This article relates to philosophical and spiritual concepts. Be warned. You might find it heavy going. If you have any questions just ask.
The first concept relates to what spiritual growth consists of. Spirituality consists of freeing yourself from the ego. It does consist of trying to make the ego perfect.
If you read self help books you will find that they are full of good advice on how to make the ego perfect. Maybe it works for some people also. It should work. Otherwise the books will not be still in print.
This concept took me a long time to figure out when I was making the transition from self help to spirituality.
All this above is very powerful in helping you to accept yourself and thus be more peaceful and happy. Don’t underestimate it.
The next concept relates to integrity and being true to yourself. Here is a celebrated quote from Shakespeare (Hamlet):
To thine own self be true and then it follows as the night the day that thou cannot be false to any man.
But what does being true to yourself consist of exactly. It is possible that it consists of treating yourself with integrity. For more on integrity please read the blog below.
From the above blog I will define being true to yourself as keeping your word and not telling lies to yourself. I am a big zero in the first of the above but I try very hard to not do the second.
I have never been a man of my word. And I have paid the price for it as far as my career is concerned. I was also victimized for that reason but I have already written enough of what happened at that time in earlier blogs.
But I try very hard not to tell lies to myself. I tell lies to others at times but I try never to lie to myself.
And it is possible I stumbled on a little known path to wisdom and freedom from the ego. Quoting from the Autobiography of a Yogi:
“I have long exercised an honest introspection, the exquisitely painful approach to wisdom. Self scrutiny, relentless observation of one’s thoughts, is a stark and shattering experience. It pulverizes the stoutest ego … The way of self expression, individual acknowledgements, results in egotists …
The above quote is a far cry from my opinions when I was young and reading self-help books. We all live and learn.
Continuing with quotes from the book above:
“Only the shallow man loses responsiveness to the woes of others’ lives as he sinks into the narrow suffering of his own … Release is given to him (who practices a scalpel self-dissection) from the deafening demands of the ego … By ignoble whips of pain man is driven at last into the Infinite Presence, whose beauty alone should lure him.”
Pick up a copy of the book above. It is a true classic and you can find gems that will change your life (if practiced) on almost every second page. In addition to that it is entertaining and a page turner.
Bertrand Russell has similar views on the importance of not indulging in self deception. Please see link below:
https://fs.blog/bertrand-russell-on-avoiding-foolish-opinions/
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