(Great fears are barriers to experiencing your real life.)
[There are countless fears, yet few are of the level of the Great Fears. A Great Fear is noted by its commonness and its effect; it shows up in a large part of society and can have a numbing effect on one’s happiness.]
The ego gets a bad rap. It’s usually thought of in a negative way, as in, “His ego is so big there’s no room for anybody else.” But the ego – your ego, my ego – is neither good nor bad. It is merely the name given to mind-based thinking.
One of the reasons for its reputation is that part of the ego’s job is to convince you that you are separate – from others, from life itself. The ego says (metaphorically), “Pay no attention to the one behind the curtain, we’ll take it from here, you and I.”
Even when you’re engaged in a team/family/community activity the message is still one of separateness. “Pull your weight.” “Carry your share of the load.” “Don’t be the weak link.” Separate, separate, separate.
It doesn’t have to be that way. When you get beyond your mental processes (read: thinking) you can have the experience of being of. Of feels great. Meditation, prayer, yoga, rowing, writing – the processes for getting ‘out of your mind’ are everywhere.
Coaching Point: Do you have a regular (read: daily) practice for having your awareness extend beyond your egoic mind?
Copyright 2017 Steve Straus. All rights reserved.
