At Peace With Ego

Once I had the understanding that my awareness was the One awareness, it no longer mattered whether or not I was experiencing bliss or oneness. I can embody the understanding and live my life with a background of peace, and not condemn myself for having an ego.

Cultural Robots

The ego develops to protect the body, and as the ego matures it becomes an entity itself. Soon it also has to protect itself. That self is just the values of the local culture and how one can maintain one's place in it. 

Ultimately, the ego is not who we are, just an identity built of constructs, thoughts and feelings. Unfortunately, the ego doesn't realize it's just a bunch of concepts. And as those concepts are internalized and habituated, we develop feelings to go with them. Feelings are just automatic value judgments. 

Until a person steps back and looks at the constructs and gets to the bottom of automatic judgments, one is essentially a cultural robot. It takes courage to look unflinchingly, but to be free it must be done. 

Nothingness

The perception of nothing is perceived by awareness. So, however much the feeling of nothingness is in your perception, you are the awareness of that nothing. Awareness is not a thing. It is the subject, it is you. It is the knower. Ultimately there is only existence. Nothingness is a phase that will most likely pass.  

The Absolute Perspective

From the absolute perspective you could say there is no right or wrong, good or bad. But, we humans are embodied, and for our relative existence, we have good and bad. We have morals to make our lives easier, less stressful, less fearful. 

What the perspective of absolute does for us, however, is give us breathing room from guilt, shame, and other destructive self imposed suffering.  

Illusions

I wouldn't worry about things being called an illusion. The absolute is existence, and therefore anything, however illusionary, is That. 

Rality Does Not Change

I think that Advaita defines reality as that which does not change. The One does not change. All change happens in Maya, a power of Awareness. Like the movie screen is the same no matter what movie is played. The screen is not affected. So, at least for me, seeing beyond the reality beyond the ego is just seeing the One reality, pure Awareness, that does not change.

No Separtion

It seems to me that when we realize "all is One, and I am That," there is no separation, and when there is no separation, everything is the Self. 

With that understanding, who is good and who is bad? Who is right, and who is wrong? Who would you wish to harm? What you do to others, you do to yourself. 

It follows that the One is eternal. All is eternal. All is now, always and forever.

Truth is Freedom

I would rather have the truth, and the freedom to pursue truth over bliss or an absence of suffering. That doesn't mean that enlightenment and the cessation of suffering isn't the truth.

Effortlessness

Effortless is just a feeling that happens when one realizes one is not the doer. Just like someone who loves what they do, they do not call it work. As long as the ego is center stage effort will be needed.

Ever The Knower

Everything that comes after "I am" is an object. Self aware beingness is the knower. All else is object. The world is object, the mind is object, thoughts and feelings are object. You, awareness, are the knower. You will always be the knower. Before this body you knew, after this body goes, you will know. Ever the knower, be at peace.

Peace

The level of consciousness changes slowly, and it changes individual by individual. That's why I don't have a "save the world" complex. If you want to worry all the time, take on all the troubles of the world. I take it to heart that I am not the doer. I see me doing things. I watch and wonder. I stay at peace.

No One Is Superior

We are all unique. None of us is ultimately superior. We are the play of the divine. We may not even understand the purpose. My thinking is that we should all strive to gain as much knowledge and wisdom as we can, and then trust the unknown.

The Ultimate Fear

The fear of death is the ultimate fear, the foundational fear on which all other fears reside. There is also man's search for meaning and death seems to be the antithesis of meaning. Lastly, knowing that one is eternal seems to bring meaning back into life. What satisfies our soul seems to be our eternal spirit. Death just doesn't make sense, but being itself does.

Non Duality

The whole universe is a field of energy. Nothing is really separate; just various densities of vibration. Non-duality is just the knowing that all is One. 

Ego As A Pet

In the end it is just being able to identify Awareness as the real Self and not the ego. We don't get rid of the ego, we see it as a friendly pet trying to help us navigate the world. If you experience emptiness, that's OK. It's just the ego feeling less important.

My experience is a shift where the ego drops into the background and one is aware of eternal existence as awareness itself. Thinking quiets down, but is still available for navigating the world.

I always sought the Truth. I was not trying to be good, or saintly, just resolving the itch that something was missing. I do feel that awakening/realization does tend to make one less selfish, kinder, etc. And while thinking is still there, it is less personal and few conflicts.

