Self & Ego
“Once upon a time there was a sad man who threw away his life to have more control over his world.” Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? Throwing away your life to have more control! Shows you what can be done with an odd set of operating values.
We take ourselves out into the world to learn lessons. Sometimes we are poorly informed and come back from our ventures more messed up than when we left. It’s this kind of application, based on false premises, that leads us astray, down the garden path to our own destruction.
Ever wonder why there are so many “burnouts” today? Same reasoning as above. Apply your voluminous intellect to a situation requiring emotional intelligence and then watch out for that wall! Here it comes again, straight at you.
The Self knows better than this. And when ego is set aside, the Self can do wondrous things. She/He will lead you right back on to your proper path and have you call upon your emotional intelligence along the way. Know that challenges on this road are there to wake you up from that docile sleep imposed on you by ego and forces around you.
The Universe has marvelous ways of reminding us to make a course correction when we’ve strayed onto another’s prescribed path rather than sticking to our own. Bouncing off walls and hitting dead ends come to mind. There are numerous others. You could name a few yourself if you thought about it. Just know that you can rise to this challenge and get back on your own path?
Give it a try. Look out for yourself. Learn to identify what is uniquely your own. Choose for yourself, based on your emerging values and creative desires. Yes, there are dangers out there and walls can be counted among them. But maybe there’s a path around that wall? If you don’t see one, make your own. Discover what You are made of. It will be worth it.
Chapter 3: Heroes & Heroines
Heroes and heroines* of all types have come to pass on this Earth following in the footsteps of other seekers. So many have faded into the mists of time it becomes impossible to count them all. What we can surmise is that, in all of these comings and goings, a repository of mythical images has been left behind. And those, like me, who are here to explore and record these artifacts, have begun to pick through the pieces, fashion them together and return them to a population hungry for spiritual sustenance.
Not so long ago these mythical guideposts were handed down to new generations through an oral tradition designed to pass on the traditional ways. That system doesn’t work anymore because the current media storm has bombarded us with convoluted and contradictory messages about our place in the world. A spiritually hungry population needs something solid to feed on, something with substance that includes all those dynamics of the human condition, something beyond which today’s media has to offer. In the theatre of life there is comedy, drama, pathos, conflict and resolution.
We study bards, prophets, philosophers and theologians to get a glimpse of their soul, in order to have a glimpse of our own. I’m not sure why we do this anymore. I decided to visit, but vowed I would never rest in those realms for fear of confounding myself. Their reflections have been recycled and distorted so many times over the years they have lost much of their original meaning and value. In my opinion, today’s Christianity no longer represents Christ’s message.
At the beginning of my search, I revisited the Christianity of my childhood and found, once again, that it could not fill my cup. I still hoped that Jesus, the man, would be relevant for me today. But now I know that he cannot. Religion’s interpretation of his message has been so distorted that it has lost its relevance to me and to the world in which I live. I hope his original message surfaces again, as a Christ consciousness through me, through you, through all of us. In my view, the church and its misrepresentation of the historical Jesus has nothing left to teach. Scripture is consistently being used for some political or social agenda and the church is often party to this.
The disenfranchisement of women, blacks, homosexuals and divorcees continues to prevail. Such groups have been either left behind or simply condemned as sinners. Challenging the traditional church and its interpretations of Christ’s teaching has been labeled as heresy. By so doing, they have bound us to the past and thwarted our pursuit of authentic spiritual growth. These were not the teachings of Christ. His original contributions to mythology have yet to be fully retrieved.
We must take responsibility for ourselves now. We cannot solely count on a historical figure to rescue us. If we allowed this, we would deny our free will and the opportunity to do it for ourselves. Our time at the helm of our lives has just begun. We have a long journey ahead of us. Jesus, mythical giant that he is, has pointed the way. But we have to make the heroic descent into the unconscious realms of our lives to pursue certain necessary confrontations such as our fears, our hurts and our traumas. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert challenging his beliefs. Ultimately, he was resurrected. It is now time for our personal challenge and resurrection.
