Your Spiritual Journey

To see a world in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

William Blake


The Ego Self
Your ego drives you. It sets your goals and is responsible for the way that you feel about your place in the world. The ego is never satisfied; it longs for material gratification and to be anywhere other than where it is. It looks to the future with longing and the past with regret. It is never happy with the status quo. Emotions only exist in the past or the future. The past is loaded with emotional intensity, and the future with your hopes and fears. Now is the only place where emotional states do not exist. The past is a now that once was. You cannot change the past, just what you think about it. The future is a now that is yet to be. The only reality is now, and now is just a nanosecond. In that nanosecond of time there is not time to apply an emotion. Now is always still.

The Spiritual Self
The stillness of now has a spiritual intensity that sits above the ego self. When you observe your ego in action the observer is the spiritual self. The spiritual self has a strong sense of purpose above the ego. It has a charity and compassion for the world as a whole, is tolerant of others, but courageous in confronting injustice. It is your spiritual self that will ultimately guide your life purpose whether you are aware of it or not. The spirit enjoys the higher positive emotions of togetherness, universal love, oneness and peace.

When you die, which is the only certainty there is, all you will leave behind on planet earth is a dash between your date of birth and the date of death. To your ego this is devastating, to your spirit this is liberating. To know that all the ups and downs of your life don’t mean anything in the fullness of time, liberates the spirit from the ego self. The next time you are stressed by what you think is a significant event; remember it is only a dash.

Where are you on you spiritual journey, how far have you come?

Here, lol.

How could I have come from anywhere at all if now is the only reality?

Unless I created a now in which I am a person who has come a long way on my spiritual journey - and if I didn't have the spiritual perspective to see how far I had come from the past, then I wouldn't have the ability to measure... unless I was looking to the future with the hope of where I could be?

Welcome to the forums. You share a common view, that is written about a lot, but there are plenty of contradictions to explore in that view.

[Lucyan28]

Hello David welcome :)

For what I perceived in your post is that the ego is bad for all its disadvantages that it apparently has, in the other hand the spirit is good for all its advantages that it apparently has, but why our essence should be divided in 2 ?

I see ego/spirit as a part of a complete entity, and each one of those entities (us) are part of an even greater whole. In that complete entity resides eternity and all the laws of the creation, including all emotions, knowledge and wisdom.

In my path I don't see higher or lower, I don't see hot or cold, I don't see good or evil, I don't see ego or spirit, I only see the Whole, but that's my path ;)

Originally Posted by Ivy

Here, lol.

How could I have come from anywhere at all if now is the only reality?

Unless I created a now in which I am a person who has come a long way on my spiritual journey - and if I didn't have the spiritual perspective to see how far I had come from the past, then I wouldn't have the ability to measure... unless I was looking to the future with the hope of where I could be?

Welcome to the forums. You share a common view, that is written about a lot, but there are plenty of contradictions to explore in that view.

Thanks for your reply and your insight. They way I understand this is that we exist on a time-line from A to B, the time-line is divided into slices of time. When I was born I was at A and at that time it was now, now it is in my past and I am here now. A is a memory, but being here now is dependent on A.

The philosopher Benedict De Spinosa said, "The knowledge of an effect depends on the knowledge of its cause. If A causes B is to say that B is dependent on A for its existence and nature."

Originally Posted by Lucyan28

Hello David welcome :)

For what I perceived in your post is that the ego is bad for all its disadvantages that it apparently has, in the other hand the spirit is good for all its advantages that it apparently has, but why our essence should be divided in 2 ?

I see ego/spirit as a part of a complete entity, and each one of those entities (us) are part of an even greater whole. In that complete entity resides eternity and all the laws of the creation, including all emotions, knowledge and wisdom.

In my path I don't see higher or lower, I don't see hot or cold, I don't see good or evil, I don't see ego or spirit, I only see the Whole, but that's my path ;)

Thank you for your reply. Our ego is of course linked to our spirit and the ego is very important to our survival. It drives us forward to want what we haven't got. If our ancestors didn't worry about tomorrow then they would have probably starved. Our ego comes from a our survival instinct. We inherited a constant and never ending dissatisfaction. It is natural to be dissatisfied with what we have, it helps us to survive.

Back in the early days of man's existence he had to constantly look for food and shelter. If he didn't worry about tomorrow he would not have one. We inherit this from our ancestors.

We see this in children, always craving a new toy and dissatisfied by what they have. This follows us into adulthood wanting a new job, car, house etc..

This survival instinct has become a destructive force leading some of us to unhappiness.

When the spirit is awakened and linked to the ego it can see this for what it is and is able to build on the model. The spirit's realisation is, "yes I want a new house or car but I don't have to put my happiness on it and be dissatisfied with what I have. Everything I have I wanted at one time." I can now move forward and still be happy with what I have. This is the awakening of the inner self.

Originally Posted by David K

Thanks for your reply and your insight. They way I understand this is that we exist on a time-line from A to B, the time-line is divided into slices of time. When I was born I was at A and at that time it was now, now it is in my past and I am here now. A is a memory, but being here now is dependent on A.

The philosopher Benedict De Spinosa said, "The knowledge of an effect depends on the knowledge of its cause. If A causes B is to say that B is dependent on A for its existence and nature."

The quote of De Spinosa is fabulous. It calls into question what the 'now' that is 'the only reality' truly is.

