The Teacher emerged from meditation and said:

"I am Brahma manifest as this body; you are Brahma manifest as that body. These bodies possess minds and those minds have created egos, but neither body, mind, nor ego is the Self. The Self is Aum, the universal vibration of Brahma from which all things are created. All spiritual principles in the Universe flow through the Self into the world of gross manifestation. The Self is the principle of which love is a manifestation. The Self is One."

Are there demons?

Many people believe that there are beings that are wholly evil. They may be called devils, or demons, or dark angels, among other names. If they existed, these would be beings whose life force was derived entirely from negative rather than positive energy. To accept the existence of such beings may imply that there exists a Lord of Demons, Satan, the Devil, Beelzebub. The Universe would then have two sources of energy, a positive source - God or the Universal Spirit - and a negative one. Belief in the Devil is seductive, because it allows us to blame our negative feelings and our misfortunes on an outside influence: "The Devil made me do it!" What's more, it allows us to make excuses for the bad conduct of others.

Recently I attended a class on the Bhagavad Gita at the Ananda Center in Palo Alto. Ananda is an organization which follows the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, as interpreted by his pupil, Swami Kriyananda. Yogananda taught that there is a demonic force in the world, according to the person leading the class. As much as I respect Yogananda and his teachings, I cannot accept this one aspect.

There is no doubt that there are people who seem possessed by evil spirits. Indeed, it is an encounter with one such person that leads me to this topic. Many of us have people in our lives whose sole purpose seems to be to cause trouble and pain for others. This may be particularly true for those of us who have chosen the path of love and harmony; there may be a person who appears to have made it his life's work to discredit you and goad or drive you off your Path. 

It is not necessary, however, to resort to explanations which presume the existence of demonic forces in order understand such behavior. If we are honest with ourselves we need look no farther than our own egos to find a sufficient explanation. You believe that Love is the Way; that the entire Universe is composed of positive loving energy. Yet your own mind, your own body, your own emotions are constantly pressing you to express negativity. In your personal, professional, and spiritual life you still find a voice nagging at you to be competitive, to undermine others to advance your own interests, to resent the success of others. If you are strong and resolute, you will resist these pressures most of the time. But they are there, and they will always be there as long as you draw breath.

If you, with your devotion to spirituality, have such feelings, how much more must they dominate the lives of those who lack a commitment to love and harmony? No question there are individuals - perhaps they are a majority - who are, in Eckhart Tolle's words, completely unconscious at all times. That is, their consciousness is totally submerged and subjugated by their egoic mind. A person who is controlled by ego cannot help but act out in egregious ways that are petty, spiteful, and calculated to cause nothing but pain. That is how the ego seeks to validate and aggrandize itself - by driving others down and trying to bring out egoic reactions in them. 

What is the correct way to deal with these individuals? One way is to ignore them, as you do with the proddings of your own ego to the extent possible. However, it is also important to remember that these beings are not the undiluted egos that they appear to be. Each person has within him or her the unblemished manifestation of Spirit without which there can be no life. You may despair of ever seeing any evidence of this fact in some people. Indeed we all have known of heard of people who went to their graves as ornery and cantankerous as they had been all their lives. This does not detract from the fact that somewhere under that seemingly inpenetrable shell is a glowing pearl aching to be revealed.

The good news is that it is not your responsibility to reform such a person. The most that Spirit expects of you is to honor the Spirit within them with silent love and forgiveness. Their inner light - or Higher Self - may muster the strength to burst forth in this life and produce the flowering of what seems to be a new person; or it may remained buried under its karmic burden and await an opportunity to reassert itself when reincarnated in a new body. Either way, the most you can hope for is to maintain your own equanimity and perspective. 

Finally, your forgiveness must extend also to yourself. If you look at your own thoughts and actions honestly you are likely to find ways in which you contributed to the problem between you and this other person. You may have treated him unfairly or thoughtlessly. There may have been times when your ego gained control and lashed out in its own defense against the calculatedly treacherous and unfair attacks of the other. You can regret this experience and learn from it, but do not fall into the trap of believing that you should give yourself over to ego as a way of retaliation. Just as the ego dominated by negativity suffers more than its victims, so will you endure more suffering from surrendering to the egoic impulse than you could ever hope to inflict upon another. Simply return to your centered state as quickly and easily as you can.

