Living with the Ego

Life is a union of pain and pleasure

Wisdom is the embracement of this union as a whole. 

~Mathew G~

Written by Mathew Naismith

Through learning from pain instead of suffering from pain have I learnt this lesson well, how could I write such a thing otherwise!!

To a lot of people this won't make sense, and understandably so, for the avoidance of pain to gain as much pleasure as possible in life will lead to this degree of incomprehensibility.

Life is about starting and ending points, birth and death is a prime example. As we know life to be relies on starting and ending points, in relation to love, a starting point of love to an ending point of love. From the starting point of love there is pleasure, at intervals displeasure or pain, this is life as we know it. At the ending point (death) love is of great sorrow or pain. Would you rather not have that love to lose in the first place? With love comes a degree of pain in one way or another.

Be it to humble oneself to life and the union of pain and pleasure.

As a consciousness in the absence of ego would no doubt do, to avoid this would be of an ego in control!!

At no time can a consciousness of the absence of ego avoid not humbling itself to life as we know it, to life's pain and pleasures. Existence as a whole can only exist through union, the union of life and death, pain and pleasure, a state of ego and a state in the absence of ego. To avoid life's pain is obviously of the controlling ego for only does the ego in control desire to control anything. Could you imagine a consciousness in the absence ego desiring or even needing to control anything?

Union simply denotes oneness, a union of life and death, pain and pleasure, a state of ego and a state in the absence of ego. There is no consciousness of the absence of ego without a consciousness of the presence of ego. Look at this way, the perception of heaven gives us an idea of union, as the perception of hell gives us an idea of disunion. One is not without the other while at the same time not being of the other. Hate can exist within love as love can exist within hate, but heaven and hell can't exist within the other.

So if heaven and hell can't exist within the other, it is understandable that a state of the absence of ego and a state of ego don't exist within the other either. This of course doesn't mean the other doesn't exist just because they are not of the other. Because the ego desires to take control, it would certainly seem that any sense of control relates to disunion (hell).

Okay, would honesty be of heaven and hell be of dishonesty (deception)? A dishonest deceptive consciousness will always try to get the ego to take control of what the ego feels. Would this not to only feel pleasure in life? This is while life is a union of pleasure and pain.

I am kidding you not; life is a union of pain and pleasure, not a disunion of pain and pleasure. Any kind of disunion distorts life, possibly leading to the extinction of life.

I have stated before, "Embrace misery", for to only embrace pleasures in the absence of pain will only lead to the extinction of life. There is nothing wrong with life just because it doesn't give us enough pleasure, but for an ego who wants to control its pleasures, life is simply a misery and understandably so. You must embrace both pain and pleasure for one without the other is the extinction of both pain and pleasure, life itself.

You would think a consciousness in the absence of ego would be of the absence of both pain and pleasure therefore life as the ego knows life to be!! 

If your ego desires to be in this state in any sense, you are not consciously of this state but of an ego consciousness. This state of the absence of ego is not a state you desire or even need to be only of. Often a consciousness humbling itself to life's pain and pleasures is of this state while also humbling itself to life as a whole. It is this union, not disunion, of life's pain and pleasures that leads to an awareness of this state. This state is simply of the whole, while at the same time humbling itself to life's pain and pleasures. Life's pain and pleasures, ego, is of this state while, like heaven and hell, are not within each other, this of course doesn't mean one is separate from the other.

A state of ego in not separate to a state of the absence of ego, while at the same time not being of what the other is. But as the ego desires, one is separate therefore a disunion (hell) is created instead of a union (heaven). What have we created with desiring pleasure over pain, the disunion of pain and pleasure? The same is with a state of the absence of ego and a state of ego!!