TODAY’S CONSIDERATIONS
Yesterday:
The entire notion that you have become better, that you have become something really "good" or super religious or super spiritual, that you have really become SOMETHING (and "Something Special"), differs not at all from the same kind of deception and self-deception which plagues the totally non-Realized masses and which triggers use of the same ego-defense mechanisms (such as egotism and arrogance) employed by anyone assuming an ego-state as an identity
and
completion of the entire "journey" to "Full Realization" does not result in egotism and arrogance and narcissism being replaced by (always-false) "humility" or (always-false) "modesty" for those are nothing more than the opposite extreme of the "egotistical vs. humble" duality.
Here, the ability to abide in a constant and unswerving non-dual manner was first modeled by my paternal grandmother, a Cherokee who also used the natural-medicine methods of healing which had been passed down to her. While the parents of my peers were passing down to their children the nonsense which was - and still is - part and parcel of the warped “American psyche” which is the primary legacy which adults leave to their offspring, Grandmother began giving to me as early as the age of five my inheritance from her, namely, her non-dual wisdom.
Did I “get it” at that age?
Some parts, yes. Most parts, no. Yet just as she planted seeds in her huge garden several times a year, she also planted her seeds of consciousness within me during the years we spent together in her small East Texas cabin and in the surrounding forest. (See the “Cherokee Grandmother Book” page at the top for more information about that).
Some of those seeds would begin to bloom immediately, even as a full awareness of that fact may not have manifested. Some of those seeds lay dormant for years but would spring forth later on.
Much of what she plowed in my brain, and many of the clods in my mind which she tried to harrow, would remain unsown for years, but what she did plant would eventually be triggered and would produce the nourishment which would allow the understanding to bloom and to grow and to be reaped later on.
In between, there were years of “selling out,” of buying into the nonsense, of playing the game, of strutting about on the stage of the “Theater of the Lie,” but the seeds she had planted within would also inspire me at certain points to stop, to pause, to reflect, and to turn away from the phoniness of this culture and to turn back toward the authenticity which was always on display by her during my earliest years.
For years, the journey here involved being on the path at times but then straying off the clear and unobstructed way which she modeled and moving for a time through areas obstructed by thorny brambles and impenetrable obstacles which would eventually force me to stop, to go back, to reverse, and to find once more the original path she had pointed out to me, a path which makes the journey so much lighter and easier.
When did I most often stray onto those sidetracks with their thorny brambles and impenetrable obstacles? When being driven by concepts rather than abiding in the nisargan / natural fashion which was Grandmother’s legacy to me.
Some 27 years ago or so when I began sharing earnestly the non-dual understanding, the silence was entered into in order to reflect on those times spent off the clear and unobstructed path and in order to find which concepts were exerting the most influence during those periods of heaviness and strain and, yes, even chaos.
Of all of the concepts which were considered, the one which was seen to have exerted the most debilitating effects, relatively speaking, was the concept of “success.”
So many ego-states, be they ones thought to be "virtuous" or be they ones thought to be "sinful," be they ones thought to be “good” or be they ones thought to be “bad” – are all preoccupied with the concept of “success.”
Some modern-day “gurus” who are on what they call the non-dual lecture circuit or non-dual book tours or non-dual seminars have written books and offer talks on such topics as “10 Secrets for Success” and “The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire” and “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams” as well as a near-endless assortment of other topics which are all evidence of the fact they that have missed the non-dual understanding completely.
As with all concepts, “success” is the fertilizer which feeds and nurtures so many ego-states. All display to one degree or another the nine basic personality types identified by the enneagram method.
The Type One Perfectionist and The Type Five Knower both want to succeed at knowing it all, and the former always wants to use that knowledge to “reform the world.”
The Type Two Helper wants to succeed at using helping and saving and rescuing in order to manipulate people to love them.
The Type Three Achiever wants to succeed at all things and then be applauded for having done so.
The Type Four (either The Romantic One or The Authentic One) wants to succeed at either escaping or at finding the Authentic Self.
The Type Six Dependent / Co-Dependent One want to succeed at finding someone or some institution to take care of him or her.
The Type Seven Adventurer wants to succeed at having fun and escaping.
The Type Eight Boss / Control Freak wants to succeed at being in total control of people, places and things.
And Type Nines want to succeed at avoiding anything which might interrupt their peace or which might cause them to have to go out of their way for someone else or something else.
Per the Enneagram Institute, Threes are self-assured, attractive, charming, ambitious, competent, and energetic. They can also be status-conscious and highly driven for advancement and can also be overly-concerned with their image and what others think of them. They typically have problems with workaholism and competitiveness.
Three’s often assume Type One Perfectionist traits which drive them to believe that they are perfect and they must always be perfect. They believe that they must forever succeed and never fail. All persons on the planet develop some of those Type Three characteristics.
The belief system that one must always succeed will lead to trying to be a successful student, a successful business person, a success mate, a successful parent, and / or a successful (“Super”) religious or spiritual person; a successful (“Super”) politician; a successful (“Super”) athlete; a successful (“Super”) person in pageants; a successful (“Super”) model; a successful (“Super”) leader in the neighborhood; a successful (“Super”) cop, war hero, teacher, philosopher, non-dualist . . . whatever.
In most societies, the goal of parents is to make sure that their children are "a success" rather than "a failure." "The Successful One" is one of the earliest personas assigned and is one which most persons will cling to the longest. The notion of success becomes an integral part of the psyche, and failure is anathema.
The drive to be seen as a success keeps persons in heavy, abusive relationships and marriages; keeps them in abusive and unfulfilling jobs; keeps them in useless groups for ten or twenty or thirty years in order to gain a reputation of being a great success; moreover, it is their desire for success (and their fear of failure) which makes most owners, CEO’s, managers, bosses, directors, executives, administrators, supervisors, chiefs, etc. into total pains in the butt.
To be driven by a belief in any concept is to assure that one’s relative existence is going to be heavy, anxiety-driven, and arrogance-cursed, but of all of the concepts which are driving most persons, the concept of
“success,”
and
the endless quest for success,
and
the drive to avoid “failure” at all cost
may well belong at the top of the list of ideas which make for a very heavy relative existence.
Again, the entire notion that you must succeed at “becoming better,” that you must succeed at “becoming something really ‘good’ or super religious or super spiritual,” and that you must succeed at “really becoming SOMETHING (and ‘Something Special’),” differs not at all from the same kind of deception and self-deception which plagues the totally “non-realized masses” and which triggers use of the same ego-defense mechanisms (such as egotism and arrogance) employed by anyone assuming ego-states as identities and assuming that her or his ego-states are all a total “success”
and
completion of the entire "journey" to “Full Realization” does not result in egotism and arrogance and narcissism being replaced by (always-false) "humility" or (always-false) "modesty" for those are nothing more than the opposite extreme of the "egotistical vs. humble" duality.
So much for being “A Success,” and so much for being a “success” at all things and in all ways.
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
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