want to go back into the cave, letting our fellow brothers and sisters see and remember that there is something more than the shadows, and that it is OK, very OK to venture outside into the light that we once lost and harboured the fear and devastation of never finding it again.

87. Beautifully summed up Joel the three ways of living life on this planet , the temporal life in the day to day living, or the light of the spirit or the true light we are from, our Soul, we wander this earth desperately seeking to fill the emptiness of the shadows when the light outside the cave lives eternally with in us, each and everyone.

88. The clarity and awareness that Serge Benhayon presents on the difference between spirit and Soul makes such sense and brings such a deeper understanding of life. Having this clarity gives us the understanding to make clearer choices in our life, something that is totally priceless.

89. Thousands of years on and your words ‘Society is walking around thinking we have advanced, yet war, starvation, slavery, greed and abuse are still commonplace’ we are still going around in the same circle yet we have not taken in that there must be a different way of living to eliminate war, starvation, greed and abuse. When we live from our heart first there is always another way.

90. This is also a timeless peice of writing Joel, I think most of the worlds population is sick and tired of being in the cave and are looking to break free of it but the distractions have been turned up to keep us from getting past the false light, therefore those that do manage to break free have to live as true as possible to show the others the real path away from the false light.

91. “It can be easy to become enamoured with the notion of light or energy but the critical question is, is this the light from inside or outside the cave?”
    Indeed this is the critical question Joel and it is incumbent on each one of us to choose whether we live inside or outside the cave; a powerfull and inspirational analogy.
    I love what you have presented here Joel, so much to ponder, thank you.

92. “Universal Medicine presents the possibility that we each live in three realms”.
    I love what you have written with regard to the three realms we each live in (temporal life, the light and life of spirit and the realm of the Soul). This makes sense of how easily we can be fooled to remain imprisoned in our own cave rather than returning to the truth of who we are – Love.

93. Even after you come to the truth, there is still a re-occuring tendency to come back to this idea that the shadow play is all there is. So thank God for people like Serge Benhayon and you Joel, who consistently present that not only does the light exist but its available to you right now, right here if you just choose to let go and walk out where its clear. What a beautiful blog to remind us all of the true light of life.

94. Extraordinary blog, worthy of reflection and embracing.

95. There is no doubt that what Plato wrote in The Cave is atemporal and reflects a deep understanding of life. The thing is that we enter in the cave business by choice and choose to remain there until we choose otherwise. Of course, there are powerful forces ‘inviting’ us to do so (the wrongly called ‘masters’). Yet, they do not compare with the light and power that awaits us outside of the cave/cage. Our future is there waiting for us.

96. Marvellous, I love re-reading this time and again. Thank you Joel – a true philosopher.

97. I too embraced the light of the spirit with the false promises of answers to the questions I had been asking for what seemed forever, but when introduced to Universal Medicine and The Way of The Livingness suddenly the “shadows” in the cave were exposed for what they truly were; a total illusion. I could finally see that there was another way of living, one that took just one step out of the cave to connect to, but my spirit was determined to keep me in the cave, as that had been its comfortable refuge for so long. To finally come to that awareness made it so much easier to take that first step out of the cave and into a light that felt so familiar that I knew that I wasn’t going anywhere but I was actually returning home.

98. I can feel the fear in me to fully commit to the light of the soul. This fear is based on an attachment to what is tangibly on this earth, in this life and the need for these attachments. I feel safe in the shadows but what is offered in the shadows is finite and cannot come with me- in fact the shadows are holding me back from my true connection to me and to humanity.

99. The Ageless Wisdom is forever present waiting for us all to feel the true light.

100. Joel, thanks for being one of those who venture back into the cave so that those in it experience the quality of the light you and we all come from.

101. We may not be aware of it but all we are in the cave of our own choice. All we have to do is turn around to see the deceit and pointlessness of a life controlled by our spirits – the masters of the cave.

102. We think we are free, being able to make choices in the cave – the representation of our current reality of life. Yet we are completely controlled, only being able to see the shadows and light cast by our captors, rather than the brilliance of the light that is truly possible.

     1. We sure do think we are free because we are given an array of different choices but all these choices are under the same energy, in the same cave. It is a very clever trick that has been used to hold us captive by own our free will.

103. It is inspiring, liberating and empowering to realise that regardless of how far away we have walked and lived from our connection to ourselves, the light of our Soul, the moment we choose to stop and explore the ‘more’ we feel there is, we begin to return to being in connection to the light of our truth, and surrender to the light of all that we are. This is a divine testament that our divine Will is the heart of who we all equally are and is forever waiting, calling and pulling us to align to, become one with and walk in the true light of God we innately are, and are here to live.

104. Aaaaaannnndd….another ripper of a piece Joel. Thank you. You write in such a clear way that makes even seemingly complex philosophies super simple to grasp, contemplate and relate to.

105. Thank God that there are those who have made it out that go back in to help the others. This analogy is doing just that. Great blog Joel.

     1. So true Kathleen! Thank God indeed…for there would be no purpose to hanging outside the cave at all if we didn’t have all our brothers and sisters to hang out with.

     2. The beautiful thing is that once we have seen and embraced the light of our Soul we can then be one of those who also brings the light to others. There are no special or chosen ones who can do it, for we all equally can.

106. Such a clear analogy Joel, I love your writing. It is so easy to be consumed and absorbed by the shadows and not even turn around to see the light that is casting them. And even when we do, there is also a false light that pretends to be the true light to navigate. Many don’t make it past this false light for many years, or even lifetimes. Eventually the true light pulls us all though and once we accept it is the true light, no other will ever suffice or satisfy.

107. Reading this inspires me to be open to awareness and discern what there is to feel and know else I’ll continue to choose to be captivated by the shadows on the wall or the light of the spirit.

108. I can feel how much I have been living in, and of the cave – and now am learning that to master the cave, I really have to be in the cave, knowing that it is not even real, and only true way out is to keep saying yes to the light outside (which is not at all outside in fact).

109. “The Way of The Livingness showed me a way to reconnect to this true light.” When we walk free from the cave and allow our own light to guide our way, we begin to see and explore much more of life. Stepping away from the comfort opens up a whole new world, which may seem unfamiliar at first but when we feel the difference, you will see how much brighter it is outside.

110. Consider the difference – firelight is enticing, gorgeous, warming especially on a cold winters night when there is no other source of light and heat. But the difference between this and the daylight available outside the cave is so immense its sort of mind boggling.

111. Incredible Joel, I had never read this story from Plato, and found it so confirming to read now. A story that lays the path back to soul if one chooses to walk towards fire.

112. I love the analogy and the fact that so many of us are happy with what we know, even though it may not be what we want because we know it it is ok and better than the unknown! Thankfully Serge Benhayon stepped out of the cave and has shown us the wonders that we also have access to if we choose to do the same. The 1st few steps maybe shaky and the pull to the cave will always be there but the more we step into the light the more we will become familiar with it and the more it will support us – after all we are all from the light, we have just have chosen to largely live in the shadows.

113. I am glad that Serge Benhayon entered the cave and dared to say what many do not. To call out the rot of the way humanity is living in and that it is not our natural way. And to call us back into the true light.

114. This is so clearly told. Thank you Joel. For a long time, knowing there was light and shadows was enough for me, even though I felt there was more, I didn’t think it was possible to know about that. Now, because of Serge Benhayon, I know there is the light of the soul outside the cave and I know the tricks of the spirit. It has taken me a while to unravel the false light and to feel that I know the truth but this is the truth, equal for all.

115. When we surrender to Soul and move with its guidance we are anchored to what is true and can freely wander back into the cave connecting to others and reflecting to them the light of the soul waiting so patiently for their return. Holding this connection to soul allows for the absolute freedom of being of service to a world still mesmerized by shadows distracting them from the truth. Serge Benhayon and many more that I connect with in my day to day life have offered the reflection of truth allowing me to see more of what is really going on in the cave (in my life) and the ways I am being hooked into thinking that it is real. Plato had amazing insight 2515 years ago and this story is powerful in it exposing of how manipulative the masters in the cave are and still are. Very exposing of how stuck humanity is but beautiful to know that energetically we can read what is true and start to discern which light is the light coming from soul.

116. There are a lot of stories, about princesses, dragons, anti-heroes and villains. we can study them for hours for all that they show us about life and ourselves in it. But rarely do they show us with such accuracy the real condition of the human spirit such as with this blog, so beautifully told.

117. So many people today look to the new piece of science to tell them how to live but it is so truly humbling to look back and see the wisdom in stories of the past showing us that there is a truth that has been known for eons of how to be in life and overcome what holds us down… it is gorgeous to see The Way of the Livingness with it’s roots founded in this lineage supporting us to live and embrace the wisdom that guides us out of the cave when we are ready to see outside.

118. This is ever so poignant…”So here we are, 2515 years on, and Plato’s allegory still resonates with us. Its story rings true. Society is walking around thinking we have advanced, yet war, starvation, slavery, greed and abuse are still commonplace. So it seems that for the most part, we are still looking at shadows…” and we consider ourselves to be living in modern, technologically advanced times, but war, greed, abuse etc is still going on..

119. The soul’s light you describe here is truly divine, it is always all encompassing and inclusive of everyone equally. Your blog reminds me that we haven’t really evolved because it seems to me that humanity is still deeply captivated by the false light within the cave.

120. I lived my whole life and many lives over and over obsessing over the shadows in the cave, totally ignoring the fact of my soul and its light and life outside the cave. Teachings of Serge Benhayon showed me so clearly the falseness of the cave’s shadows and that the true light is outside the cave. Even once knowing, it has been a journey to consistently leave the cave and not remain in old ways as the attachment of the spirit to its existence is so strong and stubborn.

121. Great article Joel, it is so clear that the wisdom of the soul is ageless, as this allegory of the cave is giving us many of the answers to why life actually doesn’t work, we are looking at a world that is being created, that we are creating. While there is a light outside that shows us everything is already there, we only need to reconnect to this light making us able to see the truth of how we are living.

122. Yes this is such a great analogy for how we as a humanity live, we can analyse everything about our way of living as human beings, how the body works, how plants grow… anything. Yet if we do not know there is a spirit and a soul and different way of living these two offer we are forever stuck in thinking we know, with out truly knowing.

123. This is so profound but very simple really, Joel. We make life complicated with all the distractions we put in the way. The light outside the cave is for us all and God is very patient.

124. Universal Medicine reflects and confirms the light outside the cave, lighten the way. Our choice. Our responsibility. Our joy, possibly.

125. I feel our fatal choice is to try to make a ‘better life’ whereby ‘life’ in this sense mean the life in the cave. What is in fact more of an existing. But all the colors, emotions and sounds we create in the cave to make it better, the many ways of creation are just an illusion – no way to get really successful, really fulfilled, really complete with the shadows of a created light which is not the natural, true light we are coming from and belong to.

126. Yes. This allegory still makes sense. We live in the cave and try to make life IN it better, try to make it the best way to live…IN a cave – or in a prison, how I would call it. Thereby there is this light outside of the cave waiting for us to choose the way which will lead us out of this life, back to the stars.

127. I love how you cut with the belief of evolution being to get out of the cave and then having made it, but that it is a path that we can only walk together in brotherhood and once we have understood the game at play we are all responsible to stay in it supporting others to become aware.

128. “It can be easy to become enamored with the notion of light or energy but the critical question is, is this the light from inside or outside the cave?” Thats a great question to be asked as we are easily fooled by light as it is not the seeing, but the feeling and knowing in the body. The Way of The Livingness supports people to raise awareness about true energetic quality and to build a knowing in the body that cannot be fooled by images.

129. I remember reading the cave story in school and being super fascinated with it. It was my favorite reading and it stayed with me till today, although I never really figured the whole truth behind it, not until I got to know The Way of The Livingness.

130. Who wants to live in the shadows? It’s possible our entire lives, but the feeling of being ‘at odds’ grows uncomfortable…. and then we start to look for a different source, and this is where Universal Medicine picks up the thread showing a different way, more substantial, more real, and true.

131. Your awesome blog Joel is a very good guide line to leave this cave.

132. This is such a profound story and as you say Joel and as relevant as it was 2000 years ago. How can one determine between light and dark when one’s eyes were born to the dark. Only through inspiration and feeling our inner essence can such an illusion be lifted.

