Cleaning Your Mental House
It is clear that while the content of any particular ego illusion does not matter, its correction is more helpful in a specific context. Ego illusions are quite specific, although the mind is naturally abstract. (T-4.VII.1)
Before you can really embark on your spiritual path you may have some mental house cleaning to do. Most everyone starts out believing very much in this world. Some of the illusions we hold on to are very real to us. Painful, negative memories will stand in the way of real spiritual growth until they have been faced. Few people can immediately accept the idea that they are not real. And if you don’t deal with them, your spirituality will just become a means of denial rather than a means of awakening.
Some examples of the issues that can hold you back are painful childhood loss, like the death of a parent or your parents’ divorce; physical, emotional or sexual abuse; unresolved grief from any stage of life; war experiences, either as a combatant or as a civilian; current, unhealthy relationships; guilt over past behavior. There are many more.
One of the ways you can tell if you have something to deal with is the emotional energy around your spirituality. If you have a sense of desperation or urgency, if strong emotions come up when you try to be still and hear God, if you cannot quiet your mind – these are some clues you have something to deal with.
Your Holy Spirit can guide you to the help you need – a therapist or a well-trained member of the clergy. While these experiences are real to you, your Holy Spirit will work with you where you are. When these things have been dealt with you will move on and eventually be able to accept that they are not real, they are not a part of you.
www.acimmentor.com
To receive this blog in your email contact me at Liz@acimmentor.com
Before you can really embark on your spiritual path you may have some mental house cleaning to do. Most everyone starts out believing very much in this world. Some of the illusions we hold on to are very real to us. Painful, negative memories will stand in the way of real spiritual growth until they have been faced. Few people can immediately accept the idea that they are not real. And if you don’t deal with them, your spirituality will just become a means of denial rather than a means of awakening.
Some examples of the issues that can hold you back are painful childhood loss, like the death of a parent or your parents’ divorce; physical, emotional or sexual abuse; unresolved grief from any stage of life; war experiences, either as a combatant or as a civilian; current, unhealthy relationships; guilt over past behavior. There are many more.
One of the ways you can tell if you have something to deal with is the emotional energy around your spirituality. If you have a sense of desperation or urgency, if strong emotions come up when you try to be still and hear God, if you cannot quiet your mind – these are some clues you have something to deal with.
Your Holy Spirit can guide you to the help you need – a therapist or a well-trained member of the clergy. While these experiences are real to you, your Holy Spirit will work with you where you are. When these things have been dealt with you will move on and eventually be able to accept that they are not real, they are not a part of you.
www.acimmentor.com
To receive this blog in your email contact me at Liz@acimmentor.com
Comments
'One of the ways you can tell if you have something to deal with is the emotional energy around your spirituality. If you have a sense of desperation or urgency, if strong emotions come up when you try to be still and hear God, if you cannot quiet your mind – these are some clues you have something to deal with.'
still how you look at it? i relate to a lot of that paragraph, but i assumed it was simply ego resisting my turning inward with the intent of opening to truth. im always working on forgiveness of the traumatic parts of my childhood, i dont feel im ignoring anything.
i do feel desperation and urgency fairly often with this.. it does feel consuming.. but im often ok with that actually. im just currently in a process of letting go of 'dreams' that have been all tied up with my spiritual practise, (uniting the family, stopping the slow eroding of what closeness we had, in form. accepting the bigger picture, letting go of one i thought was one of the most spiritual parts of my mind, which was in fact just a desperate clinging to that childhood sense of belonging, even if it was belonging to something that was often painful) and am experiencing a lot of self pity, and i think maybe this is mourning. i feel sure of this, but so sad. this is a healthy letting go, its only happening because there is enough of truth in my mind to show me what my dream was really doing, and how it blocked me from loving my family as they are, as well as keeping me trying to bring truth to not truth. but im sad, it really feels like its leaving an actual emptiness in me, like the purpose i held for almost 40 years has gone, and i was like.. "im vigilantly doing this, working so hard to be actually helpful rather than my old dream of helpful, and i cant even 'gift myself' with some peace when i sit and open to Love?? grr.." and so yeah.. self pity, and tantrum! and.. yeah.. the first comment wasnt really a question, but an expression of anger and resistance to the process.
when i remember that practising turning back inward is part of the process, and that practising being gentle is obviously still something i need to work at, which will in time enable sitting in peace, a still mind, im peaceful enough now!