You Are Now Leaving “Ego Land” | VictorSchueller.com

“Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke

It’s not uncommon for my daughters to run into disagreements from time to time when they play together.  Usually their spats revolve around what an adult would consider “minor” problems.  Here’s a breakdown of the usual causes of discontent and unhappiness:

1. Someone isn’t sharing something with the other.

2. Someone said something that wasn’t nice to the other.

3. Someone hurt the other physically.

4. The two don’t agree on a decision on which they are expected to reach a consensus.

I am sure there are more, but these arguments are, well, “childish,” which is to be expected, because they are children.  They haven’t reached a level of maturity that allows them to transcend above this type of low-level behavior that is, for all intents and purposes, rather harmless and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

When we look at the levels of “consciousness,” and mental functioning, we also have different levels of behavior that we, as adults, can engage in.  Here is a look at the various levels of consciousness that we believe to exist:

1. The Conscious Mind

2. The Subconscious Mind

3. The Unconscious Mind

4. The Divine Mind / Spirituality / Intuition

We have the ability to move “up” the scale of conscious awareness, but in order to do so, we have to “break through” the barrier of transcendence.  In other words, there are factors that limit our ability to move up to the next level, and it’s not easy to overcome these barriers.

To move from utilizing the conscious mind to a utilization and appreciation of the subconsious mind, we need to become more aware; we need to become still and quiet.  We need to listen to our intuition and inner genius.

The biggest obstacle we have to overcome in making that step from utilizing the conscious mind to tapping into our subconscious mind is fear.  Fear is a hard-wired emotion that our brains are designed to experience in order to keep us safe.  One interesting observation about this is the paradoxical relationship between fear and the subconscious mind; the part of the mind that is designed to keep us safe by endorsing the fearful emotions is that same subconscious mind that we are trying to tap into!

Fear is created through a variety of synapses and networked connections within our more primitive areas of the brain, most notably the amygdala.  When the amygdala is stimulated, it calls for stress hormones to be released to help us either defend ourselves or run from danger.   This is a reflexive response; we can’t physically will ourselves not to let this happen.  Our brain and subconscious mind feels we are being attacked and we need to defend ourselves; it doesn’t distinguish between a deadly threat and a bruise to the ego.  The body just knows that we need to defend ourselves.  More accurately, it knows we need to prevent the loss of something, and we need to work hard to avoid losing it.

We could fear losing our life; we could fear losing power; we could fear losing control; we could fear losing a positive relationship with someone.  We could fear losing money or a job; we could fear losing the status quo.  Whatever it is that we fear losing, we work very hard to keep it, but that only amplifies our defense response.

The end result of letting fear hijack our mind is that we become self centered and less concerned or aware of the well being of others.  We become concerned with the “ego,” or self preservation of some sort, and we operate out of a fear and scarcity mindset.  We live in “Ego Land,” where we only are concerned with self preservation.

The result is that we find ourselves engaging in “low-level” functioning and concerns, much like children do when they argue about something that adults would find to be childish.  They haven’t reached a level of spiritual maturity that allows them to transcend above this type of low-level and positivity-sucking, energy-wasting behavior.  People who live in “Ego Land” spend their time engaged in spats over minor affairs, listening to and spreading gossip, griping and complaining, being judgmental and opinionated, and other unproductive behaviors.  People who live in “Ego Land” waste their mind’s valuable resources on self preservation, so much to the point that they rarely engage in talking about ideas or tapping into their inner genius.  They remain rooted in fear and scarcity, so worried about losing something.

It’s time to leave “Ego Land” behind.  It’s time to be still; it’s time to be silent.  It’s time to listen to our intuition — our inner guidance system — and tap into the subconscious genius that resides within each of us.  It’s time to focus on the present moment — not bitter about the past or anxious about the future.  When we start living out of abundant forgiveness and compassion, we start living through a “spirit-based subconscious,” and we become more forgiving, generous, and concerned with the goodwill of others.

When you can be still and tap into the wonderful subconscious mind within you, you can then proudly proclaim to yourself, “You are now leaving ‘Ego Land.'” Enjoy the ride!

Photo source: freedigitalphotos.net