A GIFT TO YOURSELF, WORTH MORE THAN GOLD: Letting go of Ego & Freeing your Mind
It all begins in the mind and within the mind we find the ego. From the mind, out comes thought. From our thoughts, come forth the words we speak and then there is form. The mind is the amazing space within us all where all this activity takes place and therein we find the ego whose primary purpose is to seek and identify with form. There is a multitude of different types of form which we may experience as energy, emotions, feelings, thoughts or mental images (just to name a few), not to mention all that we can perceive with our five bodily senses. For form to exist we must factor in what is termed as being the unseen or the invisible. The unseen must first have energy within it, in order for form to become an end product. When form undergoes its stages of creation it has to become denser and denser in order for us to perceive it. The things that make form more perceivable to us (dense) compared to the unseen are how concentrated (mass) the type of form is and/or its size/quantity (volume). Therefore we can safely say form comes from the unseen but the unseen must also have the tiniest (most insignificant) amount of form (energy) within it for it to be created. There is a relationship between the invisible and form but science hasn’t quite come to a uniformly agreeable conclusion yet. Quantum physics is leading the curve in terms of research in this field though. So by using the origin of the universe as a brief analogy we can deduce that there is truth in the belief that - under GOD - the unseen exists in all things, connects all things and the fact that the unseen is where all things come from. So considering the above, this all means that the world around us comes from the unseen. Now when we look at the mind – we can see that the intricacies concerning how we perceive it are much like those of the unseen. We have come to discover the probable truth behind the notion that whatever is on your mind or whatever you keep or hold in it in relation to the ego (your thoughts) - will inevitably show up as your reality. The form around you (your life and surrounding environment) is a representative of everything you hold within your mind. A critical component that must be a constant reminder throughout this work is the subject of energy. Energy seems to be an underlying factor when we consider both the unseen and form. Studies concerning the unseen and the seen all seem to be of the understanding that energy is everything, all things have energy in them and that we as human beings are also energy. So a human being is essentially made up of all that can be dense and all that can be invisible at the same time. Our bodies are dense, the world around is seemingly just as dense against the backdrop of the unseen. 1
Now let’s return to the ego. The ego by nature is drawn to associate more with density or form, than the invisible or the unseen and its goal essentially is to constantly attempt to convince our minds that we are separate from the world and its inhabitants. So at birth we begin our life's journey without the ego. Over time as children we begin to identify with form and develop an ego - which is a false sense of self - consisting of the societal labels we assign to ourselves and our past experiences in life. As life progresses we begin to assume that our thoughts, fears, anxieties and worries are us as well. We react to them, respond to them under the impression that they are true and exist. We also identify with e.g. happiness, love, joy, success, money, power, fulfillment and joy. Whether positive or negative these examples of emotions or experiences can be referred to as form. They are whatever they are, but they are not and will never be us. So as we proceed it is important to bear in mind that the ego cannot associate with you when you are present and aware of your thoughts, feelings and emotions. The ego purposefully focuses on tricking the mind into believing it is separate from all things for this very reason. So in our daily lives the more the mind focuses on presence the more the ego diminishes. During these periods of presence the ego reacts by putting up a fiercely determined and cunning struggle in order to survive. However if a consistent and patient regime of mindfulness is maintained, the ego will without a doubt eventually see its end. We will delve a bit later into the subject of mindfulness as it is an integral process in maintaining presence and consciousness. So as stated earlier the ego resides in the mind. The ego is where our records of past experiences and societal labels such as our gender, profession, status or social standing etc. can be found. Thus when there are thoughts of past experiences or thought projections into the future, however pleasurable or painful - the ego is the entity that governs this domain. So from childhood to adulthood, the degree to which identification with form is reinforced by those who reared us and our social environment is a major influence on how unconscious we become as adults. Unconsciousness is identification with form through endless, useless streams of never ending thought. Consciousness is presence in the now which results in surrender to and aligning with the unseen. It is being able to be fully aware of the now without indulging in never ending streams of thought. Unconsciousness can also be resistance to causes and effects of daily life, pain, anger, resentment, unwillingness to let go of hurtful experiences, positive & negative emotions and endless thinking. All of these states are basic examples of when the ego has blinded you into identifying with form. 2
