The Art of Spiritual Ego-ing: Is Awakening Just your Hobby? Spiritual seeking has been my life long profession! I began seeking at a very early age. When other kids were going to the library to get science fiction books, I was exploring Eastern Religions and Spiritual Philosophers. I just felt there was something I couldn’t see, something really important and I had to know what it was.
Having learned the wisdom of the ancients, studied with my spiritual teacher, meditated, participated in numerous workshops (some being 6 months long), I began to realize that what was hidden from view was being hidden by my own ego. Decades later, I was still working on my ego, how to transcend it, how to work around it, how to heal it. As so many others on the spiritual quest, I came to believe the source of the problem, of not seeing the truth had to do with my ego.
It then seemed to be a matter of somehow getting rid of my ego as well as all those hidden fears and habits that obstructed me from full self-realization. I did the “work” for decades, living in the illusion that I was making progress and would some day soon be awakened and life would be bliss finally.
Making progress on your spiritual path? Or does it seem that the more you do, the more you see needs to be done to complete your journey to awakening? Seeking for most is truly a life long pursuit. The Ego can be quite deceiving and difficult to wrestle with.
Most on the spiritual path consider the ego to be the obstacle to full self-realization. The ego as it is seen in a spiritual context is what keeps us from breaking out of illusion. The ego-mind or we could say False Self, is seen as being responsible for creating all manner of suffering in life. Somehow it is as if we can get rid of it, all will be well again.
In my observation within circles of serious spiritual seekers, there is a constant dedication to what is believed will help them to finally wake up and arrive at the goal of their often lifelong quest. I get it as I was seeking right along with everyone else. It fed me, made me feel I was on this noble quest, that somehow I was purer, smarter, clearer than the majority of the population.
The spiritual path for the majority is more of a hobby than a true sincere quest. A hobby is something you do for the fun of it, that which you engage yourself in, perhaps with some anticipated outcome. Seeking to be a better person, a more evolved person, an enlightened person, can certainly pay off sometime soon! And you get to feel part of a large group of those who are dedicated to “growth”.
Oddly, spiritual ego is not any different from regular ego. It’s really a habit pattern of seeking what will make things better in your life. Emphasis – seeking! Seeking, projecting into the future is the work of the ego, spiritual ego or otherwise. Seeking though does not get to the finding. This is where the ego obstructs awakening, for it keeps you looking elsewhere, striving, reaching for something around the next bend.
Is your desire to awaken genuine or could you be caught in an endless loop of ego driven spirituality?