Blog #16
“The only thing that wants to get rid of the ego is, the ego”- Ken Wilbur
In the yoga sutras, surrender refers to giving up the Self’s false identity with the body and mind. The Self identifying with what changes, passes away and is not eternal, as opposed to identifying with that which never dies or changes, is termed Ego.
The Ego is very strong and fights almost tirelessly to retain it’s identity. To be able to surrender and let go of one’s Ego, which veils the light within, is to wake up to what is considered the real jewel… Absolute Consciousness itself.
Giving up the struggle to remain separate and individuated, brings a sense of relief… of freedom. Surrendering in this way equals true freedom. The Truth will set you free.
This is not to imply that the body and the mind are not valuable or should be diminished in importance, for it is through the body and mind that one must pass in order to come into this remembrance of Self as Pure Being.
The body provides shelter and nourishment for the Spirit just as the Spirit nourishes and enlivens the body and mind. When the Spirit departs, where does that leave the body and the mind? When there is no body and mind, who is there to experience the Spirit?
It would seem, then, that the Spirit needs the body and mind as much as the body and mind need the Spirit. Who is to say that one is more important than the other? The Sutras convey that one without the other is like fire without heat or an ocean without waves.
Let us also not say that the Ego is bad or good. That individuality has no place or that the body and the mind are useless. Let us find balance and appreciation for all the koshas that make up the microcosm of each unique individual, and the macrocosm of the Universe.
Let us surrender to whatever it is that we can surrender to. It may be some notion of God or the idea of eating foods that give us vitality and health or we may surrender into the notion of practicing certain yoga techniques and then watching how those affect us.
We may decide to abstain from sexual intercourse for a certain period of time and pay attention to how that affects our energy levels or surrender a belief about something that we had been clinging to just to see if it was really that big of a deal after all.
Perhaps, if we all surrendered just a little bit, some of our preconceived ideas about who we think we are and who we think others are or what we think something represents or is conveying, we would have the experience of becoming more open, more spacious, and get a glimpse of something quite extraordinary. Maybe, then we would, even if just for a moment, truly wake up to what is right in front of us, and has always been right in front of us.
And, then again, perhaps we just need to surrender into the not knowing. Be with the questions. Be okay with being with the questions. Explore with a beginner’s mind. With a freshness, a curiosity. And, stop fighting for a concept, for it is just a concept after all.
What is the worst that can happen, if when you feel a certain concept challenges what you think is real, you actually allow space for that concept as opposed to resisting it? You surrender into the idea that some truth may therein be contained even if is not your truth. Can you look at it deeply? Really deeply. Can you sit with it… say, “Hello” and entertain it, just for awhile. What would happen, then?
“don’t say that you have seen the truth walking upon your path, say that you have seen a truth, for there are many truths and many paths.”
perhaps if we knew what truth there is, we could surrender. it seems that, as you stated, there are many truths. this question has gone on since time began and there are many solutions according to the many philosophies. it seems like we are chasing our tails, so to speak, as it goes round and round.
the ego, hopefully, keeps us on our own path that the mind and spirit, through experience, have guided us. it is the greatest mystery of all time and the most fascinating subject there ever was.
Yes, it is truly the greatest conundrum ever.
Nothing like getting to the heart of the issue.
The only thing that wants to get rid of the ego is the ego. — K. Wilber
Maybe we don’t know (or maybe, understand) the truth until we surrender. My sense of the traditions is that one is pretty well battered, ground up, liquefied and annihilated before one really surrenders. (What did I do with that ego?)
I keep wanting to think “I have it”, only to realize that all I have is something else to “have”. I want “it” (not the same “it”) to stop. Yet it keeps on, and self-liberates — if I surrender. And now, then, who is the “I” that is surrendering?
Good god Michael, you make my head spin… !!! As always, you have blown me (or whomever resides in this body/mind that I call mine) completely away.
I need to read Ken Wilber, “The only thing that wants to get rid of the ego is the ego… genius!!!! That is going on my facebook, immediately.
Thanks for educating me.
I know there is a God, and it’s not me.
I know there is a God, and it is me.
Both are true — and it’s not the same ‘me’ in each instance.
That is the Yoga philosophy in a nutshell. If we could just all grasp that idea (yet, another concept to grasp… hmm, something inherently wrong in that statement isn’t there?) me-thinks we would be on to something… er, or nothing… holy moley, let’s just, “let it be”… now there’s a novel idea… hahaha. Oh shoot, another idea… F@*&…
I believe when you need a dictionary to read the first paragraph of a blog post, you really wouldn’t want to continue, especially when you’re in a rush.
So, slow down…
Oh, and get a dictionary!
Very interesting post. Keep writing dude !!
It’s very hard to find info you are needing for these days unlike this article, thx