Once again it must be mentioned that these examples of form are not you and me but because we heedlessly identify with them they become us. They become us because they take over our inner space and begin to express themselves through us as e.g. anger, resentment, judgment, fear, worry and anxiety etc. Ultimately when we have a thought, feeling or emotion we are invoking the energy that the thought, feeling or emotion carries with it. Positive or negative, all around us we unwittingly invite certain energies into our inner spaces. We indulge that energy, and the energy reciprocates. We lose touch with the now or present moment. Mindfulness is an effective way of remaining present in the now. By maintaining mindfulness and remaining alert of the energies within and around us, we can then halt unconsciousness. How do we then begin to take responsibility and make an effort to reduce and in time end our identification with form? We take responsibility by being aware, observant, and alert to the thoughts, emotions, feelings and judgments that emanate from our minds. Now during an unconscious episode, it may so happen that there will be thoughts of past or future experiences and thereafter a conversation with yourself may develop in the mind. This is known as self talk. The content of these conversations may contain examples such as - how beautiful the day was during the summer holiday of a particular year or how much you hated the color of the car your parents got you on your 21st birthday. The conversations will vary from the negative to the positive. What is vital is noting the fact that we actually talk to ourselves in our minds, whether it is with thoughts, images or words. For example you could be arguing back and forth with yourself about how wrong the other person was in a certain situation or you could be feeling sorry for not having apologized about eating another person's cupcake at work. Now the difficulties arise when we cannot end this conversation and the result is unconsciousness. We fall asleep to the present moment and we are never able to enjoy what is happening right now, in the moment. It gets worse when these never ending streams of thought are only negative. They snowball and amass to proportions so overwhelming that we reach bottomless states of negativity and in time we totally lose hope of ever escaping. We in most instances find temporary solutions by means of vices and other addictions that nonetheless compound the problem and never heal it. Depression and suicide are also very likely outcomes in this regard. It is also interesting to note that when we go to bed at night and fall asleep. During dreamless sleep the ego ceases, but whilst in a dream state the ego is still on the prowl. This is why people experiencing difficult or negative life situations; do not look forward to waking up from peaceful sleep. Dreamless sleep gives us that much needed break from dealing with the persistent ego. 3
So what is the best prescribed solution to halting unconsciousness? The answer is practicing mindfulness. Which is defined as - a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. So in order for mindfulness to be highly effective we have to remember to breathe. Breathing is vitally important and cannot be disregarded under any circumstances. The trick is for a person to be aware of their breathing. An example would be after an initial deep inhale (slowly from the stomach to your chest), to hold your breath for 2 to 3 seconds and exhale slowly. Thereafter the trick is to listen to your breathing pattern within your body, to notice the breathing pace and then follow each inhale and exhale by being aware of it. Another simple example would be to slowly and deeply inhale for a period of maybe 6 seconds, then to hold your breath for about 2 seconds, thereafter slowly exhale for around 8 seconds, and repeat exercise until complete calm is achieved. Once attention is directed towards breathing, deep relaxation and presence in the now is achieved. The principle here is the fact that breath in the now - only exists in the now – breathing cannot be in the past or future. A person must also remember to feel the gentle, relaxing sensation of the air leaving and entering the body as your tummy inflates and deflates. Feeling your breath, at every given moment is of major help to remaining present and conscious. Whilst breathing a person must now focus on being alert, aware and observant of any thoughts that may arise. Once a thought arises the plan is not to identify with it, but to really observe the thought, acknowledge, accept it and gently let it float by without resisting or forcefully fighting to let it go. Try not to push, chase or fight the thought away. View the thought in an introspective manner. Don't let it overcome you; try to not be afraid of it. No harm will come to you. As much as you never want some thoughts to occur in real life, your existence won't end during this exercise. Let the thought come into your space, whilst you consciously breathe. Then observe, acknowledge, accept, keep still, don't look for escape, be present, then gently and calmly let it go. A thought is not you. It is a product of the ego. You must just know you are above it. Know that by engaging in this exercise you are actually in a deep, controlled, calm study of your thoughts and emotions. A reaction is pointless and never necessary, no matter how tempting or inviting it may be. Simultaneously during this exercise a person must remember to immerse and align their inner space and mind towards the unseen or invisible. This brings with it a calming feeling of surrender. The overall effects of being mindful and breathing are so serene and tranquil that words truly cannot describe the experience.
