I’m not the least bit ignorant, Yvonne. I know what Islam teaches. And in your counter-argument, you verified beautifully exactly what I pointed out…submission is the path to achieve Islam’s version of religious success. It doesn’t matter that they tack on promises that say submission will get you to Oneness. It’s still submission, and it’s a very effective way of controlling the spiritually immature.
Christianity does the same thing using guilt. All sorts of promises are made to you if you will just purge yourself of guilt, the result being that you end up focusing on your imaginary guilt – all of which is defined by men. Some people go so far as to flog themselves or continuously punish themselves instead of focusing on the joyousness and freedom of becoming who you really are – warts and all! You are a unique individual for a reason.
Buddhism does the same thing by telling you to get rid of the ego. Shame on you for having an ego! The problem is that the real ego is that part of you that is always aware and scanning the environment for threats that may require you to fight or run like hell to save your life. The legacy of Freud is a serious misunderstanding of the ego.
You need the ego as a protective function! However, as you develop your consciousness, you become more and more present. The more present you are, the less need there will be for your ‘ego’ to be watching. Instead, you will be watching and supremely aware! As you become being totally present, the ego fades naturally to the background. You take over the job of watching for attacks and threats – and you calmly and skillfully shift these energies. You can only be totally present if you are silent, aware, and maintain absolute clarity. Telling people they have to drop their ego is not only a disservice, it’s a serious distraction from the work of becoming highly conscious. Ego is absolutely necessary until full spiritual development takes over, at which point the ego is subsumed into an awakened consciousness.
All religions are frameworks for the spiritually immature. This is not to say they are bad. They are useful for helping us hold a set of beliefs until we can plumb their depths and go beyond the dogma. Religions often mean well, but their teachings tend to be shallow and must eventually be understood at a much deeper level than most religions care to go. They don’t want to go any deeper because it undermines their control. Those people who go beyond the common framework enter the world of the esoteric teachings. This is a territory where only a few people really venture because it takes you beyond the world of the easy, the shallow, the group-think platitudes that most people settle for.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You will rarely get to Oneness and the experience of the Godhead by doing what the religions, or even the New Age teachings tell you. You will only get there by having the courage to be yourself, follow your heart, and let the path that interests you take you into the unknown where you will risk being torn apart at almost every level of your being. However, you will come back together and will emerge as someone who knows the Self and needs no other framework.
Comments
Lisa Platt
Thank you, Penny!!
Kindly, Lisa Platt
July 27, 2017
Marjorie Hilliard
Beautifully said.
July 27, 2017
Marjorie Hilliard
Reblogged this on Marjorie Hilliard, RN.
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
Thank you, Marjorie.
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
You’re most welcome, Lisa.
July 27, 2017
Art Manville
Nailed it!
July 27, 2017
kajsaff
Thank you Penny, well written and ultimately this is where we are all going…..and we have the stepping stones along the way….for myself I got lost in the “New Age” where I simply kept on disassociating from my body….familar and comfortable. I have no problem "going to the light, being in the light’, however it is important to be present now in our human experience. Finally now this is beginning and I’m starting to feel safe as a human!
Thank you for your clear and direct explanation.
July 27, 2017
neckerisland1973
As ever, so glad you’re on the planet with me… much less lonely!
I Love:
1. “You need the ego as a protective function! However, as you develop your consciousness, you become more and more present. The more present you are, the less need there will be for your ‘ego’ to be watching.”
2. " Ego is absolutely necessary until full spiritual development takes over, at which point the ego is subsumed into an awakened consciousness."
I had an ego-attack this morning, and now have to apologize to my husband this evening!
July 27, 2017
Pat
Fantastic writing….very well said,thank you!
Sent from my iPad
>
July 27, 2017
Alicia Booth
Hello Penny! I enjoy reading your articles and this hit ball out of the park! made me really think! I had an Ah..ha moment…Thank You ;)
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
Thanks, Art! Coming from you, that’s a real compliment!!
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
You’re welcome, Kajsaff! A lot of people got lost in the New Age. Many New Age teachings are just a rehash of old religious tenets in new form with a couple new sayings added and the common sense subtracted. One good example… the ancient Christians would exclaim, “Don’t think! Just believe!” The New Agers leave off the “don’t think” piece but still admonish people to just believe. Another variation is, “If you think it, it will happen.” What happens to action if all we need to do is ‘just believe’ or ‘just think’? The answer is that action falls to the wayside. Nothing gets accomplished. If we want a kind and beautiful world, we need a combination of clear perception, intuition, common sense, knowledge of how things work, time for trying stuff out, thorough analysis, time for reflection, and time for revision.
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
LOL! Lots of really poor teaching out there about getting rid of ego. My elfin friends refer to people who have shoved their ego into the closet as “doormats.” Somewhere between doormat and pompous ass is a thoughtful human being!
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
Thank you, Pat! Hope all is well with you!
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
Alicia, thanks for the vote of confidence, and so pleased to think it triggered an Ah-Ha! Those are pretty special!
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
Hope your people get something good out of the reblog, Marjorie!
July 27, 2017
Zak McKracken
I respect your views, Penny, but disagree with some of what you’ve said about ego. Ego is simply an expression of fear. As we overcome fear and evolve our consciousness towards love, the ego (by definition) dissipates. You can’t really tell someone to drop their ego – that would be putting the cart before the horse; dropping the ego is a natural consequence of becoming fearless.
It’s important not to confuse fear with common sense. The reason you don’t jump off a cliff isn’t because you’re fearful, it’s simply common sense. Depending on the situation, the fight or flight response can be an instinctive reaction (learned from past experience), or a fear test, e.g. in a situation that might cause physical harm, the fight or flight response is an instinctive reaction; in most other situations, it’s about facing a fear (an opportunity to evolve your consciousness) or running away from it.
“You need the ego as a protective function!” Protection from what? If you were completely fearless, you wouldn’t need protection from anything (see above re. fear vs. common sense). That’s not to say people could walk all over you; you could still stand up for yourself, but you’d be acting out of love/compassion, rather than fear.
I agree with your views on religion, but imagine it hasn’t always been this way. I expect the religious teachings were very pure to begin with, then devolved over time as people with much lower qualities of consciousness saw the opportunity to create a power structure around them (acting out of fear). That’s where we find ourselves today – all the religious teachings are fear based.
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
Thanks for sharing your views, Zak. Always appreciated! The only thing I would say in response is that fear arises when you fail to develop and maintain “presence,” which might be described as full awareness of everything. With full awareness, there are few-to-no surprises…thus no fear!
July 27, 2017
growthelightblog
Penny, what about Judaism?
July 27, 2017
Lynn Kristafor
Thank you for clear thought out of the grey fuzz of ‘systems’.. there is such openness / peace when ‘truth’ is expressed.. Delight in the consciousness you express Penny!
July 27, 2017
Penny Kelly
You’re welcome, Lynn. I agree that there’s an awful lot of grey fuzz out there! Sometimes I think that the entire job we have as global citizens of this time is to learn to navigate the fuzz!
July 27, 2017
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