Listening to Your Inner Master
I read an article that is enlighting and want to keep it for myself to read again later on. The following is taken from Mystic Warrior.
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In our last lesson, we discussed your spiritualresponsibility to take back your power - to think your ownthoughts and avoid blindly accepting the edicts and opinionsof others. The ability to think is a God-given gift thathumans enjoy. By tapping into your inner master andinterpreting the intuitions that you receive, you are usingthis gift for its highest purpose. The tricky part isdistinguishing the voice of your inner master (or higherself) from the voice of your ego.In our society, we have been conditioned to accept our egoas our true self. Revolver, a recent film directed by GuyRitchie and starring Jason Statham, makes this pointprecisely. It's a bit hard to understand, until you realizethat the "enemy" referred to in the movie is the ego.Initially, Revolver appears to be a gangster's tale ofrevenge. Jake Green is guided by two "wise" loan sharks whooffer to teach him how to win the ultimate game. They offercryptic clues like, "The greatest enemy will hide in thelast place you will ever look." Jake assumes that it's anexternal enemy who is attempting to subdue him.It's the same for most of us. We look outside ourselves atour potential "enemies," vowing to overcome them. Inreality, everything that we perceive in the world is justthe outer reflection of our inner thoughts. The ultimatebattle lies within.Our ego is designed to protect us from harm. As moreattention is directed towards it, it grows. It is notnecessarily an enemy, as Revolver portrays it, but canbetter be likened to an unruly child who wants what itwants, when it wants.Just like an unruly child, the ego must be guided by a wiserbeing, that is, your inner master or higher self. Anecessary step on the spiritual path is the surrender of theego - that is, listening to the voice of your inner master,not your ego.In Revolver, Jake is told, "You've heard that voice for solong, you believe it to be you," and "the greatest con thathe ever pulled was making you believe that he is you." Hebegins to realize the battle is within him.At the film's climax, the camera cuts between "true Jake"and "ego Jake." Finally, Jake tells his ego, "You don'tcontrol me. I control you." He has won the ultimate game.So it is in real life. When you can distinguish between thevoice of the ego and that of your inner master/higher self,and then act based on the wisdom you receive from your innermaster, you are well on your way to winning the ultimategame.A long-term mystic once said, "Don't let your mind act asthe attorney for your ego." When you are busy "convincingyourself" that you are right, you're using your mind as anattorney. It might be logical, but it's not your highestsource of wisdom.So, how to tell the difference?The voice of the ego is characterized by being: self-centered, self-aggrandizing, fear-based, angry, anxious,rationalizing, complaining, and reactive.Conversely, the voice of your higher self is characterizedby being: humble, loving, compassionate, peaceful,harmonious, trusting, tolerant, merciful, forgiving,grateful and proactive.Every moment of every day, you make a choice to listen toeither your ego or your higher self.The more you identify with your higher self, the greateryour spiritual power - the faster things manifest - the moresynchronicities you experience. Ultimately, you merge withyour higher self and become Self-realized.On earth, the "game" is rigged to give your ego the edge. Ittakes clarity, desire and dedication to change this defaultsetting, to listen to your higher self.The best time to perceive the finer, more subtle voice ofyour higher self is during meditation, when your externalsenses are shut down. I would never consider making animportant decision without meditating, or as one wise gurustated, "go to the market without first going to the bank."With practice, your inner voice will become louder. You will"feel" or "intuit" that certain actions are best, ratherthan having to solely rely on your intellect, which,ultimately, can't know all there is to know to make a truly"perfect" decision.You will know that you've had a breakthrough when youcontemplate a situation that seems totally contradictory,but then it suddenly makes sense. The flash of enlightenmentthat reconciles two seemingly opposite viewpoints is joyful.Zen masters give their students koans, or riddles, toencourage these experiences.Another sign that you are listening to your inner self, iswhen the answer you receive makes sense on more than onelevel. Real truth reveals itself in many ways.
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In our last lesson, we discussed your spiritualresponsibility to take back your power - to think your ownthoughts and avoid blindly accepting the edicts and opinionsof others. The ability to think is a God-given gift thathumans enjoy. By tapping into your inner master andinterpreting the intuitions that you receive, you are usingthis gift for its highest purpose. The tricky part isdistinguishing the voice of your inner master (or higherself) from the voice of your ego.In our society, we have been conditioned to accept our egoas our true self. Revolver, a recent film directed by GuyRitchie and starring Jason Statham, makes this pointprecisely. It's a bit hard to understand, until you realizethat the "enemy" referred to in the movie is the ego.Initially, Revolver appears to be a gangster's tale ofrevenge. Jake Green is guided by two "wise" loan sharks whooffer to teach him how to win the ultimate game. They offercryptic clues like, "The greatest enemy will hide in thelast place you will ever look." Jake assumes that it's anexternal enemy who is attempting to subdue him.It's the same for most of us. We look outside ourselves atour potential "enemies," vowing to overcome them. Inreality, everything that we perceive in the world is justthe outer reflection of our inner thoughts. The ultimatebattle lies within.Our ego is designed to protect us from harm. As moreattention is directed towards it, it grows. It is notnecessarily an enemy, as Revolver portrays it, but canbetter be likened to an unruly child who wants what itwants, when it wants.Just like an unruly child, the ego must be guided by a wiserbeing, that is, your inner master or higher self. Anecessary step on the spiritual path is the surrender of theego - that is, listening to the voice of your inner master,not your ego.In Revolver, Jake is told, "You've heard that voice for solong, you believe it to be you," and "the greatest con thathe ever pulled was making you believe that he is you." Hebegins to realize the battle is within him.At the film's climax, the camera cuts between "true Jake"and "ego Jake." Finally, Jake tells his ego, "You don'tcontrol me. I control you." He has won the ultimate game.So it is in real life. When you can distinguish between thevoice of the ego and that of your inner master/higher self,and then act based on the wisdom you receive from your innermaster, you are well on your way to winning the ultimategame.A long-term mystic once said, "Don't let your mind act asthe attorney for your ego." When you are busy "convincingyourself" that you are right, you're using your mind as anattorney. It might be logical, but it's not your highestsource of wisdom.So, how to tell the difference?The voice of the ego is characterized by being: self-centered, self-aggrandizing, fear-based, angry, anxious,rationalizing, complaining, and reactive.Conversely, the voice of your higher self is characterizedby being: humble, loving, compassionate, peaceful,harmonious, trusting, tolerant, merciful, forgiving,grateful and proactive.Every moment of every day, you make a choice to listen toeither your ego or your higher self.The more you identify with your higher self, the greateryour spiritual power - the faster things manifest - the moresynchronicities you experience. Ultimately, you merge withyour higher self and become Self-realized.On earth, the "game" is rigged to give your ego the edge. Ittakes clarity, desire and dedication to change this defaultsetting, to listen to your higher self.The best time to perceive the finer, more subtle voice ofyour higher self is during meditation, when your externalsenses are shut down. I would never consider making animportant decision without meditating, or as one wise gurustated, "go to the market without first going to the bank."With practice, your inner voice will become louder. You will"feel" or "intuit" that certain actions are best, ratherthan having to solely rely on your intellect, which,ultimately, can't know all there is to know to make a truly"perfect" decision.You will know that you've had a breakthrough when youcontemplate a situation that seems totally contradictory,but then it suddenly makes sense. The flash of enlightenmentthat reconciles two seemingly opposite viewpoints is joyful.Zen masters give their students koans, or riddles, toencourage these experiences.Another sign that you are listening to your inner self, iswhen the answer you receive makes sense on more than onelevel. Real truth reveals itself in many ways.
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