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“Spiritual growth is like childbirth. You dilate, then you contract. You dilate, then you contract again. As painful as it all feels, it’s the necessary rhythm for reaching the ultimate goal of total openness.” – Marianne Williamson
Whenever we get close to a breakthrough in our lives to new levels of being, the ego throws up doubts, barriers, and distractions. We will find ourselves looking to quit, start new projects as distractions, or relapse into old habits. The reason why this occurs is because our egos were created originally as a defense mechanism: to protect us. Our bad habits, our fears, and our reactions to circumstance all arose as a response to difficult circumstances, and they were our way of coping. They helped us to deal with negativity and experiences in our lives that we were not yet at the level of consciousness to handle effectively. Drugs, alcohol, television, excess consumption of anything, all of these things are simply distractions which the majority of us have used at one time or another and in one form or another in order to escape from whatever we were feeling because it was too much to handle at that time. So in essence, we dealt with them by never facing them in the first place. And while those experiences themselves were stored and repressed within us, either deep in our subconscious or within our energy field, depending on how you want to look at it, we have never actually acknowledged them, and thus we have never learned the lessons they had to teach us which are the impetus for personal evolution. The fact of the matter is that if you have an ego, any ego at all, then this holds true for you. I am usually wary of using absolutes, but I believe that this is one exception which is universal to the human condition. And when we consciously work towards our own consciousness evolution, spiritual development, or enlightenment if you will, what we are doing is deliberately raising our level of consciousness, and by doing so we also awakening to these repressed experiences so that we can acknowledge them, learn from them, and dissolve them. Ironically these experiences that we could not deal with at the time are stored within us at higher level of consciousness because in order to deal them, our awareness had to descend into the ego simply because we were not equipped to learn what we had to learn at that time. We used our egos as a shield, protecting us from our own greatness; our own infinite nature. Materialism, rage, hatred, violence, self-doubt, and superficiality and fear which keeps us from openness and vulnerability: all of these things and more are aspects of the ego which we have used as shields in order to protect ourselves. And when we grow consciously, these are the shields which will arise from our subconscious especially when we get close to breakthroughs in our lives and truly transcending the individual we used to be. No we cannot control the ego per se and suppress these impulses so they don’t occur, but we can control these impulses in the sense that we do not have to obey them. We can make the conscious decision to live at a higher level of awareness instead, and train ourselves to return to center. Suppression has no place in the life of a growing individual because to suppress means to resist, the opposite of growth. Moreover, suppression is the reason why our lives are run by ego in the first place. But returning to center is not suppression. Seeking distraction in the midst of inner turmoil is the easy path and is the essence of suppression, whereas consciously facing our inner turmoil is the most difficult thing to do in those situations. But when we can do that consistently and make that our habitual reaction, inner turmoil will dissolve every time for it cannot survive in the light of or awareness. We are always closer to our dreams than we think we are. We know intuitively when a shift is coming, and the ego within us acts instinctively to protect us. And while there may have been a time when those reactions did protect us, there also comes a time in the lives of all individuals when those old habits and behaviors no longer serve us.
Returning To Center and Finding Peace Within
When our ego flares up and we find ourselves being drawn back into old habits and routines, or into lower levels of awareness, thoughts, and emotions, this occurs not because the ego is more powerful, but because it is about to dissolve. It is about to dissolve in the face of our innate brilliance shining through more powerfully than ever before. All we have to do is keep coming back to center. Just keep coming back to center, returning to peace, to love, and to creative consciousness as many times as necessary until it becomes our natural state. This is the essence of personal growth and transformation, as well as spiritual mastery. For the more we come back to center, the more profound the experience becomes because we delve deeper into ourselves and the universe incrementally over time. The world appears to bring out the worst in us, but that is not true. As Dave, one of our community, expressed so eloquently in a comment on one of these articles:
First we have to understand that the universe is not created, the universe is potential and within that potential exists all “creation”. From the perspective of creation “the desire to create” is a celebration of itself from within so as to manifest without and perpetuate on into infinity.
Reality only ever reflects what we have within us. It is pure potential and “within that potential exists all ‘creation’.” All that we see in the world is but a reflection of what we see in ourselves. And if we can really understand this and consciously change what we see in the world by coming back to center and finding peace within every time life starts to get difficult, or when things seemingly begin to fall apart, then we will over time clear out all of the ego within us, and all of those lower energies stored within our subconscious mind. The universe in essence is teaching us to return to center and thus to return to itself. No matter what we will ever try, returning to center will be the only solution with lasting positive effects which cultivate an inspired life of peace, creativity, abundance, and fulfillment. Returning to internal stillness is the only thing that works, and by teaching us this, life itself is teaching us to evolve. This is the essence of self-discipline, and it should come as no surprise that self-discipline is at the heart of personal mastery and thus, consciousness evolution. Because each time that we return to center while in the midst of the turbulence that results from the deepest recesses of our ego and the darkest moments of our lives coming to the surface, we purify them. And self-discipline, only when used in the sense of returning to and aligning with universal consciousness, is the key to our own growth and evolution. For each moment we spend aligning with the universe cultivates our will and personal power which enables us to connect with intention and create miracles in our own lives. Intention is the universal creative force, and we can use this force freely when we align with the universe by living from our center. The “center of our being” is just a metaphor for the pure creative consciousness within us where there is no disturbance from mind or ego, and where we are universal consciousness and thus literally creator/all of creation simultaneously. So by all means succumb to addiction, consumerism, distraction, and excess if you must. It is okay, and that is your teaching. But next time you feel unfulfilled and your life seems to descend into chaos, remember me and remember these words: return to center. Your center is the core of you, your inner silence and inner truth. It is the gap between your thoughts abound with potential and saturated in universal consciousness. Find your peace there. And from this space your calling, your purpose, and destiny beckons you, and your life will unfold perfectly.
source: http://www.projectglobalawakening.com/2014/06/01/finding-peace-within-return-to-center/
Reblogged with the kind permission of Brandon West Project Global Awakening