The Ego Can Blind Us, it’s more obvious in some than others… In a recent interview, Larry King likes Donald Trump. “I’ve always liked him personally,” the legendary television host told Fortune in a recent interview. “I’ve read some terrible things that I’m sad about, but he’s never done anything bad to me.” Still, King has mixed feelings about the billionaire’s ascent to the White House. “Donald is a complicated character,” King says. “His ego is beyond egoism. I’ve never met anyone with a higher ego.” The Voters for Trump SNL skit was hilarious and scary…Facing the harsh reality of who we are as human beings and often times makes people uncomfortable. Most people do not want to deal with who they really are as they are not ready to accept it or they are not ready to acknowledge it. And I’m not talking about what we think we are or what other people think we are. I am talking about what we really are! And unless you specifically tune your mindfulness practice to seeking out what you really are, then you are simply aware of what you think you are or what other people think you are. Make sense? Taking aim at the mind’s confusion with this reality can solve a lifetime of distress and suffering. Why do we not want to face this other reality? We are too busy living a life between what we think we are and what other people think we are. We can spend an entire lifetime in between and never know there is another reality. Frankly, most people just don’t care. They have enough on their plate. And no one can blame them. So for those whose cup is not full and can still get some more in it, then here is another way to look at life. Sugar-Coated or Right Between the Eyes… And who really wants it “right between the eyes?” Can you just tell someone they are not who they think they are? Would you expect them to just say, “Yes, of course. Thanks for straightening that out for me!” No, I don’t think so! Ha. World wars to religious prejudice to family feuds are predicated on the complex ego; on trying to defend an identity that in itself is an absolute illusion. But people balk at the fact that they may be an illusion; a very hard fact to come to grips with. But that’s what mindfulness can begin to rattle a little. It’s the peeling away of the layers of identity to discover the real source of your nature. It’s unknowingness! But are you ready for that? Is that really what you want to hear? You’re in a tunnel not knowing if you’re moving forward or backward. You want to be released from this grip of unknowingness and be free once and for all. You can’t stand it anymore. You’ve tried everything that your calculating, cunning, analytical mind could think of to solve this dilemma and still you come up short. Your stomach turns. You can be feverish in despair—I’m not kidding, literally feverish. And you feel like there is no end to this unsolvable thing called: What is my real nature? It’s torture, really mental torture. Then it culminates in a switch of the interface (the way you see yourself and the world) from egocentric to allocentric—from seeing everything revolving around you to everything revolving around everything else. You see you are a drop in the ocean, but now suddenly in order to see into your real nature you must lose your “dropness.” Simple. Or maybe not. But everything changes like being kissed for the first time. When you are in the mindful practice of awareness, just extend that awareness past yourself and others for a moment. And in that moment, if you hold it long enough…there is a universe. |