How to understand the fine line between an ego takeover and spiritual awakening?
This podcast episode continues my story of my own Spiritual Awakening in 1995. Though, in this episode I make the distinction that we have many awakenings throughout our lifetime. There is usually one, though, that stands out from the rest. The one that makes a huge impact and shifts your entire being and thought processes. This topic is especially relevant these days as many people are experiencing their awakenings due in large consequence of the pandemic. We were able to slow down and look at our lives.
As someone who has had the big Holy A (a capital A - awakening), and then going back into a spiritual closet for 25+ years I know how obstructive this dance of ego vs. spiritual awakening can be if we aren’t mindful of our experience and how we integrate it. Here are the main themes of this particular episode:
Ego - and my opinion of how to work with it
Spiritual Awakening/s
Psychic Abilities
Mental Illness
“EGO is Edging God Out.” Wayne Dyer
First I give you a little context and well, my opinion, about EGO and how we can navigate WITH it. I am not a believer in killing it or for that matter making it something we should be ashamed of. It’s part of our human experience. In fact inside the episode I say,
“I don't think you could take me seriously if I was my higher divine self. You know we wouldn't even need words. Actually. It's important to remember that, yes we are divine beings. We have a higher self who sits up in a different dimension, and part of it sits in our bodies. But we chose to come into a human body. We decided to walk the Earth. And when you do that, you also invite an ego into that journey.
Okay, I'm going to get off the soapbox. I think what I like or who I like to remember in this moment about ego is Wayne Dyer. He took the acronym.He took the word made into an acronym. Ego is Edging God Out."
I also talk about my journey specifically to give context on how the ego was driving the deal and not necessarily my awakening or spiritual intuitive psychic gifts, per se. I remember that night when everything got really scary. And I take you through that moment to show that I was really not well. Admittedly, I was on such a HIGH from being constantly guided I couldn’t see my own ego at work! I also wasn’t taken very good care of myself. I was completely ignoring things because it felt so good to be in this high vibration ALL. THE. TIME.
It is a slippery slope we travel when we have awakened to our gifts. One can get easily confused if we are on our own with our thoughts, feelings, senses and psychic experiences. I think it is important to note that the Ego work is always an ongoing and important thing we must do. Ego’s grow as we grow. They are cunning and deceptive. And if you think ahhh finally I nabbed that one! Sure enough you will see it’s still very much alive. Egos can also facilitate our healing. They are very good in showing us what needs our attention. But we don’t have to give into the Ego. That is the REAL path to spiritual enlightenment: To be aware of the Ego but not to succumb to it.
Well, I believe, without understanding everything that was going on, my Ego took over at one point. Or many points. I was accepting so much on full faith and openness I wasn’t really living in this realm.
I know a lot of us want to escape it. We want to go to a different dimension. Us, light bringers and workers. It’s hard to be here. And it’s especially hard to be here when you know all these things. You are given all this information.
What are we supposed to do with it on this planet? Ya know, when most people will just call you crazy. Right? It’s hard to step up and give a voice to these things. It was definitely damn hard in 1995.
Doing this work alone was very much what was REAL for me in 1995. But it doesn’t have to be that way now. Many of us, light workers, way showers, spiritual mentors & guides have come out of hiding to be seen and found by those who need our guidance. And I am proudly one of them! I feel strongly that if I had had more like-spirited people or a had any kind of community, mentor or coach that could have anchored me this might’ve helped me stay out of the mental hospital. It was the only help available to me at that time. And something, I very much needed, help! I can see that now when I look back in retrospect.
If you are feeling alone in your spiritual awakening and journey, please consider joining my private online community the Woo House. We are here to help you feel seen as you are, safe in an environment with others like you but also on a platform that is not easily found, to feel supported in what you are experiencing and finally celebrated, because what you are able to perceive is amazing and that needs to be honored! For more details on this community, please check it out over here.
Go back to listen to the WHOLE story:
I mentioned these episodes in this episode. If you haven’t heard the beginning of my 1995 flashback you can go here:
Further reading on this subject.
I found a number of articles that also speak more on this topic of ego, mental illness and spiritual awakenings:
“It’s a fine line between schizophrenia and spiritual awakening for many people. Michael Murphy, founder of Esalen, recently gave a lecture to a group of mystics, and he said, “The only difference between the people in this room and schizophrenics is that we can control the switch that flips the mystical experiences on and off. The schizophrenics can’t.” Especially among health care providers, it’s important to recognize that such awakenings are not psychotic breaks, because spiritual openings can look very much like manic episodes or psychotic episodes. We need to know how to support those who are experiencing such phenomena without drugging them or putting them in mental hospitals. I’m still exploring what resources are available, and I’ll do what I can do to share them when I can.” Dr. Lissa Rankin speaks on her own spiritual awakening. This particular part in her Q & A section I found profoundly resonant to my experience in 1995. https://lissarankin.com/how-to-stay-sane-sustain-in-the-wake-of-a-spiritual-awakening/
This article written by Scott Jeffery at the CEO Sage was full of information on the spiritual awakening journey. https://scottjeffrey.com/spiritual-awakening-signs/
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