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The wonderful subject of mindfulness is so life-changing, helpful and indispensable for successfully maintaining consciousness. It is highly recommended that everyone do further research on its sublime teachings. Mindfulness assists in sharpening skills such as being able to notice that during a thought, a particular emotion or feeling precedes or preludes that thought by a split second. The emotion, if negative, will bring forth a negative thought. The emotion, if positive, will bring forth a positive thought and vice versa. Mindfulness will help you establish why you seem to haphazardly be in a negative space for prolonged periods of time and how to begin moving away from that negativity simply by changing your thoughts and focus. Mindfulness does indeed help improve your focus. Your levels of perception and understanding also improve. For instance do you ever notice events or triggers that bring about a specific emotion or feeling from within you? These triggers exist all around you and in your mind. As people, our uniqueness means that we all react to different triggers and some events don't bring out any reactions at all. The key is to open yourself up to being able to identify certain things that would trigger your emotions and provoke a reaction out of you. As you observe your thoughts whilst remembering to breathe be aware of triggers that bring out negative emotions from within you. Anger triggers, sadness triggers, anxiety triggers, worry triggers. Try to find them. Once you find them, acknowledge and accept them knowing that they are of no benefit to you and your inner space. Let them float by, up and out from your being as you窶ツontinue to remember to breathe. Continue to observe, to be aware and alert. Most importantly, you must identify the triggers that move your focus towards streams of thought and unconsciousness. As you identify these triggers and remain mindful you are moving towards a process of healing your inner space and remaining conscious. So have you ever asked why you enter into a conversation with yourself in the first place? Ask yourself what is the real cause? What are you looking for? Why are you replaying it in your mind? Why are you re-creating the argument or discussion you had with that someone else? Why are you creating scenarios of the future about you saying this, you doing that next time you discuss, argue or fight with that other person. Why are you so hell bent on vindicating yourself and being right, whilst the guilty party according to your presumption is wrong? Firstly you clearly have been hurt by this incident or series of incidents. By revisiting the past in conversation you are somehow trying to heal yourself or vindicate yourself because there is a rift or scar you are attempting to mend in your mind and heart. There is an issue you cannot lay to rest. So how else can you do it because the main culprit is not there?
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One thing you fail to realize is that even if the culprit was there this issue would remain unresolved. The culprit will probably have some other rebuttal or not want to talk at all as this would be a complete waste of their time. Now consider the amount of time in your day you have put into these back and forth conversations. Think of how many endless streams of thought and future projections you entered into trying to reinforce your stance or prove yourself right. Think about how many valuable life experiences and opportunities you fell asleep and missed out on because of this self talk. Would it be more or less beneficial to your well being and inner space to let go or hold on to this pain you inflict on yourself? I can 100% guarantee your culprit is not holding on to their self talk script as much as you are or they probably let go of the incident a while ago. No-one else in the world would do this on your behalf because they know what a futile and meaningless exercise it is. Why should you? Heal yourself, release the rock and chains you carry for no reason. Let it go. Is so much pain to you really worth the effort? Remember, whilst you are experiencing negativity, anger, hate or resentment you cannot also be happy and positive at the same time. It is either you choose to remain in negativity or shift to happiness. When we see our world from the ego's perspective we only grasp form as being separate from everything else. Once we grasp the unseen, we then begin to understand the wholeness and oneness of everything. When we assimilate the unseen into our perspectives it is clear that the unseen is the space that is home to the entirety, home to one, home to the whole, in unison. Everything around us is under the influence of the unseen. We are also under the influence of the unseen because the invisible exists within us. This is inescapable. Us being conscious and aligning with the unseen, means being one with the primary flow of creation and purpose that drives all of existence. When you truly dissect and analyze the ego you begin to see that it is essentially a problem solving tool. It obsesses with you slipping in & out of consciousness in order to try and solve all your problems. Any problems - come one, come all. From the past and into the future all that it wants to do is to solve them. Unfortunately it does not see that it has absolutely zero ability to solve any of these problems. It has never been equipped with any tools whatsoever but the ego true to its nature never lets up. The ego is convinced beyond all comprehension that it certainly can. It won’t refrain, it won’t rest, and it won’t stop until the problems are solved. It never realizes this as being utterly impossible and tries to convince you of this to no end. So then comes the time when you have to be the one who takes a deep, long, hard look at the ego.
