"One of the great dangers of transformational work is that the ego attempts to sidestep deep psychological work by leaping into the transcendent too soon. This is because the ego always fancies itself much more ‘advanced’ than it actually is."
-- Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson
The Tibetan teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, warned of the trap of spiritual materialism. He says we must be ever diligent to spot the ego’s use of the spiritual journey to further its own ends.
We may think it’s spiritual to yearn for divine connection. And yet, if the longing is to fill an emptiness inside, just how does this differ from the one who yearns for money or possessions to fill the inner void? Do we look to our spiritual practices as proof of our evolved consciousness or as protection against fears?
Any time we use spiritual disciplines to maintain our identity and security, we are not yet on the path of genuine spiritual development.
"Enlightenment is ego’s ultimate disappointment."
-- Chögyam Trungpa
This is something I recently dealt with in a very quick manner a few days back--a person from years ago contacted me with some issues, and my first question was " is he working with a ego driven spirituality or a spiritual driven ego". Well, I'm not him, he's the only one that could answer that question, so I simply deleted the email and didn't respond. But it also made me stop and reflect on my own spiritual path. Am I on it for the joy of the journey, the growth, the sharing with others? or is there an ego driven reason? Being human, I suspect there's a bit of both....wren
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"Never argue with an idiot... They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience..."
I have to look in my own mirror and remember where I point out "Spiritual self righteousness" in others, there's 3 or 4 fingers pointing back at me.
I'm just concentrating on asking God for help in the morning and thanking him at night. If I think about my self too much, then I'm thinking about myself too much. :o)
Yup, that's why I love delete buttons, or I'll spend so long taking my inventory, I'll lose a few hours. If I'm checking myself out that thoroughly, I figure that's just another form of self-absorbtion and self-centeredness. Shame on me.
I really got lost, after reading that article. I find myself grasping at things like that when I'm trying to deflect my thinking from other things. Been a really messed up couple of weeks. Trying to "fix" things I have no business trying to fix. It's really a job for God. The Grandaughter that I had for a few weeks visit? She got back to Cali.and her mom stuck both she and her little sister into foster care the next day. Supposed to be for a week, then the state stepped in. Tested the Mom, and she's on a meth run. Now, the kids are supposed to go with their respective Fathers, so there's an obstacle course going on. Her little sister thinks I'm her Gramma, she's never really known anyone else, and this means this little girl will be going to another state with her dad, and I don't know if I'll ever see her again. In the meantime, my Grandaughter is trying to accept all this, calls me on the phone alot (she's 12), and I just keep trying to let go, let go. Realize that God has His plans for the girls, and mine may not coincide with His. Stepping aside is so hard in this situation, been great for my prayer life, tho. I have to go back to not "what's best in Chris's opinion, but what's best in Gods". I helped deliver this little girl, and the thought of what the two of them are going thru just makes me ache all over. I just need to trust that its going the way it should. There's a plan I don't know about. It isn't about me and what I want for the girls, it's what God wants, so I gotta let it play out......and remember to take the steps I need to take to stay "healthy" in the interim. I think this is the longest post I've done in months. And thank the Gods for Phil, the Voice of Reason.....
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"Never argue with an idiot... They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience..."
that's really a tough one, Wren. We can sit here on the outside of it and say, "Let go and Let God" until we are blue in the face, but the reality is that we also have very deep maternal and paternal instincts going on in a situation like this. I will certainly keep you and the girls and their father in my prayers, Wren. When God's answer is "Wait", it is very hard sometimes. You will definitely be in my prayers.