The Mind's Filter

The Teacher said,

When I teach you, I am usually speaking to your higher self. Your egoic mind will process the information, but in many cases will resist my teaching. This is understandable, because much of what I tell you attacks the ego at its foundation. Your higher self is aware of its oneness with Spirit; the ego denies it. The ego is all about differentiating the small self from other beings, and making itself look important, while the higher self seeks to minimize differences, break down barriers, and reach out for unity. If I could, I would bypass the mind and body and share my insights with you on a soul level. Since I cannot do so in this life, I must teach you first to listen from the higher self, free of the filter of egoic concerns; and then try to express in words what would best be communicated wordlessly from soul to soul. I too must deal with the filtering effects of expressing soul concepts in a medium designed for communication between egos. This is another important reason for you to meditate, because in meditation the higher self communicates directly with Spirit and there is no need for wisdom to pass through the mind's filter.

Your Way

There are so many voices telling you what to do, which way to go. Many of them are sincere, and some are truly aligned with Spirit to a greater or lesser degree. You do not have to choose among them until you are ready. But at the same time, you do not have to listen to them all, even if you are convinced of their Truth.

Everyone sees Truth a little differently. You must ultimately follow your own vision, even if it is different from every other's. In fact, your authentic vision is bound to be different from anyone else's. There is much to learn from teachers and sages. But they each have only one vision. By studying many viewpoints you may achieve a sort of holographic picture of Truth as others see it. There is a great deal of convergence in the visions of those who have seen some aspect of Truth clearly, and you can save yourself much confusion by consulting them. Yet you cannot find your own Path simply by walking in the footsteps of others.

Eventually you will need to break from the pack and pursue your own vision. You will just exhaust yourself by trying to follow all the well-meaning voices. They will pull you in many directions and you will end up not very far from where you began. Only by striking out in the direction chosen for you by the higher Self can you attain a clearer vision of the Truth that is meant for you. This will not be the easiest path or the most comfortable, but it will be your authentic Path. You will know it when you are ready, and will be drawn irresitibly to it. Accept it when it comes and offer your heartfelt thanks to Spirit for showing it to you, no matter what hardships or difficulties you may encounter on the Way. That Way also lies your Joy.

And so it is.

Ego and Spirit

Resentment is ego
Jealousy is ego
Fear is ego
Want is ego
Greed is ego
Hatred is ego
Separateness is ego
Surrender is spirit
Acceptance is spirit
Love is spirit
Joy is spirit
Oneness is spirit

A New Earth

I think the beautiful side of our American approach to ethnic identity appears when it is inclusive rather than exclusive. This is why St. Patrick's Day is such a joyful holiday here. When we say everyone's Irish, we're also saying we are all sisters and brothers.

I'm just beginning to study and meditate upon the role of ego -- personal identity -- in our lives. Everyone has it and needs it in order to become a healthy adult. Yet unrestrained ego also is the source of most of the problems in society and today's world, when it causes us to devalue others who are "not like us". Ego is the source of hatred, greed, and indifference to the circumstances of others. Ego is not a secure foundation for life because it is exclusive, rather than inclusive. Ego senses its own incompleteness yet cannot make the leap of understanding to reach out to others to form a secure and stable bond. Instead, it seeks a false sense of security by gathering more to itself while denying or taking away from others.

Eckhart Tolle, author of "The Power of Now", calls for a new birth of Universal consciousness in "A New Earth". I was taken aback and reacted negatively at first when Eckart and "A New Earth" were embraced by Oprah. I have come to realize that this was an egoic reaction -- I wanted to keep Eckart "to myself" and didn't want to see him become popular. I now see it is imperative to bring his message to a wider audience.

His philosophy may have to be diluted for mass adoption. But without popularization he can never accomplish what so urgently is needed, which is to reverse the dominance of ego over Spirit that has accelerated in the modern world.

Carolyn Myss has described a way of living for "mystics without monasteries". Her point also is that we need to develop ways to incorporate deep spirituality into everyday life so that it is not confined to a few hermits living outside society. If human life is to survive long on this planet, Spirit -- not any narrowly defined religion, but simply a basic guiding awareness of the oneness of all beings and all things -- must become dominant. We must begin to live not predominantly for ourselves, our families, our ethnic groups, or our political units, but for each and every other, in great ways and small. Popularization of Eckhart Tolle's philosophy is one way we can hope to start a movement in that direction.

