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23712 |
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Date: September 15, 2016 at 08:57:54
From: Shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Love this! |
URL: http://www.wakingtimes.com/2015/06/04/the-4-scariest-but-secretly-wonderful-steps-toward-enlightenment/ |
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The path of commitment to conscious self-awareness is IMHO the most challenging and most rewarding angle of experiencing spirituality... Thought this little article condensed some of this well; here's an excerpt:
"3.) Ego Annihilation
'There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.'
--Ralph Marsten
This one is arguably the most painful. The death of the ego is no walk in the park. It is more like a walk through a dark night of the soul surrounded by an angry abyss that’s really just the small-minded version of you not wanting to lose what it feels is the essence of you: your ego. But the ego is not the essence of you, and it never was. The real you is an interdependent cosmic force, an interconnected frequency, a unified cosmic agent going through the motions of being a mind-body-soul.
'But the worst enemy you can meet will always be yourself; you lie in wait for yourself in caverns and forests. Lonely one, you are going the way to yourself! And your way goes past yourself, and past your seven devils! You will be a heretic to yourself and witch and soothsayer and fool and doubter and unholy one and villain. You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame: how could you become new, if you had not first become ashes?'
–-Friedrich Nietzsche
Ego annihilation leads to the ashes from which the phoenix of the soul rises. But first there must be descent. There must be a tearing part, a burning down, a sacred disintegration. But the task of severance is a repentance. It speaks the language of vicissitude. It howls inside you like old night. It moves through you like fresh smoke. It is the blood of a full moon’s howl. It is a cruel wheel spinning its cycle of animal angst, of species-crimson. It is in this moment. Here, at the crux of the cross, at the knot on the wood, where the crooked trees mock your martyrdom and all your ancestors can smell the scent of your heart’s full blossom, blinking in and out of the ether, screaming at you, 'It is time! There may not be another life to love.'
And so you descend. And so you cross the Rubicon of the self, bridging the gap between Man and Overman above the Existential Black Hole. And so you lose yourself in the blue smoke, in the loose shadows. You scream out like Yin. Your fists clinch like Yang. The fish feed on their tails. The snakes do the same. It’s like heaven and hell in your body. People can smell the animal in you, the wild-self coming to life. Death hums a eulogy in the trees, and you die a small death: the exulting death of your ego. And then you’re quiet as a doll, vulnerable, astonished, and cataleptic from the fall. But now you’re a force of nature first, a person second. And the Earth has finally discovered its salvation: the awakened human soul.
4.) Fearless Forgiveness
'In conclusion, there is no conclusion. Things will go on as they always have, getting weirder all the time.' -–Robert Anton Wilson
Fearless forgiveness is scary because it is uncomfortable on an ontological level. It’s both a tearing down of the walls that protect us from the world and an unlocking of the prison door of our expectations. When we tear down the walls, fear is paramount and must be faced, and that can be dreadfully uncomfortable. But like Farrah Gray said, 'Comfort is the enemy of achievement.' So it behooves us to get uncomfortable. Like Neo waking up from the Matrix for the first time. When we unlock the door to our prison, the way the world truly is despite us, and in spite of our expectations and worldview, becomes the harsh Desert of the Real, which only we can face and resolve for ourselves. But at least now we have the double-edged sword of fearless forgiveness to cut through all the red tape.
Forgiveness hurts because it is the ultimate letting go. It’s a deep, visceral acceptance of the way things are, regardless of our need for things to be a certain way. It’s a decisive shedding of the burden of what we cannot control. Tantamount to Buddhist non-attachment, fearless forgiveness is a reckoning of existential proportions that turns the tables on the concept of control itself. It gives us permission to authentically and sincerely go with the flow. With fearless forgiveness it suddenly becomes okay that the game of life is 'rigged,' because our fearlessness is a willingness to transform whatever negative, counterproductive, unhealthy shit gets thrown at us into something positive, progressive, and healthy. And our forgiveness is a giant sigh saying, 'It’s okay.' It gives us the insurmountable courage to transform demons into diamonds, fear into courage, anger into strength, and disdain into compassion.
Fearless forgiveness is allowing ourselves to be intimate with the cosmos as it truly exists. Like Dōgen said, 'Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.' And intimacy with all things is just as likely to hurt as it is to feel good. But that is perfectly okay. It gives us permission to take the good with the bad, the unhealthy with the healthy, and the immoral with the moral. And then it gives us the courage to transform it all into our own amazing thing: art, adventure, love.
