Body, Emotions, Mind … and Beyond

[zorkchop]

Consideration One Hundred …

What is / is not … Ego … or … ” I-ness “ vs “ Ego “

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One of the larger ongoing threads on the board has to do with ego … what it is … what it is not … and admittedly … it is a fascinating study. Depending on what approach or depth this topic is explored offers varying glimpses as to how mind deals with its own interaction with life as a mental understanding of it.

As I have offered many times … the key often lies in what the initial origin of a concept or principle is. As a barebones basic … ‘ego’ is simply a word given to the perception of individual consciousness in the Lower Psychic Worlds. This simply gives the individual a perception of “ I “ … as opposed to sharing their own individual consciousness with something or someone else. The individual is aware of the existence of themselves as an individual consciousness. Period. It takes little perception that at the very root level of each individual is an awareness of “self” and that this “self” wishes to survive. The word “ego” was tacked on to this perception and made into what it is today. To “make something” out of this " I-ness " is almost an immediate misdirect.

Recognizing oneself as an individual … as opposed to being part bird or rock or John Smith … is something that one comes to terms with in the higher levels of consciousness … into the human state of consciousness. “Nature” and instinct commands all below this level. You can “see” the succession … one often comes across of an animal that seems “almost human.”

The only other vital aspect of just what the ‘ego’ is … reveals that since there is an awareness of a personal existence … there is the quest … the drive … the desire … to survive. The whole of ego is … “ I … wish to survive.” Period.

Any consideration beyond this is what has been developed via personal experience as to just how broad one can make this personal, inner understanding. If one wishes to wrestle with “separation” … then that is a personal exploration and assumption. If one wishes to claim that “In order to survive … I need this and that and all this other stuff too … and done *this* way rather than *that* way” … are all additions accumulated by the individual as taught by the various societies, cultures and lifetimes.

Mind loves a scapegoat … something to blame … that is not actually *considered* to be part of their own individual consciousness … something that is the bad guy that has some ominous, mysterious power over their perceptions and lives. “Ego“ is the handy term used for the simple “individual survivability” of each created Soul as intrenched within the bodies of the Lower Psychic Worlds … and the endless wrestling matches involved. Again … it is simply the “ I-ness “ that wishes to survive. Everything else is an add-on … via personal preference.

Soul Itself is aware of this “ I-ness “ but at a different level. Here … in the Lower Psychic Worlds … Soul is aware of the “ I “ in terms of external life around It. ( Remember … the emotions and mind are “external” to Soul Itself. ) In the true Home of Soul … Atma Lok … Sach Khand … 5th Plane … however one wishes to term it … Soul becomes aware of Itself in reference to LIFE and to the Core Creator God … obviously to Divine Spirit … what Soul is … what Divine Spirit is … the purpose of it all … and the foundation and “organization” of the Pure God Worlds as opposed to the Lower Psychic Worlds.

I know this is just a lot of “words” but they carry the concepts and principles.

In the “olden days” we use to diagram sentences or construct a lot of data in outline form. ( I doubt if much of this is being taught today. ) But one could take any sentence and place it on a horizontal line and then dissect it into subject / verb … which was necessary for basic structure … and then the additional words would be specifically placed to show what “part” they played in the sentence. Outlines always had their major theme … and then all else was added below maintained by indentation and various forms of listing.

The same holds true in understanding the structure of LIFE. It isn’t difficult to understand that it all starts with GOD ( generic term ) then to Divine Spirit ( generic term ) then to the maintenance of the various levels of the Pure God Worlds which have been in place “forever” … then to the creation of Soul Itself as an individual consciousness … then to the formation of the Lower Psychic Worlds and the “lords” or “rulers” that will maintain these levels or planes or dimensions … and then dropping Soul Itself into this filtering schoolroom to begin Its education.

