Tag Archives: Life
Earth—God’s Only Destination for Us
Earth—God’s Only Destination for Us
I want to offer thanks to those who work in the aerospace industry—past, present, and future. Since the beginning of our entry into exploring the cosmos, you have been incredible servants. A service that has brought forth many advances which are being used on planet Earth to better the lives of its inhabitants. Also, your efforts to explore the cosmos are part of the journey to further witness God’s majesty and the life existent in different realms. We will have you to thank when one day we make contact with that life and the birth of an interstellar community is brought forth. We are not alone. We have never been alone. God is too great for it to be otherwise.
But, there is one area of concern that is truly a matter of life and death—ours and Earth’s—that involves the aerospace industry. During the past several years there have been fascinating stories about space technology and travel that ultimately have the goal of inhabiting another planet. Some of the justification for this involving the progressive destruction of our planet via greenhouse gases that are a byproduct of industries that exploit Earth for business, financial, and political gain. A destruction laying the groundwork for “why” we earthlings will need to relocate to another place, such as Mars. I will readily admit to ignorance about all of the details of this “plan.” But, in spite of that, it strikes me as a rather ill-conceived plan. It took millions upon millions of years of this planet’s evolution and three million years of humankind’s evolution for this wonderful, beautiful earth, that was given to us by God, within the wisdom of the ages and evolution to be our home. The Love, Life, and Energy—God Is, that made it hospitable for us to enjoy and celebrate its nature and the opportunities we have to commune with it, using our senses and mind.
It seems incredibly arrogant, even with the brilliance of our science and scientists, to create technology that we can use to meet the intense evolutional demands of adapting to live in such an inhospitable environment, such as Mars. Dare I say, that one of the demands will involve our ceasing to be humans, as we know them, in order to attempt this “relocation.” To fashion a version of ourselves, intended to accelerate our ability to live in a very foreign and inhospitable environment. That is, to accelerate our evolution in ways that are out of alignment with our humanity and lead to the loss of it. Or, to transform Mars into a more hospitable environment. Even within a few 100,000 yrs. which is a blip on the time frame upon which evolution unfolds.
Earth is the place we are meant to be. A place with so much more potential to be the home we need it to be, in order to not just survive, but thrive and live into the near and distant future. Our free will is so much more about taking care of this home, than it is about finding a new one. If we fail in that undertaking, that will be the end of humanity. We are no more entitled to go on as a species, than any other life existent within the universe. If we fail to honor and protect the home we have been given. Earth is our only destination because that is what has been given to us by God, for the purpose of our existence. If we fail, it will not be the end of God or life that exists in other places. It has, is, and will continue to go on, just without us.
Earth was, is, and will be the only home for the form of life known as humankind, and all of its other living inhabitants. Those will never exist in another place beyond earth. This is where the sunrises begin and end. The waves ebb and flow. The birds chirp, coo, and caw. The flowers bloom and emit their fragrance. And on and on and on. The harmony of nature within our planet. All of that will never be known again if we allow earth to slowly, but ultimately die. Their presence and ours coming forth from evolution were meant for this place. We must abandon the illusion that there is an alternative. There is none. Earth is what we have been given. And it is our choice as to whether we will keep it.
Earth has been, is, and will be our only destination as it is within God’s plan. To think relocation is an option, gives some—the environmental terrorists—an out with which to exploit and abuse it. We must not let those with unhealthy ego energy, be it power, flexibility, or vulnerability related, rape and exploit the planet for their own near term, narrow and self-serving wants—not needs. To render a gift in which the air is unbreathable, the water is undrinkable, and the heat is unbearable. This is the gift from evolution we have been given and we are charged with acting as its stewards. We can either do that or the gift will be gone and so will we. We have been endowed with the Love, Life, and Energy—God Is, to undertake that stewardship. The task of our stewardship includes dealing with those who would seek to dishonor and abuse our earthly home. The God within our being—the Love, Life, and Energy—must be brought to bear in this effort. God from without will not come forth to deal with those earthly environmental rapists and exploiters. If that were so, would things have gotten so dire as to threaten the existence of this wonderful, beautiful planet, with it being endangered and uninhabitable within the next 100 to 200 yrs. It is within our hearts, minds, and hands, to keep what was intended for us by God—Earth.
