EGO’S TRIAD  #7

“By attributing worth to tangible objects humans becomes attracted to them; attraction brings desire for them; desire leads to competition and dispute. These create anger and the result is delusion. Delusion completely overcomes man’s sense of right and wrong.” Srimad Bhagavata

THE THREE DEADLIEST SINS OF EGO'S sELF-CHERISHING:

GREED, LUST, POWER

(GLP)

Given full power, greed becomes an enslaver of the greedy – fear becomes first a bully, then a torturer and then a killer.

Greed is the main motivating factor creating Lust and an obsession for Power. they, all three, are inseparable.

"Greed is not stilled with money any more than thirst with salt water."

"Not by the shower of gold coins does contentment arise."

"Desire is not quenched by indulgence, but grows like a fire fed with oil." The Buddha

Greed begets more greed which still wants more. It is never satisfied. Lust partners itself with Power for excessive desires for money, the material, sex, debauchery... We seem to now live in a world that has lost it moral compass and where greed is condoned and even admired. It has created autocracy and fascism which is spreading in cults and sometimes in the guise of religion and spirituality. The most famous of the latter is Osho, the fallen guru who manipulated his commune in demonic ways to his and the advantage of his core leaders.

…We must beware of anger and pride which are weapons of chaos, connecting us to our destructive instincts…

GLP can catalyze our most toxic emotions; malice, envy, anger, rage, hatred, and brutality when opposed. All of these can result in a desire for vengeance and retribution for even the most trivial of things.  Vengeance is antithetical to spirit.

"Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord."

“Holding on to anger (malice, hatred) is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” The Buddha

 These actions can have drastic karmic consequences. However, we would all prefer it if the punishments came around more quickly than with the reckoning when they cross the veil between the worlds. The perpetrators seem to get away with it almost entirely. We all suffer from their actions - not them.

GLP usually come together with the most malignant of self-Cherishing along with Desirous Attachment and Judgment with malice.

It seems the biggest tool that is used today is the power of the lie.

"Power corrupts and complete power corrupts completely." Lord Acton

Ego combined with the Evil Inclination or Shadow in these instances knows no boundaries. It seeks fame or infamy. Shadow overcomes any inclination to do good and is supported fully by an uncontrolled, primal Monkey Mind. The perpetrators are often supported by dark forces on the other side of the veil.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man’s character give him power.” A. Lincoln

Those with receptive shadows, may be captivated by these deadly attributes. Those that are powerless ride on the coat tails of toxic leaders and with their partners in crime and are endorsed by the dark side of the web. Their Soul Sickness can become Soul Loss leading to more heinous acts.

Those suffering from soul sickness arising out of isolation, loneliness, powerlessness, hopelessness and meaningless in life become vulnerable to radicalization. Isolation seeks company, even if it is dysfunctional.

“If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.” Richard Rohr

During these times when pure evil is on the rise we need to know the power of GLP as well as the Evil Tongue, fake facts and distortions of history that flood the media and go uncontested. A.I. has the power to magnify the big lie. Hitler nearly conquered the world through his rallies and the radio. Think what he could have done today.

 

“…people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; 

and if you repeat it frequently enough 

people will sooner or later believe it.” Adolf Hitler

 

Hitler's main enemies were conscience and morality and his hatred of Jews made them the prototype and his arch enemy. However, his next target was going to be the Christians and others - much the same as the mantra of Islamic Jihad. Hitler admitted to being a barbarian. Hitler is the archetype that many dictators embrace today, knowingly or unknowingly because his methods work.

“It is true we are barbarians. It is an honorary title to us. I am coming to free humanity from the shackles of the soul, from the degrading suffering caused by this false vision called conscience and morality. ...” Adolf Hitler

 Many perpetrators appear to get away with their actions. Yes, the long arm of the law should bend towards justice but that may be agonizingly slow or seemingly not to bend at all. Moreover, there are brilliant, self-serving, legal minds with little conscience that have found ways around the laws.

“Malice sucks up the greater part of her own venom and poisons herself.” Montaigne

 

Ancient spiritual teaching are true but they seem to fall short of our in the moment feelings of frustration with what is going on currently. This conundrum remains a test of our karmic resilience. Everything is a test. Its not what is around us and happens to us that counts but what we do with it.

We can only hope...

“You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.” The Buddha

 

This lust for more and more power, seems to be escalating to the extent it can feel dystopian.

It is up to us on our search for Self to recognize this challenge outside of us and which is also within us. This can help us strengthen our resolve and our spiritual life when confronted with these apocalyptic events. We need to call a spade a spade otherwise we are in danger of being complicit which will affect the trajectory of our search for Self. We can at least appose in thought, if not in action.

