The majority of 'spiritual teachings' lean towards placing the spiritual self on a pedastal and result in an over-focus on spirit, denying the rest of self in the process. The idea that 'ego is a false belief' and even that 'the body is animalistic and evil' are common in some circles - yet they lead to self destruction, not balance or love.
For much of my life I asked the question "If ancient religions or spiritual teachings are correct, then why aren't there more enlightened and amazing people in history?" - Why are the lives of most people seemingly mundane and unremarkable, despite their religious training? The answer is obviously complicated, but at it's core is that, essentially, the people either did not understand everything needed or they simply didn't embody it all as needed.
Since I figured that most people would actually like to be self actualised and enlightened, ending their own suffering in the process - I concluded that the problems probably originated not so much in the person's intent or desire, but more in the teachings they were given. As it turns out, after having read hundreds of books and after years of self exploration - I still agree with that idea.
Thankfully, there are a few truly great books around today that stand out, which have provided truly powerful keys to enlightenment, but they are in the minority. The majority that I encounter (including the famous ones that sell many millions of copies) are close enough to the truth that they SOUND good, but not close enough that they FEEL good or actually nudge people towards REAL balance.
I want to explain here just one of the major issues involved that is both very common and very destructive. The books I work with call this 'spirit polarisation', which is essentially where we define the spiritual aspect of ourselves as 'the most important' or even 'the only real part of me' and our energy then shifts towards spirit, denying the rest of us.
The Ego is Just The Part of You That Knows Who You ARE
The majority of comments I see online about ego generally agree with the idea that the ego is the cause of most of our problems. Some will say that the ego is just a wounded part of us that wants attention, while others will go as far as saying that ego is an illusion and needs to be killed.
I am more about integration and compassionate understanding. While the people who say that we must destroy the ego will say they are also compassionate, they are not integrating their parts. They are also not thinking and feeling into the situation deeply enough to know the nature of their own individuation in this universe.
The gist of the 'anti ego' argument is usually: Who you really are is spirit and so the reality of the body and ego are just illusions that are distracting you from the truth. They say that the ego is nothing more than a fantasy version of yourself and needs to be discarded before you can be enlightened. Spirit, they say, is 'one' it is a oneness and so are you - so therefore, any idea you have which contradicts this is a lie.
For a while, I reached the same conclusion as this on my own (years ago), but I never found a way to really sit with it as my mind asks a lot of questions and doesn't like to skip anything in the process. I could not resolve the idea that I was simultaneously everything but that I also experience myself with limited human form. If I were starving in a famine, how could I resolve the idea that I am the entire universe? Something isn't right with the simplistic idea that 'all is one'.
The 'science of the obvious' reveals easily that while we may well be part of a oneness, our human life is PART and not the whole in and of itself. We are BOTH spirit, a less dense form of beingness which is less bound by space and time AND also an individuated being with individual will and a body vehicle.
Ego integration needs to be allowed to come to understand that, yes, it has wrongly defined itself (in most cases) as being totally disconnected from other life forms, yet also wrongly defined itself as being 'less than' spirit or even that spirit doesn't exist. As we correctly define who we are in the context of 'all that is', we heal our ego and we come to peace.
Once our ego knows who we truly are, there's no more battle in the ego and we more easily resolve conflicts. None of this requires destruction of the ego, just healing.
The Body is NOT an Obstacle
Similarly, our body gets a bad wrap from many 'teachers'. We have historically been taught that 'the flesh' is evil and the desires of the body are the cause of much wrongness. In truth, once again, it is that unloving or incorrect thinking is behind the suffering and not the body itself.
If spirit already knew everythign then there would be no need for creation and human lives. There's a lot of learning in human lives that is for a purpose. While some people claim that spirit already knows everything and is just teaching us lessons ... for .. some reason.. The reality is that there is no proof of this and people are just putting faith in such beliefs.
To be opened to your own spirit is to know a great deal about self and the nature of your life. I am not talking about a metaphorical opening of spirit or an imagining, I am talking about a real experience of shifting perception from the human oriented self to the larger, yet typically formless spiritual level of self. This is something that can be achieved and is what the images of Jesus and disciples with light emitting heads is representing.
