LOVING OURSELVES THROUGH EVERYTHING

Monday again! Time has been flying. We have just concluded several days of temperatures considerably above normal. We are back to more normality today and it looks like more normal temperatures will persist this week.

I mentioned recently, the need to keep the ego in the back seat, and off the steering wheel. We can't peel the ego's fingers off the steering wheel. We can only love them off. The ego doesn't function well when the focus is love. We can't battle the ego, or try to suppress it. That only gives it energy. The ego is part of ourselves and the only energy it has is what we give it.

Lately, I have felt an upsurge of ego-awareness. First we get over the big ego machinations e.g. major judgements of others etc.; but our egos are constantly looking, evaluating, measuring, on the alert for any threat. I had an angry outburst on Friday, that could only occur if I was hypersensitive to someone's judgement. One of the traps the ego likes to get us into, is justifying our reaction. The other is remorse for our reaction. There is no justification. It doesn't matter what the other said or did. We are in charge of ourselves. Justification keeps us stuck and condemns us to repetition.

Likewise, remorse keeps us stuck. Feeling bad about ourselves, also, condemns us to some form of repetition. The ego loves these double binds. It is, its way, of staying in charge. So if we can't use justification to make us feel better and remorse keeps us stuck, too; what can we do? First recognize that the only energy the ego has, is the energy we give it. We give it that energy by paying attention to its machinations. The ego can only exist in this illusion of separation. It can not exist, in the only real energy, which is love.

When we find ourselves in one of these binds, the immediate solution is instant forgiveness; ourselves or the other. A typical scenario: for some reason we are set-up to be watchful, that our feelings will be hurt, [this is below our awareness] something occurs to make us hurt and defensive. We can leap immediately to attack or we can nurture the pain of experiencing an injustice. In either case we are feeding the ego and keeping us stuck. There is a third way, which is realizing the other, on their life path, may be currently rude or inappropriate. No matter how pointed their remarks may be, toward us, they have nothing to do with us. They have everything to do with where they are at. It is easy to forgive when, we realize, that if we were on this persons path, from the time they were born to this instant, we may have said or done the same thing. When we understand that, the slings and arrows directed towards us, have nothing to do with us, we can learn instant forgiveness, as easy as reacting through our ego.

Of course, the simplest way to give up those outburst, like I had Friday, is to give up all self-criticism. Notice, I said, simplest, not easiest. We have been trained from infancy to be self-critical. Now, to be fully self-aware, we must give up all the negativity, we have accepted about ourselves. We are love, only in the illusion, are we less. It is easy to accept intellectually that we are love. It is a process, wearing away, everything, that isn't love.

We will learn to identify and give up all those little fear thoughts, that we are not love. Love is something we can practice. We can experience it. It is very helpful to spend some time everyday in some form of meditation. We don't have to call it meditation. Sit quietly, let our thoughts go. Sink down inside ourselves look for and feel the love welling up. It is there.

Then look for love in all others that we meet. There are no others.

Love and Peace, Gregg