Written by Mathew Naismith
In every step I take towards awakening the
ego to its controlling ways, the further away the ego in control gets from me. We
will often come across this in our interactions with other people; it feels
like one step forward to awaking while the ego in control takes two steps
backward away from awakening. I would not bother trying to awaken the ego to
its controlling way if the ego not in control didn't want to awaken. You
must understand an ego in control, that it can't relate or comprehend awakening
and only sees awakening as a threat to its desires therefore survival.
This is different for the ego not in control as it simply sees a need for
balance, a balance of the controlling ways of the ego, this is all, nothing
spectacular or self-serving or self-satisfying.
I received a reply, as below, to one of my replies
on the subject of our controlling ways. My reply will hopefully enlighten the
ego to its controlling ways and what these ways are creating.
____________________________
Reply
Thanks for sharing. About the westerner's control desire,
is it true? As I know, the divorce rate there is high. That means people don't
want to be controlled by the marriage and family program. Some tramps choose
this life style for freedom, don't they?
My
Reply
Being
controlled is different to being controlling. Marriage partners don't want to
be controlled but be in control so they divorce. The reason the divorce rate is
so high is because they want more control but can't have it in their present
relationship. Divorce is one way to gain control, not loose control.
We are all controlled by one thing or another including nature
(性质, Xìngzhì), the western mind in all of us has problem with
this because it desires control, not to be controlled. The
balance between being controlled and being controlling brings
harmony in nature. It's the same with ourselves, the balance
between our western and eastern mind brings harmony to our
mind and our existence.
I am at present trying to influence the Western mind in
Western countries to express less disdain for this human
created reality. I wrote the following just recently.
"Indeed, to judge is to participate, all else is observation. All
participation is of the ego where observation is egoless.
All that can't forgive and can be hurt or offended is the ego in
participation. Participation simply creates ignorance where
observation creates awareness.
How can you express disdain for a consciousness lost within
its own creation, lost within its own participation while of the
absence of observation? We no longer truly observe as our
forefathers did, we simply participate to primarily serve
the ego.
I am not happy in the way we are abusing energy in every
sense, but how can I have disdain for a consciousness lost
within its own creation? It would be futile to do so, also, I
would be of what I have disdain for. Simply observe and
become aware."
It's not getting through because the western mind doesn't like
being controlled but to be primarily in control, of course the
only thing in control is the ego for only the ego desires to
control. The tramp is still being controlled but no longer has
desires to take control; a lot of spiritualists do this.
As I also wrote recently," Try to observe your own participation
rather than participating in what you observe. Man is no more
and no less violent and destructive than the natural
environment he lives in. However, as many have proven,
man can be as passive and constructive as the natural
environment, the choice is indeed ours. It is what it is at
present."
____________________________
In some relationships an imbalance of being controlled is
present. All that the ego wants to do is bring balance back into
their lives; this will at times take the ego not in control to
separate from what is causing an imbalance in their lives.
This is different for an ego in control as the ego in control
wants more control so again separation occurs.
In a reality primarily controlled and influenced by the western
mind, the ego not in control observes that the ego in control
needs balancing out. As a lot of people are doing in
spirituality, separation has become the primary objective.
Seen as the ego not in control only wants to separate itself
from what is causing an imbalance, it's obvious the ego in
control desires total separation, like in a divorce of married
couples, to completely separate (divorce) itself from the
present reality (marriage). The ego not in control doesn't
want to separate itself like this, it simply wants to separate
itself from the imbalances of being controlling or controlled.
How do you obtain balance? One way is to think everything
just is what it is at the time it is. The following might help in
this if you are interested.
Extract: What I realized is that sometimes I put way too much
emphasis on trying to figure out what is right and wrong.
What is the right path and what is the wrong
path. What is good with the world and what is bad. What I like and what I
don’t like. What someone thinks and what they don’t think.
With so much unpredictability in life and chaos at work
these days in our uncertain world, what I have learned is that it really
doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter if we label life as “good” or
“bad.” It just is. It is the way it’s supposed to be.