[I am very glad to see this course-correction. Too many people — especially New Age-influenced people — tend to blame the ego and deify the self, which I think is a serious misreading of the situtation.]
A Short Lesson About Attitude
by John Dorsey Wolf
We might call this “R&R”, not the military term meaning “Rest and Relaxation” from being on the front lines in battle; instead, “Ramifications of Rita” as I digest and ingest her material via Frank.
A couple of thoughts came to me the other day while I was on the freeway.
A driver in front of me was well into an exit lane, and at the last second veered suddenly without signaling across two lanes to return to the freeway. I grumbled to myself, “That idiot!”. (Actually, it was a few non-PG words to that effect.) Along with that statement I instantly felt threatened, generated some anger, and sent that energy out into the Universe.
In the past, searching for what part of me might be responsible for this behavior on my part, I would say it’s my ego at work. I have no formal psychology education, and I won’t pretend to fully understand what ego is. I simply view my ego as the externally oriented aspect of me.
I starting thinking about some of the beliefs I held about my ego. For example,
a) It can be superficial and arrogant.
b) It can be self-serving at the expense of others.
c) It can make mistakes, go the wrong way, and generate “bad” thoughts.
On the other hand, there is my soul. My beliefs about my soul have been for the most part opposite of those of my ego. My soul is pure love. It is all wise, infallible. It thinks only positive thoughts.
I tended to associate the ego with my body and matter, while associating the soul with non-matter. In this last series of dialogues with Frank, Rita referred to the “3D mind” and the “non-3D mind” and how the 3D mind develops independence by being imbedded in 3D.
One convenience of having an ego separate from the soul is that we have “someone” to blame. We have someone who needs to learn. We have someone who can be saved and redeemed, or fixed. This kind of thinking encourages us to assign anything we deem negative to one part of us, and what we deem positive, e.g., love, to a different part. All my best thoughts therefore would be soul (or higher) generated, while all the others would be ego generated.
Some writers (not Frank) consistently put down the ego while glorifying the soul. Lately, something has been sticking in my craw about that.
Accepting the connectivity and the one shared reality as Rita has spoken about blurs the boundary between an ego and a soul. We could say that the ego is on the front lines of the physical, and the soul is on the front lines of the non-physical, but in the end when the body is dropped, does the ego die? Both aspects of the mind named ego and soul survive as an entity, even though of course there is no longer a front line to the physical.
If ego and soul are arbitrary distinctions of the same thing, then I would have to admit that my thoughts, my emotions and my actions are as soul-based as they are ego-based. A part of me that is non-physical that can be superficial, arrogant, self-serving, fallible, and bad?
Perhaps we could call this an “inconvenient truth” (knowing of course that at best it is relative); but, that really wasn’t the end point of the lesson for me.
Judging is an acquired 3D habit. All of those undesirable characteristics and their opposites are my terms resulting from applying my judgement. As is my assessment of someone else’s driving.
From the perspective of greater consciousness, judgement is suspended, and what is witnessed instead is perhaps what I am deciding to be (my “essential composition” as Rita said); how complete I may be; what change, no matter how small, I bring; and what I learned about the nature of creation.
I think my short search for finding parts of me to judge and blame ended up like all searches for all my parts. They are all me. And now to judge judgement: it’s a bad habit!
John
John ? Thanks, a very good reminder.
I have thought the ego to be the same as the individual characteristic for a person in 3D awareness….more (to grow) as a personality in becoming “a part” of the so-called development in the physical earth. Such as “a tool of survival” in the physical world. And what we have done, or doing, with that particular “TOOL” is up to each and everyone of us.
By reading about all the NDE-investigations among peoples it seems the ego “vanishes” into the whole Being, or Entity, seemingly after “having done some adjustments.”
And smiling….because I am to read another old book titled as “God, The Substance of All Form,” by Joel S.Goldsmith (I LOVE the mystics)….
In the book Goldsmith reveals that as individual consciousness expands, understanding and closeness to God (nameless original force), become a greater reality. The inherent presence of God in all things to dawn to awareness, and divine spirit is experienced emanating from the totality of being.
And one quote by him:
“Concern for the effect persists only as long as there is the belief that the power, law, or reality is in the effect.”
It is reminding me about what E.C. says: “Mind is The Builder.”
And Wilson van Dusen expressing something about “The whole world inhibiting the Mind”, or: “Mind, The Mysticism/The Magi/The Mystic.”
