❝ When this free audio seminar was released on the internet last spring, it struck a deep chord for many evolutionaries. In fact, within two weeks of its release, it had been downloaded by over 140,000 people.
In The Key to Evolving Beyond Ego, Craig explains why our spiritual practices rarely lead to the kind of transformation we're seeking: the simple truth is that most of us haven't yet learned how to navigate past the part of us that doesn't actually want to change.
As Craig explains in this audio, this fundamental resistance to change is not our fault. We didn't choose it. It's not even a product of our childhood traumas.
This primitive part of the self--the ego--is rooted deep in our evolutionary past and is hardwired to preserve a sense of security and continuity at all costs.
Try asking it to change and you're going to get a big "no" for an answer. So, although we may think we want to evolve, and may be putting a lot of time and effort into our spiritual path, if we don't learn how to identify--and move beyond--this fundamental resistance to change, we will find that our efforts to awaken repeatedly fall short of the transformation we all sense is possible.
In this audio, Craig illuminates the most important step you can take to begin to identify your own ego resistance, and more importantly, how to make the simple but radical shift in orientation that can enable you to move beyond it.❞
I am starting to feel something that could develop into frustration if I let it - it's due to the fact that I am still searching new ways to evolve spiritually, but what I find in the world now is something I've already dealt with, released and moved on.
Just this morning few moments ago I received a free small course on releasing mind to reach my goals and dreams. Which is fine, except I am past earthy goals and dreams such as being successful or rich or living in the Bahamas.
I am fully content with the state of my life, I do not need or want anything external or internal to change. Not any of my emotions, they all precious and tools for great self-knowledge which is part of our existence on this planet.
I am aware of the illusion of material life, I am aware of how much I need of material things to keep the body alive - all else, I do not need. I have no desire to be successful. Would someone please give even a semi-reasonable spiritual reason why we should have more than we need or more than another sister or brother of ours?
I do not feel comfortable with "goals" anymore - if I need something I take the necessary steps to acquire it, and if it is meant to be it is what I shall receive because it truly was needed. I have come to figure out that things I do not need I will not receive - I think this has been a theme to learn in this life time, along with what comes with that Lesson which is: Total freedom of Attachments of all things material. But it leaks into emotional life as well and I cannot say there are too many things I am attached to.
Not being Attached I'd like to share doesn't mean you cannot feel sad when you two depart from each other.
As I write this I'm reminded of a recent article I read, "Ego Valaistumista Etsimässä" ( Ego Searching for Enlightenment ) in which the writer explores how the Ego wants to set out to find Enlightenment because it is one of those things it can be superior in than other people ( clever Ego, right ), so it sets out to get the perfect religion which it dictates is the one right religion, of course it is quite afraid of dying so eventually it gives and start to try and find reincarnation. After Ego is researched on this spiritual road it gets a guru, it sits under the feet of him and demands the Highest teachings from him. The ego loves to get the most exotic guru, because he can boast with it and beat other searchers of truth. After this Ego searches for knowledge on spiritual journeys and evolution, coming in contact with choices which separate him from others so that he can feel a bit more right than others again. When Ego comes across master of Light he wants to be one, and charges to the path but realizes soon that this would mean letting go of all kind of baggage. This Light is in front of it now and the Ego fears it, but as Light has entered the Ego cannot undo his actions and tries to focus on tidbits of knowledge instead of the Light of the Soul and divinity. But Ego soon sees there is not enough of organized information and hence it gets happy cause there are life times of information to go through and organize.
That is putting a very long article very shortly here, I recommend you get the newest Minä Olen, the article is there on pages 32-35. I wish it was in english as well as it is Amazing.
So why am I looking for more knowledge when all that I see is pretty much useless to me? Should I keep on looking for information, new ideas, and old ideas to evolve - or focus on the Light?