Those who do not believe in true evil are sadly gnorant.

 

“No matter how you stir a pot of filth it is always a pot of filth. Better to let the pot be and string pearls for the sake of heaven.” Chassidic saying

These principles below were refined in the last century and are a terrifying template to what is going on now.

Herman Goering

“It was very easy, it has nothing to do with Nazism, it has something to do with human nature. You can do it in a Nazi, socialist, communist regime, in a monarchy and even in a democracy. The only thing that needs to be done to enslave people is to scare them. If you manage to find a way to scare people, you can make them do what you want.”

Joseph Goebbels

• A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.
• This is the secret of propaganda: Those who are to be persuaded by it should be completely immersed in the ideas of the propaganda, without ever noticing that they are being immersed in it.
• If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.
• Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.
•  The Führer is a man totally attuned to antiquity. He hates Christianity, because it has crippled all that is noble in humanity ... 
• [1928] We enter the Reichstag to arm ourselves with democracy's weapons. If democracy is foolish enough to give us free railway passes and salaries, that is its problem. It does not concern us. Any way of bringing about the revolution is fine by us.

 

EGO’S TRIAD  #6

JUDGMENT

“The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.” Goethe 

The Higher Self or Soul cannot be realized in the presence of a dominant ego that judges others or oneself.  

 "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” Goethe

Love's Triad on the Tree of Life is balanced by Judgment and Mercy. It is extremely difficult to discriminate or discern with an open heart and sweeten the judgments as well as ... to walk for a day in another person's moccasins.

We may never know the suffering of others and what may plague them day and night.

“We are all in the same boat in a stormy sea and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.” G.K. Chesterton

 Non-Attachment is key to opening us up to the Love and Mercy. This is because Non-Attachment does not only apply to self-Cherishing and attachment to "stuff" but also to our relationships. These should be governed for their own sake alone and not for any agenda, hidden or otherwise.

MERCY

“Great are the righteous for they transform judgment into compassion.” Genesis Raba 

  

Being compassionate and having empathy is not only good karma but healthful (bumps up the immune system by increasing T cells.) It takes the burden of a grudge off our back and lifts that albatross from our necks.

Discern and discriminated rather than judge.

Judge the action and not the person.

 

Do not refrain from not judging at all but rather attempt not to judge harshly but to judge favorably. 

Reality usually follows its description. Hence it is ever changing and is perceived differently by different people.

Judgment arises from the fact with in order to navigate life we find it necessary to live in duality, when we are all one though not the same.

"The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose I am here, and you are out there." Yasutani Roshi

 

Sweetening of the Judgments

The Ancestors teach us to; sweeten our judgments.

It is difficult not to judge but we can use kinder words such as, he is different, she is intense or a bit odd or 'extra'... 

“Judge of me tenderly.” Emily Dickinson

 

“Mercy to the point of recalling only the good qualities of our tormentor.

Remembering them in the innocence of their infancy.
Mercy beyond the letter of the law …” Cordovero

 

The danger, however, is not to enable others by letting them off the hook. We need to inform, enlighten and/or correct gently with compassion, especially to those who are close to us. 

When it comes to our loved ones, friends and colleagues ...

 Of love be a little more careful!

Never judge in a condemnatory way, never with disavowing and lack of love.

You must support emotionally without condoning.

Whether its about judging harmfully consider:

"An eye for and eye can make the whole world blind." Gandhi

Jesus taught to turn the other cheek which we may also mean walking away from toxic emotions delivered by another unless they are doing harm. If appropriate, change the subject rather than effectively or ineffectively coming up against them. It helps to avoid making a stand or 'carrying a flag' especially around someone whose opinion is unalterable We should try to respond positively, even with humor, if at all possible. If we respond negatively we inherit their energy and give away our power. 

Sometimes it's better to be effective rather than right.

It’s not about them it’s about you. Give compassion. Imagine them changing for the better. 

Make of your opponent a dance partner.

However, if harm is being done then it may be appropriate to consider 

... an eye for an eye...

But using the justice system rather than ourselves.

 "And a man who injures his countryman – as he has done, so it shall be done to him; fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. 

Just as another person has received injury from him, so it will be given to him." Leviticus

 All of these three deadly sins of karma follow us along the road to 'Becoming' and will continue to challenge us especially Judgment. The work to counteract them is constant. We can never be complacent. As we get higher up the energy hiearchy, ego and shadow becomes more subtle and can elude us and slip in unknowingly.

 

EGO’S TRIAD  #5

DESIROUS ATTACHMENT 

Keep to the source of living waters.
Do not think to store in cisterns; they will break and crumble and the water will be lost.
Cup your hands and drink deeply and often and you will have health and joy.