B&B,Inger Lise.
BTW: I have experience
Duality at work again! Thanks for this.
My higher Self defines the ego as a semiautonomous sub-program, in place for the purpose of protection. Perceived “problems” with the ego are often due to not updating the program. Because of this I like Sonia Choquette’s take on the ego. She says that it is like your pet. You should love it and take good care of it but not allow it to crap in the middle of the living room or hump visitor’s legs. Rita seems to be encouraging us to help our egos to identify with our total Selfs and not just with the 3-D even while in the midst of 3D.A mentor at Monroe has suggested that what he does is not to put his ego in the energy conversion box, but to allow it to ascend to his council, where it will be heard but not in control. Anyway just some thoughts on the subject of egos.
“… allow it to ascend to his council, where it will be heard but not in control.”
I like that. Thanks.
John,
Enjoyed your sharing, story and expanded vision. I do believe that if we can learn and grow without making our previous self wrong, bad and worthy of condemnation we will find creative choices so much easier to make and enjoy.
The old rote of in order to move forward or on means the prior was wrong is the duality of good soul bad ego as you have reminded us. Really it is all good so to speak including the release of explicatives at dangerous drivers sometimes. Gracie.
Louisa
John,
Appreciate your thoughts; I resonate with this kind of work. I feel Rita meant it when she said “Now it is for each person to apply the lessons as they have been given.” … your words show that application.
TGU’s/Rita’s “All is well … all is very well” is really a deeply profound statement that there is NOTHING wrong with you, me, the culture, the world. Having said that, there’s nothing that says I have to/should like/agree with/approve of everything. If we are here to “choose and choose and choose”, that must mean we are here to judge and judge and judge. We judge constantly: Can I make the light? Is it time for lunch? How long will this job take?
So I see judging as an integral basic part of life, in 3D and it appears in not-3D. Rita chose to speak to Frank (and us), then judged that “most of what needed to be said has been said” and chose to stop. Seems it’s not the judging that’s “bad.” Maybe what’s important is the level of understanding and the amount of work it comes out of … and the extent to which we take responsibility for the consequences?
I don’t know … but I do know that we’re left with that unsatisfying truth: there is no easy, silver bullet, black-and-white, ‘answer.’ Your post is a good example of “applying the lessons” to create personal understanding. My thanks for sharing!
Jim
Jim, you say, “we’re left with that unsatisfying truth: there is no easy, silver bullet, black-and-white, ‘answer.’” But I think that’s actually a very satisfying truth. How can you go wrong?
Ah Frank, spoken like a true pioneer! Us path followers (faint though that path might be today) tend to be less hardy and sanguine folk.
But I must admit my personality has shifted toward that “How can you go wrong?” direction over the last year-plus … you and Rita are ‘bad’ influences [grin]!
Jim
Thank you. Quite a compliment.
The word “judging” here was intended to be different than discernment. The latter is a necessary part of our choosing and deciding what fits for ourselves, and as you point out an important part of living.
Judging in this context is another step where we apply “right/wrong”, “good/bad”, etc. to our choices–or to other people’s choices or behavior. I can witness and discern behavior that I choose not to do myself. But if I go further and conclude I’m right and the other person is wrong, that’s not helpful, nor appropriate in my revised way of thinking. Nor is it necessary to judge myself the same way. Acceptance is the eventual goal.
John
John? Judgement and discernment may be the very same.
And Jim had a point with us “doing judgment” all the time. And in-between all “judging” of the discernments about what “to choose.”
AND within these “facts” (seemingly), it is as many as it is individuals in the earth.
And once again a quote by Edgar Cayce:”Cooperation is the most important thing men have to learn.” E.C.stressing ALL THE TIME cooperation through his “lessons”.
But I do like another reading by E.C., about discernment and judgment:
“… Do NOT become a DOORMAT (servility?)… and stretching the acceptance too far.”
I guess it is “a lesson” to learn while the consciousness focusing in the earth.
Back when I was with the E.C. study groups (and we came from all over the world with a mixture of life-views), in us ending up with E.C. to have right with the importance in learning Cooperation (within our families and homes likewise at first)… Hm,it is reminding me about the old saying:”Clean your own backyard first. Thinking about the world at large (mind you…without judgment that is just discernment).”
LOL, Inger Lise(and B&B)