The Role of the Ego in the Current World Crisis by Nicolya Christi

Toegevoegd door Saskia Beugel op 02-07-2012 om 02:25

If I were asked what I believe to be the single contributing factor to the critical state in which we find the world today, I could sum it up in just one word – ‘Ego’. Why is it that this tiny word, comprised of just three letters, is the reason I feel humanity currently stands on the brink of a global crisis?

What is Ego? Trauma experienced in early infancy, childhood and adulthood give rise to a reactive ego. There are two types of ego. One is ‘dysfunctional’ and life denying ego, the other, a ‘healthy’ ego, which is life serving. The latter represents our capacity for self-value, self-worth and self-love, experiences of the Self which allow us to make wise choices and to meet our needs in an unselfish, loving way. A healthy ego demonstrates humility, compassion, empathy, inner-strengh, inner balance, centredness and self trust. We are clear about who we are and have the capacity to love unconditionally. When we have a healthy ego, we have a strong inner core and sense of Self.

A dysfunctional ego is a part of the ego which has split and adapted in order to help us survive what we experience or percieve to be a threat to our lives, be that at a physical, emotional, mental or psychological level. An unhealthy ego is rooted in neediness and originates from unmet needs during early childhood. This type of ego magnifies throughout the years as we grow into adults. It is driven by ‘survival’ instincts and fear, its main strategies being defence and attack. Driven by the unconscious, with a single focus of ‘survival’, this mentality gets projected into the world, proving to be dangerous, sabotaging and destructive.

Extreme examples of unintegrated, dysfunctional egos are Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein, who both experienced excessive trauma during childhood. Of course, there are other psycholgical and mental factors that come into the equation, as not all children who have experienced severe trauma grow up to become real threats to world peace.
We could say that each individual who carries unhealed and unresolved trauma is lacking inner peace and so contributes to the lack of peace on a global scale.
.
The world is a mirror, the quantum field is proven and real, so we continually recreate the world by our thoughts and by an unconscious, unhealed, unresolved, wounded ego, what we can term as our shadow selves. It is accurate to suggest that much of the world’s population is carrying multiple layers of unhealed trauma, and so casting a dark shadow across the light of the world, just as a dark shadow may have been cast across the light of who we are when in the womb, or during infancy and childhood.

We recreate our history in order to do now, what we couldn’t do back then. So we continually seek what was denied to us when young and we look to the world for those needs to be met. We look to the politiicians and governments, to pharmaceuticals and drugs, we develop addictions, subscribe to consumerism and so forth, to heal our deep and often inexpressable inner pain. Such a focus serves only to numb this pain by taking away our power and our ability to think for ourselves. As we continue to operate from a dysfunctional ego, we lose any recollection or sense of our true selves and become evermore adapted, conditioned and blind to the reality that we are each Gods and Goddesses. We have forgotton the truth of who we really are and a dysfunctional and unintegrated ego keeps us in this state of denial.

Be the Change that We Seek in the World. The great peace activist and Mahatma (Great Soul) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, left us a profound legacy through his inspirational wisdom teachings. One such teaching is as pertinent today as it was decades ago, “Be the Change That You Want to See In The World”. Just what was he inviting us to change? Gandhi was speaking of ‘inner’ change, as he fully understood that inner-change is the only viable option to creating sustainable and lasting world peace. Paracelsus, an emimnent 15th century physician and alchemist attributed to have been the first person to have spoken of the “unconscious”, gifted humanity by reminding us that “Inside each one of us is a special piece of heaven, whole and unbroken” This special piece of heaven represents the true self – it is this we need to reclaim. Just how do we do this?

From Emergency to Emergence Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Teacher and Scholar, Lama Surya Das, teaches us how, “Through honest Self-enquiry and no-holds-barred meditative introspection one can take apart and deconstruct the hut that ego built, thus entering the mansion of authentic being”. Deconstructing the hut that ego built is not without challenges for as the authentic (true) self emerges, an unhealthy ego devises many clever defence strategies to prevent it from doing so. Remember, the ego is driven by fear for its own survival, whereas the true self is moved by a yearning to express the full beauty and love of its True nature.

This pattern we can see in the world, the ‘powerful and wealthy’ who fear losing the control and dominance they enjoy, (dysfunctional ego trait), and those who are conscious and heart centred and long for world peace and equalty. As we ourselves are locked in duality, so to is the world. The ego will fight for survival be it at a personal or worldly level.

The powers that be (reactive egoic world) will try to block anything that keeps altruism and an organic, natural system from replacing it. What becomes clear to us is how the inner represents the outer and vice versa. When a sufficient amount of people dwell in inner peace and self love, this will be reflected outwards and mirrored by the world. In this way the world will be transformed naturally and peacefully, without the need for rebellion or revolution. Instead a re-evolution will occur for that is what is needed now if we are to avert the likelihood of coming catastrophes.

The Great Work. The true self is the authentic expression of who we are, and remains hidden beneath all the conditioning and emotional and mental trauma we have experienced in our lives. In our true expression, we are unconditional love, all that is good and balanced, integrated and fair, wise and gentle, creative and gifted, evolved and enlightened. These qualities remain alive within each one of us, no matter what we have experienced.

To rediscover the truth of who we really are, to find lasting inner peace, to radiate and shine as we are meant to, requires that we must first heal and in order to heal, first we must feel. We must have courage and begin the great work by turning our attention inwards and recognizing that the answer to inner peace will never be found through another person outside of ourselves, nor in a pill, a pub, club, or political party. It will never be discovered in title or status, wealth or fame. Inner peace is the natural outcome of a period of self-exploration, self-reflection, self-awareness, self-understanding, self-acceptance, self-love and self-discovery, which all lead to self-liberation.

We can, however, turn to another to assist us with this journey, not someone who will give us answers, but one who will support us to find those answers in ourselves. Someone who has travelled that path themselves or are travelling that path right now and in so doing, has developed great wisdom, and is professionally trained or expertly skilled to guide and facilitate another on the very special journey to the Self.

http://www.nicolyachristi.com/ the-role-of-the-ego-in-the-curr ent-world-crisis/

« terug