The Nature of The Mind: Part II The Function and Limits of the Ego

Let’s pause for a moment and look again at the nature of the mind.  We find ourselves in quite a pickle.  On the one hand, we need our sense of self, our ego, to function in the world.  On the other hand, that sense of self becomes an obstacle in our spiritual journey.  How could this possibly be?

I hope you will indulge me as I spin out the story that I think explains our predicament.  While this story is a product of my imagination, I think it explains how we got to this place.  In addition, this story incorporates the notion of evolution, and thus might properly be considered as an hypothesis rather than a totally imaginative story.  So let me begin…

Life appears to have originated through a variety of means on this planet.  The first form of life that was able to spread widely was based on photosynthesis.  The early one-celled organisms like algae developed photosynthesis to extract energy from the sun, which they used to power their microscopic lives.  This form of life spread widely over the planet and, as it proliferated, developed into the many forms of plant life we see today.

The next significant development in this process was the development of critters that got their energy by eating those organisms that relied on photosynthesis.  These critters were unable to utilize the sun’s energy directly, so they used it indirectly by consuming those organisms that employed photosynthesis.  From here, there was a proliferation of lifeforms and we see their progeny today around the world.

There was an essential and little-noticed change that occurred when those critters that ate other critters began to develop.  The animals that were successful developed rudimentary forms of an ego.  They developed a drive to succeed.  Actually, this may be an overstatement – they developed a drive to fill their little bellies.  After hundreds of thousands of years, this drive morphed into what we now identify as the ego – the sense of self.

What this means is rather intriguing.  If these hypotheses are correct, it means that God was responsible for creating the ego.  That unitive consciousness we call God brought the components necessary for life together in one-celled organisms that used psychosynthesis for energy.  In a later development, the Divine brought into being other organisms that consumed the photosynthesis–dependent critters. Life continued to evolve into more and more complex forms, and human beings are the current result.  We have here an example of one form of life being superceded by another, more complex form.  That process continues to this day.

We human critters have used our egos, first to feed our bellies, and now to drive ourselves to whatever we think constitutes ‘success.’  Our definitions of success have given us the modern world, with all of its wonderful complexity: with its extraordinary quantities of food, complex transportation systems, worldwide communications systems, medical miracles, and all the rest.  Our egos have also given us pollution, inequitable distribution of food and other resources, and complex political systems that are constantly at war.  What a bargain!

We are at an interesting inflection point.  It appears that our egos, while giving us unimaginable successes, have also driven us to the brink of extinction.  We are at a point where we need to look beyond the satisfaction of our personal, ego-driven desires.  To do otherwise is to risk catastrophic breakdowns.

I think it no coincidence that there is a resurgence of interest in spirituality around the globe at just this point.  Humanity as a whole seems to intuit that we cannot continue as we have in the past.  We need to do something radically different – something that does not take us into World War III or ecological collapse.  To do so, we need to find ways of functioning that are not ego-driven.

This is a significant challenge for all of humanity.  Our egos appear to have taken us as far as they can.  To go forward from here, we need to find ways to progress that go beyond the Me-Me-Me selfishness that has driven our massive accomplishments.  You may think that I am in error on this point but imagine the alternative.  Imagine some eight billion ego-driven individuals, each trying to assert “My Way” and “Me First!”  It’s simply a recipe for disaster and enormous pain for all of us.  It is a classic “no-win” situation.

Contemplative spirituality in all of the world’s religions presents a doable alternative.  In my understanding, contemplative spirituality offers the only possible alternative to our present ego-driven society.  While recognizing the importance of the ego, contemplative spirituality also recognizes the limitations of the ego.  It offers a clear alternative to our ego-driven cultures – an alternative that can actually be implemented.  It is not an easy alternative.  It is not easy to trust that there is anything beyond the ego when all we have known to date is our ego-driven structures.  I can’t think of any alternatives to this.  Can you?

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This week, let’s begin to push one of our spiritual exercises and take it further.  This is exercise provides a way that we can take our spiritual practice into every part of our daily lives.  By extending our practice in this way, we intensify its effectiveness.  If you will, it provides a kind of turbocharging for your spiritual work.  

To date, we have introduced our spiritual exercises as if they were something to be done as a kind of formal sitting meditation.  Now we will extend our practice into our ordinary daily activities.  In Week 7, we introduced you to heart-centered meditation.  You learned to let your attention drift down from your head until it came to rest in the center of your chest.  There you opened yourself to the Presence of God.  You practiced here for a time, then left your meditation and went about your other activities.  Now I want you to explore carrying your heart-centered focus with you throughout your day.

Extending Your Heart-Centered Meditation

• Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.  Turn off your cell phone and deal with other potential distractions.

• Be seated, close your eyes, and simply observe, while refraining from judging what you experience here.

• Notice the flow of your thoughts and emotions.  No need to chase after them or elaborate.  Just observe. 

• Notice the flow of sensations through your body.  No need to get caught up in them.  Again, just observe what is.

• Now, gently bring your attention to the region of your heart.  Most start with feeling their attention in their head, where we think the self or ego lives.  Gently feel your attention move slowly down through your neck, your shoulders, letting your attention come to rest in the region of your heart. 

• When you feel it resting here, open your heart to the Presence of the Divine.   

• Rest here without moving for the period of your meditation.

• When you are distracted, bring your attention back to your heart and rest here with God.  

• When you are ready, let the feeling come back into your feet, your hands, and your face.  Take a deep breath and open your eyes.

• As you leave your formal meditation, carry your heart-centered awareness into your usual activities.  Instead of operating from your head (your ego), let your heart guide you.  Listen for its guidance.  Remember that it is a still, small voice within you.  

• There is no need to strain yourself here; just be aware of what is happening in your chest and listen closely.  As a friend told me once, ‘Learn to listen with your third ear, the one in your chest.’

•  If you feel a prompting to do something, experiment with it and see what happens.

•  Go through your day with your attention centered in your heart, listening for the Spirit’s promptings.  When you lose focus, if it seems appropriate, come back to your heart and open yourself to God’s holy Presence again. 

Remember, our goal here is not just to do these practices.  Our goal is to use these practices to let go of our self-centered behavior so that we can enter into the fullness of God’s love.  To overcome the constraints of our limiting egos so that we can realize the joy and bliss for which we were created.

*  *  *

Well, that’s all for now.  I had two goals today.  My first goal was to give you something to think about.  As you see from the narrative above, it turns out that you are not just following these newsletters for your own benefit; you are also pioneering new structures for human beings that go beyond the limitations of our egos.  

I also wanted to give you something concrete to do.  Hence this powerful extension of our heart-centered meditation.  Next week, we will deepen our discussion even further and examine what is necessary for each of us to move forward in our spiritual life.  As you are no doubt noticing by now, this is not an easy journey.  It is, however, a journey where the future of humanity and our planet are at stake.  So, practice your meditation diligently, because you’re doing it for more than just yourself.  You’re doing it for your children and your neighbors, and for people on the other side of the globe that you will never meet in this life.

With love,

P.S.  Several of you have expressed the desire for an online meditation class.  If there is enough interest, I will try to figure out how to hold a group class on the web.  If you have an interest, please write me at [email protected]. 

Humility as a Tool  → Letting go → Fear → Openness →  Acceptance & Growth

If you are finding this newsletter course helpful, you may want to consider Dr. Kaisch's latest book, Inside the Invisible:  The Universal Path to Spiritual Transcendence.👇

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