“If He has created us in His image, all we need to do to discover God is to follow the ancient Greek maxim -Know thyself”-John S Hatcher in his book Close Connections
“To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment”- Eckhart Tolle
I read somewhere today (perhaps it was a verse from A Course in Miracles) – “Learning is an ability that we have made. It is not necessary in Heaven because there is no learning in Heaven. But we did have to learn the ego’s thought system and we all have learnt it very, very well”.
It made me think- Am I here to be a student of ego? The answer I heard was” Yes and No”. Yes because I had to be a student of ego first so I could be led down a path of pain, misery, hopelessness, doubt, fear and all the good stuff ego is made of, until I reached a point where I was broken and lost. That’s when I cried for help. And at that exact moment unbeknownst to me I took my first baby steps from the darkness into the light and started a spiritual journey that has led me to a better understanding of self.
And No, I was not meant to remain a student of ego forever. At some point I was forced to dig deeper into myself to find myself. In that process I learnt to listen to the stillness within me. That is when I heard Him speak. And that is when I began to see myself as guided, protected, loved and blessed with an abundant life. Even in my darkest moments I learnt to praise and stay connected to source.
While I was thinking about all these things the other day , Matthew West’s song “Hello my name is” started playing on the radio. For those who haven’t heard it before it goes something like this-
“Hello, my name is regret
I’m pretty sure we have met
Every single day of your life
I’m the whisper inside
That won’t let you forget
Hello, my name is defeat
I know you recognize me
Just when you think you can win
I’ll drag you right back down again
‘Til you’ve lost all belief
Oh, these are the voices.
Oh, these are the lies
And I have believed them for the very last time
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, I have been set free
“Amazing Grace” is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I am no longer defined
By all the wreckage behind
The one who makes all things new
Has proven it’s true
Just take a look at my life”
And the song goes on. But it reminded me of my journey and I thought what a great song. We may all take different paths but our journey is very similar with the same goal – to find and know ourselves deep within and to know God.
With regard to my own personal journey I can say this- it has helped me understand that everything the Ego is, I am NOT.
©2015, Vani Murthy. All rights reserved
