Spirituality and the Ego

The ego mind is stealthy indeed as it can creep into every aspect of our life if we are not vigilant. Over the past little while I have come across a number of articles claiming to be of a spiritual nature yet their underlying theme is one of – I am right and you are wrong. One particular email I received even contained at least six photos of some of the most prominent spiritual teachers of our time with a caption stating, I will paraphrase here, “ignore the teaching of these people in particular.” Regardless of what the rest of the email had to say became of no interest to me. I am no longer going to entertain any philosophies, spiritual or otherwise, that claim to have all the right answers or put someone else. Is there any difference between that and many of our current religions which tend to not be very tolerant of one another? You can make that call I’m sure. This three dimensional thinking which is still prevalent in our society is one of the root causes of the separation that we see or experience in every day living. No matter what label we choose to put on our beliefs, if we place our self above another in any way or if we are void of compassion then what progress is really being made? The answer is obvious. I guess there is some momentum left in this type of thought process, after all humanity has been in the dark ages for thousands of years if not longer around the true nature of who and what we really are. Perhaps for some the 3D game still has value. I can’t help but wonder, however, how those that have been on their own quest for truth for many years have forgotten that – what you put out you get back, when you judge you will also be judged. This axiom, as I am sure you are aware of, is often referred to as the Law of Attraction or the Law of Cause and Effect. I believe it to be one of the principles that lay at the very foundation of our reality. I have come to this conclusion as a result of personal experiences, not from wishful thinking.   

It has taken much time and inner work but I have, for the most part, come to honour everyone’s journey regardless of what philosophies they hold true. This is a very freeing state of being. I believe everyone has the right to make free will choices and to take full responsibility for them. As I looked at various beliefs, spiritual or otherwise, I came to realize that if folks are getting some comfort from that belief then who am I to tell them that they are wrong. This is not to say that I do want everyone to wake up to the true nature of reality but I must honour their decision to do so at the time of their choosing. 

There are dozens of concepts that are completely intellectual in nature and void of any of the laws of the Universe, such as the Law of Oneness. One such concept is Determinism. This idea attempts to convince us that humanity is nothing more than a pawn in a giant chess game with no say in its destiny. As a result of seeing through the short comings of this and without any knee jerk reactions, I realized that it helped cement into place my own existing beliefs. In short, it provided more clarity through contrast. 

In closing, I would like all who read these words to consider this as a call to unity, a request for a coming together in our sameness, leaving behind our differences and move forward as One People. Let us continue to remind each other that we are of the One Cosmic Mind and that the age of separation is over.

Namaste          

Ego Traps

The following is from http://stephaniedunn86.wordpress.com written after coming across a posting on FB about how stealthy our ego can be. I thought they were worth sharing.

Okay, only a part of me. I came across this in one of the groups I’m in on Facebook and it gave me a chuckle. Because let’s be honest people, our ego does funny things some times. And sometimes without us even realizing it at first.

I also just got off the phone with a loved one upon seeing this picture. Rather synchronistic I think because I was just saying how I knew a particular situation was teaching me the importance of not fretting if someone is addressing something in their life in a different way than I would. I’ve realized it’s much easier to relax and be witness to things unfold as they do, when I do not have an emotional bond with the person. My ego tends not to get in the way very often when it comes to how strangers live their lives – I’ve harnessed the judge-y (yes, I just used that made up word), condemning of strangers part of that bad boy pretty good.

However, when you have an emotional connection with someone, you genuinely want the best for them (stating the obvious here) and the good ol’ ego likes to get in there and essentially say, ‘I’m spiritual blah, blah, blah…I know what’s better for you than you do so you should really be doing this instead of what you thought was a good idea. Or because I do this and you’re not choosing to go this way, (insert judgement here).’ You can be whatever you want to be and slap whatever label on it – “spiritual” or otherwise, but just remember it takes all kinds of people walking many different paths, finding and living their own truths that make this beautiful world go ’round…neither mine or yours is the right one. It just is. Woah. Now how’s that for a mind-bender?

With love and ego in-check, S.