On Being Special

‘Cause I gonna make you see,
there is nobody else here,
no one like me.
I'm special, so special!
I gotta have some of your attention,
give it to me!
(Pretenders, Brass in Pocket)


The spiritual notion of the word ‘ego’ is in stark contrast to the meaning our psychologists give it. Instead of referring to the force that aims to enlighten itself, we refer to the ‘ego’ in the spiritual community as the interference that prevents us from experiencing what lies Beyond. This spiritual interference is the craving to be somebody. We don’t want to be just a body, we want to be looked up to, celebrated, and considered to be cool. Biologically, this drive is the restless gene that wants to get passed on to the next generation. These days it takes more than just being sexually attractive; we also have to be perceived as kind and considerate, we need to have earnings potential or power. We must be considered ‘cool’ in one way or another. Our ego will put a nice story together to make us feel special, and will perhaps even make it sound spiritual. And once we know that we are special, we feel alive.


Being special—having sex appeal—is essentially the driving force of life. When we lose this ego motivation, when we lose our mojo so to speak, life loses all its charms, spice and sexiness. When our ego gets hurt, life becomes colorless, depressing and meaningless. There is a spiritual path that allows us to make that transition from ‘being special’ in our ego centered eyes to ‘being special’ in GOD’s Kingdom. Essentially, we are asked to let go of everything that we thought we needed to stand out. Instead we are asked to strip naked and let our natural beauty shine. We may be encouraged to let go of our high paying, prestigious job while being introduced to enjoying a form of abundance we had never appreciated before. We give away our fancy clothes and run naked to GOD.


A spiritual path is essentially the re-wiring of our nature and what is meaningful to us. While dressed in fancy clothes and wrapped in a beautiful life story, we were essentially living the laws of the jungle. Now, we are encouraged to enjoy the magnificence of the “I” within the greater good of Oneness. We are asked to develop our talents. We are told to live a life of purpose, of giving, of helping others, of shining the light for them. The Bhagavad Gita demands what Christianity also maintains, to put our heart and soul into our work and the service we supply to others. We are asked to let go of any agenda whatsoever. We are asked to drop our expectations to get something in return. Suddenly, our spiritual path takes care of us and showers us with care and attention that our narrow-minded ego never could have fathomed.


The transition from being ‘I’-centered to walking GOD’s path can be a tough transition, but it doesn’t have to be. Even the craving for enlightenment, for being a hermit, for sexual abstinence, for being a guru to others, can be an ego craving in disguise. Let your spiritual path show you the world that puts you into the Heavenly glory that you have inherited as Daughter of GOD. Embarking on a spiritual path doesn’t have to come at the expense of your liveliness at all. Hope you know that you are as special as they come—GOD needs you to make HER Kingdom complete.