133. This is awesome Joel. It is still very relevant today- staring at the wall is like any form of distraction that we have in our modern world, the shadow makers are the systems and constructs created by us to keep people thinking in certain ways- these can be religion, education, yoga, ideals, beliefs, systems etc that deal with things in a certain way that asks us to be a certain way and not consider something else. The light outside the cave is living in connection to oneself and knowing your own truth and being able to see clearly the shadows and the false light.

134. Gorgeous blog Joel, poetic in fact. I did not know of Plato’s allegory, so was fascinated with the fact that it is still totally relevant as you point out. The shear fact that it is relevant is astonishing in itself and that we are just so loved, there is not judgement ever by the soul, or those who live outside the cave, they see where we are, but support and love us anyway until we make choices to remember who we are and can indeed step out of the cave whenever we choose to.

135. Stepping out of the cave takes courage and trust! We are fortunate we have around us so many who are living the light of their Soul if not fully then on their way to stepping out into the full light ! Serge Benhayon and his family and many who are Practitioners of Universal Medicine are lovingly supporting us to take the step out of the Cave!

136. It’s amazing how comfortable we can get with the darkness and dampness of our cave. Because we have lived a certain way for such a long time, it becomes our normal and change feels very uncomfortable. What’s great is that we do get to see people from time to time who do live outside the cave. That can be confronting in itself, because deep down we know things aren’t right and that we have settled and compromised. If we go beyond those emotions and suspend disbelief for a while, we get to glimpse what its like outside the cave and after that its a choice to either stay or keep walking.

137. I enjoyed reading your blog again this morning Joel. On a simple level it reminds me life is not just about me and my small circle, but actually there is so much more. I have discovered over the years how many shadows have held me prisoner by believing certain ideals and beliefs. Luckily I now have many people around me who have stepped out of the cave and are inspiring me to step out of my false prison.

138. Beautifully written. ‘as a species we are still held prisoner by a false light that dances on the walls in front of us, keeping us enthralled with its shadows, but that this light is not even a speck of the true light that exists outside the cave?’ Yes we most certainly are, as you say 2515 years on and we have still not truly evolved but currently going round the same circles. Definietly time to walk away from the cave and choose to live the light of the Soul. Thank goodness for Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine who lift away the veil of illusion so all may feel and see extremely clearly to make different choices in line with the Soul.

139. Those shadows are so very entrancing, although peculiarly flat and after a while, somewhat repetitive. So much more powerful to cast them, a great trip of our creative prowess. But all the while we are bound in cold stone, in the thrall of false light…yearning for the sun on our skin, and the true light of our soul patiently awaiting our inevitable return.

140. I agree Sue, there are so many lights from within the cave that make some of the most fantastic shadows and sell themselves as the answer. Then you have people willing to make the uncomfortable call that the thing you have held onto for many years may not be truth but comfort. Serge Benhayon is such a person, not because is is leading a charge out of the cave but because he is simply willing to ask the question.

141. Great story Joel, I like this analogy. It is very exposing the simple entrapment of invisible illusions of the mind and there literally is nothing keeping us from the real light but our perceptions. I am so glad Serge Benhayon is here with us today presenting that there is a way out of the cave, but whether we choose to leave, or not, is entirely up to us.

142. Has the world has moved on from people watching the shadows and the people that make the shadows or have we enamored ourselves into this is just the way it is? It is that awful comfort thing again we get stuck in and just stay there. By reaching the ‘is this it’ we find the exit of the cave and find the real light with the discover it was always with-in us where ever we go.

143. I am amazed at how patient the soul is, it never wavers from the truth which is most unlike my spirit.

144. “Breaking free of the cave is difficult because it is a life that is known and comfortable..”, I am sure there are many people who would agree with that Joel including myself! All my life I have known deep down that there is more to life that what is in the cave, and what is more I was sure that when I finally found my way out of the cave I was going to put myself straight back in to show others the way out, but got waylaid and stuck in my own comfort and many moons later am still staring at the shadows. So it is with deep gratitude to the Way of the Livingness for shining the guiding light out of the cave and reminding me of who I am and confirming the realisation that there is indeed the realm of the Soul, and another way to live that is based on the truth of who we are, and it is safe to come out of the cave.

145. Awesome blog Joel, after spending a lot of my life in the cave and chasing my tail constantly, it is incredibly empowering and inspiring to emerge from the cave and embrace the light. Thanks to Serge Benhayon for teaching the ageless wisdom that reminds us all of this simple yet powerful truth.

     1. Yes, we do have that inner knowing that there is more to life than what we currently believe our reality to be.

     2. Yes coming back to the Ageless Wisdom and the purple books of Serge Benhayon is such a support when we begin to get distracted by the shadows.

146. Joel – Its so good to finally really grasp how that allegory of Plato’s went – you went through this so well – thankyou for sharing – this is inspiring.

147. It’s amazing to feel that we can be so easily satisfied with anything less than the true light – the one outside the cave. And yet that is what we have done as a humanity – to take the comfortable choice of staying in the cave when in truth this is only an existence and bears no resemblance to the true light that we find within our inner heart, and then realise that this is just the beginning of an amazing exploration of the Ageless Wisdom and the wonders that the Universe is offering us day by day – a forever unfolding path of expansion and a life that is lived in a way that is true and sustainable.

     1. with nothing else to compare it to, the move from dark to light, becomes a celebration, but not if we remain trapped in the cave.

148. I was just listening to one of the audio presentations by Serge Benhayon where he said ‘awareness returns’ and that is exactly how I feel moving through these three realms. The Ageless Wisdom has always been around, and none of us is a complete beginner. We are returning.

     1. It is certainly a game changer to understand we are returning and not going anywhere. This means there is nothing new or scary, just an adjustment to the light we once live in 24/7

149. This is just such an amazing piece of writing. Thank you, Joel. About the second realm – “the light of the spirit has one goal and one goal alone… to keep me in the cave. It doesn’t mind if I sit numb, watching the shadows or become someone that cast shadows for others. Either way, I stay in the cave” – this is a great trap. Many manage to construct their own version of comfort or even a success, and do not want to know they have settled for a booby prize. And this ‘success’ doesn’t even look like a temporal success, as it was not in my case – as long as there is something that would make me identify myself as an individual, the ‘me’ was comfortable.

     1. I agree Fumiyo, that part of us that wants to own it all, be identified, be seen to be the one has all the answers is huge to let go off, in truth, I am still working on this one.

150. The science of the soul on earth is such an integral part of life and this has been presented by many many great teachers, and also lived in very simple daily practical ways by hundreds of thousands of people throughout time, giving us a lineage to look to in the past for encouragement and guidance. Therefore should you ever wish to embark on this path, there are people there for support, you are never alone.

151. The ancient wisdom has been communicating the same fact about the duality of our existence throughout history, whether it was Plato or Serge Benhayon.

152. It’s very very freeing to start the conversation about the validity of these shadows because it ignites within us the knowing of that inside dwelling light.

153. I was caught up in looking at the wall for so long I didn’t even notice the shadows.

154. The way that illness and disease are taking hold of people lives currently in society shows me how even though there is the potential for expressing great love in each person alive today, we are as a majority are not living this way, and instead are choosing the comfort of the illusional life that keeps us entertained and as such, bound by its agenda.

     1. It’s like people just get used to the new picture on the wall, what’s happening in the world today is very extreme yet so easily we just accept this without questioning it and asking deeper questions.

     2. The comfort we seek in the familiar is not allowing us to feel how uncomfortable the ‘comfort’ truly is and that it is an existence that we have chosen so many times in this life and previously. We are so caught up with the illusion that it has blinded us to the fact that we are choosing to be so much lesser than who we truly are and have lost our sense of our potential to live life with purpose and joy.

     3. Well said Shami. In this, we need to remember and take responsibility for the fact that we stay in this illusion and this comfort in living a measured life, by choice.

155. You made me chuckle, what a conundrum we create.

156. The retelling of this story provides the modern day reader with a means of mapping their own progress out of the cave, should an exit be on their agenda. ‘I can still be lured by the promise of having control over the shadows. Learning to not rely on that false power is key if I am to live the light of my Soul in full’ makes awkward reading, but is spot on nonetheless.

     1. love it…wouldn’t it be great if someone could hand us a dirty big exit sign with GPS locator beacon…but then again we wouldn’t learn from our choices if they did

157. Thank goodness that the light of the Soul has sent someone(Serge Benhayon) into today’s cave so we can understand how the shadows keep us attached to being in the cave and we can all appreciate and feel what is possible when we choose to come out.

158. Great blog Joel, the light of the cave has kept me mesmerized for a long time, thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine for showing that there is another way.

159. Awesome article Joel – it’s such a ouch when we realise there’s a part of us that will do anything to keep us from knowing that there is more to us, it’s ways so subtle yet so completely devastating – how great it will be when the only reflection we see is the true light.

     1. Insghtful point shelleyjones44, the fact that we have equally responsibility for fooling ourselves as having been fooled by others.

160. This is a great article, Joel and I love your very clear explanation of it, I have never heard of it before, wisdom from the ages. I for sometime played games with the shadows thinking this was the real light living within it’s shadows, until I meet Serge and came out of the shadows to embrace the true light of truth. Thank you.

161. Joel, Thanks for taking the time to write your blog on Plato’s cave – such a deep piece of writing in that is still being interpreted some 2,500 years on.

     I feel this amazing piece sums up our struggles and continued resistance to change, even if we know deep down it is good for us and will help us evolve. There was anger, pain and resistance from the prisoners at having the chains released and even becoming acquainted with the fire – the prisoners had become comfortable in their restraints (their contracted livingness) and the new options available to them (evolution) were beyond their comprehension.

     I like Plato’s claim that true leaders need to get used to seeing in the dark – this brings a deep responsibility.

     I have my own postulation on the people who managed to leave the cave and then returned. I saw this as a beautiful allegory to reincarnation. Having lived a hard life you are exposed to heaven (going into the light) and then returned, hopefully to live a new evolved life based on the learning of the previous life – hopefully as a true leader.

     I thoroughly enjoyed you blog!

     1. Thanks Matt, love the comment about true leadership and the ability to see the darkness. Knowing what we are from, being honest about what we are not, seems crucial.

162. If it were not for The Way of the Livingness and Universal Medicine, I would still be trapped in the cave, stuck in the shadows accepting that that was all there is. Stepping out of the shadows, has brought a whole new way of living that I never thought was possible, an immense joy and vitality that I have not felt for a very long time.

163. I love this Joel, I have to admit I hadn’t heard the Light outside Plato’s cave before reading your blog. I am now inspired to start reading more from people such as Plato for they have so much wisdom to offer.

     1. Like you kevinmchardy I haven’t heard the story of the Light outside Plato’s cave before. It really reflects to me how much this wisdom has been there for aeons waiting for us to connect to it and to begin life anew – and this begs the question – why have we waited for so long?. This wisdom is freely available to all and there for us to tap into at any moment. How gracious God is in all his many blessings.

164. Much food for thought Joel, and once again a very interesting presentation that helps to keep the light of learning alive .

165. It is easy to be ‘enlighted’ by lights that show you that there is more than you know there was. It is easy to say this is it, my life has changed for the best thanks to the light. Yet, there are many lights and they are not all the same.

     1. This is definitely the key, ‘there are many lights and they are not all the same” – Universal Medicine has been the only outfit that gave me the tools to truly understand this.

166. It is amazing to return to this article a month or so later and to be deeply touched by what you have written Joel. It sums up so eloquently that life as many of us see it, is just a small slither or glimmer of the true picture. As a race we have become so preoccupied with this shadow show – yet the true light of our lineage and destiny is way grander, amazingly so. Why continue to play small in the shadows we have been sold, when we can know the beauty of life with our soul?

167. Brilliant Nicola – the avoidance is part of the grand illusion – that term many paths to God sums this up – we are so convinced that the struggle has to be there in order to give us ‘life’, we have completely forgotten that we do not even belong in the cave.

168. Oh, so fantastically put, Nicola! It is like trying to push through a wall when all you need to do is stop pushing, and you will see that you can walk around it to get to the other side. If we have chosen to live in an illusion, we do not necessarily need to figure out ‘why’ we are living in an illusion, just understand that we are living in one, and thus dispel it.

169. I agree Jenny, this was certainly a key for me. The blissful, wide-eye spiritual energy had me in its thrall for many, many years. I would not have seen any different had I not connected with the work of Universal Medicine.

