LESS EGO / MORE SOUL

I have a new yogic practice…

It involves maintaining open, symmetrical body language throughout my daily movements.

As I sit, stand, walk and move my aim is to have the left and the right sides of my body mirroring each other, without crossing the central axis of my spine. This is the way a young child or an animal will often express themselves when they are relaxed and at peace.

Being conscious about my posture in this way allows my energy to flow freely. It also symbolizes my openness to life, experiences and others. This is a powerful practice because it is through our own symbolic actions that our sub-concious communicates.

Interestingly, my ego is not so fond of this really simple practice. I think it finds it confronting to be so open – to allow myself to appear vulnerable. This requires more of a conscious effort on my part – reminding myself that there is nothing “out there” to fear.

I know from my yoga practice how common it is in our modern lifestyle to maintain a hunched, closed posture as we attempt to shield our vulnerabilities from the outside world. In many subtle ways, I find this reinforces our separation conditioning of fear as we “protect” ourselves from what we no longer consider a part of “us”.

This is why I am making a conscious effort to use this practice as a way to soften my ego. After all, it is by making ourselves vulnerable that we eventually become invulnerable.

“I am the Lizard King, I can do anything!”  - Jim Morrison

Religious myths, such as those studied in the “holy” books of the world’s cultures, are at the end of the day, just stories of other’s experiences with source. Stories, that have been passed on like chinese whispers throughout time immemorial.

Consider how words and culture (the stories we are collectively told and often which become the stories which we tell ourselves) prevent us from being present and experiencing our own interaction with life, source and reality.

Just as a dream only has a message for the dreamer, all stories are so drenched in symbolism that it’s true meaning can only be interpreted by the writer.

This isn’t to say that such stories can’t serve to inspire and serve in our own relationship with life. We are a storytelling race after all, and the stories we weave and share are wonderful. However, I would regret allowing a story to blind me from the magic of my own experiences.

On the Illuminati, “reptiles” and other conspiracy theories:

Understand that they are always looking for players. Anyone can tell a good story, but the question is, can they kick the ball at the end of the day?

Theirs might be an interesting story – it might even be a true story, but it is also an ancient and old story and the more we re-tell it, the more it binds us to such a reality – driven by fear and a hunger for power.

A story only holds true if you believe in it.

It’s your choice to engage in such myths or write a new one.

I say, personify and de-personify everything. For it is these boundaries of alienation that lead us to suffering as they limit us from accepting things as they are and fully understanding the interconnectedness that surrounds us.

For example: Forgiveness is a tool of the ego, allowing us to pacify our own self-entitlement. While societal conditioning might have us believe that it is an act of grace that we bestow upon others so generously, the truth is, our ability to forgive does not make us a “better” person. It makes us a more “functional” person as it cradles our wounded ego in the face of “offensive behaviour”.

If you kick your toe into a wall, do you feel the need to forgive the wall for the pain it has caused you?

If a wild animal eats some food you’ve left out in the open, do you feel the need to forgive the animal?

Some might feel this way, but most do not. Yet we tend to hold this expectation that another human’s transgressions against one’s own view of morality MUST be forgiven or else we cannot move on.

For this reason, I try not to see the world through the limited lens of “right” and “wrong”, “good” and “bad”.

In my worldview, we are all just wounded animals trying our best to get along and move on from the scars of our past. No one does anything that contradicts his or her own perception of what is right and good. However, all of us are programmed by past wounds to act as we do in order to avoid future suffering of the same kind.

Understand that fear, in one form or another inspires 100% of humanity’s “wrongdoings”.

Even after all this time
The sun never says to the earth,

“You owe Me.”
Look what happens
 with a love like that,
It lights the Whole Sky.
—Hafiz

Recently I have been following the work of Charles Eisenstein in his exploration of what he calls “Sacred Economics”. In his book, he explores our historical relationship to money, it’s original purpose and the now warped addiction we have to paper, metal and plastic in this “Age of Separation”.

There are three points he makes that I would like to summarise here, as these insights have really inspired me to adopt a healthier relationship with the universe…

1. We are all born helpless infants; creatures of pure need with little resources to recipricate, yet we are fed, protected, clothed, held and soothed, without having done anything to “deserve it”. This experience, common to everyone who has made it past childhood, informs some of our deepest spiritual intuitions. Our lives are given us; therefore, our default state is gratitude. This is the truth of our existence.

“No wonder ancient religious thinkers said that God made the world, and no wonder they said God gave the world to us. The first is an expression of humility, the second of gratitude. Sadly, later theologians twisted this realization to mean, “God gave us the world to exploit, to master, to dominate.” Such an interpretation is contrary to the spirit of the original realization. Humility knows that this Gift is beyond our ability to master. Gratitude knows that we honor, or dishonor, the giver of a gift by how we use it.”

