I'm trying to finish a book. It's taken me way too long to get through it and I'm not really sure why because I LOVE IT. It's a short, easy book and I'm just not done. Maybe it's Resistance at it's best (read the book and you'll know what I mean). Either way, I got to this section today that defines the ego and the self. It really illustrates a hell of a lot of my inner battles I've been dealing with over the last several months. I like to think that when I actually think about life and my philosophies, I identify much more with my Self. But somehow a lot of the nasty parts about my Ego keep creeping in. One day I'll find a balance. Anyway here it is:
Here's what I think. I think angels make their home in the Self, while Resistance has its seat in the Ego.
The fight is between the two.
The Self wishes to create, to evolve. The Ego like things just the way they are.
What is the Ego, anyway? Since this is my book, I'll define it in my way.
The Ego is that part of the psyche that believes in material existence.
The Ego's job is to take care of business in the real world. It's an important job. We couldn't last a day without it. But there are worlds other than the real world, and this is where the Ego runs into trouble.
Here's what the Ego believes:
- Death is real. The Ego believes that our existence is defined by our physical flesh. When the body dies, we die. There is no life beyond life.
- Time and space are real. The Ego is analog. It believes that to get from A to Z we have to pass through B,C and D. To get from breakfast to supper we have to live the whole day.
- Every individual is different and separate from every other. The Ego believes that I am distinct from you. The twain cannot meet. I can hurt you and it won't hurt me.
- The predominant impulse of life is self-preservation. Because our existence is phsical and thus vulnerable to innumerable evils, we live and act out of fear in all we do. It is wise, the Ego believes, to have children and carry on our line when we die, to achieve great things that will live after us, and to buckle our seat belts.
- There is no God. No sphere exists except the physical and no rules apply except those of the material world.
These are the principles the Ego lives by. They are sound principles.
Here's what the Self believes:
- Death is an illusion. The soul endures and evolves through infinite manifestations.
- Time and space are illusions. Time and space operate only in the physical shpere, and even here, don't apply to dreams, visions, transports. In other dimensions we move "swift as thought" and inhabit multiple planes simultaneously.
- All beings are one. If I hurt you, I hurt myself.
- The supreme emotion is love. Union and mutual assistance are the imperitives of life. We are all in this together.
- God is all there is. Everything that is, is God in one form or another. God, the divine ground, is that in which we live and move and have our being. Infinite planes by the spirit of God.
I most definitely recommend reading this book. I think anyone trying to find motivation in creativity, work, life, relationships, etc. can find some solace in the book.
Maybe one day I'll actually figure myself out.
2 comments:
You know, I've always had a love-hate relationship with books that urge you to figure yourself out and psychoanalyze yourself in a way. First of all because you can't get out of yourself and objectively analyze yourself. And, second, because I don't think figuring yourself out is the way to go. You already know who you are. So rather than that, I'd say what you have to do is embrace yourself and the way you are. And maybe keep in mind what has made you who you are. But obviously you have to do it with a grain of salt. Don't embrace who you are if you're an asshole. :D
Well there you go! Now you're on the path to success :D
Gee, maybe you'll even become president now! Then you could legalize weed and absinthe.
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