The resulting religions and philosophies are the struggles to understand these Lower Psychic Worlds … to define what they are and what role they play in each of our lives … our interactions with them on multiple levels … more often than not drawn up by the various saviors or philosophers that put forth opinions and beliefs that appeal to the mind and the emotions. The entire Law of Opposites … or duality … severely complicates it all.

And as a foundation … the individual Soul witness to survive … somehow … someway … and it is the “somehow” and “someway” that further complicates, misleads, and obstructs *only* within the Lower Psychic Worlds by way of the nature of mind itself and how it prefers to dissect / analyze / define / judge / etc.

Since Soul Itself never “dies” … It continues Its education by way of reincarnation … seemingly endlessly … returning constantly into the Lower Psychic Worlds with a relatively “clean slate” at birth … bringing along only the deeply entrenched beliefs that will be revised according to each new Lower Psychic Worlds lifetime.

So the discussions of “ego” is more along the lines of personal preferences … beliefs / material goodies / possessions / philosophies / etc. There is really no additional ramifications to the personal “I-ness” that wishes to survive … just that and nothing more … until we wish add on just *how* we are going to design our personal preferences and go from there. Once we accept that “life” consists of an external outer-ness … it’s all pretty much a done deal.

“Ego” is not some mystical, combative foe out to makes things miserable for us. Each individual has taught and trained their “ego” to believe as it does. The fact that most of us do not remember the initial training of each individual aspect is due to it most often occurred in past lives. The effects of those preferences … and the deepening of them … the revision of them to today’s situations … is what is currently experienced. The common understanding of “ego” is simply an undisciplined mind … out of control … and constantly protecting and embellishing what it likes or doesn’t like … the “how” I want to survive. “Ego” allows us to constantly accuse some facet within ourselves that cannot possibly be what we believe ourselves to be or believe and somehow this “ego” just magically develops in spite of what we want.

Try to keep the distinction of just what is the " I-ness " … the untainted individual expression for survivability … and what is “ego” … just how this “how and why” will be structured and designed.

More Later.

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A 90-post index is found at thread post number 370 … page 37

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Well explained zorkchop.Just what I've been saying and thinking all along.

My, I do look forward to your weekly posts. Its nice to get some clarity.

[Miss Hepburn]

Ok, all I'm going to say about your recent installment is :Exactly!
Lol...
Could I add personality along with 'emotions and mind' to this sentence
below? Comment?

''Soul Itself is aware of this “ I-ness “ but at a different level.
( Remember … the emotions and mind are “external” to Soul Itself. )

*(Anyone reading here that possibly knows "Deep Space Nine'' TV stories - the soul is like the Trill symbiant,
going from body to body...brilliant SciFi writing.)

[zorkchop]

Mizz H …

“Personality” is one of those issues that tends to be incredibly blurred … as is most everything in the Lower Psychic Worlds. Sometimes the distinction can be somewhat important … other times not so much. “Personality” has mostly to do with outward expression … how one shows or reveals or outwardly lives their belief system of mind / body / emotions. “Personality“ can often be considered as the outer mask. It would be in the ballpark of expressed attitude. Perhaps it is the outward manner or expression in how we relate to it all. In a sense … our attitude molds our personality. They go somewhat hand-in-hand … and again are based in the Lower Psychic World filters of mind / body / and emotions. “Personality” is an offshoot of these.

Soul Itself is aware of an individual “I-ness” … but never truly understands that unless and until one steps onto the 5th Plane. Until then … all is filtered through the Lower Psychic Worlds bodies. Once one has stepped into this lofty area … that individual is not so easily fooled by the filtering process of the Lower Psychic World bodies … as one develops stability there.

The true test obviously comes if and when one incarnates into a later lifetime after residing on the 5th Plane for some time … and having enough “time” to develop at that level … and then dropped back onto these Lower Psychic Worlds to test out just how “deep” or “firm” one has incorporated these understandings into Self. It’s a struggle. Coming back into “infancy” and having to revise ones 5th Plane understanding to the ongoings of the new lifetime in the Lower Psychic Worlds is a battle … especially when the Negative Forces will do all they can to throw obstacles and delays into the mix … something they are superb at.