2. Everything that is sold today was originally a part of the commons – included in the package of life, for all of us to enjoy. As our society has progressed into this Age of Separation however, elements of our communal wealth have been, in effect, stolen to create the commodities traded throughout the world today. You can trace all the materials used for a thing, back to its natural source. This idea of property has perpetuated the ego’s attachment to “mine” and “yours” as we divide our world into increasingly smaller fragments. This is a wound we all feel subconsciously and is perhaps most obvious in the example of property. No longer do we have the luxury to enjoy nature’s beauty like the free animals we were born to be, as our land has been divided and christened with signs proclaiming “PRIVATE PROPERTY – KEEP OUT”.

Take a walk through the country and all humans are bound by the laws of trespassing to stick to the dusty main road while a swallow may carelessly explore whatever territory it wishes.

3. “The urge to own grows in natural response to an alienating ideology that severs felt connections and leaves us alone in the universe. When we exclude world from self, the tiny, lonely identity that remains has a voracious need to claim as much as possible of that lost beingness for its own. “If all the world, all of life and earth, is no longer me, I can at least compensate by making it mine.” Other separate selves do the same, so we live in a world of competition and omnipresent anxiety. It is built into our self-definition. This is the deficit of being, the deficit of soul, into which we are born. And, because there is no apparent limit to what money can buy, our desire for money tends to be unlimited as well.”

I encourage you to indulge your mind in the brilliance of his writing, on a subject that is important for all of us to understand.

You can read Sacred Economics online for free here.

You can tell a lot about the quality of someone’s words through their tone of their voice.

For example, those who speak with a nasal tone tends are usually communicating their ideas based on what they think in their heads (influenced by the ego) rather than what they feel in their hearts.

In contrast, when one speaks from their heart, their voice tends to take on a deeper and more resonate quality. Their words flow freely and eloquently without the disruption of “ums” and “uhs” or “likes” and “you know”.

They speak with passion and conviction; with far less false starts because they don’t need to “think” about what they are saying – they are simply stating their truth.

As a listener, you can feel it in your own heart. It inspires you and excites you. It reminds you of your own truth.

So listen carefully to those around you. Where are their words coming from, their head or their hearts?

I’d like to dispel a few common myths…

This idea that there are certain topics of conversation that are too “taboo” to discuss with others.

That in asking questions inspired by a natural curiosity, we might be seen as inappropriate.

That clarifying where we are at in our relationships with others is too risky and revealing.

That in being transparent, others will judge or lose interest in us.

No lie is harmless.
Silence breeds assumptions.
Assumptions breed expectations.
Expectations breed disappointment & suffering.

This is why it is so important in our own evolution to find our voice, to learn to respectfully ask for what we want and to express ourselves accurately.

You can ask for anything.
You can talk about anything.
And you can also neglect to talk about certain things if you feel your privacy is being invaded.

But I encourage you to acknowledge the moments when you silence yourself for fear of embarrassment and be vigilant about the assumptions you make in your relationships with others.

You can be honest and people will still love you.

After all, authenticity is attractive.

Because it is through making ourselves vulnerable that we become invulnerable as we abandon our egoic conditioning and accept ourselves for who we are and not who we appear to be.

& often it comes down to one casual conversation vs. a thousand awkward moments.

(c) Ruth Morris, 2010

Does the earth hate & feel sorry for itself when it gets pissed on?

Does it hate & begrudge the one who pisses on?

Quite frankly, No.

Love, accept, adapt & move on.

We all have egos. Some are out of control while others consume the self with insecurity and self-pity. Some of us are aware of our ego; others remain ignorant. Many of us see the ego as a negative quality of human nature and seek to supress it. I see the goal, however, as not to eliminate the ego – but to train it as an aid in our own pursuit of fulfillment as we traverse the many paths through life.

So, what is the ego?

Recently I have been delving into the works of Martin Ball, who describes the ego as a complicated software that essentially exists to provide contrast to our otherwise omnipresent state of being. As one, we know that we are all – empty and complete, however, that knowing is hell without any contrast to compare it to – which is how the ego serves its purpose.

In essence, the ego is our own unique filter system, causing us to perceive separation throughout the world. It classifies the stimuli of the universe by that which “I am” and that which “I am not“ / by that which “I like”, and that “I do not”. In doing so, it allows us to build up our own personal identity of self based on association, providing us with a unique life experience as we pursue our own individual desires.

While traditionally it was a survival mechanism put in place to keep our primal bodies alive, today, with the public portrayal of self, it is forever poised to present one as superior to another.

