Month: April 2014

Final Day: From Ego to Divine Guidance in 36 Days

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Bottom line, Divine Guidance is LOVE.
Ego is FEAR, false evidence appearing real.

Eeee!!! I did it. Um…WE did it!!! 36 consecutive blogs on Divine Guidance.

Rather than comment on this last pairing directly, I think I’d like to spend some time reviewing what I’ve learned through this 36-day virtual adventure:

1. For me, Divine guidance speaks in a language beyond words. If I’m hearing a loving language, I am hearing the Voice of Love, which is still pretty much ego…just a kinder, gentler, somewhat “reformed” version of it.

2. Divine guidance guides me toward acceptance of what is without destroying the miracle of what can be.

3. Ego is relentless, cunning, deceptive, and had the desire to survive at any cost. In any moment, I can be 100% sure that I do not perceive my own best interests.

4. If I’m feeling bad or beginning to suffer over anything, it is a sure sign my ego has pulled the wool (or veil) over my eyes. I am focused on the wrong things.

5. The best way for me to discern Divine guidance from ego is to stop doing, stop thinking, and simply sit and observe myself and situation quietly.

6. It isn’t nearly as complicated or mysterious as I make it out. Divine guidance is simple and elegant. It does, however, require a great deal of both courage and trust to listen.

How do you distinguish between Divine guidance and ego?

Day 35: Embracing the Fraud

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance says, “Shine Your Light.  It’s the Light of God and you’re here to be Who YOU Are in God.”
Ego says, “Be careful.  What if they find out you’re a fraud?!”

I love what spiritual teacher, Adyashanti, has to say about being a fraud. He went through this when becoming a teacher, and his approach was to embrace it: “Yes, of course I’m a fraud!”

Who among us that steps up to offer our unique gifts to the world doesn’t go through this? I still do! With each book, each workshop, each concert, each session with clients, I hear the ego’s warning. The only way through it is to embrace it. Of course I’m a fraud! I’m pretending to be “Dielle”. I’m pretending to know something to help another remember that they already know. I’m wearing a mask of the expert in order to convey a message from Spirit that this group or person wouldn’t otherwise hear. They project who they think I am into their dream. I am a fraud in it because they don’t really see or know me. In some respects, it goes back to yesterday’s pairing.

Set aside for the moment that “Dielle” doesn’t ultimately exist. That fact is, I am an expert at being “Dielle”, so as long as I stick to that role with authenticity and integrity, that’s all that matters.  That’s me shining the light of “Dielle” imperfections, misperceptions and all.

Day 34: Alone

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance lets you know you’re never alone.
Ego tries to make you feel like you’re the only one.

Once again, I find this pairing repetitive and too alike the last pairing. But I did commit to writing for all 36 days, so I’ll think of something. What comes to mind is what a paradox the truth of alone can be.

For example, we are utterly alone in that no one really shares our dream. They share the frame of a collective dream, but they are off in their own perceptions and point of assemblage. In that way, we are born alone and die alone. We don’t really even know if anyone understands a word we are saying (or writing). After all, they are going to interpret it through their own filters, wounds, and constructs. We merely agree to agree that language means anything at all.

I know there are people out there who absolutely hate the idea of being alone and won’t even consider that it might be true. It’s too painful for them. So take heart, because then there is the other truth…that we are so huge and so multidimensional that we are indeed supported and aided by countless aspects of ourselves all the time. In that way, it seems we are never alone (even though all is one and therefore alone). Quite a philosophically challenging topic, isn’t it?

Day 33: Help

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance praises you for accepting your call.  When others compliment you, Divine Guidance says “That’s the way!  WE did it!”
Ego says, “I did it all by myself!  Nobody was there for me.  Nobody helped me.”

This is too like the last pairing about compliments, in my opinion. I guess the emphasis here in on the fact that we always have help. Anything we accomplish we do not accomplish alone. As obvious as this seems to me (I know I didn’t write my books myself, for example, but felt divinely guided through the whole process), I still hear ego dipping into the “I’ll do it myself. Who needs you?” drama from time to time, sometimes on the spiritual level, but more frequently on the human level. It is all too easy to be let down by people since people have a funny way of not conforming to my expectations and projections (darn them!). When it comes to people, it has too often been true that I have had to do it myself. “If I want it done right and on time…” is often the excuse my ego gives. I guess it’s a need to control. I admit I struggle with that.

And at any rate, as I mentioned before, my guidance doesn’t say things like, “That’s the way!” It doesn’t use common language to get through to me. So how does Divine guidance let me know I’m on the right track? Synchronicity perhaps? Signs of power? That makes more sense to me that, “Hurray, WE did it!”

Day 32: Compliments

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance accepts compliments, knowing they are the light of God showing through you.
Ego rejects the compliments as untrue or seeks an ulterior motive.  It may also try to convince you that you are undeserving or unworthy, or even too good! 

I agree, our talents and gifts are the glory of the Creator, so false humility and/or the deflection of compliments serves no one. In fact, it’s a rejection of our true power’s source. When I am given a compliment, I don’t really take it personally, not anymore. It has little to do with me anyway. It’s more about the other person who, in the moment of a genuine compliment, sees the Creator reflected with appreciation. I feel blessed to have come to this point of view because it protects me from unjust or unhelpful criticisms as well. None of it is personal. That said, I’m not afraid to feel good about what I do well. I guess my main problem is being satisfied with what I’ve done in the first place. I’m a bit of perfectionist.

