It is common to think of the ego as an enemy of some sort. It is true that our tendency for self-preoccupation is something that leads to unhappiness, and prevents us from feeling kinship with the world around us and the presence of Spirit in our lives.
On the other hand, a weak ego creates other problems: insecurity, negative self-talk, and fear, among them. So what are we to do? Build it up or take it down?
Some people are perhaps familiar with the term “ahimsa.” It is known, in part, as Gandhi’s practice of non-violence. While strictly following the path of non-violence, he was able to dislodge the British from India and set his homeland free.
But what really is ahimsa? In Sanskrit, "a" means 'not' while “himsa” means 'injury', so it is the avoidance of doing injury to any other living being. But I’d like to go a little deeper.
I’m afraid the world news has not gotten a lot better since my post of last week. I wrote about hearing the news, but being less affected by it, which starts with being less affected with the minor things around us every day. Practice makes perfect, and there is actually no causality between external circumstances and how you feel. This is infinitely easier to see in the minor ways, so start there and move up the scale over time. We can become more rooted in ourselves and less buffeted by the people or circumstances around us. But there is another aspect to the news: Read less of it!
Another tough week of news. While the details change and each event is sadly tragic in its own way, the “news” might properly be called the “olds”. Conflict, atrocities, and other horrible news has unfortunately been around as long as human life. Whatever we choose to call it, how can we relate to it as responsible citizens and as children of Spirit? I’m glad you asked… :-)
On its face, hoping something unpleasant will go away on its own seems perfectly natural. And it is. Unfortunately, it is also perfectly natural to experience aches and pains. However, if we work out and eat well, we can often do better than “perfectly natural.” Does that mean you “should” work out and eat well? No! Only if you want to maximize the chance you will be healthy. Similarly, none of the “moral” laws of spirituality have to do with “should.” They have to do with cause and effect, just like the cause and effect at play with our bodies.
Almost all of us get discouraged at some point in life. No matter how hard we try, sometimes multiple things are just not working. Everything I do lately has blown up in my face; I try to be as kind as possible but somehow everyone is mad at me; my relationships always fail. The list of possible hope-removers is long. But as with every aspect of life, the trouble is really in our heads and not in the unfortunate circumstances we are facing…
It is very common for people to be uncomfortable with change. There is a deep rooted natural reason for this. Our fundamental delusion on this planet is that we need our circumstances to be just right in order to be happy. And everyone wants to be happy. No one ever wakes up in the morning thinking, “I sure hope I am miserable today!” We all want to be happy, and we are sure that happiness can only be achieved if our circumstances are improved (a little more money, better relationship, good health, more satisfying work, well-adjusted children, etc.)
Contentment, it has been rightly said, is the supreme virtue. While I believe this is true, there are a number of ways to misinterpret this. Contentment does not mean passivity. It means an open, receptive heart, able to accept reality for what it is. Once the heart is calm, true intuition and knowledge is free to enter.
I remember a great joke I heard years ago. The pilot of a commercial jet comes on the intercom and says, “I have good news and bad news [I bet they are never supposed to say that!]. The bad news is our navigation and communication systems are down, and we are completely lost. The good news is that with our current tailwind, we are making great time!”
Our natural state is to feel the deep joy of Spirit. One might wonder… if that is so natural why is that state amazingly rare for each of us and for people in general? Glad you asked… :) Joy is not created. There is nothing we need to do directly to bring it into our lives. Joy being our natural state, the better question is, “What then blocks it from manifesting more fully in our lives?”
The world is enticing. The ups, the downs, the thrills, the spills. The ultimate soap opera to keep us engaged, whether joyous or sad. This is what has us come back over and over, tweaking the details in hopes of the perfect result. But that desire obscures what we are doing here. This planet is a school (and not a PhD program, mind you — it’s more of an elementary school!).
Feeling sorry for the past is completely natural and expected… but not helpful. There are many things that are a part of us that, were we able to master them, we’d be a bit better off without. Regret is high on the list. Why is that? Some of it is ancient programming. We like sweets because thousands of years ago it was hard to get. So when you saw it, you felt like you’d better eat it right away. Now, unfortunately, you can go to the grocery store and get all you want at a modest cost.
I have been away and did not have time to write this week, so I am reprinting one of my favorite posts from a couple of years ago. I will hopefully be back on track next week.
I had a most interesting experience recently…I went to Castro Street with my wife for a walk and to have a coffee at Red Rock Coffee. Outside the shop I saw a cute, tiny dog. A woman had the adult dog in a small baby carriage. I moved to pet it, but it didn’t act quite right, so she said, “Oh, he’s blind. He had a progressive eye disease….”
A woman was in her living room with her husband. She looked out her window and saw that her neighbor had recently hung out laundry to dry in the sun. The woman said to her husband, “Just look at those clothes! They are filthy. I need to talk to her and tell her how to wash clothes properly. I can't believe at her age she still doesn't know how to do such a basic task.” The next morning as she looked out the same window…
When the vast majority of people hear the word “yoga” they think of postures. The meaning of “yoga” from the original Sanskrit, however, is “to yoke or unite.” But unite what? Our small self with the greater Self. To be precise, postures is called hatha yoga. It was designed millennia ago to calm the body. An agitated nervous system cannot merge with Spirit. Doing hatha alone is, however, a bit like spending your whole life tuning your instrument.
Everyone wants to be a success. Regardless of what your goal is, there are certain attitudes that dramatically increase your chances of hitting whatever target you choose. I of course would argue that true success is an inner state. You can find people at the pinnacle of any human endeavor who, in the end, are not especially happy with what they have accomplished or the heights they have risen to. Except one.
Everyone wants to be happy. Even the lowest of animals seeks to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. (Fair enough: the pleasures get pretty simple for animals. Watching a great movie does not make the list!) But humans are more advanced. We have a neocortex in our brains, which gives us the ability to be self-aware. This further enables us to understand the source of our suffering and the source of our happiness. But it is still not that simple (I bet you knew that was coming…)