The Light is my life, it is in my Heart and Mind, in my Consciousness, it is in my sense of humor, and it is in the eyes of everyone I meet. So why am I hesitant to give my whole life to it - I have to work, it seems a contradiction. What if giving myself to the light fully means... But it won't, I know it won't. Silly Ego.
I can see it front of my eyes - that life, it's as easy as breathing, why would I not want to have that light in my life?
From Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, page 77 "Do you want Peace or Drama?"
"You want peace. There is no one who does not want peace. Yet there is something else in you that wants the drama, wants the conflict. You may not be able to feel it at this moment. You might have to wait for a situation or even just a thought that triggers a reaction in you: someone accusing you of this or that, not acknowledging you, encrouching on your terratory, questioning the way you do things, an argument about money. . . . Can you then feel the enormous surge of force moving through you? Can you hear your own voice becoming harsh or shrill, or louder and few octaves lower? Can you be aware of your mind racing to defend its position, justify, attack, blame? In other words, can you awaken at that moment of unconsciousness? Can you feel that there is something in you that is at war, something that feels threatened and wants to survive at all cost, that needs the drama in order to assert its identity as the victorious character within that theatrical production? Can you feel there is something in you that would rather be right than at peace?"
"You have to distinguish Divine Pride from egoistic pride. [...] Don't ever let a Green culture, give you so much carpet burn that you feel you have to stop. And don't ever let green culture take away Divine Pride from what you are doing. Keep absolute humility as well."
~Ken Wilber, on the video below at 06:20 -->
What is this Divine Pride?
What is egoistic pride?
Divine Pride is not, all things that egoistic pride is:
Pride of my car, or my house, or my clothes, my hair extentions, my intellegent, my wealth, my spirituality, my wisdom above others wisdom, my great morality, w00t go me I am awesome!
Erm... that not Divine Pride at any point, that is your Ego stating how awesome it think it/you are. Ego being the shadow entity of your mind and thinking, the one force that thrives on keeping you alive, in control with both flattery and intimitation. The unfortunate side effects of this ego are fear, anger, depression and sadness. You have to give it to the Ego - it kept you alive at times when all you had was skins for clothes and roots for foods. But as we have evolved, from magic and myth to modern, from modern to post-modern, from post-modern to integral we have come to realize we don't have such use for the Ego anymore and we have started to learn our way, away, from the ego.
So, What is replacing the Ego, our survival instinct?
Divinity. The divine spark of God/Creator in you, in me, in our brothers and sisters. That is what is replacing the ego's futile attempts to stay stagnant in the past when we needed it to survive, back when body still had to hold on to dear life in every fat cell (that is another story, another stagnant non-progressive reminder of how much we have evolved from our early history).
Divine is state above ego, it is the state where ego's tactics are no longer necessary because we have come to realise few important truths.
There is no death, not as how post-modern people see it - we won't leave human body forever, we won't disintegrate to dust and cease to exist. Reincarnation exists, there is a spirit, soul, divinity in us that is forever, never dying, never tainted, and never ending. And in this divinity we are safe.
We make our reality - we are the ones who decide whether we are happy or not, we are the ones who can choose if we will suffer or not, we are the ones who decide if loosing ability to walk or ability to hear is suffering or happiness. We are the ones who decide if a death of another family member is a life altering injustice and depression or life altering change to do good. We are the ones who decide. We are the ones who create our own lives.
With just these two truths will help you see that ego and it's by product can be retired. Ego... Don't you want to retire? You have served me well, for so long, you have made me who am today, you've loved me, you've cared for me, you have saved my life in so many occasions. Don't you think it's time for you to return to God, return back to Bliss and Love where all your troubles are being rewarded with rest and happiness? Your work is done, you are free. Free!
And we are left with our divine that is never against or for anything, that is bliss and happiness in everyday life, till the day we die.
There are so many things in our lives that can only be taught to us through divinity.