Own Authority

Why do we end up being our own ultimate authority? Only we know when the search is over, when the pressure stops and we feel at ease. All the sages say the Self is ineffable. That doesn't mean we can't feel known, or knowing, however indescribable the Self may be.

Dregs Of The Ego

We are never done. Never as woke as we might be. However, I do think we come to a point where the search is essentially over. We know who we are, the Self. From then on it is refinement, catching more subtlety, and certainly watching the dregs of the ego still appearing now and then.

Not Separate

We are are a piece of the Divine. Our essence is nothing other than the Divine. Our separation is apparent, but not ultimately real. Therefore our true self is the Divine, one and only. We feel separate. We search and search and finally surrender to the truth that we are not separate, and find our self the Divine, not separate after all.

The Individual and the Spiritual Quest

The place of the individual in the spiritual quest is always unique. The approach will be individual based on the person's belief's and culture as well as their brain's architecture. Some will say that past lives may also influence their spiritual quest.

If then, the spiritual quest is always unique, each individual will have to do self inquiry, contemplation, or any number of spiritual techniques to come to the point of becoming their own authority.

The spiritual quest is only over when the individual determines for himself that the spiritual search is done. No one outside of the self can be the determiner.

The individual may use and consider any outside authority for information and advice in the spiritual quest. However, no outside authority has the final word on what the answer is for any seeker.

Since the spiritual search is by necessity a search for the connection between the individual and the creator, it is the personal connection, the personal revelations, and personal insight that are the final authority.

One's own authority, in the end, is the only authority in the spiritual quest that is free. This freedom may include surrender to the Divine, the ultimate connection. 

One Lord

"He who calls on me by whatever name is mine, and dear to me." The good Lord is one, the names and rituals of any religion are different, but there is only One Lord, by whatever name.

The Real Perceiver

If you look out with your eyes you have a field of vision. If you actually look at what you see as a field, and not as separate objects, you see a nondual scene. It is easily observed that your body is in the field, and part of the field. The only thing that is not in the field is Awareness. 

It is easy to know that the eyes are seeing the field, that the brain is interpreting the field. But is it easy to realize that awareness is the perceiver?  

Two people purveying the scene will have different thoughts or feelings about the scene, but the awareness is the same in both observers. 

Awareness is simple, non judgmental, always available. Awareness is the real perceiver, not the eyes, not the personal you. You are That Awareness. It is the real you. 

End of the Search

Some people get a spiritual seeking urge that they do not seem to be in control of. It is always an intuition that something deeper needs to be known. I had many ecstatic and mystical experiences. They were the most profound experiences I ever had. But, they didn't make me feel enlightened, or awake. They were more like messages that could not be ignored. Experiences are, I think, just half of the equation. The other half is that the intellect has to work through all its beliefs and conditions that the experiences invalidate. 

It was just a late night quiet reading of Robert Wolff's book, "Living Originally" where at a certain point I said to myself, "I know that I know." This is a paradoxical statement in that there are two I's. It seems that Awareness as Source and the individual person recognize the oneness at once. That's the best I can state this. 

Yes, coming to the end of the search is a big relief. The unrelenting pressure to search stops. But, since this is the most profound pursuit a person can have, the rest of one's life will likely be filled with simple curiosity about the trip, how other people experience it, and interpret it. I no longer feel the goad of the search, but am endlessly curious about the process in anyone who is caught in it, or their descriptions of the end of the search and its aftermath. 

The end of the pressure to search is not the end of the road. There are endless refinements that will be seen to need attention, more subtle insights, and efforts to live the insights. Non duality is the ultimate condition, but the individual appearance, or focal point, has its own contribution to the whole.

Awakening a Saint

Awakening may give us a profound insight into the nature of reality. The awakening may affect us deeply and cause changes in our personality in a good way. However, insight into the nature of reality does not necessarily make a person good, or saintly. It's just an insight. It may be more profound than other insights, but it doesn't bestow sainthood.

The sense of completeness happens, when after a long search, one feels finally, I understand. This is often after a number of mystical experiences and profound contemplation. When the pressure of the search relaxes, it feels like the end of the road. But it is not the end, it's just that the major question of Being is answered, or known.

So, although there may be a sense of finality about the search being over, the personality, with all its quirks and issues remains. One can then carry on, but to think that the end of the search creates perfection in the person is naive. The evidence of the fallen gurus proves this point. The rest of one's life can be dedicated to living up to the insight, which is perhaps the path after enlightenment. Seekers also have a responsibility to keep this in mind, and should not put teachers on a pedestal as a perfect being. 