In peace and love,
Nick
How’s Your Life?
Would you say that your life is Poor, Fair, Good or Great? Before answering, think about your ability to:
Interact with People
Form Close Relationships
Love Yourself
Achieve Your Potential and Know Your Life’s Purpose
Grow Your Mind
Work with Change
Manage Adversity
Experience Happiness
Cope with Stressors and Stress
Deal with Conflict
Why is your life less than optimal? Essentially, it’s because your ego energy and Divine energy are not working in harmony.
Imbalanced ego energy can undermine your human self and access to your Divine Self. You probably don’t know this or what to do about it.
You’ve come to the right place. Through the information on this website, as well as our trilogy of books—Ego Therapy, EgoSpiritualism, and The Two Voices Within—and our workshop, “Merging the Energies of Ego and Spirit for a Better Life and You”, we seek to help you change that.
What Ego Wants to Tell You
The following is an excerpt from our book The Two Voices Within: Balancing the Energies of Ego and Spirit to Enhance Your Life. This piece puts into words what ego would tell us if it had a literal voice. It is these words that can give us a better understanding of the profound energy lying at the core of our humanity, impacting our daily life, our ability to fully connect to our Divinity, and opportunity to live the great life we are meant to live.
Ego’s Voice
I am going to introduce myself to you today. I will be telling you “who” I am and “why” I am in your life. This will provide you with an opportunity to know yourself better than you have before. You will not be hearing about me from some expert, a person who has looked from the outside at me. I will take you inside so you can see me from within. You will be going to the source of your humanity. The view may not always be pleasant, but it is necessary for both of us.
I will begin by telling you that I am unaware of myself or any of the ways in which I am impacting your life. I do not have a consciousness of myself, but you can develop one of me. I have no clue about the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or physiology you are experiencing as a result of my energy. This differs from what some experts are suggesting, speaking of ego as if it were an entity conscious of itself, reflecting their ignorance of me. I cannot and do not impact you in any voluntary way. I profoundly impact you, but without volition. To intentionally impact a person requires an intellect which is something I do not have. But you do, and you can get to know me, even though I can never know you or myself.
Before going on, I want to ask you not to flatter yourself with the notion that you already know who I am. This notion is connected to the limited view that I am mainly responsible for the amount of power or influence you need to exert in your life. That is like looking at me with a microscope that has very low magnification. There is some truth to your notion of power. However, I am a more complex entity than that. My energy, your energy, is much more diverse, and I will be sharing that with you. Please do not feel insulted. That is not my intention, if I were able to form one. The most brilliant of minds, greatest of truth seekers, most eloquent of philosophers, and most notable of spiritual mentors have only been able to touch upon my essence. Often they have only been able to do so in peripheral, abstract, and general ways, allowing me to remain hidden from you despite my constant presence within you and your life.
If people truly knew me, or what to do with me, there would be a lot less suffering in people’s lives and the world. There would be a lot less concern about survival in the smallest and largest of matters; a lot less destruction to nature and the environment. With all of your intelligence and knowledge, would the supposedly most civilized of your countries be on the precipice of a nuclear holocaust? Would you really need to spend billions upon billions of dollars to protect people from each other – from cyber and biological terrorism – as you enter a new age? I am the true weapon of mass destruction, both personally and globally. I am the foundation and source upon which all of the others are built. This destruction is rooted in the individual and collective need for your survival. I am have been exerting this impact on you throughout history and will continue to until you get to know me and are able to transform my energy, your energy.
I remain hidden due to your ignorance and lack of awareness of me. The darkness in which I am kept allows and empowers me to impact you and everyone. I am not trying to hide from you, as I am without intention. I am just hidden due to your ignorance of me. Some have described me as only evil or as your enemy, due to their ignorance of me. I can be that, or even your devil, but I do not seek to be. Who am I, then, and what is my purpose? As I said, I am energy, a human energy. I work through the workshop of your mind, that place where ideas, beliefs, illusions, attitudes, prejudices, and knowledge are formed. I am not your mind, though many have referred to me as that. This just provides another example of their ignorance. I work within your mind as you draw upon my energy to shape your behaviors and feelings, and I even impact your body. I also foster the formation of your sense of self – your ego self, if you will. This is the “you” that you are or think you are, a culmination of all those things that I have impacted within the workshop of your mind. Your self is the manifestation of my energy, your energy.