     1. I understand what you mean – I too was in the thrall of the ‘blissful, wide-eye spiritual energy’ and unbeknown to me I was totally under it’s control. It only ever offered a short term fix. As Jenny James said ‘Learning to discern the source of energy is an amazing ongoing development’ and without Universal Medicine I would still be lost in the thrall of an energy that was taking me further and further away from who I am. What a wonderful moment it is when we begin to connect within and develop a deep and sensitive connection to the depths of love and truth that have always been there but were always illusive when we chose to be fooled and in the power of bliss.

170. So true Barbara, Serge Benhayon is an amazing shining light and inspiration. I love the line “… The light of the soul continues to wait patiently …” It gives this sense of eternal patience, just sitting there waiting for us to step out of the cave.

171. “Their captivity is not forced but is sustained by ensuring its residents do not know any other way for life to be.” This is such an important aspect of what you present here Joel. We often don’t even realize that there is another way, and when someone presents this as a possibility they may be ridiculed, attacked or even imprisoned (think flat earth theory). I am so thankful that, despite the attack, there are people like Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine willing to present the possibility that there is another way. We can live outside the cave.

     1. I agree with Lee. Without someone willing to stick their neck out and show that there is another way, we all stay playing with the shadows.

172. Joel I love the feel of the responsibility we have to each other when we have the realization that there is a universe of soulful light to connect to. We stay alongside everyone reflecting our own true light so others get to feel there is another source.

173. Great article Joel and very good illustration of the illusion most are living in

174. This is beautifully written Joel thank you. Such wisdom and understanding of life and awareness of the light of soul and spirit.

175. You can run away from your problems but you cant run away from your problems. Plato’s cave is new twist for an ancient allegory, you can run from your cave but your shadow is always just a choice away.

     1. I agree sonja, I love this little phrase… you can run away from your problem but you can’t out run them…it is our mess to clean 🙂

176. The false light can dazzle and enthral yet it is the true light that holds the real beauty – the love, truth, stillness, joy and harmony, simply waiting for our return.

     1. . . . and “dazzle and enthral” does the false light do so well to so many Jane, until we can lift the veil of illusion and choose the true light which is our innate birthright.

     2. So true… a light that dazzles and enthrals yet keeps us locked in the cave

177. Beautiful analogy that brings clarity. Thank you for sharing!

178. For a while they possibly will call it a cult… until they realize the lived truth of what those from outside the cave present and that it makes a true difference while everything else is going to fail and only adding to the same age old dilemma.

179. That is the mastery of illusion – thinking that we are IT, a hermetically sealed construct that doesn´t allow any awareness of anything outside itself.

180. Incredible Joel, This is the second time I have read this article, and really taken the time to understand it, and receive all the underlying messages (The first time I was reacting and did not want to truly get it!). You are a true allegorist, and one that presents the reality in a way for people to completely understand and liberate themselves from the held beliefs. I deeply honour your expression, and support you in full. A fiery game changer this is!

181. This is so clearly expressed Joel, and gives us the opportunity to feel those three realms of living for ourselves and be super honest about where and how we are living. It also reminds us that the Ageless Wisdom IS Ageless and continues to be lived by the few, but is always accessible to the many. We know when we meet those who live outside the cave and have a glimpse from them of how our lives could be lived. Serge Benhayon is one of the few and a continual inspiration to those who meet him, except for the very scared ones who dance vigorously with the shadows to avoid looking at the true light.

182. “So here we are, 2515 years on, and Plato’s allegory still resonates with us. Its story rings true. Society is walking around thinking we have advanced, yet war, starvation, slavery, greed and abuse are still commonplace. So it seems that for the most part, we are still looking at shadows.” Maybe the familiarity and comfort that the cave brings means we do not want to look outside and see the real mess we are in, hiding in the cave seems a better option. Thank God for Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, if they had not made the steps and shown the way I would still be in the cave thinking it was the best it was going to get, not knowing the indescribable grandness and beauty that awaits us when we choose to step outside the damp dark cave that we call our home.

183. What an amazing conversation you have stared Annie, there are so many things I want to say to everyone on this thread. Yes I am fascinated to read up on the original history too Doug and I relate on so many levels to what this thread has started, that is what a great article should inspire, huge thanks Joel for yet again another cracking piece of writing.

184. Thank you so much Joel and All before me for your clarity. I’d like to add – as a past habitual caveman, that as a shadow maker, I would fall in “love” with my own imaginings and creations, mesmerized by the reflections of my own images on the cave wall, simply – but completely, caught up in my own self-perpetuating game show. It took me some time to realise that I was being played – that something true and lasting would not eventuate – that I’d been sold the TV without the remote control. It was only when I got up to look for the remote that I noticed and recognised another light – one that simply held me in a never-ending Love. My deep gratitude to Serge Benhayon, and all the Expressions of Love.

     1. Stephen, you are not along in being mesmerized by your own creations. Most of the world is stuck in that. It is a humbling moment when we get to the point of knowing that our creations are not real but shadows cast by a false light.

     2. Love this metaphor Stephen, that we get sold a TV without any remote controls.

     3. Love that, that we have been sold a TV without the remote control. Thanks Serge Benhayon for getting us away from the TV screen and out into the world.

185. The effect would be much greater Paula, with just 1 person shining their light they can be classed as an anomaly but with many hundreds and thousands shining their light as is now the case with the Universal Medicine Student Body that anything is possible. Suddenly there are lights being switched on left, right and centre.

     1. Yes, James, you can feel that the transmission of teachings through the dedicated work of Universal Medicine has broken an illusion that has kept humanity prisoner for too long, and as a consequence there are thousands now stepping back out into the clear light of day. What an amazing time to be alive.

186. Thank your for your illuminating and revealing addition, Annie. How totally incredible that we would rather bury the deep hurt that we feel from our own separation and from allowing ourselves to be owned by a force that’s just playing with us. Then, as a consequence of that buried hurt, we feel anger and attack those who have chosen to return to the darkness, to be there as a reflection of how we too can choose differently. It is too hard for us to acknowledge what we have brought on ourselves, that we’ve chosen to disconnect from the love that we are, instead, allowing ourselves to be fooled, we’ve chosen to be puppets. Pride certainly does make a fool out of mankind. “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” …. or outside the cave that you are in.

187. Good question, Paula. I feel there will be those who react, not wanting to accept they have been fooled, those who are angry, not wanting their comfort disturbed, those who are inspired to follow and those who are still too afraid to follow. As time passes and the numbers increase the inspiration will be so strong that the magnetic pull will be too strong to resist.

188. I found your article completely compelling, you blow me away Joel, thank you for who you are, I feel like by simply being you, I feel more and more like me every time I read your work.
     Love Sarah

189. Nicola, I love your playful way of describing this. While its playful, its very true. Are we all aware that we are choosing our own misery? Sometimes the understanding comes and becomes clear what we need to start saying No to, however there is a momentum and a Karma that needs to also play out before we can truly be FREE from the games that go on inside the cave. The hooks that lure us back in. Of course the first awareness is the one where we realise that there is a life outside the cave that will bring us back to a reality that is truly divine.

190. “The light of the spirit does not want us to know about the third realm.” It certainly doesn’t! Any small notion of the grandness of our divinity, it begins to freak out! I have experienced this in my body many, many times but although it is my spirit, it is my responsibility to get myself out of the cave.

191. Its definitely the illusion that allows us to feel that it is ok or safe to stay in our insulated caves how ever they manifest themselves to be in life . But I have found we can only truly grow when we are living out in the open or being open to the fact that there is more at play – a constellating and ever expanding Universe that we are a part of by fact our particles being part of it also. I have also found that resisting change or evolution can be a much more painful ride than acceptance and appreciation.

192. So true Jane. To have Serge Benhayon, a true reflection outside the cave offering us another way is leadership and something I am eternally grateful for.

193. Your story reminds me of the tale I have been told how they tame elephants. Their feet are put in chains and tied to a post, so that they cant escape. Much later all that is needed is the tie – no chain and no post – as the elephant still thinks it is bound. We are like those elephants, thinking we are bound, and choosing to stay in the cave, because it ‘feels safe’ but in fact we have free will to make different choices, and emerge from the cave into the light.

     1. The elephant training is a great analogy Sue and highlights how conditioning restricts us, rather than allowing ourselves the freedom of making different choices. This is a great blog Joel.

194. “It can be easy to become enamored with the notion of light or energy but the critical question is, is this the light from inside or outside the cave?” This sentence takes me back to when I was first introduced to spiritual modalities and the excitement of it all. As the excitement faded something in my body didn’t feel right; “is this the light from inside or outside the cave?” I was quietly asking myself but not fully understanding it at the time. Thank God I made the choice to step outside the cave.

     1. So true calling, there are so few modalities and therapies that recognise that there are TWO lights that we can play with, which shows a level of dishonesty or ignorance that traps people in the cave for longer than need be.

        1. Or then there is also religion which make you think that the light is outside of you not equally within you.

        2. Not all religions, but yet, many if not most. I found they say the light is within but then ask you to look outside. The way of the livingness has been the only on so far that has consistently delivered the inner journey.

        3. Yes, MW – we have allowed religion to distract us and seek a way that is only taking us further away from our true wisdom that lies within our inner heart.

     2. What you share here feels powerful and exposing of how we can choose to stay ‘inside the cave’. The description you give concerning how there is an initial excitement and how that fades and a question is left really resonated with me. Paying attention and being aware of how we truly feel, not just what we see and hear is so vital. Something may have all the apparent bells and whistles but does it feel true….what do we feel and do we honour it when it ‘just doesn’t feel right’. I know I am still learning to do this in my every day life, with commitment and consistency I have found a Way, the Way of the Livingness to discern and honour true light, true truth, I will continue to learn, discern and be open to exposing more ‘shadows’.

195. Reacting to others because of their choices to remain in the cave is a big one for many of us. At times I have felt so frustrated and reacted, hardening my body so choosing to stay in the cave with them. While I remain in the cave in truth it serves no-one, going round in circles getting nowhere. Learning to accept another in the choices they make and where they are today without any judgement whatsoever, I am recognising is one of the most loving things I can do.

196. This quote itself is a key to liberate if we wish to heed its words “Breaking free of the cave is difficult because it is a life that is known and comfortable. Getting past the light in the cave can feel scary and I can still be lured by the promise of having control over the shadows. Learning to not rely on that false power is key if I am to live the light of my Soul in full.” It is illuminating to consider that we feel comfortable when we have control over the ‘shadows’ perhaps because they are familiar, perhaps because we know this is the way of not living with our full light because some times there is fear around stepping out into the light. However why if we have felt the quality of this light why would we turn away, I know it can feel scary, but as you say it is a ‘false power’ to feel control in staying in the shadows.

     1. For every force, there is an equal opposing force …. the ‘masters of the shadows’ know exactly how to get to us. They understand our every weakness and play on them with great skill. Our spirit loves the glory of being individual, the attention and gratification. This makes it more challenging for us to be consistent and to trust our soul and our inner knowing that there is more. We allow ourselves to lured away from the truth that we hold inside, then we can become comfortable. We enjoin with all those around us, we feel safe, it’s all so familiar. It takes courage and unwavering commitment to trust our inner voice reassuring us that there is more. Choosing to step into the unknown and seemingly leaving everyone else behind …. this is a big catch ….. as, in fact, we aren’t leaving anyone behind at all, in fact, without people choosing to leave the cave we have no hope of us all collectively leaving at all.

        1. Huge point Alison, if no one leaves the cave…….

     2. This is a great point Samantha and has helped me consider and realise how much I still choose the familiar, seemingly known path as opposed to being free and open feeling like an explorer.

     3. This is a great question Samantha, ‘why if we have felt the quality of this light why would we turn away?’ I would agree that yes there can be fear of stepping out into the light, but to stay hidden away and feeling in control is indeed a false power that only keeps us where we are and does not allow an opportunity to grow.

     4. So true Samantha and not only is the power false, so is the fear of the light…the light is the thing we crave, it’s the warm blanket that keeps the boogie men away.

        1. It’s rather perverse when we realise that the ‘comfort’ that we have held on to for so long is the source of our inner pain – and that the light that we fear is as you say ‘ is the warm blanket that keeps the boogie men away’.

        2. So true in so many ways Joel, we crave warmth and intimacy in relationships yet this is not often what we bring to relationships.

        3. Your comment is bang on my current learning… the way in which I bring come kind of condition and holding back to relationships and seeing just how destructive this can be.

197. Yes I agree Mary-Louise except it is not a nice hidey hole – it is a hideous hidey hole. It is cold and damp and full of false light. We hide there to avoid our hurts not realising that being in this rotten place hurts far, far more than the hurts we imagine we are avoiding. And then to add to the farce we don’t even avoid our hurts we just delay dealing with and healing them.

