“Who is the mind actually speaking to? You assume it is to you, the Self, but it is only to your self-image, the ego, which you imagine is your true self.
But are you ready and willing to look at this?
There is a reluctance to question this, because it feels like gambling with everything you believe you have and are.
We want to feel OK but not KO. You want to feel ‘okay’ with your projections rather than having them knocked out.
My encouragement to you is to stop protecting that which is suffocating your true freedom.” – Mooji
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The ego does not wish you well, but the heart always does.
As we continue with the concept of Everyday Mindfulness, it’s imperative to develop self-awareness so you easily identify when you are driven by the ego instead of by your authentic inner voice.
Your experience of inner peace – or the lack thereof – is directly proportional in your ability to operate from a space of inner stillness.
This space of inner stillness is gentle, spacious, loving, open, compassionate, truthful, and strong.
This is who you are at the core.
Everything else? It’s a projection of the ego.
But most of us spend more time defending the ego instead of embracing the deeper truth of love.
Have you ever had an experience where you totally surrendered? Where you just couldn’t do it anymore and allowed yourself to fully release?
In that moment, you surrendered the need to protect the ego.
Most describe a sense of relief. Of calm. Of knowing I’m OK. A clear seeing of what is and is not important.
And then that embodied sense of peace fades away.
Why is that?
It fades away not because life moved on, or because it was a temporary moment in time.
Peace fades away because the ego is heavily invested in protecting your perceived self-image that allows you to feel and look OK to yourself and others.
It’s OK to want to feel OK. You have a core human need to be loved, to feel safe, and to belong.
But you grew up having to satisfy someone else’s ego (parental expectations, teacher expectations, religious expectations) to feel OK about yourself.
In the process, you lost your true sense of self. That you are love itself. That you are OK and safe no matter who you are or what you do. That it is good to be the real you.
The ego is driven by fear and operates from lack, instead of love.
To experience freedom and peace, identify when you operate from ego instead of love.
Fear, or the ego, speaks anytime you:
- minimize your feelings
- gossip
- are triggered to react
- vehemently defend your point of view
- socially withdraw
- control others, including your kids and partner
- not speak up for those that cannot speak for themselves
- please others from an unhealthy place
- think/feel you’re not _______ enough
- judge yourself or others
- are impatient
- need to be or do things perfectly
- operate in a frantic or urgent mode
- over-do, over-commit, and over-extend
- compare yourself or others
- do things that harm yourself, others, or the planet
- think you have to earn love
- think there is a negative consequence for being yourself
- self-sacrifice to feel loved, make money, feel safe, or to belong
This fear-ego list suffocates your freedom.
Love, or the heart, speaks anytime you:
- speak and honor your truth in a wise way, even when it hurts
- appreciate beauty, nature, and people
- share from a vulnerable place
- recognize our common humanity
- show compassion to yourself
- don’t engage in dysfunctional dynamics
- don’t contribute to chaos
- speak gently to self + others
- give freely
- honor everyone has their own timing for healing
- live in the present moment
- give yourself permission to BE
- don’t try to fix other people
- listen to your heart’s voice
- take wise action
- act for action’s sake, instead of for an outcome
- express joy, dance, and laugh
- genuinely connect with a living creature or nature
- value stillness, warm-heartedness, and peace
The love list liberates your mind and spirit.
How does one learn to operate from love instead of egoic fear?
I offer you this line from the spiritual text, ‘A Course in Miracles,’ that helps me.
“Heaven asks for nothing. It is hell that makes extravagant demands for sacrifice.”
The willingness to release the ego’s attachments is directly proportional to your experience of inner peace.
Stop protecting that which is suffocating your true freedom.
Until we meet again, friend…
Angela