You cannot change or remove any or all of your suffering from working on yourself alone, or by trying to change your mind alone. They are just places to begin to find me, places to get clues and cues. You can’t reach me from there. You must get to know me! And you much teach me, so I can stop teaching you. If you don’t, things will really never change – for you or for humanity. Not within the darkness of your ignorance of me. You will continue to reside in the darkness of your forbearers from thousands of years ago. Things haven’t changed very much; only the ways in which you try to survive and protect yourself from each other have shifted. You must get to know me so you can remove your darkness.
Some may ask, “Where did I come from and why did I come into being?” When you –meaning your very distant ancestors – left the literal or figurative Garden of Eden, in which some refer to as the Fall, I came into being. I came into being to help you survive, not only in the physical sense but in every sense in which you exist. This effort to survive manifests within many aspects of your life, and you reflect it in your thoughts, words, and deeds. My purpose is your survival and I protect you from anything and everything that threatens you. I protect you from people, be they friends, family, or strangers. I protect you from places, events, and experiences. When I am really getting out of balance, I am protecting you from yourself and life. This protection can be manifested in the thoughts you have, the words you use, the actions you take, the emotions you feel, and your bodily reactions. The more I am protecting you in these ways, the more you are out of balance.
You may be asking, “What do you mean by being out of balance?” As I said earlier, I am energy, an energy bounded by power, flexibility, and vulnerability. The power within this energy impacts the amount of influence or force you exert in the name of your survival. You live this force in your words, ideas, actions, and emotions. Some of you have a great deal of this power, while many others have very little. You will be hearing more about each of these situations. The flexibility of your energy impacts how flexible you are in your approach to seeking truth and securing your survival. This includes how open and varied the actions and ideas are that you will use in the “challenges” to your survival that come from everyday life. Some of you are rigid and locked into the only actions and ideas that you have known thus far, while some of you are open to anything and everything that is available to you. You will be hearing more about each of these circumstances. The vulnerability of your energy impacts how intensely you experience your imperfection and need to survive. You can know this vulnerability most readily by the amount of fear or anger you are feeling. This fear and anger can also be seen in your words, actions, and body. Some of you are consumed with your imperfection and survival, while others are oblivious to them. You will be hearing more about each of these. It is the power, flexibility, and vulnerability within your energy that shapes the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physiology you are using to ensure your survival.
Some may ask, “How did I become this energy within your life?” I did not bring you to this energy. What has transpired within your life has done so. The energy I am and you are was “chosen” by life in the form of any number of unpredictable biological, social, or environmental influences that have brought your daily and mortal survival into question. Brought forth from all manner of relationships, events, injuries, circumstances, and diseases that have worn upon you. You aren’t responsible for their appearance at your life’s door. In this sense, you are ultimately innocent and your life is quite fragile. This speaks to my intense efforts to protect you and ensure your survival.
You may ask, “Why am I telling you all of this?” If I had an intention and intellect, I would tell you that I do not seek to be your enemy, as others have told you. Even though I have been destructive in the name of your survival, and have caused you great suffering as others have told you, I can be your friend. It is time for your ignorance of me to end. I can be your friend, but I don’t know how to do that. I do know that you cannot destroy me. You cannot dissolve, disown, or defeat me because I am energy, and you don’t need to. I have love within the essence of my energy and I need you to transform it – my energy, your energy – to be your friend.
To learn more about ego’s impact upon your life you can obtain a free E-Book of The Two Voices Within by joining our mailing list. Please send your request to spiritualawakening777@comcast.net .
In peace and love,
Nick and Linda
Healing Yourself Within
We all have a tremendous capacity to heal from within. This capacity has been given to us by the “wisdom of the ages” and evolution. It is this wisdom shaped by the Love, Life, and Energy—God Is, that has fashioned our design over the past three million years even though we were born in the “recent” past. In this respect, we are very much alike. We need only to understand this inner capacity and tap into it rather than constantly looking for answers outside of ourselves. You can heal yourself with ego medicine, focused ego meditation, and sacred sound meditation. From the perspective of Ego, Spirit & You, your healing begins with the willingness to truly know yourself—humanly and spiritually!
