Mission Coach Newsletter
October 2005 (Vol. 10)
Welcome to the October Mission Coach newsletter.
This month, is part one of a three part article in which we will explore the concept of the ego.
In this month’s “Tool Review”, the book “Stephen King – On Writing” is reviewed.
Your feedback on the Mission Coach newsletter would be much appreciated. Please email me paul@mission-coach.co.uk and let me know:
1) what would you like to see more of?
2) what would you like to see less of?
In the “What’s Up” section I am looking for 5 “explorers” to help me test a Mission Coaching technique I have been refining.
Now let’s explore one of the most fascinating and complex of all spiritual concepts – the Ego! This Month's Article
Ego - Who (on Earth) Do You Think You Are? (Part 1)
Introduction
If you have studied any form of spiritual teaching, you will probably have come across the concept of the ego. Some teachings would have us believe the ego is “bad”, (or at least undesirable) and needs to be controlled or banished [1] altogether before enlightenment, or happiness can be achieved. I found most teachings about the ego totally confusing, until I read “Friendship with God” (FWG) [2]. Finally here was a teaching that made sense [3] of what is a complex concept. Before we go any further in this exploration, there is an important question we need to answer . . . Is the Ego “Good” or “Bad”? [4]
The most effective way to explore the role of the ego, is to come from a “neutral” perspective. Let’s neutralise, or suspend, any beliefs we have about the ego being good or bad, at least until the end of this article (sometime in December!). A useful way of thinking about the ego is to think of it as being a "tool". Using the analogy of a sharp kitchen knife; we can use the knife as a tool to slice vegetables with which we can make a wholesome meal. Or, that same knife could be used as a tool to . . . you think of something really nasty.
In the same way we have the Free Will to choose how we use the knife, we also have the Free Will to choose how we use the ego. If we think of the ego as a tool, it is neither good nor bad. The Ego – What a Concept!
To explore the ego we need to define some more concepts! In NLP [5] terminology these would be called “presuppositions”. A presupposition is something that cannot always be “proven” to be true, but believing it to be true will help our understanding of the ego. Here are 2 presuppositions to get us started: - There are two Realms in which we exist; the Realm of the Absolute and the Realm of the Relative.
- Everything and everybody is connected.
What is it like to exist in the Realm of the Absolute?
Imagine for a moment you are standing in the middle of your kitchen. Imagine your cupboards, fridge and freezer do not contain food, they are filled to overflowing with cookery books! Your kitchen is bursting with cookery books and totally empty of food! Your kitchen is now an infinite library containing fabulous recipes for every type of food. Every recipe that ever was, is now, and ever will be is in your kitchen. With this infinite cookery knowledge, you know conceptually, all there is to know about cooking. But knowing all there is to know is not enough; you want the experience of smelling, tasting and eating the food. Imagine now the cookery books disappear. In the Realm of the Absolute you don’t need books anyway; here you know all there is to be known about everything. Imagine the cupboards and the fridge disappear along with all the fittings and appliances, see your kitchen as nothing but bare walls with a ceiling and a floor. Now the walls, ceiling and floor disappear, along with planet Earth. You are standing on nothing, and that’s okay, because your body has disappeared too.
Now you are just an energetic bundle of consciousness, in a quantum soup [6] of all other energetic bundles of consciousness. In some ways, being without a body is good, because you no-longer experience being hungry. In other ways it’s not so good, because now you can’t enjoy the experience of touching, smelling, tasting and eating the food. Actually, being without a body in the Realm of the Absolute is a bit of a bummer; here you are, knowing all there is to be known about everything, including cooking, and now you don’t have the stomach for eating! (sorry – I had to get that one in). We (Really) Are All One
According to Friendship with God, the Realm of the Absolute is the “ultimate reality”. There can only be One “ultimate reality”, therefore we must be in it - right here. FWG goes on to say, that in the Realm of the Absolute - “something not being One with everything is impossible”. “Something not being One with everything . . .” being “impossible” has significant implications. It means that our energetic bundles of consciousness are inseparable. It also means the quantum soup, in which this “collective consciousness” exists, must be the totality of all and everything. Another name for this is a: “Singularity” [7]. In a Singularity time does not exist [8]; everything that ever was, now is, or ever will be, exists right here, right now! Not only are we “All One”, we are “All One, All at Once”! [9] Quantum science is proving experientially what some ancient spiritual teachings has been conceptualising for thousands of years, that is: We are all made of the same intelligent, thinking, non-stuff. “We are all One” is not a spiritual cliché, it is a scientific fact. Deepak Chopra has a lovely way of putting this: “I am that. You are that. All this is that. And that’s all there is!” If we are able to accept “We are all One” to be true, it also has significant implications in our relationship to The Creator, and our relationships with each other. To be able to have relationship with something or someone we must be able to experience ourselves as being separate from that something or someone. If we accept (for a moment) the Realm of the Absolute as being the “ultimate reality” where “something not being One with everything is impossible . . .” then we have a problem . . . Enter the Ego . . and not before Time
The following quote comes again from Friendship with God:
“. . . What is not impossible, however, is the illusion of not being One with everything. It was for this purpose of creating this illusion, then, that the Realm of the Relative was created. It is like an Alice-in-Wonderland world, in which things are not what they seem to be, and in which things seem to be what they are not. Your ego is your chief tool in creating this illusion. It is that device which allows you to imagine your Self as separate from All the Rest of You.” At last we got there! Next month we will find out how this “tool”, the ego, creates the “Alice-in-Wonderland world” of the Realm of the Relative. In the meantime . . .