 

Everything Is That One

If all appearances are actually That Formless One, then they do exist. There has never been anything but existence since the One I has always been and always will be. Saying we don't exist is the same as saying the Absolute doesn't exist. If non duality is the truth then everything is that and does exist. 

The Absolute And The Relative

Despite the fact that everyone is that One I Am, most people are not conscious of this fact. Ignorance of this fact is why most of us are unenlightened. Enlightenment is simply recognizing the fact that ultimately we are all That One. 

Knowing this does negate the person in the ultimate sense, but it does not negate the relative form. We can even call the form illusion, or an appearance, but the form remains. We live with the form. It is via the form we post here on media sties such as this one. 

To say there is 'no' you is misleading as it is only the perspective from the absolute. Most people don't have that view. Even with that view, the relative still exists. To deny it altogether is not helpful. 

Only the ignorant need enlightenment and there are many. To say there is 'no' you doesn't help them at all. 

Theories and Beliefs

First we have theories and beliefs. Then we test. What works we keep, what doesn't we don't. Hopefully this sharpens our clarity. Everything is tentative, although a deep truth will resonate deeper and deeper. 

Unknowability

My best life is to do the most I can to understand truth as I see it and then try and live that truth. How relative it is, who knows? That means that ultimately we live in an unknown. J. Krishnamurti made this clear. Acceptance of this unknowability can bring peace.

Aware Formless Subject

I just see an aware formless subject that creates whatever it wishes. Just like we create a dream out of nothing but thought and feeling. The brain and body are dream appearances that seem real to the form awareness embodies as us.

We borrow that awareness for the body/mind and believe it is ours and belongs to us. We are, in fact, just an appearance. We are a thought projection in form. The ultimate subject then gets to have experience and watch the evolution that unfolds. 

Truth is just the rules of the game. If we pay attention and perceive the rules, pursue truth, we play a better game and have a better life. 

Knowledge is Primary

I've had mystical experiences. They do come with authority that is mind boggling. And the ecstasies were wonderful. But these are experiences and they come and go. That is why Advaita talks consistently about knowledge being primary. Knowledge removes ignorance. We can say that experience is a kind of knowledge and I would agree to that. But knowledge is necessary and truth doesn't come and go.

Eternal Existence

For me, if there is existence, then it has always been. Since knowing existence requires consciousness, then awareness has always been and always will be. Call it God, Sat Chit Ananda, or whatever. It's what always is. The question of "who made God?" doesn't occur to me.

Honor Feelings, But Question Them

We have to honor our feelings. They point to our values. But, we can on our own or in therapy examine them. Often the feelings were embedded in a poor environment and do not currently reflect truth. To never question feelings is to be reactionary and robotic. Thank God we have an intellect. It is a useful tool. Balance is all!

Feelings

The best definition I've found for feelings is that they are "automatic value judgments." When someone expresses their feelings to you,  you can respect that they feel that way. However, it is an automatic value judgment and may not be currently valid. It may even be an irrational value judgment. 

You must acknowledge your own feelings, as well as others. But, you can question your own feelings, and other's feelings as to their current validity. The feelings may or may not be rational or practical. 

So many of our feelings were programmed when we were children. They often reflect the environment we had in our childhood. If the childhood environment was crazy or abusive, those feelings may be counterproductive in the outside world. Those values were only valid for surviving in that crazy family and are currently counterproductive. 

Therapy is excellent at unearthing repressed feelings. It is good to unearth them, feel them, and process them.  I personally respect my feelings, but I question them, and if I find they are not reflective of the truth I now know, or on reflection don't find them practical or productive, I let them go.

Ego Is Just A Tool

I see ego as just a manifestation of Being or Self in a focalized point. It is just a necessary tool of Self to have experience. Without form it is difficult to say we could have experiences. As a tool, the ego can be used ignorantly or wisely. Without following the prescription to "know thyself" we are ignorant. We think we are the body which the ego identifies with. As the ego develops it identifies with the personal characteristics. 

If through curiosity or suffering, the ego starts to look at itself, it can see its limitations and conditioned beliefs. It can dismantle itself. If done well, the ego takes the back seat and acknowledges a greater Self, or Being as the true and Original I. Then it is just a friendly tool used by the body/mind to survive and serve.

Instinct vs Ego

While animals have fairly set instincts designed for their survival, the human baby arrives with very few instincts. This lack of instincts is quite positive in regards to our adaptability. It's made us quite successful as a species. The downside of this is that we are programmed by family and cultural environment. This vast variety of influences creates tremendous differences between the values of human groups. 