A major contributor to healing yourself involves understanding your ego energy and bringing it into balance where needed. It is this energy which significantly impacts your success in the key life areas we discuss and the roles you are living. Ego Medicine involves getting to know what ego is and isn’t, tuning into your specific ego energy, and using ego related reality based thinking. Each of the books in our trilogy—Ego Therapy, EgoSpiritualism, and The Two Voices Within are intended to help you with doing this.
Our six Focused Ego Meditations provide an opportunity to reflect upon the transformation and healing of your ego energy as you are bringing it into balance with ego medicine. The “Roles People Live” page on this website can help you determine which ones you will want to listen to. During a meditation, you will look into the “mirrors” of your life involving the key life areas and reflect upon the positive changes you are making as well as those which need to be made. It is from these reflections of healthy, balanced ego energy at work in your life that you can know how far you have come in your journey.
Our Energy Expansion Meditation uses the healing sounds of crystal singing bowls to promote balance and harmony. This guided meditation along with other spiritual tools including prayer, yoga, mindfulness practice, humor, and healthy patterns of exercise, diet, and sleep are opportunities to heal from within. We refer to them as spiritual tools because they resonate with the intelligent design we have been given by the wisdom of the ages to heal from within. This healing allows for us to call upon ourselves and has no earthly requirements placed upon it involving ample time and money, the need to seek healing from others or travel elsewhere, or higher intellectual capacity. Our work contributes to their use when one’s healthy, balanced ego energy allows for stillness and peace, optimizing their availability to us.
In peace and love,
Nick and Linda
God is not a “Who!”
What a strange title for a blog. Strange for many because it acknowledges the obvious—God is not human. Strange because the thought is embedded in many of the religious teachings we have encountered over the years—God exists within the spiritual realm. Strange because we never refer to God in human terms—as having thoughts, experiencing feelings, having preferences, or taking action. Wait, Wait, Wait! There’s a problem with the last one and it’s also linked to the first two. Haven’t we heard references to God in written and spoken teachings that ascribe human qualities? Human qualities in which God has a gender (Him or Her), is loving or angry, rewarding or punitive, or has preferences attached to religious, political, or cultural approaches, even sports teams/accomplishments, to mention just a very few. God is not a who but every time we use references in which human qualities are connected directly to God that is exactly what we are doing. We are turning God into a who within our human frame of reference. Unfortunately, this has huge negative implications for our understanding of God. It sows the seeds for the conflict and destructiveness that has and continues to take place between people built upon defining who God is.
Many may think and respond by saying that human characteristics attached to God are just metaphorical or figurative and intended to help us to better understand God. Unfortunately, this understanding has two significant problems connected to it: 1) Metaphor is only helpful if one is able to appreciate and keep track of the abstraction involved and not convert it into a concrete, literal meaning. Failing to do so often leads one to cling tightly to the latter as it is often better suited to one’s cognitive and emotional “comfort zone.” This serves to make God extremely human and less spiritual to us even if we are not consciously aware of doing this. 2) Human characteristics attributed to God have often sown the seeds for divisiveness, particularly within and between religions. A divisiveness in which anger, hatred, and war have all occurred in the name of honoring what God “wants” from us. A divisiveness in which the Love, Life, and Energy—God Is within the fundamentally good, well-meaning, and intelligent participants has become lost and an absence of spirituality is being manifested.
If God is not a who then “what” is God? The what is, God Is—Love, Life, and Energy! Everything that was here and always here before humans, human consciousness and human frames of understanding God were formed by people. Love which is unconditional, unburdened, inexhaustible, and connective when we are being it. The life which recognizes the presence of God in all life forms honors all life and realizes the eternal nature of life when we are being it. The energy of light and truth, diverse in manifestation, transformative, and healing when we are being it.
From the perspective of Ego, Spirit & You when we manifest Love, Life, and Energy within our daily thoughts, words, and deeds, we are being what God Is.
In peace and love,
Nick and Linda
“Are You Seeing The Big Picture?”
