Multidimensionality of Ego

Ego equals knowledge. This knowledge comes in many forms but the world is mostly concerned with one form and that form is thought. Thought is knowledge of something and this knowledge is applied to everything. This appears to be a vast resource all our knowledge of ourselves, the world, of history, science, philosophy and language have come about through thought. This knowledge indeed seems vast yet what if this knowledge is only 2% of the knowledge available. The body experiences the world through the senses, which can be thought of as sensory information. This sensory information is usually given meaning relating to the 2% or mental part of our computation. The sensory information without the meaning is very ancient and would have begun with the first stirrings of life. The 2% mental computation element is relatively recent yet in the short time since it occurred it has completely swamped the sensory information part of ourselves. Not only has it swamped the sensory part of what we are it now completely dominates that part. We identify with the 2% part of what we are. This is not dissimilar to identifying ourselves with our big toe. This is the major difference between man and all other forms of life. We are dominated and identify with 2% of what we are. All other forms of life are aware of the sensory information which is the remaining 98% and they identify if at all with that. Most humans seem to think that the advantage is with us because we have access to thought knowledge. The truth is that both man and all other forms of life are at a disadvantage in the way we access knowledge. What if the human body and mind were capable of accessing all the knowledge available. This is the next stage of evolution and it is occurring but very, very slowly. The problem is in the nature of belief because belief is taken to be real when it is not. It is possible to have and use knowledge without believing it to be real. Believing knowledge to be real is the cause of all the negative aspects of human behaviour. This can be seen most clearly when we take ourselves too seriously, this seriousness can become anger, rage, depression, greed and many other forms of mental illness. We identify with what we believe and so feel threatened when what we believe is threatened. Fanatics have no sense of humour. When we lose humour we lose our humanity and become capable of any horror. To take the next evolutionary step it is necessary to see that belief can never be real it can however be useful. It is necessary for us to understand this distinction on the deepest possible level. What we believe can never be real, real in the sense of taking our beliefs too seriously. When this is deeply understood all the knowledge we have becomes either useful or not. Sensory knowledge is always useful, that is 98% of the information received through the senses is naturally useful. The remaining 2% of mental knowledge would no longer have the power to do harm. Knowledge in all its forms is ego and knowledge is the same as belief. From this point it can be seen that all that we know or can know is not real. Taking this knowledge to be real is a natural evolutionary mistake and as with other evolutionary mistakes is eventually corrected. This can be seen in the zen statement that in the beginning a mountain is a mountain then it is not a mountain and then it is a mountain again. In the beginning we see the mountain through our senses then at some point we add meaning to what is seen by our senses. Finally the meaning that has been added is seen for what it is, that it may or may not be useful and regardless of its usefulness is ultimately seen as not real. Finally we can see the wonder of what we are and where we are without the need to believe what is seen and this itself is the wonder.

Out of the Darkness

   

It is essential that you learn to see any negatives that occur in your mind and apply the following logic. If I am thinking or saying something negative this is proof that what I am thinking or saying is untrue. All negative statements about yourself are untrue they always indicate that we believe something that is not true. We just have to keep applying this logic. If something is untrue it is the same as saying it does not exist. As you notice the negatives in your thinking they will begin to dissolve, only then is it possible to fully connect with your raw physical sensations and then faith is no longer needed. See negative thinking as a trail that will lead you out of the darkness - in that sense it is not negative, without negatives consciousness becomes 'known'. Be clear this is only about being aware of the negative thinking that takes place it is not about analyzing or judging anything. When you notice that a negative thought has occurred leave it at that just notice it, nothing else needs to be done. There is no place for negative thinking, it serves no purpose and in fact the reason we do it is to punish ourselves. This need to punish ourselves usually involves punishing others and this can only be done when we are unconscious of what we are doing. Fear and anxiety thrive on negative thinking and cannot exist without it. This being so it is imperative to learn to focus all our attention on this obvious bull in the china shop. With full attention negative thinking cannot exist - without negative thinking there can be no problem. All suffering arises with the unconscious desire to punish ourselves through the use of negative thinking. All suffering ends when we are able to shine a light on what was in darkness and in so doing make the unconscious conscious.