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You are the one that has to observe and watch it. You must be the one that reaches out to let it know that you are now taking charge. You have to let it know that from now on it will be reporting to you. From now on you will give the order when it needs to be active or dormant. Your key to achieving this is by being mindful of course. When you are present in the now the ego will eventually cease. The unseen systematically takes over. Now ask yourself how beneficial these endless conversations in your head have been? Did they change your life in any way? Did you heal from them? Were they worth it? Shouldn't you have rather stayed conscious and present in the Now? This is what the ego does. It tries to convince you that remaining present won't work for you. It will trick you into thinking that it is all about you, never other people. Isn't it time to re-visit your problem solving processes? This is simply because - the past cannot be altered. The future hasn't happened, or probably won't happen the way you think it will. The now or present moment is the space you have absolute power over. When you experience grief, sadness, pain or judgment from the voice inside your mind, you are experiencing the ego at work. The ego never has something good to say. The ego will always feel the incessant need to forever remind you of your problems and failures in the future and past. When you think about these problems you have become unconscious to the now. By being mindful you will be better equipped to notice your unconscious spells. You will understand that your day dreams drift you away from the now and reality of the present. Re-visiting the past or projecting into the future has zero benefits for you. This exercise is of no use to you. Give mindfulness a chance and see what happens. Let the unknown potential of the unmanifested take over instead of the zero capacity ego. Ultimately it’s a question of choice whether to kindle and indulge in thought, in emotions, feelings or not to indulge at all. It is better not to indulge because if you indulge, what good ever comes of it? Mindfulness reveals to you the benefits of not indulging. So allowing these negative types of form into your inner space invariably always brings with it results that are harmful to your being and those around you.  Now comes the good part. Begin working on noticing and observing the things that make you feel great inside. What are the triggers that bring happiness, joy, fulfillment, a sense of abundance, love, gratitude, beauty and laughter etc? This is known as gratitude. This at least must be done on a daily basis or as often as possible. A good time is always before you sleep at night because during deep, dreamless sleep the ego rests too. All these things are what you want in your life. Your focus is to remain with them. Be in constant flow with them. Continue to breathe, stay aware and keep observing. 7
Negativity has no benefit whatsoever but I tell you the positive does. Honestly, do you want to be right or happy in your life? Fighting to be right instead of wrong most times is disastrous to your happiness. Look within yourself and see what happens to you as you disregard the negative and completely focus and observe on only the things that make you feel great inside. Yes the negatives will keep popping up but you are practicing mindfulness so you are aware of them. You can use this exercise for example at the way you see other people. Whilst being aware of your triggers observe how you see a particular person. If you usually see them in a bad light, slightly shift focus and see the good points in them and notice the changed trigger it brings out in you. Ask yourself this question. What type of emotion would I like this person to feel inside at this moment? As I interact with this individual do I wish for them to experience positive uplifting emotions or the opposite? The more you develop your imagination and your ability to feel good, positive emotions at will, the more effective this exercise becomes. Feel the intended emotion inside yourself whilst being present and in the now, then project it outwards from your being whilst also focusing on the person. During the interaction you will find that the entire mood has altered and become an unexpectedly positive, uplifting encounter for both of