Be Aware of Your Idol - Don't Fall under its Spell, and Don't Fight it Either

Seek not outside yourself. For it will fail, and you will weep each time an idol falls.
(A Course in Miracles)

When Moses returned with the 10 Commandments after a 40 day retreat on Mount Sinai, his people had lost faith and built an idol - a golden calf - and were busily engaging in some pagen festival in celebration of life and fertility. Moses was so distraught by what he saw that he shattered the stone tablets with the 10 Commandment on the floor; he also had 3000 Israelis executed as punishment.

What an irony that the First Commandment states "Thou shall have no idols before Me" and the first thing Moses' people did was to worship an idol of power and fertility. Your idol can be everywhere, money, looks, fame, degrees, professions, important friends or colleagues, sex, etc. I am sure you know who or what your personal idol is. The trick is to be aware of its charm and to be able to feel the dark energy it bestows on you. It is as if a cloud hangs over you whenever it touches you.  If you fight it, you are not getting rid of its influence, you are just re-distributing the dark cloud to your perceived holy part. Just recognize the idol for what it stands for, acknowledge its appeal and then choose to step out of its dark shadow into the sun.

Moses didn't help his divine cause by killing his brothers and sisters. He also didn't help our spiritual journey by making a taboo out of idol worship. What you fear and detest, you only attract. The only way to deal with an idol is to understand that you can do much better by keeping its sphere of influence at arms' length. Moses did what he was capable of 5000 years ago, but we have come a long way since. Today it is very much in our power to move past the idol's spell without condemning it and without being afraid of it either.

Discover the Dark Power of Money

What is an idol? Do you think you know? For idols are unrecognized as such, and never seen for what they really are. That is the only power that they have.
(A Course in Miracles)

In a psychological study some people were subconsciously exposed to money symbols. Some computers had dollar bills as screen savers, some rooms had monopoly money in the background placed on coffee tables, etc. Everyone was given some mock test to work on. The true experiment happened when someone "accidentally" dropped pencils.
 It turned out that all the people who were primed with money symbols were less helpful on average in picking them up. So by being exposed to money symbols you automatically become more selfish!

Isn't that result amazing? Be careful with the interpretation though. If you now close all your bank accounts, distribute your 401(k) money to the poor and withdraw into the Himalayas you are only running away from the problem. Of course money is everywhere, you can't avoid it. What you can do though, you can be aware of the dark cloud that descends as you open up your retirement fund statements and contemplate the supposedly future happy period when you supposedly will finally be safe and free. Deep down inside you equate money with safety, power and happiness. Recognize this link and be aware of it. Money is just another idol, as so many other objects and people are. Recognize them one by one any they will lose their power over you.

What is an Idol?

It is a little strange that since our 'American Idol' days we associate the word idol with something positive. Well, why not, at least it is honest that we admit to ourselves that we are running after fame, sex, wealth and status. For me the concept of an idol is something that we like to hang our hat on. We feel that we know that with the help of our idol we will be happy and secure. So from this perspective, religion can be as much an idol as the famous enlightenment concept.

It doesn't help you if a guru tells you that you shouldn't have sex, go for that plastic surgery or run after money. Don't get me wrong, of course there is no harm being inspired by others, but at the end of the day every decision has to be based on your idiosyncratic insights, everything else would still be an idol.

My favorite indicator is the passion test. If you are passionate about something, chances are there is an idol lurking in the background. But never mind that. Passions are here for you to burn off. There will be a point in your journey when you will unmask this idol. It is a dream-like flash, a minor vision, that shows you exactly how this object appeals to you, promising you happiness and security, and at this moment the battle is over. Every spiritual path traveler will gladly ignore the hook attached to a signpost along the way. Security and happiness is only something the Tao can provide. Perhaps there will be even a day when the idol is calling out to you and you miss it altogether as you are too absorbed in the here and now.