Power to Create

"Power to Create" [pencil] This drawing was done after I had been studying Salvador Dali. The surrealistic artist is one of my favorites of the great artists of the past.

Man is shown here as being one with nature. There is an interconnectedness between all living things. The hollow head is symbolic of the invisible mind and the spheres emerging from it symbolize the power we have to create our own world, whether its one of fear and materialism or of peace and higher understanding. 

The three dimensional shapes represent modern society with the human eye that seeks out the beauty of nature, like the mountains below, where man or woman can feel there connection with this earth from which they emerged. The floating man represents enlightenment. Just like birds, who evolved from the dinosaurs, grew wings and overcame gravity itself, man is also evolving to higher consciousness and overcoming the limitations of the egoic mind.

The circular shapes that surround the floating man represent the 3 dimensions of the physical realm: length, width, and height. The circular lines that seem to radiate from them are the other dimensions that may exist in the spiritual or metaphysical realms and ultimately represents the possibilities that exist beyond mortality. The tree seen through the bosom of man is the tree of life which serves as a metaphor for the livelihood of the spirit and a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life on our planet.

"The infinite vibratory levels, the dimensions of interconnectedness are without end. There is nothing independent. All beings and things are residents in your awareness." ~Alex Grey

http://www.alexgrey.com/

"I belong neither to any country nor to any particular place; my spiritual being lives its eternal existence outside time and space. When I immerse myself in thought I go back through the Ages. When I extend my spirit to a world existing far from anything you perceive, I can change myself into whatever I wish. Participating consciously in absolute being. I regulate my action according to my surroundings. My country is wherever I happen to set foot in the moment. I am that which is free and master of life. There are beings who no longer possess guardian angels: I am one of those." ~Cagliostro

Many of the things I have been reading up on and pondering on have been brewing within me for years. I've always considered myself a victim of a harsh world. I suffered for a long time lost deep within a conditioned and dysfunctional mind set. A mind set we've all inherited as a collective whole, and though it varies from person to person, the schematics are the same. 

Its funny that the first realization that I could take control of my ego and end my suffering came from watching a Guy Ritchie film. Those familiar with Guy Ritchie are usually big fans of him. He directed such films as Snatch, Rock-n-Rolla, and Sherlock Holmes. He also directed a film called Revolver that didn't get a lot of publicity nor did it get great reviews. However, the true purpose of the movie is not to entertain, but enlighten. 

The concept of the movie is kind of hard to explain. Its trailer looks more like a high octane action thriller than anything else, and though there is quite a bit of action, the movie in itself acts as a metaphor. The movie's main character Jake Green is taken on a journey of self-awakening by what appear to be con artists. He'll have to face his greatest fears, as well as, himself or his ego to beat what the movie calls "the greatest con."


In this clip from the movie. The ego is described as an opponent in the game of chess. The opponent's victim is the person the ego belongs too. This scene describes how the ego works and tries to win the game. 

In this second clip Andre Benjamin explains the game.  For the first time Jake's intelligence is questioned or in other words, his ego has been attacked. We will defend our ego because we think it's who we are. The entity "Sam Gold" that they are talking about is the ego and "in religion the ego manifests itself as the devil." **There's a half second of partial nudity, in this clip in just case you find that offensive.

The movie is somewhat hard to follow if you don't know whats going on, but the message taken from it is valuable. When you begin to let go of the ego, then fear goes with. When fear is out of the equation a new level of peace begins to take residence in your being. When you see others behavior only as a reflection of their own ego, the need to be offended, upset, suspicious, jealous, envious, or negative whatsoever dissolves. You can truly begin to love another as Christ taught.


"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth our fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18

"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part."
"But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away."
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." 1 Corinthians 13: 9, 10, 12


In the time of the New Testament glass wasn't as clear as it is today. It was murky. If I were to see you or myself through the murky glass, I would only see a distorted version. This is how we see ourselves and others through the perspective of the ego. However, one day we will know ourselves and others as we are known, as who we really are: the being or life or spirit or essence or consciousness that is our true identity detached from the ego, the limited and conditioned mind, the repetitive impulsive thought pattern, and the mental labels of rich/poor, good/evil, tall/short, pretty/ugly, black/white, etc. 


"Unhappiness is an ego-created mental-emotional disease that has reached epidemic proportions. It is the inner equivalent of the environmental pollution of our planet. Negative states such as anger, anxiety, hatred, resentment, discontent,  envy, jealously, and so on, are not recognized as negative but as totally justified and are further misperceived not as self-created but as caused by someone else or some external force." 


By implication the ego is saying "I am holding you responsible for my pain." The goal is that in the midst of negativity are you able to realize "At this moment I am creating suffering for myself." 


The song below tells a simple truth, "You are why you are suffering." I never believed some of my friends who told me that happiness is a state of mind, until I finally learned about the ego in me. 

