Beware of the ego playing the role of spiritual teacher.

Path of the Open Heart
Image from:
Squidoo.com

Path of the Open Heart is one of my new friends on google+.  She recently posted a column on G+ that is linked under the quote above.  The moment I read that quote I knew that i wanted to use it as a launch pad for an upcoming column at Wisdom and Life.  I contacted her and she agreed to let me use the quote.

So first, why should we beware the ego at all?
–Ego wants is divisive.
–Ego needs to be right.
–Ego loves conflict.
–Ego always wants more.
spiritlibrary.org

Do any of these things sound remotely spiritual?  Lets take a look at each one and dispel them:
Divisiveness:
It seems as if many religions feed off of divisiveness but a spiritual person does their best to prevent divisiveness from entering their realm.  Not that the spiritual tend to roll over and let people take advantage of them.  That’s the furthest thing on the mind of a spiritual person.  We just tend to let things roll off our backs.  We don’t hold grudges.  We don’t let divisiveness control us.

The Need to be Right:
I have often written at Wisdom and Life and on G+ about what is more important in life:
The Need to be right or the need to maintain a loving relationship.  The Spiritual person is more concerned with the need to maintain the relationship.  We can forgo being right for the benefit of keeping a healthy relationship.

Conflict:
As with divisiveness, those with spirituality in their nature tend to remove conflict from their lives in much the same way they remove divisiveness.  We who feel spirituality all around us have a challenge with conflict.  We tend to avoid it.  We look for ways to resolve it when we see it.
Some of us jump in and negotiate.
Some of us are peacekeepers.
Some of us are peacemakers.

Wanting More:
One of the basic tenants of Law of Attraction, another topic that gets discussed at Wisdom and Life is to be grateful for what we have.  Being grateful for what we have, thanking the Divine for all that is given to us is one way of getting more.
Don’t covet.
The grass is NOT greener on the other side.

We should be thankful for what we have as I said above.  Wanting more only feeds the ego.  It creates competition and while competition is sometimes a good thing, the only person we should be competing against is ourselves.  Unfortunately, ego would rather compete against your neighbor.  Let’s face it.  We all have different values.

If we are honest with ourselves, we REALLY don’t want to be like anyone else.  We want to be true to our own values.  By competing against someone else, by wanting more, what we are truly telling the universe is that we are unhappy, that we are not grateful.  If that’s what we are telling ourselves. then that’s what will be reflected in our lives.

A spiritual person looks around their life and while they may not have everything they want, they can find a way to thank God for what they do have.

A teacher is someone who guides their students, who brings out the best in their students.  Do you really want the ego teaching us what is best?

What is best for the ego is:
— Divisiveness.
–The need to be right.
–Conflict.
–Wanting more.

And that really isn’t what is best for our souls.
Our souls should be our spiritual guides.
Our souls should be our spiritual teachers.

For when we follow our souls, we are following our dreams, we are following our hearts, we are chasing joy.  And joy is what we should be chasing!

Can you ignore ego?
Can you ignore the voices that say:
Follow the money.
Chase the career.

That is ego reaching out

Your soul cries out:
Follow your dream.
Follow your heart.
Follow the path that the Divine has placed before you.

That’s where your treasure lies.

Don’t let the ego be your spiritual teacher!

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
—
Chris