you. Always remember you cannot change how another person handles their inner space. You cannot influence or control another person's unconscious thoughts and actions. Your inner space is yours. Theirs is theirs. So what is the only thing you can do? Focus on yours. Focus on the things that shake or uplift you. Observe them until they pass by, up and away. Remain aware, keep breathing. Don't give away power to triggers sitting in your mind and the world around you. Taking care of your inner space is the only thing you can do and also the best thing you can do. Breathe, observe attentively, watch patiently without any struggle and see it as it goes by. Keep breathing and observing. Yes it does become unsettling when observing and watching an unwanted thought or trigger, yes there is a sense of wanting to drop the hot coal and move on as quickly as you can. Trust me. It is better not to give the thought a reaction and to rather let it go on its own accord. You have to separate your inner self from thought and other forms. You must realize during the course of this work that for you to master your mind, ego, thoughts and actions – you must be higher than your thoughts. You must establish a spiritual space between your true egoless self and the endless negative, unproductive thoughts. You must remain above thought, fully aware of the preciousness of the now. When you are swamped in endless thought - asleep to the present you are not above it. Only by consciously remaining in the now, fully able to maturely interact with your thoughts, can you be out of their hypnotic reach. 8
As human beings we intrinsically have a basic need to want to heal from all traumas that we experience during our lives. The issue here is the fact that we have conditioned ourselves to rely on a healing mechanism which is routed in ego. This ego has never presented much success to us as human beings but we continue to function in this redundant, stagnant manner without positive progressive results. Each of us as individuals must undertake an introspective inquiry of themselves. Do the outcomes of the chaos, instability, rage and vengefulness in our daily lives bring any satisfactory results to us? Thereafter consider the immense depth of the decision we must all make in order to affect changes in our existence. Change is not easy, but it always comes with different, possibly profound results. Form is ultimately an illusion. It is not real. Thoughts, fears, worries, anxiety do not really exist. Listen carefully to what your mind is telling you. Listen carefully to what you are telling your mind. How factual is it. For example worrying - when you worry, you are choosing to firstly remove yourself from the now. When removed from the now you have handed over to the most useless problem solving tool the ego. Thereafter you dedicate time, energy and effort to panicking and attempting to solve a situation that has not even happened yet. Furthermore as you worry, you choose to follow a trail of negativity from one bad thought to another. All of this is in anticipation of an upcoming event that hasn't even happened yet. You wince and cringe in your mind as to almost convince yourself this will actually take place. You even begin to imagine how painful this will all be and the extent of the pain and damage to come but it has not even happened. It probably never ever will. Once again, such cases are better left to the unseen. Thinking about it endlessly never, ever helps. Rather take notice of the negative energy brought about by the thoughts and begin to release it into the unseen. An example that shows you the extent at which you may be indulging in ego would be how important it is for you to present a certain image of yourself to society because of your job, status, wealth or public role. Another valuable example perhaps may be the incessant need to compare yourself to other people in your life, their achievements and successes. Now ask yourself to what extent are you willing to go on with this nonsensical practice? How much of your happiness do you sacrifice everyday trying to live a lie for people who probably don’t even care? Is it really worth it? Think of your family members, your children, friendships that you are sacrificing and could possibly lose or have lost because you choose to live a life that could one day explode and expose you in the end.
