Thursday, July 31, 2014

Letting Go of the Ego

Someday everything will make sense. So, for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding yourself that ... everything happens for a reason.
(Quote on Spiritual Networks)

I sometimes imagine a spiritual journey as a connection of two plateaus connected by a water fall. In the transition phase you are very much out of equilibrium, while on the plateau, the system is at rest. How long this journey will take is very much up to you and will crucially depend on how you interact with your ego.

At work I observed that all my ambitions have somehow vanished. Stuff that drove me in the past like being the best at what I do, or being admired by people I care for, somehow dropped by the wayside. I still do my work but it is with a new mind-set. I keep on going because I care for the people I hang out with and I still have an artistic interest in what I do. On thing is quite clear to me though, my ego is as strong as it has ever been; I have just redistributed meaning in that particular work dimension.

The spiritual journey is about letting go some of your belief system about yourself. The journey is also about realizing - and experiencing - that you are not an ego. The ego always comes in different forms and dimensions and you can never completely shake it off no matter how enlightened you are. Something has to keep you here, otherwise you would just slip away.

Sadhguru told the story of Sri Ramakrishna, the 19th century mystic of India. Sadhguru said that everyone needs something to hang onto and in Sri Ramakrishna's case it was his love for tasty food. When one day he told his wife that he had lost his appetite she knew that he had only 3 more days to live.

When you are on a plateau, the "I" that you experience is bound in one entity. When you are in a transition phase, one or more of the belief system about yourself is disintegrating. You are - over a transition period that can be quite confusing and uncomfortable - letting go of an ego dimension, just as a snake lets go of its skin. But even in this case, it is not that the snake is skinless afterwards - a new skin had come to the fore.

A spiritual journey is a soul searching exercise. Sure, long periods of peace, love and happiness await for you. But until you there, accept when life shakes you a little to prepare you for it.

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