Selfish Self Consciousness vs Consciousness of the Self

http://www.zengardner.com/selfish-self-consciousness-vs-consciousness-of-the-self/

Thursday, March 7th, 2013

by Julian Rose

Contributor
Throughout the past three to four decades, putting ourselves in the foreground and just about everything else in the background has become ‘the new normal’ for millions of well-off Westerners and followers of Western fashions.

This has had three outstanding affects: firstly, it has contributed to a huge increase in narcissistic wealth hoarding and the largely mindless amassing of all sorts of luxury goods from fashionable clothes to fancy gismos, shiny cars, perfect homes, exotic holidays and more. Basically, all the things that propaganda based corporate advertising has on offer to tickle the vanities of a fast moving, materialistically seduced society.

Secondly, the overtly heavy material demand associated with this burgeoning consumerism has led to a massive and brutal exploitation of planetary resources and the consequential extensive rape of mother earth. And like all ‘rape’ it is done solely for short term ego bolstering gratification.

Thirdly, putting our own desires in the foreground and everything else in the background has turned people in on themselves in a way which largely excludes the expression of our natural social instincts to support each other and share our common wealth.

A narcissistic inclination to indulge in everything to do with ‘me’ impoverishes society at a deeper level as well. It achieves this by cutting short the ‘age of innocence’ through implanting unrealistic and unwelcome diversions into the human psyche just at the time when the search for more profound answer to life’s questions should be moving strongly into the foreground.

This great quest for deeper answers and truths inevitably leads into experiencing direct collisions with life’s hidden and not so hidden hurdles. Yet it is through a non-fearing determination not to step aside from these collisions that we gain the very best chance of building real and enduring strength in the fledgeling spirit of our deeper selves. In fact, the opposing urge to indulge ourselves has the capacity to derail the natural growing process to such a degree that many only ‘come back to themselves’ after a life long struggle of the soul to make itself heard above the fruitless din of empty chatter that fills the void of an otherwise often unbearably soulless existence.

But hold firm and square-off face to face with the tougher end of the spectrum, accepting the hard knocks which this inevitably brings, and some soulful pearl starts to be formed deep inside. A pearl which is polished into resilience through weathering all attempts to dull and dumb it down to societal conformity. That narcissistic ‘self’ satisfaction syndrome that sucks the life out of all who give-in to the comparative safety of uncritical conformity with a poisoned status quo.

Survive this poisoned chalice – and a steadily blossoming ‘consciousness of the self’ imperceptibly moves centre stage. Such an awakening is the antithesis of the narcissistic vanities whose corporate and ego fuelled tentacles flail so seductively around our unguarded psyches. ‘Consciousness of the self’ is the process in which we become aware of the Godly in us – and all that that brings with it.

What does ‘becoming aware of the Godly in us’ bring with it?

The first thing is that it illuminates the existence of another reality than that experienced in pursuit of the typical pseudo-demands of the centralised control system. And in so doing it gives us a choice: go with this beckoning and love filled pearl or retreat from it back into the darkness of unrealised self . Become emboldened to keep your hands on the tiller of Real Life, or let fear and foolishness steer your ship onto the rocks of spirit sapping conformity. The choice is ours.

I know how easy it is to dismiss the feasibility of climbing the rock strewn road to sustained enlightenment. But every dismissal is another death in the cosmic kingdom from which we all come. Think of it this way: are you prepared to shoulder responsibility for a refusal of consciousness? Are you willing to recognize complicity in undermining the very life-force with which you and I are endowed from birth? The thoughtless undermining of this greatest gift of all? Will it be spurned in favour of a few more years of phony self gratification?

Oh doubters, turn not away, for there’s a burning sensation in your groin . How fortunate!
How fortunate that it is that forceful a wake-up call. But all fires go out if they are not stoked – and this one is no exception. Stoke it – then walk into it. Yes, walk straight into the flames and be consumed. Totally consumed. So consumed that nothing survives except that beautiful pearl at the centre of your being.

Now turn inside out. So that the pearl becomes the you you really are and everything else – the useless and toxic blockages – dissolve away. Away to the sun at the centre of the earth, there to be burned to a crisp and transformed into pure light energy and made ready for a new spirit in waiting to descend to this planet. A spirit destined to become miraculously attached to a little body forming in the womb of earth woman. And then, one day, peeking out onto this world in deep unconscious awe and wonder.

That has been, and is, your journey and my journey dear friends. So here we are now reading these words and as we do so, experiencing some degree of consciousness of the self – our Godly Being. A state so precious that none of us can ever let it fall to the ground to be smashed into the sterile prisms of a society in denial of its Creator and in awe to the false messiah of self centred selfishness and hypnotic mass consumption.

JR

www.changingcourseforlife.info