Manifesting Wellness

You can’t always keep your body from becoming ill, but you can keep from making yourself ill.

There is no question that illness has many origins. Science has pinpointed causal relationships between many environmental factors and bodily ailments. These range from viruses and bacteria to chemicals and even excess sunlight. In some cases our bodies even seem to attack themselves. What is sometimes less clear is why some people are more susceptible to these factors than others.

Illness and injury are a part of this physical world into which we have placed ourselves. When we chose to incarnate in this Universe, we also chose to expose ourselves to the risk of suffering. We may have chosen to endure bodily pain in order that we can better empathize with other physical beings, or in order to teach ourselves how spirituality transcends pain. When we do find ourselves ill or injured, we can therefore accept this as part of the human experience (even while doing all we can to reduce our suffering). This does not mean, however, that we should seek out suffering, or endure more than is necessary.

Sometimes a spiritually advanced person takes unto him or herself the suffering of others; this is one way saintly compassion manifests. Aside from such an exceptional situation, there is no reason to bring pain upon oneself, and to do so is evidence of separation from Spirit.

Even though injury and illness may have external causes, there are many ways in which we enable or even encourage them to afflict us. Have you ever said to yourself, “I always get a cold in January,” then spent the month watching for the first symptoms to appear? Might you even congratulate yourself on successfully predicting your illness? It’s no wonder that you got a cold – your prophecy was self-fulfilling. You invited the illness and welcomed it on arrival. Maybe you failed to take ordinary precautions such as taking vitamins, eating healthful foods, and getting enough regular sleep, or maybe you focused all your conscious attention on avoiding exposure to cold viruses. In either case, you broadcast your intention to catch a cold into the Universe, and the Universe responded to that attention according to Law.

Do you reward yourself for getting ill? Do you welcome illness as an excuse to stay home from work, or neglect household chores? Do you tell yourself that being sick is a good reason for overindulging in your favorite dessert or spending money on items that you can’t afford? Do you demand extra attention and coddling from loved ones? These are other ways we find to take pleasure in getting sick, and open ourselves to it. Extreme cases of such behavior are recognized as mental illness.

Instead of assuming at the first sign of a possible illness that you are in for two weeks of misery, try putting the Law to work for you. Take the opportunity to reaffirm your oneness with the healing energy of Spirit. If your throat tickles, meditate upon the warmth of Spirit flowing through your body and cleansing negative energies from that area. If your sinuses are congested, visualize spiritual energy opening constricted passages and allowing blockages to be relieved. Whatever spiritual practice you regularly follow to infuse your body with health and vitality, be sure not to neglect it but perform it with redoubled positive intention. Visualize yourself as you truly are – a perfect manifestation of Spirit – and ignore any suggestion from your body or egoic mind that you are imperfect in any way. See the pure flame of Spirit burning in your center, glowing with an energy that drives any impurity from your physical and energetic self. Sense the pure cleansing energy that radiates from you and through you. Visualize yourself and all beings in pristine energetic simplicity as flawless creatures of light.

This practice should not be limited to those times when you feel unwell. The more you practice seeing yourself and others as perfect, the more perfection will manifest in your life and in the world around you. If you have been a magnet for suffering, just stop. Become instead a vortex of health. As you move through the physical universe, carry with you the sure knowledge that all beings are perfect in their essence. This knowledge will manifest in your soul and in those around you as improved health and abounding joy.

Adopting this practice in sickness and in health will have many positive effects. First, you will not become physically ill nearly as often. Along with the knowledge of your perfection comes the ability to honor your body by following healthy practices. Placing your attention on wellness rather than sickness will manifest even more wellness by operation of the Law. When you do become ill, your illnesses will be less serious and protracted. You will not see illness as punishment or as evidence of some flaw in yourself, but will bear it as part of the human condition while resting securely in the knowledge that your core is divine essence. You will maintain a positive attitude and will not convert physical suffering into negative spiritual energy. You will radiate health and joy into the Universe around you, and will have a positive influence on the wellness and happiness of others. You will contribute your intention and your energy to the positive flow emanating from, and leading back to, the perfect light of Spirit.

And so it is.

Namaste.