To let go of the ego doesn't mean we are done, that there is no where to go (this is ego's statement), nothing to learn - on the contrary! There is so much! A whole new evolution of humanity, we should see this as an amazing opportunity to be able to witness this leap to a whole state of being human. You don't stop being human just because you no longer fear and hate, think about it, why would hate make you human, why would fear? BE EXCITED! You are at the freaking best seats to witness evolution! GET EXCITED!
Be divine, be happiness, choose the best life, the new life... see nature and animals for what they truly are, see science for what it can truly offer!
This excitement, this happiness and love - this is Divine Pride!
What if, If you have never worked or had children, then there is a chance you haven't come across real Responsibility? If you have worked or are working, there is still a chance you haven't come across real Responsibility? If you have children, you might need to think wether you are manifesting to real life, real Responsibility?
What are we responsible for? The pie-chart of the fourth quoter, paying the electricity bill, remembring to pick up the most-important-piece-of-laundry in the world, diciplening co-workers/workers... I mean that is responsibility. But what kind of responsibility?
Could there be a difference between your ego's responsibility and your soul's responsibility? What is ego? What is soul?
Question: Laurie, could you please comment on this sentence from your book Realms of Light: "In this brief life, we are trying to line up our small ego with the soul and its vision so that they work together as one." Can you talk to us about the basic difference between the ego and the soul?
Answer: I think one of the main goals of our life on earth is to align our personal vision with the soul's vision. The soul's vision is already very much in alignment with the Divine, with God's vision for us. And yet, here we are in this body which contains the ego. Ego, in the sense that we are speaking of now, means all our perception. Any of our thoughts, anything we perceive is considered ego - which includes our perception that we are the body. So this definition of the word "ego" is a very differentdefinition than the man on the street's definition of ego, or even a psychologist's definition of ego.
--- On Meditation, the Ego and the Soul: An Interview with author Laurie Conrad by Diana Souza. October 30th, 2004. Ithaca, New York.The whole Article.
Your ego worries about daily things, your bills, your reputation, your honour, your believes, your connections, your friends... Your soul doesn't worry. It knows exactly what is going on, and it also knows your ego is stopping you from seeing the big picture.
But since when have us humanbeings, bright, loving people listened to our body? Let's face it, not very often. We should, but listening to our body is very different than listening to our ego.
Our soul has no worries, no fears. It's all in the ego. What our soul knows, our ego fears. What we don't know, what is changing, we fear, OUR ego fears. Our Soul is calm, knowing all things change, constantly. Tiny, tiny, tiny changes, or huge mind-blowing changes. It's not getting better or worse. Yes! It's true! Comforting isn't it... :) It's just taking the nessecery turns and up and down hills to reach where it's going.
Where are we going?
Tougher question. It's individual. There is as many beliefs as there as drops in the ocean. Mine is that Earth is a big school. Reincarnation exists. This school has leveled classes, first grade, seconds grade -Infant Souls, Baby/Child Souls, meaning we graduate after learning few things in our Soul level and move forward to the next soul level. Eventually searching enlightenment. This to me means we move back to The Higher Power, we again become part of "God-Creator-HigherPower".
Now after going through what is Ego, what is Soul, what is Earth and it's meaning.... to me atleast, we get to move to the actual point, Responsibility.
Soul's responsibility isn't daily-work-and-fun responsibility. That's ego's area. Soul Responsibility is responsibility toward your enlightenment. Your responsibility to learn, see connections between what is your plan of your life and what are your actions. How your actions deroute or keep you on route depending on the actions you have to the situations you encounter.
Is you temper making you snap at someone, and making you later feel ashamed? Is you incapability to say No, getting you into stressfull state and debression?
Is it your natural state to be ashamed or stressed or debressed?
No. Ofcourse not.
Responsibility is to make choices that upkeep your natural state.
When you are calm, happy, positive and smiling, you lead by example.
Your children will follow your lead, your co-workers trust and are comforable with you.