But back to “personality” … yes … one could add that to the list … but since the personality is just an outward expression of the mind / body / emotions … it’s more of a choice of words than of a difference in understanding. Semantics can make a difference … only when one gets to the level when one wishes to pay attention to such differences. It’s kinda along the lines of your thread on calling God “HE” or “IT” or whatever. Does it really make a difference? Not until later … when one realizes that the Pure God Worlds have no gender … so “HE” isn’t quite true … and is often a hold-out of our own long-held teachings in the Lower Psychic Worlds. But as long as one understands what a Core Creator God IS … and what HE / IT is not … and lives from that … then the use of the pronoun doesn’t really make that much difference.

Hope you can sort this one out. It is a *very* subtle distinction.

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[zorkchop]

For those of you who are of interest … I will be putting in a two-part series next week … one post on Monday … the second on Thursday.

Time grows short. I am working on a number of posts that I sense I should get in rather quickly. I may double-up a time or two for the next few months.

On we go.

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Thank's zorkchop,I don't always reply but I do read them.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by zorkchop

For those of you who are of interest … I will be putting in a two-part series next week … one post on Monday … the second on Thursday.
Time grows short. I am working on a number of posts that I sense I should get in rather quickly. I may double-up a time or two for the next few months.

I'll be here reading! Thank you for ALL these!

[zorkchop]

Considerations 101 …

Wrong Thinking A …

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For the much larger percentage of our lifetimes throughout the entire Path we find ourselves battling our own mind. This comes from minds tendency to demand that we build around what we already perceive to be valuable to our existence … one way or another.

A great step on the path is taken when the individual finally knows for a fact that the conditions and viewpoints within create the outer world experiences … and again … the mind, body, and emotions are “outer” to Soul Itself. The whole “right thinking” approach does work to a great degree. Many habits can be manipulated to be more beneficial or less limiting. One by one … an “ideal” is chosen and one begins to live from that ideal … replacing the old for the new and not just trying to “destroy” the old. This is the approach of many … to just *stop* this-or-that … but this often leads to the condition simply changes faces a bit and its continuation. It is much better and more effective if you give direction to replacing the habit with a new pattern. That tends to “fill the gap” … so to speak. This caters to the old principle that you cannot *make* the mind do much of anything but you *can* lead it here or there … by insistent focus. Affirmations help with this … and I’ve discussed a bit about what makes basic affirmations differ from intentional design.

So very many people see only what is “wrong” in their lives … what makes their life more difficult or miserable or unhappy. This is a tendency of the mind … to point out what to avoid … but to constantly focus on that only brings that which you wish to avoid directly into your lives … in an endless variety of situations and conditions.

Spirit Itself cannot think … but Spirit uses the thought processes of Soul within the individual to manifest … and certainly does the same when dealing with the individual Soul incarnated in the Lower Psychic Worlds. Spirit tends to gather according to “like attracts like” … and this often forms our thought processes. The reason that “opposites attract” comes from our focus on what we wish to avoid … rather than on a forward-moving ideal or pattern. Spirit is non-discriminatory. It “chooses sides” according to the thought processes of the individual. “Something else” directs Spirit … whatever that “something else” might be. Each individual clearly does this on their own distinct level.

All of the difficulties in our lives come from thinking in terms of those difficulties. This is how you gain control over your life. Most difficulties are of fear / discouragement / doubt / guilt / loss / lack … and more. One of the great traps when first uncovering this procedure is wanting to use it on a physical ailment. The difficulty with this is that the physical world moves so slowly. Things just do not “change” overnight. It can take a long time … and … if the physical ailment is the result of a previous karmic implication … it can be most difficult if not impossible to eradicate. It is much better to begin to manipulate emotional or mental limitations … and this can prove to be all that most any individual can handle.

