Part 6
(Important note regarding the mind set from which this series is written
and from how it is intended to be read)
The Beauty of Simplicity in Spiritual Journey
In the previous part of this series we examined how the mass consciousness is dominated by a paradigm of closed consciousness, and suggested that too many awakened souls, through their meekness and passivity, actually play a part in the stubborn fixity of the mass consciousness. Far more unhelpful than that, they continue to allow themselves to be ruled by ego (the dynamic force behind closed consciousness), though admittedly at a lower level intensity than the unaware.
The issue here is that the mass consciousness is so dominating, because in effect, it has the weight not only of the unawakened in its favor, but of the passively awakened as well. The mass consciousness cannot be shifted upwardly without the involvement of awakened souls, first in not continuing to contribute to the mass ego consciousness, and then by becoming active promoters of love and openness. Actually, the two are pretty much one and the same, for just doing the latter, automatically takes care of the former.
The passivity that we refer to is sustained by a much larger problem, one that also impacts individuals' spiritual lives and their journey. To put it succinctly, it is a problem of confusion, diffusion and complexity. Let me explain. In my experience, awakening people become exposed to so many complicated avenues to enlightenment that they seem to lose sight of the goal. They begin directionless exploration and adopt a practice from there and a ritual from that, a methodology from there, a technique from that, follow a teacher from there and a guru from someplace else, attend this set of classes and become a member of that New Thought Church. The result of all this is confusion and dilution of focus and energy. But most importantly of all is distraction from what I have come to realize as the utmost objective of spirituality.
The objective I refer to is very simple; in fact that particular attribute, simplicity, is its most essential feature. So on the way to stating it, I need to introduce it with a short discussion of the importance and significance of simplicity.
Beauty in Simplicity
Years ago I became aware of the idea of beauty in simplicity, the dignity of minimalism, purity in truth. The idea is that the beauty of all great art and philosophical ideas (all ideas for that matter) is discovered when they have been honed to their most essential form. And that is especially so of Truth. The idea of beauty in simplicity resonated with me then and always remained in the background of my mind at some level as I proceeded on my journey of awareness.
I should make a clear distinction here to prevent possible confusion. Due to the infinite variety and diversity that exists, the universe is wonderfully and lusciously complex. We should be aware of and appreciate that fact. What I speak of here in terms of simplicity, is at the higher plane of Truth. Truth is pristine, clear and beautiful. I don't want us to be confused by a quite different connotation of simplicity. That has to do with a truly slimy sort of cynicism that prevails in the world, the intent of which is to deliberately simplify as a means of distorting truth rather than as a way to Truth. That sort of simplifying emanates from closed consciousness; it is an expression of ego fixated consciousness. We should also be aware that while there is that cynical aspect of ego consciousness that simplifies, there is also another cynical aspect of it that creates complexity as a way of keeping us distracted from Higher Truth. Both of these are the highly essential tools employed by the demagogues of the world. I would Just like you to know that when one chooses the path of open consciousness, the recognition of Truth from cynicism becomes as clear as night and day.
Having made that distinction, I return to my personal account of how the notion of the beauty of simplicity in Truth influenced my spiritual insight as I progressed on my journey. Like many others who awakened and began to pursue a non-religious spiritual path, I read and studied voraciously a great range of material; though I must add that I pretty much heeded my inner guidance, pursuing what resonated with me and passing over what didn't. It is my personal view that this is the wisest way to approach spiritual study. The benefit of this approach is that it does not close off the possibility that at some further point down the line, one may find himself gravitating to something that at an earlier time did not resonate. At any rate, I read and listened to the tapes of various teachers and on occasion (though rarely) attended a seminar. And like many others, I too ended up rather confused in the earlier part of my journey. But due to that idea of simplicity that was always in the back of my mind, I knew that a world of confusion and complexity definitely was not the goal. So I wasn’t particularly disturbed by it, because I simply saw confusion as a way station on my journey to clarity. To me, it was just part of the information gathering stage, and I had no doubt that assimilation would follow.
