Spiritual Seeking? The Fundamental Flaw…

No False Identities

It’s an odd notion that any identity would be false while another is real, and yet this is often the backbone of modern spiritual teachings and personal growth approaches.

It’s a seductive idea that appeals to the mind’s comparative and dualistic sense of reality.

As with everything, there is a context where the concept of false selves serves a purpose or seems useful, but as far as genuine spiritual investigation is concerned, it’s a misguided and confusing idea.

A Term

The “real” self is a term which refers to some named or implied state or perspective. Perhaps it’s called ‘higher’, ‘freer’, even ‘the Soul’ or some derivative. In any case all are identities on some level and so subject the the life cycle of experience i.e. it comes, it is experienced, it passes.

All experience is the illusion, and so in terms of real and false, they are equally false. So there are no false identities, only passing ones.

The problem is the use of the term Self and Real together. For in what is real, there is no self.

Genuine Spiritual Investigation

Seeking some notional ‘real’ self necessarily causes you to make some other ‘self’  invalid or wrong. The irony is that this is the  fundamental seed of all suffering. The judgement perpetuates the karmic cycle and is ultimately a distraction from genuine spiritual investigation. So, I invite you to drop the judgement and simply notice what is.

Imagine the currently experienced self as a cloud and experience it as it is. Sometimes you’ll notice clear skies, sometimes the cloud(s) will be high and barely have much impact on you. Sometimes the clouds are so low that it can seem like you’re in a never ending fog.

None-the-less, as you become present to each experience, you’ll begin to notice that, whatever the weather, it passes. And the still quiet presence that is the noticer really has nothing to do with its progress.

When this distinction is truly clear; then genuine spiritual investigation can begin.

Joel Young
www.NonPersonalAwareness.com

Please share, if you feel this perspective could enrich your freinds lives :0)

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Are You Suffering From Arrogance Of The Heart?

Embrace Mind Heart and InstinctDemonise the mind and become ignorant
Demonise the heart and become passionless
Demonise the instinct and become passive

Embrace them all as your best companions…
And become amazing in all the ways that matter to you!

Embrace Mind, Heart & Instinct

This is an invitation to embrace the human mechanisms of experience. Our tendancy to raise one particular aspect of ourselves to dominance and demonise (or make less than) the rest can reduce the fullness of our experience.

The Rise & Fall of Prominence

In openness and presence you can ride the rise and fall of prominence of each faculty as you meet each moment.

One of the traps in the modern Spiritual and Personal Growth landscape is that an ‘arrogance of the heart’ can emerge where the mind and instincts become denied.

This can be AS debilitating as the more prevelant trend on the planet; that of promoting the mind and mental faculties over the others.

Seductive Snares On The Spiritual Path…

Here are some scenarios to help you get a sense of what some of these traps can look like in experience with some suggestions on steps you can take  to free yourself and move towards wholeness…

Bare in mind in the scenarios below that ‘Do you ever‘ is not saying ‘you should never…‘ These questions are simply an opportunity to self reflect and bring more awareness to where you may be selling yourself short…

Also, this is by no means a complete list, but I have chosen to focus on the main traps that I see people on the spiritual path fall into…

TRAP: Demonising the mind…

Do you ever hear yourself say ‘Oh, that’s just my mind’, perhaps in a dismissive or self-reproaching tone? Dismissing the mind is dismissing part of you. It’s dismissing one of the avenues of communication that the Universe has to connect with and guide you. It’s not that the mind doesn’t come up with some unhelpful rubbish, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater!

The Mind is Not BadTHE MOVE TOWARDS WHOLENESS: Embracing the mind…

Soften your judgement of the mind. Be willing to hear it out – it might have a point! The mind is not bad, it’s just a like puppy. Sometimes it pees on the floor. Start being gentle but clear in response and it will grow up to be a faithful companion. Also it loves to fetch information – a very useful thing!

TRAP: Demonising your instincts…

If you have a problem saying ‘no’, making decisions or asserting yourself, there’s a very good chance you have learned to supress and demonise your instincts. This can be the scourge of nice spiritual people whose identity has become invested in ideas that promote positivity, love and joy and spell out dire consequences if less than rosey emotions are entertained.

THE MOVE TOWARDS WHOLENESS: Embracing your instincts…

Question any tendancy to be passive. Of course there are times when it’s good to be lead, however there’s a difference between actively and passively arriving in that role. Check with yourself whether any reticence to say no, make a decision or assert yourself is really to do with fear of conflict?  The main job of embracing your instincts though, is in getting comfortable with unsettling feelings and learning to relate to them in ways that give you access to tremendous life-force and clarity. As the instincts are born from the gut I also recommend spending some time focusing your awareness about 2cm beneath the navel.

TRAP: Elevating the heart above mind and instinct…

If you want to fall into both of the above traps simultaneously, you can’t beat this as a strategy. If you hear yourself say ‘Listen to your heart’ but never hear yourself say ‘Trust your gut and go with your instincts’ or ‘Think about it for a moment’ – be aware that you may have slipped into this seductive little snare. So what’s the problem? The heart is super lovely and all Soulful is it not? Well, yes it does hold a beautiful perspective, but not necessarily always the most healthy perspective – ask anyone who has stayed in a relationship way past it’s sell-by date because their heart could see the potential and longed for it to be so, even as every instinct was screaming MOVE ON!

THE MOVE TOWARDS WHOLENESS: The Humble Heart…

The humble heart is always available to offer it’s beautiful perspective but is open to the swift clean knowing of the instinct and the 3D rationality of the mind. Together these three pistons are the engine of your life force. They pump power to your purpose and, when allowed to work with the rhythm and harmony of life, will carry you Gracefully through the adventures of your life experience.

Embrace them all as your best companions…

So, be open to the instincts, the rational mind and the heart and trust the natural rhythm in which each of them takes the lead.

If you would like a helping hand getting to this harmony where all of these faculties are fully available and free, give me a call – you can use the link here or below to set up 10 minutes for a chat.

Peace and wholeness my friends…

Joel Young
http://www.NonPersonalAwareness.com

Please SHARE if this resonates, and comments are welcome

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Don’t Mistake An Option For A Necessity

Option NecessityOften-times in the world of healing and personal growth you may be told, or have it implied, that a particular set of conditions must be met, a certain route must be taken or a specific approach or method is the only “real” way to heal or shift your life.

A classic example is the idea that we must resolve painful experiences from the past in order to be free for a better future. While that may be a truly powerful ‘vehicle’ for the shift that suits the reality constructs of millions, there are also millions who have made, and will make, equivalent shifts with no need to recourse to their personal history.

“A” Way, Not “THE” Way

While I offer the non-personal perspective with passion and a heartfelt beleif in its potential value to those that connect with it, I am always keen to say that NPA is “A” way, not “THE” way.

It is my view that a key gift of this Human life experience is variety – many possible routes to every outcome. There are always options and in a world still full of dictatorial expressions it boils down to this:

“Don’t mistake an option for a necessity.”

Joel Young
NonPersonalAwareness.com

SHARING IS OPTIONAL (& very much appreciated) ;0)

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