Far from being a trap or enemy, our body is our home in physical reality and allows us extremely valuable opportunities to learn, heal and evolve. There is simply no way for discarnate spirit to integrate emotionsa and feel the movement of energy that life facilitates. As such, there is no possible way for spirit, without creative processes and creation itself, to 'know everything'.
Polarisation To Spirit Is Dangerous.
When humans choose to integrate teachings that are skewed in the direction of spirit, they often end up (perhaps unconsciously) devaluing their body, their own life, their will, their feelings and their destiny on Earth. After all, why would we bother to put focus or energy into our life on Earth if 'life is just an illusion' (Albeit a very persistant one)?
Some have taken this denial to extremes and I have personally heard of people who have dedicated almost every daily moment to praying to their idea of God, seeking some kind of salvation. Tragically, they did not understand that their salvation comes in moving, living, feeling, expressing and self acceptance.
There is no way to embody diving nature without self acceptance. Divinity comes through self acceptance and no other way. You only need to try this, rather than judging it, to find out if this is true.
It's easy for people to look at death cults who talk themselves into believing they have to kill themselves to 'ascend' to 'the next level' and laugh/ridicule. However, the reality is that massive numbers of people are pointing themselves in the same direction through their erronious choice to be spirit polarised.
As soon as we deny our true feelings, prevent our heart from pointing us in the direction that feels best - in order to create experiences that we want to have - we begin a process of self denial and self desecration.
We are NOT 'just' spirit. Spirit is NOT our 'true self'. We are PART SPIRIT, PART WILL, PART HEART and PART BODY. Each of these four parts deserves respect, has needs and can be integrated as one.
Only when we unify self, without any denial, can we 'evolve to the next level' or even begin to enjoy the benefits that life has to offer in a sustainable way.
Every emotion has value, has a purpose and needs to be felt, accepted and understood. It is not a loving or wise approach to judge emotions as being 'dangerous' or 'beneath me' when in truth they are mostly only responding to your own thinking. If you think that emotions are 'negative', then they will feel worse in response (like you have slapped them energetically) - which will seem to prove your judgement to be correct, when it is not.
We have a lot of judgements about emotion, will and body to release before we can begin to come into balance, but this is not too difficult to be done.
In Summation
You are a divine being.
You are a vibrational being.
You need love to continue to exist at all.
You need to accept all of yourself and hold all of youself inside love to be who you truly are.
You cannot be who you truly are while denying part of yourself.
Wishing you well,
Ura Soul
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Good stuff @ura-soul !
Becoming more aware in the last 12-13 years, i discovered that my Ego
"took over" and reached...where?? Exactly,it reached its limits of its reign/universe,
so the heart "took over". Realizing this, i was like "Heart beats Ego" in the beginning of this process. But soon i realized, that "Heart Guides Ego" is the better way, because the Ego is my "friend/dog/the muscle man"😄.
And guided the right way he (Ego) does amazing things for the heart/consciousness and also for the body (training ; strong & healthy physical condition).
Bless Up
Greetings
Ego can definitely take over, yes - when we believe we are just a meat suit in a mechanical world, there's not much to call on for power other than our own identity. Heart brings the needed balance every time, yes. It's possible to really 'thin down' the ego just be giving it the singular, yet essential task of knowing who we are. We have other parts that can handle everything else. :)
We have other parts that can handle everything else. :)
Yesir, right brain half-stuff, everything the system is trying to suppress.
Our right brain half is connected to our heart and it can transmit with
billions of bits compared to the more rational,male energy left brain half, which transmits with around 4 bits/sec.
Still, we need both sides strong & balanced.
Balance is the key, let everything live, and if you're in doubt,
follow the heart.
I am agree with you, the middle way is always the best for walk. The polarities just confuse more the people. Only when we are in harmony with all that we are we find the inner peace. I like a lot this extract of your post.
I'm glad you appreciated the words :)
I personally value the polarities and enjoy going to their extremes at times - we need to go to the extremes to truly feel where the middle is.
The Vedas use a Sanskrit term "achintya bedhabedha tattva" meaning inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference.
Aha, thanks for sharing that. There are many important concepts expressed in Sanskrit that are rarely heard in English. I'm not sure that the reality of self is inconceivable, but it's understandable that it would be conceived to be as such. :)