This chapter hit home for a lot of people, as it had a lot of factors that are very relevant in our day to day lives.
The labeling of persons, situations and ourselves has a limiting effect on our lives. It only enlarges the EGO, which thrives on such labeling and only serves to enlarge the ego. Once we are aware of the ego and observe it in our day to day lives, the awareness itself will help disintegrate that ego...not completely sometimes ....but to a degree to keep it in check. The roles that we play in our lives, as wives, professionals, husbands, brothers, parents etc. are all helping in labeling us or helping us identify ourselves with the "label" we give ourselves....the roles are necessary and even good, but it is important to keep in mind that they are not all encompassing and we play many roles and there should be some balance in them...this is how I understood this point...please feel free to add on to this or correct me if I am going off the track.
Ekhart mentions in his book that once you do not know who you are...you have finally reached the point of the start of discovery into the self.... The discussion was interesting and I think the conclusion was that, that point of not knowing who your really are is the starting point of when all the labels are stripped away and we are a barren land or rather fertile soil where there is much to discover within. It is only the beginning of the discovery into the self and just the tip of the iceberg....I think we all agreed on that point.
Michelle pointed out at that there are many types of intelligence....factual, emotional, spiritual. One important fact I came away with is that being clever is divisive, but intelligence includes. Cleverness is enlarging the ego...whereas, intelligence is when ego is dissipated and includes awareness and wisdom.
Meenakshi, wondered why do we have to be so overly analytical of where we came from and where we are going....isn't more important to live a good life and do well what we are doing here. Also why the concept of my and your religion, or my and your place of worship...why not we all worship together and in harmony.
Jennifer said that she felt in conflict many times when she went to her place of worship as a young girl, as the worship was more a routine and ritual... and wondered if the prayer would have any effect and how could it have any effect, when it was not done sincerely. Knowing now that prayer or good intentioned thoughts can be done sincerely ...it was concluded by some ....that it could and does have a positive impact. Prayer and meditation seemed to be more effective and meaningful to some when done in the privacy of their personal space. I remembered a relevant saying that " thoughts make your actions, actions make your habits and habits make your destiny."
The discussion on how parents also tend to play out their roles hit a special note with me. I promised myself to be more present with my kids and just be there, rather than always playing out the parent role....it reminded me of the real purpose of being a parent, to teach the child to be present, which is the best "present" one could give them!
By the way the discussion of being present was also enlightening. When one is dealing with a relationship or situation that is played out again and again in ones mind...it is even more important to be present, so that in effect you concentrate on the person and the present moment, rather than reliving the past which is not relevant anymore. It is the best way to forgive and move on ..by being present and aware. It is the best way to appreciate another and move away from any past moments that need to be forgotten and forgiven. Sam had a wonderful example for us and it taught me a lot on how to forgive and forget and move on constructively in your life.
Ikram mentioned that we choose to be who we are and we chose at some level to be where and who we are now.
Raj mentioned that there is some wonderful wisdom in Kabalah and we all concluded at some level that all paths lead to God..(i think that was the name of the book that Raj brought out)
Tom, thank you for your insights and wisdom and Raj thanks for being the best moderator and one that keeps us on track. It is a pleasure to get together with you all and look forward to the next time. Please feel free to add anymore insights which I may have missed.
Salmah.
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Great summary, Salmah. It's so refreshing to read what others take away from our get-togethers. I think our discussions are becoming really, really very meaningful, almost like a balm to our neuroses. I felt yesterday that quite a few lightbulbs were going on in people's minds, and certainly in mine also, and together we were bringing the light of consciousness into our group. We are living the intention of this book, that of creating A New Earth -- Eckhart would be proud ... :)
ReplyDeleteThis chapter certainly did hit home for me also, but really, all of Eckhart's words have hit home for me in different areas. Understanding about the ego, our constant role-playing that feeds it, and the pain-body that results from all that dysfunction -- all of these concepts are deeply revealing and I think it prepares us on the path to spiritual growth -- or even just ordinary growth as regular humans trying to live our daily lives in positive ways.
One thing I've recently understood that Eckhart has been alluding to all along is that the power to end our suffering is in our hands. When I contemplate this point deeply I realize that I can free myself from all the anger, resentment, and other negative and hurtful emotions that seem to always be there. This is giving me a tremendous sense of relief. I am relieved to know that I really AM in control of what happens to me, that others or the outside world cannot decide how I will feel in any given moment. This is very empowering. Right now I'm like the kid in the candy store, I can see all the goodies around me, and it is just very wonderful. Of course, being wise would be to not indulge so much that I again get trapped in ego-gratification and begin the whole cycle of suffering again.
I am looking forward to our next meeting.
It's so nice to read the summaries. I'm sorry I haven't been available to attend. I send all my best to you. I'm learning from you from what you are writing. Warmly, Robin
ReplyDeleteOur last discussion on the role playing that we all do was truly interesting. It is really interesting to here all of the different perspectives and interpretations that everyone takes away from the book. What Salma said about being able to see yourself playing the role and step away from that takes alot of awareness. I think we should all challenge ourselves to step out of our roles and just be ourselves this week and see what happens. michelle
ReplyDeleteMichelle's idea is excellent lets all try being aware of the multiple roles we are stepping into on a day to day basis. I just got a chance to listen to the podcast which points out that as our awareness shifts we will begin realizing the roles we play. First, we will realize them after we have put ourselves in that role and think, “Why did I do that”. Then through that continued awareness we will be able to realize what we are doing while in the role itself. Therefore, this is a gradual thing to not be hard on ourselves about as some roles are easier to identify, while some are obviously harder. It really brings to mind the portion of the book we discussed when Tolle congratulates us for NOT knowing who we are or being confused about it. That confusion truly means we are just “BEING” and living in the "NOW" moments.
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