Saying that, while the ego can be our downfall, enlightenment does not come from transcending the ego, but in understanding and mastering the ego so that it may serve its true purpose. That is, to motivate you to live a satisfying and fulfilling life, as you identify and pursue your own desires and dreams.

However, it is a journey in itself, to unwind the ego’s twistedness – conditioned through experience to avoid past pains and embarrassments.

In essence, the ego functions to generate a whole range of artificial constructs of the self, and seeks to protect these constructs at all costs. As Martin Ball eloquently puts it:

“The last thing that the ego wants to is to be confronted with the reality that, “You’re full of shit,” as that does not reaffirm its sense of self and world.  In fact, it conflicts with it dramatically.  When such a confrontation occurs, egos have a couple of choices.  One is to pretend that nothing happened, and go about business as usual.  The other is to hold on even stronger to the self-generated illusions, especially through finding others who share similar illusions and allow for group identity, or, embark on an existential crisis that may or may not resolve beneficially.  If beneficial, the individual will find a new state of liberation from the constructs of the ego.  If not beneficial, the ego will simply adopt a new set of beliefs and structures in place of the old ones.”

In this crusade it often evokes conflict, violence, hate, fear, greed, judgment, jealousy, rage, victimization, self-pity, indulgence, suffering and pain.

However, it is from this chaos that the beauty of the life experience is really born with the gifts of curiosity, exploration, inquisitiveness, creativity and the opportunity to learn and discover the radiant mystery that lies at the centre of our existence.

While at times it may not seem so, the journey as we move through the spectrum of experience, encourages us to learn from and master our egos so that we may revel in the beauty of life without suffering. This is only a desirable destination however, because we have experienced the “dark” contrast perpetuated by an ego that is out of control.

A friend recently asked me about what I think it means to be happy.

It used to be freedom.

But then I realised that we are always free – free to choose how to react to any given situation, free to suffer; free to laugh.

And that, it is actually some degree of responsibility that adds satisfaction to our lives.

So what does it mean to be happy?

Today, to me, it means to be comfortable in one’s own skin; to be your own best friend. That way you can make the best of any situation. To know thyself; to love yourself and to feel comfortable spending time with yourself and expressing your energy truth fully – that is true happiness.

If you beg to differ, I’d love to hear from you.

Namaste~

Don’t give up on things. Even when you think you can’t take another second. We are strong; it is our minds that are weak, tricking us into falling short of our potential. Why? Because it is not the fear of failure that scares our ego most; it is the fear of success - of claiming our own personal power, and with that, the fear of the unknown.

People will give up almost anything to become enlightened. Anything that is, except the idea that they are not yet enlightened.

We were born enlightened. And then we chose to forget.

Why? Because we love a challenge; love a game; love an opportunity to explore – it makes us feel alive.

Many of us like the idea of becoming enlightened, however, as alluring as it may be, it is also deathly frightening.

There is an old well-known tale about a man who approaches a Zen Master and asks to be shown the path to enlightenment.

“Okay, follow me,” the Master replies, and leads the man to a nearby river and into the water.

Without warning the Master pushes the man’s head beneath the rushing river and holds it there as he struggles violently for his life. Just before he loses consciousness the Master pulls the man up, gasping for air.

“When you want to be enlightened as badly as you want to take your next breath, just now, comeback and see me,” says the Master.

This parable poses the question: Do you really yearn to become enlightened more than life itself?

A friend of mine pointed out in a conversation over the weekend, that the more we become ‘enlightened’ the more vulnerable we are to becoming depressed. I see his point. After all, it can be a pretty lonely path to wander, where one is often judged and misunderstood. And, as one begins to see through the illusions that our current society is based upon, we are often left with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.

Another aspect of the division that also holds us back is our own reluctance to claim our own personal power. After all, it is not the fear of failure that scares our ego most – but often, the fear of success. For then who would we be? What would we seek? And what kind of overwhelming responsibility would the claiming of our own infinite power entail?

This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t seek personal or spiritual growth; but the caveat here is that many seem to view enlightenment as the final destination. Following this view, we might find ourselves projecting on to it our hopes that ‘if only I were enlightened, I could really be a good person and be happy’.

Once we stop viewing enlightenment in this way, we can begin to enjoy the journey of self-exploration as it should be – without obligation or ambition.

And the best part is, there is no need to ‘give up’ anything. After all, true enlightenment does not come from depriving ourselves from our vices, but from letting go of that which no longer serves you when the time is right.

The difference here is that you will “set aside these things as a child sets aside toys. Not because they are unworthy, but because you have outgrown them.”

In the meantime, try not to judge yourself for taking pleasure in the material world.

You’re only human after all.