Many questions are posed when we come to a point like this in our story. Where does it all begin? What is the first step? How do I do this? I’ve asked all of these questions and wondered about what I needed to do. But Inevitably, I had to take charge. This is not a new message. Hearing it repeatedly can become tiresome. But taking charge remains a necessity. Initially I was craving solace and hoping for a reprieve from my responsibilities. It eventually came, but not in a form I expected. It never came from without; it came from within. I know you’ve heard this before. Our reprieve is not coming from anywhere, but within.
I have used my own life experiences as examples of how self and soul can erupt into your life. I have lived what I am writing and sharing what I’ve learned here. All through my years of therapeutic practice I saw this type of inspiration, with self and soul behind the scenes, surface for many individuals.
When unhealthy defensive strategies are removed from positions of guarding the personality, the creative river flows. This can be startling in the beginning. When we’re accustomed to protecting ourselves from real or imagined dangers, allowing our inner self to be expressed can be quite challenging. Most people would believe that opening oneself up should be easy. Not so! A well-defended, closed person can be taken aback by this new found creativity. However, knowing that this change is coming about can easily temper this tumultuous creative thrust.
So what does all this mean for you? If you’ve been feeling that urge to write, paint, build, construct or sing then be aware that your Creativity is calling to you. This Creativity comes to you through your Self, from your Soul. The phrase, “to be called,” is found regularly in Mythology. Various prophets and writers, such as Hermann Hess, Thomas Merton and Jesus have used such terms to describe their creative awakening. This process can be intimidating. It is the power of that call that makes it so. If you’re feeling something powerful stirring inside, then it is time for you to listen.
Remember this invitation to listen. Listening to ourselves is not so easy when we’re accustomed to battling our inner critic. That part of us will keep repeating that “we’re not good enough”, “we’ll never achieve our goals”, or “we are not worthy”. This is the voice of doom, not of reason. It’s the sound of our own discouragement echoing through us. To solve this may require some detective work. Did you do this to yourself? Or, were these negative messages imposed on you by external sources such as teachers, parents and other authority figures?
The truth is many of us did receive a good dose of this negativity which continues to weigh heavily upon us. The voice coming from your self and soul, that voice that resides within, is urging you to try new things, express yourself and take a chance on your self. That voice is calling you now and wants you to listen. How do you feel about that? Frightened? This is often how it feels at the beginning of an awakening process. It is scary because all your protective personality defenses are being challenged. Your defenses want you to remain hidden while your self wants to become conscious and free.
Your self, your piece of the Divine, needs to come through you. It will never happen without your consent. All the energy you’ve put into defending yourself can now be applied to creativity, to actualizing your piece of the cosmic puzzle. If you don’t do it, then that piece, your piece, will remain missing from the larger picture. Have you ever tried to finish a jigsaw puzzle with a number of key pieces missing? Frustrating isn’t it. I suspect that’s how the Creator feels, seeing us scurry under the coffee table looking for the missing piece. The Creator appreciates it may be some time before all parts of the cosmic puzzle are assembled. The Creator is patient, though, and will wait as long as necessary.
That Divine part of us never gives up. NEVER! It is always there, encouraging, praising, suggesting, and nudging us along. That part of us invariably believes in our capabilities and celebrates when we begin to express our true nature. The Divine becomes excited when we try something new, when we experiment with a different way of being, when we pick up those note books, crayons, paints, musical instruments and college calendars. It knows that the dream, that beautiful blue flame of creativity is still alive! The dream, that fantasy we play for ourselves, inside our hearts, when no one is around to discourage or judge us is calling. This dream features us as Heroine or Hero, doing what it is we secretly want to do, expressing that passion that rises in us like a tidal wave. At times, we get so excited we could burst. That’s your passion, trying to make its way to your awareness. It wants you to recognize it and activate its switch.
We are all on this journey together, learning from each other, sharing and mirroring back and forth the images of our lives. They all count, most especially, most certainly your own! So take hold now and prepare yourself as we journey further into the hinterlands of our existence, as we explore and examine that phenomenon we call life from the point of view of myth. These are the myths that you and I, all of us, are living, that propel us forward on this quest through time, that drive the engine of our souls in great anticipation of our arrival. To where? To your home, your self, your soul and spiritual consciousness, all of these waiting for you at the very centre of your being.
*For more information on this book and its author go to: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/DrMoeProductions