The real work comes in “proving” to oneself or convincing oneself of the truth of these statements … and certainly … of any ideal pattern or new habit one wishes to set up. You must prove the new pattern to be of more “worth” to you than the old pattern. You must believe in it more strongly … so that it replaces the old pattern.

This … takes time. There’s no way around it. Some can change things by simply going “cold turkey” … instantly revising and living from the new pattern. Stopping smoking … cutting off alcohol … some can just … stop. If you are one of these … you are most fortunate.

Please remember … this is *only* to prove the new ideal to oneself. To wait until someone else “proves” the value of the ideal as being worthy in the first place … is more often than not a dodge to avoid or evade.

Since LIFE is omnipresent … then all conditions are present … everywhere … to anyone. If situations are not to your liking … you have been focusing and believing … elsewhere. About the only time that this does not pertain is if your situation(s) are of karmic implications or if Spirit is trying to “lead” you somewhere and you are resistant. Most of these struggles come from what you “want” verses what you “need.”

We can get no understanding of the truth from the world without. The world without is relative only. Greater Truth - - is absolute. And - - you must find this through the world within. To train the mind to see true conditions only is to express true conditions only. Our ability to do this indicates the progress we are making.

Truth is not the result of logical training or of experimentation - - or even of observation. It is the product of a developed consciousness. Truth manifests in character, and the character of a man should be the interpretation of his religion, or what to him is truth,

Our future is always determined from our present. To a great degree … this is the true power of Now. If there is any disharmony - - we need to look within and find the long ago cause and change it for the present and the future. Try to discover the mental fact which is responsible for the outward perceptual habit … of the inner consideration of just what “Self” is … or is not … and the commanding viewpoints this “Self” lives from.

So many times in the Bible they whisper of the “indwelling power as being child-like” … believing in miracles, magically alive, and capable and expecting miracles in a child - like simplicity way … and discovering all of this … and the possible options to use it … is as the birth of the child within you. This is what you begin to live from … believing in LIFE / Divine Spirit to be a beneficial, forward-moving guide in your own life.

One must have the faith of the mustard seed in the sense that ones faith should be alive … faith has all the potentialities of its goal and beyond. True faith is a living seed that holds within itself the fulfillment of the desire … the Living Spirit of God is within it as in all living things. By faith … one contacts the eternal unchanging goodness of Spirit.

All personal claim is based on ones own state of consciousness. All gain is the result of an accumulative / focused consciousness. All loss is the result of a scattering consciousness.

People who claim that “life is good” have already taught themselves these valuable principles and live from them … in their own way … to the benefit of all around them.

Next post Thursday the 21st.

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A 90-post index is found at thread post number 370 … page 37

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#430............Understood.

[zorkchop]

Considerations 102 …

Wrong Thinking B …

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Part A is Post # 430 … on previous page #43 … posted Monday.

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Here is a short list of many of the common ways that mind misleads. Please remember that this is not due to the unfitness of the individual but more to the way that mind approaches and learns. This list could be greatly expanded … but these are common. *No one* wishes to see or admit to these perceptions. *No one* wishes to believe that they too are caught in these intentional traps. We have all practiced them for so long that we don’t even recognize them as intentional traps that we have been practicing forever … and we simply rearrange the basic elements due to the situations and conditions we are in at the moment.

1) … Wrong thinking … ends up causing physical, nervous, and mental handicaps … providing an escape from everyday living. You devise your own smokescreens … and this allows the individual to withdraw from normal conditions, responsibilities, and activities due to this dysfunction. One may think that he is as capable as anybody else … but deep down you do not want to take on new approaches / activities that will take away your designed avenue of escape … so you keep them going because it allows for a safe out.

