10: 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 an hypothesis rather than a purely imaginative story.  So let me begin…

Life appears to have originated through a variety of means on this planet.  The first form of life 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, life proliferated, and we see its progeny today around the world.

There was an essential and little-noticed change that occurred when the 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 increasingly complex forms, and human beings are the result.  We have here an example of one form of life being superseded 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: extraordinary quantities of food, complex transportation systems, worldwide communication 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 a catastrophic breakdown.

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 across the world’s religions offers a viable 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 acknowledges its limitations.  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 exercise provides a way to 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.  Earlier, we introduced you to heart-centered meditation.  You learned to let your attention drift down from your head until it comes 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 this heart-centered focus with you throughout your day.

Extending Your Heart-Centered Meditation

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

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

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

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

5. 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.

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

7. Rest here without moving for a brief period of time.

8. Now, keeping your attention in your heart, get up from your sitting meditation and go about your daily activities.  When you are distracted, bring your attention back to your heart.

9. Try to maintain this heart-focus during the course of your daily round.  You will be distracted, but don’t worry about that.  Just bring your attention back to your heart and continue with whatever you are doing.

10. If you are engaged in an activity that takes all your attention, like driving or thinking through a complex problem, leave your meditation for a time.

11. Carry your heart-centered awareness into your usual activities to the best of your ability.  Instead of operating from your head (your ego), let your heart guide you.  Open yourself to its guidance.  Remember that it is a still, small voice within you.

12. 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.’

13. If you feel a prompting from your heart to do something, experiment with it and see what happens.

14. Go through your day with your attention centered in your heart, listening for the Spirit’s promptings.

Remember, our goal here is not just to do these practices.  Our goal is to use them 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.