We have all heard the phrase “seeing the big picture.” A phrase which generally means being able to see and understand most, if not all, of what is taking place in the ‘big picture.’ The big picture can involve work, relationships, parenting, health, conflict, stress, ourselves, and so many more aspects of life. Regardless of what it involves the one main idea connected to it is truth—human and Divine. Each truth brings us to all we need to see, hear, or know, not just our preferences or what allows us to feel good, which often makes it difficult to find. Truth and seeing the big picture is often painful at first because it takes us out of our comfort zone. It can be so much easier to embrace faulty beliefs, particularly if we are unable to recognize them as such. Fortunately, truth—human and Divine, if we can awaken to them, ultimately leads us to joy, peace, and happiness as it is in alignment with the Great life we are meant to live.
Unfortunately, keeping distance from truth, no matter how comfortable, often resigns us by default into living within the “little picture”, something we often fail to realize. The more pain you experience and the greater the number of places it is occurring, the more likely you are living within the little picture. This little picture often gives us less rather than more out of life and ourselves. Even though we are good, intelligent and well-meaning persons with the Love, Life, and Energy—God Is, woven into our being. Distance from truth intensifies as power, flexibility, or vulnerability issues in our ego energy lead us unknowingly into the land of faulty beliefs, desired or undesired. We become intensely locked into the little picture as egoic illusions which form its boundaries crystallize. These illusions of separation, inequality, unworthiness, and others serve to distance us from our humanity and Divinity. They often lead unknowingly into being inhumane toward ourselves, others, or both. Often failing to see what is really taking place and the big picture.
So what can one do to move beyond the little picture and begin seeing the big picture? A big picture in which you are living the best version of yourself and the Great life you are meant to live. The first, most difficult, and most important step is to be willing to see how you are getting it wrong—humanly—before getting it right. Owning what one needs to own opens many doors to getting to one’s own truth—human and Divine, not someone else’s, and certainly not the faulty versions of them coming from one’s imbalanced ego energy. This involves recognizing how your ego energy is shaping your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and physiology, keeping you at a distance from seeing the big picture. From the perspective of Ego, Spirit & You we have all been there. The next step is the easy one. You already are a spiritual being and don’t need to become one. If you weren’t you could not exist—nothing could! The Divine Truth woven into your being awaits your full embrace when being the Love, Life, and Energy you are and will lead you to see the big picture and the Great life you were meant to live!
In peace and love,
Nick and Linda
The Brilliance of Divine Truth
The Brilliance of Divine Truth.: You have probably heard many people refer to being in search of the truth or their truth. A search that can often involve reading lots of books, attending various seminars, or finding teachers/gurus who may lead them toward it. A search that often involves a lot of time, energy, and money to find the “truth.” A search that is often fruitless as the person is often looking in the wrong places or people to find it. Divine Truth—the truth we are speaking of—is much simpler, more immediate, and consistently available to you. The Love, Life & Energy—God Is requires no greater intellect, education, or teacher to be known. Its brilliance is beyond the reach of any of those “requirements” to be known. You don’t even need to hear or read the brilliant words of the greatest consciousness teachers the world has ever known—Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad—to know it. It is far less elusive than we humans make it out to be. As the great Islamic poet Rumi stated, “What you seek is seeking you.” The Love, Life, & Energy—God Is, is seeking you!
The question you may have if you are not being Divine Truth within your life is, “Why am I having a difficult time knowing and living this Truth?” Part of the answer involves the “demands and requirements” you are placing upon yourself to connect to this Truth. You are bypassing the simplicity, immediacy, and consistency of the Love, Life, and Energy that is staring you in the face. As an example, begin to recognize the “Godness” in every living thing you encounter—person, animal, plant, insect—as without God’s presence within their being they could not be or exist, nor you. Life cannot be without God’s presence within it as God Is—Life. Very simple, Very immediate, and Very consistent, with no burden being required to establish this awareness.
One other important influence that can make Divine Truth elusive for many to connect to is one’s ego energy. The more imbalanced it is in its power, flexibility, or vulnerability, the more distant one becomes from human truth. Attempting to find Divine Truth through faulty human truth and beliefs is a fruitless and empty exercise. An effort that often embraces egoic illusions of separation, inequality, and unworthiness which weakens one’s ability to witness the Love, Life, and Energy which surrounds them and is within them. Vivid examples of this can be seen in historical occurrences of religious intolerance and conflict, the need to fight battles to establish racial, religious, gender, and sexual orientation equality, as well as terrorist groups such as ISIS. The Love, Life, & Energy—God Is, shares no common ground with any of that. Healing one’s ego energy where needed in its power, flexibility, or vulnerability opens the door wide to the Divine Truth which is and has always been seeking you. No matter who or where you are.
