mc 7 – See Inspirational Books 1997 & My Story Part II
The Paradox of the Ego
Perched upon our shoulder,
pulling all our strings,
the Ego sits and plays around
with all our moods. our swings.
It never ever leaves us,
likes having us around,
to manipulate, perpetuate
all the weaknesses it’s found.
It hides behind a cloak of pride,
wants everyone to listen,
demands attention, doesn’t learn,
only wants to have its turn.
But pity the poor Ego,
because it’s true you see,
it gains its power through fear alone,
controls through insecurity.
And so the paradox exists,
that whilst it seems so strong,
it’s really weak and powerless
and just strings us along
into thinking that our strength lies
in its bulky little frame,
instead of realising
there is nothing we can gain
in letting it control us,
by accepting what it says,
in its dominant behaviour,
devouring hearts and heads.
And so it is important
to listen to its voice,
decide if pride
or equilibrium
is going to be your choice.
For in Ego there’s no balance,
you swing from side to side,
it traps you in your need to win,
and takes you for a ride.
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The One in All of Us
Vulnerable, I have clothed myself
Buttons have been done up tight,
zips have been fastened
and belly pulled in.
Now, with you,
I can show the ageing skin,
the lines and creases,
the fears and doubts,
the nakedness of my creation.
With you, buttons innocently come undone,
they hang loosely by their threads
wondering whether now is the time
their usefulness can be dispensed with.
I feel a tenderness towards them.
I want to tell them
it’s all right to come undone.
For here, with you,
there is no seamstress
waiting with needle and thread
to put all in order,
there is just acceptance
of my unfolding self,
uncovering each other gently
with our soul’s compassion.
from Angela Michaels ‘Out of the Blue’
I loved these two poems, I can remember they enabled me to see and understand the vulnerability of the ego and the full meaning of the role that it plays for us through the words that Angela has used, and I thank God and Angela for this gift.
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1A )
There are other very helpful articles to understanding & identifying the Ego, one being in Nicolya Christi’s book Contemporary Spirituality for an Evolving World where in Chapter Six;- A Re-evaluation of Ego, especially on pages 122 – 125, – EGO/SELF; A FAIRY TALE which leads on to the most beautiful lette r written to the EGO from Self, thanking Ego for all he/she has done for the Self in this lifetime. hoping to add a link here to the actual chapter :- (contact me for this link)
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I had already come to my own understanding that the EGO is very necessary on our journey to becoming soul conscious because it thinks that it is in control, directing and helping us make decisions. It doesn’t want to be understood or identified.
Also see all the references to Eckhart Tolle, his books The Power of Now; Stillness Speaks and especially A New Earth which gives one of the best understandings of the Ego. In my section Food for Thought you will find links to You Tube talks by Eckhart. https://youtu.be/hzQ2iqSwaR8 Be prepared that within this talk is one of the biggest challenges to the ego as it experiences the full gambit to all it’s senses. It sees this little person, Eckhart, who doesn’t look imposing at all, quite humble in fact. (The ego doesn’t do humble!) Eckhart’s words are simple (the ego thinks that things have to be complex for it to show how clever it is) and then of course, there are the interuptions by the adverts which really test ‘patience‘ of which the ego has very little.
This is where we really have the opportunity to practice soul consciousness knowing that ‘what we are listening to’ is necessary for our conscious awareness to evolve. And only with conscious determination we eventually see that it is not the Ego but the Universe/God that is behind everything and when we realise this, and gently love it, so it can see that its eventual and original purpose is to surrender – then and only then does life start to truly flow.
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At certain challenging times I consciously choose to affirm ” I Choose God’s Will over ego” – the ego doesn’t like this one as it’s not even given the status of ‘my ego’…..
And some mornings ” OK Lord, Let’s do today, In your Way”
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Also see My Story re my counselling course in 1991 and the words of Cassie Cooper, who I was later to discover had worked alongside the eminent child psychoanalyst John Bowlby at the Tavistock Clinic in London many years ago, taught me another Spiritual Lesson, of Surrender & Acceptance when she told me “Georgie, I accept everyone on this course – those who are there on the Monday morning are the ones who are meant to be there” – she knew she didn’t have to influence anything.
I next found myself near Hendon, for a short course at the School of Psychosynthesis, conceived by Roberto Assagioli. It is an approach to counselling and psychotherapy which takes into account the whole person, Body, Mind, Feelings, Spirituality and Sexuality.
It was here that I understood that ‘Surrender is about letting go of control without losing the power’ and the schools conclusion that this power is God.