198. Terrified and too proud …..

199. This is great Nicola, something I have also connected with that the true light is there ready to connect with whenever we stop reinforcing, dramatising and duplicating those shadows being caste.

200. Beautifully said Annie, no one wants to be exposed as being fooled by the shadows, they want to be seen as their way is the right way,and that they hold themselves high. When confronted with the truth that would totally kick out their whole investment out from under them would come with a fight.

201. The light of the Soul is in us all at any time, we have just been too used to looking at the false light. Something that Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine inspired me to see very clearly.

202. It seems an incredible fact that Plato made this writing about people in a cave so long ago, and here we are today still with it being so relevant. And I wonder what this says about the way that life has evolved over the years, and if we really have evolved to the extent that we often think and are taught that we have.

     1. I love when you read something like this piece and you are reminded of a deep wisdom that has been around since ancient times and yet it is still if not more relevant today. It is a great insight into whether we have evolved or become even further wayward.

        1. I agree and it shows to me how the Ageless Wisdom is truly ageless, it defies time and shows that no matter what clothing we are wearing we have still not evolved to who we all truly are.

     2. That is a really good question, Shami, and one that exposes not only the fact that we are still in the cave, but that even after hearing this story by Plato 2500 years ago we seem to have moved even deeper into the cave.

     3. It’s sinking in more and more now as it has been presented during Universal Medicine presentations that these teachings are not new, in fact they are ancient and ageless wisdoms. When we start to look at the light outside the cave we are confronting a since-the-dawn-of-time age old arrogance (so beating ourselves up while learning to break away from the wall is null and void). The scale of such is huge when considered but at the same time the ease in which that arrogance can be bypassed and exposed for the tiny speck that it is is even more amazing.

     4. Great point Shami- when we have people making video games where you can rape people, run them over, set fire to them and blow them up- all this as ‘entertainment’, you really do have to ask whether we have evolved or gone further wayward.

203. ‘The Way of The Livingness reminds us that we all have equal access to this light, yet few realise this, either because they are happy watching the shadows or they do not get past the false lights in the cave.” indeed The Way of the Livingness allows us to take responsibility of the choices that we make and how this creates our own reality of either being in the cave or living life connected to who we truly are.

204. This is so simply and clearly explained Joel. We are all influenced by the unseen shadows. They are all around us, but like those you described who can walk back into the cave understanding the shadows, so too is it for us to master human life to the point where we see the shadows for what they are without being derailed by them.

205. I agree Nicola, it is a constant choice to be in the cave and we need to know what we are getting from choosing to live in the cage for so long. Nice little hiddy hole where we do not have to take responsibility for life and humanity.

     1. I agree, marylouisemyers, to make our world small and resign ourselves to the reality of ‘this is it’ is an effective way to put a lid on our immense power and deny the grandness that we come from.

206. I love this article, Joel, but I’m being super honest when I say that I look forward to the day when there is no longer any cave and no longer any false light, nor the equally false notion of choosing between Truth and falsity….because there is only Truth

     1. What a lovely day it will be when we are all born outside in the light rather than in the cave.

        1. That’s a yay from me, Lee 🙂

207. Another awesome blog Joel, I too was in the cave for 25 years exploring new age modalities, thinking I was outside in the light, all the while I was fooled by the false light. It was not until Serge Benhayon came in to the cave and reflected to me that there was a true light that I could free myself from the cave and enter into the Light of the Soul.

208. Wow, beautiful Susan, ‘The support we receive from the Ageless Wisdom becomes stronger as we allow our hearts to open and embrace all the wonders of the world that are ours outside the cave.’ I could feel the support and my heart open as I read the line. Thank you.

     1. And your comment Lisa has allowed me to feel again how much we are supported in our lives by the Ageless Wisdom as it only offers us that which is healing and evolving and that is something that I need to consistently remind myself.

209. The game of avoiding responsibility.

210. Such strange behavior, all to just avoid not being what we already are.

211. What an amazing and beautiful blog Joel. I especially like this line, ‘so that others might also begin to get a sense that there is something else.’ simply beautiful.

212. Agreed entirely Gayle – the way in which Joel writes is so fabulously relatable.

213. Beautifully said Anne. It is available to us at any time – it’s as simple as changing our choices.

214. Awesome addition Annie. The security and comfort of the caves and the shadow is sometimes all people want – they don’t want to know that there is more out there – so they ridicule, denigrate and mock in an attempt to shut down those that say there is more than that.

215. Another cracker article from you Joel! I just love how you have explained this and how very much it resonates with me. As I read I could feel just how eternally grateful I am for Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness for reconnecting me with my light.

216. Great presentation, Joel, of how we spend lifetimes being mesmerised by false light, and imprisoned by the belief that this is all there is. Thank God for Universal Medicine, who awaken us to the simple fact of life and the grandness of love beyond the cave.

217. So true Anne, it is so simple. Actually life is simple and we can show that it works this way how we live this simplicity in our life. We are the living proof that it works. I am proud of myself that I have chosen this way to live my life, it is a huge difference to the way I lived before in contraction and hiding from my light.

218. Reconnecting to my essence and my connection to my soul is a constant choice of living and it gets easier within the continuing ongoing process. Doesn’t mean that I will never fall back again, but if it gets complicated I do feel it straight away, from that awareness I always have the choice to re-connect again to my light who I really am. This way life is very simple and joyful. Simply enjoying myself in this life with all the people in it.

219. Reading this blog again and the comments it occurs to me that some of the comfort of staying in the cave is that there are many of us in the cave together all watching the shadows and fire or both and when we get to a point where we are contemplating leaving the cave we know we may have to leave some others behind in the cave and they are calling us to stay put. We may think we are supporting them by staying sitting next to them in the cave by the fire but actually the most supportive thing to do is leave the cave and call to them from outside the cave to leave too.

     1. andrewmooney26 great point – I would add that the other part to this is the complete doubt in our own ability to accept and truly feel that we do not belong in the cave – and yes leaving others behind may feel like a selfish act – whereas in fact it is a truly loving one. We all are the inspiration for the next person to walk on out.

220. I must admit I was reluctant initially to accept when I first heard the presentation that we live in three realms simultaneously but I have not heard of anything else that comes close to explaining how things are on this planet with human beings. The deep ironies and contradictions and even ridiculousness of life for me can easily be explained by the fact that we have a personality, a spirit and a soul and at any moment we can choose which one we are most influenced by or aligned to energetically.

221. An interesting part thank you Annie, pride, and how it can be so damaging.

222. I love what you share here, Joel. I hadn’t heard of this allegory before. It’s allowed me to bring more understanding as to why I feel so uncomfortable in the cave and also appreciate why it’s so hard to follow through with leaving the cave.

223. Joel, you offer such an amazing gift in the way that you write. You tackle huge subjects, lovingly and meticulously presenting them in such a simple and visual way, bringing everyone along with you. Thank you for going ‘back into the cave’ and illuminating us all so beautifully.

224. Since reading this, I have found myself at times during the day, remembering this fable and it has offered a true marker in that moment of whatever activity I was in the middle of. It seemed to ‘press the reset button’ of understanding and seeing the bigger picture of life and put everything into context.

225. This is such a powerful line kerstinsalzer15.
     ‘The reality was however, I was not playing with this light, this light was playing with me. At NO time did the light of the spirit show me that there was a light outside the cave. In fact, the light of the spirit has one goal and one goal alone… to keep me in the cave. It doesn’t mind if I sit numb, watching the shadows or become someone that cast shadows for others. ‘
     This is front page news – the key to life.

     1. Very well said Kate – front page news!

226. Beautifully said Rosemary – so relatable and accessible – and reminds us of what we “already deeply know”.

227. Brilliant piece Joel – these distinctions you so well depict via the use of this old but entirely current allegory are the keys to life. The line that stands out for me is the all important:
     “It can be easy to become enamoured with the notion of light or energy but the critical question is, is this the light from inside or outside the cave?”
     Living in a town where new age pursuits abound, this key question could save a lot of people from becoming further entrenched in the cave, when they believe they are liberating themselves (by unwittingly learning to manipulate the shadows) – this is the sneakiest of traps the cave has to offer – and forgetting not that the shadows can be bright and white, which just makes them all the sneakier.
     The key difference you present is that the light outside the cave is the light of our soul, which knows no bounds, and is the abiding truth of who we are. Many new age modalities, schools and more bandy the words spirit and soul around interchangeably – which is a dead give away that they are still the light from inside the cave, and do not live the true liberation of who they naturally are, and so cannot yet describe the difference from experience, as they too are only living the different levels from within the cave walls.

228. It’s super-interesting that while many, many people don’t ponder too deeply on the truth about life, some do and sense the inadequacy with which it is explained. The next trick is not getting caught up in explanations that are tantamount to sophisticated and misleading wizardry – to keep discerning what is absolute and true and working to defeat the spirit, the shadowland and all that tantalises and deceives.

229. I had that feeling too Gabriele. I can see the people in the cave transfixed by what is little more than an elaborate shadow puppetry, mesmerised and unable to move. Acting on a sense that there might be something more takes curiosity, courage and commitment.

230. I love that description lucindag, free-fall into the simplicity of a soulful life. When we let go, naturally we free-fall into even greater awareness and responsibility.

231. The reason I love coming back to read this again and again is that it states so very clearly the three realms that can affect how our lives are. Having been one to sit comfortably in front of the shadows I am aware of how many of us are all too comfortable here. It is the advancements, so called, that we hang our hats on to detach from the feeling that all is not well. Fortunately I saw a man walking past one day who was not enthralled as I and the rest of humanity was in the outplay of the shadows. He walks steadily in and out of the cave I observed and this made me question my own life, how it was actually sitting there in an uncomfortable comfort. And as time wore on I saw others getting up to walk with this man Serge Benhayon and I stood up to find out what was going on. What I discovered was that there is so much to our lives, our bodies and our connection to the All that we are not ever presented with as we sit in the outplay of the shadows, we do not know the truth in this place and yet the truth resides in us all and is the key to walking outside of the cave.

     1. Beautifully said, Lee. You capture the simplicity in the inspiration to break from the illusion that can be so enthralling. It only takes one of us to show others the way. They can be an amazing world teacher, or one inspired by such a person who then inspires another to do the same, and step outside of the cave.

     2. Beautiful expansion here Lee. I also love coming back to this blog too.

232. What you have written Annie C brings in something that I have struggled with. The force coming from others invested in life in the cave, still holding the ‘pride’ they feel about having uncovered the light within the cave. Sometimes this can bring quite a ‘Whack’, and I feel flattened. It takes a moment to recover and I notice that I lose my foundation and connection to self and what I know to be true. What Joel is presenting here makes so much sense and has supported my understanding of what has been happening. Thank you to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine for bringing the light from outside the cave, for returning to the cave to support us all to find our way out.

233. I feel like I could read this again and again and again. But it is interesting when I do read it because I can feel distraction coming in and not wanting to connect to the story – possibly wanting to stay in the cave????? But thank God for Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon because for the first time I know that level of unease/tension I have always felt whilst living in the cage (surely there is more to life???) has been answered by living in that third realm – living with the light of the Soul.

234. I remember taking a philosophy class in university where we discussed Plato’s story of the cave, but the place that you have taken it to here Joel is quite simply amazing. Thank you so much for this.

235. What you have covered here Joel, is huge. This allegory written by Plato all those years ago is an amazing depiction of human life, and your explanation very insightful. Reconnecting to my essence, which I feel as the light of my soul, has definitely been a process and not a ‘moment of enlightenment’, as some may perceive it to be. It is a process I can honour each day by simple way of allowing the space to connect to myself, and my body in stillness. It can be as simple as that.

     1. Wow stunning to read this Amelia – ‘It is a process I can honour each day…’ So very simple and yet profound. Thank you.

236. I agree James, it is about being honest of how much we have invested in life to be an accretion way and also to feel that the way we have lived has not been it, now that is a big Ouch! once we do that we can see the beauty around us outside the cave.

237. I agree Joel, the process of leaving the cave can be daunting and feel uncertain as we have heavily invested in safety and comfort but the rewards are endless as we get to feel what life is like away from the illusion and more connected with our soul. Thank you

238. Thanks for adding that part Annie. Pride can be one big set of blinkers. It is amazes me that something written so long ago can be so relevant, but I guess what actually amazes me is that so many thousands of years later we are still doing the same thing.

