The Two Selves
A state of suffering or happiness, I maintain, is not caused by one’s past, but by how one is relating to the future by fulfilling (or not fulfilling) one’s true nature / potential NOW.
We all have two selves: one is the conditioned self driven by survival mechanisms and beliefs that have been developed through evolution and biography. We call this part EGO. The other Self is the source of who we really are: the potential of our unique strengths and virtues, our life purpose. We call this part BEING.
EGO and BEING are like two different software operating programs: In EGO we are alone and separated, while in BEING we are inter-connected. EGO is driven by fear, while BEING is driven by love. EGO makes us defend and control, while BEING makes us flow with the NOW and connect openly to people and nature.
We are inherently loving by nature. It is neither our biography nor our biology that stops us from expressing authentically who we really are, but our EGO, identity based on beliefs from the past . EGO stops us from returning to our true nature, our BEING .
Our EGO desires security and therefore shapes us by rules, labels, social roles, comfort zone, the known. The EGO will resist exploring possibilities of self-fulfillment and a happier life if such possibilities are unknown or out of our comfort zone. Stereotypes are part of EGO while archetypes are part of BEING .
Therefore, opening the way to BEING is a two stage journey: You first free yourself from EGO (the “EXODUS”) and then cultivate the potentials of BEING , your seeds of happiness (the “PROMISED LAND”).
~ by Hagai Avisar
NB: Hagai is a Melbourne based spiritual teacher, counsellor and psychologist with an international reputation. He will be coming to Perth to offer a Return to BEING workshop at Gurukula in November. The workshop integrates wisdom from several sources – Positive Psychology (the study of happy and meaningful life), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Ekhart Tolle’s inspiring works (‘The Power of Now’ & ‘A New Earth’). For more info: >>>Click Here
