The goal of our experience is to gain more self-understanding. The biggest challenge we face is to recognize that we have two very distinct parts to ourselves. Each of these parts has its own agenda, its own thoughts, and associated feelings, and most importantly, its own voice. When we engage in introspection or “self-talk” we become aware that there are apparently two separate people talking to us at the same time, and these two voices seem to be at odds. The difficulty arises when we do not know what voice to listen to or trust. The important thing for us to realize is that we need to make a choice and follow one or the other. It is almost like there is a battle happening within our own minds, as each of these voices wants to have control over our experience. The problem we have is that we assume we are our thoughts and attempt to identify with them thereby. Self-awareness involves the realization that we are not our thoughts, but the “thinker” having those thoughts. The choice we have then is who we want to pay attention to or which voice we want to identify with. This is how we become the observer of our own experience rather than being the experience itself. The two distinct voices in consideration are that of the ego and the soul. In our efforts to become the observer of our experience, it’s important to understand the differences between the two. We are then in a position to make the appropriate choice as to which of these voices we want to be involved in our experience.
The ego is the sum total of our past experience and all the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs associated with it. Our beliefs are generated by our assessment of those past experiences in terms of how we feel about them. The ego structure is formulated through a combination of the mind, our thoughts about the experience, and our emotions, the feelings about our experience. For most people, it is the feelings generated in the experience that have the most impact. We’ll discuss this further at another time. From a higher perspective, the ego was created as a means for physical survival. We needed to understand what was dangerous in order to stay alive. Fear was created as a mechanism to help us understand when something was unsafe. This mechanism of fear has been carried forward through the evolution of human consciousness but has mostly fallen into the background of our experience, at least in terms of physical survival. Keep in mind that when something falls into the subconscious, it has the potential to control us without our awareness. Unfortunately, this protective device, implemented by the ego, has developed to include the emotional and mental parts of our experience as well. In other words, the ego structure has gone beyond its original intent and purpose of protecting our physical survival. It should be obvious to us that physical hurt is not the same as emotional hurt, for example, but the ego considers them to be the same. When we are hurt emotionally, the ego considers it a threat to our physical survival and generates all the corresponding “fight or flight” instincts. Our emotional experience is important because it is a gateway to an open heart and the expression of love. That is our goal. You can see, however, that the ego has become too involved in our experience by gaining control over the emotional part. It does this by firing off that instinctual response every time we have an unpleasant emotional experience or feel that our beliefs are being questioned by others. When we find ourselves in this defensive state, we cannot access the love we aspire to. Every time the ego triggers the fight or flight response, we are stuck. We cannot learn and grow, and the possibility of understanding love ceases. How do we escape this dilemma? How do we resolve this problem of undue ego control in our experience? What has been provided for us as a tool or vehicle is the mind. The ability to think about our experiences rather than react emotionally is the key. The objectivity of the mind provides us the opportunity to gain an understanding of our experience. The process of mental development involves the other voice we have within us, that of the soul.
We all have a sense within us that we are being guided or assisted in our lives. The awareness of this guidance varies greatly from person to person, but it is there, even to a small degree, for everyone. This is the voice of the higher part of us known as the soul. All love, wisdom, and connectedness come from this higher part of ourselves. The soul is the part of us that helps us understand what God or the universe is all about. It helps us define a sense of the purpose of our existence. The soul is, quite literally, a bridge between our physical, personal selves and all that is. The soul does not have fear as a controlling force in its experience. The soul experiences an all-inclusive love, patience, compassion, and all of those higher qualities and values we aspire to as human beings. If we accept the premise that we do have a higher part to ourselves, then we must acknowledge that these qualities already exist within us. We are already that which we seek! We are in fact spiritual beings. We are the soul! The problem we have is not about what reality actually is, but the awareness we have of that reality. The realization of truth and purpose happens through the evolution of consciousness over time, a rather long period of time, so patience is required! This process involves the detachment from the fear-based ego structure to the inclusive love of the soul. Another way to look at the process is to understand it as identification. Our identity, or who we believe ourselves to be, is a matter of where we place our attention. If we go back to the ego, it’s important to understand that the ego is only concerned with reaction and response to the physical environment. The ego has no ability to think or love, for example, it merely has the function of ensuring physical survival. If you want to understand what love and purpose are all about, look to the soul as a means to accomplish that. This is our goal.
Some of you reading this article have some background in the thoughts, ideas, and concepts presented here and are therefore aware of the challenges that exist in this process. Continue being aware of the differences between the two voices that exist within your own mind. The experience of your life is a product of where you decide to place your attention. For those of you who lack a background in these areas, do not worry. You have the ability to make the connection with this higher part of yourself by making the decision to do so. If you want to feel better about yourself and the world in which you live, the establishment of this higher connection is absolutely essential. You will evolve and understand yourself better over time, whether you want to or not. It is a matter of how actively involved you want to be and how quickly you want this to happen. If you are interested in speeding up the process a little, it’s important for you to set aside a small amount of time every day for some form of meditation or inner reflection. I encourage you to be more actively involved in your own process. Things will get better if you apply yourself and do the necessary work, otherwise, things will not change. Life is about the choices we make in every single moment. That is the gift provided to us.
I would like to end our discussion today with some suggestions. It’s important to recognize that the voice of the ego will always contain an element of fear and/or limitation. The voice of the soul will always contain an element of positivity and potential. The best advice I have for you is to pay attention to your thoughts and how they make you feel. This is a great indicator of where the thoughts are being generated from. Practice makes perfect is very true in the above process. Give it time to develop. I also want you to know that if I can impart anything at all as a teacher, it is this. I want you all to be free of fear. I want you to feel loved and have a sense of purpose and direction in your life. I know how difficult it is. All we have to do is be willing to participate. Although the concepts I am discussing with you do work, I know they work from my own experience, I cannot prove the validity to you. You must prove the validity within your own experience. As a teacher, I can only provide suggestions. It’s up to you to do the rest! With that being said, thanks so much for spending time with me today, and I’ll see you next time.
All my love and support, stay safe and be well