A New Earth

"To end the misery that has afflicted the human condition for thousands of years, you have to start with yourself and take responsibility for you inner state at any given moment." ~Eckhart Tolle

I recently finished a book called A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. It has been one of the most influential books I've ever read. It brought me closer to the reality of my reality and helped me understand role of the ego not only in my personal life, but in the collective psyche of world as well. 

Synopsis: "Building on the astonishing success of The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle presents readers with an honest look at the current state of humanity. Humanity now, perhaps more than in any previous time, has an opportunity to create a new, saner, more loving world. This will involve a radical inner leap from the current egoic consciousness to an entirely new one. In illuminating the nature of this shift in consciousness, Tolle describes in detail how our current ego-based state of consciousness operates. Then gently, and in very practical terms, he leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we truly are-which is something infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are-and learn to live and breathe freely."

A New Earth begins explaining the main aspects of the ego and how they operate in each individual as well as the collective.

OUR INHERITED DYSFUNCTION

"If the history of humanity were the clinical case history of a single human being, the diagnosis would have to be: chronic paranoid delusions, a pathological propensity to commit murder and acts of extreme violence and cruelty to his perceived 'enemies' - his own unconsciousness projected outward" 

"Fear, greed, and the desire for power are the psychological motivating forces not only behind warfare and violence between nations, tribes, religions, and ideologies, but also the cause of incessant conflict in personal relationships. They bring about a distortion in the perception of other people and yourself. Through them, you miss interpret every situation, leading to misguided action designed to rid you of fear and satisfy your need for more, a bottomless hole that can never be filled."

"You do not become good by trying to be good, but finding the goodness that is already in you, and allowing the goodness to emerge" You hear people say all the time, "There is good in everyone." Well, its true. What happens is the identification with the ego. The ego begins to take shape in us as children when we first discover the concept of "I, me, or mine." From there we begin to identify ourselves with the things around us. These identifications with form lead to a misinterpreted sense of self and others.

"The most common ego identifications have to do with possessions, the work you do, social status and recognition, knowledge and education, physical appearance, special abilities, relationships, person and family history, belief systems, and often also political, nationalistic, racial, religious, and other collective identifications. None of these is you."


"Unconscious people – and many remain unconscious, trapped in their egos throughout their lives – will quickly tell you who they are: their name, their occupation, their personal history, the shape or state of their body, and whatever else they identify with. Others may appear to be more evolved because they think of themselves as an immortal soul or living spirit. But do they really know themselves, or have they just added some spiritual sounding concepts to the content of their mind? Knowing yourself goes far deeper than the adoption of a set of ideas or beliefs. Spiritual ideas and beliefs may at best be helpful pointers, but in themselves they rarely have the power to dislodge the more firmly established core concepts of who you think you are, which are part of the conditioning of the human mind. Knowing yourself deeply has nothing to do with whatever ideas are floating around in your mind. Knowing yourself is to be rooted in Being, instead of lost in your mind."


I personally got a lot out of this book. It cost me a penny plus shipping, but has helped understand how to recognize the ego in me and others. It's taught me to be non reactive to my thoughts and emotions. When I get the urge to be negative or offended, I try to be aware of the thoughts in my head and look for the "why".... why do i feel negative? why am I offended? "I am the awareness that is aware of the ego" I've been able to point out the good in my life more and more. I'm also trying to live in the present moment instead of identifying with the past which hardly has a place in my mind anymore or focusing too much on future fulfillment. By doing so I can be happy right now and in any situation. The miracle of the present is the Life that is me. 

Other Favorite Quotes from the book:

"The moment you become aware of the ego in you, it is strictly speaking no longer the ego, but just an old, conditioned mind-pattern. Ego implies unawareness. Awareness and ego cannot coexist."


"When you don't cover up the world with words and labels, a sense of the miraculous returns to your life"


"The quicker you are in attaching verbal or mental labels to things, people, or situations, the more shallow and lifeless your reality becomes, and the more deadened you become to reality"


"All we can perceive, experience, think about, is the surface layer of reality, less than the tip on an iceberg. Underneath the surface appearance, everything is not only connected with everything else, but also with the Source of all life out of which it came." 

"Nonreaction to the ego in others is one of the most effective ways not only of going beyond ego in yourself but also of dissolving the collective human ego. But you can only be in a state of nonreaction if you can recognize someone's behavior as coming from the ego, as being an expression of the collective human dysfunction. When you realize it's not personal, there is no longer a compulsion to react as if it were."


"If the thought of lack – whether it be money, recognition, or love – has become part of who you think you are, you will always experience lack. Rather than acknowledge the good that is already in your life, all you see is lack."


"Words reduce reality to something the human mind can grasp, which isn’t very much. Language consists of five basic sounds produced by the vocal cords. They are the vowels a, e, i, o, u. The other sounds are consonants produced by air pressure: s, f, g, and so forth. Do you believe some combination of such basic sounds could ever explain who you are, or the ultimate purpose of the universe?




"Although the body is very intelligent, it cannot tell the difference between an actual situation and a thought. It reacts to every thought is if it were a reality."