239. And in that patience and open door you can feel the huge level of unconditional love.

240. Well said Rachael – it is about accepting and not judging their choices in watching or casting the shadows. Learning how to support others with love (and not in frustration – not that frustration can ever support anyone) is a big learning curve. If I understand it, I think that because I have, then surely everyone can. Some take longer than others and have more reasons why they want to stay and watch the shadow show. I often get frustrated that they choose to stay and then I give up on them, and myself which means I’m back in the cave casting shadows too.

241. The lure of the casting of shadows is so entrancing and when under the spell it’s not as though someone can just walk in and say “those are shadows”, then you realise and you make the choice to leave. People don’t often want to know they have been hoodwinked and having spent their life (or lifetimes) seemingly enjoying watching the shadows on the wall, there can be a lot invested in staying in the cave. But when someone does walk in, with no judgement and with a gentle yet powerful holing and example of the true light, it is intriguing.

242. This is amazing, I have never heard of Plato’s allegory of the cave! But you are so right, Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine lift the veil of illusion so we can start to see the truth for ourselves and walk out of the cave.

     1. After some years it is actually no big deal to accept that I had been living in illusion for a long time. It is now only an observation and it did not make me any less, I just did not have the awareness I have today.

     2. That is a beautiful expression of acceptance, Katinka, and one that we can all learn from. So often our past becomes a place to mine for things that we can use to justify holding ourselves back.

     3. Thank you Naren for you made me stop to appreciate my acceptance of where I was before I came across the teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.

243. Great point Gabriele, we love the endless forms of entertainment in the cave and change one form for another in the illusion it is different. How we love to fool ourselves to avoid the honesty and responsibility to open our eyes and step out.

244. I too, like you and so many others Joel, lived for many years with the feeling that there was something more to life than what was being presented to me, but each time I got a sense of this it was like trying to grab mercury and the feeling would slither away and go back to being engulfed by the shadows. It wasn’t until a very wise man stepped into the cave and shone his light so brightly that I was unable to ignore it, that I felt the truth of those elusive feelings and realised that what I had felt was who I really was. With this reminder I was able to take that step that had eluded me for such a long, long time, out of the darkness of the cave and into the true light of life.

245. Yes, I have experienced this feeling but it only ever lasts for very short periods because the feeling of emptiness and being lost quickly returns. The relief is only temporary when I am choosing the false light while staying in the cave, this moment of relief kept me searching for more and more trapped in a viscous cycle of illusion until I realise what in truth was going on. To see that there is indeed a way out shown by many holding their true light.

246. A great point Gabriele – this blows out of the water any feeling of being a ‘victim’ of the cave, that actually, we are playing a game that suits us and entertains us. And it is a game that does not require absolute honesty, responsibility and commitment.

247. So amazing to read that you no longer experience ill health thanks to your choice to align to the teachings of Universal Medicine, inspiring you to make choices that returns you to be healthy again.

248. This is interesting what you have shared Lucindag. It explains to me why I have never been fully interested in any spiritual quest, something deep down was telling me that I didn’t need to follow but just to trust what I felt. From reading your comment I really appreciate that I listened to my inner voice to stay clear from spiritual teachings.

249. Thank you Joel, I am reading this the second time because I love what you have revealed. It is deeply inspiring and full of wisdom told in such a creative way, very beautiful.

250. I have found it difficult to let go of the tantalizing shadows in the cave. In many ways, trying to live outside the cave can feel restrictive because it requires a loving discipline in the letting go of old ways that have us trapped. In coming out of the cave, I looked back and saw life as it truly is. A big illusion that has us imprisoned. I seem to be dwelling somewhat on the threshold right now, dipping in and out. But as you say, even though the light outside the cave is our truth, it does not impose on us to come back to it. It is our choice to come back when we are ready. Nobody can make that choice for us.

251. looking at our history this is not surprising, there have been many men and women who have lived and therefore emanated gods light on earth. Jesus, Buddah, Muhammad.. The list goes on and on.. Jesus being a great example as the bible is commonly known as the most bastardised piece of literature due to the governing politics of certain times adjusting the truth to suit and serve their own agendas to maintain their positions of power – in the helm of divinity there is no power play.

252. Expansive and supportive, great article. I feel there are illusions concerning what is ‘reality’ and it is all around us, some times it is alluring, but making a choice to truly feel what is happening only leads to one conclusion for me, something is missing in this ‘reality’. When I reconnect and live from my soul I feel a truth like no other, this its place that I am learning to live from. Thank you for sharing.

253. It s true kerstinsalzer15, not being shown there is a light outside the cave, that holds all that we have dreamed of, is a true treachery.

254. Thank you Joel, this resonates deeply with me on so many levels at this time. I am committed to leaving the cave but boy oh boy can it be uncomfortable stepping away from its covering.

     1. Yes, the cave can be so comfy! Yet deep down we know that the comfortableness of the cave is actually rather icky. We can want to step away, but often want to know if it will still be as cosy when we do.

     2. Sally I am so with you there! I know that when I step through the door something rather lovely and beautiful is waiting but letting go of the comfort and delay is challenging to say the least…

     3. Haha, yes Sally – it sure can be uncomfortable! As Joel said – the cave is comfortable! and it takes a solid commitment to truth and connecting with our light to let go of that comfort.

     4. I too am committed to stepping out of the cave. It is uncomfortable when I do because I have lived a cycle of behaviours for so long. As I re-imprint, I am stepping from the familiarity into a way of being that is natural but daunting at the same time not just for myself but can be for others as well.

255. I just had to read your blog again this morning Joel – it is such a treasure and a blessing, and an invitation to us all to again to return to the light of our soul. When we are presented with inspiration such as your blog presents we have no excuse for keep returning back to the cave, although many of us will find it may take longer before we are finally free of the shadows dancing on the wall.

     1. Those shadows can be very alluring and at times look like light.

256. Hear hear Jeanette, I back you with full appreciation and celebration for all that you describe here. We are truly blessed.

257. Absolutely Anne, this, ‘blog is a great inspiration and a reminder that there is something more glorious and more grand outside the cave.’

258. When I read the title of this blog I knew this was another masterpiece by Joel, and I had to read it then and there! Wow Joel, I love how your pieces are such fun, and yet convey such profound messages for all of us.

259. Are we prepared to open our eyes fully to truly see, the light and the darkness that is inside and outside of ourselves. The wisdom that is the soul’s light sits within us all.

260. Lieke not only is the spiritual new age not ‘it’ but it is perhaps one of the most evil aspects of the cave because it purposefully cons us into believing that it is the light outside the cave. So millions of people, just like me discover the light within the cave and follow it blindly thinking that we are outside the cave when all along the light just leads us around and around inside the cave. Like Joel, I too expounded the fact that I had ‘found the light’ and proceeded to lead others to the same false light and so all I was doing was leading a tour group inside a cave whilst conning them into believing that we were outside ! Jesus wept !

261. Donna what you have expressed resonates strongly with me. My mind highlighted the words ‘it is just a matter of choosing to live in a way where we build love in our body which then enables us to see beyond the shadows’. Jesus maintained that we can all do what he did and more, Serge Benhayon has reiterated repeatedly that he (Serge) is not a special man and that we all have equal access to the same knowledge that he does. The love in the body is already there, it is more a case of unearthing it rather than building it. God is love and the knowledge of all things and God is the particles that make us up therefore the knowledge that we are accessing is already within.

262. Yes I love how clear it is that upon discovering this false light and concluding that it is it imprisons us because we think our search is over and stop short of stepping out of the cave altogether. There’s also an arrogance upon discovering this false: light thinking one is enlightened compared to all those who are not aware of this (false) light. This can further serve to entrench imprisonment within the cave. But if we stop to feel the quality of this false light we’d know there is another far brighter.

263. Hear, hear James! It’s that honesty being brought forward to see all of it not just what we want to see.

264. Well said Julia! Spot on – to try and control the shadows is to engage with it also and so when I have done this in the past, I end up back in the cave and therefore part of the shadows once again. My attention is now to engage with and be the Divine Light we naturally are outside of the Cave… I just love this blog – so many pearls of wisdom I could talk on all day!

265. There is so much in this blog Joel and much to appreciate in the simplicity and teaching you bring to understanding The Way of the Livingness.

266. Thankyou Joel. I have been moved by the beauty and implications of this timeless story. What a clear reminder of the amazing light there is to connect to when we make that choice. I look forward to rereading these words again.

267. The Spiritual Light plays with us mercilessly with absolutely no regard for our bodies and our way back to God. This has really helped me with my sympathy issues knowing that when that energy comes sweetly at me offering comfort and the like, it is really masked with deadly choices.

268. Yes Judith, I too loved hearing about Plato’s story – very beautiful in how it relates to ALL of us. Makes me realise that every single thing is designed for brotherhood, absolutely everything.

269. Joel, this is so simple to understand and at the same time so profound – thank you.

270. Julia, I love how you have expressed this comment, truly beautiful, especially this sentence, “Trying to control the shadow is a useless pursuit that keeps one trapped in the game, while making the choice to leave that behind only brings a new light into one´s reality, the light of the Soul back into one´s life.” Yes, that light that is within us all is the light of the Soul.

271. I stand with you Jeanette in full appreciation for all that we are offered through the Ancient Wisdom which is alive and with us today as we walk the Way of the Livingness once again. What a joy to reconnect to the absoluteness of our true light and eternal flame within. No shadows can be cast from our source.

272. Yes, I agree, judykarenyoung, I too realised as I was reading this blog, that it was again the work of Joel. How amazing is his ability to share such wisdom with us, in the form of a beautiful story where we can picture the situation. I love Joel’s ‘stories’ of such truth, and dearly hope that one day they will all be published together for the world to read.

273. I just love your blog, Joel, had to come back to it again. This time the following really speaks to me “This light outside the cave is not selective in whom it chooses, but rather waits for us to choose it. Everyone inside or outside the cave, even the masters of the cave, have this same light. But like true love, it doesn’t demand anything of us and waits patiently for us to realise that life within the cave (either watching or casting shadows) is not how we are meant to live.” Yes, it is left to us, when we are ready, to connect to this light that is within us all, when we are ready to do so. It is our choice to awaken, with no pressure, except that little thing that niggles within us and keeps us in tension, that lets us know that there is something far better outside the cave. We just have to listen to that innermost and act on it, when we are ready. It is amazing the patience that God and the hierarchy have with our huge irresponsibility.

274. Joel, I keep returning to your beautiful article, it carries such profound Ancient Wisdom. Thank you for blessing the cave of computer world, where we can often get lost in the land of shadows.

275. So beautifully express Julia and powerful as well.

276. Very true Julia – and I love the the way you have expressed it here – trying to control is a useless pursuit. Absolutely! Surrendering and letting go to the power we hold within offer so much more, but while we are still living in our caves, we are still held by the idea that control is where it is at.

277. So True and beautiful – what an organisation Universal Medicine is. Shinning and grown and earthing the true light of the ages. The light of heaven.

     1. Yes Simone, and the Way of the Livingness is reminding me so much of how it used to be – I can feel a familiarity as soon as Joel began to speak about our Divine Light – it is truly who we are!

278. Susan, I completely agree, my feelings too. It is indeed a privilege to read Joels words which time and time again bring a new understanding and appreciation of what is at play in the world.

279. If this was presented to us by Plato 2515 years ago, then how many more years are we going to allow to pass before we see that there is another world outside of the cave?

280. Dear Joel thank you – I had not heard of this about Plato’s Cave (well not this life anyway). Once we begin to live the light of our soul, once we choose to live co-creation we are the ones that are in the cave but not of the cave. Our light within is then shinning brightly and this then lights up the cave for all to see. Casting out the false shadows and the manipulation and control of the false light is seen for what it truly is. Nothing but a choice made long ago, a choice that was not true and did not hold all equal. The choice to separate from the light of God, and enter into darkness.

281. Such a profound and beautiful blog and I must admit it even brought tears to my eyes. I can feel the truth in this and the deep love from the light of the soul for us all individually and collectively. Thank you Joel.

282. Incredible Joel, you have alchemy with words, and it’s truly a blessing to read your words. What you expose here is an enormous reality for many to digest, but once again you have used food that the soul loves and can digestion with ease. My deepest thanks Joel for brining this for all.

283. Your way of writing and depicting life is deeply beautiful Joel. It is very inspiring to see another man express this way and choose to leave the cave. After reading this blog yesterday, I was feeling how as men we hold back from expressing our appreciation of our brothers. But it is impossible to do here with you. Thank you for sharing the beauty of you and this ancient allegory of light.

