The short answer to “why do we listen to the ego?” is, because we want to. Over the past few months I have had more difficulty quieting the ego than I have experienced in a very long time. Through my ongoing willingness to quiet the ego, I have been led to deeper insights on acceptance and trust, as well as to teachings on the practice of mantra and surrender. In the past few weeks I have been guided back to teachings on mind-watching and letting go of ego.
The way we begin to let go of the ego is to look at it, and through looking at it we see that it is not who we are. Ego is only the belief in separation, and yet, it has a voice – the voice we think of as “my thoughts”. For me anyway, this realization was a rude awakening!We listen to the ego because we believe it is who we are, and now we are learning to hear it so that we will realize that we don’t want to listen to it any more. If we are honest with ourselves, listening to the ego, believing what it says, and acting on it has only brought us pain. Listening to "my thoughts" is truly the cause of suffering.
In this blog I will be sharing excerpts from a message in the “Holy Spirit Guides” series on: “Why do we listen to the ego?” *
HS: “Begin to release the ego by accepting that you choose everything it says to you. Look at every fear and at every accusation it places in your mind and say to yourself, ‘I chose this thought because I wanted to know the experience.’ Then ask yourself, ‘What do I want now?’”
See, in our freedom, we were given the right to experience ourselves as something other than we are in truth, what A Course in Miracles calls “the tiny mad idea”. We wanted to experience lack and limitation, unworthiness and victimization to see what it feels like, but of course, within these experiences, we suffer.
If I feel victimized or unworthy because I believe that some person, place or thing did something to me, then I have projected the thought of victim out there so that I don’t have to see it in my own mind; nevertheless, I will still feel the pain of it. But once I see the thoughts, I see that I am playing the victim in a certain situation because I wanted to have that experience. Once I own this, then I have a choice: Okay, I wanted to have the experience of victim, but what do I want now?
HS: “Don’t ask yourself this question too lightly. Don’t let the answer come too quickly from the surface of your mind. Take the time to go deep within to the center of your true heart and ask, ‘What do I want now?’ When you find the answer to this question you will know it, because it will rise up with a recognition that will cause every cell in your body to stand with attention and sing.”
I’ve done this and found that what makes my heart sing is the desire to know my Self as God created it, unlimited and free. To know my Self as Love. To know only Love, to be only Love and to extend only Love.
HS: “Once you have the answer to the question ‘What do I want now?’ look back at the content of the ego thought in your mind.”
I’ll give you a current experience from my own life: I have been feeling that somebody did something to me. I feel victimized. I feel that the person has no consequences for his actions, and I feel that I am stuck with his actions. When HS says that I listen to the ego because I want to, in this situation I understand why I have had such a difficult time letting it go, because I really believe that the person did something wrong and so, I am unwilling to stop listening to the part of my mind that affirms this – ego.
HS: “What is it (ego thought) trying to teach you? Is it teaching you what you want to learn? If not, it is not a thought you want now. It is the residual thought of an experience you chose before, but an experience you are choosing against now.”
So when I look at the content of the ego thoughts, I see that they are teaching me that I can be unfairly treated and victimized. Is this what I want now? No! Do I want to continue to create experiences where I feel lack, limitation, unworthy or unfairly treated? No! But in the past I did. As I look at my mind, I see these residual thoughts from a past choice, but one that I don’t want to choose now.
As we look deeper at the content of the ego thoughts in the mind, the content of fear, lack, limitation, unworthiness, guilt…we recognize that all the ego thoughts teach the same thing – that we are not who we are; that we are separate from our Self and one another; they all teach that we are separate from our Source.
HS: “With this realization in mind, remember that everything you experience comes to you through your choice. Remember how you truly want to experience now, and with the power and love of God that backs every decision you make, look at the thought you do not want and say, ‘I do not choose this thought today. This is a thought I do not want now because this is not how I would experience myself any longer.’”
What do I want now?
To know my Self as God created it,
unlimited and free.
I want to know my Self
as Love.
When I set my heart’s desire next to thoughts of lack, limitation and unworthiness…I can readily see what I want to experience now. This is how we come to truly see that the ego, and the world we see through its eyes, are not real. As we choose to have the experience of truth, we begin to experience the world through the vision of truth, and thus we come to see that nothing the ego tells us about ourselves, other people or the world is true.
Here we see the power in mind-watching. The practice enables us to see how and why we create our life experiences. I find this realization to be incredibly empowering and exciting! Remember, it is through our freedom that we have the gift to experience who we are, and who we are not. Which experience will I choose today?
I am all that I am,
and that is all I am promised to be.
But I cannot limit myself through fear,
and know all that I am.
I choose to release the limits
I have chosen for myself.
In their release,
I see that I am.
“Make this the constant prayer in your heart. In purpose, step forth unto your release.” (NTI 2 Timothy, 2v11-13)
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The audio was recorded on 9/20/11 and in it
I speak on much more than was shared here. Enjoy!
* This message “why do we listen to ego?” can be found at: http://www.reginadawnakers.com
in the “monthly archives” dated, August 3, 2007. You can also hear Regina teach on this if you go to the site and to the right it says “Holy Spirit guides, weeks 71+” this teaching is week 94.
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