How to Contemplate, continued:
In my experience, the ego will almost always (& maybe I should say ‘always’ instead of ‘almost always’) try to block contemplation, and it will do it in any way that it can.
Peace Pilgrim said that the ego knows the weakest spot in your armor. That means the ego will say whatever YOU will listen to. Just as the spiritual path is highly individualized, the ego’s attempts at blocking us can also be highly individualized.
Michael Langford has a teaching that can be very helpful here. He says, “Hundreds of times every day ask yourself ‘How is what I am thinking now helping to feed the ego illusion?'”
This question can be very helpful when ego tries to block contemplation. You could edit it to be more specific by asking, “How is what I am thinking now helping to block contemplation and serve the ego illusion?”
For example, let’s imagine thinking says, “This sucks. I’m just making this up, and it’s not any good. It’s not at all poetic.” And then you ask, “How is what I am thinking now helping to block contemplation and serve the ego illusion?” That will help you see that if you listen to the previous thought you might give up on contemplation, which serves the ego quite well.
If thinking says, “This isn’t deep. It isn’t profound enough,” you ask, “How is what I am thinking now helping to block contemplation and serve the ego illusion?” Then you can see that if you listen to the previous thought you might give up on contemplation, which serves the ego quite well.
Here are a few tricks the ego has tried to play on me over the years:
~ When nothing was coming right away, the thought would be, “I’m not going to get anything out of this quote. It’s too straightforward. There’s nothing more to be had here.” Or maybe the thought would be, “I don’t understand this quote at all. How am I supposed to get something out of this?” (How is what I am thinking now helping to block contemplation and serve the ego illusion?)
~ When something came very quickly, the thought would be, “That came too fast. That’s just me, not wisdom.” (How is what I am thinking now helping to block contemplation and serve the ego illusion?)
~ When flowery poetic language came, the thought would be, “I’m just writing this to impress others. It’s not genuine.” (How is what I am thinking now helping to block contemplation and serve the ego illusion?)
~ When plain and simple language came, the thought would be, “This isn’t anything. I’m just not good enough to receive something real.” (How is what I am thinking now helping to block contemplation and serve the ego illusion?)
~ When something came through feeling or a silent knowing, and I came up with the words to describe it, the thought would be, “I should hear words.” (How is what I am thinking now helping to block contemplation and serve the ego illusion?)
Etc.
You get the point. In order to allow contemplation, you need to be able to ignore the ego’s attempts to block contemplation, regardless of what those attempts look like.
I had a conversation with Jacquelyn Eckert about this yesterday, and she said something funny, but helpful. If you can think a thought like this in response to ego’s attempts to block you, you will be able to go right passed ego and write whatever is coming in whatever way it is coming.
Jacquelyn said, “Even if this is crap, it’s the highest crap I’m capable of at this time.”
~ ha ha ~
And this is why Jacquelyn IS learning to write with inner wisdom.
Regina’s Personal Contemplation of Lesson 118:
God’s peace and joy are mine. Peace is my natural Self. I am peace so pure that I peacefully allow even ego insanity and emotional illusion. Nothing affects the peace that I am. It is untouchable. Joy comes from the conscious expression of my truth. Live as peace and I know joy.
Let me be still and listen to the truth. Thought is like a maze that leads into the land of lost. This land resides within peace and is embraced by peace at all times, but it is so fantasy-filled that truth is overlooked in favor of dramatic action. To realize ever-present truth, rest outside of the maze. From outside of the maze, truth is obvious