284. That’s a good point James, about whether we want to hang on to a way of being that we are used to or open up to a different way, one that is also familiar and known from deep inside ourselves.

285. Yes, it serves us well to see that comfort nests us in the shadows of life rather than living in and by the light of our soul and bringing our all to life.

286. So very exposing of the spirit Stephanie. This allegory helps me to see how we can get caught by the illusion of the spirit and feel like we have achieved something or know more than another because we have discovered the trick behind the shadows, all the while there is a greater light outside the cave waiting for us.

287. So true Lieke. This allegory explains why the spiritual new age stuff can trick you into feeling like you have seen through the illusion as you are now aware of the shadows on the wall and how they are created. However, it only serves as a further distraction and illusion to the fact that you are still in the cave and there is whole other light outside, available and patiently waiting.

288. I have finally found a religion, The Way of The Livingness, that does not ask anything of me but to be who I truly am, my soul, and live from that place.

     Everyone is equal, and equally in our own time we have the choice to live from our soulful aspect, the true light outside of the cave.

     I love this Joel, thank you for sharing your wisdom and your soulful expression.

     1. Yes, I agree rebeccalpoole. The Way of the Livingness confirms, confirms, confirms – the light outside the cave is within us, all we need to do is claim it and it will unfold in our livingness perfectly. Thanks Joel.

289. I have just reread this blog Joel after having read it for the first time yesterday. Yesterday it stayed with me the whole day as a point of clarity in connection and expression. This description of the human experience and condition is one of the simplest and clearest I have ever read or heard. Again, thank you for your amazing expression Joel.

290. Great blog Joel.
     “The light of the Soul continues to wait patiently, even sending people into the cave from time to time – people who know what the shadows on the wall really are, so that others might also begin to get a sense that there is something else”… enter Serge Benhayon. Thank goodness that we have this amazing man in our midst to help lead us out of the cave and into the true light where we all come from. Serge presents to us that he too was a dweller in the cave, so what he presents he has lived, and he is now living The Way of the Livingness in full and sharing what he knows with everyone, equally so, gently presenting to us that there is life outside the cave.

291. “The light of the Soul continues to wait patiently” and will wait as long as it takes for all of us to choose to leave the cave. But as more and more of us attempt the transition the momentum is accelerating and I can imagine a time when the light outside the cave will be so bright it will dim the one inside.

292. Another stunning blog Joel – Thank You. Plato’s allegory certainly makes just as much sense today, which goes to show these teachings are indeed ageless.

     1. I agree Eva, and say hear hear – another awesome blog by Joel Levin, and to repeat your words “….these teachings are indeed ageless.” How awesome it is that we have such a platform as these Universal Medicine sites to be able to share in the expression of our understanding as we unfold the truth from within.

293. Joel I love the clarity and simplicity with which this powerful allegory is expanded and shared. It is so relevant to our world today, especially with so many institutions and industries set up to entice and promise salvation or betterment without us realising that it is still all within the cave. I was right in there for years until I came across Universal Medicine and I understood why regardless of how amazing the promises and outcomes were, there was always a niggling feeling that what I was experiencing was not it.

294. So very interesting to look at this analogy that we already know for so long, reading it at school all over the world and having the ring belled inside, but still looking at the shadows that comes from the light of the spirit inside the cave. I remember this feeling when I read it the first time – feeling the truth of it but at the same time not knowing how to escape the cave – or more, thinking about and searching the way within the cave… Because the cave was inside me as the way is too, it was so deeply life changing to meet Serge Benhayon, who lives outside the cave and presents to the world, what is really going on and how to look through the illusion, we have fallen for and fed for so long. This isn’t done with one perception or one choice, but once you have identified the false light of the spirit and felt the light of the soul, there is only one way and the direction is clear.

295. Joel the storyteller, he who brings truth and wisdom from outside the cave with simplicity and common sense to the people – one who returns into the cave to enlighten us.

296. Plato´s Cave 2.0 – to not only refer to a source of truth but to elaborate on it and take it further into our time and language is very enriching and means treasuring and utilizing it.

297. Holding on to the familiar is like with eyes wide shut persuading oneself of being fully aware and free in making deliberate choices. That is the magic trick of the illusion – watching the shadows or making them – to make us believe that we are free to think and free to choose = freedom inside the cave. To realize the cave as the actual illusion is a whole different story and only possible with and by the light from outside the cave, the light of the Soul.

298. This blog has also inspired me to reread Platos work. Today through the teachings of Universal Medicine I know the difference between spirit and Soul and the games that the spirit can play to keep is in the first realm or even tantalised in the second. It is however the third realm, that of the soul that I am most inspired and interested to be living from this life. Thank you to the support of Serfe Benhayon and Universal Medincine for presenting that life in the cave is not it through their lived reflection.

299. steffihenn it is possible that there would be no need to ponder if we were in fact out of the cave!

300. Your expression is timeless and profound Joel and makes the Ageless Wisdom accessible to so many. I love how you have observed how books and even movies are based on this theme because the truth of the light of the third realm is innately in us. I too can feel so many aspects of our lives are based on the truth because it is innately known within us but it has been re-interpreted; so near but yet so very very far from the real truth. I would love to expand on re-interpretation in a blog. Thank you once again Joel.

301. From the pen of angels rings the truth.

     1. Yes Lee… with resounding clarity that blesses us all.

302. Another great piece of writing Joel and I love what you share. In this thinking that we have advanced and this now relying on scientific research based evidence etc society often look to times of the past and thinks that they are ‘back there’ and that we have now moved on. Into this basket we often put wisdom and philosophy- that this too was a thing of the past, instead of considering that there is still very much a need for philosophers today.
     What if what we have come to rely on as proof comes from the perspective of life where we are only considering it from looking at the wall and therefore we are not yet developing testing that gives a much greater perspective and understanding of life and thus knows what to look for. We do need to consider this as we have to question, if we have advanced, is humanity really in a better place? If so, why are mental health, depression, illness and disease rates sky high?

     1. So true. Our ills are actually worse today than ever before, not to mention the quality of relationships and respect between people in general.

     2. Agree Kristy. In fact we could say that what is accepted as ‘normal’ today is based on a perspective life based on looking at the wall!

     3. I agree, Kristy, we certainly have “to question, if we have advanced, is humanity really in a better place? If so, why are mental health, depression, illness and disease rates sky high?” To me, we are in a far worse place now, all these are now sky high, as also are heart disease, cancers of all types, diabetes and so on and on. To me, the world is now in quite a mess, full of corruption, violence and wars, we have not learnt a thing. Surely we must realise we have to change the way we are living.

     4. This is a great question you pose here Kristy, if we are honest we would admit that the way we champion life to be these days is not working as indicated by the high rates of illness and disease and all we need to do is to look within ourselves to the light of our souls waiting patiently there for us.

303. Joel, I love the way you bring the truth through a story. I am so grateful that Serge Benhayon did not ‘skip off and leave others to rot.’ He reflects to us that we are playing in the shadows and reminds us of the inner knowing that we all have that ‘ there is something else.’

     1. I agree Sandra, once the true light is reclaimed, there is no leaving others to rot. One by one we become a mighty light and love, committing to serving and showing others the magnificent light we are from. The return of the true Masters of Light is now at hand.

304. This is a story you can share just about everywhere and one people would so resonate with – it’s easy to feel what Joel is speaking about – we have all had shadows and all lived in caves, but Joel, I especially love the bit where you say the Soul does not care if we live inside the Cave or outside, as long as we are being our Divine Light. Just gorgeous as it leaves absolutely no one behind – true brotherhood.

305. I remember as a child, thinking that what if life was not as it seemed – what if there was more to life than what we could see? Then I read about Platos cave and it made sense – is it not possible that we are missing something simply because we have been brought up and taught not to look for it

     1. Good point, I guess we only really know what we are aware of and finally live through and through; up to that point whatever we know inside is just a potential waiting to be kissed and brought to life. Inspiration by someone who already is living the potentially known lights up the inner spark to become the flame of wisdom.

        1. I would say that it is the inspiration that awakens the sleeping awareness that is not aware of the light until we are aware, nevertheless we all have that sense of something not being right, something missing and the spirit choosing to not know what he actually knows.

306. This is an absolutely awesome read! My whole heart opened when I read : The third realm is the light outside the cave; this is the light of our Soul (our divinity).” I love your analogies Joel, this one captured my heart… again! The second realm is so over-rated, when you feel the joy of what the third Realm – the Soul plane, has to offer us.

307. Briljant Joel you have the gift of story telling and presenting the ageless wisdom in a way that is it so crystal clear. I loved reading your blog as the analogy of Plato is spot on and the way you have expanded on it is offering absolute truth and wisdom in a very accessible way to all who read it.

308. It’s super amazing Margaret 🙂

309. I agree here Gyl, however we are not fools (not inferring that you insinuated this at all Gyl), deep down we all know what is going on, what is loving and brotherly and what is not – which leads me to ask..
     Do we really believe we have advanced or have we just given up on our potential so much so that we accept war and all the atrocities in the world as “just a normal part of life”?

310. Gyl, I would answer your question ‘How is it and why is it, that we think we have advanced as a society and species ?’ by saying that technology is a huge red herring when it comes to indicators of advancement. The fact that we have machines and devices that enable us to do things quickly and with minimal physical effort bamboozles us into believing that we are getting somewhere. We spend an incredible amount of time looking at various screens and marveling at what we can do on our phones but totally unaware that these are just different shaped shadows. Shadows are shadows and there can never be advancement in shadows.

     1. I like how you state the fact that there can never be advancement in shadows, nevertheless have we mastered the art of shadow making and shadow watching through complexity, complication, corruption, art, science, religion, education, technology etc etc, so that we seemingly forever could continue to indulge with the pretence of advancement.

311. Joel I have always been touched by Plato’s story of the cave. It is the one thing that spoke to me when I first attended university, straight from high school. I dropped out, but that one story stayed with me. Fast forward 20+ years: I resumed university study, and Plato’s cave was presented as part of my first unit of study. Again it resonated. Another 15 years on I listened to the presentations of Serge Benhayon and Plato’s words are with me again – thank you Joel for bringing all these pieces together to complete my understanding.

312. Wow Joel, a stunning blog which resonated deeply. One to be shared far and wide.

     1. Absolutely agreed – relatable and simple to grasp and one well worth putting into practice and exploring further.

     2. I agree, it’s an article that can be heard all across the world; the more who read this the better. Timeless and powerful.

313. Joel I have just read your article again and love it even more the second time. It is such a clear analogy which really supports me to understand what has been going on since the beginning of time. Like you, I too became transfixed by the light inside the cave and like a moth to a flame just went round and round engulfed by false light. Thankfully I got to the point that it felt that I simply couldn’t look at that light anymore, I felt blinded by it and fatigued, it no longer held any appeal. It took a while for me to adjust to the light that Serge Benhayon represents but now I recognize that light as being the light on the home porch.

314. Beautifully and aptly put Kylie.

315. ‘Being inside the cave is so limited without knowing that, because it feels ever so familiar and comfortable.’ I particularly remember this feeling as a child and yet on another level I recall feeling something wasn’t right but just didn’t know how to live it as everything in the world kept telling me life was meant to be lived ‘in the cave’.

316. ‘Learning to not rely on that false power is key if I am to live the light of my Soul in full.’ I feel this is a very important, true and powerful statement Joel and a timely reminder to ‘invest’ in light, nothing else.

     1. Yes Michelle – it is a beautiful reminder to choose the true light and nothing else.

     2. Ooh that is wise, and timely. Thank you Michelle

     3. Absolutely Michelle Ryan, love your words, invest in nothing else but the true light, and the return effect is all ours to take home.

317. I agree Gyl, we have not really advanced at all, just simply changed the costumes we wear and stages we perform on.

     1. I can feel how shallow our so called advancement is when you express it like that Michelle, the view of the wall may have changed but the cave has not.

318. This is a gorgeous piece of writing, Joel. We learnt about Plato’s Cave in Religion and Philosophy in school, and I remember thinking a similar thing that it is still quite relevant to how we live today. There are puppet masters, tricks and illusions in every direction of society, and after seeing only that for your entire life it is almost impossible to single handedly see through the glamour and illusion and walk out into the light. That is why, as you say, from time to time people who already see through the shadows are sent inside the cave, to offer the choice of light over dark, but in the end it is down to us and our will to step back and take in the game of shadows for what it really is, and accept how it has kept humanity entranced for centuries, and will do for more to come, but less and less as more people wake up.

