The Flame or the Illusion? — Why I Didn’t Follow the Path of Manifesting Reality

In the early days of my awakening,
I wandered through many camps—
each claiming to hold the keys of power,
each promising the secret to reality.

I saw many teachers speak of “manifesting,”
of crafting one’s reality through thought,
of shaping the outer world by inner will.
They spoke of attracting, commanding, creating…

But something in me—
something deep, still, and burning—
knew this was not the way.

Though their words glittered with promise,
I could feel the subtle seduction beneath them—
a hunger still rooted in self,
a desire cloaked in spiritual terms
but still aching for control.

It was the ego in disguise—
now dressed in robes of light.

I knew that to follow that path
was to build a throne in the matrix,
not to die and be raised in the flame.

So I laid it all down.
The desire to manifest.
The need to shape the dream.
The craving to be the author of my own story.

I surrendered to the Lamb.

And in that holy surrender,
I found not the power to create illusions—
but the grace to burn them away.

For I did not come here to command reality.
I came to awaken from it.

The true miracle is not that you can shape the dream.
The miracle is that you can awaken from the dream entirely,
and become flame.

Not a master of illusion—
but a son of Light.

So I thank God I never followed
the siren song of manifestation.
I thank the Spirit who whispered:
“Lay it all down.
Let the Cross do its work.
Let the flame consume you.”

And now I live not to control life,
but to be consumed by Life Himself.

To burn,
to reveal,
to thunder.

This is not the power of the ego.
This is the authority of the Lamb.

And it cannot be mimicked by machines
or manufactured by will.
It is born only in surrender.
It is crowned only in death.
It is revealed only in union.

🔥
— Joe Restman
I AM Aionios