Physically, now, this split second IS the only reality... past may have created the now, but now is all there is.

Mentally and emotionally, there are countless multiple realities, able to exist simultaneously, and in a constant state of change. In this way, the mental sphere doesn't have a solid space of now, or past or future... it's constant is change itself.

Spiritually, there is no now, no past and no present - there is just a moment of consciousness that is all beginnings, ends and middles... it's just everything.

Originally Posted by Ivy

The quote of De Spinosa is fabulous. It calls into question what the 'now' that is 'the only reality' truly is.

Physically, now, this split second IS the only reality... past may have created the now, but now is all there is.

Mentally and emotionally, there are countless multiple realities, able to exist simultaneously, and in a constant state of change. In this way, the mental sphere doesn't have a solid space of now, or past or future... it's constant is change itself.

Spiritually, there is no now, no past and no present - there is just a moment of consciousness that is all beginnings, ends and middles... it's just everything.

The states of reality and non-reality
*
Walking the line between the ego and the spirit, is a fine line very few people find. (Non-reality)
*
The ego-self lives in the past or the future. It falsifies itself with emotions, both positive and negative. It dwells in the unreal state it calls reality. The ego is restless, always on the move, never satisfied even to stay one second in the here and now. What it thinks is a reality is a virtual reality world made up of hopes and fears from events time-lapsed or not yet come. This is a virtual world of reflection or dreams. It does not exist in your universe. The ego thinks it lives in a world of reality, it does not. It lives in the world of non-reality disguised as reality. This ego world is truly the world of illusion.
*
A Separate reality
*
Reality exists between the ego states of past and future. Everywhere we look is non reality, a past event, a now that was.
*
Being caught in this ego is like a moth attracted to a light. It is all absorbing, blinding, making it easy prey for the illusion of the light.
*
The illumination of reality exists in the dark, holding us still, calm and self-aware in the moment.
*
Every now is a universe to behold, and the moment will be gone so fast that the now is but a spark in time.
*
Transcendence is a moment of sharp focused clarity. A wow in a nanosecond, a moment of energy release that exists everywhere and nowhere. Its echo is a flash of pure consciousness. Although it appears to be over before it has begun, it holds eternity in its grasp. It is merely a glimpse of pure heaven, but its consequences will last forever.

[Cmt12]

Hi David,

Originally Posted by David K

When you observe your ego in action the observer is the spiritual self.

Right, our spiritual Self is connected to consciousness. When we put effort into being conscious or alert, then we can at least partially separate ourselves from our ego for as long as we are putting effort into it.

This concept has been misapplied to time. When one puts effort into focusing into the present and feels that shift away from ego, it is a mistake to assign causation to anything other than being conscious.

When people look at causation through the time perspective, then they usually build on it and will say that past and future are dependent on the ego and stuff like that which isn't true because their original premise is incorrect. The reason why the ego lives in the past and future is because it is associated with emotions based in past (shame, guilt, victim mindset) and future (fear, anxiety).

Time is not dependent on ego, but dependent on mind. Memories are not based in ego. So when people are trying to solve the ego problem, bringing in time concepts like "living in the now" instead of simply saying "being conscious" are unnecessary and put focus on the wrong areas.

[wstein]

Originally Posted by David K

To see a world in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

William Blake

The Ego Self
Your ego drives you. It sets your goals and is responsible for the way that you feel about your place in the world.

The Spiritual Self
The stillness of now has a spiritual intensity that sits above the ego self.

Where are you on you spiritual journey, how far have you come?

Your ego only 'drives' you as long as you don't take ownership and do the driving yourself.

One eventually realizes that all those 'worlds', 'Heavens', 'Infinities', and 'Eternities' are within you.

There is no yardstick, I have come as far as I have come.

Originally Posted by David K

The states of reality and non-reality
*
Walking the line between the ego and the spirit, is a fine line very few people find. (Non-reality)
*
The ego-self lives in the past or the future. It falsifies itself with emotions, both positive and negative. It dwells in the unreal state it calls reality. The ego is restless, always on the move, never satisfied even to stay one second in the here and now. What it thinks is a reality is a virtual reality world made up of hopes and fears from events time-lapsed or not yet come. This is a virtual world of reflection or dreams. It does not exist in your universe. The ego thinks it lives in a world of reality, it does not. It lives in the world of non-reality disguised as reality. This ego world is truly the world of illusion.
*
A Separate reality
*
Reality exists between the ego states of past and future. Everywhere we look is non reality, a past event, a now that was.
*
Being caught in this ego is like a moth attracted to a light. It is all absorbing, blinding, making it easy prey for the illusion of the light.
*
The illumination of reality exists in the dark, holding us still, calm and self-aware in the moment.
*
Every now is a universe to behold, and the moment will be gone so fast that the now is but a spark in time.
*
Transcendence is a moment of sharp focused clarity. A wow in a nanosecond, a moment of energy release that exists everywhere and nowhere. Its echo is a flash of pure consciousness. Although it appears to be over before it has begun, it holds eternity in its grasp. It is merely a glimpse of pure heaven, but its consequences will last forever.

And it is the ego that created all that knowledge for you to put into words. It is my ego that replies. But that's ok, I'm aware of ego and don't see it as the reality... but instead, as a fantastic creative force... and I enjoy life that way.