Ego and enlightenment

[alcyone]

How do I bridge the gap? Thank you. Would appreciate detailed responses because I'm eager right now to learn. I need to. Ty.

[Baile]

I would like to know why the "Forgive me..." sig. That would be a place to start exploring ego.

Ego work doesn't involve looking at what's wrong with you; isn't focused on eradicating your lower self thoughts and behaviors and so forth. It is not a deconstruction or breaking down activity. Rather, it is a constructive and raising-up activity. It is all about evolving conscious understanding; understanding of a higher order. It is knowing you are a perfect soul, which then allows you to joyfully embrace all aspects your humanness, even the not-so-evolved stuff. It is soul transformation via love and acceptance. There is nothing that requires forgiveness once one comes to that place of loving self-acceptance.

An exercise to evolve higher love and acceptance is to sit quietly in nature and just observe. Observe that nature is pure love and acceptance. The sun loving shares its light. The rain lovingly shares its dampness. Trees and flowers and birds lovingly share their beauty and being-ness. And nature does what it does, without apology. It asks nothing, expects nothing, and judges nothing.

Originally Posted by Baile

I would like to know why the "Forgive me..." sig. That would be a place to start exploring ego.

Ego work doesn't involve looking at what's wrong with you; isn't focused on eradicating your lower self thoughts and behaviors and so forth. It is not a deconstruction or breaking down activity. Rather, it is a constructive and raising-up activity. It is all about evolving conscious understanding; understanding of a higher order. It is knowing you are a perfect soul, which then allows you to joyfully embrace all aspects your humanness, even the not-so-evolved stuff. It is soul transformation via love and acceptance. There is nothing that requires forgiveness once one comes to that place of loving self-acceptance.

An exercise to evolve higher love and acceptance is to sit quietly in nature and just observe. Observe that nature is pure love and acceptance. The sun loving shares its light. The rain lovingly shares its dampness. Trees and flowers and birds lovingly share their beauty and being-ness. And nature does what it does, without apology. It asks nothing, expects nothing, and judges nothing.

I completely agree with being in the now. But while at work or around other people i found myself pointing out their flaws in my mind. By giving this attention i found what inside caused me to not view others or myself as perfect. and when i find my own flaws and old patterns of thinking i can then correct them or let them go and refocus on the miracle of the present. thus reducing or bypassing the ego.

Doesn't matter if you climbed the summit as i did. Only matters that you got here to enjoy the view with me.

I'm sure there are people who'll suppose what you mean by Ego (in the sense that you believe it's something detachable)- and your idea of enlightenment. If you feel you want to go for enlightenment (in like the Buddhist sense) go for it and don't about your ego. It may interfere a lot and it's up to you how you deal with that.

If you believe you can ditch ego altogether then you're a most brave person. Attempting that takes an extraordinary stable mental state. Think of it - you lose absolutely all sense of you. In the ordinary world you have neither identity or the means of communication. It disorientates many triers to the extent they'll succumb to various mental problems. That's why it's often chosen for initiation into some of the darker societies, the Choronzon Club, etc. You have to be good and strong to pass!

♥

[dryad]

People mean different things when they say enlightenment. Which version are you looking for? And what do you mean when you say bridge the gap? I would say the gap between ego consciousness and soul consciousness but I'm not sure if that's what you mean. And why do you think you need to?

[alcyone]

OK for me ego is the lower emotions or self on a person. Guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, and anger. Not sure if pride is one that word is flexible.

I would like to practice being higher for some time in my life.. Enlightenment not in the Buddha sense really not that far out, but pretty close I suppose. Not too close.

Getting to the higher self..
Courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace enlightenment.

Now with those higher emotions I said before I get like film scenes of my higher self just chilling and sorta observing life??

So I wanna explore my higher emotions, not ego.

Thanks again.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by alcyone

Now with those higher emotions I said before I get like film scenes of my higher self just chilling and sorta observing life??

It is partly about observing and reflecting upon life yes. Which is an activity. Because it is mostly just our life activity. It is the activity, the action, the will, to engage in life in a positive, mindful way. It is a commitment to strive to see the best in people and in life.

It is turning every negative into its positive counterpart. I hit a deer two weeks ago (it lived) and the bumper on my Corolla snapped off. Years ago I would have fumed for weeks (ego anger). But now I know that things like that are just life experiences. So I drove to the auto place and with conscious intent spent a very happy 30 minutes with two employees who showed me all the various glues and whatnot I could use to fix my bumper. And we laughed and joked and had a good time, seriously, and all because I set out to make it positive, both for me and for them. And I got what I needed, and I learned how to fix a bumper, and it looks great (well, looks good enough anyway).

Higher self interaction is that simple, and that typical. It is the human thought and deed, elevated to its most positive expression.

[Jyotir]

Hi alcyone,

Pray and meditate.
Invoke the Highest.
Clarify intention.
Practice.
Observe.
Self-examine.
Adjust to Life while maintaining inner purpose and poise.
Persist.
The Highest will increasingly emerge.
Even if ego is also persistent, it can be identified, modified and diminished in deference to the Highest.
It is a process and a journey.

Utilize inspiration...
Read about examples of others who sought the same and did achieve.
Be in the company of others who are seeking the same.

~ J

[winter light]

Originally Posted by alcyone

OK for me ego is the lower emotions or self on a person. Guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, and anger. Not sure if pride is one that word is flexible.

I would like to practice being higher for some time in my life.. Enlightenment not in the Buddha sense really not that far out, but pretty close I suppose. Not too close.

Getting to the higher self..
Courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace enlightenment.

Now with those higher emotions I said before I get like film scenes of my higher self just chilling and sorta observing life??

So I wanna explore my higher emotions, not ego.

Thanks again.

You cannot go wrong by following your heart. Better to go to the center than to try to go higher. Any attempt to go around your ego eventually leads to more ego in the form of chasing ideas while disconnecting from your feelings. You are using your mind to split reality and in doing so you are splitting yourself. The mind is a sharp tool so take care to hold the proper end. If you follow your mind and you will go on indefinitely generating new ideas that promise to lead you higher but will never satisfy. Whereas if you go to the center of peace you will naturally go higher without effort.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by winter light

You cannot go wrong by following your heart. Better to go to the center than to try to go higher. Any attempt to go around your ego eventually leads to more ego in the form of chasing ideas while disconnecting from your feelings. You are using your mind to split reality and in doing so you are splitting yourself. The mind is a sharp tool so take care to hold the proper end. If you follow your mind and you will go on indefinitely generating new ideas that promise to lead you higher but will never satisfy. Whereas if you go to the center of peace you will naturally go higher without effort.

Sounds good to me. The challenge is to continually surrender to the present moment and what is. By surrender I do not mean a passive negativity but more a positive acceptance of whatever is presenting itself in our lives at any moment. Surrender means a letting go of all our habitual patterns and tendencies to resist. True surrender is more than just a state of mind -it is a state of Being.

Peace.