Tuesday, July 12, 2011

How to Overcome the Ego's Demands and Achieve Spiritual Growth


Dr. David R. Hawkins

Wouldn't you like to overcome the ego's grip on you in order to accelerate your spiritual growth in this lifetime?

You can, according to Dr. David R. Hawkins.

At a recent meeting, we in the Hawkins study group had an opportunity to watch Dr. Hawkins’ video “Emotions and Sensations” (2004). In this video, Dr. Hawkins discusses the human ego and and explains how it blocks our spiritual progress.

Dr. Hawkins tells us in the video that we may wish to follow a direct path to God, but it is difficult to do this because we need to transcend the ego along the way. Confronted by the ego, our journey can become painful or even catastrophic at times. It can become a journey of solitude because most of humanity remains dedicated to the ego.

The human ego always wants something. It demands material possessions, approval, and status incessantly. It has convinced us that what we want is scarce, and to make matters worse, others deliberately seek to deny us what we want. We believe the ego’s lie when it tells us that we can’t get what we want, or that we can’t get enough of what we want. To get it, we begin to complain. And when we still can’t get it, we lash out in anger, resentment, grief, disappointment, or fear. Ego-driven behavior dominates the constantly-negative-news we watch. Colonialism sweeps the globe. Wars break out everywhere. “Convert or die” becomes the prevailing religious philosophy. We have created a “hell on earth.” There is never enough to satisfy the ego.

So, for now, we remain a victim of our ego. We continue to be enslaved to its cravings. The ego still rules the world, as it has done since the beginning of history. Statistically, chances of overcoming the ego’s stranglehold and achieving enlightenment in this lifetime are slim for most of humanity.

But we don’t have to continue to live the way we always have, do we? After all, we did come from the spirit realms to the physical world for the very purpose of learning how to overcome the grip which the ego has on us every time we come here and all the ego's negative emotions. Must we waste yet another lifetime under the ego’s never-ending tyranny?

According to Dr. Hawkins, the solution to the ego’s incessant demands is to give up wantingness. When you let go of wanting, you no longer are dominated by desire, anger, or fear.

Dr. Hawkins reminds us that we are creating everything we experience in life, including our belief in need and scarcity. He invites us to accept the world as being the way it’s supposed to be at this time: a place in which we can pay off our karmic debts from previous lifetimes and maximize our opportunities for spiritual growth in this lifetime. He also says that your negative feelings are not you. You are a divine spiritual being. Your negative feelings belong to the ego.

Of course, the ego feels threatened by your new-found interest in spiritual growth. It kicks and screams harder and harder as you actively pursue such growth in a conscious way. That’s why a spiritually-committed life is not necessarily peaceful or serene. It may become a turbulent ride as the ego does everything it can to hold you within its grip. But surely this turbulence can be no more unbearable than the suffering you feel when you choose to remain at lower levels of consciousness where shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, and anger prevail.

In his fifth book Transcending the Levels of Consciousness (2006), Dr. Hawkins explores in far greater detail the grip which the ego continues to have on us and how to overcome it. He says that we cannot defeat the ego by attacking it head-on as an enemy. Rather, we can loosen its tenacious grip by focusing on the welfare and happiness of others. He encourages us to practice “random acts of kindness” without expectation of recognition or reward.

Remember this: your intention sets your compass. Whatever you intend is what you experience. As Dr. Hawkins says, “Through intention, potentiality becomes actuality.” You can achieve real spiritual progress in this lifetime if that is your intention, despite your ego’s resistance.

That is certainly my intention. I intend to maximize my spiritual growth in the lifetime. I don’t intend to waste yet another lifetime, as I have done so many times before.

How about you? Would you like to overcome the ego’s grip in order to attain lasting spiritual growth in this lifetime?

4 comments:

  1. HI Roy,
    Great post, especially how things can get a little turbulent during one's journey to self realization. The outer world may become chaotic however the inner self is delighted with the internal progress made. Well written my friend. Big hugs to you and the group on Panama. I hope to see you all soon and maybe even at the Dr. Hawkins last 8 hour lecture on September 17th. It's going to be a doozie!!!

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  2. Thanks for a great post, Roy. Working around the rules set by the ego is always a challenge for me. As I read your post, I am made aware of the occasions when my ego-driven behaviors kick in. Those are the times when I am least serene. I need to develop mechanisms to stop my actions at THAT point and deal with the ego at that time. As I age, I will not ride that wave for long. Ahhh, progress not perfection, right?

    Jim in Altamonte Springs, FL

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  3. GREAT POST ROY!

    I love how Hawkins had the "Ego Teddy Bear" on stage. Our ego wants us to FIGHT IT... HATE IT... BEAT IT... STRUGGLE AGAINST IT. Removing those emotional hooks and attachments towards the ego is definitely a big step forward to release the juice.

    I also loved how he said "own every character defect" that anyone has ever suggested you have.

    Thanks for sharing your perspective with the world!
    Blessings,
    Matheo

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  4. In my opinion, spiritual growth can not come through psychology. Blaming "the ego" is just blaming your self. YOU can not fix YOU. You can become a "better" person in the human scene this way, but there is no spiritual growth through psychology. Sorry.

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