Ego: An Anti-Evolutionary Force

Another Quote of the Week by Andrew Cohen

What is ego?

In an enlightenment context, the word ego refers to a deeply ingrained, unconscious, compulsive, and mechanical need to remain separate and superior at all times, in all places, under all circumstances. Ego is expressed as an irrational refusal to say yes to life, to love, and to God—to an unconditionally positive relationship to the human experience.

The true face of ego is rarely seen for what it is except at those brief moments when you have recognized something as being absolutely positive, wholesome, and good, and are compelled to respond, to say a wholehearted yes to that which you have recognized. It is only in those moments that you come face to face with the force of a powerful inertia within you that blindly resists, defies, and denies that which is radically positive.
This is what ego is: that immovable stance, deep in the human heart and mind, that irrationally resists any call from within or without to embrace the greatest goodness. When we aspire to evolve at the level of consciousness, to live a spiritual life, to become an enlightened person, we open our hearts to the thrilling possibility of something so inconceivably glorious that it's just too positive for most of us to bear.
And it is only when we dare to even consider saying yes to this highest good that we will experience this kind of profound confrontation with our own self—both with the anti-evolutionary force that exists in all of us, and with our normally untapped potential for extraordinary developmental leaps.

Read more...

One Message Runs Through All Faiths

It is only at the human level that we make divisions

A desktop or laptop can connect us instantly to vast knowledge sources. A computer can link us to the news, stock reports, airline bookings, shopping, medical breakthroughs, and information in almost every other sphere of knowledge.

The information connectedness that we experience with computers is a small sample of the potent connections we can make with our empowered soul. The empowered soul experiences universal connection with all beings.

Becoming aware of this unifying force can help us realize our essential unity. Walls of division separate people.

If we are born in one part of the world we say, "I am a citizen of this country, or that country". If we are born into a certain religion, we say, "I am a follower of such and such religion". Religions are man-made. There was no Buddhism before Buddha. There was no Christianity before Jesus.

It was the followers of the great saints, mystics, and prophets who organized their teachings into a religion. Most often, we become a member of a religion based on our parents' beliefs. A Hindu infant who is orphaned and who is later adopted by a Christian may become Christian.

Similarly, the way we live is dictated by the peculiarities of the region we live in. Many people worship God through prayer. But the way they pray is different. In some warm climates, it is customary to remove shoes before entering a holy place; in colder climates, going barefoot may be impractical.

Over time, customs that originate for climatic reasons become sanctified and become part of religious law. People tend to use those differences as a basis for prejudice and hatred. Another dividing factor is language.When people in different religions use different words for the same concept, it becomes an excuse for thinking the other religion is not as good as one's own. Each religion has its own name for God, based on the language or culture in which the religion originated.

God is Allah to Muslims, Wahe Guru to Sikhs, Paramatma to Hindus, God to Christians. Whichever the language, the words refer to the same God. Yet we make these language differences a source of contention and separation.

We forget that God existed before language was created. By drawing boundaries we limit ourselves. The soul, however, is limitless. There is a unifying force beyond the physical plane, connecting all life. We are full of the love of God. It is only at the human level that we make divisions.

The soul is a part of the Creator. For us to be able to truly understand ourselves, we need to recognize all the divisions as walls that surround our true self. These walls keep us from truth.

Sant Darshan Singh spoke of Oneness: "What does it matter if I am called a man, In truth, I am the very soul of love. The entire earth is my home, And the universe my country".

Through lack of self-know-ledge, we create separation.

Through our soul, we can experience connectedness and create more peace and har-mony among the inhabitants of this planet.

More articles on Spiritual Now

Read more...

The Evolution of God

This trailer previews a far reaching discussion between Andrew Cohen and Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith as they expand our understanding of God and the evolving, changing nature of consciousness itself. The entire dialogue is available on DVD at http://www.andrewcohen.org/evolution-...

You can also visit Andrew Cohen's blog and website EnlightNext.

Andrew Cohen is dedicated to igniting a revolution in human consciousness. As a 21st-century spiritual teacher and cultural visionary, he is exploring the outer reaches of human potential with the leading thinkers, mystics, scholars, and activists of our time.

In 1988, Cohen founded EnlightenNext to help catalyze the next great step in our individual and collective development.

Andrew Cohen is redefining the spiritual ideal of enlightenment for the twenty-first century. Through his revolutionary philosophy, his award-winning magazine, and his work with thousands of individuals and groups around the world, he is dedicated to creating nothing less than a revolution in consciousness and culture.

What is Enlightenment online magazine

WIE is a category-busting spiritual, cultural, and philosophical magazine committed to bringing a new perspective to science, religion, business, politics, the arts, and the environment.

Read more...

The kingdom of heaven is within

God is within as seen in quotes from many religions.

Courtesy of the Meditation Society of Australia.



Guru Nanak (Sikh)
As fragrance abides in the flower,
As the reflection is within the mirror,
So doth thy Lord abide within thee,
Why search Him without?

Lord Buddha (Buddhist)
The subject on which I meditate is truth.
The practice to which I devote myself is the truth.
The topic of my conversation is truth.
My thoughts are always in truth.
For lo! my self has become the truth.

Jesus Christ (Christian)
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them,
"The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is within you."

Vedas (original Indian holy text)
There is one Supreme Ruler, the inmost Self of all beings, who makes His one form manifold.
Eternal happiness belongs to the wise, who perceive Him within themselves - not to others.



Lao Tzu (Taoist)
Worlds and particles, bodies and beings, time and space: All are transient expressions of the Tao.

Prophet Mohammed (Islam)
He who knows his own self, knows God.

Yehuda Ashlag (Jewish)
There is no single substance existing in the world, whether it be that which we experience through the senses, or that which we perceive through the mind, which is not comprised in the Creator. Everything emanates from Him. Therefore, what we know as contrary, or unrelated in Him, are but one unified Substance.

Native American
The first peace, which is most important, is that which comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its Powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real Peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.

Sri Rama (Hindu)
Think that you are Parabrahman, you have no attachment, you are all-knowing and you are pure. Always feel like this and establish your oneness with the Paramatman and derive bliss within yourself without caring to know what is outside of you.

Baha'u'llah (Baha'i)
"The worlds of God are in perfect harmony and correspondence one with another. Each world in this limitless universe is, as it were, a mirror reflecting the history and nature of all the rest. The physical universe is, likewise, in perfect correspondence with the spiritual or divine realm. The world of matter is an outer expression or facsimile of the inner kingdom of spirit. The world of minds corresponds with the world of hearts."

Zoroaster (Zoroaster)
One need not scale the heights of the heavens nor travel along the highways of the world
to find Ahura Mazda. With purity of mind and holiness of heart one can find Him in one’s own heart.

Zen (Zen Buddhist)
One moon shows in every pool; in every pool, the one moon.

Sri Sankaracharya (Hindu)
Curb your senses and your mind and see the Lord within your heart.

Rumi (Sufi)
Where is that Moon that never rises or sets? Where is that soul that is neither with nor without us? Don't say it is here or there. All creation is Him but for the eyes that can see.

Sri Ramakrishna (Hindu)
Do you know what I see? I see Him as all.
Men and other creatures appear to me only as hollow forms, moving their heads and hands and feet, but within is the Lord Himself.

Swami Vivekananda (Hindu)
It is impossible to find God outside of ourselves. Our own souls contribute all of the divinity that is outside of us. We are the greatest temple. The objectification is only a faint imitation of what we see within ourselves.

Sri Chinmoy
Love the truth. This is human illumination,
Become the truth. This is divine illumination.
You are the truth. This is the Supreme illumination.

Read more...