This seems like a good time to mention jealousy. I suppose we’ve all had experiences on both sides of jealousy, the object and subject of. When I feel jealous of another, I know there is some latent or dispossessed quality in me that I have failed to acknowledge or cultivate. Otherwise, I don’ t feel jealousy. I feel awe! As for when someone is jealous of me, there isn’t much I can do. At one time, I made the mistake of dampening down my light to spare another, but I don’t play that game anymore. There’s no time. We must, each of us, fully claim our talents, gifts, and full light. We’re gonna need em! And each other.

Day 31: ça va?

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance comes to you when you’re open to receiving, when you’re peaceful and calm, or when you’ve asked for Heaven’s help.  Divine Guidance will reduce problems into doable solutions.  Divine Guidance often comes in with gratitude or a sense of reassurance.
Ego comes charging in when you’re confused or slightly fearful and snowballs the confusion and fear into something much bigger than it is.  It may also come in like a bull as soon as you’ve said, “I feel great!”  Or have stated some other truth in confidence so that it can challenge your confidence and make you feel small.

For years, one of my least favorite questions to be asked was “How are you doing?” I knew if I answered that I was great, the ego would pounce in and tell me what a liar I was because I had this, this, and this reason not to be great. If I answered in the negative, I would feel trapped by what should be a passing state of being. “Yes, I’m miserable…and I’ll always be miserable.” I still don’t really like answering that question. But I have been practicing answering in the affirmative in an attempt to be more comfortable with it and ignore the voice that contradicts me.

Maybe it’s the question. I recently read, but can’t remember where, someone debating the value of this age old question. He didn’t like it either. He started to ask others, “How are you being?” He didn’t care what they were doing. He wanted to know their state of being. This makes so much more sense, but it doesn’t quite solve the problem.

The French ask, “ça va?” or “How is it going?” I like that even better. It isn’t personal. It’s about “things”. The answer is simply, “ça va!” It goes. Brilliant.

Day 30: Crazy!

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance makes you feel calm and confident in who you are.
Ego makes you wonder, “Am I crazy?”

When do I feel crazy? Often after I’ve given an interview or conducted a workshop or given a performance. I think it has something to do with the copious amounts of adrenaline coursing through my body afterwards. It’s almost a delayed stage-fright. Beforehand, I may get a little nervous, but once I’m in the midst of something, something else seems to take over. Once it’s over, however, I am left with the surging chemicals and the onslaught of critical thoughts…”I wish I’d said this. I shouldn’t have said that that way. I hit such a god-awful note! If only I’d remembered to share this or that.” I suppose a certain amount of self-evaluation can be beneficial and improve performance. But there is often too much self-recrimination in the mix.

I have also felt utterly crazy in my life at such times as I made seemingly absurd decisions like moving across country to a city where I knew no one and had no job prospects, or when I decided to quit a job even though I had no other source of income, or spent thousands of dollars on a power journey to Mexico when I was barely making ends meet, or most recently, when I decided to sell my house and everything in it, close up shop, and move to France…for love, no less! Did I mention how little French I actually speak?

Yes, I’m one crazy fruitcake! What possesses me?

Honestly, I don’t know. And I’m glad I don’t. I’m glad that I’m not so terrified by life and so attached to my security that I can’t  take what appear to be unreasonable, crazy chances. When I follow through on those things I don’t understand, I never regret it. Of course, all the time leading up to the moment of action is spent in ridiculous energy-draining mental deliberations, but once I just commit, or at least once I go through with whatever it is, I’m okay. I’ve never once ended up the bag-lady in the streets (even when I was temporarily homeless…or home-free as I preferred to call it), never once didn’t have food, shelter, and the basic necessities of life, never once had my survival truly threatened, and never once died…obviously! But believe me, that is exactly what my ego warned me would happen again and again.

I’ll tell you what crazy is. Crazy is having a life and not living it. Crazy is turning your back on what you want because you are afraid of what will happen if you get it. Crazy is letting fear drive all your decisions.

And that is the heart of this pairing. Ego tries to tell us our ideas, desires, hopes and dreams are nothing but crazy fantasies. It also has a way of filling us with crazy ideas, desires, hopes and dreams too, though, in an attempt to cover all its bases. So what are we to do? Go back to that feeling of inner calm. Go back to that inner confidence that arises without effort. Hold the visions that we hold in our hearts, not in our heads. Then take the tiny action that presents itself.

Oh, and most importantly, embrace your crazy!

Day 29: Tantrums

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance is like a good friend or wise elder.  It is often calm, gentle, firm and consistent.
Ego loves to throw temper-tantrums like a child, tirades like an out-of-control teenager, or controls and manipulates like dictator or control-freak.  It can feel bipolar, schizophrenic, unpredictable and inconsistent, extreme, and very critical.

Ah, I am master of tantrums. I’ve been honing my craft all my life and learned from the very best. Must say, it does get old. And it isn’t all that effective either. When ego puts me in a tantrum state, when I’m not getting my way, I illogically fight with things as they are and declare they must change for me to be happy or at peace. Of course, most of the time, things(and people) are not going to change for me. So my little (or big) temper tantrums merely serve to leave me emotionally upset and physically drained…at the opposite pole of the happiness and peace I desire.

I know a wise elder who models for me the alternative. He is a good friend indeed and while he has been witness to many of my tantrums and sometimes points them out to me, he has never judged me for having them. He doesn’t even expect me to stop having them. But he does let me know there is another way. He is calm. He is gentle. He is firm and consistent. He is all the things I want to embody myself. So I look to him to know what is possible. I look to him to practice another way of being in the world.

Am I having a fit? Then maybe I’m giving to much credence to whatever lies the ego is telling me in that moment. Maybe I just need to step back, get quiet, and realize that I am safe and have everything I truly need in that moment. My real survival is not being threatened. Only my ideas.

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