319. “This light outside the cave is not selective in whom it chooses, but rather waits for us to choose it.” I love this sentence! The divine light outside of the cave will always be there for when we are ready to see it, patiently waiting with no impositions or expectations. What a beautiful thing!

320. Thank you Joel for your amazing ability to explain things in such a simple yet enlightening ways and explaining how spiritual pursuits just keep us living in the cave. The Way of the Livingness gives us the opportunity to reconnect to the light of our Soul and discard the things that we have taken on that are not truly us. The possibilities are endless once we take the first step and align to our true purpose.

321. I love how you have explained the light of the soul through Plato’s allegory of the cave. It’s easy to be transfixed by the shadows and think that this is life, but to know there is more, much more, by changing perspective is liberating. Universal Medicine has lit the way out of the cave and it is for everyone of us to choose to see the way and walk out.

     1. It true Rachel, they have laid down a path lined with glowing flares that makes the journey out of the cave so much more accessible, but we still have to take the steps (and notice the path in the first place!)

322. Wow Joel I had never heard this parable from Plato before – it is a gem! And you have explained its relevance to today’s world so clearly. There is a certain comfort in staying in the cave as you describe and not wanting to step outside of all we know inside the cave but the truth is the cave is a cold, damp, harsh place to live for many. What if it was actually much warmer, much brighter, much grander outside the cave?

323. An amazing allegory. Thankyou Joel for another profound blog. ” The light of the Soul continues to wait patiently, even sending people into the cave from time to time – people who know what the shadows on the wall really are, so that others might also begin to get a sense that there is something else.” So thank heaven – literally – for people like Serge Benhayon, who knows what the shadows on the wall are and presents us with the light of the Soul – a true reflections for us to also choose that way – or not.

324. Beautiful Joel, you bring to us the stark reminder that the golden thread of the esoteric lineage has long called upon us to see there is indeed no external constraints imposed upon us without our agency, without our choice to align to the source that produces these constraints…..that it is ‘we’ who have guaranteed the shadows we ‘perceive’ are confirmations that the cave is all that there is. It has long been shown and spoken of by those who have stepped from the cave, that even no amount of physical limitation, whether that be an internment in shackles in a prison, restraint in a relationship of emotional or physical violence, or limitation in a body that cages one from true movement as a result of disease or pain, ever severs our access to live beyond the cave.

325. Thank God for Universal Medicine for showing us that there is light outside of the cage. If Serge Benhayon hadn’t come along I would probably still be staring at the cave wall not really even bothered most of the time to even look for the source of the light that was casting the shadows for living in too much comfort and numbness.

326. A great explanation about a message that has been around for thousands of years. The fact that what Universal Medicine presents is that their is a light outside the cave is so true and the analogy of either watching the shadows or learning to cast the shadows sums up how most of society are living to this day. Yet their are a group of people who, without perfection, are starting to live the light outside the cave and as you say, bring this now back into the cave. It is with deep appreciation to Universal Medicine and the individual choices that this is the case. These are the people, that those inside the cave staring at the shadows will notice and be inspired by.

327. I enjoyed reading this Joel. A great reminder that we know there is more to life, and to not settle for just looking at the shadows.

328. Another confirmation that what Universal Medicine teaches is eye opening in every sense. We can set ourselves free from the cave and discover our true selves. Thank you Joel for another amazing blog.

329. ‘The light of the spirit does not want us to know about the third realm.’ This is very true Joel and a statement which provokes one to contemplate – What if?

330. Thank you Joel, I read this with such an ease and the sharing of Plato was absolutely like reading a piece of writing from today. I am familiar with the cave as well as the tension of feeling that’s ‘not it’ and it was after hearing Serge Benhayon present about the different energies at play through spirit or soul that life then made sense. Ihen slowly over time I could also see the following and how I was agreeing to stay in the cave by ‘playing with’ and being ‘played with’ the one light that kept me there, which only meant I got sicker – “The reality was however, I was not playing with this light, this light was playing with me. At NO time did the light of the spirit show me that there was a light outside the cave. In fact, the light of the spirit has one goal and one goal alone… to keep me in the cave. It doesn’t mind if I sit numb, watching the shadows or become someone that cast shadows for others. Either way, I stay in the cave.”

331. Joel – you have brought the very essence of Universal Medicine to life in these words. The story of the cave is one I have not heard before, and to me how you have shared it is absolutely amazing and yes – very fitting to the world we live in today. This is for everyone to relate to and ask – are they starting or casting shadows and is it possible that there is another light? Have we connected to our souls and felt the difference between spirit and soul? And have we explored ourselves enough to recognise within us light that is equal to the light outside the cave?

332. I loved reading this blog and had never heard about Plato’s cave, which, yes, does still very much apply to today which goes to show the agelessness of the Ageless Wisdom.

333. Yet another stupendous and monumental blog for humanity to “ponder deeply on”.
     Thank You Joel Levin for sharing your wisdom in a way that is making us question what on earth is really going on.
     I was stuck in the second realm for most of my adult life until I came across the teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. What I realise now is that they were not inside the cave and their light had a quality which was strong and so the pull to explore it and feel that there is another way was literally calling me as I had been asking questions and searching for Truth as the second realm was never enough. Looking back I realise how sick my body was during this time and no amount of workshops, books and healing modalities I went to changed anything.
     I know what the True Light is now and I choose to connect to that True Light which removes the tension I have always felt. This is what I call True Freedom.

334. ‘once we master that true light, we don’t skip off and leave others to rot.’ This to me is what makes the teachings of Universal Medicine stand out from previous spiritual practices I had come across. Everything spiritual was always me, me me whereas through Universal Medicine it is me, we, we.

335. Thank you Joel, this is a confirming article that reflects the greatness that we all our. It highlights the simplicity that is needed when we work on our own connection and the dedication that this requires also. I can feel that in time we will be the majority and not the minority.

336. Another great blog Joel. It just goes to show not a lot has changed since Plato’s days as we are still entranced by the shadows on the wall. Thank god for Universal Medicine who show us constantly what these shadows really are and the ways in which they entice us.

337. Superb Joel, thanks for another beauty. I feel we all know there is more to life than staring at the shadows, but most of us may find it a little to scary to venture outside the comfort zone of the fire. It such a shame for mankind that Plato’s’ and other true philosopher’s work was not built upon, instead of the masters in the cave been able to run amok for the longest time.

338. As a fellow cave dweller for many years, living inside the cave for me has always been felt as a numbness in my body. And so, the more I become aware of my body and the light that shines from within, the deeper I find myself to be in connection with God. From this place, I willingly walk back in to the cave to be a part of the work of getting everybody out.

339. Joel what an awesome blog. How beautifuly you share the illusion of the shadow and the beauty of light. We are so easily caught in the shadow of the spirt, but as you shared there is the light of the soul and we all have access to it. The way of the Livingness is a true way to conect to the light of the soul. So many of us have started to access this path, thanks to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.

340. Wow, what a glorious insight shared Joel, thank you.

341. Love it Joel, I never knew about Plato’s allegory of the cave and so interesting to hear as it still does resonate so strongly today, I am sure there’s someone in there now.

342. Joel, you are the master storyteller of truth. You are one of those that go’s back into the cave for others to get the sense that there is something else.

343. Joel, you write absolutely stunning allegory, this being no exception. Your words illuminate, but they do so from the true light inside you that is lived. There are so many things about this blog to love and exclaim.
     “This light outside the cave is not selective in whom it chooses, but rather waits for us to choose it. Everyone inside or outside the cave, even the masters of the cave, have this same light. But like true love, it doesn’t demand anything of us and waits patiently for us to realise that life within the cave (either watching or casting shadows) is not how we are meant to live.”
     Yes, this light is so patient, and not condemning that we allowed ourselves to get entranced with a mere puppet show….and even the puppet masters are no different to their rapt audience. Lost in shadow, a mere existence that is far from true life.

344. Before hearing Serge Benhayon present the Ancient Wisdom, I often felt imprisoned and restricted, but I did not know how to free myself from old thoughts and patterns. Now, understanding the difference between soul and spirit, and knowing how to connect to my essence, I do feel lighter, and I experience life differently. It is no longer about me, I am part of a greater and grander whole. Thank you for updating Plato’s allegory Joel.

345. How do we know any better? Thank God for the few are sent to show us a different light.

346. Wow, Joel, thank you, this article touched me deeply as it confirms and makes more clear with what we have to deal here on earth. It supports me to see myself through the wall and step by step live a life which is aligned to the light outside the wall of the cave.

347. Thank you Joel for bringing the allegory of Plato’s cave back into my life. It helps me to have a better understanding how actual life is experienced by the many, and where I come from and partly are still part of. Living in the comfort of the limited expression and responsibilities that comes with living in the cave, keeping ourselves knowingly unaware that there is another light outside the cave. But fortunately to us there are people like Plato and Serge Benhayon, who live outside the cave and show us that there is another light to be lived, the light of the soul we all know we equally belong to.

348. My goodness, I just absolutely love and appreciate your writings Joel Levin. From the tenderness in which you share truth and the clarity that you deliver, I had goosebumps of appreciation and celebration that our brothers, we, are here for all of us and that no one will be left behind in the cave. This is how love works, waiting patiently, unimposing and always ALWAYS there to support when the choices are made to see our light again.

     1. Everything you have said Cherise I can completely echo – my goodness I just absolutely love and appreciate your writings Joel Levin! The clarity is crystal and the truth is delivered in tender power. Awesome. I have a feeling that these blogs of yours Joel will be put together into book form and will be read and delivered in schools one day.

349. Wow Joel and thank you, you blog has brought me to a stop to really appreciate the depth of truth that has been and is being presented through Universal Medicine. Having studied many modalities thinking it would lead me down a spiritual path to, well lets call it some kind of enlightenment NONE EVER presented the difference between spirit and soul and that one leaves us deeper within the cave of the shadows and the other brings us out into the light so that we can see more clearly the truth of what is at play. It certainly not a comfortable journey as you have said, but all we need to do is see where we are now and where we are heading (and we need no clairvoyant for that) as a humanity and ask is there another way?

350. Another outstanding and profound piece of writing Joel and as always a pleasure to read. Like most of your writing, this asks us to contemplate aspects of the way we live in knowing there is more and Plato’s cave brings this reality to the fore. It seems almost crazy we are imprisoned in a cave of our own making dazzled by what is there and thus distracted from the beauty that is within our reach. Thank God for those who venture into the cave to show us way out and how to live in the light.

351. Such a beautiful way to express spirit and soul. I love your honesty Joel . . .

     “Breaking free of the cave is difficult because it is a life that is known and comfortable. Getting past the light in the cave can feel scary and I can still be lured by the promise of having control over the shadows. Learning to not rely on that false power is key if I am to live the light of my Soul”

     This is super supportive and brings understanding to times we perhaps feel the pull of the illusion, what a wonderful choice to make at these times, truth, divinity and the light of our soul.
     Thank you Joel again for another engaging and insightful piece of writing.

352. Thank you Joel, another awesome blog. What a great way to explain the difference between personality, spirit and soul. I love this line –”At NO time did the light of the spirit show me that there was a light outside the cave”. It was only through attending Universal Medicine presentations that I learned that there is a difference between the soul and the spirit. Up to that point I thought the spirit and the soul were one and the same! They are not and true freedom can only be gained when we do know and live the difference.

353. Absolutely brilliant blog Joel! There were so many gems to take away from this, and it really gave me an opportunity to be aware of how long I lived in the cave watching and playing with the shadows, and yet at the same time feeling the tension in my body that this wasn’t ‘it’ and there must be something more. Thanks to Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine and The Way of The Livingness, I had a clear reflection of the light and life outside the cave that had always been there, but at the time was simply my choice not to see and feel it. I sometimes am still drawn in by the cave and in playing with the shadows, but there is now no question of the true light that has always been within, and that is within us all, simply waiting for us to connect to it.

     1. There are those shadow plays that are especially compelling…they look so real and the emotions they evoke are so intense. They catch us out momentarily until we recognise, ah! it was just another act in the eons old play. This blog has changed my life, so strong is the understanding that we are the audience, by our own choices, of a two dimensional show that we can stand up and walk away from…at any time.

        1. I agree Rachel this blog is life changing because it spells out so clearly how we are choosing to stay in the comfort of the audience rather than leaving the cave and shining our own light.