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Now when we become unaware of our thoughts there is a gradual slip towards unconsciousness. At this point your emotions will be the indicator to you of your gravitation towards the negative. Once you resume practicing mindfulness you will realize the type of thoughts you were having and the ongoing stream of endless thinking will be immediately broken. Over time you will realize that there is less and less thinking. This is what the ego doesn't want and it will try its best to hang around, but you already know letting the ego run with the problem brings with it endless and unnecessary pain. You must practice consistently though and continue to be mindful. More peace, more calm will fill your inner space. The mind now will be much more useful to you when you most need it. When a solution or a result is needed for any problem your mind will be freed up to focus on what it is you need to get done. There will be much less clutter, thoughts and emotions pulling you this way and that way. When you are in a state of mindfulness - observing your thoughts, not identifying with them and letting them leave on their own accord - what you are actually doing is aligning yourself with the invisible, surrendering all thoughts and useless mental activity to the unseen and creating a spiritual gap/space from all the craziness you experience around you. During this process you begin to see that everything comes from the unseen. Everything returns to the unseen. Like thoughts for instance, they emanate from the unseen space of the mind. So by not identifying with thoughts they essentially return to the unseen. Now as you align and surrender to the unseen you are gearing up your inner space to flow and move in tandem with the unlimited, creative, unfathomable and abundant intentions of the unseen. This experience can be likened to something like receiving inspiration. In this process you are letting the unseen take over. You are letting the unseen take care of you and your life situation. You are allowing the unseen to lead the way and your life towards the best and least resistant path, result or solution. Under GOD - the unseen is of a vast untold intelligence much greater than we can ever fathom. Trust in it. Your life’s goals, wishes and dreams are more valuable to it than gold. This, in actual fact, is a natural automated process that happens systematically during mindfulness. So when you are mindful and in a state of manifestation. The moment you choose to hold a thought, emotion or desired life experience in your inner space and in alignment with the unseen with complete faith and belief in the result. The outcome should undoubtedly materialize or manifest in the soonest possible time with ease and without question. These are the works of the unseen.
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The monumental issue is that we interfere with the automated process by indulging in the ego and its doubts, disbeliefs and repeat questioning which leads to either delayed or zero results. Thereafter to make things worse we convince ourselves that continuing with doubt and carrying disbelief on a permanent basis is sane and normal because not doing so would be inviting madness and insanity. We are so resistant to easy, simple flowing miracles - we choose to rather conform to accepting the most basic and downright mediocre of existences for the sake of playing it safe. We would rather disbelieve in manifestation in order to perpetuate - zero results - which we are generally accustomed to in order to falsely confirm that we are sane. Now should we happen to astoundingly manifest a desired experience, we react in shock as if we should have never in this lifetime come to embrace such a possibility. Our obsession with the ego hereby completely blinds us to the fact that prompt, effortless and simple materialization is the cardinal process. The ego consistently presents us with the poorest answers and solutions at every given opportunity. We must stay awake and refrain from being convinced by the ego. It has resiliently remained in existence for thousands of years by convincing us that it can take all our queries to heart, completely unaware of its inability to deliver results, regardless of the time and effort forgone. The ego is unfortunately after its own agenda. The unseen is only after yours. Why else does it cherish your creation and birth at such a profound level? So before you worry or think or become anxious, think twice about it. Is worrying, thinking or being anxious about anything going to help you? Is it going to poison or heal your inner space? Think clearly about this, think deeply. It does not in any way mean that you are a bad person or you don't care. No not at all. The more you worry or the extent at which you worry or grieve about a situation has no bearing at all on your level of benevolence. It does not determine how good a person you are. The extent at which you worry also will not alter the future. The length of time at which you worry or are depressed has no bearing on the outcome. All you are doing is prolonging your pain and poisoning your inner space and that of the world around you. Listening to the unseen is most ideal. Listening to the ego simply leads to unavoidable disaster. If for example you struggle with the problem of jealousy, coveting and envy. This means you are not confident, you do not believe and have faith in receiving the promises of abundance and realization of your dreams from the unmanifested. Ask yourself, do you believe or don't you believe that your wishes and dreams will come true. If not, work on your faith. Mindfulness is a start. With mindfulness your focus on letting go of the negative and identifying with the positive will expand your belief in the miracles coming your way. Maintaining a clutter free and clear inner space is vital.
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