My trust that assimilation would come, combined with my personal need for cognitive order and my penchant for simplicity in Truth, did bring that stage. And when it did, it brought insights that sort of melded the various concepts into simpler ideas. From that point on, as I continued studying and reading, I came to see the expressions of other teachers (whether contemporary or ancient) as just different unique expressions of the same principles that were already coming into focus within me. Finally I reached my current point of assimilation, whereby as I continue to read the expressions of others, my insights only deepen further. By deepening, I mean several things – that complexity dissipates, that the concepts condense into fewer Principles, and that they become more clear. It is like an upward spiral. The more the insights, the more melding that occurs. The more melding, the more clear and simple the essential principles appear. To my mind, such dissipation of complexity and onset of deep understanding should be the purpose of spiritual journey.
I might mention by the way, that while a seeker may feel this sense of clarity within, that does not mean he or she could verbalize it very simply to an unawakened person. This is a paradox, because while the understanding is clear, the Principles are so entwined and interrelated that it can become an extremely complex endeavor to try to explain it to someone with no understanding whatever of metaphysical spiritual concepts. And in any event, it should also be noted that it is likely that the human mind can never fully understand (in the scientific sense of understanding) the behind the scenes reality that we sometimes call Higher Reality or, even more appropriately, Transcendent Reality. But this gets us ahead of ourselves, because the subject at hand is seekers not attaining clarity.
And so here, I begin to work my way back to the opening of this article regarding the problem of confusion. If the awakened seeker continues to wander about confused, then he is not receiving the effect of peace that he seeks. Further, his spiritual practice will be just as confused and scattered. In such a state, the individual, though awakened, is not only not attaining the peace she seeks but she is also unable to take on any active role in the shifting of planetary consciousness. The solution to this dilemma is to first realize that the answer lies in this principle that TRUTH IS SIMPLE, and then to pursue that Truth with a passion. That latter part will be easy, because once the principle is realized, it is invigorating. It brings new life and passion to one's journey.
Now, as promised, let me state what it all boils down to. Here it is in the fewest words: It's all about identity! Now of course, since many, if not most readers, have not yet come to a full understanding of the principle, I should explain a bit what that means. It means that we are to transition from identity with our limited ego self to identity with our True Self. Our True Self is infinite and eternal. And that’s who we really are. We are simply unique expressions of the One Mind. As such we have all of the power and wisdom of that. Once you realize that that’s all it’s about – rediscovery of your infinite, eternal nature -- and, that when you re-identify with that instead of your false self – then the rest is just the simple practice of awareness to live as your True Self. As always of course, there is that distinction between understanding of the Principles and the practice of them. But here too, the practice cannot be complex, because it would contradict the Principle.
Concept of The Principle
We should just accept that it is part of the scheme of the Universe that when our spirit comes into this physical format of the world, we take on the ego consciousness of the world, thereby developing an individualized ego self with which we identify. It's natural and not to bemoan, for it is by way of the limited perspective of the ego self that we come by the harsh lessons of life that, in the end, bring us to awareness. Awareness of what? Awareness of, and rediscovery of our infinite, eternal nature. Upon that rediscovery, we are then to release identity with the ego self and re-identify with our True Infinite Eternal Self.
Again, in the fewest words: It's all about identity! From there it is simply a matter of practicing awareness to break the habit of identity with the false (ego) self. And that too is not difficult or complicated. I cannot emphasize this enough. It has been said in other places, particularly as a tenet of A Course In Miracles, that all complexity is of the ego. It is the ego that leads one to pursue all kinds of complicated systems and methodologies with difficult rituals and religious like practices. The ego loves to distract us with this stuff as a strategy to deter us from dropping identity with it. The ego's very life depends upon our identity with it. I suggest that you always let complexity in the area of spirituality serve as a warning sign. Beware the ego enticing you to complicated schools and distracting methodologies.
All one has to do is to begin with this Principle. There is only One Mind, only one thing in the Universe -- Mind -- Universal Subconscious Mind -- of which everything is a part. All of the expressions of the One Mind are what the whole is. It is only ego consciousness that has given the illusion of "separate from". As part of the whole each of us has the characteristics of the whole. So when you feel a need, in this re-identity mode, you know that the One Mind, in providing for you, is doing nothing more than providing to itself. Just having this mind set helps to relieve a very common problem that most of us have. That is that in separation we have felt unworthy and undeserving. And as part of those feelings, we are not freely allowing the Universe to provide. This re-identity focus brings us back to allowing and expecting the fulfillment of our needs, because our needs are one and the same as the needs of the One. It is no longer a matter of wondering if we have done enough to please a separate God that He would deign to provide for our needs.
