The concept of strength when applied to life, can be thought of as will, or power. The ability to perform, or create. The determination, the support or the process which unfolds when you are desiring a particular outcome. The secret, the power, the knowledge, the access to something more than what you are, or simply the strength to accomplish your goals sometimes alludes us. Sometimes we struggle in the face of adversity, sometimes we become sick... exhausted. Tired... lazy, but not from lack of trying, just from the perception that life is an uphill battle, and the ends justify the means, sacrificing the now. Sometimes we wonder why others excel in life while we flounder, or perhaps question ourselves or abilities, or pose questions to GOD with fists shaking towards the heavens screaming why!! Why indeed.
Psychological healers refer to the concept of locus of control. Internal or external locus refers to whether your world view/belief system dictates that external factors determine your life experience vs. internal factors. Depending on which side of the fence you're on, you'll have an incredibly powerful, or powerless experience. I'll let you decide which is which. That being said, there are several factors which determine our personalities, and our belief systems, many of us picking up baggage from years of abuse, either externally or self inflicted. Relationships broken, people hurt, abused, drugs taken, people murdered, destruction and chaos... with the fragile human psyche and its sanity hanging in the balance. Yes with years of baggage, we tend to become jaded... and wonder who exactly is in control. When your boss is hounding you for something, and your next pay cheque in question, you may very well reconsider the choice you made above. This is because of the human EGO.
The ego has often been referred to as the DEVIL as more modern day interpretations of the bible have suggested. And as the scriptures have written, the greatest trick the DEVIL ever pulled on us was to make us think he doesn't exist. If you question this, just ask yourself... "Am I egotistical?" If the answer is no, then it's your ego talking. And this - the greatest trick of all creation, the confusion between who we really are, and the ego. The ego is our true prison, our true bondage, and our daily crucifixion. There is no last judgment, there is only now. And if we judge ourselves, or our brother in the now, we experience judgment, and we experience the crucifixion of ourselves in the eyes of our soul.
We are all guilty of the crucifixion of the son of god, because we are all sons and daughters of god, and so it is that we crucify ourselves with our judgments, and condemn our brother as we condemn ourselves. We experience guilt as a result, and as a result we punish ourselves. Drugs, violence, rape, torture, brutality, war, chaos and destruction are what we create in a world where the EGO rules. Yes the 21st century is the century of the DEVIL, if you'd like to replace DEVIL with EGO. This is the monster lurking in the closet from which we hide under the covers, and it fools us into believing in things that aren't real. This is the hell, the continuous torment that awaits us when at the mercy of the EGO. The cycle of experience/judgment/guilt will continue, as that is the function of the ego as it fights for its survival. It will wage war on you as you attempt to awaken, cause you to be distracted from absolute truths, or fear the unknown, fear your expansion, and to fear your source.
So here we are, talking about the ego, when it is the ego reading and listening to this. By now you've either declared war on me, and my writings or think that something here might make sense. Because the ego makes it so, we fear change in our beliefs, but if you're brave enough to continue, you might be surprised at what you find. As always, I disclaim my work by saying that these are simply my opinions. I am no master of the ego, as the only true master of that has been the Christ. I simply do what I can to help point the way, hoping we all walk in one direction as we reach our goal of understanding. What this is, just is, and I take no credit, or responsibility. I speak, I write, and I hope it touches others as it touches me to write it. Where we go from here, I'll leave to you.
Psychology will tell you that the ego is damaged, and that it can be repaired. They'll say that the mind is damaged, and can be healed, but do they tell you the soul is eternal and waits for awakening? The ego cannot be "fixed", because by its very nature, it is insane. It believes in what isn't real, which by definition, is insanity. It forces you to repeat the same patterns over and over, telling you "don't worry... you'll get different results THIS TIME." Again, another definition of insanity. In truth, we are all insane, as we have forgotten what is real, and live in a world of forgetfulness and untruths. So do you want to spend time fixing something that isn't broken? The ego isn't broken, it's this way by design, our design. We've filled it with beliefs that cause disruption in our lives, we've trained ourselves to feel guilty, depressed, melancholy, or unfulfilled.
Do you want to attempt to fix yourself, or transcend your perceived self? This is what is meant by transcendence. Not that we're going to turn transparent and float into the clouds... no. We transcend the perceived... little self, and replace it with the grander, true self. The answer depends on what you'd rather experience. A quick transition into awakening, or a longer drawn out process of asking, receiving and giving, or conversely - taking from others, and being robbed of yourself. The difference between the two is a choice, and the experience of both is available to you always, and in all ways.
At this point, I'll assume that you've continued reading, and you've decided to work on transcendence of self. This can be a very... very difficult process, and can take a life time to do. Some grab glimpses of this enlightenment, like Buddha, or Lao Tzu, and attempt to point the way for others towards similar experiences, and realizations of oneness. But this experience of enlightenment, or the Tao, or holy spirit, or what have you, can be fleeting, and can be the defining moment of your life time - but as the ego moves in to assert its dominance over you, the moment passes... the gateway closes... and the wondrous, mysterious feeling and experience of enlightenment becomes the stuff of legends. Well I tell you that this can be achieved all ways, and constantly - this state of being can be a way of life, instead of a passing moment from which religions and dogmas are created. Be the master NOW, as the great teachers encourage.
But how do I start? The easiest... and quickest way to start this process, and acquire the strength which legends are made of is simple. Gratitude.
When we assume a spirit of gratitude, this is the opening of a gateway... this is the real secret of success. You might be thinking... Thank God! Get to the point! Well... the point is... thank god. That is the Root Cause, the opening of the gate, the pathway to accessing power, and removing struggle. The strength of those who persevere and set examples for those around them, the rich, the wealthy, the "successful" have one thing in common. They are thankful for what they have. This thanking is an acknowledgment, and a subconscious queue to both yourself and the universe, that you are in fact admitting / believing that a source more powerful than yourself, is responsible for what happened, this very moment. Thanking this source acknowledge on many levels the fact that you are aware... aware that the source is in everything, and is everything, for how else or why else would you thank god? Thanking this source can heal, can feed your family, can heal yourself... and your brother. Thanking opens the door to something more, a belief that will eventually crack open the foundations of your beliefs, and allow for something more to be built. The awareness of the eternal, and your relationship to it.
But in the meantime, if you simply want to experience what it's like to have, do, and be what you want... as we many of us do here in the physical world... the answer is an easy one. Thank god for all the little things, for the big things, and the the very moments you spend here in this world. Having this constant, mental principle will remove much struggle, for how could the source of all love and all things impede creation and its multi-dimensional experiences? It doesn't... thank god.
Thank you for reading.
RG
