Spiritual Advancement

           Invariably, after articles like the past two where the illusion of identity was discussed, a client or a reader will say something to me along the lines of, “I know there really is no identity but…” Or, “I know I’m not supposed to have an identity…” What is shared in articles like those are how things change, what is seen after nonduality experiences, not a judgment against or prescription for repressing your current experience.

It seems many feel foolish for continuing to have an experience that they hear or read is no longer there for others and they opt to deny it or repress it in their experience. But keep in mind, only ego struggles against ego. Ego is not a wrong thing or a bad thing, nor is it foolish for it to be appearing in conscious awareness. That is just what is happening, a false idea running its course. To pure consciousness that is all it is, a mirage—nothing. Any meaning, purpose, or value, good or bad, seen in ego and/or its world, is always ego.

The appearance of ego is not foolish, the belief it is real is foolish because it’s not true, but that’s its illusion. In that sense, ego is foolish, so feeling foolish means ego is being expressed. Its denial or repression of itself does not get rid of what it is, it just hides it. In fact, accepting the inherently foolish nature of ego because it is not real signals a spiritually advancing ego.

It may seem a contradiction to say “spiritually advancing” in connection with ego, but remember, spirituality is only ego. Correctly seen, spirituality is an expression, an indication that truth is approaching conscious awareness. Spirituality is the effect of that approach, what ego does with it, so the expression is not significant in what it is, but in what it indicates. It’s like someone plays a musical note and someone else takes that note and elaborates on it to create a song. Truth is that single note and the song is ego’s elaboration.

Ego in this context refers not to its individualized expression in your mind but to ego consciousness, what ego makes of consciousness. You are not personally taking your mystical experiences and insights and making spirituality out of them. Spirituality is universal and generic, showing up in varying degrees in individual minds (conscious awarenesses), if at all. If truth continues to grow in one’s conscious awareness, the effect can be mitigation of the worst of ego, self-centeredness, selfishness, pride, arrogance, guilt, and fear. This shows up as ego accepting it is part of something larger, considering others, compassion for others, ceasing taking itself so seriously, laughing at itself, taking responsibility for itself,  admitting its faults, willingly making amends when possible, and forgiving. This is what a teaching like A Course in Miracles is for and what many think of as self-actualization or self-realization.

So, an individual ego can advance spiritually, there are “lower” and “higher” expressions of the awareness of truth. Really, this is about the “purity” of truth’s reflection in ego consciousness. At the lower end, spirituality is focused on the material world and moralistic. At its highest, it is mystical, perceiving (but not striving for) oneness in various forms.

Spirituality comes to an end with the death of a body or enlightenment, which means the awareness of truth has come and ego has fallen away. It ends because there is no longer an ego to advance. But, until this happens, it is not foolish for ego to be wherever it is spiritually. No matter how dimly or imperfectly expressed, ego’s spirituality signals the presence of truth in a mind. 

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If you have a question the answer to which you feel may be helpful to others, send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in this newsletter/blog.

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