In this understanding, it is preposterous to even think that The Whole / The One / The Universe would withhold from itself. In fact, I personally have come to bypass all of this stuff of what I desire as well as all of the affirmation "work". Instead, I go directly to asking the Universe for what I need, and to provide it in the way that will serve the best interests of all concerned. Then I know that I can trust that it will be done, because in providing for me, the Universe is providing for itself. There are other simple elements of practice, but that is a subject for another time.
Conclusion
It may seem that in this Part of the series we have taken a side excursion from the main subject, the openness - closedness of consciousness. But it is a necessary diversion that will enlighten the articles to follow.
That said, let me end this Part with a story that many of you may identify with as you consider this issue of moving from complexity to simplicity. I know from experience that many eog's are likely fully enraged and screaming bloody murder about now at my assertion that complexity is of the ego. That's fine; it's expected. That's what egos are about after all; drama and reaction is what they do. A big part of re-identity practice is to begin to just objectively observe our ego reactions. Just let it settle down a bit. This story is intended to assist with that.
Not long ago, I was having a phone conversation with a friend. We were chatting as she was in her kitchen doing preparations for a zucchini lasagna she had planned for dinner. At some point during the conversation, I was telling her how I had come to this conclusion that in the end, it’s all real simple (referring to the overall life goal of coming to the state of peace, ease and creativity where life flows, and problems seem to diminish).
“It’s simply a matter of identity”, I said. “Since the source of all problems is ego, it is a matter of dropping identity with ego, and re-identifying with our Infinite, Eternal Self. Just forget about all of the other stuff. It’s unnecessary. In fact, it’s only distracting – just what ego does.”
Before I could hardly finish the statement, she was chomping at the bit to break in. “Oh William, I have to disagree with that. What you are saying takes mastery. Only a master can do that.”
“But wait a minute", I said.
“You have to be a master to do what you are saying”, she persisted.
“But hold on;", I broke in, "maybe it’s the concept of "mastery" that is the problem. That word has the connotation of being a very difficult state to attain, something that can only be done by the most highly spiritually evolved souls, something that comes only through a lifetime of dedicated study. But who is it that ever established that connotation of the word? Who is to say that it isn’t just our interpretation of the word -- in deed, our ego's interpretation -- that associates “mastery” with difficult, and that that interpretation is erroneous? Consider that mastery actually means nothing more than coming to the very simple truth that it’s all about identity”.
“Ohh, I don’t know about that”, she said skeptically.
“Well, why, in any event, does it take the kind of mastery you envision to do the very simple thing of deciding to begin dis-identifying from ego, and re-identifying with our True Self?” It’s simply a decision after all. You made a decision to make zucchini lasagna for dinner this evening. Then you set about to do it. Did it take your kind of mastery to make that decision?”
“Ummm, I don’t …”
And I continued, "To me, the word mastery sounds like a great one for the ego to throw at you. Convincing us that it’s all so complicated that we will never be able to attain a state of peace, is one of its greatest strategies.” Then imitating ego, I said, ‘I know how I can stop her in her tracks; I’ll throw the word mastery at her; that’ll keep her at bay for a very long time’".
My friend chuckled and still skeptical, said, “Oh I get it; I see what you’re doing. I have to think about that … Oh, gotta go and get this lasagna going; Mark (her husband) just came into the kitchen”.
And that was the end of that conversation, but not the end of the story. About an hour and a half later, the phone rang, and it was this friend calling back. When I answered, she said, “I just wanted to thank you for that conversation. You know, I thought about it and I see what you were saying, and I was wrong about that [i.e., having to be a master]”.
What she meant was that after thinking about it she decided that she had had an erroneous presumption of the word master, and had fallen for the ego’s deception that only "that kind of master" could make the choice to change identity from false self to True self. Ego is the only master in this thinking -- the master deceiver. Falling for such deceptions is a huge problem, and a tragic one.
Personally, I would prefer the word "master" be discarded from any discussions on spirituality, or at a minimum, not applied to those who engage in identity transition. Why? Because the very word is separative; it purports the idea that only a very few special people -- a class called master -- can even consider doing what we are here to do. As evidenced by my friend's take on the word (which is the dominant one), it suggests that all others have only the merest shadow of a chance of attaining the peace and ease of True Self identity. But that just flies in the face of the scheme of the Universe. The Truth is that it only takes awakening to the concept of identity transition, and then a decision to begin doing it.
End of Part 6; look for Part 7, coming.
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©, 2007, William Gunderson
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