Beware of the spiritual ego

[Geoff-Allen]

Greetings fellow seekers!

I hope you are enjoying your experiences here on the forum today.

There are any number of people writing about the human ego and the trouble it causes.

You may not have heard the expression "spiritual ego". It was news to me when I first read about it.

Here's an article - rather long! - that deals with such matters and spells out the warning signs.

For a taste -

I had learned amazing things and studied with profound teachers, but instead of really using spirituality to move beyond my constructed ego, I was using spirituality to reinforce it.

It took a lot of reality checks for me to understand that the real spiritual journey isn’t about being better or on some higher level.

Ultimately, my spiritual ego blinded me to my own behavior and how my spiritual progress was making me act around others.

Read much much more here -

15 signs of spiritual ego (from when I was a spiritual narcissist)

Wishing you all the best!

 

[sun rise]

My personal method is to work on making my "witness" stronger. So when the "hydra-headed" ego surfaces yet again, I notice it and try to keep a sense of humor about it.

This is something Kabir wrote about centuries ago:

Friend, please tell me what I can do about this world
I hold to, and keep spinning out!

I gave up sewn clothes, and wore a robe,
but I noticed one day that the cloth was well woven.

So I bought some burlap, but I still
throw it elegantly over my left shoulder

I pulled back my sexual longings,
and now I discover that I'm angry a lot.

I gave up rage, and now I notice
that I am greedy all day.

I worked hard at dissolving the greed,
and now I am proud of myself.

When the mind wants to break its link with the world
it still holds on to one thing.

Kabir says: Listen my friend,
there are very few that find the path!