When we cross over to the 'other side' we take nothing with us. All we take are our experiences and our karma. Material attachments can also hamper the soul’s journey during transition after death causing the spirit to either become earth bound (lost between the worlds) or to inherit a lower vibration in the Astral.

On the other side of the veil everything we acquire will be scrutinized against the polarities of need and want. We release more spiritual energy if we get rid of clutter. Every now and then we need to look through our belongings and make sure that energetically, that they belong to us and we do not belong to them. If one has not thought of or used anything in the last few years, give it away, sell or dump it. I am always surprised at how much lighter and freer I feel when I clean house. 

There is nothing wrong with desire, it is the attachment to desire that is the issue. 

It is the want that is our enemy and not the need.

Steve Jobs once instructed his employees that their task at Apple was not to give people what they needed but to tell them what they wanted. Many bottom liners follow this mantra. 

 It can be challenging not to be overwhelmed and trapped by the allure of materialism and all those new, shiny, compelling commodities that inundate us. They are designed to wear out more quickly than previously and be replaceable rather than fixable - the latter often being more costly. Planned obsolescence has been taken to a much higher level of sophistication. The excuse is the ever ongoing, so called improvement of technology. Is this just a trap to give us less control and make us lazy or possibly technology for the sake of technology alone rather than practicality? 

We may be compelled to buy the latest version and dispose of the older one because the new is contrived to be sexier but not necessarily any better and sometimes worse. It may be good to be aware that we are being manipulated to continually buy, even borrow to purchase and spend more money than we should.

"Use it up, wear it out. Make it do or do without" Unknown

'Fast fashion' is now prevalent because of compelling, cheap clothing mainly from China. It is often worn only a few times and then hopefuly donated rather than discarded or forgotten.

“Where there is too much, something is missing. - Chassidic Saying.
Yes, the disguise of plenty. The Grail is not there.”
Gene Kelly

When we have not earned or worked hard for our money, Kabbalah talks of The Bread of Shame… If we have too much while others have little we may feel somewhat shameful. Those that are fortunate to have a lot can make use of this bread of shame, by becoming philanthropic and giving some of it away, preferably doing so anonymously.

We should be attached to our spiritual transformation and all that is involved in our Becoming but not to 'stuff'. 

Consumerism by default, often occurs at the expense of the planet's sustainability. 

As a surgeon I have witnessed the astronomical increase of disposable and costly products. When I first began my surgical career the instruments we used were durable and were sterilized. These have now become disposable ? on the pretext of defects in sterilizing creating legal action as well as them having possible subtle improvements in performance. There should be a creative way around this but the market always bends toward profit. There are times when disposable instruments are essential for various reasons.

Expiration dates on medications seems to be getting slowly shorter and shorter. Pharmaceutical companies would not spend money on researching expiration dates especially when they benefit from making them shorter. Under controlled conditions the military is storing drugs for emergencies since they are effective and safe.

“By attributing worth to tangible objects man becomes attracted to them; attraction brings desire for them; desire leads to competition and dispute. These create anger and the result is delusion. Delusion completely overcomes man’s sense of right and wrong.” Srimad Bhagavatam

The more "stuff' we accumulate the more time, money and energy we spend maintaining it rather that doing something meaningful for our spiritual growth. Too many possessions and clutter get in the way of our spiritual work. 

There is always enough as long as one is free from the compulsion for more. Narrow mind is about having – Spacious mind is about being.

K.I.S.S.

A good mantra for us all to follow.

Keep it Simple, Stupid

“Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill, keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt, chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench, care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner...”  Tao Te Ching

Re  "... care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner...” 

We should not concern ourselves about those who have much more than we do. 

“Should the other climber steal your sack and your purse and wax fat on the one and heavy on the other, you should pity him. The climbing will be harder for his flesh and the burden will make his way longer. And should you in your leanness see his flesh puffing upward, help him in a step, it will add to your swiftness.” Unknown

Many of us feel we need to keep up with the Jones'. Ego can make us inherently more competitive in order to impress or prevent feeling like a loser. This is often because of a delicate ego and a feeling of inferiority. 

“Everybody feels inferior in some way or other. And the reason is that, we don’t accept that everybody is unique. There is no question of inferiority or superiority. Everybody is just one of his/her kind - comparison does not arise.
The moment you accept yourself as you are, without any comparison, all inferiority, all superiority, disappears. In that total acceptance or yourself you will be free from these complexes - inferiority, superiority. Otherwise you will suffer your whole life....


Just be yourself, that is enough… Osho

God wants you, to be truly you. You were created for that.