In the end, enlightenment is scary and painful, but it is so amazingly rewarding that it doesn’t even matter. As Camus said, 'Life should be lived to the point of tears.' We must ride the fine-line between ecstasy and misery in order to enjoy the great mystery. Question thyself, overcome thyself, forgive thyself, then rebirth thyself, ad infinitum, and the path toward enlightenment shall not elude you."
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Responses:
[23718] [23733] [23734] [23719] [23720] [23713] [23728] [23731] |
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23718 |
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Date: September 15, 2016 at 12:24:48
From: etc., [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Love this! |
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Shadow, I read this and was impressed to share the following...
Peace and joy to you this day...
EGO...
I believe the ego has a real purpose. It helps define who we are
individually, to reflect self back to us so we can see who we really
are.
When an ego is out of control, it lies to us, tells us what we think we
want to know, helps us build a case about something, even if untrue.
It strokes us and whispers to us and can certainly lead us astray.
Years ago I pleaded with the Universe/God for truth in my life. I
expected to start seeing the world more clearly. Instead, I was led
directly to my own ego. I was shown every bit and side of it, got to
know every nuance of it inside and out. And then in turn, I had to
deal with my real "self" not the one ego had produced for me. The
first truth I found was me.
And after quite a long time of dealing with the truth of myself and
getting to know me more deeply than ever before, I eventually
brought this new awareness into my everyday life.
The biggest change was that ego was not allowed to lie to me. Or if it
tried, it was caught immediately. I was forced to see real things. It
was a harsh and beautiful transition.
And as I moved on through life in this world, I found a way of
stripping away the fluff and finding the root of many things. To be
truthful, sometimes I hesitated or put off some questions, because I
knew I would have to face the real answers. But inevitably, I did it. I
simply could not turn away, once I started. I asked for truth and the
universe gave its blessing.
It might seem easy to then become jaded in this world, seeing things
for what they are. It's quite a depressing world some days. But in
seeing all the negatives and harshness in this world, there is also a
myriad of beauty and grace so often missed, overlooked, that goes
unnoticed. These things are so wonderfully created to bring immense
joy, that I get my fill and overfill quickly and have to call "uncle" and
rest from the immenseness of them.
Joy is the many times overlooked peacemaker in this world. I think
the inner spirit of man knows that but chooses to remain within the
norms of hardship, as the infinitives of joy overwhelms, and ego tells
people to protect themselves from it. "Don't be joyful. You will be let
down in the end. It will only make you feel worse," and so on.
Familiar?
I say, take your ego to task. Take the chance and get to know it
through and through and then yourself. Don't kill ego. Take it. Control
it. And make it work for you. And then... maybe take a chance on joy.
It's quite a journey!
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Responses:
[23733] [23734] [23719] [23720] |
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23733 |
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Date: September 17, 2016 at 10:03:01
From: Shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Love this! |
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etc., please see my post on the Personal board... ;)
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Responses:
[23734] |
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23734 |
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Date: September 17, 2016 at 11:13:58
From: etc., [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Love this! |
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Responses:
None |
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23719 |
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Date: September 15, 2016 at 13:05:32
From: Shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Love *this* etc.! |
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Thank you so much for that beautiful piece and the depth of its sharing... Rings so many bells w/my own process, totally, that I'd like to continue with here, but will have to bide my time till body's willing to cooperate... ;)
(But yes, wow, so much to say about how much misunderstanding I feel exists around what ego truly is, and the role it's meant to play within our awakening processes...! ;)
Much love to you, be back w/this soonest...
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Responses:
[23720] |
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23720 |
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Date: September 15, 2016 at 13:18:15
From: etc., [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Love *this* etc.! |
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Yay. I'm so glad. Look forward to your sharing. In the meantime, take
time and take care, rest and replenish. And take time to "be still." You
probably know, in the quiet comes...
Much love to you too!
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Responses:
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23713 |
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Date: September 15, 2016 at 09:44:51
From: me, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Love this! |
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I See Stars!
and breakfast;)
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Responses:
[23728] [23731] |
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23728 |
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Date: September 16, 2016 at 19:15:46
From: Jeannie., [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Love this! |
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Lovely words, and inspiring thoughts.....however.....
Walking that fine line between forgiveness, and the shedding of ego
could surely make us willing doormats for those, who, lacking a
conscience,would take advantage.
Doesn't Ego serve as our protection from these predators?
If we come into this world with intact ego's, they must be to serve a
purpose?
Just my two cents.
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Responses:
[23731] |
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23731 |
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Date: September 16, 2016 at 22:41:36
From: me, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Love this! |
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more than 2 cents
millions
billions
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Responses:
None |
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