2) … Wrong thinking … will allow you to set up a benefit of some sort that you are unwilling to give up. The person is likely to resist teachings which lead to the giving up of an error-producing thought process and will feel apprehension towards anyone that keeps nudging or suggesting that they do so. The individual may try to win the sympathy of the guide or mentor, asking the teacher to just indulge him, try to discredit the motives of the teacher, and he may try to put the responsibility for making decisions for everyday life onto the teacher … instead of changing his own thinking processes and assuming those responsibilities himself.

3) … Wrong thinking … is usually born along with feelings of inferiority … and this may become much more apparent when the individual tries to proclaim an attitude of intellectual superiority over others. This is a signpost of his feeling secondary. He justifies the facts of his failure to change his unwanted situations. He attempts to substitute intellectual argument for actual practice of truth. He will use illness … or his failure … to fasten the sheltering affecting attentions of someone else on him … and attempt to make that person feel guilty at the thought of abandoning him to his own beliefs.

4) … Wrong thinking … makes a person feel uncomfortable and out of place when right thinking people are around. This may result in the individual feeling depressed or needing self-pity … or feeling envious, resentful, or antagonistic towards those who succeed in any degree of truth.

5) … Wrong thinking … leads a person to feel shut in and lonely … and he may seek to lessen his loneliness by finding people who think / feel the same way he does … who feel ill or depressed, and unsuccessful, moody, resentful … or … he will have a special interest in people who take refuge in superiority.

6) … Wrong thinking … being a habit of years … is difficult to give up. This kind of individual will have an inward resistance to self-discipline and persistence … and will show this by insisting he has faith but it just doesn’t work for him … because he is different from others … or he insists that he has done everything but it just hasn’t had results … and he does not have the faintest why he alone should fail … or he states that he cannot concentrate … does not have time … cannot remember or grasp the teachings.

7) … Wrong thinking … believing that *I* am the one that such-and-such does not apply to. *I* am the exception to which this does not pertain. *I* am the one that is beyond all of this. *I* am too advanced to have to deal with this. ( How many ways can one express this same basic dodge? ) We have been looking for and living justifications and rationalizations / excuses forever … and when we have lived these for so long … we do not recognize them as such and believe that these points do not apply to the personal individual. We do not want to learn what we will eventually have to learn if we are going to take the final steps into the Far Country and the above stances are often what we use to sidestep it all.

You can devise your own additions … your own specifics. The list would be exhaustive. Whatever protects rather than explores … could be added here. What becomes apparent is that uncovering greater Truth is not a collection of data … which the mind prefers. Greater Truth is an uncovering of the Whole … not a part of it … and the how and why this Whole is designed as it is. These seven are common enough to give you many clues as to where and how to look at the patterns that control your life. I do *not* wish to give the impression that it is a hopeless battle.

Again … Soul Itself is the greatest of all creations. Nothing else can focus Spirit … Divine Spirit or otherwise … into manifested existence. The two levels of Spirit are the substance … the vitality … the “energies” behind each manifestation … brought about by a focused attention. When that “focused attention” keeps misleading … habit makes it incredibly difficult to do other than what the habit has demanded. The “intrigue” of what is this and what is that is understandable in the beginning. There is an obvious stage of uncovering the Whole as a conglomeration of data bits. The tidbits have to be gathered … and explored. There is nothing wrong with this. But as with each experience we have … it is not the experience itself that makes the difference … it is what we do with it. And “what we do with it” is habitual until we urge ourselves forward into the Unknown … at whatever level the individual resides at the moment.

A singular, decisive revelation between being an intellectual data-gatherer and a viable spiritual student is … the intellectual wants “proof” … wants to be convinced of the value of the issue … wants to find the teacher or the group that believes the same way … wants “companionship” on the path … while the true spiritual student is moving to become the responsible individual who wishes to take the necessary risks and disciplines to uncover and live the actual Greater Truth.

This is *not* … repeat *not* … a judgment. This merely reflects … some are ready while most … are not. There is obviously much to learn before one is “ready” … and all previous education is *not* to be downplayed or looked down upon.

More later.

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A 90-post index is found at thread post number 370 … page 37

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