If you would like a heads up on where we are heading with this exploration, check out the “Ego – Who do you think you are?” technique on the Mission Coach web site (see the link at the bottom of this newsletter). Footnotes for this Article
[1] Our judgment of some “thing” being good or bad, will largely be determined by what we believe to be true, and important, about the “thing” we are judging i.e. the ego. Our beliefs and values are “components” of our ego. Therefore we are using the ego to judge the ego, and putting energy into (and therefore reinforcing) the very thing we are trying to banish!
[2] Friendship with God, page 77. See the link at the bottom of this newsletter.
[3] FWG has what I would call “Divine Logic”. Divine (as apposed to human) logic has certain (not human) qualities: a) it's logical, b) it's consistent, c) it’s symmetrical -- it refers back to itself and other parts of the teaching in a consistent, and meaningful way and no part of the teaching contradicts another part. Friendship with God's description of the ego starting on page 77 is a good example of “Divine Logic”. Being divinely logical doesn't necessarily mean that is easy to understand!
[4] To believe the ego is bad or ungodly appears to contradict the beliefs below which are central to most spiritual teachings (substitute the word God for your preference): - God is the Creator of the whole Universe
- We are made in the image and likeness of God
- God is unconditional Loving
Now, here’s the problem: if we accept the above statements to be true, where in God’s creation did a "bad" ego come from? And while we’re at it: Where did Satan, hell and evil come from? This is a mega topic and best left for another newsletter!
[5] Neuro Linguistic Programming.
[6] The term “quantum soup” was popularised by Deepak Chopra. I’m not sure if Deepak invented it.
[7] I don’t pretend to understand the science of a Singularity. A singularity is the state that was thought to exist before the “big bang”. The importance of the singularity in respect of the Ego is that the Realm of the Absolute is a singularity, the Realm of the Relative is a duality. We will compare to these two existences next month.
[8] Time is an essential component of “experience”. Time only exists in the Realm of the Relative as we shall see next month.
[9] See the technique “TimeScape – There is no time. Like the present?” on the Mission Coach website. See the link at the bottom of this newsletter.
This Month's Tool Review
"Stephen King - On Writing" By Stephen King
This months review is the fascinating book "Stephen King - On Writing" by Stephen King. This month’s review is a bit different to my usual (and often verbose!) book review. This review has been done in the form of a mind map which you can download (in PDF format) from here:
http://www.mission-coach.co.uk/pages/mission_coach_download_document.asp The document contains 5 pages. The first page is the mind map which ideally you will need to enlarge onto 2 printed pages unless you have bionic vision. The next 4 pages are a text outline version of the mind map. Of particular interest are Stephen Kings beliefs about writing. Here’s a sample: - “Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation.”
- “Writing is creative sleep.”
- “When a reader hears strong echoes of his or her life and beliefs they invest in the story.”
This is the closing paragraph of the book which sums up the art and nature of writing beautifully: “Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid would, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy. Some of this book -- perhaps too much -- has been about how I learned to do it. Much of it has been about how you can do it better. The rest of it -- and perhaps the best of it -- is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.”
Conclusion
Distilling the hard-earned wisdom of a writer like Stephen King can save years of our own trial and error. If you are interested in writing, this book is a must.
To buy the book from Amazon, see the link at the bottom of this newsletter. What's Up?
Over the past few months I have been refining a technique to enable Mission Coaching clients to rediscover their Mission.
I am looking for (max) 5 “explorers” who are committed to discovering their Life’s Purpose to test the new version of the “Rediscovery” technique with. The technique will take a single coaching session of approximately 1 hour (maybe a bit longer), on the phone, free of charge. I cannot guarantee the explorer will Rediscover their Mission, I am confident she or he will find the experience helpful. If you would like to be part of this test, please email me paul@mission-coach.co.uk with a brief outline of who you are and where you are on your journey. I will be away until 14th November and unable to respond to email until then. All emails will be treated confidentially and I will respond to every email.
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To go to the “Ego – Who Do You Think You Are?” technique, please click here:
http://www.mission-coach.co.uk/pages/mission_coach_process_ego_who_do_you_think_you_are.asp
If the text for this link is on 2 lines the link may not work. In which case click here:
www.mission-coach.co.uk from the main menu select “Processes” scroll down the page and click on the document icon for the “Ego, Who Do You Think You Are?” technique. To go to the “TimeScape – There is no time. Like the present?” technique, please click here:
http://www.mission-coach.co.uk/pages/mission_coach_process_timescape.asp
If the text for this link is on 2 lines the link may not work. In which case click here:
www.mission-coach.co.uk from the main menu select “Processes” scroll down the page and click on the document icon for the “TimeScape – There is no time. Like the present?” technique. To buy “Friendship With God” by Neale Donald Walsch from Amazon UK click here:
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0340767839/selfleadershi-21 To buy “Friendship With God” by Neale Donald Walsch from Amazon USA click here:
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0340767839/missioncoach-20
Links for this month’s tool review
To download the mind map review of Stephen King – On Writing (in PDF format) please click here:
http://www.mission-coach.co.uk/pages/mission_coach_download_document.asp To buy “Stephen King – On Writing” by Stephen King from Amazon UK click here:
www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743455967/selfleadershi-21 To buy “Stephen King – On Writing” by Stephen King from Amazon USA click here:
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743455967/missioncoach-20
To contact me Paul Beeston
mailto:paul@mission-coach.co.uk
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