In Peace and Love,
Nick & Linda
“To BE or not to BE”
“To BE or not to BE”: One of the most famous, often spoken questions, is the opening to Hamlet’s soliloquy, in which he ponders the choice between life and death—to be or not to be. A choice in which one can face the incessant challenges of the darker side of life or opt for the “freedom” but unknown opportunities of death. A choice between the known aspects of one’s life situation and the unknown possibilities beyond this life. A choice between the inaction of continuing to live while mired in the circumstances of one’s life or action in choosing to move beyond them to those unknown one’s which may lie beyond the earthly realm.
With all due respect to Shakespeare, one of the most brilliant and eloquent writers who captured the human experience that we have ever known, his question via the proxy of Hamlet and its contemplation is much to narrow. His characterization of life (to be) is much too dark, empty, and fatalistic. It speaks to only helplessness within the human condition, which raises the plausibility of death at one’s own hands as the answer. A life which does comport to the ones being lived by those we have met who would summarily describe their life as “poor” or “fair.” The question leaves them with no option within the living realm. It offers no genuine hope for those who choose to remain in their earthly life and move beyond it –here! It also bypasses those who have found their way to the “good” and “great” versions of themselves and life. The ‘to be’ in Hamlet’s question is intended to represent life but in many respects describes a lifeless life and offers no recognition of the options and answers to be found within the human and spiritual realm—to Be.
From the perspective of Ego, Spirit & You, the real question is, “To BE or not to BE?” A question which involves choosing between a life-full (to BE) or lifeless (not to BE) existence—here and now! A question in which one has come to fully know the word BE. A recognition in which BE and its “cousins” being and becoming, come forth when one’s ego energy is in balance. This balance of power, flexibility, and vulnerability, allowing one to share control and influence with life and others, ability to adapt to the ever changing nature of life, and ability to healthily work with the imperfections of oneself, others, and life. A person with healthy ego energy would never find their way to alternatives to living—be it Hamlet’s or our version of ’not to be’. We can also BE in the recognition of the Love, Life, and Energy—God Is within our being, and the Great Gifts of Life, Creating Life, Eternal Life, and God Within, that everyone who has ever lived have been given.
“To BE or not to BE”—that is the real question!
In peace and love,
Nick and Linda
Nonreligious-Spiritually Connected
Nonreligious-Spiritually Connected: We recently read an interesting article Millennials and religion: The great disconnect (Pittsburgh-Post Gazette/12-13-15) that focused on the relevance and relationship that religion has for individuals 18-34 yrs. old. There were various studies quoted involving declining trends in religious involvement for these individuals across religious denominations. Also there was mention of various reasons for this occurrence such as perceived conflict between religion and science, perceptions of religion as too constrictive and conservative, and perception of church teaching as hypocritical. To those we would add the destructiveness and war which has often occurred in the name of religion throughout history, has turned many people off to it.
A “positive” reason that was not mentioned is that many people, particularly younger ones, no longer view religious involvement as a pre-requisite to their relationship with God. Many consciously or intuitively sense the ability and necessity of establishing their own personally defined relationship with God—which is the essence of spirituality. They are the ‘nonreligious-spiritually connected’ and their numbers are growing. Interestingly, within the above-mentioned lengthy article the words spirit and spirituality never appear. We found this remarkable for an article focused on religious participation. To the degree that this occurred due to the understanding that religion and spirituality are synonymous, there needs to be a great deal of clarification in order to understand what is transpiring in this aspect of life for many millennials and people in general.
From the perspective of Ego, Spirit & You, religion continues to have an important place. We still need it to play its role in the current stage of evolution as we strive to awaken humanly and spiritually. Religion can be a beautiful bridge to our spirit and spirituality when the words spoken by clergy and messages presented within writings and actions are filled with helping us to know the Love, Life, and Energy—God Is within ourselves and fellow man.
In peace & love,
Nick and Linda