I had a good sit-down with an ordained...

[lemex]

Question: Has anyone encountered the situation of after having a profound experience that ego works silently behind the scenes and then re-emerges at some later date and with a vengeance? If so how was it handled?

Yes, ego will protect itself and by default the you. Look back to rule 1. :) I know for me, I had always been in protection mode.

Originally Posted by lemex

Yes, ego will protect itself and by default the you. Look back to rule 1. :) I know for me, I had always been in protection mode.

Yup, that's the consensus and for good reason. I can relate that advice to all the times I stopped and then restarted my practice when it was just for the secular benefits and the vast difference in state of being.

What I'm also finding useful is when I become aware of an egoic thought or feeling I say "Ego" and softly chuckle. It's kind of like when I first took up meditation the instructions stated when one notices attention has been pulled away from the object of attending to just silently label it and gently let go, returning to attending the object of the meditation.

[JustBe]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

I think you hit one of the nails right on the head? One of the reasons I wanted advice is my recent experience implanted a burning desire to share, not necessarily my experience and I've played that particular card close to my vest, only sharing here, with one close friend and now with this gentleman. There's a desire to share the path that worked for me but in a very subtle way and without the background or experiences. Pretty much meditation and in a secular context. My dad always told me when wanting to get something done outside of my realm of expertise or competance to either get a professional or at least seek professional advice.

One of my thoughts was to establish a meditation meetup group, but I was concerned that might be a bad idea because I'm probably not qualified to guide beginners and wouldn't recognize danger signs in those not suited to meditation, but I never considered the potential pitfalls for me.

In addition to discussing it being desirable to be able to detect warning signs of the instructed going in a bad direction and without directly addressing me, he talked about two common vulnerability points, motivation and reaction to adulation and how either could sabotage my experience.

He was planting a seed and waiting for my reaction, and upon a few moments of reflection I got the point and thanked him. When I got home and after my evening sitting I reflected more deeply on this and perhaps saw a tiny seed of ego or ignorance (unawareness) thereof concerning my motivation.

I was a little disturbed by that but upon a good night's sleep I feel better and more accepting of my human frailty. It seems to me the key is being vigilant and then accepting of those frailties. In other words the issue can't be addressed if it's not first recognized or acknowledged.

As for the masculine/feminine thing, I've always felt a strong feminine aspect within, or at least that's how I always frame it in my mind. That's not to say I'm not masculine, far from it!

That is, I've always recognize an aspect of me that was more intuitive and compassionate than most of my male friends.

Yes I understand and I see you are showing mindful contemplation through others offerings. Accepting all human frailties within yourself leads others in this way. So whatever you do, it’s not what your qualified to do, but just being open to grow in your creative pursuits. If your open, clear in intention from within, those around you, feel your openness and all those beautiful feminine aspects both females and males can learn from.

Humility is a great teacher.

As a side note. At the age of sixty I think you would have a lot of life experience that is always a great offering in many spiritual shared spaces.

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

...soryo (Tendai lineage) and he gave me two important pieces of advice.

1 - Do not discontinue practice regardless of whatever I'm experience, either positive or negative. Many of you have already provided that advice and point well taken. Thank you!

2 - Be ever vigilant of ego and especially if it's seemingly well under control. In fact that's the most crucial time because it could be working undercover in the subconscious and I might not have the experience to recognize it.

Question: Has anyone encountered the situation of after having a profound experience that ego works silently behind the scenes and then re-emerges at some later date and with a vengeance? If so how was it handled?

Yes, I have ....

Sounds like good advice.

BTW you surely aren't really 60?

Originally Posted by janielee

Yes, I have ....

Sounds like good advice.

BTW you surely aren't really 60?

61 going on 62 early next year but "inside" I "feel" like 18 and even the same as my earliest memory at four months old. LOL!

This is one of the aspects of self-discovery, know thyself, that I stumbled across through meditation. I relate it to "knowing" beyond mind and to the deepest core of Being. The Unchanging.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Bingo and I think that's pretty much the two vulnerability points he pointed out to me and that I related in my response to JustBe?

KROFT = Anger and hate.

I would say this is a 'big one' but I don't think it applies to you.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

KROFT = Anger and hate.

I would say this is a 'big one' but I don't think it applies to you.

I would say this applies to those that are hyper critical and as I have already said, this does not apply to you.

[lemex]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

I don't know anyone with the mindset that would facilitate a productive discussion, or at least it's my impression or intuition. I envision the end result being more harmful than beneficial and not just for myself.

Just a thought. To avoid conversation is to avoid knowledge. Is this a little fear to or conditioning, this is what the ego does. We all just pick and choose. One of the tricks of ego. Every person has an ego, we can have advanced one. :) What does intuition tell us, not what we say.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by lemex

Just an thought. To avoid conversation is to avoid knowledge. Is this a little fear to or conditioning, this is what the ego does. We all just pick and choose. One of the tricks of ego. Every person has an ego, we can have advanced one. :) What does intuition tell us, not what we say.

Interesting points.

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

61 going on 62 early next year but "inside" I "feel" like 18 and even the same as my earliest memory at four months old. LOL!

This is one of the aspects of self-discovery, know thyself, that I stumbled across through meditation. I relate it to "knowing" beyond mind and to the deepest core of Being. The Unchanging.

If so, amazing

Thanks also to lemex