Hello,
What's On My Mind is a weekly newsletter where I share some of my thoughts, stories, and ideas to raise awareness; enable personal growth; nourish an open mind; encourage self-discovery; and empowering myself and others with individual responsibility.
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Self-awareness = self-learning = self-knowledge = self-healing = self-realization
I hope you find them of any use.
Ego
The ego gets a pretty bad rap these days. People say things like “It’s just ego,” as though the ego were something we could just dispense of at will. Not so of course. It is a necessary part of you that, if balanced properly, wil benefit you.
What is the ego? (excerpt from my guide)
Ego is the lens through which you experience physical reality. It is a device that tabulates all the sensory inputs from your body, your physical surroundings, and your present physical needs. It is a very complex device, enough so that many of you put the ego in control of your lives and think that the ego is all that is you. Not so of course! The ego is just a small fraction of the entire being that is you. It is merely a tool that your consciousness (which we will get to in a moment) uses so that it can survive in a finite reality where you are yourself finite.
Ego's job then is as a protector and as a sustainer in physical reality. It functions as a reminder, to the infinite and immortal consciousness, that the reality it occupies is not constructed in an immortal and indestructible manner, and that certain criteria must be followed if you are to have any kind of existence within the framework. It can and does shout at consciousness very loudly when its needs are not being fulfilled; and if you are not aware of who is really in control of the process, your consciousness will bow to the ego and let it make the decisions. Not such a good idea, and you will see why as we go deeper into consciousness and ego.
In another kind of light, you can look at ego as the lower self, containing all the base instincts of the human being. It wants to be fed, clothed, loved, to be warm, and to feel secure. The ego on its own feels alone and cut off from the rest of the universe. It is always seeking to connect with something or someone to justify its existence within physical reality because physical reality is the only reality it knows.
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Consciousness has often been referred to as your higher self. It can certainly be this, but it is not only your higher self but your middle and lower self. It is all selves! You make a distinction between your higher self and your present you because that self seems to know so much more and seems a bit wiser. This all-knowing and wisdom does not come from any more or less evolution of your being. It merely is a product of your consciousness having access to a much larger and vast bank of information than the ego can access. It is here that the danger of having the ego in control over consciousness starts to have relevance; because anytime you have someone or something in control that has limited access to resources, you've selected the wrong CEO to be in charge, and you are headed for trouble.
Consciousness is the director, the one that knows the greater purpose of what you are doing and where you are going. It has access to such vast amounts of resources and information that the ego would become overwhelmed if it was suddenly put in its place. Imagine for a moment that you worked in the mailroom of a very large company. One day somebody comes along and says, "Hey! You! You are now in charge of the whole operation!" However, as a mailroom clerk, you can only do the job you were given, to read the incoming mail. How then are you going to run an entire company on just knowing the mail? You can't of course. The ego is like the mailroom clerk. It can only do what it was trained to do, and that is a very limited job indeed.
However, with the proper perspective, both ego and consciousness can work together to form a happy union. The mailroom clerk is an excellent person to tell the CEO what is going on in the real world - the reality of the moment - because the clerk is involved in that reality every day. The CEO (your consciousness) has access to large knowledge and resources so it can see the bigger picture and gently lead the entire self toward more experiences and learning. This relationship does not give a back seat to the ego at all. The ego is needed to remind consciousness of the reality it is a part, of what is needed right now, and of any changes that may have to be made. Consciousness must then weigh this ego-centred information along with the larger information to which it has access too. Then consciousness must decide as to what the next course of action is, and then the whole self, including the ego, must make do with what was decided. This relationship is the proper one for consciousness and ego and no other one will work.
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You will know you have a conflict when your ego says one thing and that small voice (which should not be so small) says that something does not seem right. What has happened is that the ego wants something, but consciousness sees the bigger picture. It is at those moments that you have to say, "That voice inside is telling me to be careful; I will heed its warning!" Soon, you will find that the inner voice, your consciousness, your higher self, if you will, did know a bit more, and it was better that you listened to it and not to the shouting ego, which can only and should only make suggestions and not run the whole show.
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Note: The word consciousness in this context is of a personal preference. Some refer to it as 'spirit', or 'soul'. I think you get the point I am trying to make in this artical regardless of the word I use. In my guide I am explaining my definition of words like, ego, consciousness, awareness in more depth.
Teaching & Insights
Tao te ching - 29
Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.
There is a time for being ahead,
a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion;
a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous;
a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe;
a time for being in danger;
The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the centre of the circle.
Video - with a message
Embark on a visionary journey through the fragmented unconscious of our modern times, and with courage face the Shadow. Through Shadow into Light. Released in 2017 with a timeless message. Warning!!! This will probably make you feel uncomfortable, or sad, or angry, or ashamed, or you want to stop looking, or all at the same time. Good. Keep watching to end to see a message of hope, unity, and love.
Quote to contemplate
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." - Mother Teresa
Fundamentals - living, thought, breath, water, nutrition, nature, rest, movement, relationships.
Living vs existing
Existing refers to remain alive or continue to be; in simple terms, it can be described as doing what is necessary to stay alive. When compared to existing, living means to enjoy your life and savour every movement of it. This is the key difference between living and existing.
Living is associated with joy, enthusiasm, passion and interest in life. When a person is living, he has clear, meaningful goals; he works with passion; he takes the time to enjoy his life. In other words, when you start ‘living’, you have control of your life, and you make the decisions in your life; your life won’t be mechanical.
Existing is similar to surviving. When you are existing, you’ll go do what is necessary to remain alive; you’d breathe, eat, sleep, and work. In other words, he would make sure that his basic needs are fulfilled in order to continue his existence. You’d not do things because you want to do them, but because it is necessary to do them in order to continue to live. A person who is merely existing doesn’t enjoy life; he has no passion, enthusiasm or interest in what he does. He’ll simply go through the motion of life.
Living: Living means to enjoy life and savour every moment.
Existing: Existing means to survive and simply remain alive.
Living: When you live your life, you have a purpose or aim in life.
Existing: When you exist, you don’t have a purpose in life.
Living: Living is active and spontaneous.
Existing: Existing is passive and mechanical.
Living: You do the things you enjoy doing.
Existing: You do what is necessary to stay alive.
Living: You lead and control your life.
Existing: Life just happens to you, and you go through the motions.
Living: There is passion, joy, and enthusiasm in living.
Existing: There is no passion, joy or enthusiasm in existing.
The roadmap from existing to living is pretty easy, yet one of the hardest things you will do. You need to figure out one of the most complicated and beautiful organism in existance; yourself. You can do this with daily reflection, being honest with yourself, and experiencing as much as you can. This process wil automaticly set you on a path towards living.
Podcast - be aware of where you're spending your attention
Did you know...
light exercise will help when you're feeling tired.
Thank you for your spending your valuable time on reading this newsletter.
Your support is much appreciated.
Stay healthy, build bridges, spread love.
Joey van Tilburg
