Wisdom is knowing I am nothing. Love is knowing I am everything.
And in between the two my life moves. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
The divergence and/or integration of soul-path and personality has been a theme that’s been really potent and prevalent lately in client sessions and in my life as well. Sometimes we call these the higher- or enlightened-self and the survival- or ego-self. More often than not, when we bring in the word “ego,” things get ugly. I mean, we go all ugly on ourselves when we think we’re in ego-mode. One friend articulated it as a war raging within as ego and higher-self battle for dominion.
How would it be if both my ego and higher-self were embraced and nurtured?
How would it be if they both had expression in the world?
Who would I be then?
Here’s what I notice for me and many others on the spiritual path: there’s a tendency to cast the ego-self in a negative light, to disown these aspects that are necessary for survival in physical form. They may also serve as pathways to joys in physical form. Anyone want to dance for no reason? Once we disown these ego aspects, they run our lives from the shadows. Caroline Myss talks about our survival archetypes – child, saboteur, victim and prostitute. What I notice is that these archetypes running in the shadows can create such havoc and unhappiness in our lives. We may perpetuate habits or feed distractions that get in the way of our growth and creation. Can you say, “procrastination”? Or we may envy others who seem to be more spiritual than we feel we are, when in fact they are showing us the seeds of our becoming, illuminating our potential. Conversely, we may blame, criticize, gossip or manipulate others to feel better. We may choose to settle for safety when our spirit cries out to soar in the sky of wild creation.
In a blog post from nearly a year ago, I wrote this:
Between my ego-self and my enlightened-self, there dwells my guiding-self or my evolutionary-self. I call her “Love,” and she BE my guide in all ways, always.
We are both spirit and matter, and both matter while we dance in these earthsuits. I don’t know how to fully embrace and integrate all these aspects of myself either. But what comes to mind is the path of the heart… that beautiful energy vortex that dwells between our survival chakras (root, sacral, and solar plexus) and our spiritual chakras (throat, third eye, and crown).
Tim Glenn of Soul Purpose Readings, http://soulpurposereadings.com/ who channels Proterrian, offers these steps for our evolution:
- Come from a loving heart.
- Put one foot in front of the other.
- Walk in faith.
How would it be if I let my heart choose when I feel stuck?
What would be possible then?
What would I create?
What is my gift that I would offer to the world?