354. Joel this is just sublime. I have always loved this story of Plato and knew it for a long time, but you have given me a greater understanding about the games we play in the cave watching and then manipulating the shadows when all along outside is the light and it never judges when you return but rejoices that you do – that is something I connected to and felt reading this and feel this blog will need more re-reads, to let it sink in on other levels.

355. Thank you Joel. Universal Medicine has shown me that there is so much beyond the cave, rather than sitting in the shadows as I have done many times over.

356. Joel, Plato’s Cave allegory makes it easy to understand the dilemma of humanity and why we still indulge in abuse, fighting and killing each other. There is no other species on the planet that do this and surely this shows how ‘intelligent’ we are. However, I can relate to this story as having been in the cave but once out in the light I realized that I had been lying to myself from the moment I was born as I had switched off my power to be who I really am. It felt so freeing to have fully broken the chains that had held me in the cave for eons by admitting to lying to myself.

357. Joel that’s it, what you have bought through with the help of Plato is what life is all about. You are a modern day Plato, using analogies to help break the myths and support people to see the truth. Nothing has changed other than the scenery (appearance of the shadows inside the cave). We are all inside the cave, unaware that we are indeed inside a cave. When the veil of illusion lifts then it is the same as the cave walls crumbling. Then we ‘wake up’, we realise that we have been living in a completely false realm, we’re making the whole thing up, literally WE ARE INVENTING LIFE AS WE KNOW IT. It’s us that are keeping ourselves in the cave, there’s no door, we can walk out into the bright sunlight at any time. Let’s go people come on, let’s leave the cave and then lead everyone else out into the dazzling light of God’s love !

358. Joel, the content of your blog I found to be quite profound – I feel it ought to be shared with the wider world. You bring such clarity and light to such a configuration that seems to be the experience of life for many through the weaving of your story line. I have noticed from my observation of late that there is more and more a determined push for the human family to be encouraged to self-help, if you will, by ‘enriching your spirit’ . Just yesterday I saw this enticement on billboards, advertising material and in a bookshop to further instill this belief that ones’ saviour will be found if one keeps on seeking within the confines of the cave. Thank you Joel, another brilliant expression – I love it.

359. As Shirley Bassett sang ‘it’s all just tainted with a little bit of history repeating’ so I ask myself, well what has really changed?
     Women seemingly are paid equal however in white collar jobs statistics still show that women’s packages remain lower on average than men’s. We still have crime, murder and rape still exist. There is still war. Slavery exists more hidden as human trafficking. Our economy is showing signs that the continuous push for growth driven by our own greed is unsustainable. There is still a huge discrepancy between the poor and the rich.
     What I see has changed is that we are better at hiding these facts. People are connecting less. Pen pals are a thing of the past – who has time to write with pen and paper? Whilst social media is the new way to connect, the only issue with this is that these platforms are choosing to allow vast amounts of abusive behaviour. When we don’t address abuse we allow it to become normal, and this has a huge impact on the next generation who grow up thinking it’s just a normal part of life to post sexual photos of your over the Internet when you step into womanhood or manhood….when actually it’s not. Cyberabuse is epidemic. On top of this illness and disease are increasing. Yes we are living longer and medicine has made some amazing advancement but our overall quality of live has dropped. I’m sure we could all contribute to this list in more detail with observations we have noticed in our communities and industries. So here we are being offered the same lessons over and over in many different way.

360. Joel once again thank you. The analogy of this story hits home, the second stage is where most of us get caught, I know as I was one of them. What an absolute blessing to be around others who have found their way out of the cave, just their very presence is awakening…..

361. I used to love living in the comfort of a cozy cave but to be honest I much prefer the light touching my face and the warmth it provides my body.

362. Joel your writing is masterful, I love it… a message in fact that for the majority is so profound. If I had read this 15 years ago it would have answered so much, and is the very first clear understanding I had from the Ageless Wisdom – presented by Serge Benhayon. To have the difference between the Spirit and Soul outlined, and be able to relate it to my life and experience in a way that made perfect sense, was life-changing to say the least. So many questions were answered in that simple understanding, and the seemingly never-ending struggle to make life work was resolved. The tension you spoke of was the tension of missing that connection to the Soul… never to be appeased no matter how many new age courses I did, or yoga classes, or meditations… or anything else.

363. Joel I love how you ended your blog that even despite learning there is light outside of the cave “The light of the Soul continues to wait patiently, even sending people into the cave from time to time – people who know what the shadows on the wall really are, so that others might also begin to get a sense that there is something else.” This is true brotherhood and reflects the equalness we are all held in.

364. Brilliant blog Joel, I loved reading every word. Plato’s Cave rings true to this very day as truth does not date, not wither with the passage of time. For too long we have been held captive by the light show before our eyes, at the expense of the glow that emanates from within. The trick here being, we think the ‘inner light’ is the one coming from ‘within’ the cave, forgetting in our hypnotised state, that there are no encasing walls within our heart and thus no surface upon which the shadows can dance.

     1. I love this Liane. It is only the outer light that can cast the shadows that hold us so captivated. The light inside us has no surface to fall upon and lights our vision from inside.

365. For many years I was mesmerized in taking photographs of shadows, to me then that was the thing that drew me to press the shutter. I thought that shadows were beautiful, and I focused on the shadows rather than on the light. But shadows do not exist without light. These many years of catching shadows in photography was time needed to accept the light that is already there. Until one day, shadows no longer appeal to me, and I simply stopped taking pictures of them. This is a continual process of Love, one that I deeply appreciate.

     1. That is a great point Adele, the shadows do not exist without light. Even the masters of the spirit in the cave need the fire to cast the shadows that the prisoners think is their only reality. Coming out of the gloom of the cave to feel the warm welcome of the light is a magical moment and a realisation that I had somehow always known that it was there and that I ached to be free of the shadows.

366. Another masterpiece of writing Joel, thank you for such a simple explanation of spirit and soul. For many of us we have spent a long time (life times) exploring the spirit thinking that that it has all the answers and that it is the end of the journey. Thanking God for Serge Benhayon – “The light of the Soul continues to wait patiently, even sending people into the cave from time to time – people who know what the shadows on the wall really are, so that others might also begin to get a sense that there is something else.” Serge Benhayon is one of those people who have walked into the cave and has reflected to us that we are more than the spirit, we are in fact divine Sons of God and that we too can walk out of the cave and live as the Sons of God on earth today.

367. I have not heard the allegory of Plato’s cave before. It is wonderfully simple and allows us to see clearly and feel which realm we are in. It is the light of the flames within the cave that is most important to understand and see through for the false light it is. We can so easily fall for these false lights and be trapped (by our own choices) in the cave, in the illusion that we have stepped outside into the real light. Yet the light outside patiently waits for us.

368. Another great blog from you Joel, I love how you do this and especially in this one make Plato’s ancient allegory so accessible to now and every day life.

369. Joel you are an orator par excellence! What you offer all who read your posts is access to the truth of who we are in the simplest and most understandable ways. Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon have led me from the cave however I still know the comfort of it’s walls. We now have a choice to step out of the cave every moment of every day and to show others the way out (without perfection) by The Way of the Livingness. Thank you.

370. Joel I love this allegory. So perfectly put and super easy to see the connection to today’s world and society. I really loved the end paragraph about sending people into the cave who know what the shadows are really about… This makes all the difference, as without inspiration and learning from another often people get stuck in watching the shadows… What else are they to do when it’s all they know. Yet as you said, our soul is forever with us, and so we do know more about the shadows then we care to admit.

371. I know very little about Plato, but you’ve shed some ‘light’ on his story for me Joel. His story definitely resonates today. I’ve been one to stare at the shadows on the wall and wallow in the thought that they were all that existed. But, like you so aptly expressed the light of the soul has certainly come to visit me in my cave on several occasions. At times I’ve escorted it back out – but upon some consideration for what it might mean to allow this soul light in, I’ve spent more time welcoming it and even hanging out with it outside of the cave – quite a different place to be and to be honest, I’d be crazy to say no to it again.

372. Joel, you have really excelled yourself this time. I have loved Plato’s story of the Cave since I first heard it, have always loved Plato (and Socrates since I was little and read a children’s book on him). But the way you have drawn your story together here is so beautiful and so very true. We have been so blinded by those shadows on the wall, and thinking that was all there was to life. As you say, “Society is walking around thinking we have advanced, yet war, starvation, slavery, greed and abuse are still commonplace. So it seems that for the most part, we are still looking at shadows”. I feel so blessed to have been able to wake up to this, through meeting Serge Benhayon and attending his presentations through Universal Medicine. I have now discovered just how much more there is to life and how far away we have all been living from that great life that is available for us all. And I especially love your addendum to Plato’s story, that our Soul sometimes sends us a messenger into the cave who knows that there is more to our lives than we have known, so we might “also begin to get a sense that there is something else”. In our case, Serge Benhayon is that messenger.

373. Love this Joel and love how you summed it up…the difference between inside and outside, spirit and soul, is the difference between self and living with the knowing that we are all equal brothers and no one gets left behind.

     1. Yes Sara the simple teaching that there is a difference between our spirit and soul is going to transform everything as we know and understand it on this planet.

374. Shadows can only be cast when density stands before light. The shadow is there to reflect this density, to make it known that here stands an object that light cannot pass through. The process of returning back to our one true light, our Soul, is a process whereby we choose to discard the ‘denseness’, that is, all that has stood in the way of our one true light. The more we are able to discard, the more of this light that is able to pass through us, until such a time that we are one and the same as the source expressing the light. From here no shadow may be cast for there is no density to block the rays of light, but take one step away from this light, and your shadow will be the reminder of the nature of that step and the ‘density’ thus chosen. Many of us are caught in the flicker of this dance, one step to the light, one step back to the shadows. The mastering process is to keep going until such a time that we are able to stand with both feet firmly in the light of the Soul, and cast not a shadow on the Earth on which we walk.

     1. Wow, Joel, this sentence says it all. Thank you.

375. Wow! Such a clear and articulate description of the illusion of the false light of the spirit that has us all bound or enthralled by its false light, while the our True Light of Soul waits patiently for us to wake up to this illusion. Relating these facts to the allegory of Plato’s Cave and the Way of the Livingness was pure inspiration, Joel: thank you.
     The most revealing aspect of the divine light of the Soul I find in your final paragraph, Joel: the fact that the Light of the Soul sends back to the prisoners in the cave those who have mastered the false light so that they might offer a different way to those who are bound there, speaks to me of the profound Love that the Soul / True Light is – profound in its Divinity, Equalness and in its Brotherhood with all.

376. Thank you Joel for reviving ‘Plato’s allegory of the cave’. Thank you for bringing it to life and offering understanding of the way we get hooked up in life, afraid to look behind for fear of what we might find, focusing instead on what is in front of us – for this is comfortable. The Way of the Livingness shows there is another way and that it is possible for us all to cut what ties us to the shadows and the comfort it brings and through feeling the truth, follow the way it offers to the light outside the cave. I can feel this image of us all moving together and by doing that no-one is lost or drops off – Brotherhood is the way

377. Joel, you weave a truthful and insightful explanation of how we are living with the Spirit as our guide, and what awaits us if the light of the Soul is aligned to. Living in the cave might appear to offer us comfort and even security, but it is incarceration of the highest order. Stepping outside into the light may appear daunting, but let us stretch our wings to the expansiveness offered when we do say goodbye to the shadows and embrace the light we all come from.

     1. “Let us stretch our wings to the expansiveness offered when we do say goodbye to the shadows and embrace the light we all come from.” Jo, I love how you express this, and have been experiencing the enormous freedom of stretching my wings as you have described. Still a work in progress, but oh, so rewarding. It is amazing to feel the expansion.

     2. I agree Jo. The fact that it feels like a struggle to return to our truth is pure illusion. We hurt in the cave, it is limiting and constricting, we are owned by the images and the sense of comfort and protection. It’s time to let go and set ourselves free and return to the eternally powerful beings we once were.

        1. These are powerful words. We do hurt in the cave but we are invested in those hurts which keep us there. We are so invested in our hurts and our struggles that we imbue our return to truth with them too. To let go and surrender to who we really are is simply a choice, but at what point are we ready to make that choice? Do we have to wait for calamity before we are raw enough to say no more?

     3. Stretch our wings, yes indeed Jo. Feel our feet on the warm earth as we stand tall, liberated from the damp cold confinement of the cave. Let our eyes adjust to the fullness they were made to see, not the flatness offered by those who are masters of nothing but veils, mist and illusion.

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