As any of us knows, what we have instead of instincts is ego. And that is where our troubles start. As a replacement for instinct, ego is just as sticky and intransigent as instinct. 

Being one species, but with egos instead of instincts, it is difficult for us stay at peace. It is easy for one culture to see  other cultures as evil, less than human. They don't think like we do, so they must be eliminated. 

There is no easy way to change our ego. As a replacement for instinct, it will fight to the death in order to protect itself. Most of us think of our self more as an ego than a body. That's why we die in war. 

The awakening of people into non duality where we can see the ego for what it is, tends to make people more peaceful. Seeing the ego for what it is, is often experienced as a death. But on the other side is a oneness with others that may bring peace. Tolerance is much easier when the ego is seen through. May we all die before we die. Peace.

Thought is not the enemy.

Thought is not the enemy. It is what we think that is the enemy. We are all conditioned with thoughts that are not our own, thoughts based on fear and past trauma. When thoughts are refined by the search for truth, peace happens, relaxation happens, a quiet mind without conflict happens. 

The ego remains but it is in the background, a tool to be used by Self as needed. David Hawkins says that you treat the ego like a friendly pet. It doesn't rule the house, and it is also not the enemy when it knows its place. 

Relaxation

What I have found is that if you seek truth, and if you are willing to work at it, and face the dark night, you will find relaxation happening as a result of clarity. As the truth is discovered, relaxation happens automatically. I have never had to work at relaxation. I have only searched for truth. Relaxation happened as a result. So did a quiet mind come on its own as truth was known.

Love vs Religion

Love is fluid. Religion is rigid. 

Karma

You have karma as long as you think you are the doer. When you realize you are not the doer, how in the hell could you have karma?

World Is A Projection

Everything is a projection in consciousness, granted. But, only those beings that have a metabolism have consciousness. Only those beings with metabolism are self conscious. The rest is the playing field. A soccer team cares who wins. The field does not.

A Peaceful Place

"I am" is the fundamental expression of awareness. It is not personal. To become personal there has to be an object. For example, "I am Joe. Or "I am sad". Or "I am male," or "I am female." 

Nisargadatta recommends that we contemplate that simple "I am" without any other object. This keeps it impersonal. The end result is that eventually one identifies with impersonal awareness. This identity shift removes one's personal identifications, which removes us from much suffering, and quiets the mind. 

So, if you are looking for a simple meditation that works. This is a method that anyone can use and do anywhere. The result is that one can say "things happen, I do not do them." The person remains. It goes to work, eats, sleeps, has good days and bad days, but the impersonal self remains the focal point, and that is a peaceful place. 

Ego Nothing?

Compared to the Absolute, the small self is a nothing. It's a construct. But, it is an emanation from source, and it is due some respect. I have found that it is only people with a strong ego that can confront the fact of its 'nothingness." Defensive people don't have enough ego to confront its limitations. Paradoxical, like all subtle realities.

Misery

With realization, the small self knows he always was, and always will be That. And that's when the misery ends. 

Existence Always

The only conclusion I can relate to is that a power has always existed. Existence implies awareness. Awareness of objects constitutes consciousness. Everything else in the universe is the creativity and exploration of the original power.

We Are The Hologram

Consciousness is everything that exists as a projection in awareness.

Presence is Fundamental

Just observe whatever you are experiencing and notice that whether it is thought, or irritation, or joy, it is being experienced in presence. You are that presence regardless of what you are thinking or feeling. The presence is always there, no matter how much the experience changes. Recognizing this, the only conclusion one comes to is that you are that presence. Nothing more to know.

Intent

"He who calls on me by whatever name, is mine, and dear to me." Same goes for whatever method one chooses. It's the intent that matters, not the method.

Ego Is Secondary

A healthy ego knows it is not the top dog, it's just a tool to navigate the relative world. An ego that acknowledges it's secondary status to the Self, God, the Absolute, is helpful, not harmful.

Relative World and Ignorance

If you are the Absolute and know it, then of course there is nothing to wake up from. But, the whole reason there is even a term "enlightenment" is because we live in ignorance of our true Self.

Any normal human being does have something to wake up from, assuming he realizes his ignorance. Dream or not, there is a relative world, and our human selves live in it. We can play the game in ignorance (nothing to wake up from), or we can get off our butt and try to get to the truth.