• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Enlightenment....Its Dark Side

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
It's a great source of inspiration.
Mainstream sources eschew the really entertaining news.

Entertaining... true

News... Only taking the definition at its widest possible understanding and taking the "New" and replacing it with "Old"
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
The path to enlightenment is an ego trip
Definition of Ego-trip: an activity done in order to increase one's sense of self-importance

FALSE ... but without a good Teacher this "could very well happen"

My Master repeats continuously:
Man + ego = Human
Man - ego = Divine

One could argue "The path to enlightenment IS an ego trip", because when being on the path, you still are full of ego. Only when you ARE enlightened it is not an "ego trip" anymore
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
The path to enlightenment is an ego trip: Meditation and mindfulness lead to narcissism and feelings of 'spiritual superiority'
FALSE ... And easy to proof. Narcissism is a psychological disorder that is developed usually at an early age
Are Narcissists born or made?
Narcissistic personality disorder is an inheritable psychological condition; research evidence indicates that a person is more likely to develop NPD if said personality disorder occurs in the medical history of his or her family.

At what age does narcissistic personality disorder develop?
For the study, the researchers conducted interviews with 565 children ages 7-12 and their parents every six months over an 18-month period. Bushman said they chose that age range because the first signs of narcissistic tendencies begin to emerge around age 8. “Before that every kid is a narcissist,” he said
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
The path to enlightenment is an ego trip: Meditation and mindfulness lead to narcissism and feelings of 'spiritual superiority', study finds
  • Study finds a link between those engaged in spiritual practices and superiority
  • People engaged in 'energetic' therapies like aura reading were the most smug
  • Spiritual training 'has the paradoxical effect of boosting superiority feelings'
Meditation and spiritual enlightenment can 'boost feelings of superiority' by stoking the ego, a new study has found.
There are so called "spiritual narcissists"

The Most Dangerous Narcissist You'll Ever Meet

What is spiritual narcissism?
Spiritual narcissism is the very culmination of spiritual egotism: it is the ego that has become so solid, so fixed, so unyielding in the idea of its own spiritual greatness that it is pathological. It is narcissistic.
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
Meditation (pictured) is a form of 'spiritual training'. Other forms include self healing and reading auras

Thy found that those who were engaged in the more bizarre 'energetic' therapies, such as aura reading, were the most smug.
I think it's most important to be aware of the pitfall of "spiritual ego"

Hindu Scriptures warn us that "Ego is difficult to cure", but "Spiritual Ego" is impossible to cure". Even God can not cure this. Hence the Hindu Scriptures advice to stay away from psychic abilities. But if you have a good Master, He kick your butt and take care of you; and show you when you fall into that hole. Being aware of this pitfall is important.

Knowing this, it's best to have a good Master (of course He should not have Spiritual Ego:D). Because it is very easy to fall in the trap of spiritual ego, especially when you develop your sixth sense with psychic abilities as clairvoyance, clairaudience, Clairempathy, Clairsentience, Clairalience, Clairgustance, Clairtangency)
 

PureX

Veteran Member
I guess my question is what DOESN'T lead to self-centered ego-stroking thoughts and behaviors? Politics, sex, alcohol, money, religion, sports, ... pretty much everything we humans pursue, we pursue because it strokes our egos and makes us feel superior.

Also, there's a bit of the "no true Scotsman" thing, here. If by "meditation" one means sitting around thinking about how wonderful oneself is, then of course it will have such results. But if by "meditation" one means the practice on not thinking, so as to simply focus on being, and the natural gratitude that comes from that, then I think someone is misinterpreting their "data". Feeling refreshed, focused and capable afterward is just that. It's not a presumption of superiority. I IS a form of superiority. Certainly relative to the alternative.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
I think it's most important to be aware of the pitfall of "spiritual ego"

Hindu Scriptures warn us that "Ego is difficult to cure", but "Spiritual Ego" is impossible to cure". Even God can not cure this. Hence the Hindu Scriptures advice to stay away from psychic abilities. But if you have a good Master, He kick your butt and take care of you; and show you when you fall into that hole. Being aware of this pitfall is important.

Knowing this, it's best to have a good Master (of course He should not have Spiritual Ego:D). Because it is very easy to fall in the trap of spiritual ego, especially when you develop your sixth sense with psychic abilities as clairvoyance, clairaudience, Clairempathy, Clairsentience, Clairalience, Clairgustance, Clairtangency)
I prefer unlightenment.
We can have all the ego we want.
And no annoying masters.
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
Don't blame me.
I just posted the mischief...I didn't write it.
No, I don't blame you. And you should know. I gave your OP a "useful", didn't I?

I think that this is a very good OP, as it is one of the biggest pitfalls on the Spiritual Path
 
Last edited:

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Didn't see it there.

Its there after all the fluff

It's not spelt "Monica", as in the girl's name: it's "moniker" or "monicker". It's generally thought to come from Shelta, the cant language of Irish travellers, and to have derived from the Irish word "ainm", which became "munik" in Shelta.
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
I prefer unlightenment.
We can have all the ego we want.
And no annoying masters.
To make a proper choice and being able to say "I prefer", one should have experienced both

Am I right to assume you experienced both?
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Its there after all the fluff

It's not spelt "Monica", as in the girl's name: it's "moniker" or "monicker". It's generally thought to come from Shelta, the cant language of Irish travellers, and to have derived from the Irish word "ainm", which became "munik" in Shelta.
Well that was clear as mud.
 
Top