Like many other here I've been reading Tolle's A New Earth, and I know I'm not the only one being totally blown away by the truths in what he reveals about our egos. As we come to know who we are more and more fully, we recognize more and more the illusions that the ego sets up for us. Perhaps we never reach the end of this process. This dissolving of the ego, the stripping away of layers of illusion is like peeling an onion, for it brings tears. It also brings healing and bliss. Dharma.
So what do we do with this ego, this construct we carry within of who we are? To dissolve it is to know truth, but does that mean we may not enlist its energy in a positive way? One thing that strikes me is that each of us has a legend. I'm pretty sure I didn't make up that term, but I don't remember where I got it. That legend is mostly built for us through the flowering of the ego, n'est-ce pas? It is behind the way we present ourselves both to the world and in the mirror - and having more to do with so-called self-esteem than actual self-respect, it is often more fiction than fact...hence the name.
I think we all craft our own legend. We elaborately and often very beautifully construct an image that we wish others to see instead of our true selves. If we believe our own BS we run the risk of identifying with our own fiction, but if we work instead at honestly crafting our legend into what we really believe we wish to be, we seek to identify ourselves. I'm grateful for those four pillars of the shaman way as voiced by Riversong: Be impeccable in your word. Assume nothing. Take nothing personally. Do your best, always. And I have added Don't fear being an outlaw, which simply means that when your impeccability requires thinking outside the box, do so fearlessly and honestly and diligently. And: Love tenderly and always.
None of us walks our talk perfectly. We all lie both to ourselves and to the world. And we love imperfectly, see imperfectly, and hear imperfectly. But we can't become more authentic without growth, and we can't grow without becoming more authentic.
So, is our legend useful, or should we seek to completely submerge it for all time in All That Is? Without it the ego is naked. Do we shrug it off like good nudists or do we reach for fig leaves - or worse, the furtive cover of darkness? What is a naked ego good for?
8-D
Long life to you my friend.
The difference between a mystic and a psychotic, I've heard, is actually having a healthy ego. "Naked" ego sounds true, like the lack of ignorance. Why does the ego get such a bad rep anyway?
There is this relative world that we live and move and have our being. The ego as a sense of a me and them helps me to navigate the world of time.
I discard the clothing of the ego and enter the void of the absolute where I may shiver,but only at first because the 'experiencer' was left in the world of time too.
Maybe its just our relationship to the ego that needs examination. I wonder after watching and pondering the event horizon video if its just another boundary inclusive of the infinite. One that we recognize in our relationships to our world.
Hmmmmmm....
Tricia
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Long life to you my friend.
Now Riversong,
Would that be your projection? YippeeeYiiiiiYaaaaaa
You know what they say about BIG EGO......little
Oh there goes my princess warrior clothing!
Tricia
It appears to me that the "ego" is 1/2 of a self-world thought construct appearing within the undivided awareness of now. It is a conceptual distinction that is practical and useful but imaginary. The wave can be conceived as being separate from the ocean, but they never really are. It is my experience that as I relax and gaze back with wonder at who or what is aware, I find nothing whatsoever--an undifferentiated, open, awake "space"--empty cognizance. Is it like this for you?
This clear, cognizant presence always includes the whole of this moment; inside/outside, self/other, self/world, space and time are habitual, conceptual distinctions that arise within the open "space" awareness of now. In fact, for me awareness, presence, now, being, aliveness have all come to mean the same thing (which, of course, is not a "thing;" the nondual, paradoxical nature of the truth makes articulating the direct experience difficult, especially because our language is base in duality.)
As this recognition has become familiar and, gradually, more habitual, the "ego" along with everything else that occurs within the open space, looks increasingly transparent and, despite its continuing recurrence, less and less substantial.
One of the Tibetan (I believe) names for the Buddha means, "disappeared into presence."
Douglas Harding, formely an engineer, awoke while in India with the British army and subsequently developed a remarkable series of simple, experiential exercises to assist others to get glimpses of what he realized. One of his students has posted them you go to http://www.headless.org you can see for yourself. These exercises were the way I got my first glimpse.
Blessings to you,
John
PS In 2000, my wife, Lynn Marie and I published a book, The Awakening West--Evidence of a Spreading Enlightenment, about an increasing number of westerners who had had awakenings, and/or had awakened. It was picked up by a publisher, who who insisted it would sell better if they changed the subtitle to "conversations with today's leading spiritual teachers" and changed the cover form beautiful and inspiring to mundane and proceeded to bury it; and now, it is out of print. The rights have reverted to us and we are again looking for a publisher; know anyone?
Anyway, you can often find used copies on Amazon, etc. if you are interested.
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Long life to you my friend.
Hi lightwins,
There is a wonderful (and free) download by Douglas and Catherine Harding that is mesmorizing and reaches beyond the rational mind. It is from Audio Dharma at Zencast; number 146. Here is the link (the 6 week mindfulness meditation course by Gil Fronsdal is a Jewel too).
http://amberstar.libsyn.com/
Namaste,
Tricia
Shameless self-promotion, Riversong.
I'll check out Douglas & Catherine as soon as I get the chance, Tricia; thanks.
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